I have found a dear Brother in Christ

I have found a dear brother in Christ… He has brought up some great points to consider.


Iggy,
Thanks for your thoughts. I have been reading a lot, and as one of "the old guys" it has been a difficult thing to get my arms around this whole thing. I tell my youth pastor that I saw this in the 70's, but he insists that it's different. After more reading I would agree. The thing that is different is that now, along with the young adults wanting a genuine relationship with God we also have a battle over absolute truth woven into the debate, so there are multiple layers to deal with, and that has raised a number of red flags from my contempories. I understand that, but I am all for a genuine relationship with Christ pursued passionately based on the truth of the word of God. For all seeking that, I'm with you. If you are willing to sacrifice the truth of the word to get to an experience you can wave at me in your rear view mirror, because we are going in different directions. For all seeking Christ through his word, bless you. I am praying for you. For those who are willing to compromise truth for an experience, I am praying for you, you will find at the end of your journey that you somehow got lost.Iggy, thanks for your thoughts, and help. I enjoy reading your work.I will be praying for you as well.



Mike,

I agree with you that one must be cautious and not just “be so open minded that our brains seep out”. Yet, in some ways I see the journey in following Jesus a way to weed out those who will follow and persevere and those who will follow then veer off the path, yet both will have a chance to grow and best tested as truly righteous followers then those who have decided to let their faith stagnate in their “faith in doctrine”.

I am accused by some to be against doctrine, yet it is not “doctrine” but “bad doctrine” that I am opposed to. And that to me is any that says we have arrived, and in some elitist way assumes that we are pleasing God in our own way… and that can be bad from modernism, and postmodernism.

The reason I love the Emerging thought is that it is the challenge to find faith in a world that is losing faith in institutions… like science, education, (I know some highly educated professionals leaving to work at convenience stores because they pay better!) politics and gov’t… and yes even the church… and worse… God Himself… as Brian McLaren pointed out… somewhere we have placed Jesus in the doorway to heaven to keep people out, instead of being the door that let’s people in… in fact even when we have done that right, we then take turns in that very doorway, keeping out who we see undesirable…we preach, “whosoever will”, yet our actions are, “but not liberals, or gays or (name your modern day leper).

In a way Brian is like Chuck Smith, who at a time saw that these unclean hippies needed a place, so he opened his church to them… the sad thing is I know of no Calvary Chapel who still lives by this philosophy… I even attended one who would not let children in the sanctuary and defiantly no food or drink… what would they do with someone who has not bathed in quite awhile?

Many of us are disillusioned by what we have seen, many are just seeking and found people that are asking the same questions, yet seek the answer in Jesus… in that I see great hope. I do, see that we must be cautious with looking at universalism and other things that have come up… yet, I am confident, that though some will travel off the path, many of us will come to a deeper appreciation of the “sound doctrine” that has been handed down.

Yet, there must always be that possibility that some will fail to see, if love is to prevail that those who seek THE TRUTH, Who is Christ Jesus Himself, will find truth in Him and Truth will live in them. In that we will be set free by His glorious grace.

What a vision though that you stated… that some will depart from the truth, be that emerging or not, and I too pray for them as “they wave back through the rearview mirror”.

That is why I am a part of the Emerging church… to take the heat, to preach the Gospel and love the “lepers’ of today. To gently bring those who do not even know light exists or can in their own heart, and introduce them to the Living Risen Jesus.

Blessings,
iggy