Red Letter Minimalism - What is it?

Red Letter Minimalism is apolitical. It is neither postmodernist, “woke,” nationalist, nor electorally “conservative.” 

Red Letter Minimalism is about following Christ, “imitation of Christ,” which requires deliberate character development, as is connoted in the Great Commandment, as well as in other passages in the written record of Christ’s incarnate ministry.

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Below are quotations that are consonant with Red Letter Minimalism.

TOPICS:

1. Purpose of the Church
2. Gospel (Defining “The Gospel”)
3. Community
4. Compassion
5. Disciple-Making
6. Metanoia (inadequately translated as “Repentance”)
7. Commandments & Neuroplasticity
8. Knowledge / Propositional
9. Cheap Grace
10. Obedience
11. Scripture Study
12. Evidence of Salvation
    
13. Church Growth

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Understanding Red Letter Minimalism

1) Purpose of the Church

[T]he Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.” [C. S. Lewis, BBC radio broadcast, March 28, 30, 1944; book: Beyond Personality, Ch. 8. “Is Christianity Hard or Easy?”; (1945; collected in Mere Christianity, 1952]

“Since making disciples is the main task of the church, every church ought to be able to answer two questions: What is our plan for making disciples of Jesus? Is our plan working?”​ [Dallas Willard, Audio Interview with John Ortberg, June (?),2010, Catalyst West conference.]

2) Gospel (Defining “The Gospel”)

Key to encountering the biblical Jesus is a step that many Christians seem to find painful, that is, our preparedness to read the Gospels in order to emulate Jesus. [Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church, Hendrickson Pub (USA), 2009, p. 17]

“As far as the con­tent of what I try to present is con­cerned it focus­es on the gospel of the king­dom of God and becom­ing a dis­ci­ple of Jesus in the king­dom of God. So, it does­n’t mere­ly have an empha­sis on the for­give­ness of sins and assur­ance of heav­en as you are apt to find in most evan­gel­i­cal cir­cles. I think that is vital but it is not the whole sto­ry. The issue is whole life, oth­er issues are sub­or­di­nate to that. After all Jesus said, ​“I came that you might have life to the full,” which is more than life beyond death.” [Dallas Willard, “Interview: Fol­low­ing Jesus and Liv­ing in the Kingdom,” Renovare, Apr. 2002]

Brian Fikkert – I think the Gospel is the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God brings about Shalom. So, it's a really interesting question. Try this: go to your churches and ask people why did Jesus come to earth. In When Helping Hurts, the first chapter starts off – that's the title of the chapter: “Why did Jesus come to Earth?” – and what most of us most of our parishioners, or Brothers and Sisters in Christ, will say: “Jesus came to Earth to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins.” That is certainly true. / There is no question about that. I don't want to cast any doubt on that, at any level, but it's so interesting to me that the very start of Jesus’s earthly ministry he says he's come to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God, which is the coming of all of the goodness that God intends for his – all of his – creation. / It means the transformation of the cosmos into a new heavens and new Earth, where there is Shalom; where human beings once again enjoy all that it means to be human – which we argue is to live in right relationship with God, with ourselves, with others, and with creation. That's the good news of the Gospel is that the Kingdom has come in Christ. And it's still coming. And so, what are the implications of that for gospel proclamation, for preaching? That's the message. What bothers me is the church doesn't seem to know the message. / We don't have to pit these things against each other. Christ’s substitutionary atonement is necessary. It pays for the penalty for our sins, but then what? Well, it brings us into the very dwelling place of God, in which there is Shalom. And so, for me, the Gospel is the good news of the Kingdom. And our response is to repent and trust in Jesus, and grow into our new skin as new creatures in Christ. [“When Helping Hurts With Brian Fikkert,” #MissionsPodcast, ABWE International, Nov 6, 2022, 38:48; @ 14:31-16:30; spoken words, edited for text presentation]

What is the gospel—the "good news"? "Just believe on the name of Jesus and you will be saved" is a common message of many preachers. Others proclaim that the gospel is that Jesus came to die for our sins. Still others preach a rather insipid and saccharine "Jesus loves you" message. All of those catchy phrases have relevance to Jesus' message—we certainly must believe in Jesus, He did die for our sins, and He surely loves us—but nowhere does Jesus directly state that the gospel is about Him! Instead, the good news is about a momentous purpose that God is accomplishing. Jesus spoke the words that the Father gave Him to preach, most emphatically confirmed in John 12:49-50: For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak. What is Jesus' own testimony about the subject of His preaching? Notice these verses: » Matthew 4:23: "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people." » Matthew 24:14: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." » Luke 4:43: "[Jesus] said to them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.'" » Luke 16:16: "The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the Kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it." [John W. Ritenbaugh, “Where Is God's True Church Today?” Forerunner, "Personal," Nov.-Dec. 2010]

3) Community

“Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful – Christian community is the final apologetic.” [Francis Schaeffer (1912-84), The Mark of the Christian, Intervarsity Press, 1970]

“I am suggesting that the only answer, the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it.” [Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, 1989, Erdmans]

Jesus did not write a book but formed a community. [Michael Moynagh, Church in Life: Innovation, Mission and Ecclesiology, 2017, SCM Press, UK, p. 185]

4) Compassion

“Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.” [Francis Schaeffer (1912-84); Source (?): Francis August Schaeffer, The God who is There: Speaking Historic Christianity Into the Twentieth Century, Intervarsity Press, 1968.]

In Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, [h]is most important point is that Christianity mandates that one "love your neighbour as yourself." He points out that all persons unconditionally love themselves. Even if one does not like oneself, one would still love oneself. Christians, he writes, must also apply this attitude to others, even if they do not like them. Lewis calls this one of the great secrets: when one acts as if he loves others, he will presently come to love them. [Wikipedia, “Mere Christianity” page; radio talks 1941-44; book 1952: Book IV - Beyond Personality: Or First Steps In The Doctrine Of The Trinity; Ch. 8. Is Christianity Hard Or Easy?; Beyond Personality (1945); BBC radio broadcast, March 28, 30, 1944.]

Compassion, I believe, is love that is put into action. This is the imperative of compassion—that is requires action toward the other, action rooted and grounded in love. And we might reflect that the absence of compassion means the absence of God's loving presence. [Reverend E. Terrence Alspaugh, “The Way, The Truth, The Life,” Text: John 14: 1-6, May 10, 2020, Granite Presbyterian, Woodstock, Maryland]

Like many virtues, however, compassion needs to be cultivated if it is to grow and become second nature to us. A way to accomplish this is through the transformation of our mind (Rom 8:9-11; Col 3:10) this process of renewal deepens our capacity to discern the will and working of God over and against the prevalent zeitgeist. In other words, we begin to imbue the “mind of Christ” that reflects in thoughts, words, and character God’s compassionate heart towards a broken and suffering world. [Rolf R. Nolasco Jr. & R. Vincent MacDonald, Andrew Dreitcer (Foreword), Compassionate Presence: A Radical Response to Human Suffering, Wipf and Stock, Cascade Books (paperback), Oct. 19, 2016, p.59]

5) Disciple-Making

Discipleship training is not about information transfer, from head-to-head, but imitation, life to life. You can ultimately learn and develop only by doing. [Greg Ogden, Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time, May 19, 2003, IVP Books]

"A mature disciple is one who effortlessly does what Jesus would do if Jesus were him." [Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, 2002, NavPress, 241.]

First, there must be no mistaking the fact that discipleship to Jesus means primarily learning from him how to do—easily and routinely do—the very things he said for us to do. Obedience is the only sound objective of a Christian spirituality. Of course, we do not obey to earn anything—earning is out of the question—but we obey because doing the things that Jesus said is what is best for us and for everyone around us. [Dallas Willard; in Bill Hull, Choose the Life: Exploring a Faith That Embraces Discipleship, 2004. Baker Books, p. 6]

In the New Testament, discipleship means being an apprentice of Jesus in our daily existence. A disciple, then, is simply someone who has decided to be with another person in order to become what that person is or to become capable of doing what that person does. What does Jesus do that I can be discipled to do? The answer is found in the Gospels: he lives in the kingdom of God, and he applies that kingdom for the good of others and even makes it possible for them to enter it.  [Jan Johnson, “Apprentice To The Master: Interview With Dallas Willard,” Discipleship Journal, Sep./Oct. 1998, 22-24]

6) Metanoia (inadequately translated as “Repentance”)

“Jesus is not saying, ‘Make sure you pray a prayer of repentance, start going to church, and wait for Me to come back.’ He is saying, ‘You can live a radically different life because there’s a new world order that just broke in, so stop walking in the direction you’re going, turn 180 degrees, and walk toward Me and life in the kingdom of God.’” [Hugh Halter, Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth, 2014, David C. Cook, p. 53]

I've watched people in my clinical practice try to walk back from significant moral errors it is not that easy. You know there's that Catholic doctrine that you can be saved and redeemed no matter what your sin. It's like that's true, but that doesn't mean you don't have to face the consequences of what you've done. And if you want to repent and you've done something seriously wrong so much of you have to change that it's almost like you have to die in order to be reborn. [Jordan B. Peterson, "College of Psychologists vs Jordan B Peterson," Mikhaila Peterson; EP 322, Jan 12, 2023; 1:20:29; @1:12:31; slightly edited for readability]

7) Commandments & Neuroplasticity

In Christian theology, in particular, there is a notion that through conscious processes, we can alter the overall state of our mind to become a more spiritual and moral person. This has important theological implications. For example, the Bible suggests that by following the Ten Commandments, we become more spiritual and more in line what God wants us to do. The more we follow the Commandments, the more our mind functions in moral and spiritual ways. Such a process is supported in brain studies that have shown that performing specific practices such as meditation alters the brain and supports the belief system associated with that meditation. [Andrew Newberg, Neurotheology: How Science Can Enlighten Us About Spirituality, Columbia UP, 2018, P. 247]

