© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

Finding the back door to people’s hearts

Guest: Brooke Butler with CRU at UC Berkeley

© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

The ForumEngaging Culture for Christ

The session will begin shortly.

Open/close Chat

Mute / unmute

Share Video

See attendees

Share/view

presentationYou may need an microphone

plugged in to join the Lync call

© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

The ForumEngaging Culture for Christ

© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

Finding the back door to people’s hearts

Guest: Brooke Butler with CRU at UC Berkeley

"We have to find the back door

to peoples’ hearts because the

front door is heavily guarded."

Ravi Zacharias

Why is the “front door” so heavily guarded?

1)The current

cultural view of

Christians as

judgmental,

intolerant, and even

power-hungry.

2) Christians have unfortunately

wedded Christianity and conservatism.

3) The post-modernist aversion to

truth and objective standards.

4) The influx in the

West of various

religions and

philosophies such

as Buddhism,

existentialism and

materialism.

5) The rise of the New Atheists in terms

of their output in print and other media

and their assertiveness.

6) The growth of scientism and the

related view that faith is blind or illogical.

7) The scandals in the Christian world

ranging from pedophelia in the Catholic

church to the fall of pastors like Mark

Driscoll as Mars Hill.

Two “Back Door” Ideas…

Renaissance Dinner Format

Seat students at tables

Tables decorated with candles and place settings

Placemat with Rembrandt’s painting at each place

Serve appetizer

Marinated Eggplant

Bread

Wine, mineral water or juice to

drink

Discuss first set of questions

referring to the placemat

What leaps out at you in this painting?

What are the predominant colors?

Why did the painter use these colors?

Why are the eyes closed of some of the people in the

painting?

What do you think the picture is about?

Who do you think these people are?

Look at the man standing on the right:

What do you think has happened?

What do you think will happen?

Look at the old man’s hands:

Is there a difference in the two?

Why would the painter paint them differently?

Serve main course

Chickens

Cabbage

Potatoes

Pass out Prodigal Son text, have someone read it

out loud and discuss second set of questions –Luke

15:11-32

The younger son

When did the son decide to return? What occured before this?

What did you first do when he decided to return?

Where and under circumstances do you rehearse yoru speeches?

The older son

How would you have felt if your the older son?

Have you ever felt like this?

What did th eolder son need to do to experience the father’s love

and forgiveness?

What did the older son decide?

The father

How would you have felt if you were the father?

Which son did the father love more?

What did Jesus want to say about God’s love through this story?

Students back to tables

Serve apple cakes dessert and coffee

Discuss last set of questions

What is one word you would use to describe God?

How is God revealed through this story?

When or in what ways have you been in the role of

the younger son, the older son, the father?

Ultimately this is a story of spiritual journey.

Where are you in your

spiritual journey?

Important elements:

1) Inviting non-believers into a home-setting

2) “Breaking bread” together

3) Involving all the senses, touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing

4) Asking good questions

5) Allow people to express themselves and to dialogue with

each other

Story of the Soul:

An interactive adventure,

where we discover the stories

of the soul...

…through taking a thoughtful

look at art, music, short films,

poetry and classic literature.

THE SOUL TALKS

ABOUT…

Intimacy

It was autumn, 1976, when

drummer Larry Mullen put a

note on the notice board at

Mount Temple Comprehensive

School in Dublin, looking for

people to join a band.

Paul Hewson (aka Bono Vox),

Dave Evans (aka The Edge), Dik

Evans, and Adam Clayton joined

up.

Dik soon left to join the Virgin

Prunes, while the remaining four

formed 'Feedback' before

changing to 'The Hype' and then

U2.

U2

The band's first break was

winning £500 in a talent

contest on St. Patrick's Day

(March 17th) in Limerick.

Bono later recalled

that they had beaten

off many technically

better bands because

of what he called 'a

spark', which had

produced a great

atmosphere on stage.

MEMBERS OF BAND…

Edge

Lawrence

Adam

Bono

Some hits…

1983. Sunday Bloody Sunday, New

Year’s Day

1984. Bad

1981. Gloria

1980. I will follow

1987. Where The Streets Have No

Name, I Still Haven't Found What

I'm Looking For

1995. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,

Kill Me

2000. Beautiful Day, Elevation

2004. Vertigo, A Man and a Woman,

Miracle Drug…and many more.

With 40 Singles and 14

albums U2 is on the very

top of the ladder of all

the bands that ever set

foot on the scene.

The music of U2 has

always been about heart

and mind, body and

soul. Down through the

years the band has

successfully thrown a

spotlight on the work of

key campaigning groups

who are trying to make

the world a better place.

A Man and A Woman…

Little sister don’t you worry about a thing

today

Take the heat from the sun

Little sister

I know that everything is not ok

But you’re like honey on my tongue

True love never can be rent

But only true love can keep beauty innocent

I could never take a chance

Of losing love to find romance

In the mysterious distance

Between a man and a woman

No I could never take a chance

‘Cos I could never understand

The mysterious distance

Between a man and a woman

You can run from love

And if it’s really love it will find you

Catch you by the heel

But you can’t be numb for love

The only pain is to feel nothing at all

How can I hurt when I’m holding you?

