News Around the Mission
Eric Metaxas Speaks on False Religion Vs. Real Faith
May 31, 2012
Elisabeth Jordan, an attendee of All Saints Dallas, was a longtime fan of author Eric Metaxas. She’d read his New York Times bestselling book, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, and it changed her life. But she had no success getting into exclusive events in the area to hear him speak.
Then, through a conversation with Bishop Philip Jones, Elisabeth learned another attendee at the church was friends with Eric. To her delight, that relational connection enabled her to book him to speak at the church plant for an affordable price.
Clearly sharing an admiration of Eric’s work, on May 15 approximately 300 people showed up for lunch and an hour-long lecture on “False Religion vs. Real Faith” at the church. About 75% of attendees hailed from outside All Saints Dallas, representing what Morgan Myers, Communications Coordinator for All Saints Dallas, describes as the “intellectual crowd” populating their area of Dallas.
“It was huge for us,” Morgan says. “For a lot of people, it put us on the map. People would say, ‘We’ve heard about this church, but didn’t know where it was or what it was about.’”
During the lecture, Eric recounted his own experience of being in church and his faith being dead versus real and active in his life. He described how the Holy Spirit woke him up and taught him that faith is not just for crazy people, as he had believed, it’s for thinkers too. Moreover, he emphasized that God uses people’s gifts in their Christianity and in their relationship with Him. He also touched on how believers can share their faith intelligently and tactfully with a post-Christian world.
Eric did book signings before and after the lecture, and All Saints sold out of all three of his books they had in stock.
“Several attendees stayed afterward to talk with Eric about how to live in our culture and lead the secular world to God without it becoming judgmental,” Morgan says. “The world is changing—we want to stand up for the truth as we reach out in this community but also be in this community, have respect from others and be well educated. How do we make those things come together? He was so great at addressing that.”
The Sunday following the event, a few people visited All Saints who had attended the lecture and wanted to see what the church was all about. Morgan believes Eric’s presence allowed them to intentionally connect with their community in a fresh, relevant way.
“He talked about Christianity in the educated community,” she says. “Eric’s talk connected with many in the congregation and everybody was excited about it.”
Learn more at All Saints Dallas.
Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Event Highlights
