25-1105wc - Detailed Summary

The session recaps Part 1 of Tour 6 from Del Tackett’s The Engagement Project, focusing on equipping Christians to engage neighbors with grace and wisdom in God’s metanarrative. Drawing from Colossians 4:5-6, it emphasizes walking in wisdom toward outsiders and seasoning speech with grace and salt to respond appropriately to each person. James 1:5 promises God gives wisdom generously when asked, but wisdom, like the fruit of the Holy Spirit in James 3:13-17, is often for others' benefit. The golden key to receiving wisdom is asking specifically for the shalom or well-being of others, not personal gain. Tackett discusses kairos moments as divine opportunities to redeem time and stresses true listening rooted in agape love, without preemptively preparing responses.

Tackett challenges the common view of the mind as the thinker and the heart as the feeler, using scriptures like Proverbs 23:7, Genesis 6:5, and Hebrews 4:12 to show the heart as the inner sanctum of the mind where truth claims become really real, driving actions, feelings, and further thoughts. Jesus' teaching on worry in the Sermon on the Mount illustrates this, addressing worry by deeply believing in God’s provision as Jehovah Jireh, rather than suppressing emotions with distractions.

Continuing with Part 2, Tackett builds on the heart as the core of true belief, linking emotions like worry to what is believed as really real, emphasizing the transformative power of moving knowledge from mind to heart. He contrasts mere intellectual knowing with heartfelt convictions, noting the mind holds vast information and truth claims, some true and some false, but only those penetrating the heart shape behavior, emotions, and worldview. He illustrates with a child’s expansive, trusting heart merging mind and heart in naive belief, versus a skeptic’s shrunken heart believing little despite broad knowledge, leading to cynicism. To show how truth claims connect to reality and move to the heart, Tackett shares a skeet shooting story where instructor John uses a pumpkin named Al to demonstrate shotgun danger by shooting it, embedding the truth instantly in inattentive boys' hearts. He parallels this with Jesus' method, not lecturing on his power but orchestrating a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41), where he calms the winds and waves, moving the truth from intellectual assent to heart-deep faith.

Tackett stresses that while the Holy Spirit convicts and transforms hearts, believers must embody Christ’s claims through authentic engagement, like Christian families fostering shalom. A central illustration is Kent and Rosaria Butterfield’s engagement with neighbor Hank, who lived in the largest house but showed no employment, with a nervous demeanor raising suspicions. Instead of avoiding him, they built a relationship starting when their children helped search for his runaway dog, leading to phone exchanges and joint walks. Hank confided they were his only human contacts, pleasing his mother. They learned of his military service and past homelessness, inviting him for holidays like Thanksgiving despite his late arrivals due to social anxiety. Neighbors questioned their association with this "dangerous, creepy guy," but the Butterfields persisted with grace. The situation escalated with a DEA raid revealing Hank’s meth lab.

This raid led to a year-long dialogue while Hank awaited sentencing in jail. Kent acted as an informal pastor to angry neighbors accusing Christians of naivety, proclaiming gospel grace for everyone. Through letters and visits, the Butterfields stayed connected, and when Hank committed his life to Christ, they shared this with an inquiring neighbor, resulting in stunned silence as Hank shifted from meth addict to brother in Christ, forcing others to confront their own standing with God and profoundly impacting the neighborhood, showing how grace and wisdom redeem broken situations.

Tackett urges believers to tear down walls and build trust, which accumulates slowly but erodes quickly. He highlights Mark 6:4, noting family members are hardest to reach as a prophet lacks honor at home, advising against persistent preaching that builds walls, instead focusing on exemplary family roles and praying for God to send other Christians. He shares his youngest son’s prodigal story, unreachable by family, but prompting reflection on whose prodigal lives nearby, with parents praying for intervention, yet busyness causes us to overlook. Referencing Hebrews 2:10, God brings many sons to glory through us as part of Christ’s seed line (Galatians 4:4-7), bearing fruit one neighbor at a time in kingdom work, driven not by duty but by Christ’s compelling love (2 Corinthians 5:14), echoing the project’s call to reflect God’s relational nature in a broken world.