The Changing Church
The Postmodern Church - 1
(2001-2002)
A good explanation:
A Global Weather
Change?
Chart
- Church Index
Warning: This is a very long page, so you probably
don't want to print it!
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Cultural Christianity
December 2005
Darkness At Noon: The Commission of a Post-Compliant Church
by Albert Mohler: "...a mind resolutely determined
to be absolutely open is often, in actuality, quite closed. The closing
of the postmodern mind will present a challenge for the church in this post-Christian
age. Swirling worldviews and a reflexive relativism come together to form
a mentality often closed to all substantive truth claims. Gathering clouds
of darkness and the eclipse of truth present the believing church with a
great challenge – will we surrender in a spirit of cultural compliance?"
See
Dialectic Process
&
Dealing with Resisters
November 2005
The Face of Evangelism? Luis
Palau Says Yes! :
Meet Yuri, Mexico's former "Madonna". She's going to be ministering along
with "Evangelist" Luis Palau in Washington D.C. soon. (This is the photo
Palau is using on their website.) Media hype continues prior to the "Festival"
Evangelism event in Washington D.C., Luis Palau and the assortment of jiggly
celebrity women singers and entertainers
September 2005
New era of Christianity rises,
author says: "Homophobic. Judgmental. Hypocritical. Maryland
pastor the Rev. Brian D. McLaren said those are the first three things that
come into the minds of most teenagers and young adults when they hear the
term 'Christian.' But for an emerging group of postmodern Jesus followers,
the heart of the faith lies in things such as racial reconciliation, poverty
eradication and environmental preservation.... 'Is Christianity a way of
life or is it a system of belief?' asked McLaren, a church founder and author.
'A lot of us are asking questions about a lot of things that haven't been
asked about.'"
See
A New Kind of Christian
August 2005
The fallacy of feelings:
"...thanks to all of the 'expert' help and encouragement from various 'Christian'
consultants, commentators, psychologists and celebrities, the church has
been persuaded by and large that to achieve its 'divine' purpose here on
Earth it needs to stir a little leaven into the loaf to help it rise to
the occasion and achieve it’s full potential. And so they give us the wisdom
of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Maslow, Rogers, Jung and Freud, saying: 'All
truth is God’s truth.'”
See
Shepherds who
mislead their flock
Pastor denies membership to
homosexual, gets canned:
"'I was trying to show him the church was open to receiving [the member],'
Layman said. 'He, in turn, relied on his interpretation of the scriptures.'...
"'...Rev. Johnson
was holding to biblical principle in denying membership to that individual,'
Creamer told VaNCNews. 'I feel extremely sad and grieved. I feel a terrible
injustice was done.' ..."I cannot see how you can take Holy Communion and
openly practice that lifestyle. The Bible says homosexuality is a sin. Now
everybody sins, but we like to think that everybody who is a member of the
United Methodist Church is attempting to repent of their sins. Openly practicing
homosexuality is not an attempt to repent of sins, in my opinion."
See
Biblical Division
and
Dealing with Resisters
July 2005
Christian Churches Across the
Globe Are Embracing a New Spirituality:
"— A spirituality that looks so good yet denies the cross of Jesus Christ!"
See
The Rising World
Religion
What is postmodernism?
"...in the postmodern culture, the roles and functions of all
'experts' and 'gate-keepers" are being reduced or re-directed. ...the customization
& subjectification of truth
means that culturally supported meta-narratives and broad-cast notions of
truth have been defacto de-constructed.
"....postmodern
truths are concepts that are narrow-cast,
self-discovered
and authoritative only for the person
seeking them. for the church, this
will have profound implications for the roles and ministries of seminaries,
bureaucracy, episcopacy, clergy and all the baptized people of God."
See
Modern versus Postmodern Culture
Postmodernism and You:
"To the majority of Americans below fifty today, questioning the truthfulness
of another's religious views is intolerant and morally offensive. This
prohibition against
differing with other's viewpoints is postmodern.
Strangely, it turns out that one exception is allowed.... it's okay to question
and even denounce religious views when dealing with what is pejoratively
labeled 'fundamentalism.' Today, when people refer to 'fundamentalists'
they no longer mean just religious extremists like the Shiites waging holy
war against the West. Today, fundamentalism may refer to anyone who
claims to know truth or who charges another
religion with falsehood."
See
Modern versus Postmodern Culture
June 2005
Why I walked out on Billy Graham:
"...it was with a sense of almost boyish excitement that I passed through
the main entrance to the Flushing Meadow Park in Queens on... the second
night of the last Graham Crusade.... When Dr. Graham was securely in the
pulpit, he did indeed say some kind things about the Clintons, but instead
of stopping there, he actually handed the microphone to the former president....
First of all, Mr. Clinton was his usual self-congratulatory unctuous self,
making his praise for Billy Graham somehow magically redound to his own
glory....
"Dr.
Graham said, 'I told President Clinton that when he left office, he should
be an evangelist because he has all the right gifts for it, and he should
leave his wife to run the country.' Except for the small number of boos,
all you could hear was the roar of the crowd, many thousands of which stood
to the their feet in whoops, applause and whistles."
See
Separation
May 2005
Young Evangelicals Call to Generation
in Desperate Pursuit of God: "The upcoming event, Desperation,
is currently being featured on the website of Young Evangelicals (YE) -
a ministry born out of the National Association of Evangelicals. It will
be held July 28-30, 2005 at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO. According
to Ted Haggard, President of the NAE, 'Desperation is one of the most important
youth events going on in our country right now because we are in the midst
of a major global struggle for the spiritual lives of people all over the
world, and we need young men and women who are competently trained and adequately
fervent for the cause of Christ…"
Biblical versus Cultural Christianity
Postmodern
Church &
Family.
Parents Describe How They Raise
Their Children: "By
far the top-rated outcome was getting a good education.... Helping the child
to feel loved was the second most frequently mentioned outcome (24%), followed
by enabling them to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ (22%)....
"A
second situation was whether the parent tells the child that the Bible teaches
moral absolutes that must always be obeyed... or instead teaches that there
are no moral absolutes, so the child must be prepared to make good choices
in every situation without any absolute guidelines. Parents were evenly
divided on this matter: 43% said they teach there are some moral absolutes
and 45% said they teach that there are no such absolutes....
"George Barna,
who directed the research, noted that the faith commitment of parents made
surprisingly little difference in how children were raised.... Only three
out of ten born again parents included the salvation of their child in the
list of critical parental emphases.'...
“For
years we have reported research findings showing that born again adults
think and behave very much like everyone else. ... When our kids are exposed
to the same influences, without much supervision, and are generally not
guided to interpret their circumstances and opportunities in light of biblical
principles, it’s no wonder that they grow up to be just as involved in gambling,
adultery, divorce, cohabitation, excessive drinking and other unbiblical
behaviors as everyone else."
See
Establishing a Global Spirituality
and
When psychotherapy replaces
religion
and the next link:
March 2005
Friendship First™: The 1 Thing
You Can’t Live Without:
"Jesus said our greatest call in life is to love God and love others.
Friendship First uses food and fun to teach people how to make
lasting friendships…and how that parallels their relationship with Christ....
It combines friendship and faith like never before.... Friendship First
gives your small group: • Strong God connections • Real community • A focus
on friend-making • Practical life skills • A tool for genuine spiritual
growth."
Do you wonder what they mean by a "strong God connection"
when the focus is on "friend-making" -- rather than what pleases our holy,
sovereign King?
See
Marketing "Christianity
Christians parent no different
than 'world': "'Only
three out of 10 born-again parents included the salvation of their child
in the list of critical parental emphases.... The fact that most Christian
parents overlook this critical responsibility is one of the biggest challenges
to the Christian church.'
"Of
all parents polled, 43 percent said they teach there are some moral absolutes,
while 45 percent said they teach that there are no such absolutes.
"The
Barna study found most parents take a laissez-faire attitude when it comes
to monitoring media their kids consume. A majority of parents, 56 percent,
said they gave their youngsters general guidelines about the amount and
quality of media they were allowed to access and then let the children regulate
their media intake by themselves One-third of all parents, or 36 percent,
strictly limited the amount and quality of TV, music and other media the
children were allowed to access."
See
Statistics for the Changing
Church
What American Teenagers Believe:
"What religious groups have to worry about, the study found, is not teen
rebellion, but a "benign `whateverism"' that tends to reduce their perception
of God to more of a valet -- someone meeting individual needs -- rather
than an authority figure....
"...the
de facto religious faith of the majority of American teens is 'Moralistic
Therapeutic Deism.' God exists. God created the world. God set up some kind
of moral structure. God wants me to be nice. He wants me to be pleasant,
wants me to get along with people. That’s teen morality. The purpose of
life is to be happy and feel good, and good people go to heaven. And nearly
everyone’s good."
They
are? With or without the gospel?
Survey shows teens following
parents' religion:
"The survey of more than 3,000 English- and Spanish-speaking U.S. teenagers
ages 13 to 17 found that 80 percent believed in God....
"The
survey, funded by the
Lilly Endowment, found teenagers are not
flocking to 'alternative' religions such as Wicca. ...
"'God functions for most teenagers
as a combination cosmic therapist and a divine butler,' Smith said.
'God isn't part of history or everyday life,
he is distant until you need him to solve a problem or make you feel better.'...
"Chap Clark of Fuller Theological
Seminary in Pasadena conducted a recent study that found religious
ambivalence among teens. But he argued that the number of religious teens
was far lower and estimated that fewer than
10 percent had religion as 'an important part of their everyday life.'
It is 'simply not on the lifestyle map.'''
Postmodern thinking
February 2005
Church leaders discuss gay crisis:
"Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has warned that difficult decisions
lie ahead. ... Dr Williams said there would be 'no cost-free outcome' from
the row following the appointment of Gene Robinson in 2003. The Synod has
expressed its regret at the appointment."
Disaster, Deliverance and
Deceiving spirits
Church Holds NASCAR Event to
Draw Crowds: Inside
the yellow No. 5 Kellogg's car--which has an engine but can't be driven--were
steering wheels, accelerators, brake pedals and video screens.... The car
was parked outside Salem Fields as part of NASCAR Sunday, the church's second
annual event combining racing and Jesus. ...
"The
point, said co-pastor Buddy Marston, is to attract people who love NASCAR
but haven't been going to church. 'Our church tries to find what the culture
connects with,' Marston said. 'And then connect them with Christ and the
church.'" See
Biblical versus Cultural
Christianity
Church leaders work to alter
public perception:
"...some evangelical Christian leaders worry that people have the wrong
idea about them, equating 'evangelical' with 'conservative,' 'Republican,'
'reactionary' and 'judgmental.'... 'People have no idea as to who we really
are,' said the Rev. Erwin Lutzer, one of the Gatekeepers.... When the evangelical
church stepped into the political arena, it actually made itself a target,
I think, in the wider communities in America.'...
"The Gatekeepers include
pastors Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington,
James Meeks... James McDonald... Mark Jobe.... 'If this group really does
come together for some great causes, it will represent hope that diverse
yet Christ-honoring groups can come together and span some of what used
to be thought of as uncrossable chasms,' said Hybels...."I think some evangelicals
have put too much emphasis on what Christ's followers are against, as opposed
to what are the great causes....'
"And what would those causes be? 'First would be the poor and the oppressed,'
Hybels said, '...the hungry, the homeless.... Certainly, it would be AIDS.
Lack of education. It's the classic causes that Jesus talked about in the
Sermon on the Mount.'"
[No, those aren't
the main "causes" Jesus outlined in that great message. His concerns dealt
with the heart and spirit, not possessions or earthly: Blessed are the "poor
in spirit," those who mourn or hunger for His righteousness, the meek, the
merciful, the pure, the peacemakers (sharing God's way to peace, not practicing
conflict resolution), those who face
persecution for His name's sake, those
who -- by His Spirit -- seek His kingdom, not earthly gains and are salt
and light in the dark and corrupt world.
See
The Secret of Abundant Life]
"Some of the pastors
came away from that two-hour meeting talking about planning a mass event
where tens of thousands of evangelicals could worship together... 'I think
coming together to worship and to bless the city' is the best idea, said
Eckhardt, who is pastor of Crusader Ministries.... 'We believe that when
you come together to worship and do something like that, something happens
in the heavenlies... some things that will impact the spirit realm."
January 2005
Love for an Offensive Gospel
: "In the New Testament the members of a local church are never seen
coming together for the purpose of evangelism. Evangelism took place apart
from the meetings of the church – in the workplace, at the synagogue, in
town squares, among family members and friends. The early Christian went
to where the unbelievers were and presented the gospel of Christ.
"...it should give us great concern when we find the philosophy behind the
church-growth, or seeker-sensitive, movement ignoring this pattern and developing
churches that have structured their regular services for the purpose of
evangelizing the lost. This movement has turned the church on its head....
"The gospel continues to offend; whether it is the crucifixion itself, the
insistence on recognizing our sins and repenting, receiving by faith One
that we have never seen, or abandoning our self-reliance, denying ourselves,
taking up our cross, and following Him (Matthew 16:24). None of these things
pander to our ego. The gospel is not a message about how to get ahead in
life, or how to find the key to happiness and success."
See
Creating
Community through a New Way of Thinking
A viewer's Guide to Postmodernity:
"Postmodern people are personally focused.... fully accepting of pluralism
and diversity.... regard Christianity as just one of many religions....
philosophically confused.... have largely rejected the Western philosophical
tradition ... theologically ignorant.... reject absolute values and absolute
truth.
