Last week, we released Part 1 of the Eric Watkins interview. Eric talked about how 2 church plants shaped his view of building an evangelistic culture. Each part is somewhat self-contained and can be viewed individually, but they are building on each other. Below is part 2. In a fairly short clip, Eric lays out some context of how he and the church in St. Augustine view the nature of a Reformed church reaching people who are unchurched. This is somewhat conceptual and then next week Part 3 really digs into to the practical of how they work these things out. But it’s important to hear this context first.
Questions for Thought/Discussion:
1. Most in the OPC and other conscientiously Reformed churches probably resonate with what Eric says in this segment. It’s sort of in our wheelhouse. But note that Eric is pointing out that these things can help us reach people.
>>>Do you tend to think of these things helping or hurting our ability to reach people?
>>>In what ways could these distinctives be portrayed (probably sincerely) that would unnecessarily hurt our ability to reach the lost? Can you think of specific examples?
2. In anticipation of part 3, what specific ideas are underlying Eric’s thoughts in this conceptual explanation of being Reformed as an asset rather than a liability in reaching people?
>>>What is he assuming about how we present our distinctives and do church that are necessary for being an asset rather than a hindrance?
>>>What specific and practical actions can you think of to make our distinctives a help?
>>>What specifics do you expect Eric to lay out in our next segment?
