This is my second post about the one day conference that I went to where Erwin McManus presented. One of the things about Erwin that is pretty impressive is that he is a consultant to people in the business world and media industry - giving advice about how to help people connect more to the "human story" (as he puts it). As he shared, he told us there were three things that every good story has (movie, book, etc.), and three main cravings that the Bible points out that all human beings share:
- Intimacy - he said that all people, everywhere, want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. That's why we are so big into: nations, cities, communities, teams, etc. When people give up on intimacy, they move towards immortality or isolation – even when people are wounded in LOVE, they still have the desire to be loved and to love.
- Meaning – humans have found endless ways to communicate – we create ways to find meaning. When people give up on meaning and move to a place of doubt and despair – becoming superstitious (we give meaning to meaningless things).
- Destiny/Progress – we are designed to believe that tomorrow can be better than today. When this is thwarted we move towards apathy or anger – and mental illness.
Erwin said that as we communicate to people, the more we can address these issues of the heart, the more effective we will be - both in preaching and in evangelism. Oh, and just a quick side note, the three cravings are the core content of his book
Soul Cravings - a great read if you haven't read it yet.
8 comments:
I looked up Erwin's LA church Mosaic. I found no statement of faith, and no link to how a person finds salvation in Jesus on their website. His bio on his personal website has no reference to God or Jesus. That gives me a caution light on this guy! He also has a lot of "dirt" on his theology on the web. Have you researched what this guy really believes?
http://christianresearchnetwork.com/?cat=75
Actually, I have read all of his books... you? You can find 'dirt' on the web on anyone. My advice would be for you to read some of his books before you write him off.
I listened to one of Erwin McManus's messages last week where he said "the only way for you to find meaning and substance in this life is through trusting Jesus with your life". Erwin's target audience is the person who doesn't believe in God, the artist, the creative, (most people in L.A. where his church "Mosaic" is).
It's difficult for me to critique his efforts because there isn't anyone for me to compare him to. He is pushing forward in the area of reaching post-modern people without compromising the essential truths of Christianity. No one else is doing that.
Ryan Paulson,
I was a member of The Church on Brady/Mosaic for almost 25 years. My father was a pastor there for 28 years (he once held the title of executive pastor.)
I say this so you'll know that I am very familiar with Erwin McManus and his writings.
In regards to what is Mosaic's "statement of faith", if you search through Mosaic's faqs the first answer to this question is that one "must experience Mosaic" for oneself, followed by "read Erwin's book 'An Unstoppable Force'" and finally; there is a reference to the Baptist Faith and Message at: http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp
What I find odd about this last point is that Erwin has allowed news agencies to identify Mosaic as "non-denominational." I know of several people who were surprised to learn Mosaic has any type of affiliation with the SBC.
Getting back to your post . . .
You wrote:
One of the things about Erwin that is pretty impressive is that he is a consultant to people in the business world and media industry - giving advice about how to help people connect more to the "human story" (as he puts it).
I've heard often that Erwin is a "consultant" to Fortune 500 companies, etc., yet curiously I've never come across the name of any of these companies. So far, the only companies identified "by name" with Erwin Raphael McManus are ones with which he has personal, financial ties such as:
- his book publishers,
- Gallup (he is identified as a "Research Advisor" and is a strong promoter of Gallup's StrenghtsFinders assessments tool)
- media companies which produce Erwin's films or projects featuring Erwin.
Other than these, I have not been able to find a company that credits Erwin McManus's skills as a "consultant."
This is not to say that Erwin isn't acting as a consultant to such companies, I just find it a little odd that he doesn't identify such companies by name on his website.
{It seems to me that would be a tremendous boost to his resume.}
I don't know how good Erwin is at "giving advice on how to help people connect more to the human story" but I do know that Erwin's own ventures into the non-profit business world have been less than stellar.
As of today, there are four non-profit organizations tied to Erwin McManus (all with variations of the name "Awaken") and three of these companies have had their corporate status suspended by the state of California.
Yvonne W.
do you know if Erwin has any info on how proper stretching of my hamstrings? I keep pulling them at Ultimate Frisbee.
i meant, "on how to properly stretch my hamstrings."
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