Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Hmmm--nothing new to post
Unfortunately I have no new thoughts or inspirations. This is partly because I'm very busy working my "day job" right now, which brings up one brief point: if we are going to be on fire for Christ we must stop making ourselves too busy to really hear from God and meditate on his Word. We must start getting connected to Christ so He can live inside of us and change us in a way that leaves an impact: an impact that is displayed through our lives of the miracle of God's transforming power. I have not been doing as good at this as I wish I would so rather than rambling away writing on my blog I am going to go and get connected with my Father. Maybe instead of reading this you should do the same.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Rob Bell Exposed
Sorry to throw so many videos out in one shot but if you get a chance look through these. If you watch the documentary and then the videos about Rob Bell I think it helps to show the tough task we have today in dividing truth and error. Rob Bell is a good example of someone who says some things that are so true but others that are wrong when held against scripture. I really like what Rob Bell says about pulling church movements together. I have a problem with our one friend below who makes it his calling to tear Rob Bell apart. However, how can we bring church movements together so we can be a united army while still being faithful to the truth? Is it safe to partner with people who are teaching error? Many conservative Mennonite groups have made it a point to only associate with people who believe almost exactly like themselves. Is this right? What is our role in partnering with Christians right around us (the local Christians from other denominations) while still being obedient to our walk with God?
The Emergent Church Movement Documentary on PBS
Here is a pretty good overview of what the emergent church is about and what some of their key ideas are. In many ways this is a trickle down movement where many churches may be slightly emergent or only have minor emergent tendencies but I believe it is important to be aware of what contemporary Christianity is saying so we can evaluate what ideas are currently influencing us. Many times these influences are in subtle ways which we never pick up on unless we are astutely aware of what is happening. I do not condemn the emergent church movement but I do feel they are misguided in some areas. In summary I believe the emergent church is putting their finger on a real live issue in many churches across America. However, the some of the diagnosis for the symptoms that they are exposing are a bit misguided.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
A word picture: The harmony of church life.
Instead of trying to articulate ideas consider the following example--I'm still stuck on the idea of disunity in the church.
Consider a full orchestra:
In an orchestra there are many different instruments. When played independently these instruments sound very different. Consider the Timpani (drum) versus a violin. Consider the oboe and the vocalists: two entirely different sounds. Very few people would say the sound of an orchestra is ugly (I know I guess there are those who haven't had a chance to have their musical tastes developed but the same analogy could apply to almost any genre of music). For music to reach its epitome it must have different components. However all these components must be unified in a central song in order for their to be beauty. If half of the orchestra starts off in a different key on a different song the sound is horrible. But there are times when many of the different members are playing a different note. There are even minor chords which may briefly sound discordant but if taken as a part of the whole song sound awesome. Some songs may even be sung as rounds where different groups are different places in the song at the same time.
How does this apply to church life? God calls us to different places of service, ways of service, and terms of service. These different callings are supposed to come together into a beautiful symphony. Sometimes we get confused with other people's callings and we begin to think that when someone else is playing a different note than ourselves they are actually playing a different song. We think that when someone else is serving differently than we are that they are working against us. When everyone plays music in unison all the time it doesn't sound nearly as great as when there is harmony. However, I believe there are churches where two different songs are being played. Some people are playing God's song (following God's plan) and other people are following their own song (their own plan).
Big question: How does one know when another church member is singing a round, playing a minor, or singing an entirely different song?
I would say to be help flesh out my metaphor that if a church is singing two different songs they should split (actually they should start singing the same song, but in the real world it doesn't always work out this way). My call to the church is that it is time that we stopped splitting our churches just because God wants us to play a minor chord or sing a round (diversity of calling is okay as long as it is all within God's truth). My call to the church is also that we start splitting our churches when we are singing different songs. We cannot compromise on sin. We just can't. And so the question remains......(Please see the large lettering above.)
Consider a full orchestra:
In an orchestra there are many different instruments. When played independently these instruments sound very different. Consider the Timpani (drum) versus a violin. Consider the oboe and the vocalists: two entirely different sounds. Very few people would say the sound of an orchestra is ugly (I know I guess there are those who haven't had a chance to have their musical tastes developed but the same analogy could apply to almost any genre of music). For music to reach its epitome it must have different components. However all these components must be unified in a central song in order for their to be beauty. If half of the orchestra starts off in a different key on a different song the sound is horrible. But there are times when many of the different members are playing a different note. There are even minor chords which may briefly sound discordant but if taken as a part of the whole song sound awesome. Some songs may even be sung as rounds where different groups are different places in the song at the same time.
How does this apply to church life? God calls us to different places of service, ways of service, and terms of service. These different callings are supposed to come together into a beautiful symphony. Sometimes we get confused with other people's callings and we begin to think that when someone else is playing a different note than ourselves they are actually playing a different song. We think that when someone else is serving differently than we are that they are working against us. When everyone plays music in unison all the time it doesn't sound nearly as great as when there is harmony. However, I believe there are churches where two different songs are being played. Some people are playing God's song (following God's plan) and other people are following their own song (their own plan).
Big question: How does one know when another church member is singing a round, playing a minor, or singing an entirely different song?
I would say to be help flesh out my metaphor that if a church is singing two different songs they should split (actually they should start singing the same song, but in the real world it doesn't always work out this way). My call to the church is that it is time that we stopped splitting our churches just because God wants us to play a minor chord or sing a round (diversity of calling is okay as long as it is all within God's truth). My call to the church is also that we start splitting our churches when we are singing different songs. We cannot compromise on sin. We just can't. And so the question remains......(Please see the large lettering above.)