"In
Star Wars, Guinness’s character explained that he had not lied when he told
young Luke that Darth Vadar killed his father. When the father turned to
evil he destroyed the good man he had been and became Darth Vadar; therefore,
what Obi Wan had said was true, 'from a certain point of view.' In the postmodern
world, everything can be explained away as relative.
"...postmodern
people accept spirituality. They believe in spiritual things, but they do
not know about Christianity. It is a new age of paganism. In Star Wars,
Guinness’s character teaches his young apprentice about 'The Force,' an
impersonal power that permeates the universe and includes both good and
evil. Postmodern people know that some kind of 'higher power' exists. They
just don’t know what it is."
Postmodern thinking
Lost: The Foundation Of Christianity:
"The message and delivery method was true to CGM form, but not true to the
gospel. It was not 'the rest of the story'. It was all about what Jesus
can do for you, but nothing about why he died or rose from the dead; no
talking about sin, repentance, salvation. The true message of the cross
was omitted. At the end of the show, hundreds of beach balls fell from the
ceiling [the service had an Island theme]. Members of the church then ran
around throwing them out to the audience of probably a few thousand. As
I watched I could not help but think how easy it has become to compromise...
"Religious leaders and others have lost the true foundation of Christianity....
And those that are coming into churches by means of these things will not
know anything about this foundation either. The church looks like the world,
has incorporated aspects of other religions, and is accepted as; this is
the way it is."
Colossians 2:8
September 2004
All God's Children:
"In a cinder-block classroom at the edge of Biola University's manicured
campus in a Los Angeles suburb, Craig Detweiler was blasting the music of
Nick Cave at his 'Intro to Mass Media' class. Two dozen students were arranged
in a horseshoe of swivel chairs, and they were looking blankly at a photo
of Cave, a sullen goth-rocker....
"
Detweiler...
brings a kind of affable sarcasm to a complicated job; he is the chairman
of a mass-media department at a university that until 1977 banned all films.
"'
This
stuff is pretty hard and dark,' he offered.... 'But did you know that Nick
Cave wrote an introduction to the Gospel of Mark for a special edition of
the Bible published in the U.K.? What do we think of that?'
"Like a lot of Christian
colleges in the United States, Biola has in recent years made serious efforts
to compete academically with secular and more mainstream religiously affiliated
colleges." See
Re-Inventing the Church
August 2004
Emerging Church
(encyclopedia): --a label
that has been used to refer to a particular subset of Christians who are
rethinking Christianity against the backdrop of Postmodernism.... Emerging
Church groups have typically contained some or all of the following elements:
Highly creative approaches to worship
and spiritual reflection. This can involve everything from the use of contemporary
music and films through to liturgy or other more ancient customs. ... A
flexible approach to theology whereby
individual differences in belief and morality are accepted within reason.
A more holistic approach to the role
of the church in society. This can mean anything from greater emphasis on
fellowship in the structure of the group to a higher degree of emphasis
on social action, community building or Christian outreach. A desire to
reanalyse the Bible against the context
into which it was written...."
Psalm 119:11
165 members ousted from Gardendale
Baptist: "Members of Gardendale Baptist Church voted Sunday to
expel about 165 members from their congregation because they did not support
the leadership of the church's pastor.... In a letter to the congregation,
Micah Davidson, the church's pastor, called a business meeting after a July
18 baptismal service at which members would vote on the following statement:
'Pastor Micah is the God-called pastor for Gardendale and is leading us
in God's direction or not.' ...
"'If the church votes for me to stay,' he wrote, 'those who vote against
me will be removed from membership in the family immediately.'...
"Gilbert said opposition in the church was impeding the church's progress.
He said the members could not vote on every decision Davidson made, but
could vote on whether he was called by God to be pastor.' They just couldn't
continue with the gossip and slander and misinformation,' he said."
The
audio interviews with some who were forced to leave indicate their concerns
were valid, not gossip or misinformation. The "misinformation" seems to
come from the new church managers, not from the concerned Christians. No
wonder, since contemporary "church leaders" are trained to use tough words
to discredit dissenters.
See
Dealing with Resisters
and
comment
Pop Goes the Bible:
"Revolve is just the latest cross-pollination of religion and pop culture
that has seen Christian-themed fiction climb the best-seller lists and Christian
rock and rap get a foothold in the music world. 'Really, for the past 100
years, evangelicals have tried to use popular culture to draw people to
their faith,' says Lynn Schofield Clark, a sociologist at the University
of Colorado's School of Journalism and Mass Communication....
"Examples date back to at least the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
Many well-known hymns originated in the 19th century as Christian poems
set to the music of popular barroom tunes. Martin Luther himself used secular
melodies to spread the word. ...
"Jeffrey Mahan, a professor of ministry, media and culture at Iliff School
of Theology in Denver... believes the trend is accelerating. 'The old classic
description of religion that made divisions between the sacred and the secular
are breaking down,' he says.....
"As fundamentalists became more prosperous, a new industry arose to sell
them goods to suit their values and beliefs. ... 'People want to lead integrated
lives,' says Mahan. 'So their entertainment life, their political life and
their work life are integrated with their life of faith.'...
"The growing stream of Christian fiction, rock music, and so on worries
some evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians.... 'People get nervous
that these new media presentations… become substitutes for the substantive
biblical texts.'
"If it has to imitate the culture in order to try to convert it, how much
of evangelical Christianity is lost?"
Martin Luther
wrote his own melody for his most familar song, A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR
GOD. The rest of his songs translated into English are listed at
www.cyberhymnal.org.
If you check
his music sources, you won't find barroom melodies. I wonder who started
that rumor?
July 2004
Church must embrace post-christendom:
"...the church needs to rethink the way that it relates to the world around
it. That is the message of a new and radical book by Stuart Murray. The
book entitled 'Post-Christendom: Church and mission in a strange new world'
looks at the context within which the church in western culture now operates....
"In
the secular and religiously plural world of the twenty-first century, Christians
can no longer operate with Christendom values, assumptions, methods or attitudes.
A church on the margins, if it is to flourish or even survive, must learn
to read the Bible, engage in mission and understand itself
in fresh ways....
"...in
a Post-Christendom context the church has opportunities to engage in new
and radical ways with the world around it, that it hasn’t had for hundreds
of years.” See
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven?
Worship services can be charismatic
and sensitive to seekers
:
"Several years ago, as we explored implementing the Purpose-Driven Church
(PDC) concepts, we were led to face a stark reality.... The self-evaluation
required in making deep changes in any local church often surfaces painful
issues. In the light of change, we discovered that our worship had become
irrelevant to our community....
"As post-modern thinking emerges, there is a new openness to spirituality,
but it is not a spirituality that seeks absolute truth. It is a spirituality
that looks for solutions that work in real life. Whatever works, whatever
is best, that will be the spirituality that is considered truth, and people
are looking for it everywhere....
"To
evaluate spiritual awareness in your community, go to the local bookstore.
Look at the titles under topics like occult,
spirituality, mysticism etc. Ask which ones are the top sellers.
Have the courage to read one or two to find
out what is attracting people to these forms of spirituality. The
object of this research is not to build up an arsenal of 'what is wrong'
thinking. The object is discovering what needs are attracting people to
this spirituality.... Looking into the mirror as we embraced PDC was very
costly; some things had to change. But, as a result, today we are healthier
and better equipped to realize the kingdom of God within our church and
our community."
Does God really want us to read occult
books to discover the "felt needs" in our community? How can we make our
worship relevant to the secular or pagan community when God tells us to
worship Him in "Spirit and truth"? Should we not seek His will and
ways -- then offer His truth to those whose hearts He has prepared?
See
Ephesians 5:2-17,
Re-Inventing the Church
and
From Personal Freedom to Collectivism
and Control
Emerging churches in post-Christendom:
"New models of church are promoted as contextually appropriate and missionally
effective - seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven and cell church among the most
popular.... Redesigning church for postmodern culture is a quest on which
many have embarked. On the fringes are those whose experiences of church
make them wary of using the term 'church.' Alternative worship, café church,
youth church, pub church, cyber-church, household church, portfolio church,
table church, new monastic communities and other models are emerging....
"The deep
yearning for expressions of church that are spiritually authentic, culturally
attuned and attractive to others is a hopeful feature of contemporary church
life." But God didn't promise that
His people feel at home in the world's culture.
See
John 15:20-21
and
Hebrews 11
Why the 'Lost Gospels' Lost
Out (DaVinci
Code): "Twenty years ago, Elaine Pagels wrote The Gnostic Gospels, a book
that introduced the larger public to the other 'Christian' writings that
arose in the early centuries of the church. Regarding the books of the New
Testament, Pagels asked, "Who made that selection, and for what reasons?
Why were these other writings excluded and banned as 'heresy'?' For Pagels
this wasn't a rhetorical question, but one designed to get readers to question
the very authority of the New Testament.....
"Pagels's
suggestions to the contrary, gnostic texts were never seriously entertained
by many Christians as legitimate representations of the faith. ....Hence,
contrary to Pagels and others, the case was never that the gnostic documents
were excluded or deleted. Rather, they were never serious contenders for
inclusion in the canon, either in the Eastern or the Western church."
But facts and reality
matter little to postmodern thinkers who base beliefs on personal feelings
and politically correct notions. Few want to know the historical truth that
exposes the myths and lies behind today's promotion of gnostic heresies.
See
A Twist of Faith - Chapter
1
May 2004
The Mad Rush to Seeker Sensitive
Worship: "Os Guinness makes the valid point that, '
Meeting
needs does not always satisfy needs;
it often stokes further ones and raises
the pressure of eventual disillusionment....
Need (is)
subject to consumer fashion, (and) become shallow, plastic and manipulative.'
Indeed, the drive to meet 'felt needs' can
mask the real need that the truth of the Gospel addresses -- alienation
from God! ...
"One
of the most blatant examples of the compromise which flows out of this can
be seen in 1966 World Council of Churches dictum: 'The
world must set the agenda for the church.' I would suggest that this
idea, formulated in the crucible of ecumenical dialogue between light and
darkness, is not far from the 'seeker sensitive' approach adopted through
the Church Growth ideology of contemporary evangelicals."
See
Worldliness
Younger pastors ask: Is preaching
out of touch?
(From one of Rick Warren's
websites)
"At last February's Emergent
Convention, a gathering of alternative church leaders.... Pagitt bluntly
told 1,100 young participants that 'preaching is broken.' ... Most of those
young leaders are quick to point out it isn't about technique. Preaching
is broken, they say, because the church has failed to take the cultural
shifts of postmodernity seriously. In today's culture, they explain, people
are increasingly distrustful of authority figures, especially preachers....
"'A sermon is often a violent act,' says Pagitt, a key figure among emerging
leaders. 'It's a violence toward the will of the people who have to sit
there and take it.'... It's hard for a congregation to practice the
priesthood of all believers when the preaching perpetuates an image of the
pastor as somehow more authoritative or spiritual than his or her listeners."
2 Timothy 4:3-4
A God Thing.
"If we’re not careful, we can turn an otherwise simple faith in Christ into
a self-serving exercise of escape and opportunism, that ignores the Word
of God for the gratification of the flesh, resulting in the leadership of
deceiving spirits rather than God’s Holy Spirit, making those 'miracles'
and 'blessings' ANYTHING but a God thing."
April 2004
Marketing the Church, God, and
the Gospel: Why the Church Must Stop Selling Jesus:
"As already alluded to above, there is a widespread and growing conviction
among many church leaders and marketing gurus that the form or method of
the message or the worship service has no effect on the content. Church
marketing is seen as a completely neutral technique that does not alter
the Gospel in any way....
"Effective seeker church messages are full of paradoxes. They are traditional
in theology, yet innovative in form; 'hard' in their call for conversion,
yet 'soft' in their promotion of the this-worldly benefits of belief; traditional
in their insistence that God is holy and righteous, yet modern in their
willingness to focus primarily on God’s love and forgiveness.... In sum,
seeker church messages resist the pressure of modernity in their theology
but often accommodate themselves to the culture in their format and emphases....
"...the issue is not
how to get people back into churches, but how to make our churches into
His church.”
Colossians
2:8
Spinning John Wesley:
"If the church can't uphold an eternal principle involving sexual expression
and male-female relations, it puts everything up for negotiation in our
increasingly relativistic age where the truth can never be objectively determined.
The conservative wing of the Methodist Church, known as the Confessing Movement,
has it right. Its web
page says, 'The moral relativism of our time rebels against Jesus Christ's
gracious rule over human sexuality....
"A confusion
has arisen in our Church between the Lordship of Christ and the reigning
cultural virtue of tolerance. The Confessing Movement challenges the misuse
of the principle of tolerance to set aside the authority of Scripture."
Judges 17:6
March 2004
The rise of the American megachurch:
"Gone are traditional religious dogma, rituals, and symbols, replaced by
uplifting songs and sermons. Congregants are taught that - through God -
they are victors, not victims. The messages are encouraging and easy to
swallow, and no one is called a sinner. It's 'Jesus meets the power of positive
thinking.'"
February 2004
A New Song - Part 3
:
"...many of today's contemporary Christian songs and popular praise choruses
are quite suitable for use by almost any of the world's religions. Like
the church growth movement, the lyrical content is, more often than not,
emotionally strong, theologically weak and largely ambiguous. Because such
music verbalizes little more than fleeting emotions, vivid imaginings, poetic
interpretations and felt-need affections toward a universal or generic 'God',
leaving out any potentially offensive doctrinal specifics – especially scriptural
negatives like sin, repentance, shed blood, crucified, cross, etc., virtually
any god or religion could be accommodated, worshipped and served by their
use."
