Dear Student,
What if the book of Acts wasn’t about the history of the church, but was happening right now, today?
As we enter a new year of ministry at Ligonier, God is giving us the same call He gave to Simon Peter, Paul, and the early church almost 2,000 years ago — to spread the truth of Christ in a dark and increasingly dangerous world.
Ligonier is poised to have a unique impact on an unprecedented number of people in the coming year through media, conferences, and literature. But just as it did in Paul’s day, answering the call will take dedication, courage, and the support of thousands of people who recognize the importance of bringing to the world a truly biblical perspective of God’s redemptive work.
To answer this call effectively, we’ll need everyone who’s serious about awakening our world to God’s holiness to join with us again in prayerful and financial support.
I’m sure you remember all the exciting journeys in which the apostles and their companions carried the Gospel to the far corners of the known world, and the doors that opened when secular culture tried to hinder the good news.
It’s true that we haven’t had any literal prison doors spring open while our staff was inside. But God’s hand is on this ministry, and He’s opening some doors for us that are exciting.
For example, my book, The Consequences of Ideas, was translated into Chinese in 2007 and published by the University of Peking.
I just want you to take a look at that statement for a minute. A simple sentence, but earth-shaking. If you’ve read The Consequences of Ideas, you know it’s an examination of the philosophies that underlie almost all of Western thought — getting down to the roots of why people today think the way they do.
Imagine the impact a book like that can have on the culture of China. There, Christianity has always been portrayed as unreasonable, overly emotional, and unable to stand up to academic scrutiny. The Consequences of Ideas provides a firm logical foundation for belief in Christ, and now it’s available to the people of a country that’s long been hostile to Christ.
This is a victory indeed. I have to thank Ravi Zacharias for being my “Barnabas,” for letting me know the new Chinese government is open to Christian literature as long as it reaches a certain level of intellectual and academic respectability. You know that’s one of the things we strive for at Ligonier. I’m also thankful for the University of Peking for undertaking the translation work.
Did you know that each month, Tabletalk magazine reaches more than 200,000 readers in 78 countries worldwide?
This, and Ligonier’s ever-expanding list of international broadcast coverage, are a vital part of answering God’s call to us in 2008. But just as crucial is the work we’ll do inside the borders of the United States in the coming year.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, America exports all the trappings of Western culture to the rest of the world as fast as possible — and when we look closely, we see that today’s Western culture bears a striking similarity to the Greco-Roman culture in which Paul and the other apostles lived and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Roman Empire, as it rolled across the known world conquering nations and setting up bureaucracies that would outlive the Empire itself, used religion as one of its tactics to make newly-conquered people feel more comfortable with their overlords.
They assimilated all the deities of their new subjects and allowed the people to continue their familiar worship, as long as they added worship of the emperor in Rome to their list. They insisted that all religions were essentially the same.
As today’s Western culture has increasingly come in contact with Eastern philosophy and a variety of worldwide tribal religions, strange new beliefs and practices have crept into many people’s relationship with God.
Many Romans adopted Mithras-worship from the Persians; many Americans have raided the world’s cultures for goddess-worship, nature-worship, crystal-gazing, reincarnation, and a host of other ways to “get in touch with the divine.”
The Roman Empire was a ferment of new ideas and syncretism, as Paul found when he visited the booming metropolis of Athens. Acts 17:21 tells us that, “all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.”
What an apt description of American culture today. Always on the hunt for the next novelty, whether it’s a new diet, a new techno-gadget, or a new religious philosophy. It seems the newer an idea is, and the more controversial, the more the average American is inclined to believe it.
The Roman Empire’s smoothly-oiled mechanism for assimilating its new subjects received its first cracks from those strange Jews, and their one God who couldn’t be assimilated or made into a statue to be put in a shrine.
But the mechanism was shipwrecked entirely by the early Christians, who transformed their culture from the inside out in their eagerness to proclaim the Lordship of Christ.
Today, it’s up to us to be a transforming influence on our own culture — all the more urgently as we see it carried to distant lands and adopted by others.
Spiritual darkness has overcome many of the foundations of a nation once guided by Christian principles. The increasing violence of movies and other media bring to mind the blood-sports of the Roman arena. In 2008, Ligonier’s call is to bring His Word back to a people trying to fill their emptiness with spiritual junk food.
We’ll do that this year through:
• Conferences. Our national conference in Orlando this spring will focus on “Evangelism according to Jesus.” We are also hosting a West Coast national conference in Scottsdale this fall and will address tough questions Christians face. By God’s grace, our pastors conference will continue to nourish and encourage these dear shepherds of God’s flock.
• Resources. Tabletalk magazine (now in its 31st year of publication) and our Renewing Your Mind radio, video, and Internet broadcasts will help people grow in the knowledge of God and His holiness. Our new publishing arm, Reformation Trust Publishing, will produce more new books to help millions of people apply biblical truth to their everyday lives. Our teaching series will be distributed to more churches for small group study and The Reformation Study Bible will continue to be an essential tool for serious Bible study.
• Technology. Podcasting, web streaming, and other emerging technologies continue to help us gain new audiences here at home and overseas. More than 22,000 people attended our 2007 national conference via live webcast; we expect to reach even more this year. One of them wrote to us:
“I am 50 years old, bedridden since birth and suffer from Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I have always wanted to attend the Ligonier conference, but could not due to my disability. However, the 2007 conference came to me via the live Ligonier webcast. What a tremendous blessing this is to my soul.” —John in Boca Raton
God is opening doors ahead of us — all we need are the courage, will, and resources to walk through them. This is a crucial matter, beloved. We’ll need to raise $1,280,166 every single month in 2008 to carry out God’s call to transform our world. Will you help answer the call today with another gift of support? Your gift of $25, $50, $100, or more — any amount, large or small, that God leads you to send — will help carry the truth about God’s gracious forgiveness of sinners, as well as His holiness and sovereignty, to the ends of the earth.
I also ask you to continue your fervent prayers for God’s hand on our ministry this year, for clarity in following His call, and for openness of heart for everyone who encounters our broadcasts, conferences, and literature.
Thank you for your partnership in ministry.
Sincerely,
R.C. Sproul
P.S. Our culture has never been more in need of transformation from the inside. With God’s provision through dedicated friends like you, Ligonier can be the agent of transformation that brings many people to the throne of grace this year, strengthening believers in knowledge and touching the lives of non-believers with hope. Thank you for your continuing support. |