More thoughts about Disunity....
A conversation I've had many times over the past couple of years will go something like this.
Me: "I have a difficulty with how that person because of this......
Other person: "You should not be critical of this person. God has called this person to something different than he has called you and therefore the way you minister is different."
Me: "But I don't think God would call someone this because of what the Bible says...."
So the question: What are the negotiables on belief and what are the nonnegotiables? Consider the following two no-brainer scenarios.
Scenario 1: Someone from my church says that they want the church to endorse unmarried people starting families together. If this happened I would say that I cannot participate because of what God has told me to do.
Scenario 2: Someone from my church says that they want to start a ministry to single mothers living in the local area. If this happened I would say that I cannot participate because of what God has told me to do.
In both Scenario 1 and 2 a person in my church is endorsing something that I cannot be a part of. So what is the difference between these two scenarios? I believe fornication is wrong for Christians in China, for Christians in Barbados, and for Christians in Manhattan. If a church would say that fornication is okay for church members in a particular church I could no longer be a committed member of that church because I believe I would be endorsing sin. Jesus was a friend of sinners but he did not endorse the sin of sinners. I would have no problem being a committed church member with the person who is starting the single mothers ministry. I believe it could possibly be right for a Christian in any given region to start a single mothers ministry if God calls them to this.
Consider Scenario 3: Someone from my church says that they want to start a rap/dance ministry to attract the gangster crowd in our area. As a part of this ministry they are solid preaching and present the gospel. In the other towns where this has been done people have been saved. In fact one of the people my fellow church member wants to team up with was saved through a similar ministry. (Wow this is a really pathetic example, but I struggle with hypothetical scenarios and I'm not sure I should put any real live situations on the table just now.) If this happened I would say hmmmm. "On the one hand, on the other hand....... On the other hand...... There are no more hands" --Tevye the milkman. Some of you may think that the answer here is clear, but forget the exact example and try to get my point.
How do we deal with situations where someone feels called to something that some people feel the principles in the Bible support and others feel the principles in the Bible do not support? This is where division happens. Situations similar to Scenario 3 is one big reason major church divisions happen. Minor church divisions are often because of people getting hurt (not dealing with offenses correctly), people aren't fed (people haven't learned to feed themselves), the church is dead (people fail to see that they are supposed to bring life to the church and then the church would be alive) etc.... I think minor church divisions can be dealt with as people learn to be committed to a church and learn not to walk out when the going gets tough, but I still have very little idea how to deal with the major church divisions. How do we work through situations like scenario 3? Of course being committed to the other people in the church is one of the first steps but there does come a time when, if truth is being compromised to too great an extent a Christian has a responsibility to his own conscience to pack his bags and leave. When should a Christian do this?
Me: "I have a difficulty with how that person because of this......
Other person: "You should not be critical of this person. God has called this person to something different than he has called you and therefore the way you minister is different."
Me: "But I don't think God would call someone this because of what the Bible says...."
So the question: What are the negotiables on belief and what are the nonnegotiables? Consider the following two no-brainer scenarios.
Scenario 1: Someone from my church says that they want the church to endorse unmarried people starting families together. If this happened I would say that I cannot participate because of what God has told me to do.
Scenario 2: Someone from my church says that they want to start a ministry to single mothers living in the local area. If this happened I would say that I cannot participate because of what God has told me to do.
In both Scenario 1 and 2 a person in my church is endorsing something that I cannot be a part of. So what is the difference between these two scenarios? I believe fornication is wrong for Christians in China, for Christians in Barbados, and for Christians in Manhattan. If a church would say that fornication is okay for church members in a particular church I could no longer be a committed member of that church because I believe I would be endorsing sin. Jesus was a friend of sinners but he did not endorse the sin of sinners. I would have no problem being a committed church member with the person who is starting the single mothers ministry. I believe it could possibly be right for a Christian in any given region to start a single mothers ministry if God calls them to this.
Consider Scenario 3: Someone from my church says that they want to start a rap/dance ministry to attract the gangster crowd in our area. As a part of this ministry they are solid preaching and present the gospel. In the other towns where this has been done people have been saved. In fact one of the people my fellow church member wants to team up with was saved through a similar ministry. (Wow this is a really pathetic example, but I struggle with hypothetical scenarios and I'm not sure I should put any real live situations on the table just now.) If this happened I would say hmmmm. "On the one hand, on the other hand....... On the other hand...... There are no more hands" --Tevye the milkman. Some of you may think that the answer here is clear, but forget the exact example and try to get my point.
How do we deal with situations where someone feels called to something that some people feel the principles in the Bible support and others feel the principles in the Bible do not support? This is where division happens. Situations similar to Scenario 3 is one big reason major church divisions happen. Minor church divisions are often because of people getting hurt (not dealing with offenses correctly), people aren't fed (people haven't learned to feed themselves), the church is dead (people fail to see that they are supposed to bring life to the church and then the church would be alive) etc.... I think minor church divisions can be dealt with as people learn to be committed to a church and learn not to walk out when the going gets tough, but I still have very little idea how to deal with the major church divisions. How do we work through situations like scenario 3? Of course being committed to the other people in the church is one of the first steps but there does come a time when, if truth is being compromised to too great an extent a Christian has a responsibility to his own conscience to pack his bags and leave. When should a Christian do this?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)