The Emerging Church

Recently, a fellow pastor and friend gave Greg a DVD to watch. It included information about "the emerging church." I do a lot of reading and had come across the term but wasn't overly familiar with the implications of what was meant by it. Until I watched this DVD (and off the top of my head, I can't remember who produced it), I had never given much thought to this being an issue within the Church at large. To be honest, I took it to be simply another of many church growth movements. Now, I'm not so sure.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about the emerging church:

The emerging church (sometimes referred to as the Emergent movement) is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants can be described as Evangelical, post-evangelical, Liberal, post-Liberal, charismatic, neocharismatic and post-charismatic. Participants seek to live their faith in what they believe to be a "postmodern" society. Proponents of this movement call it a "conversation" to emphasize its developing and decentralized nature, its vast range of standpoints and its commitment to dialogue. What those involved in the conversation mostly agree on is their disillusionment with the organized and institutional church and their support for the deconstruction of modern Christian worship, modern evangelism, and the nature of modern Christian community.

Okay, on the surface the latter part of that definition is okay. I understand people being disillusioned with the organized church. We meet so many church goers who only claim Christianity and yet who don't even attempt to live by the tenets and principles of Christian life as Jesus taught them. But the first section of this definition concerns me...

a Christian movement... that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants can be described as Evangelical, post-evangelical, Liberal, post-Liberal, charismatic, neocharismatic and post-charismatic.

Sounds to me like the emerging church has no idea who they are!

What really concerns me, however, is what the same article says further down in a quote by Mark Driscoll:

In the mid-1990s I was part of what is now known as the Emerging Church and spent some time traveling the country to speak on the emerging church in the emerging culture on a team put together by Leadership Network called the Young Leader Network. But, I eventually had to distance myself from the Emergent stream of the network because friends like Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt began pushing a theological agenda that greatly troubled me. Examples include referring to God as a chick, questioning God's sovereignty over and knowledge of the future, denial of the substitutionary atonement at the cross, a low view of Scripture, and denial of hell which is one hell of a mistake.

I hope that you realize the issues with this approach to our faith. While there may be much good to what the emerging church is trying to do, removing the sovereignty of God and the authority of Scripture is not only not good, it's eternally dangerous.

I don't pretend to have all the answers and insights into this movement, its practices or its leaders, and while I do believe the Church needs to make some changes - we need to be living our faith, not just talking about - please be wary of anyone who would distort the message of the Bible.

As I've done in the past, I encourage you to test the spirits to be sure they are of God (1 John 4:1) and to take the authority of God's word (2 Timothy 3:16 ) over the opinions and beliefs of man (or woman). Search it out for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth (John 16:13). That's one of the things He does best.

The Cure for Fretting

Do not fret because of evildoers
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb. (Psalm 37:1-2, NKJV)

In this day of economic turmoil, bad news filling our airwaves, negative emotions abounding, fear prevailing... My spirit needed to hear this encouragement from the Word today! I have been fretting.

My sleep has been disturbed. I've been fighting depression - and losing. My mind has been filled with concern for our world and for my family as we face uncertain financial days ahead. But God has wonderful promises for us - as Greg reminded us yesterday!

Verses 3-9 of this same Psalm read:

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.

What a comfort to know that our God and Father will care for us, protect us, seek justice for us, provide for our future. And what a blessing to know that, while we watch people destroying our Christian way of life and destroying our Christian country, it's not going unnoticed by God. He sees what is happening and He will deal with the destroyers. We don't have to!

Life may feel out of control at times - I know my life certainly does! - but God is in control. And I trust Him to care for me. What a soothing balm that is to my soul.

By God's grace, as His psalm encourages, my way is committed to the Lord. I am feeding on His faithfulness. And trust He will enable me to rest and wait for Him knowing that He will bring forth my righteousness and justice. What a mighty, awesome God we serve!

Smile, You're a Christian

NOTE: Enjoy this guest post from my husband and fellow Pastor, Greg Bishop.

The biggest problem I see with not being excited about our faith is this... If your life is supposed to reflect Christ, what happens when someone sees a sour look on your face all the time?

Which do you think is more appealing?

The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2b). That’s easier said than done, isn't it? How do we accomplish such a monumental task? May I suggest that we just make up our minds to obey the word of God.

1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our cares upon Him (Jesus) because He cares for us. It’s just a matter of making up our minds to not let the devil have the upper hand in our lives. We need to devote more of our time to reading the promises of God.

I receive newsletters from David Wilkerson twice a month and have for several years. Once a year, Pastor Wilkerson sends out a small booklet with a bible verse for each day. These verses are promises to us from God’s word. I can't tell you how many times these promises have given me a great start to my day.

We all need to know someone loves us, and when we start reading God’s promises to us, we will realize that The Creator of all has a special love for each one of us.

Now isn't that enough to make you smile and be excited about your faith?

Close the Gate – God Willing

NOTE: Occasionally, I'll be sharing guest articles and devotionals with you. Today, here's one from an online friend, Nancy Kraayenhof. Enjoy!

While walking through a store the other day I overheard a snippet of a conversation a couple of older gentlemen were having. “…God willing and the creek don’t rise,” one said. I don’t know what they were talking about.

I remember having heard my folks saying the same phrase numerous times when I was growing up, “God willing and the creek don’t rise.” It’s really just a fancy way of saying “barring unforeseen circumstances”… or is it? And where did it come from?