8) Knowledge / Propositional

Sadly, we are often led by pastors and ministers who are experts in theology, but whose prayer life is stunted. They understand doctrine but struggle to articulate or model how to love others. They have Bible information, but their love for God and people have cooled. We’re all guilty of this on some level. These are the people we hire and choose to lead our churches. Love, relationship, and connection with Jesus are devalued. Knowledge, expertise, and “know-how” are prized. In many contexts, “right theology” has replaced relationship and mystery. [Jonathan D’Elia, “Can Theology Be an Idol?” Red Letter Christians, Nov. 29, 2021]

9) Cheap Grace

“… cheap grace, which is another word for damnation.” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Nachfolge, München, 1937; The Cost of Discipleship, SCM Press, 1959, p. 68]

“’The Protestant disease of cheap grace can produce some of the most selfish and contentious leaders and lay people on earth, more difficult to bear in a state of grace than they would be in a state of nature.’” I would add that cheap grace produces entire congregations of selfish people whose sole focus is grabbing onto individual salvation.” [Richard Lovelace quoted by Jon Tyson, “Those Who Hunger and Thirst,” sermon, Church of the City NY, Oct. 18, 2020, 52:12]

10) Obedience

The missing note in evangelical life today is not in the first instance spirituality but rather obedience. We have generated a variety of religion to which obedience in not regarded as essential. … I don’t understand how anyone can look ingenuously at the contents of the scripture and say that Jesus intends anything else for is but obedience. So my first point is simply: life in Christ has to do with obedience to his teaching. If we don’t start there, we may as well forget about any distinctively Christian spirituality.  [Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship, HarperOne, 2006, pp. 44, 45]

11) Scripture Study

You won't become a saint by studying your Bible; you'll become a saint by living it. [Leonard Ravenhill, source?: Revival God's Way: A Message for the Church, Bethany House, 1983]

Something goes seriously wrong with our capacity to integrate or even comprehend Scripture if we do not obey but just study it. [Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church, Hendrickson Pub (USA), 2009, p. 154]

If memorizing Bible verses is the extent of your discipleship, you can spend a life away from God. Jesus spent most of His ministry making that point. The way of Jesus is connecting the revelation of God with the lived reality of those beaten up by the world. That’s salvation. [Trey Ferguson (Refuge Church, Miami), Twitter, Jun. 3, 2021]

Sometimes we approach the Bible merely for what we glean from it intellectually and miss the Person in it that we should be getting to know. . . . Our problem with Scripture in 2017 is that we have detached the Person of the Bible from the Bible itself. If we have not outright “denied” Him by worshipping the book, we are certainly neglecting the Master who bought us, the One who gives the message within the book. [Asher Witmer, “An open letter about the Bible, blogging, and why I choose the titles I do,” Asher Witmer.com, 2017]

Flabby Christians – I agree that often Christians in the West are immature. I agree our walk doesn’t always match our talk. But I also think the average North American Christian is about 3000 bible verses overweight. The way many leaders approach maturity is to assume that knowledge produces maturity. Since when? It’s wonderful that people understand what they believe, but knowledge in and of itself is not a hallmark of Christian maturity. As Paul says, knowledge puffs up. Love, by contrast, builds up. And some of the most biblically literate people in Jesus’s day got bypassed as disciples. The goal is not to know, but to do something with what you know.  [Carey Nieuwhof, “How the Church Today is Getting Discipleship Wrong,” Carey Nieuwhof, Feb. 3, 2014]

12) Evidence of Salvation

And Jesus has the audacity to say, “Here’s how I know the difference between the person who just says they believe and a person who’s actually experienced my supernatural grace. A life poured out in deeds and service, especially to the poor, is an inevitable sign that you’ve experienced my salvation. It may come later, it may come sooner, but it will always come. It doesn’t give you life, but it proves that you have met me.” [Sermon, Timothy J. Keller, “Neighbors” From series: “The Meaning of Jesus,” Part 2; “Following Him,” Feb. 23, 2003; (43:13); Scripture: Luke 10:25-37; @ 15:58]

13) Church Growth

Church growth is not just more Christians, but bigger Christians, flush with Christ’s character. [Dallas Willard, Forward to: Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken, Renovation of the Church: What Happens When a Seeker Church Discovers Spiritual Formation, InterVarsity Press, 2011.]

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Regarding the difference between believing a propositional truth claim and “believing in” a person –

While behavior (“works”) is never the basis of justification or salvation, behavior that follows Christ’s direction (commands)  is certainly the tangible evidence of having been born again, having experienced metanoia (radical change of mind), having been saved from the curse of directing oneself toward self rather than to God.

Believing a proposition of truth is not the same as believing in the person of Christ. Believing in involves obedience to all he has commanded us. Thus, the Goats of the Judgment of the Nations merely “believe” but the Sheep “believe in,” thus they both believe facts concerning Christ and follow Christ. [Brother Richard, Red Letter Minimalism]

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-- Brother Richard, February 7, 2023, New York, NY

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