Thoughts of a Contemplating Guy who Loves Jesus

Recently someone gave me an article to read to get my thoughts on it. The article is titled "The Emergent Church Could Submerge Yours!" by Jan Markell.  Here's the link:

She seems to be in attack mode and I wonder how well she has really looked into the guys that she lists on her "bad guys" roster. I've read books by a few of them, including Bell, and I've listened to many of their teachings via podcasts. Definitely more Bell's than the other guys, but none the less, I've still heard Doug Pagitt, Dan Kimball, and Tony Jones. And she's making some drastic accusations that I don't think have much ground (at least not enough to write about).

When Rob Bell teaches, he's very biblical. He usually spends 45 mins to an hour teaching a very small portion of scripture. It's very biblical and he definitely does not downplay hell, sin, repentance, or the word of God. And churches have to do things differently now if we are going to reach the culture of today. Traditions aren't necessarily bad either, you just have to ask if they're effective. If not... give it the 'axe'. I seem to recall Jesus sharing a few words with guys who were locked in on ineffective traditional practices. It's been proven that people retain more when their senses are engaged (sight, taste, smell, touch, sound, etc.) so why not use people's senses to create an engaging teaching environment? They're not being different just for the sake of being different, they're being different because it works. And they are not getting away from the Bible.

The least churched age bracket across the country is the 18-30 years old bracket. What a lot of those guys are doing are engaging that bracket. You look at their churches and the majority of the people involved are in that bracket, where other places it's the smallest group. The churches that are doing things differently are reaching people that most churches are not. And they are in fact getting sound biblical teaching and the focus is still Jesus.

Now granted, I do disagree with the stances some of those guys take with certain issues. I disagree with McLaren more than any of the others, but I still believe that he loves Jesus with all his heart and he is my saved brother in Christ. And even Bell; I disagree with some of the things he says, but that doesn't discredit him. He's a child of God and a student of His word, and his desire is for people to know Jesus.

She states in the beginning of her article that leaders came out saying "we need a new way of doing church. That old time religion wasn't good enough. So in came new gimmicks, replacing the solid gospel." I agree, but not with her. You can't do church like it was done in the past, it has to change with the times to relate and reach out to the people living in those times. What worked 50 years ago, is not going to be effective with todays culture. And to correct her, those guys are not replacing the gospel. They are coming up with creative and innovative new ways to communicate it. And those are not gimmicks. If ministries don't change with the times, they will for sure die over time. And you can be creative and innovative and experiential and engaging and emergent and still be focused on Jesus and the gospel.

Do know that I definitely have disagreements with some of those guys and the "emergent church" thing, but I do believe they are still God's guys doing God's work. Most of the things that I disagree with them on are things they don't take a stance on. For instance, McLaren won't make a stance on homosexuality and has some weird beliefs about hell... like it doesn't exist or something like that. Now granted those are the big ones. And there's nothing that I've heard from Bell that I disagree with in the same magnitude I disagree with McLaren on those issues.

But I wouldn't bash them or the church like she does. Those guys are still doing amazing things and are playing a huge part in sharing the gospel and showing people Jesus.

Anyways... those are some of my thoughts. I could talk about this kind of stuff forever. I love having conversations like this.

You haven't told me what you thought yet. So what do you think?

If you care... I wrote the following post while on a plane on my way back from Dallas, TX where I attended the Lead Now conference which focused on leaders of next generation ministries.  A lot of it is just personal convictions and thoughts that were going through my head as I traveled back home.  Enjoy.

So... Do we know what we really want? Who do we aim to please?  I often fall into a slump and pursue the approval of people and not that of God.  I’m hesitant to say things that God has laid upon my heart and also hesitant to do the things God has put on my heart to do.  In Ephesians 6 you can make the conclusion that “if we pursue the approval of men, we will not get the approval of God.”  I’m tired of living in a Christian realm where everyone needs to coexist happily and never be offended.  If we do and say the things that God wants us to say and do, then we will upset people and offend people.  Jesus knows how this goes.  He said things that caused people to leave him and walk away and then he turns to the disciples, the twelve guys that followed him everywhere and asks “Do you want to go with them?”  HA!  Jesus knew that the approval of men was not his priority.  If Jesus led a local church today, how many would commit to go to his church?  I hope many, but realistically I think few.  Jesus significantly raises the bar for people who follow him.  People aren’t willing to make the sacrifices that Jesus tells us to make.  But nonetheless, we’ve americanized Christianity to meet the consumer.  Let’s limit the sacrifice and be careful about what we say and do so that more people will come.

The early church, the first ones that guys like Peter and Paul planted understood what was going on in the beginning.  People joined the church knowing that there were groups seeking out these “church members” so that they could execute them.  They were willing to sacrifice their lives at any moment for the Lord they loved and followed.  What do we sacrifice to be a part of His church today?  A couple of extra hours of sleep on Sunday mornings?  Our golf outings?  What’s even more sad is that the people who do sacrifice their Sunday mornings for church, for more than half of them, that’s the only sacrifice they make.  They are not engaging themselves in community with other believers throughout the week.  They are not studying the word of God  Monday thru Saturday.  They don’t communicate with God in prayer the other 6 days of the week.

What for?!  Is Jesus going to spew us out like he does the church mentioned in Revelation?  Is he going to look at us face to face and say “Get away from me. I never knew you.”?

I want to give Jesus my all.  My heart, my dreams, my pains, and shames.  I want to be filled with courage to live the way that He has called me to, no matter what that means.  If it is something that the Holy Spirit has laid upon my heart to do or say, then I will do and say it.  I don’t care about what people think of me anymore.  I want the approval of Jesus and no one else.