Remembering Francis Schaeffer

Today would have been the 100th birthday of Francis Schaeffer, American philosopher, Christian theologian, and founder of the L'Abri community in Switzerland.  Schaeffer's writings continue to be a revered resource for many current Christian authors.  Even yesterday, I read the following Schaeffer quote in Tell the Truth:  The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People by Will Metzger, regarding the importance of communicating man's helplessness and sinful corruption as we evangelize the lost:

Francis Schaeffer was once asked the question, "What would you do if you met a really modern man on a train and you had just an hour to talk to him about the gospel?" He replied, "I've said over and over, I would spend 45 - 50 minutes on the negative, to really show him his dilemma -- that he is morally dead -- then I'd take 10 - 15 minutes to preach the Gospel.  I believe that much of our evangelistic and personal work today is not clear simply because we are too anxious to get to the answer without having a man realize the real cause of his sickness, which is true moral guilt (and not just psychological guilt feelings) in the presence of God."  You will find that as people begin to grasp the significance of God as Creator and man as the sinful creature, they begin to sense that Christ has done exactly what is needed for their dilemma. (p. 71)