Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
The speaker contrasts “methods” with “principles” using Harrington Emerson’s quote and then refuses to discuss evangelism techniques; where do you see modern churches trusting methods more than principles, and what “trouble” have you personally seen when principles get ignored?
Another way to ask: Where do you see churches today trusting “methods” more than basic Bible principles in evangelism? What problems have you seen when the principles get ignored?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, modern churches trust methods more than principles when they borrow ideas from the world and then “put a Christian spin on them,” rather than letting holiness, historic faith, and community shape how they evangelize. The “trouble” is that people may still convert, but they come in with “half the picture” and don’t fully separate into God’s kingdom.
- Emerson quote: “methods…may be a million… but principles are few,” and ignoring principles leads to “trouble.”
- The speaker warns that focusing on methods can make us “lose the principles behind what we are trying to do.”
- He refuses to talk methods because God can save through many means, even ones he thought would “never…work.”
- He cautions, “We shouldn’t just be taking ideas from the world and then putting a Christian spin on them.”
- He says skipping principles brings people in but leaves them “not fully separated into God’s kingdom…one leg in and one leg out.”