Psalm 100:2-5
Sinking Sand -- Ruin Looms for
a Church that Forsakes God's Word:
"The Evil One knows that if he can undermine the Bible, he can undermine
the Christian. For Jesus said His words are like a rock upon which a house
is built
(Matthew 7:24),
serving as a firm foundation for His followers....
"Liberals
seem enamored with this idea of a never-ending search for God's truth, a
Hegelian process which turns its back on the past and is always looking
forward to that fresh synthesis of old and new....
"Edith
M. Humphrey, associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary, and a five-year member of the [Episcopal] Primate's Theological
Commission, said in an article for Christianity Today: '
Modern
spirituality begins and ends with the self; Christian spirituality,
with the Alpha and Omega.'"
Psalm 119:11
Just who is it that has God's
blessing?
"... a common mantra goes
something like, 'He must have God's blessing: look how large his ministry
is!' However, is bigness the evident sign of God's blessing? ...
"I wonder
just how big any of the churches where Paul served as pastor were? And speaking
of the Apostle Paul, he was more noted for his stripes and imprisonments
than he was for any mega-sized ministry, was he not? Are we to assume, then,
that Paul was not one of God's blessed' preachers?"
God's Wisdom or Human
Foolishness
The Church Growth Movement &
Purpose Driven Church VERSUS
The Bible
:
"Man adds to the church daily as should be saved through contemporary marketing
methods..." versus "And the LORD added to the church daily such as should
be saved."
This is a helpful chart showing
the difference between Biblical and Postmodern guidelines.
Rock 'n' roll church stirs up
Detroiters
:
"What will attract people to churches, synagogues and mosques? ... 'We try
to make sure that everyone gets offended by something every once in a while,'
said the Rev. Steve Andrews, the senior pastor. That's a line people never
expected to hear from a clergyman, most of whom avoid offensive behavior
at all costs. At Kensington, the rock music is so loud that people's ears
may whistle when they leave and the comedy sketches occasionally stray into
risque material."
Loving evil more than
good
A Critique of the "Seeker-Sensitive,
Purpose-Driven" Church Model:
"In our last article we examined why the message of the cross arouses the
hostility of sinners when it is faithfully declared in their ears. In this
article we will delve into the attempts by the proponents of the 'seeker-sensitive,
purpose-driven' church model to minimize, if not outright eliminate this
inbred resistance by the world to the gospel of Christ."
The
Cross of Christ
Church Growth Scholar Advocates
Radical Change in New Millennium:
"The evangelical
church in North America
must undergo radical change with new
kinds of leadership in order to fulfill its redemptive mission in the
postmodern context of the next century....
Speaking
during the annual meeting of the American
Society for Church Growth at Golden Gate Seminary's Mill Valley,
Calif., campus, Nov. 12-14, Gibbs warned churches must
embrace transitions or 'forfeit the
possibility of exercising a transformational
ministry within changing cultures.'...
"The
church itself will need to go through a metamorphosis
in order to find its new identity in the dialectic of gospel and
culture,' he said. 'This new situations is requiring churches to
approach their context as a missional encounter.'
"...
the
cultural changes with which church leaders must grapple are:
- Global. 'There is nowhere to run
to.' ...
Comprehensive. 'They affect every
area of life.'"
We will look at those
"global" and "comprehensive" changes in Part 2 of
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven
January 2004
Saddleback, Golden Gate Launch
Partnership for Educating Laity
:
"Designed to 'multiply leaders for ministry,'
Golden Gate Baptist Theological
Seminary and Saddleback Church
in Mission Viejo, Calif., have launched a partnership offering graduate
theological education and ministry training for lay leaders.....
"We are committed to the
inerrancy of God's Word. It is the bedrock on which we base everything else."
It sounds so good, but in
Softening God's Word, you
saw how Scriptures are paraphrased and taken out of context in order to
please the postmodern community.
Romans 12:2
and
John 15:20-21
Practical Strategies for Outreach
(Brett Schrock, Saddleback Church, CA) "Applying Purpose Driven Principles
to Connect Your Church with Seekers//Workshop Description: Knowing how to
identify and connect with the felt needs in the local community is a
challenge facing thousands of churches. This session provides you with tangible
examples of 'how to' meet the challenge and provides take away tools and
models to assist you. Develop an intentional outreach plan to transform
your community for Christ. This workshop is a must for any pastor wanting
to build bridges and make a difference in the local community."
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven?
US megachurches bring shopping
mall theology to thirtysomethings:
"As Americans like going to shopping malls for all their consumer needs
in one spot, so self-styled 'megachurches' are the fastest growing form
of service in the country. They offer a one-stop spiritual supermarket.....
"The
multi-ethnic congregation is made up of nominal Baptists, Episcopalians,
Presbyterians and Roman Catholics. They are taught that through God they
are victors not victims, and no one is called a sinner.... Eddie Gibbs,
a professor at the Fuller Theological Seminary, has described it as a conscious
process to 'remove every obstacle that keeps people from coming into the
Christian Church.'....
"The church's
target market is the thirtysomethings....'We are trying to get the people
in so that we can then process them towards a greater understanding of the
faith, which we do through smaller discussion groups for those that want
to further examine their spiritual path,' he said. 'Don't forget Christ
used user-friendly language. He spoke to his followers in parables."
Jesus spoke in parables so that only the true seeker (drawn by the Holy
Spirit) would understand. Pastor Warren speaks a "user-friendly language"
so that it will make earthly sense to everybody.
See
Softening God's Word
and
Psalm
119:11
Church giving away car, motorcycle
to encourage attendance:
"Abundant Life Christian Center in La Marque will give away a new Chrysler
PT Cruiser to a woman and a Harley Davidson Sportster to a man at its New
Year's Eve service. Parishioners and visitors have been eligible to enter
for the free drawings each time they attended a service in recent weeks,
and members who brought visitors could enter twice."
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven?
December 2003
Church on the Other Side:
"We are living in a time of some confusion and uncertainty as to where the
church is headed and what it’s supposed to be. The options are many, and
just about everything is being tried--seeker services, renewed liturgy,
house churches, and cell groups. How does a church equip itself to minister
effectively in the postmodern culture? ....Brian's first book, formerly
titled Reinventing Church, now revised and expanded in 2000, has been a
portal helping many Christian leaders enter the conversation about the
postmodern transition."
See
Apostasy
Unbelieving 'born-agains':
"Secularists, liberals, and Muslims do not need to fear conservative Christians,
says Dave Shiflett in The Wall Street Journal. Christians, he says... don't
really believe that there is such a thing as the heathen, tending to believe
instead that every religion is equally valid. Even the most feared of Christians—the
dread 'born-agains' ... often embrace the modern orthodoxies of tolerance
and inclusion over the traditional teachings of their faith."
"He
cites poll data from Christian researcher George Barna that 26 percent of
born-agains believe all religions are essentially the same and that 50 percent
believe that a life of good works will enable a person to get to heaven....
"...this
is strong evidence of how American Christianity is conforming to the dominant
secular culture. It is all right to be religious, according to the dictates
of postmodernism, as long as your faith exists just in your head. Preachers
sometimes exhort people to 'invite Jesus into your heart' without proclaiming
who Jesus is and what He has done for sinners. This is evangelism that forgets
to preach the gospel. The result will be 'nonevangelical born-agains.'...
[See "Widening
the gate to the Kingdom"
and
Colossians 2:8
November
Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven®
Life sells 10 million copies:
"Pastor Rick Warren's 'The Purpose-Driven® Life,' the #1 New York Times
bestseller, has sold 10 million copies in the English language alone since
its release in September of 2002.... A third '40 Days of Purpose' campaign
was launched last month with more than 6,000 churches participating. It
is estimated that an additional 14,500 churches will participate in the
campaign in 2004.... 'The Purpose-Driven Life is more than a bestseller,
it's become a movement....'"
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven?
See the next three links:
The Emerging Church (by
Dan Kimball): Vintage Christianity for New Generations: "...a
new world is emerging all around us. We are fast moving from a Judeo-Christian
world to a post-Christian world. This means we need to rethink leadership,
preaching, spiritual formation, evangelism, what we do in worship services
and most importantly of all how we view 'church'.... The book explores
current cultural changes and then moves beyond deconstruction to give specific
examples of emerging church ministry...."
See
Re-Inventing the Church
Endorsements for The Emerging
Church” by Dan Kimball: "...a wonderful, detailed example
of what a purpose-driven church can look like in a post-modern world,"
says Rick Warren.
"My friend, Dan Kimball, writes passionately from his heart, with a deep
desire to reach emerging generations and culture. While my book, The
Purpose-Driven Church, explained what the church is called to do, Dan’s
book explains how to do it with the cultural-creatives who think and feel
in post-modern terms. You need to pay attention to him because times are
changing." ...
"The future of the church in North America
hinges on innovators like Dan Kimball and the ideas presented in
The Emerging Church." Bob Buford, The Buford Foundation, Founder
of Leadership Network."
No! The future of the
Church is in God's hands, not in the minds and plans of contemporary "innovators."
See
El
Shaddai, The Almighty God
Day the Church split:
"Worldwide Anglicanism split in two yesterday after conservative leaders
representing up to 50 million worshippers angrily rejected the Church's
first openly homosexual bishop."
Biblical
unity is based on Biblical truth. Where people mock God's Word, there can
be no unity.
Oneness
and
Postmodernity
October
Church growth movement - Revival
or Apostasy?
"A wave is sweeping
the world that many Christians are calling Revival. This is the biggest
change to take place in the church since the days of the Protestant Reformation.
Tens of thousands of pastors and church leaders in America have jumped onto
the bandwagon of a Church Growth Movement that seems to be reaching the
masses for Christ. Can this be the real thing?
"What
are the methods being used to grow the church? Are they really God's methods
or have churches compromised with the world and used techniques common to
the New Age rather than to the Bible? As Christian author and preacher John
MacArthur said, 'Contemporary evangelism has been beguiled and sabotaged
by a ruinous lack of confidence in God's word….
"The
Bible defines sin as rebellion against God, but Schuller finds that insulting.
To him, Jesus was Self-Esteem Incarnate...
"In
Nov. 1987 that same Gorbachev that Schuller so highly esteems said in a
speech at the 70th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, 'In October
1917, we parted with the Old World, rejecting it once and for all. We are
moving toward a new world, the world of Communism. We shall never turn off
that road." See
The State of The World According to Gorbachev
The Death of Truth:
(Chapter 1) "As with Darwinism, postmodernism has its origin in intellectual
and academic circles. This is why average Christians are unaware, or at
least unclear, about what postmodernism is. Even Christian leaders and thinkers
find themselves confused as their senses are assaulted by the strange or
even seemingly insane language of postmodern analysis.
"As
we shall see, they present a dangerously convincing case for their view--a
view that ultimately directly undermines all possibility of knowing objective
truth (i.e., true whether I realize it or not). The real problem is this:
once again, Christians aren't ready for a major challenge to the Christian
world view...."
The postmodern culture didn't just evolve.
It was created primarily through the dialectic process.
See
The Mind-Changing Process
and
Postmodernity
"Satan is not simply trying to draw people
to the dark side of a good versus evil conflict. Actually, he is trying
to eradicate the gap between himself and God, between good and evil, altogether."
Ray Yungen,
A Time of Departing
See
Religion-discussion
Gospel according to The Simpsons:
"Church leaders... say the adventures of Homer and his family are an ideal
way to explore moral and religious dilemmas.... 'Despite its anarchic
humour, The Simpsons is one of the few television programmes which
portrays a modern family who attend church regularly.'"
What a sad picture of the
church and media!
Deut 8:10-20
A New Kind of Christian:
"A New Kind of Christian gives voice to this emerging understanding
of what it means to be a Christian in these confusing times, offering a
constructive vision of what a postmodern
Christian might look like.... The pastor is forced to grapple with
the true source of his dissatisfaction with Christianity and his growing
desire to become a new kind of Christian--one who discovers truth afresh
each day through continuous engagement with God."
Neither the Bible
doesn't change with our times and culture. Nor does Jesus Christ, our Lord
and our Life. But with today's quest for new and higher thrills, it's not
surprising that people are less than satisfied with the good old gospel
or an unchanging God.
See
My Lord
and
Psalm 119:11
Mosaic -- 'A Work of Beauty
Under the Artful Hands of God': "The urban Mosaic church holds
four services every Sunday. Three are held in high schools, while the fourth
is held in a downtown nightclub....
"Mosaic is a place filled with writers and dancers, actors, sculptors, painters
-- a lot of people who are from the esthetic side of the world,' he explains.
'To me, it is an opportunity to reflect the creative beauty and wonder of
God -- and to allow people to experience Jesus Christ in a new, fresh way."
September
Ten Things You Should Know About
the New Girls' Biblezine
:
"In less than eight weeks, 40 thousand copies of the glossy New Testament
have disappeared from bookstores.... An additional printing of 60 thousand
copies should be in stores in the beginning of October. ...
"Revolve's
wild popularity with the media 'has to be a wake up call to Christians,'
says Whaley....
"What
then are all these cute girl models—some of them braless, some baring their
midriffs, some pouting their lips, a few striking provocative poses, a few
in bikinis, all with seemingly spotless complexion, only one of them with
braces, 98 percent of them skinny—doing in the photos adorning Revolve?....
"It's
not a magazine. It's not a Bible. It's not even a study Bible, Whaley told
me. It's 'an inspirational and motivational Bible product.' ...
Os Guinness
said in his trademark style, "Never have evangelicals tried so hard to be
relevant and never have they been so irrelevant. … This is a triumph of
marketing over mission. Niche markets are death to taking the Bible seriously."
