tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1901049708735541507.post7151989181667907916..comments2013-11-18T17:59:00.026-06:00Comments on Being Perfectly Human: Hard Conversations About the Future of the church of ChristErichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03940254651390805766noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1901049708735541507.post-67588024022088742972013-11-07T12:24:44.077-06:002013-11-07T12:24:44.077-06:00Good morning, Paul!
Thanks for your comment. Yes...Good morning, Paul!<br /><br /><br />Thanks for your comment. Yes, this is a common problem in all sorts of churches, and it's why we're seeing so many new completely unaffiliated churches, and many churches that are dropping their denominational names. <br /><br /><br />I'm sure you've heard countless times "Christians are...", "Baptists are..." "Church of Christers are..." to which the only short answer is, "We're not all like that." When enough people get tired of saying, we're not all like that, they generally make some sort of change in their church name. It's quite a bit easier in most denominations to be able to tell what the general attitudes will be like from the different conference and assembly affiliations. We don't have anything remotely like like that in the coC, so there's no way for people to know what a particular congregation is going to be like without attending, unless a particular one makes their positions very well known. Even trying to have some sort of conference along those lines elicits screams of "denominationalism!" from the hard-liners, along with the accusations of apostasy and threats of hell.<br /><br /><br />All of this makes church growth in the coC very difficult. Congregations typically grow only by members transferring from other congregations, oftentimes other congregations that have had a blow-up over hard-line dogmatism. A lot of those people quit the coC altogether. <br /><br /><br />The 1Tim 5 advice is sound so far as trying to come to a consensus with people who can truly be open, honest, and loving in dealing with these hard questions. When people resort to being insulting and degrading to others (and I have been that way before, and have turned away from it), then nothing we can do as people will ever change them; it's solely up to God at that point. But that doesn't mean we have to sit by in silence and and allow them to dominate the dialogue; it's our duty to let people know that we're "not all like that" and that we think we have a better and more loving way. <br /><br /><br />In Matthew, Jesus is recorded twice as admonishing the Pharisees with 'learn what this means, "I desire compassion, not sacrifice."' I think that means it's probably a pretty important concept. Is it better to sacrifice people on the altar of our own self-righteousness or to show them compassion and love that makes them desire God? We know that Godly sorrow produces repentance, so why would we impede the work of the Spirit by producing anger and resentment in people with insulting and degrading words, and by allowing those who do intentionally insult to go unchallenged? <br /><br /><br />It's definitely a problem everywhere, but I don't think that means we have to shy away from discussing difficult topics, nor leave a church that goes against how we feel the Spirit working in our own hearts.Eric Fryhttp://beingperfectlyhuman.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1901049708735541507.post-17963071361873853802013-11-06T19:14:12.152-06:002013-11-06T19:14:12.152-06:00Good thoughts, Eric. I understand your frustratio...Good thoughts, Eric. I understand your frustrations keeping in mind that the problems you discuss are not exclusive to cofC. In fact, they are a part of Christianity as a whole. We can look to Gal. 2: 11ff when Paul confronts Peter--even Barnabas!<br /><br />I would encourage you to be steadfast while considering the apostle's advise to Timothy: "Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity" (1 Tim. 5: 1,2).<br /><br /><br /><br />Discerning the truth that has been revealed to us is sometimes daunting, but then persuading others to follow is to grand a task for us--I believe.<br /><br /><br />My aspirations . . . to follow the Lord's lead and let Him do the persuading/changing. The obstacles you mention are present in some form with every congregation; however, it is a true testament to the power of the gospel when believers join in worship despite our often extreme dysfunction.<br /><br /><br />Soli deo gloriaPaul Knightnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1901049708735541507.post-20811978409785414222013-11-05T19:44:15.522-06:002013-11-05T19:44:15.522-06:00No, I can't see anything unreasonable here.
N...No, I can't see anything unreasonable here. <br />No, I don't think you should not shut up or stop writing. <br />Yes, I think that you should continue to go along with your business as usual and continue to work to bring positive change.<br />Yes, I know that you should continue to live as best as you can.<br />As for stepping away from institutional churches or not I can't say for sure. I think that may or may not be something to consider but I would continue to pray and meditate on this matter before taking action. I enjoyed reading this.Lancenoreply@blogger.com