25-1008wc - Detailed Summary

Dr. Del Tackett, known for his Christian worldview teachings like the Truth Project, presents the Engagement Project, a 10-week small group program. It explores the purpose of Christians in the world, why they remain here, and what God calls them to do, equipping believers with a biblical perspective.

The program is designed for leaders, small group facilitators, and families to transform lives through deeper understanding of engagement. It stresses practical application of scripture, encouraging living out faith tangibly. In Tour 4, Part 2, "Engagement, the Royal Task," Tackett builds on the royal law from James 2:8: "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well."

This session offers a new view on the command, not as a lofty ideal but a divine mandate for ordinary Christian families, not just church hierarchies or elite ministries. Tackett references Acts 17:26, noting God sovereignly places people and neighbors for building genuine relationships.

Tackett anticipates objections to the neighbor-focused approach, called "but waits." He addresses the question of whether loving God should come first, explaining how loving neighbors aligns with loving God through obedience. He cites John 14:15: "If you love me, you’ll keep my commands"; John 14:21: "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me"; and 1 John 5:3: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." Fulfilling the royal law expresses love for God, consistent with summaries in Romans 13:9 and Galatians 5:14.

Tackett addresses if the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) supersedes neighborly love, prioritizing global evangelism. He reframes it via Genesis 1:28’s "be fruitful and multiply" and spiritual multiplication in 2 Timothy 2:2, where teachings are entrusted to faithful people who teach others. The commission may be fulfilled one neighbor at a time, not through grand campaigns. Missionaries should teach converts to engage their neighbors, creating ripples. He reflects on early church growth in Acts, spreading household to household via relational networks.

Tackett counters viewing the royal law as philosophical or sentimental, like Coca-Cola’s 1970s ad. He quotes C.S. Lewis: loving humanity abstractly excuses loving no one specifically. A Peanuts cartoon illustrates: "I love mankind. It’s people I can’t stand." True love requires action toward real individuals, not vague ideals.

The Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10:25-37) defines a good neighbor as sacrificial, zealous, and committed to another’s shalom (peace and well-being). The Samaritan stopped, helped, and invested personally, emphasizing immediate involvement. On focusing on the physically poor, Tackett urges seeing spiritual poverty (Revelation 3:17), even in affluent neighbors. He cites 2 Timothy 2:25-26 for gentle instruction to free from the devil’s snare. Christians often ignore spiritually needy neighbors, like the priest and Levite. The royal law isn’t just for pastors; the church fails in steadfast zeal due to inconvenience, time, energy, compassion needs, and vulnerability in authentic relationships, unlike superficial social media.

Tackett shares a personal story: neighboring hogs destroyed his wife’s flowerbeds; returning them revealed two boys, an overwhelmed young mother with a baby, a messy home, inadequate hog pen, and absent father working in North Dakota oil fields. The pigs, meant to teach responsibility, became a burden. This highlights God providing engagement opportunities if prayed for.

He envisions: with over 80 million U.S. evangelicals engaging three neighbors each, the population could be reached. It’s simple, for ordinary families committed to shalom, world-changing one neighbor at a time. This could turn the world right side up, like the early church (Acts 17:6). The project challenges moving from knowledge to action, advancing the kingdom through relational obedience in a world craving connection.