See
2 Corinthians 2:17
New Teen Bible - Coolness Is
Next To Godliness:
"In the beginning was the Word but the Word alone is now no longer enough:
a new version of the Bible targeted at teenage girls offers beauty tips
and advice on boyfriends as well. 'Are You Dating a Godly Guy?' asks the
cover of Revolve, the Complete New Testament, beside a picture of
three smiling teenage models in fashionable summer gear. Inside, the Gospels
and the rest of the New Testament are juxtaposed with items on plucking
eyebrows, photographs of girls in bikinis and boys' musings on relationships."
See
Chart: postmodern culture
Graduating in faith:
"Azusa Pacific sends 200 to 300 students overseas for study each year and
imports 222. 'If we don't globalize,' says Vic Bezjian, executive director
of the college's International Center, 'we'll be left behind.' So globalize
they have.... Ministering to this mix is no easy task, says college chaplain
Chris Brown.... He preaches at chapel Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in
the homespun style of radio personality Garrison Keillor. 'It's a challenge
to be three times a week in front of 3,423 critical thinkers,' Mr. Brown
says. 'The power in this country is not in money, land and politics. It's
in the media, those who can tell narrative creatively.' The screen saver
on the chaplain's computer reads '3,423 eternities,' a reference to the
destinies of those
critical
thinkers....
"Our goal generally is not to indoctrinate our students,' Mr. Jones says.
'At its best Wheaton College will be a dangerous place for students, because
there's nothing more dangerous than ideas. They'll read Freud, Nietzsche
and Kant, the most dangerous thinkers of contemporary and past ages. In
the end, students will make their own decisions. The best thing we can do
is not be hypocrites, and to be healthy and self-critical.'...
"...the
Rev. Gordon Bietz, Southern's tall, dapper, silver-haired president, says
his school attracts students by depicting itself as an incubator of passionate
faith in Jesus Christ. 'From a pure marketing
perspective, that works.'"
While Christian colleges
are far better than secular universities, their focus is changing fast.
Considering Rev. Moon's friendship with church leaders but hostility toward
the cross
[scroll
down to "Global Spirituality" in
Ban truth - Reap Tyranny],
it's no surprise that the series was published by Washingon Times.
See
The Church Walking with the
World
>
August
New Church Specialties Bridging
The 'Contextualization Gap':
"The vision of New Church Specialties is to assist the church and its institutions
of higher education worldwide in 'bridging the contextualization gap.' We
aim to develop New Church University, not just as a place, but as a learning
process. Our goal is that, as a prospective NewStart, ReStart or ReFocusing
church leader finishes their theological education, they would also be assessed....
"At New Church Specialties,
we are also planning, not only for church planting and ReFocusing diplomas,
but also for Church Health diplomas as well, designed to reward persons
who invest their lives in bringing fresh life to churches that need to be
'turned around' and brought back to 'health.' The focus of all New Church
University training is not simply on 'church growth' but 'church health.'"
See
Legalizing Mind Control
Harry Potter Reading Club:
"
The
'Platform 9 ¾ Harry Potter Reading Club' is Grace’s attempt to
enter the conversation that is occurring
in our country and community, and to shine the light of Biblical truth on
the spiritual issues that are raised in the Harry Potter books. The book
club takes place every Thursday afternoon... from June 26-July 31.
See
Harry Potter Overview
Relativism reigns over morality
:
"That these controversies even exist points to the continuing effort by
many within the church to abandon Holy Scripture and replace it with their
own personal preferences. The Bible is clear in its declarations that homosexuality
ranks as a sin. Note that St. Paul places such acts alongside other sins:
'Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor
sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners
will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.' Nonetheless,
many would prefer to ignore sin, making repentance unnecessary."
Jeremiah 6:13-15
June
Christianity Becoming a Dirty
Word in Canada:
"'The
problem is bigger than simply the velvet oppression of the political and
cultural elites, antagonistic to faith. What we're dealing with is
the corruption of Christianity itself.'...
"The
secular establishment's slow squeeze on the country's fading Christianity
is taking place largely in the area of sexual ethics....
"What
does it matter if Christianity is exiled from the public square? 'The church
invented things like public hospitals, schools and charities... And we're
discovering that these institutions remained humane only so long as they
preserved their original inspiration.'"(While
true of many U.S. churches as well, this does not describe the Canadian
Christians we know.)
Lukewarm "Christianity"
repeat
Feeding
Sheep or Amusing Goats
(by Spurgeon): "An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in
its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during
the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil.
It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom
done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission
is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.
"...providing
amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function
of the church.... What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are
the salt" (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy....
"Had Christ introduced
more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have
been more popular...."
May
Showtime Religion
(John MacArthur): "Can the church fight apathy and materialism by feeding
people’s appetite for entertainment? Evidently many in the church think
so, as church after church jumps on the show-business bandwagon.... The
idea is to give the audience what they want. Tailor the church service to
whatever will draw a crowd. As a result, pastors are more like politicians
than shepherds, looking to appeal to the public rather than leading and
building the flock God has entrusted to them.... More and more churches
are relying on marketing strategy to sell the church."
See
Re-Inventing the Church
Night Stalkers: "How confusing it must be for those outside the faith
who try to connect the Jesus Christ of scripture to the people, groups and
institutions of our day that call Him Lord. It’s a wonder ANYONE comes to
faith in Christ anymore! Were it up to the machinations of men, clearly
no one would. When I myself read Isaiah the prophet’s brief description
of the coming Messiah and then view the
postmodern
church that bears His name,
it’s often difficult to see any resemblance or relation between the humble
Shepherd and the 21st century sheep."
Rom 8:1-8
and
Chart: Postmodern church
March
What's Inside the Trojan Horse?
(John MacArthur) "...Church leaders reacted to the world's indifference,
not by a return to strong biblical preaching that emphasized sin and repentance,
but by a pragmatic approach to 'doing' church–an approach driven more by
marketing, methodology, and perceived results than by biblical doctrine.
The new model of ministry revolved around making sinners feel comfortable
and at ease in the church, then selling them on the benefits of becoming
a Christian....
"Even the church's ministry
to its own has changed. Entertainment has hijacked many pulpits across the
country; contemporary approaches cater to the ever-changing whims of professing
believers; and many local churches have become little more than social clubs
and community centers where the focus is on the individual's felt needs."
Rom 12:2-9
and
America's Spiritual Slide
Yes, Jesus would approve a war
with Iraq: "What would Jesus do?
Well, thankfully, deep minds have thought this through for us centuries
before now. The Christian just war theory was first extensively addressed
by St. Augustine of Hippo, who proposed two major requirements: proper authority
and proper cause....
"When challenged by an expert in the law as to which was the greatest commandment,
Jesus replied that to love God was greatest; 'And a second is like it: 'Love
your neighbor as yourself.' ' Loving your neighbor in 2003, it would seem,
means in part to save a region — and a world — from a tyrant...."
Is that what Jesus
really meant by those words? I doubt it. It has become all too natural to
conform God's Word to our own thoughts and ways -- rather than conforming
our thinking to His.
Romans
12:2
Helping God:
"...many churches today are acting as if big sound systems and video screens
are required to hear the 'still small voice' of God and experience His presence.
....
"Am I saying that making your church attractive is sinful and that state-of-the-art
church buildings are Temples of Doom? No, I’m saying that many formerly
humble fellowships have become like Michael Jackson – butchering themselves
and their credibility with millions of dollars in frivolous makeovers, renovations
and reinventions in a desperate attempt to appear beautiful, successful
and legitimate to a skeptical world."
Galatians 6:4
February
Post-Modernity - A Global Weather
Change? "Like a slow-moving
weather front gradually blanketing our continent, a radical shift in the
way young people view reality is bringing permanent change to Europe's spiritual
climate.... Post-modernity, as this mood-change is becoming known, is not
a rational, consistent, philosophy.... It is not a cohesive, logical mindset.
It is a soup of contradictory ideas. Yet it is as radical a change as that
triggered by the Enlightenment, when 'Pre-modern' thought gave way to the
'Modern' view of life.
"This
climate-shift... carries major challenges and opportunities for how we are
to present and demonstrate the Gospel in Europe today and tomorrow. Our
evangelistic methods and approaches developed for the 'Modern' world will
be irrelevant for a 'Postmodern' generation."
Yes, because public education
has -- for many decades -- been teaching relative values, group thinking
and hostility toward absolute truth. It happened by design, not by chance.
See
A New Way of Thinking
and
Brainwashing in America
Vatican Weighs in on New Age
Movement: "In a 90-page booklet dotted with references to the
'Magical Mystery Tour,' 'Feng Shui' and the dawning of the 'Age of Aquarius,'
the Vatican addressed a topic usually reserved for the self-help sections
of bookstores.
"The
Vatican said the book was the product of requests by bishops for guidance
on determining whether practices embraced by New Agers, including yoga,
channeling and healing by crystals, were compatible with Christianity. The
booklet doesn't give a definitive answer. Rather... the book stresses that
the question comes down to one of individually discerning compatibility."
Such personal and cultural
relativism corrupts the church
Harry Potter
.
Vatican Succumbs to Harry Potter's
Spell: "Harry Potter fans, relax. The Vatican says the kid is
all right. The question of whether J.K. Rowling's books and the films on
the boy wizard have a positive influence came up at a news conference on
Monday where the Vatican presented a document on 'New Age' spirituality,
which contain elements of the occult.
"'I
don't think that any of us grew up without the imaginary world of fairies,
magicians, angels and witches,' said Father Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican official
who worked on the document. 'They are not bad or a banner for anti-Christian
ideology. They help children understand the difference between good and
evil." They do! But from
a pagan perspective.
Isaiah 5:20
and
Twelve reasons not to see
Harry Potter movies
January
It's Another Way of S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g
Your Faith: “At one
California church, people are practicing what is called 'Christian yoga.’
... Angelica Bays... says one can get a good workout, calm down, and glorify
God all at the same time.... ‘The physical practice of it is actually ecumenical
[and] transcends any one particular religion,' she says. 'It's like prayer
-- Christians pray, Buddhists pray, and other religions pray -- but it's
just what you do with it.’
“At first,
Bays had serious reservations about doing yoga because she knew it was associated
with the Hindu religion and promotes pantheism. But she says not one church
member has questioned the class -- and her pastor has been supportive.”
That sounds
postmodern,
doesn't it? If the group agrees, go ahead. Man's approval supercedes God's
guidelines.
Judges 17:6
.
But God has a different plan for us.
See
The Way.
Healthy Churches:
"Characteristics of a Healthy Church [Willow Creek]: Active spiritual formation...
Contagious evangelism... Mobilized spiritual gifts... Strong leadership...
Cultural relevance... Collaboration and partnership....
"They
utilize holistic stewardship practices. They serve the needy people in their
community. They equip families to minister to themselves."
Some points sound
good, but all take on a new meaning in the context of the postmodern church.
So be on guard. See
Re-Inventing the Church
The mall where you talk to God
: "Like the super-sized shopping
centers that have mushroomed coast to coast, churches like Grace endeavor
to offer everything under one roof: professional
child care
[usually means government oversight],
Christian rock concerts,
chemical dependency programs
[involves the
consensus
process],
full-service cafés, bookstores, health clubs,
teen centers, even
food courts. This emphasis on full
service has spurred a dramatic growth in membership, prompting
management guru Peter Drucker to call
'pastoral megachurches' like Grace 'the most important social phenomenon
in American society in the last 30 years.'"
See
Re-Inventing the Church
Is Willow Creek the Way of the
Future? "Healthy congregations
in the 21st century will undoubtedly be more 'seeker friendly,' but they
will balance marketing efforts with a more judicious use of traditional
understandings of the church and its ministries. 'Theological
engineering' will catch up to church marketing.... Using their market-driven
approach, its leaders will likely learn to address the current weaknesses...
"In a world of Willow Creeks,
pop psychology can
invert and ambush
biblical truth about the relation
between people and God. A firm foundation in scripture and in research-oriented
psychology would generate a clearer recognition of the limits of such approaches.
But cautions are not likely to receive much attention because of what Pritchard
identifies as a strong pragmatic bias toward
what is immediately useful. What doesn’t work now is not important."
See
The People's Church
December
If Christianity Is So Great, How
Come Christians Keep Imitating The World? "...the direction
of the contemporary church is the wrong one. New Barna data suggest that 'born
again Christians' have a reputation slightly better than that of prostitutes....
"...our past efforts – as evidenced by 'seeker' worship approaches and
Y2K hysteria – have done little other than prove to the world that our brand
of Christianity has very little to offer them, and may in fact be leading them
away from the Truth they hope to find."
See
Re-Inventing the Church
and
Gal 2:20
Church Welcomes 'Scum of the Earth:
"With their tattoos, body piercings and alternative hairstyles, they are finding
acceptance in a setting that's meant to make outcasts feel welcome so they can
hear the gospel. 'Scum of the Earth' began two and a half years ago as a Bible
study led by the Christian band Five Iron Frenzy.
"The
church's name isn't meant to be degrading to its members or other churches,
according to pastor Mike Sares. Rather, it's based on 1 Corinthians 4:11-13:
'To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally
treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed,
we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer
kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of
the world.'"
