We’ve moved from a cognitive/rational approach to an experiential approach. The people we’re trying to reach have changed. It used to be a matter of mastering Evidence that Demands a Verdict. But now we’re in a different paradigm. You’re not convincing just because you prove something logically. You’re convincing because it works. You need to demonstrate the experiential connection, not as much an intellectual rational approach.
This explains much of the disconnect with run up against today. The church is trying to get its theology right when the people are asking “Where’s the love?” The unchurched world cares less about our message because we’re not living for a message that’s worth caring about, that’s worth living for. They don’t care at all about our theology anymore. Are we living like Jesus lived? That’s what they’re asking: Where’s the love?