With the mind a man can understand the gospel,with his will he may even search for the truth of the gospel, with his emotions he may even be moved by the gospel, but no man can willingly submit to the call of the gospel in their spirit (which is dead), apart from Divine intervention.
The thing which has bothered me the most about this discussion is that it seems to make the work of Christ something of an after thought. To me Christ is the central theme of Christianity. If there were no Christ there could be no elect. God through his Holy Spirit draws men to the gospel of Christ.
Save that point until we get to "I".
I agree with you about the fact that all theological understanding must begin (and end) with Christ. However, recognize that the "Five Points of Calvinism" were a response to the five objections of the Remonstrants. They are the one who established the order, and wanted to talk about men before discussing God. If the Calvinists were given "first turn" they most probably would have started with God (as is seen in the great Calvinist confessions of faith such as the Westminster Confession which begins with God and His Word, and don't get to man's condition until Chapter VI).