Actually, that Scripture and
title refers to faithful Christian who face hatred and persecution
for following Jesus, not for following
cultural trends. Thankfully, in Christ, any of us may be worthy to bear that
title. See
Luke 6:22-23
November
Church seats undergoing comfort
reformation: "Laurie Wuerfel and her two young sons slipped their
coffee and hot chocolate into the cup holders, eased into cushioned chairs and
waited for the sermon to start. 'Who wants to sit in church if you're uncomfortable,'
said Ms. Wuerfel as she sat in the burgundy theater-style seats at Cedar Creek
Church.... Chairs with cup holders, and plenty of space and padding are finding
their way into churches where clergy say the seat can be as important as the
message." See
The Global Church
Christian music controlled by secular
music industry: "...they emerged from the 1960s with a unique fusion
of evangelical faith and pop culture. They loved fellowship, but didn't like
frumpy churches. They trusted their feelings, not traditions. They loved the
Bible, but not those old hymnals. So they started writing, performing, recording
and selling songs.... Out in the mega-churches, the definition of 'worship'
changed and then kept changing....
"Today, the bottom line is almost always the financial bottom line. While
believers lead the companies that dominate Christian music, secular corporations
now own these smaller companies... But
this
corporate culture also is affecting worship and the heart of church life....
"...we view ourselves first and foremost as consumers,' Barna said. '...Americans
have made worship something that primarily that
we do for ourselves. When is it successful? When we feel good."
Matthew 16:21-26
Church backs raves to bring in young
people: "The Church of England gave its official blessing to alternative
forms of youth worship such as 'raves in the nave' yesterday as part of its
efforts to attract young people into church... Youth services range from those
organised by Soul Survivor, which feature rock bands or Christian disc jockeys,
to those that favour 'post-modern symbolism', from surreal video images with
ambient music to offerings of salt or sunflower seeds."
Romans 12:2-9
Americans Draw Theological Beliefs
From Diverse Points of View: "A new nationwide survey
conducted by the Barna Research Group indicates that a large share of the people
who attend Protestant or Catholic churches have adopted beliefs that conflict
with the teachings of the Bible and their church. ....'Our continuing research
among teenagers and adolescents shows that the trend away from adopting biblical
theology in favor of syncretic, culture-based theology is advancing at full
gallop.'"
Brainwashing in America
Americans Draw Theological Beliefs
From Diverse Points of View: "A new nationwide survey
conducted by the Barna Research Group indicates that a large share of the people
who attend Protestant or Catholic churches have adopted beliefs that conflict
with the teachings of the Bible and their church. ....'Our continuing research
among teenagers and adolescents shows that the trend away from adopting biblical
theology in favor of syncretic, culture-based theology is advancing at full
gallop.'"
Brainwashing in America
Teens Change Their Tune Regarding
Self and Church: "...the
Barna statistics show that the percentage of teens who are evangelicals - i.e.,
those who are not only born again but also believe in the accuracy of the Bible,
personal responsibility to evangelize, believe in salvation by grace alone,
and possess orthodox biblical views on God, Jesus and Satan - have declined
from 10% in 1995 to just 4% today. This demise is attributable to growing numbers
of teenagers who accept moral relativism and pluralistic theology as their faith
foundation....
"For more than a decade, teenagers have been among the most spiritually interested
individuals in the nation. However, sensitivity to faith matters has not resulted
in a boom in Christian conversions.... 'Teens do not go to youth groups for
music and games, and they will not attend 'adult church' for music and preaching.
They demand transcendent adventures and supportive relationships. They need
an outlet for their desire to have a positive affect on the world...."
That may sound good, but the solution is managed "community service" with the
sensitivity or "diversity training" needed to create solidarity.
See
Serving a Greater Whole
Teens' Rite of Passage Can Include
Their Faith: (10/19/02,
archived) "Promise
Keepers is, the Christian men's movement.... are
launching a rite-of-passage offshoot for teenage boys.
"Hoping to capture what organizers fear could be a lost generation of evangelical
Christians, 'Passage' uses Christian rock bands, hip-hop artists, extreme sports
exhibitions, testimonials and scores of fast-paced videos in an attempt to reconnect
teenagers with their faith and families....
"Randy Phillips, who heads the Passage event, says a youth revival is possible
if the Christian message is repackaged in a more relevant form. 'The emerging
generation has far more spiritual hunger than the previous four generations,'
Phillips said. 'But they are rejecting the current expression of the church
that's been the model for them.'"
See
Postmodernity
Church in porn deal:
"Pornography will be beamed from the bell towers and spires of churches across
the country next year in a £25million deal with a mobile phone company. Transmitters
hidden in Church of England parishes will send out a video stream' of news,
sport, advertisements and porn to be viewed on new mobile phones with bigger
screens. Around 1,500 parishes - 10 per cent of the churches in England - have
already signed up....
"Outraged retired army officer Ian Dobbie... said: 'I'm shocked that
people could be worshipping in their churches while pornography is being streamed
out of the spire above them. It's as if the Church has sold out in a pact with
the devil.'" See
Chart: Postmodernity
Teaching the Parables to a Post-Modern
Society - The Contextualization of the Stories of Jesus:
"What is Contextualization? ... No simple definition will do justice to the
intricate concepts that are included in the use of the term. However, in this
paper, contextualization is seen as a bringing together the 'relationship of
the gospel or Scripture to culture... Thus, contextualization is an attempt
to make the Scripture applicable and understandable to modern society.... An
important step in contextualization proper is understanding the receptor culture...
the post-modern culture of the United States....
"'the post-modern
perspective . . . is that of a radical reader-oriented literary criticism,
a criticism which views literature in terms of readers and their values, attitudes
and responses.'"
Note
the paradigm shift from (1) reading the Bible from the Author's perspective
-- using the context of the whole Bible to understand what God was teaching
us in each part -- to (2) rethinking its parts from the perspective of the reader's
values, culture and worldview, then linking each Scripture to a new meaning
based on the subjective context and criticism.
See
Three Sets of Meanings of Educational
Buzzwords and find
"Critical Thinking."
A wordless faith: “'We
should never view scripture through the lens of personal experience but rather
view our personal experience through the lens of scripture.' If we believe in
our experiences FIRST and God’s Word SECOND, we practice the sensory-driven
religion of unbelief that brought about the very fall of man – listening to
the voices in and around us saying what appeals to the flesh and emotions instead
of faithfully yielding to God and His Word."
Proverbs 3:5-7
Reinventing church:
"...the institutional church wasn't attuned to the world he lived in; open to
theological questioning; or responding to the challenge of a
Postmodern
culture in which institutional authority, absolute truth, and even a
rationalistic world view no longer hold sway.... Today, working out of his garage
in Newport Beach, Calif., Mr. Burke runs THE OOZE, a Web-based community for
some 50,000 Christian leaders in 60 countries who are part of a new 'emerging
church' movement aimed at reinventing the church for the 21st century. They
are responding to what many consider the most dramatic cultural shift since
the Enlightenment. ....
"At THE OOZE's annual 'Soularize' conference last week in Minneapolis,
some 500 pastors, theologians, and young church leaders from across the US gathered
for dozens of workshops on topics from 'theology's new groove' to 'calling God
Mother' to 'allowing Jesus as rad whole-life disciples.'...
"In a workshop, John Franke, of Biblical Theology Seminary in Hatfield,
Pa., described two major streams of thinking among theologians. The
first group says there is absolute truth, but only God can know it;
human beings, coming from their own social and cultural perspectives, have to
be open to learn from one another. Those in the second group say that
not only is it impossible for humans to know absolute truth, it's not desirable,
because such claims often result in attempts to control or repress others.....
"'The emerging church believes strongly in the 'priesthood of all believers,'
" says Tom Sine, a consultant familiar with the movement overseas."
Priesthood of seekers who neither
accept or want to believe in God's absolute truth? Have they traded certainties
of God's unchanging Word for the shifting sands of "continual change"?
See
Re-Inventing
the Church, Part 1
and
Part 2
October
'I Didn't Want to Be Cute':
"Eugene Peterson has worked on
The Message, his rendering of the Bible in contemporary language, for
12 years. This year he can celebrate the arrival of The Message as a
complete text. Peterson's work has won praise from diverse readers—from the
Protestant contemplative Richard J. Foster to football coach Bill McCartney,
and from theologian J. I. Packer to rock star Bono....
"I agreed to do 10 chapters of Matthew..." [said Peterson] "It was very
wooden, and it just wasn't working. I just kind of let go and became playful.
And that was when the Sermon on the Mount started.... I was astounded
when I learned about some of the new versions of the Bible that are being published
by companies that spend thousands of dollars trying to find the vocabulary level
of the average person and exclude all the words that don't fit into that grid."
Psalm 119:11
Americans Draw Theological Beliefs
From Diverse Points of View: (Barna Research Online) Nine out of
ten adults own at least one Bible and eight out of ten consider themselves to
be Christian, but you'd never know it from the smorgasbord of religious beliefs
professed by most people. A new nationwide survey conducted by the Barna Research
Group indicates that a large share of the people who attend Protestant or Catholic
churches have adopted beliefs that conflict with the teachings of the Bible
and their church. ...."Our continuing research among teenagers and adolescents
shows that the trend away from adopting biblical theology in favor of syncretic,
culture-based theology is advancing at full gallop."
Brainwashing in America
The Rethinking Forum:
"The most noted expression of the Rethinking Movement, which gave it its name,
was the book Rethinking Christianity in India. ... The Rethinking Group
objected severely to numerous aspects of the agenda of church and mission leadership
both internationally and especially in India....
"Christianity in India is still full of stagnant western waters.... A
new Rethinking effort aimed at changing the churches would almost surely fail
as its predecessors has." The
true Church can't be quenched, for God will always have a remnant of people
who remain faithfully and undivided in their love for Him.
September
Teaching the Parables to a Post-Modern
Society - The Contextualization of the Stories of Jesus:
"What is Contextualization? ... No simple definition will do justice to the
intricate concepts that are included in the use of the term. However, in this
paper, contextualization is seen as a bringing together the 'relationship of
the gospel or Scripture to culture... Thus, contextualization is an attempt
to make the Scripture applicable and understandable to modern society.... An
important step in contextualization proper is understanding the receptor culture...
the post-modern culture of the United States....
"What then is post-modernism?
A concise definition of post-modernism is cited by Vanhoozer who holds that
post-modernism should be seen as 'incredulity towards metanarratives.' A more
precise explanation of post-modernism's literary outlook is found in Edgar McKnight's
work, Post-Modern Use of the Bible where he states that 'the post-modern
perspective . . . is that of a radical reader-oriented literary criticism,
a criticism which views literature in terms of readers and their values, attitudes
and responses.'"
Note
the paradigm shift from (1) reading the Bible from the Author's perspective
-- using the context of the whole Bible to understand what God was teaching
us in each part -- to (2) rethinking its parts from the perspective of the reader's
values, culture and worldview, then linking each Scripture to a new meaning
based on the subjective context and criticism.
See
Three Sets of Meanings of Educational
Buzzwords and find
"Critical Thinking."
August
Stupid church tricks
(link requires registration):
"gross-out' games have become a fad in youth ministry. Since adolescents are
amused by bodily functions, crude behavior, and tastelessness -- following the
church-growth principle of giving people what they like as a way to entice them
into the kingdom--many evangelical youth leaders think this is a way to reach
young people....
"Defenders
of these kinds of activities maintain that they help create group unity. The
way they work, though, is to overcome a teenager's inhibitions with the greater
desire to go along with the group. In other words, these exercises teach the
teenager to give in to peer pressure. Instead, youth groups need to teach Christian
teenagers not to go along with the crowd and to stand up against what their
friends want them to do."
Rom 12:2-9
July
Cutting-edge youth center puts teenagers
on 'The Right Track': "Teenagers looking for fun, excitement and
a student ministry that cares about relationship are taking the last train to
ClearView Baptist Church.... ClearView's youth center is equipped with the latest
high-tech gadgetry that appeals to the MTV generation.... The Station is outfitted
with arcade games, foosball tables, multiple video play stations, more than
30 televisions that can accommodate DVD, VHS and PowerPoint presentations and
satellite transmissions -- and the center has surround sound....
"'It's
really great,' said Daniel Childs, 15. 'We didn't know what to expect when they
first told us about the room, but it's a lot of fun. It's easy to invite friends
to church.'"
See
Re-Inventing the Church
Paul Proctor says, "This
church is right across town from
The People's Church.
I think the fact that the name of Jesus never appears in the article speaks
volumes about what they're most proud of and interested in these days.
Three Sources of American Religious
Renewal: "When old-line
Protestant churches began experiencing membership losses in the mid-1960s, the
primary cause of the decline was their failure to adapt to social and demographic
changes. There was, however, no clear agreement on a path or paths to renewal....
"The
FACT data show that the expressive nature of contemporary and blended forms
of worship have now made it to the east coast and even into some old-line churches.
More importantly the data show that this style of worship—measured in the survey
by the use of electronic instruments in worship—is positively related to membership
growth across all Protestant families."
But is there a trade-off?
Are the "expressive" new worship and short, feel-good sermons designed to please
God or the crowd and community? These conclusions don't tell us.
See
1 Pet 4:3-4
High-tech's sway expands in church
worship services: "'Churches,
just like everybody else, are looking at the power of their communications,'
Randal Lemke, executive director of an audiovisual industry group based in Fairfax,
Va., told The Times. 'They've got young people coming up who are very
visual. They're trying to use the same technology that people are using in businesses
and in entertainment.''...
"'Despite the excitement
that surrounds the new technology, most churches agree that getting the message
out is the goal, regardless of the medium. 'The message hasn't changed in
2,000 years,' Robert Scott, a sales manager with a design group that has worked
on church systems around the country, told The Times. 'The way we deliver
the message to our congregations -- that's what's changing.'"
Remember
Marshall McLuhan's famous slogan: "The medium is the message." For example,
when hard rock becomes a medium for the gospel, the beat and the context blur
the message. Or, when Harry Potter books become the medium for the message about
good and evil, they replace the Biblical meaning of "good" with a cultural alternative.
