Someone has asked me if I thought if the emerging church movement, like Mars Hill and Mars Hill Grand Rapids, will have any positive change in the cultural movement on Sunday mornings that I wrote about in my last blog.
My answer is yes and no. I do like the way this church model does look at ways of doing church differently. They tend to be more interactive, engaged in their communities, and very much "in tune" to what the post modern philosophy teaches and the influence it has in our society.
However, what is disappointing and concerning to me is that there is within some of the emerging church movement a walking away from traditional theological and doctrinal
Truth that the Bible clearly teaches. There are some pastors that are very open to defining who God is (Father and Son, somehow the Holy Spirit always gets left out of the discussion) and what is needed for salvation. It has become based on their own personal experiences and what the post-modern philosophy preaches: it doesn't matter who you worship, what matters is that you are a devoted spiritual and religious person. You can be a Muslim, Buddhist, New Ager, Hindu, and so on. After all, we are all really worshipping the same God, just in different ways. God does not give us that choice.
In an attempt to be relevant to culture they have compromised on Truth as written in the Bible. It is too bad. As Christians we have the Truth and we do not need to be ashamed or embarrassed about it. Instead we need to stand up for what the Truth is. We need to talk and explain the Truth in a loving and respectful manner to people that God loves and wants a relationship with. We need to communicate the Gospel in a way that glorifies God to our culture and let God take it from there.
Showing posts with label the gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the gospel. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
If it's the truth...
I am sorry that it has been awhile since my last post, but I had been battling a cold bug for the last two months and it now seems as though the various has finally bit the dust. And so on I go...
I was watching TV a while ago and was impressed by a commercial because it spoke a significant truth about the culture in which we now live. The narrator says, "Instant gratification has us in a stranglehold, so much so that we don't want to fix things anymore - just replace them. Don't like your nose, get a new one. Don't like your job, get a new one. Don't like your spouse, get a new one. Whatever happened to commitment, to standing by our decisions?"
Granted, the commercial is for a car company and their "10 years/100,000 miles powertrain warranty", but in this instance the fact is they are speaking truth and we in the Christian community should applaud such frankness.
I was looking up this commercial so I could write some kind of response about it and in doing so I found another blog author writing about it also. They author's response is as follows:
"On one hand, yes, definitely, we could all be reminded of the importance of commitment, of not giving in to instant gratification. Yes, amen. But, on the other hand, who in the audience (all TV viewers) hasn't failed into this regard to some extent? And, I don't know. I like the value the message is aiming at: commitment is good. But the tone is a little too holier-than-thou, don't you think? I just find it a little irritating for some reason.
If I were on the Hyundai board deciding whether to air this commercial, I'd say no, too risky. Might alienate buyers."
It may surprise you that this author is a pastor and has a seminary degree to boot. I tried to do some research on the author - where was the degree from, what denomination do they pastor in - but I didn't find anything. But if this person is concerned about the possible offense of this commercial, even though it speaks truth, then how does one preach a gospel message that is very offensive in our culture?
As Christians we need to be careful about how we share that gospel message. If it is not done in love then I don't blame anyone for not listening. But, if we share that message with a Christ-like love and people get offended or irritated then that is too bad. I feel for them because they are throwing away the greatest gift of all time. But we should never feel ashamed of the gospel. We should always stand up for the truth of who God is and what He has done. If it's the truth...
I was watching TV a while ago and was impressed by a commercial because it spoke a significant truth about the culture in which we now live. The narrator says, "Instant gratification has us in a stranglehold, so much so that we don't want to fix things anymore - just replace them. Don't like your nose, get a new one. Don't like your job, get a new one. Don't like your spouse, get a new one. Whatever happened to commitment, to standing by our decisions?"
Granted, the commercial is for a car company and their "10 years/100,000 miles powertrain warranty", but in this instance the fact is they are speaking truth and we in the Christian community should applaud such frankness.
I was looking up this commercial so I could write some kind of response about it and in doing so I found another blog author writing about it also. They author's response is as follows:
"On one hand, yes, definitely, we could all be reminded of the importance of commitment, of not giving in to instant gratification. Yes, amen. But, on the other hand, who in the audience (all TV viewers) hasn't failed into this regard to some extent? And, I don't know. I like the value the message is aiming at: commitment is good. But the tone is a little too holier-than-thou, don't you think? I just find it a little irritating for some reason.
If I were on the Hyundai board deciding whether to air this commercial, I'd say no, too risky. Might alienate buyers."
It may surprise you that this author is a pastor and has a seminary degree to boot. I tried to do some research on the author - where was the degree from, what denomination do they pastor in - but I didn't find anything. But if this person is concerned about the possible offense of this commercial, even though it speaks truth, then how does one preach a gospel message that is very offensive in our culture?
As Christians we need to be careful about how we share that gospel message. If it is not done in love then I don't blame anyone for not listening. But, if we share that message with a Christ-like love and people get offended or irritated then that is too bad. I feel for them because they are throwing away the greatest gift of all time. But we should never feel ashamed of the gospel. We should always stand up for the truth of who God is and what He has done. If it's the truth...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)