I agree with what Keller talked about what transformation excited is not building up the church but penetrating the bastions of cultural influence for Christ. I can see that like what Keller said that, much of the excitement & creative energy ends up focusing on cosmic or social redemption rather than bringing about personal conversion through evangelism and discipleship. And I can also see what his quoted James K Smith who insisted the liturgy and practices of church communities are critical for the formation of worldview. I would say just as Keller said, pietism tended to lift up full time ministry and denigrates secular vocations, transformations can lead to the opposite extreme, I think we should not drop the transformationist model just because their tendency is on the outside of church redemption rather than inside, because I think if we could do both, it will be fantastic. Pietism mode of building up the internal church through conversion, the evangelism, discipleship should be a given for any church, however the transformationist model for the outside of the church redemption is rare.
I agree that transformationist has the potential danger of being triumphalist for self-righteous and overconfident ,it’s ability both to understand God’s will for society and to bring it about. I think essentially this due to conservative biblical evangelical upbringing seeing what should be happening in the society from the word of God. The reality is the world outside the church is not the same as the church per se, and it will be impractical, totally unrealistic to impose of such changes on the society i.e. culture outside the church.
I also agree transformationism has often put too much stock in politics as a way to change culture. He quoted James Hunter saying government politics is only a set that is downstream from the true sources of cultural change which happens in the Academy, the arts, the media companies, and the cities. The real influence happens in teaching schools, publishing books producing, plays movies, slowly the public opinions begins to shift. I somewhat agreed to this however if we were to follow strictly this route, and not following the transformationist route, we would have another million babies aborted if it were not for the changes that was brought about by political Presidential change in the White House and consequently in the Supreme Court justices. As much as it is highly controversial and difficult to bring about political change, I will stand by the transformationisms approach bringing up about changes in the politics i.e. by prayers, evangelism, and preaching the word of God.
I agree one of the weak points of transformationism is the apparent absence on the concern for the poor which is really a big agenda in the mind of God as we read from the scriptures. Keller talks about coerciveness from the transformationist, it would be hard to see that happening anytime soon in America, and I do not see that as a concern. On the contrary, for right now the woke is on top of her, canceling anyone who wants to speak of conservative voice case in point including the church.
Al Ngu sermons & devotion 