flavers

so i have been thinking a lot about this emergent church thing. i have read about it, heard a message on it, as well as a long answer about it in a Q&A that i happened to download (it was off topic to and that made it ironic to me). it would seem that for some reason God has put this movement into my sight for the last two days in a row. so i have pondered the things i have heard both Good and bad and thought i would give my thoughts. i think and hope that Christians who are so against the emergents are so because of a total lack of biblical truth in the movement and not because of the way someone might dress or because of the style of worship that goes on. i really believe that there are things we should never depart from, and then there are things that the bible just does not talk about that i think comes down culture and personal likes and dislikes. i see nothing wrong with diverse styles of dress all worshiping together as long as everyone in the congregation is ok with that. i see nothing wrong with using video or modern music in worship. i do not have any problems with there being a different style of Christian. if that where a problem then all the world would have to become Americans to please God. and i think thats hog wash. the bible does not tell us what style to use, or what kind of music (other then psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs). i have to believe that God left the door open on some of these things for a very good reason.

now when it comes to the bible being the word of God, doctrine, and statements of faith i have to lean toward the conservative with a heavy lean. i think there is no room to question the gospel, or God's word. i think there is no room to question how man kind is saved, how we are to serve, and the lives we are to live. the bible is clear about sin, hell, and Jesus Christ being the only cure. for me i think this is where the emergent church has stepped out of Christianity compleatly.

is there a middle ground?
i hope so! and im starting to believe there is. i just heard about a congregation tonight for the first time that is a mix of both. there statement of faith would give most of the Christians i know a heart attack. yet i do not see anything that is against the word of God. also, they believe it is the word they believe in hell, and sin. they seek to live for Christ everyday. yet they will have rock shows on the stage there, and let people come as they are to worship. still they believe in living a moral God exulting life. im not going to say i agree with everything they do but i think we can learn from the way they seek to look past the outward, in order to get to peoples heart. the place where God is concerned with.

here is a clip out of the "who we are" section of their web site. im not going to say who they are for the sake of not promotoing something i don't 100% agree with.

"What We Believe
When it comes to doctrine, culture, preferences, traditions, lifestyles, politics, behavior, etc., blank Church takes a “closed-hand/open-hand” approach. The closed hand hangs onto the non-negotiable tenets of Christian orthodoxy: sin is the problem, Jesus is the answer, the Bible is true, and Hell is hot.

The open hand, however, allows room for differences when it comes to secondary matters; we liberally allow freedom for conscience and wisdom to guide where the Bible is silent. The open hand fosters unity among the diversity of expressions found in the congregation: Democrats and Republicans, soccer moms and indie rockers, carnivores and vegans, trendy bohemians and Microsoft nerds.

Hence,(enter name of church) is in favor of good beer (in moderation), great sex (in marriage), and even tattoos (Jesus has one). But our goal must always be love and concern for our friends so that we don’t enjoy our freedom at the expense of their faith.

In this way, we are seeking to simultaneously heed the Bible’s commands to have sound doctrine (1Timothy 4:16; Titus 1:9, 2:1), to love our Christian brothers and sisters (1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:7-21), and to avoid unnecessary divisions (Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10, 12:25; Titus 3:10)."


something to think about....
maybe we just need to except that not everyone is like us, and maybe just maybe we might not have the only way. my pastor once said this. "when i was young i thought we had the only way, as i got older i started to think we have the best way, after a few more years i thought we had a good way, and now i realize we have a way." i know he was not talking about there being another way to salvation. he was talking about how we do church. and i think he is right, as long as you have the big things right you have "a way"