2023 Evangel Gathering - Friendship and Flourishing for Missions

36 • 2023 E vangel G athering • S acred R oots T hriving in M inistry : F riendship and F lourishing for M issions

3. The Callixtus catacombs run thirteen miles in length and run at five different levels. Archeologists estimate there are as many as 500,000 Christians buried in this single catacomb complex. 4. Of the first thirty-one “Senior Pastors of Rome (“bishops”), twenty-eight died as martyrs. As many as fourteen of these leaders were buried at the Callixtus catacombs. 2

B. The Pantheon, the recipe for concrete, and the Florence Cathedral

C. Mrs. Elizabeth Fry (1780–1845),

1. In 1813 began a prison ministry working in Newgate Prison in London, England.

2. Fry brought lasting transformation to prisons in the United Kingdom and around the globe.

3. An important part of her strategy included providing libraries of spiritual classics in prisons across the United Kingdom.

II. Introducing the Spiritual Classics: Three Definitions of “Spiritual Classic”

A. Definition #1: Spiritual classics provide “catholic” perspective on our generation’s blind spots.

1. We believe in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.”

a. The Nicene Creed teaches us that the church is “catholic.”

b. “Catholic” means universal. Every generation and every culture has riches they will bring into the Kingdom of God to share with their sisters and brothers.

2. Arthur Holder’s definition of spiritual classics emphasizes their catholicity.

a. He defines spiritual classics as “texts that can make a difference in a person’s life.” They are:

2 Antonio Baruffa, 183.