See the first item in
Harry-Comments-4.
Then read the next summary:
Marshall McLuhan: "The Medium is
the Message": McLuhan
both announces the existence of a global village, another word he is
credited for coining, and predicts the intensification of the world community
to its present expression. All of this was done in the early 1960s at a time
when television was still in its infancy, and the personal computer was almost
twenty years into the future....
"On
McLuhan's gravestone are the words 'The Truth Shall Make You Free.' ...
[H]is life was dedicated to showing men the truth about the world they live
in, and the hidden consequences of the technologies he develops."
Huxley's Brave
New World
June
Teens Change Their Tune Regarding
Self and Church: "...the
Barna statistics show that the percentage of teens who are evangelicals - i.e.,
those who are not only born again but also believe in the accuracy of the Bible,
personal responsibility to evangelize, believe in salvation by grace alone,
and possess orthodox biblical views on God, Jesus and Satan - have declined
from 10% in 1995 to just 4% today. This demise is attributable to growing numbers
of teenagers who accept moral relativism and pluralistic theology as their faith
foundation....
"For more than a decade, teenagers have been among the most spiritually interested
individuals in the nation. However, sensitivity to faith matters has not resulted
in a boom in Christian conversions.... 'Teens do not go to youth groups for
music and games, and they will not attend 'adult church' for music and preaching.
They demand transcendent adventures and supportive relationships. They need
an outlet for their desire to have a positive affect on the world...."
That may sound good, but the solution is managed "community service" with the
sensitivity or "diversity training" needed to create solidarity.
See
Serving a Greater Whole
Fundamentalism’s Discernment: Where
has it Gone? "The Scriptures
here tell us that our senses or ability to discern between that which is right
or wrong or good or evil comes as we not only are hearers of the Word of God
but doers. Have we come to a time in fundamentalism when we are nothing more
than hearers? Are we too busy with our lives to be doers of the Word of God?
As I have often said and preached, the Word of God determines the answer
and not us."
Psalm 119:11
May
New Book Helps Christians Understand
Postmodernism: "...a belief system largely defined by what it disregards,
rather than what it affirms. Few Christians can identify it, much less understand
how to approach a world defined by it.... Imagine a world in which logic and
reason carry little weight compared to experience and feelings; history is not
valued as something from which to learn; there are no universal truths; what
is believable is more important than what is true; and the world doesn't need
to make sense--in any sense. Welcome to the murky world of postmodernism....
"The postmodernist
is free to mix and match religious beliefs from many--even conflicting--belief
systems, and at the same time, take none seriously.... 'If we simply say postmodernism
is evil and we're going to fight it with all we can, our culture will move into
this era without us,' Smith said. "By the time we finally say ‘OK, postmodernism
is here,' it will have already shaped our culture. However, if we can be in
on the discussion from the start, we don't have to be bystanders, we can actually
be participants in shaping the new era.'"
It's not that simple. Those who participate in today's dialogue may never even
notice the compromise. Instead, they learn to "understand" postmodernity from
the world's -- not God's -- perspective.
Chart: Postmodernity.
Those who refuse to conform may soon face persecution.
2 Cor 2:14
Church Debates Relevancy, Message
of Contemporary Christian Music
: "There is a major debate and division
in the Christian Church today over contemporary Christian music -- or CCM, as
it is called. Some say the new style of Christian music is necessary to reach
a generation of young people brought up on video games and MTV. But others in
the Church have some concerns with the direction of CCM....
"Darko
Velichkovski of the former Republic of Yugoslavia... says there are some styles
of music that cannot be mixed with God's Word. 'You cannot put the gospel to
just any harmony, any beat, any rhythm,' he says. The clarinetist feels that
the more Christians try and be like the world, the further they will go from
the true spirit of the gospel....
"'Anytime
you get people that are unequally yoked in business or marriage or whatever,
there's always going to be problems,' LeBlanc says. The debate over contemporary
Christian music is deep and wide in churches across America. It is a debate
that likely will not be settled any time soon."
See
Popular Music with Pagan Roots
'Christian Raves' Offer Right Beat
for Young Clubgoers: "Beyond the distractions of drugs and promiscuity,
here young people communicate their souls closer to God -- all while getting
their groove on," said Jeff Stoltzfus, who opened Club Worship, a Christian
rave nightclub in the Philadelphia area, two years ago. Becky Horning, 18, a
regular at Zion Mennonite Church, added: '...Here [at Club Worship], I get my
exercise and blessings from God at the same time.'...
"Planet Jesus, a collection of DJs from Pennsylvania communities and
College Park, Md., has thrown two since January. 'I truly believe that God can
use this kind of music,' College Park DJ Erik Sellin, 29, said. 'I mean, God
created music."...
"'My friend and I used to go clubbing all over,' said Jacob Norotsky,
20, who recently brought 15 people from the youth group at Victory Christian
Fellowship, a nondenominational church in Souderton, Penn. 'We came to Club
Worship about a year ago just to check it out. Now I'm a youth leader, I oversee
three youth groups, and a buddy of mine is training to become a pastor. It changed
my life.'"
Chart: Postmodernity
New Coalition Announces First Steps
Toward Broad U.S. Christian Alliance: "A group of church leaders
has invited the nation's denominations and congregations to work toward a national
alliance that - for the first time - would unite all sectors of U.S. Christianity.
The new entity, tentatively called Christian Churches Together in the
U.S.A., has been under private discussion for two years....
"The concept emerged from discussions two years ago in the National Council
of Churches, an organization that includes denominations representing some 50
million 'mainline' Protestants, black Protestants and Orthodox.... In terms
of doctrine, the invitation defines potential members as those who 'confess
Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the Scriptures to the glory of the
one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.' The invitation says the future organization's
purpose would be to represent 'the full spectrum of Christians in the
United States' and provide a stronger and united voice on 'matters critical
to the gospel in our society' and 'crucial issues of human dignity and social
justice.'"
In the context
of the NCC's social
agenda and pluralistic perspective, the above "doctrine" no longer points to
the Biblical gospel. Instead, the focus shifts to social service, and the cross
becomes an embarrassing offense.
See
Statistics for the Changing Church
and
Conforming the Church to the New
Millennium
"The
Reconciliation Walk
is a diverse network of Christians who desire to fulfill the biblical mandate
for reconciliation and peace. Our emphasis
is on restoring relationships across boundaries of civilization, nation, and
culture, by addressing the mythologies and stereotypes that breed enmity. By
bringing people together at the grassroots, we wish to emphasize our common
humanity. We resist characterizations of others that are dehumanizing, especially
abstract labels that appear to remove others from membership in their God-given
human family. We believe that each life is as valuable as the next, no matter
on what side of the border the person was born. We believe that God is most
highly glorified in man’s humility, and that the cornerstone of humility is
esteem for others."
See
apostasy.
Susan Conway (Redefining
Church & Missions)
says: "There seems to be a tone on this site which focuses on an oppressive
type of Christian witness, and denigrates the many who have gone into areas
of the world to live and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in love along with
teaching the Bible."
Global Leadership Team Meeting 2001
Minutes
(edited version by Lynn
Green):
"Reconciliation procedures for
YWAM International.... The YWAM Christian Growth Study Bible is to be
republished, as reported by Lynn Green."
Luke 12:51
Let's Make Waves!
"A new anointing for doing what YWAM has been called into existence for
- that is the main goal of the Festival of the Nations... 'Our business is making
waves,' added Jeff Fountain, explaining that the apostolic calling meant changing
the status quo, sending waves of change through church and society. 'We
are called to do new things in new ways, and if ever there was a time when the
church needed to do things in new ways, it was now, at the start of this new
millennium,' he said.....
"Plenary
speakers will include Loren and Dar Cunningham, Lynn Green, Jim Stier,
Frank Naea, Mark Anderson, Tom Sine.... Informal evening receptions in the various
hotels will give opportunity for YWAMers to meet senior leaders, including ...
Lynn Green, initiator of the Reconciliation Walk...."
When global leaders shift the foundations of Christianity from the Biblical
Christ and His guidelines to a human vision of pluralistic unity, churches become
part of the growing apostasy.
See
Conforming the Church to the New
Millennium
and
Col
2:8.
What is Wrong with Drama?
"Gospel communication must be in words addressed to the mind. It requires rational
speech, whether uttered in a large building or in a home gathering. Proclamational
methods - particularly preaching - are under attack today in evangelical circles.
The latest church growth books nearly all sweep away the primacy of preaching,
and what preaching is left makes slender use of the Word of God as a divinely
provided source and model. The promoters of so-called 'seeker services', though
they use a measure of preaching, tend to see it as only a component in an elaborate
mix of methods....
"When we proclaim the cross
of Christ we have much to do. We must present the need for the cross,
the holiness of God, the Fall of man, the person of Christ,
and what really happened on that cross. We must also expose the emptiness
and futility of life without God, the benefits of salvation, the exclusive
saving merits of the cross, and the tragedy of a lost eternity. But
only words can adequately explain these matters to rational minds, informing
them of the details and challenging attitudes in a way that the Holy Spirit
can use." See next item:
The new Jesus and a love called
tolerance:
"There's a new Jesus in town and he brings with him a NEW gospel message. It
is a message that teaches a permissive kind of love...a love called 'tolerance'...a
love that hears no evil, sees no evil and frankly never brings evil up for discussion
lest the offenders become the offended.
"
Discussing the evil
in our world, that is the sinful nature of man, is a risky venture nowadays,
especially for any Christian or church seeking to be loved and accepted BY that
world. But then that's not really the great commission, is it...that you and
I go out into the world and seek its love and acceptance in the name of Jesus?
No, the bible assures us that because of Christ the world will hate us.
"You see
the great commission involves a good news/bad news kind of message. To preach
repentance we have to make perfectly clear what it is God expects man to repent
of. We can no longer assume that the lost know they are sinners, especially
among today's adolescents who are growing up in an increasingly scripture-free
environment. Yet, more often than not, that is exactly what we do. We forget
that today's young are coming of age in a much different world than most of
us did...a country where biblical instruction like the Ten Commandments and
the Sermon on the Mount have been strategically replaced with a multicultural
value system. Multiculturalism basically means almost anything and everything
is permissible."
Psalm 50:21
April
Eight Characteristics of a Healthy
Church: "Empowering Leadership...
Gift-oriented Ministry...Passionate Spirituality... Functional Structures... Inspiring
Worship... Holistic Small Groups... Need-Oriented Evangelism... Loving Relationships...
Isn’t that a wonderful picture? Wouldn’t everyone want to be part of a such a
community, contributing to its life and growth?"
No! This model for church
growth and feel good marketing shows no appreciation for solid Biblical teaching
-- the real foundation for knowing and following God.
See
Re-Inventing the Church.
Some churches taking different approach
to Easter service: "...Other
ministers say the telling of the Easter story has to be grounded in 21st-century
forms of communication. Just as we are no longer a society that sits around listening
to radio broadcasts, church services must reflect the ways people get information.
'We've discovered that a lot of people don't see how the Christian message is
relevant to their lives,' said Steve Dycus, associate pastor of the People's
Church in Franklin. 'We found it's very common for individuals today to come
out of an experience where they've been to a Titans game or TPAC or Thoroughbred
20. That's why we've elected to use creative means to make that message relevant.'
...
"The Rev. Don Choi of Unity
Baptist Church will preside over an interdenominational sunrise service for Nashville-area
Koreans. It will include only a sermon and readings from the Scriptures, he said.
'For all pastors, I think it's the challenge of making Jesus' spirit come alive
each year, and how you do that is up to you,' Choi said. 'For us, it is most difficult
to win our children to Christ in this country. Young people question their parents
more here, and they question what's in the Bible. That's a new experience for
us. I am looking for new data and methods to tell the story to win them.'''
Rom 12:2
and
The
People's Church
'Jesus,
the hippy friend of Hendrix' angers Catholics: "A book designed to
take a light-hearted look at the life of Jesus by portraying him as a hippy who
accomplished miracles after breathing in incense has caused a wave of protest
in Austria and Germany. ....
[But]
"Christoph Niemand, professor
of the New Testament at the Theological University in Linz, said he didn't see
a problem with the book because controversial pictures of Jesus have always been
in existence. He said: 'I get the impression that this new book is not terribly
profound or provoking from a theological point of view but it rather presents
an overall modern-day, accessible picture of Jesus.'"
“...and they will
mock
Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will
rise again.”
Mark 10:34
Church flextime: Selling out or saving
world? "As South Church
in Andover, Mass., was debating when to hold an alternative worship service, the
question wasn't which day is holy. Instead it was: When do people have nothing
else to do? A market survey gave them an answer: 5 p.m. Saturday. 'It integrates
nicely into the normal schedule, after the day's activities and before dinner,'
says Tom Jones, a member who helps plan the United Church of Christ service. With
sports leagues and other things competing for weekend time, he says, 'there's
nothing sacred about Sunday morning anymore.'"
Rev 3:15
March
They Say It's Just a Phase:
"...the postmodern transition unleashed by philosophers as far back as Kierkegaard
and Neitsche could go either way.... If we people of faith in Christ would arouse
ourselves at this critical moment, and engage ourselves for the next hundred years
with rare passion and purpose during this time of transition, the world of 3,000
AD could be a vastly different and better place....
"Instead of being obsessed
by analysis (the breaking down of wholes into parts, or effects into causes),
we can explore synthesis and systems thinking.... True, we have lost our modern
sense of control, power, and certainty in this transition. But since the fruits
of control, power, and certainty (from paving over wetlands -- because we were
sure that parking lots were better than swamps, to ethnic cleansings -- since
we were sure that our people were better than theirs) haven't been entirely salutary,
maybe there's something better than control, power, and certainty out there...."
