The Engagement Project
Tour 3-Part 2: Redemption-the Heart of God
Introduction to the Engagement Project: Dr. Del Tackett, renowned for The Truth Project—a transformative Christian worldview study that reached millions—returns with The Engagement Project, a ten-tour small-group series designed to equip believers for cultural engagement. Launched as a follow-up, this project invites participants on a "marvelous quest of seeking the face of God" through 50-minute video tours, fostering deep discussions in homes, churches, or communities. Unlike its predecessor, which focused on understanding truth, The Engagement Project emphasizes application: how to live out biblical truths in a broken world.
Tour 3, "Redemption: The Heart of God," stands as a pivotal exploration of God’s redemptive plan, rooted in His love. While the tour is a single video, study notes often divide it into parts for deeper reflection. Part 2, the focus here, builds on foundational redemption concepts, plunging into the depths of divine love—agape, grace, and chesed—revealing God’s pursuit of humanity.
Unpacking Agape: The Sacrificial Zeal
Part 2 opens with agape, the Greek word for love in passages like John 3:16. Tackett defines it as "the sacrificial zeal that seeks the true good, the shalom (peace, well-being), of another." Shalom encompasses wholeness, harmony, and flourishing—far beyond superficial peace. This love is wholly other-oriented, rejecting selfishness, manipulation, or feigned affection, as exemplified by Judas’s betraying kiss (John 13:18-30).
Agape isn’t for "wimps"; it exacts a cost. Jesus embodies this: His life, teachings, and crucifixion demonstrate unwavering zeal for humanity’s redemption, even amid betrayal and suffering (John 15:13). Tackett stresses agape’s centrality in Scripture—it’s no minor theme. 1 John 4:20 warns, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar." Without agape, we "abide in death" (1 John 3:14) and don’t know God, for "God is love" (1 John 4:8).
To illustrate, Tackett "rings the gong" from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, the "Love Chapter." Agape is patient, kind, bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all, rejoices in truth, and never ends—surpassing faith and hope. It shuns jealousy, boasting, arrogance, rudeness, self-seeking, irritability, resentment, and delight in evil. In a noisy world of empty actions, loveless deeds clang hollowly (1 Corinthians 13:1).
These truths answer the project’s guiding questions: Why did Jesus leave (Acts 1:9-11)? To send the Spirit and empower us. Why does God send believers? As ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). What’s His endgame? Restored shalom through agape, the "crown jewel" of His character, as John 3:16 proclaims: "For God so loved the world…"
Grace: Agape for Enemies
Yet, Part 2 probes deeper: God’s agape targets not just the righteous but enemies. This radical extension is grace—sacrificial zeal for the undeserving’s good. In a culture prizing reciprocal love, this defies logic. Romans 5:6-8 declares, "Christ died for the ungodly… While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." As enemies, we’re reconciled (Romans 5:10).
Tackett unpacks Colossians 1:21-22: Once alienated, hostile, evil-doing, we’re now holy through Christ’s fleshly death. Ephesians 2:4-6 adds: Dead in trespasses, God—rich in mercy—revived us with Christ by grace, seating us heavenward. This showcases His kindness eternally. These verses portray a God who doesn’t retaliate but redeems, turning foes into family.
Chesed: Steadfast, Unfailing Pursuit
Deeper still is chesed, Hebrew for God’s enduring love (Psalm 136:1-2: "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever"). Translations vary—love (NIV), mercy (KJV), lovingkindness (NASB), loyal love (NET), grace (CJB)—capturing nuances of favor, kindness, and faithfulness. Chesed never quits; it pursues relentlessly, even when rejected.
Unlike conditional affection, chesed extends to the ungodly, sinners, dead in sin, evil-doers, and hostile (echoing grace scriptures). It’s covenantal, seen in God’s preservation of Noah’s line, protection through rebellion, and promise in Genesis 3:15—the protoevangelium, foretelling Satan’s defeat by the Messiah (Galatians 4:4). Chesed + agape forms steadfast sacrificial zeal for enemies' shalom.
Cultural and Personal Reflections
In today’s polarized society, Tackett’s teaching resonates. Amid division, agape challenges self-interest, urging truth-speaking in love (Ephesians 4:15). Grace counters cancel culture, offering redemption over retribution. Chesed inspires perseverance in relationships, mirroring God’s patience.
Participants reflect via questions: What is love? Has your view changed? Personal stories, like Tackett’s childhood mistake with his father, prompt vulnerability—admitting faults to God and others, experiencing forgiveness’s freedom.
Musical and Scriptural Climax
The session includes "The Love of God" by Frederick M. Lehman, its lyrics awe-inspiring: love vaster than oceans, reaching hell’s depths, defying description. Penned in 1917, inspired by a prison poem, it echoes chesed’s boundlessness.
It culminates in Romans 8:31-39: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" He spared not His Son; who accuses? Christ intercedes. Nothing—trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword—separates from Christ’s love. Quoting Psalm 44:22, we’re "more than conquerors." Neither death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height, depth, nor creation severs God’s love in Christ.
Implications for Engagement
Tour 3, Part 2 isn’t abstract theology; it’s a call to action. Redeemed by agape-grace-chesed, believers engage the world—neighbors, culture—as God’s image-bearers. The project equips for this "royal task," fostering grace-filled interactions amid battles (Tours 4-10).
By 2025, with digital access and conferences, The Engagement Project thrives, transforming groups. Tour 3, Part 2 reminds: God’s heart redeems enemies into conquerors. Embody this love—sacrificial, steadfast—and watch shalom unfold.
The Engagement Project
Tour 3, Part 2: Redemption, the Heart of God
In Del Tackett’s Engagement Project, a ten-tour small-group worldview series building on The Truth Project, Tour 3, "Redemption: The Heart of God," explores divine love and redemption. Part 2 delves deeply into agape—the Greek term for sacrificial, other-focused love defined as "the sacrificial zeal that seeks the true good, the shalom (peace, well-being), of another." This love isn’t selfish, feigned like Judas’s kiss, or weak; it demands courage and cost, exemplified by Jesus' sacrifice.
Agape is central to Scripture: without it, we don’t love God (1 John 4:20), abide in death (1 John 3:14), or know Him (1 John 4:8). Tackett examines 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, highlighting agape’s qualities—patient, kind, enduring, truth-rejoicing—and absences: no jealousy, arrogance, or resentment. He ties this to the project’s core questions: Why did Jesus leave? Why does God send us? What’s His endgame? All point to agape as God’s "crown jewel," revealed in John 3:16.
Deeper, agape is extended to enemies, defining grace: love for the undeserving. Romans 5:6-8, 5:10; Colossians 1:21-22; and Ephesians 2:4-6 illustrate God reconciling the ungodly, sinners, and hostile through Christ’s death, seating them in heavenly places.
Even more profound is chesed, Hebrew for steadfast love (Psalm 136:1-2), translated variously as mercy, lovingkindness, or grace. Chesed never quits, pursuing relentlessly—even enemies—for their shalom. It’s God’s unfailing commitment, spurned yet enduring.
The session features the hymn "The Love of God," emphasizing love’s vastness, and concludes with Romans 8:31-39: Nothing—trouble, hardship, death, powers—separates us from Christ’s love. We’re more than conquerors through Him.
This part equips believers to embody redemptive love, engaging the world as God’s sent ones. As Tackett’s series, available online and in apps, inspires groups worldwide, it calls for sacrificial pursuit of others' good, mirroring God’s heart.