TOAM: Leaders Session 1: David Stroud

David Stroud leads Christchurch London.

This talk, in all honesty, felt pretty familiar. I have heard bits of it, in different guises, before. I have heard it from Tim Keller, from other preachers and from David Stroud.

The talk took Daniel chapter one and drew out some interesting aspects relating to how we act as a faith minority with a right to a voice.

Five questions were presented regarding what we do with the voice God gives us.

1) WHAT MATTERS TO GOD?

• v1-2: the name used for God is God the creator
• EVERYTHING matters to God because God created EVERYTHING, and that includes Babylon
• Some people think "building the Church" is all that matters. Others say "Getting out there" is all that matters. The truth is we need to do both. We need to be Salt (out there, involved) and Light (city on a hill).
  

2) HOW SHOULD WE BE INVOLVED?

• Do we shout at issues from a distance or get thoroughly involved?
• Some Christians seem to think we need to look different but actually their hearts are pretty similar to the culture. Actually we look similar our hearts should be utterly different in terms of our values and our security.
• We need to get thoroughly involved (Gen 12:1-3, Jer 29:4-7)
  

3) WHAT SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT? From verses 6-16

1. What should we accept from culture?
2. What should we redeem from culture?
   
3. Whats hould we confront in culture?
   

4) WHAT SHOULD OUR VISION BE?

Too much vision = potential disappointment
Too little vision = potential lack of motivation
We need to be both realistic and optimistic.

5) WHERE WILL THINGS END? (Dan 1:21)

Colossians 3: our future hope is in Christ alone and His return

Then 6 personal applications. I thought some of these were a bit tenuous from the text although good principles all the same.

1. Daniel said "yes" to, and took opportunities (1:6)
2. Daniel was part of a team (1:7)
3. Daniel did not allow the cost to deter him (1:12-13) He had conquered the flesh, so in (5:17) he withstood test with money
4. Daniel had become an outstanding candidate (1:20)
5. Daniel continued as a man of prayer & the Spirit (1:17)
6. Daniel grew in authority by being faithful to God and become someone to listen to (2:24)

Another call for prayer, another response in the multiple hundreds, as people responded for prayer for in the whole area of engaging with culture.