“It has been fashionable among the innovative [emerging] pastors I know to say, "We're not changing the message; we're only changing the medium." This claim is probably less than honest ... in the new church we must realize how medium and message are intertwined. When we change the medium, the message that's received is changed, however subtly, as well. We might as well get beyond our naivete or denial about this."
A Hopeful quote from Emergent Church 'Father', Brian McClaren
" He has given us a domesticated gospel which tries to make the gospel relevant to contemporary sensibilities. However, it is not the gospel which needs to be made relevant to us. It is we who need to be made relevant to the gospel. The gospel is always relevant whether it is recognized as such or not."
Being Relevant for the sake of being relevant? We need to be cool, trendy, culturally adaptive to meet the next generation? How far are we going? When Paul said to be all things to all men is this what he meant? Can you TOTALLY separate the method from the message without compromising the message as Brian McLaren challenged? Is our goal to change the package to become more palatable for the culture and those offended by the Gospel?
I came to Christ sporting a Billy Idol Mohawk on my head complete with designed etchings on the side, dressed in Cindy Lauper/Madonna wanna be clothes, one black gloved hand , rubber bracelets galore and possessed an attitude as large as my hips. But by grace 'I got it!" It wasn't about me for the first time in my 24 years of life. It was about this One who rescued me from me. When I soon thereafter became a member of my somewhat stoic conservative church I wasn't upset that they didn't play the punk music I had loved on a Sunday morning or that they didn't darken the sanctuary and use strobe lightening w/ deafening volume levels of music that I was accustomed dancing in clubs to . It wasn't about THEIR form....It was about Christ Himself and I longed to CONFORM to His likeness.
The Emergent Church movement (and all other names they call themselves) does this generation a disservice. The focus will always be upon themselves because they are pointing to themselves. When the foundation of any movement is based on needed comparisons, they are judgments rooted in pride.Our Cool new hip right way of doing things is 'like this' and the old they don't get it wrong way of the 'institutional/traditional church' is 'like this'. Yes Virginia I bought that T-shirt years ago and Thank God said Sonora to the Cell Church Movement.
Taking creative liberty on what I heard a pastor say many years ago; that if Samson had taken the jaw bone of an ass in our day to slay the enemy, we'd have Jaw Revival, Seminars for leaders on how to have your own Church Jaw Movement, Jaw T-Shirts, Prayer of the Jaw, Little Jaws dangling from our car's rear view mirror.....as if in every move of God we are to now replicate it, take it out on the bandwagon to a city near you and in our great presumption expect to get the same results.....We seemingly will do anything in the church to obtain American culture driven 'success'..... 'numbers and 'results except that which the Lord requires.....to repent, seek His face, pray. Sadly in a genuine desire to reach this generation we look to and point to ourselves and to the ones we are attempting to reach instead of Christ. A Form of Christianity that denies.
We are still on the same religious man made treadmill only in new clothes trying to accomplish the eternal by appealing to the flesh and that will always only produce a likeness after ourselves. Man in his own strength frustrated that nothing is 'happening' trying to make it happen with a new program. What do they say insanity is? Going around the same way over and over again expecting different results.
The Emergent Church movement is a metamorphosed retarded spawn version of the Seeker Friendly Movement on a me generation hippie drug from the dark side.
This movement in all it' spectrum is spewing mysticism, accepting of homosexuality, universalism, now no hell and questions the authority of the bible.
There is a time to throw the baby out with the bathwater....cuz it wasn't a 'baby' to begin with. That which is born of the flesh will produce flesh. It is time to stand and be a contender for this next generation by separating ourselves from such heresy against the word of God.
May we leave a legacy for our young people in the church; Christ producing fruit that remains for the generations to come.
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