The ambiguous postmodern promises
may sound good, but they demand a new way of seeing and adapting God's unchanging
truth. No matter what postmodern leaders tell us, God's Word offers certainty,
and we would be fools to change it.
Psalm 119:11
The Apostate Church (Part III): Redefining
Evangelism
:
"In a recent article from the Charisma News Service, Andy Butcher reported the
following: 'With more Americans dismissing the relevance of traditional Christianity
to their lives, a growing number of church leaders are saying that it is time
for a major change in the way believers try to share their faith....'
"The
Hegelian Dialectic is no longer limited to Willow Creek or Saddleback membership.
I can tell you from many hours of research that it is running rampant across every
denomination in America from mega-churches to country churches transforming mainstream
Christendom into a culture club of coddled consumers. Facts are out. Feelings
are in. We don't want teachers with information! We want facilitators with affirmation!"
2 Thess 2:1-3
Churches Need to Redefine Evangelism,
New Movement Says: "With
more Americans dismissing the relevance of traditional Christianity to their lives,
a growing number of church leaders are saying that it is time for a major change
in the way believers try to share their faith....'The unchurched do want to talk
to a Christian, but they don't want to be talked at.'
"OTM promotes evangelism
as simply 'Christians connecting with non-Christians,' and documents stories of
what it calls Ordinary Attempts in which small acts of friendship can lead
to opportunities to talk about faith....Now rather than being 'targets,' non-Christians
are 'fellow brothers and sisters," he said. 'I no longer count conversions,
rather I count conversations.'"
Col 2:8
The Apostate Church (Part II)
:
"Is your faith in the Living Word of God or is it in one of the Christian organizations,
programs, movements, bands, activities and events that have become so essential
to today's 'seekers'? ...
I'm not talking about forsaking
good Christian fellowship or becoming a societal outcast for Christ..... I'm talking
about becoming addicted to the emotional trappings, psychological maneuvering
and sensual seduction of an Apostate Church that empowers itself and its leaders
through the egos and appetites of those they claim to serve. Jesus warned us to
beware of the wide gate and the broad way where so many would go to destruction.
If you'll recall He didn't tell the rich young ruler to take up the cross and
follow US. He said "take up the cross and follow ME". That means there will be
times when Jesus will be the only company we have down the road of adversity.
But, if our faith rests in Him, He's all we'll need for the journey."
2 Tim 4:3-4
Dealing With Mega-changes: Churches
On the Cutting Edge of Global Mission:
"In the area of intellectual and cultural changes, Stanley Grenz points out the
move from Modernity to Postmodernity and how Evangelicals should take the opportunities
inherent in this shift. ... In the field of training and equipping new global
mission personnel, J. Allen Thompson challenges us to produce competent global
church planters by changing our training models from the acquisition
to the developmental view of learning.... Donald Posterski even
challenges us to reinvent our evangelistic approaches and strategies in a globalizing
world."
The Global Church
Christian schlock:
"At Jesus Java, you'd be able to get Christian coffee: Salvation Sumatra, Anointed
Arabica, and Faithful French Roast. You could get your favorite espresso drinks
as well: Mind-of-Christ Mochas, Love-Your-Neighbor Lattes, and, if you weren't
in the mood for coffee, you could always try our Charity Chai. ...Worse, however,
Christians do a disservice to their own faith when they use the name of their
savior to peddle schlock."
Psalm 50:21
February
An atheist teaches Sunday school:
"...church leaders thought that if they were going to do justice to their mission
statement they needed to bring an atheist in to teach their youth group. With
that in mind, they thought of Stuart Bechman-Besamo, a former Methodist who abandoned
the church while still in high school....Stuart said 'If they know a person who
is an atheist ... they won't have any negative preconceptions about atheism. If
they find their beliefs head that way, they won't feel like an outcast, that something
is wrong with them. I consider this process similar to what gay individuals go
through.' Despite that depressing statement, the church's pastor told the Los
Angeles Times that Stuart is the sort of person his church wants. He's 'a caring,
bright, perceptive, inclusive kind of person who has a strong sense of justice
... "
Judges 17:6
Genesis 2K - Now the Generation:
(Northwest Revival Network)
"Christianity is currently experiencing the most convulsive, unsettled moment
of change since the birth of the Church more than two thousand years ago. No generation
has witnessed the vast and accelerated alteration of systems that our generation
is undergoing. Surely, we are that generation 'upon whom the ends of the world
are come' (1 Cor.10:11)....
"In May of 1996 I was flying
to Pasadena, California to attend the National Symposium on the Post-denominational
Church when God suddenly interrupted me with these words: 'The current structure
of the church will not accommodate what I am about to do; take it down.'...
"Because of our ineffectiveness,
we build a theology to accommodate our failure. We claim that 'evil must increase.'
We dogmatically state that 'darkness will increase until there’s almost no light
left in the earth.' How do these statements square with the Bible statement that
'the whole earth is filled with God’s glory?'
"Contrary
to the pitiful preaching of some, God is not going to send Jesus to rescue a defeated,
discouraged, desolate Bride. The church Jesus is returning for is a church of
power, of purity and of purpose - a church that is transforming the earth, destroying
evil, and conquering strongholds with His love, mercy and grace."
Do you see the strange postmodern blend of truth
and error? True, Jesus will not rescue a defeated, discouraged and desolate
Bride. The true Bride, who finds her Life in her resurrected Bridegroom, will
be victorious in the midst of persecution, hopeful while suffering, joyful though
hated by the world. This Bride, the pure and faithful remnant of the true Church,
will indeed be full of grace, mercy, love and peace. She will not defeat evil,
for evil will continue to drive the world system and the growing apostate church
until its ruler is silenced by Christ, not by the Church. But the evil one (Satan,
not bin Laden) can never defeat the Bride whose eyes are on her King and whose
heart is full of hope.
apostasy
and
America's Spiritual Slide
The Apostate Church a Sensory Circus:
"You see my friends...it is one's faith that should stir one's feelings and the
Word of God that should stir one's faith, not the other way around. If your faith
becomes dependent upon feelings and emotions triggered by the stimuli of some
staged event, (music, skits, humor, romantic stories, sentimentality, tears and
the excitement of being with crowds and celebrities) then emotion will always
lead the way in your Christian walk. This excludes the Word of God, deafens the
conscience to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and opens the door to all kinds of
satanic deception."
Col 2:8
Reaching new heights 12,000 new churches
open in China: "In the
1950s the 'three-self movement' emerged as Protestant churches struggled for survival.
'Three-self' refers to self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating--all
to be done without overseas leadership, influence or financing. Three-self churches
are registered with the government. So-called 'house churches' also are common
and not usually registered. ...
"'We are proud of being a
post-denominational church,
but we are struggling with the problems of restructuring
the church....'"
See
Communist Strategies Enforce Solidarity
Chinese bishop reflects on the future
of the church in his country:
"China's last Anglican bishop, K.H. Ting... has seen the most important developments
in the life of the Chinese Christian church--and he has some deep concerns about
its future.... The key to maintaining unity is an attitude of mutual respect
in matters of faith and worship.... 'We are paying a heavy price in order to maintain
the present unity,' he said.
'Many
things are being omitted in our church life in order to be mutually respective.
In building up our theological
life and thinking we are trying to emphasize that we all need more diversity...."
See
Conforming the Church to the New
Millennium
Perspective on Postmodernism
- Reality in Paradigm:
"We believe that the different strands of thought represented in postmodernism
have something to contribute to the church. Thinkers like...
Thomas Kuhn
help us to understand that language is symbolic and that we hold reality in our
minds in paradigm. Our grasp of what is real is not always - if ever - complete....
"Truth in Community.
Other writers such as Richard Rorty can help the church to appreciate that
truth is best discerned in the context of community...."
To understand the postmodern emphasis
on a managed community and collective thinking, see
the first item in
The Postmodern Church,
the chart
Postmodernity
and
some
excerpts about
Thomas Kuhn
from
"The Aquarian Conspiracy."
Reaching new heights 12,000 new churches
open in China: "In the
1950s the 'three-self movement' emerged as Protestant churches struggled for survival.
'Three-self' refers to self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating--all
to be done without overseas leadership, influence or financing. Three-self churches
are registered with the government. So-called 'house churches' also are common
and not usually registered. ...
"'We are proud of being a
post-denominational church,
but we are struggling with the problems of restructuring
the church, training enough
qualified leaders and managing in a democratic way. We are excited about the modernization
and socialist market economy, but we are threatened by commercialism and worried
about corruption. We will stand firmly on our selfhood, but we don't want to be
isolated as we were before.'"
See
Communist Strategies Enforce Solidarity
Epicenter-Tribal Generation:
"On top of this, Mal leads Tribal Generation in UK and Tribal Training in 3 centers
including Dublin. What people do not know about Mal is this: That Mal drives a
funky Fiat Multipla - a bloated 6-seater mutant car with headlights mounted high
near the windscreen, like someone rolling back their eyes. This car of his, and
the fact that Mal's office in up in the bell-tower like Quasimodo, makes Mal a
very cool person and someone you need to meet in Austin. The web site, which is
ground zero for the Tribal Generation movement, is becoming THE place for the
whole world to connect and is definitely worth a trip to check out if you havent
yet done so. www.tribalgeneration.com.
...
"Trevor has been ministering
among punks, goths, industrials, riot girrls, ravers, skinheads and Canadians.
Not that Canadians are to be linked with extreme postmodern subcultures
- its just that he lives there. His leadership extends over a network of similar
ministries all over Canada and United States called Underground Railroad."
We need to reach out to
the postmodern generation, but we can't conform to its values -- or the cross
becomes meaningless.
President's Pastor-Friend Seeks 'Community
Salvation': "...it's the
role of the church to cast God's preferred future for this community, and make
sure folk have what they need to accomplish that vision -- be it faith, hope,
grace, etc.," [UMC Pastor
Kirbyjon
Caldwell]
says....
Caldwell's vision for 'community
salvation' was born out of his childhood in a poor Houston neighborhood. He
believes that Western culture has divorced people from the biblical concept of
community....
"Caldwell's development work
caught the eye of then-Gov. George W. Bush. Their friendship continued after Bush
ascended to the White House. Caldwell describes himself as 'just one of the people
who prays with the president,' but he was invited to give the benediction at the
presidential inauguration, and was also asked to pray at the National Day of Prayer
and Remembrance following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Caldwell also accompanied
the president on his first visit to Ground Zero after the attacks."
See other illustrations of
The Postmodern Church
Leadership Network: "The ministry of Windsor Village and
Kirbyjon Caldwell is one of the shining examples
of how ministry will be conducted in the 21st century. Their commitment to discipling
the whole person for ministry and everyday life is exceptional. Their understanding
of how to transform both the person and the city is phenomenal."
See
Church
Networks and
Reinventing the World
American Faith is Diverse:
"The findings suggest that many Americans have developed
a form of faith that is comforting but only vaguely Bible - related
while the stereotypical, Bible-based Christian faith is more of an anomaly than
it is typical."
See
Statistics for the Changing Church
The Cathedral of Faith.
"A graduate of Oral Roberts University, [Ken Foreman, Senior Pastor at
the Cathedral of Faith] is presently serving as a member of the Convening Council
for the Post denominational Church Symposium headed by Peter Wagner. Pastor
Ken also serves on the Pastoral Advisory Board of Western Theological Seminary."
The Protestant Church in China:
"...it was during the Cultural Revolution that the identity and nature of the
church in China underwent a profound change. Rev. Gao Ying, professor at Nanjing
Union Theological Seminary...says, 'It took the Cultural Revolution for us to
discover strengths in our weakness. God did indeed lead us through the valley
of the shadow of death.' Li En-Lin is now associate general secretary of Amity
Foundation, the social services arm of the China Christian Council, and a member
of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Asia Regional Group. ... she now speaks
as one of 15 million Christians in a socialist state. ...
"Post-denominationalism
and the China Christian Council (CCC). "...It is not -- yet -- one united
church, but we no longer have any denominations. CCC stands somewhere between
a national council of churches and the one united church." ... Central to this
process of building a distinctive Chinese identity was the foundation of the 'Three-Self'
movement in 1950. Standing for 'self-support, self-governance and self-propagation',
Three-Self was a key to the Chinese Christian community establishing a protestant
church understood in the Chinese context and ending a reliance on foreign financial
assistance, leadership, and evangelism. ...
"Evangelism and religious
freedom. The building of trust, and respecting the country
and its culture are important themes evoked by members of the China Christian
Council. They note especially that religious freedom still means that you need
to follow a country’s regulations. "If we follow the constitution and the
law,' Dr Su states, 'we have religious freedom.'
Not true. When the government bans
certain truths and forbids teaching on Christ's return, Christians are not free.
That's why uncompromising Christians risk their physical lives to join the underground
church.
Luke 6:22-23
and
The Global Church
and the next
item, which reminds us that the same
apostasy
is changing the church in America.
Hegelian Dialectic & the New World
Order:
[Long, but a useful summary of the new way of thinking]
"The Hegelian Dialectic or 'Consensus
Process' is a 200 year-old, three-step process of 'thesis, antithesis and synthesis'...
that results in what we now know as 'group-think'. It is a system Dean Gotcher
calls 'Praxis' that Socialists have used for centuries to seduce, seize and control
mass populations without warfare. It is also in full operation here in the United
States under such names as: 'Outcome Based Education', 'Goals 2000', 'Sustainable
Development', 'School To Work', 'DARE' and many more. It's all about embracing
'tolerance, diversity and unity' for The New World Order."