I could never take a chance

Of losing love to find romance

In the mysterious distance

Between a man and a woman

And you’re the one, there’s no-one else

You make me want to lose myself

In the mysterious distance

Between a man and a woman

Brown eyed girl across the street

On rue Saint Divine

I thought this is the one for me

But she was already mine

You were already mine…

Little sister

I’ve been sleeping in the street

again

Like a stray dog

Little sister

I’ve been trying to feel complete

again

But you’re gone and so is God

The soul needs beauty for a soul mate

When the soul wants… the soul waits …

No I could never take a chance

On losing love to find romance

In the mysterious distance

Between a man and a woman

For love and faith and sex and fear

And all the things that keep us here

In the mysterious distance

Between a man and a woman

How can I hurt when I’m holding you?

In what way is a relationship between a man and a

woman described in this song?

Why do we need intimacy, and what is it that we find so

attractive in being intimate with someone?

Can intimacy exist without love ? Why, or why not?

A movie star with a

sense of emptiness,

and a neglected

newlywed meet up as

strangers in Tokyo,

Japan and form an

unlikely bond.

Lost in Translation

BOB AND CHARLOTTE

FIND EACH OTHER

FULFILLING CERTAIN

NEEDS. CHARLOTTE

NEEDS BOB'S ATTENTION

AND HUMOR, AND BOB

NEEDS SOMEONE HE CAN

TALK TO. BOB HELPS

CHARLOTTE BY

ANSWERING HER

QUESTIONS REGARDING

LIFE AND DIRECTION,

WHILE CHARLOTTE

HELPS BOB BY

REMINDING HIM HOW

MUCH HE LOVES HIS

CHILDREN AND HIS

WIFE.

The love between the two

characters is not one of lust but

rather one of emotional and

psychological need.

Have you ever felt like Bob or Charlotte, lost

even when sourrounded by people you know

well? If yes, what was the occasion?

Do you think real intimacy can exist between two

strangers? Why or why not?

What does it mean to be intimate with someone,

to know someone intimately? How is intimacy

created?

Annabel Lee is the last

poem composed by

American author Edgar

Allan Poe. Written in 1849,

it was not published until

shortly after Poe's death

that same year, appearing in

two newspapers.

...THE PRODUCT OF HIS GLOOMY IMAGINATION...

a real person

a wife

a lover

Who was Annabel Lee?

Annabel

Lee dies

because

"the

angels"

envied the

couple's

great love....the two

will be

together

again...

ANABELL LEE

IT WAS MANY AND MANY A YEAR AGO,

IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA,

THAT A MAIDEN THERE LIVED WHOM YOU MAY KNOW,

BY THE NAME OF ANNABEL LEE;

AND THIS MAIDEN, SHE LIVED WITH NO OTHER THOUGHT

THAN TO LOVE AND BE LOVED BY ME.

I WAS A CHILD AND SHE WAS A CHILD.

IN THIS KINGDOM BY THE SEA;

BUT WE LOVED WITH A LOVE THAT WAS MORE THAN

LOVE,

I AND MY ANNABEL LEE;

WITH A LOVE THAT THE WINGED SERAPHS OF HEAVEN

COVETED, HER AND ME.

And thus was the reason that, long ago,In this kingdom by the sea;

A wind blew out of a cloud, chillingMy beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her high born kinsman cameAnd bore her away from me,To shut her up in a sepulcherIn this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,Went envying her and me.

Yes, that was the reason-as all men knowIn this kingdom by the sea-

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,Chilling and Killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love, it was stronger far than love

Of those who were older than we,

Of many far wiser than we.

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:

For moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling, my darling, my life, and my bride.

In the Sepulcher there by the sea,

In her tomb by the side of the sea.

What was your first impression when the poem was

read (darkness, sadness, hope...)?

Did you have a childhood sweetheart?

Do you think it is possible to experience

this sort of “immortal,” intimate love the

poet is talking about in his poem?

Can someone know us intimately, the way

we know ourselves, or even beyond that?

I I need someone who will know

me completely. Is there anyone

who can know me intimately?

Important Elements:

1) Café atmosphere

2) Snacks, drinks

3) Short and culturally relevant segments

4) Discussion that is facilitated, not controlled

5) Short, concise talk that relates the Gospel to the evening’s “felt

need”

© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

Third Column Ministries

www.slideshare.net/ThirdColumnMinistries

www.facebook.com/LearnApologetics | Twitter: @LApologetics

www.ThirdColumnMinistries.org

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

Scriptural references taken from the following and their respective copyrights retained:

NIV: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by

International Bible Society®

NASB: Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright ©

1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

ESV: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing

ministry of Good News Publishers.

HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible® Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible

Publishers.

NLT: Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.

© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this webinar

are those of the original authors and other contributors.

These views and opinions do not necessarily represent

those of Third Column Ministries, Ministry Partners,

board & staff of Third Column Ministries,

and/or any/all contributors.

All information provided on this site is for informational purposes only.

Third Column Ministries makes no representations as to accuracy,

completeness, or validity of any information in this webinar and will

not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information

or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.

All information is provided on an as-is basis.

© 2 0 1 5 T h i r d C o lu m n M in i s t r i e s

Thank you for participating!

• Register for future sessions

• Suggest future topics

• Be a guest speaker

www.thirdcolumnministries.org/the-forum

Next MonthTBD

Guest: TBD

Date and Time: TBD