Too Reformed vs. Extreme Emergent
A great post over at Ochuk’s blog that he grabbed from Purgatorio.
The a little too Reformed vs. extreme Emergent
You might be Emgerging if…
your worship service looks like:
Prayer Labyrinth
you are listening to:
Emergents Like Bono
You have to look at these pics twice because it might be you:
You might be Getting a little TOO Reformed if…
Someone tells you they go to:
and you think they’re going:
You hear a news story about some criminals being “reformed” and your first thought is to wonder how many criminals are arminians.
On at least 4 different blogs, you end up in extended wars with arminians arguing about God’s Sovereignty. Your final comment always being a variation of:
You’re looking under your big kid’s bed and find:
and you are way more upset then the time you found:
Would the REAL church please stand up – Confusion in the Kingdom of God
[This is a reflection on my San Diego Reader Column where I visited a different church each week for 2005 and part of 2004.]
One theme that developed as I spoke with different pastors/priests for a variety of denominations and faiths is that each one was convicted that their expression was the true expression of faith. Catholic Priests had a sense of confidence that “theirs was the true church that traced itself back to Peter and Jesus Christ.” The Mass was the place where the Eucharist was served and followers needed to access the grace offered here. Yet, other splinter Catholic groups (Byzantine and Old Catholics) were quick to point out their legitimacy in relation to the “ROMAN Catholic” traditions.
On the other side of the world, Eastern Orthodox congregations (visited two, one Greek and the other Antiochian) were most vocal in their position as ‘truest church’. ["I believe the [Greek Orthodox Church] is the true church, but I’m not going to rub it in anyone’s face,” said Nazo Zakkak, an altar boy at St. Gregory of Nyssa Greek Orthodox Church.]
Both these groups (Catholics & Eastern Orthodox) often citied the amount of denominations in the Protestant movement as an indictment against Evangelicals. “There are 20,000 some-odd denominations, any time an Evangelic has a minor doctrinal disagreement, they just go off and start their own church,” is a common comment about Protestantism.
Where does this leave us? How do we deal with the denominational divides? One comment is often, “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty.” Yet an Orthodox Father pointed out that denominations aren’t even in agreement on what is essential or non-essential so how can their be unity. It seems like the church is in a mess but why does God allow such a divergent expression of faith amongst people who call themselves Christians?
Read MoreLast San Diego Reader ‘Sheep & Goats’ Article
Last week was my last San Diego Reader article for the Sheep & Goats column. Beginning in 2006, I am no longer writing the column. It’s been a great season over 2004-2005 to visit different places of faith and interview people to learn more about their experiences and what they believe. Here are a few of my favorites: (A few of my favorites are not online)
Anchor Point Church – an honest and open story of a church plant that closed it’s doors.
The Resolved – An opening line that created quite a controversy, “Beer is one of our core values”. (So much controversy the pastors wrote a letter to explain this sarcastic comment about church pragmatism.)
What’s NEXT? I’m excited about this transition because life has been crazy focusing on three different ventures (Kaleo Church, Monk Development and San Diego Reader). Here are the plans:
1. Become more full time at Kaleo Church. This is a big year for us as we really take a lot of the things that are functioning and move them to healthy reproducing ministries.
2. Launch Ekklesia in a big way the next two-months and continue to build a world-class application for churches to use the internet for the Kingdom.
3. Write creatively. Spend more time writing articles I’ve been putting off.
4. Begin Covenant Theological Seminary’s Master of Arts (Theological Studies) with an emphasis in contemporary culture.
5. Go on long walks with my wife.
6. Adopt a new child.
and more that I’m sure will be added soon….
Thanks for all of you who read the articles and provided feedback and encouragement.
Read MoreChurches as businesses
Great article in the Economist that speaks about the influence of business thinking merging with how people do church. The subtitle boldly states, “America’s most successful churches are modelling themselves on businesses“. The Economist writer, also coins a new term; the pastorpreneur. Overall the article provides a tone of indictment on the practices and soul-lessness of these churches…
VISIT Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, an upscale exurb of Chicago, and you are confronted with a puzzle. Where in God’s name is the church? Willow Creek has every amenity you can imagine, from food courts to basketball courts, from cafes to video screens, not to mention enough parking spaces for around 4,000 cars. But look for steeples and stained glass, let alone crosses and altars, and you look in vain. Surely this is a slice of corporate America rather than religious America?
The corporate theme is not just a matter of appearances. Willow Creek has a mission statement (“to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ”) and a management team, a seven-step strategy and a set of ten core values. The church employs two MBAs—one from Harvard and one from Stanford—and boasts a consulting arm. It has even been given the ultimate business accolade: it is the subject of a Harvard Business School case-study.
Full article: Churches as businesses – Jesus, CEO
Question: Where is the line, how are churches going too far? Do you think Jesus would turn over the tables on these things?
Read MoreDrew Goodmanson
CEO of Monk Development creators of Ekklesia 360. Co-Founder of Kaleo Church where I served as Pastor for 8+ years and helped coach several church plants in San Diego. Co-Founder of the GCM Collective, President of the Board at the Center for Church Communication, Board Member of the Entrepreneurship Organization, Internet/Technology Advisory Chair at the Christian Leadership Alliance. Connect
Sponsors
