Trending Faith: God’s Word and a Broader Audience

GCU Pastor and Dean of Student Tim Griffin joins College of Theology Dean Jason Hiles, PhD, to discuss how churches can stay authentic in their messaging and core convictions while attempting more mass appeal.

Both Pastor Griffin and Dr. Hiles agree it’s a difficult juxtaposition for the modern church, and there’s often a misinterpretation or difficulty understanding Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 9:19-27.

Both also agree the most important facet of today’s churches needs to be the message: The true way to God is through Jesus.

Getting to that message, however, has taken on many different forms through different practices and philosophies. Dr. Hiles believes it can be detrimental to try and reach a larger audience by appealing to those who struggle with some of Christianity’s “core” practices and beliefs.

“The problem is that you can gain a larger crowd or larger audience that way, but once you’ve gathered those people around, you’ve got nothing left to say,” he said. “You have nothing to offer that they can’t get elsewhere.”

Describing Jesus as a flexible messenger when speaking to non-believers, Dr. Hiles believes Jesus was kind and gracious to all, but more direct with those who struggled to understand His message and teachings.

“There’s a wisdom in teaching that we see even in the great teacher,” Dr. Hiles said.

Listen to their entire discussion by watching the video below:

If you would like the chance to hear your questions answered, email them to trendingfaith@gcu.edu or use #trendingfaith