Barnabas File

When I teach a class on the Missional church, I always include George Hunter’s book The Celtic Way of Evangelism on the required reading list.  Hunter explains very clearly how a pagan people were won to the Christian faith, establishing an arm of the church that flourished in a period when other parts of the church were experiencing conflict and decline.  Although the role of St. Patrick in the conversion of the Irish is shrouded in myth and legend, this “patron saint of Ireland” is credited with the rapid conversion of the Irish to Christianity and the establishment of an enduring Christian community there.  Certain principles at the core of this outreach reflect the experiences recounted of the mythical Patrick’s life, but they are significant for us today even if they were not initiated by the man himself. First, those who led in the conversion of the Irish understood the culture and used it to communicate the Christian faith.  Legend tells us that Pa...