[See
Brainwashing
in America
and
Reinventing the
World]
"Here's how
it works: A group gathers, and has agreed beforehand that each in attendance will
ultimately surrender his or her own personal position on any given issue to the
will or 'consensus' of the group after *processing to consensus* through dialog.
In a Christian setting, the presupposition is that the group's will determines
'the will of God'. The group's 'facilitator', whoever that may be, mediates between
sides, be they 'good and evil', 'for and against', 'republican and democrat',
'liberal and conservative'.... The resulting outcome or *consensus* is then re-introduced
if necessary, at the next meeting for more 'Praxis', more dialog and more compromise
until another 'consensus' is reached. Then the 'process' repeats....
"Over time, the convictions
and concerns anyone may have had originally are processed away beyond recognition....
It's no longer a question of what is right or wrong, good or bad, lawful or unlawful,
but rather HOW WE ALL FEEL ABOUT IT...no absolutes, no conscience, no convictions...
only consensus....
2 Tim 4:3-4
"Theirs is
a selective morality... Instead of accepting God's way as Holy and the world's
way as sinful, they busy themselves endeavoring to make everyone else at church
exactly like them through the micromanaging and peer pressure of accountability
groups while re-defining for those outside the church what being a Christian really
is....
"Here's what Jesus says about diversity: 'I am the way and the truth and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me.' (John 14:6) Here's what He says
about unity: 'Suppose ye that I come to bring peace on earth? I tell you, Nay;
but rather division.'" (Luke
12:51)
See
The Global Church
Celebrating Halloween
(Click on "articles" and
find this strange message from a man who ministers to Christian youth and churches
across the country): "Halloween
is the symbolic observance of Christ's victory over Satan. The enemy was completely
defeated by the work of our Lord upon the cross. Therefore Christians in years
past felt free to mock the Devil by portraying him in a variety of costumes (a
practice which I do not wholly endorse). The practice of children dressing up
as devilish characters then was not for the purpose of promoting evil, but rather
that of making fun of Satan's failure and defeat at Calvary."
See
Modern vs. postmodern
and the next link.
January 2002
American Faith is Diverse:
"The growing diversity of American culture can be clearly seen in the changing
nature of people's faith, according to a new study by the Barna Research Group....
Based on interviews with more than 4000 adults across the nation, the report suggests
that there are at least five major and distinctive faith groups in America today
- three of which are generally thought of as 'Christian' but each of which is
unique from the others in significant ways. The findings suggest that
many Americans have developed
a form of faith that is comforting but only vaguely Bible - related
while the stereotypical, Bible-based Christian faith is more of an anomaly than
it is typical."
See
Statistics for the Changing Church
and
Modern vs. postmodern
Seven Questions:
"
What do you see as
the top three elements of community in a postmodern age?"
Stanley Gerz, "a fellow with the
Henry Luce
Fellowship in Theology" and a
professor at Regent College ("home" of
Eugene Peterson),
Vancouver, answers from inside the movement:
"'Community' is, of course, a postmodern buzzword, and a
term that I have used extensively in my own writings. Postmodern people do indeed
'crave' community, but unfortunately they so often settle for 'lifestyle enclaves,'
largely because the only way they know how to relate to others is as 'consumers.'...True
'community" emerges when people find themselves connected to a group which functions
as a community of memory
(i.e., that tells its past narrative) and a community of hope (i.e., that anticipates
a glorious future). This, in turn, leads to the kind of on-going fellowship that
we all so strongly desire. Naturally, as a Christian I am convinced that only
the community of Christ can ultimately serve as a true community in this manner
and therefore foster true fellowship."
Perhaps
Getz's "community" refers to the fellowship unique to those who have entered into
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the cross, but the grant from
the Henry Luce Foundation requires a far more ecumenical, inter-faith or
pluralistic view -- one that bridges the spiritual divisions in a community. His
comment about "memory" matches the vision of "community" touted by former President
Clinton and by UNESCO. The latter would limit cultural "memories" to those that
fit their vision.
See
The Memory of
the World and
Conforming the Church to the New Millennium
and another Henry Luce Foundation
winner below:
Contemporary theologist to speak at
Bates: "Diana L. Eck, award-winning
author ... is a member of the international presidium of the World Conference
on Religion and Peace and has worked closely with the World Council of Churches
to improve interreligious relations and dialogue. In 1995, she was awarded the
Henry Luce III Fellowship
in Theology for her work
on the book "Multireligious
America: New Challenges for American Pluralism."
Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies and director of the
Pluralism Project at Harvard University, has documented the growing presence
of the Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Zoroastrian communities in the
United States. Her research has been published on an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM
titled, "On Common Ground: World Religions in America."
See
The Freedom Forum: Twisting Truth
by Group Consensus
Postmodernism and Philosophy:
"The Gospel & Our Culture Network... is a network of Christian scholars, pastors,
and church leaders who attempt to look at North American culture from the perspective
of the Christian gospel.... The Network has formed out of an awareness that the
role of the church, and
of Christianity in general, is changing dramatically in North American culture.
Old paradigms are breaking down, and
we need to explore fresh
visions for what it means to be the church,
and what it means to bear witness in our rapidly changing situation. ... What
are appropriate Christian analyses of modernity,
post-modernity,
pluralism and the other forces which are sweeping through our culture?"
See
The Global Church
Delights and Dangers of Navigating
the Postmodern currents:
"The prevailing ethos of an age provides
a lens
through which even the most conscientious and diligent Christian interprets the
Divine. During a transitional period, when a new ethos and thought challenges
the prominent mode, it benefits the Christian to consider both how and if the
new thinking helpfully adjusts
his or her mindset ..."
[Conform
Scripture and our minds to these unbiblical changes? Only at the risk of distorting
truth, re-inventing God and allowing the new human philosophies and thought process
to strip away the meaning of the cross, sanctification and closeness to God.]
What then is postmodernism?
There is no one authoritative thinker who by his or her work encompasses the entire
breadth of postmodern reflection. But some summary comments can be made that move
us toward a better understanding. We will focus on just three strands of postmodern
thought: the inadequacy of language and paradigms, the way that paradigms serve
oppression, and truth in community."
See
Paradigm Shift
The Changing church.
Danger lies in ignorance of postmodernism, journal says:
"Should Christians be concerned about postmodernism? For that matter, what is
postmodernism? ... The journal's writers argue that postmodernism -- the belief
that there is no absolute truth and that all individuals construct their own meaning
-- poses a great threat to the Christian church. Postmodernists generally believe
that all religions are equal and that morality is relative....
"'We must note immediately
... the danger that lurks when we choose to neglect
a deviant philosophy, especially when the philosophy is gaining ground in the
culture,' writes Schreiner, professor of New Testament. 'We
may piously claim to be preaching the Gospel, while in fact we are in the process
of being co-opted by the very philosophy that we have supposedly avoided. Our
ignorance may become the platform by which we are subverted.'
"Noting that everyone is influenced by the culture,
Schreiner points out that many orthodox [or traditional] Christian beliefs were
defined when the early church had to answer various heresies. 'A pastor who knows
nothing about heresy probably has a very shallow understanding of orthodoxy,'
Schreiner writes. 'Those who are
in the dark about postmodernism may find themselves clutched by its tentacles.'
See
The Global Church
"Although this article brings
up a very important issue for the church," says Paul Proctor, "I was absolutely
stunned by the title of a sermon that is included in a journal they offer: "What
Did Jesus Believe About the Bible?" The sheer depth of ignorance and/or dialectic
deception in that question is almost beyond belief."
Col 2:8
The Changing Church.
Postmodernism and Philosophy:
"The Gospel & Our Culture Network... is a network of Christian scholars, pastors,
and church leaders who attempt to look at North American culture from the perspective
of the Christian gospel.... The Network has formed out of an awareness that the
role of the church, and
of Christianity in general, is changing dramatically in North American culture.
Old paradigms are breaking down, and
we need to explore fresh
visions for what it means to be the church,
and what it means to bear witness in our rapidly changing situation. ... What
are appropriate Christian analyses of modernity,
post-modernity,
pluralism and the other forces which are sweeping through our culture?"
See
The Global Church
The next two articles give additional
glimpses into the postmodern church. In today's fast changing world, Christians
need to understand the human philosophies that are transforming churches around
the world.
Col 2:8
Postmodern church.
Christian discipleship in Postmodernity:
Toward a praxis of spiritual friendship:
"A good bit of ink has been spilled over the questions surrounding postmodernism’s
impact on the church and her theologian’s reaction to postmodernism. What has
not been addressed as extensively --- beyond the topic of evangelism --- are the
practical implications for Christian discipleship that the community of faith
might garner from the legitimate insights of postmodern thinkers. One of the strands
of postmodern reflection worth considering in this connection is the
importance of community and relationships
in establishing truth.
...
"When we believe in another
Christian, we are actually
believing in God’s work within that Christian. She is a new creature and is being
daily renewed in knowledge in the image of her Creator...."
[Maybe, maybe not. While God calls
us to such renewal, it cannot happen in a cultural climate where human relationships
become more important than God's absolute truth and guidelines.
Rom 12:2, 9]
"Our confidence in the
other person is abundantly warranted because our trust is placed in the Spirit
working in that person, relentlessly driving them toward more and more Christlikeness.
There are few things more
powerful than when Christian has faith in Christian."
Jesus would not put His trust in people
or human relationships, "for He for He knew what was in man." He saw the weakness
of our human nature and saw how easily we can be deceived. The apostle Paul agreed:
"For
we ... rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."
Phil 3:3
The Changing Church.
C. S. Lewis Among the Postmodernists:
"Lewis... goes on to examine the way in which any world-view, including modern
ones, can be said to be 'true.'... He also shows that the predominant evolutionary
model of the nineteenth century was already widespread before Darwin's discoveries
lent empirical weight to the paradigm. Lewis concludes that 'no model is a catalogue
of ultimate realities, and none is a mere fantasy. Each is a serious attempt to
get in all the phenomena known at a given period ... each reflects the prevalent
psychology of an age almost as much as it reflects the state of that age's knowledge….
"It is not impossible that
our own Model will die a violent death," said Lewis. "But I think it is more likely
to change when, and because, far-reaching changes in the mental temper of our
descendants demand that it should." ...
"Lewis stresses the undecidability
of many of the great questions we would like to pose."
These excerpts -- referring
to what Lewis wrote long after he supposedly became a Christian -- sound more
like postmodern speculations than Biblical certainty or hope.
Yet, keep in mind, they are only short
glimpses from a long, scholarly article.
See
Lord of the Rings: Truth, Myth or 'Discovered Reality'?
and skip down to
C.S. Lewis.
God’s design and pattern for the N.T. church
(scroll to this heading): "The 2 winged church - cells and cell-ebration: *Celebration
– greatness, corporate anointing, excitement, momentum, preaching and equipping,
corporate praise and worship, vision, direction, etc. *Cells – intimacy,
vulnerability, accountability, personal attention, discipleship and mentoring,
make friends, participate and contribute, exercise gifts, love and be loved, share
deeply etc. *It’s not one or the other – we need both! (Balance) ... *Jesus had
a cell – the Twelve - and had a triplet...." This
unbiblical description of the New Testament Church outlines one of the more popular
patterns for the global church. Cells and celebration may sound loving and feel
good, but -- since it uses the consensus process to build group unity, it shifts
individuals from God's unchanging Word to a group consensus led by a facilitator
trained in the dialectic process.
See
The
Global Church and
Part
4: The Open Church
"Quality Management" for the Church:
Involve Everybody Who Cares: "... building participation
is not optional. As leaders, we have no choice but to figure out how to
invite in everybody who is going to be affected by change.
Those we fail to invite into the creation process will
surely and always show up as resistors and saboteurs. But I haven't
become insistent on broad-based participation just to avoid resistance, or to
get people to support my efforts. I've learned that I'm not smart enough to design
anything for the whole system. None of us these days can know what will work inside
the dense networks we call organizations. We can't see what's meaningful to people,
or even understand how they get their work done. We have no option but to ask
them into the design process."
See
The Global Church
Organizational
Learning Ventures - Helping church leaders transition
from the present to the future: "The convergence of three shifts in culture
has combined to provide a new opportunity for effective [church] organizational
and staff development in the 21st century.
[1]
Over the past three decades, the US culture has moved from one of observation
to participation, from involvement to experience.
[2]
A second shift is from training to learning, for a one-time transfer of information
based on a classroom model to a life long process of discovery and learning that
is interactive......
[3]
A final shift is from individual learning to collaborative
learning or shared leaning in the context of a team."
This shift in from facts to feeling or experience
-- and from individual to group our collective learning -- parallels UNESCO's
global education system. See
Molding Human Resources for a Global
Workforce
11-18
"Through all of the statements,
reactions, retractions, and general hubbub, has anyone seriously asked
the question of what God's Word has to say about God? If they have,
how many have taken the time to look beyond those attributes of God and
those verses describing his character and will which conform to their
own preferences? Are we willing to allow God to speak for himself and
define himself, or will we continue to insist upon creating him in our
own image? ...As creatures of his making, we are never free to assume
anything about his character and nature which he has not revealed to us
explicitly in his Word. Nor do we have the prerogative to pick and choose
which parts of his Word we will allow to inform our understanding of God
and his works. It is of the utmost importance that we -
-
take his Word in its entirety seriously,
-
submit to its authority absolutely, and
-
allow it to govern our thinking exhaustively.
God's
Providence in the Presence of Evil by Steve Watkins
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