I was surprised to learn Benjamin Hawkins first penned the phrase in a letter during the War of 1812 when he was requested to return to our nation’s capitol. It was written as ‘God willing and the Creek don’t rise’. What I always thought was a body of water ready to reach the flood point turned out to be the Creek people. Benjamin Hawkins was a Colonel with the US army and became Agent to the Creek Nation. He was instrumental in treaty talks with the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians and oversaw a peaceful 21 years in this position.

Though this is interesting information and all, the key to this phrase, that I would like to chat about today, is ‘God willing’.

In many cultures and religions including Jewish, Islamic and Christian, the phrase “God willing” is often added to the stating of something that you wish may occur. Like, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, God willing.’ Or, another example: ‘God willing, the country’s financial system will get straightened out.’

The phrase is a simple reminder in all times, including these troubled economic times, that God might, after all, end the world sometime between now and when the stock market opens tomorrow. Nothing is certain and only He knows for sure.

Life requires us to hold things in a loose grip and not be set on a certain outcome. An appointment, a graduation, a vacation, a marriage – all things are in God’s hands. To live is to wait for His will to reveal itself. And so we are privileged to pass the time with a sense of adventure.

Before I got so tired, (and what’s up with that?) I used to read a mystery right before bedtime. With sleepy eyes, wanting to finish, struggling to stay awake in order to discover what is true and to see how things will turn out. That is the venture of living.

If the fulfillment of every plan and promise rests on God’s say-so, then His hand is hidden in everything that happens. Every tragedy and blessing is a part of some unknowable purpose. I may not always get my own way but I believe, though the will of God may be uncertain, His presence is unmistakable. Saying ‘God willing’ is like tipping your hat to Him and acknowledging that you know who’s in control.

My calendar has room to make commitments to fill the entire year. I make plans for the future. I make appointments. I may even one day buy plane tickets for that long awaited holiday, but I hold these things loosely. Lightly. I make my promises and then I wait on the edge of my seat to find out because my heart is always whispering in the ear of my life, “God willing.”

My days are going fairly well, though seeming longer, they are quite fulfilling,

I’ll dance through time with a smile on my face and I’ll close the gate, God willing.

Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult, I’m Nancy Kraayenhof. Drop me a line at Nancy861@msn.com.

Unique Ministry Ideas

Outreach and evangelism have been on my mind lately (as they often are). My desire to see others come to faith in Jesus is so strong that I read a lot of books on outreach, service evangelism, and such. Many of the ideas I come across are things I've tried, or seen, or at least heard of from others. Today, I came across a few ideas that I had never heard of before, or which were - at the least - more unusual. Since I'm always open to new methods of sharing the gospel with unbelievers - within reason, of course! - these sounded pretty neat.

About.com's Christian Teens section suggested a Craft Donation where volunteers make items to send to our soldiers. While I know a lot of people send things overseas, what struck me about this project was the aspect of making things rather than simply buying them. If I were away from home, I'd be thrilled to get a gift that someone (especially a teen or a child) took the time to create just for me.

The same site suggested a Prom Dress Exchange where everyone brings in their gently used formals and swaps them with others who can use them. I'd take that a step further and give them to those in need, even if they didn't bring a dress to swap. If you've looked at prom dresses recently, you know how expensive they are! We had a young girl in one of our churches who wouldn't have been able to go to her prom if we hadn't bought her dress. And I'm sure there are many others with the same kind of need. Maybe you could even work to find sponsors who would buy prom dresses for some of the youth.

With summer coming soon (Thank You, Lord!!), your church might consider setting up a program to mow lawns for your elderly or disabled. Lawn mowing is hard work. And it's heartbreaking to see people pushing a lawn mower around a yard who are obviously not in good enough shape, physically, to be doing so. Sign up young people to mow lawns on a regular basis as a service to the older members and prospects in your church.

Then those elderly can provide after-school tutoring for the kids. One small-town church I know of does this very well and has made a huge impact in their church and community with this program.

The Church of the Nazarene has a program where we create emergency Care Kits filled with specific items such as toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc. There is a detailed list we follow so that each kit is the same. We then send the kits to our General Church office and they are disbursed around the world as needs arise. (Hundreds of these were sent to Hurricane Katrina victims, for instance.)

While I love this program and always take part, it strikes me that we shouldn't have to wait for an emergency to show we care. And we shouldn't care only for those in other countries. There are homeless persons, prisoners, elderly, disabled, nursing home residents, single parents and many others who would probably be thrilled to receive a plastic bag filled with toothpaste, deodorant, soaps and other necessary items. And creating local care kits is something most anyone can do to spread God's love in their own neighborhood.

These are just a few of the hundreds and hundreds of ideas you can find for ministering to others. But whatever you decide... do something to reach out to others in Jesus' name.

Want to Study the Bible?

Are you aware that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of free Bible studies available to anyone who's interested? There are online studies that you simply read to learn more. There are studies where you can submit answers and have them "graded." There are printed studies that you can request to have mailed to you. There's even free software to help you study the Word from the comfort of your office or laptop. If you want help to study the Bible and learn more about God's word, you can easily find help with a simple online search.

While I think this is wonderful, my cautious nature wants to offer a word of warning as well... Please be careful.

As we noted yesterday, the Bible instructs us to test the Spirits and know they are from God. Anyone can put up a website or a blog and offer a "free Bible study." If you request study materials from someone you don't know, please be sure that what you're studying is really the Bible - look up the passages for yourself. Compare them to other passages you find on the same topic. And be sure that the answers or comments you receive from the study are truly biblical. Study the Word, not just the study you receive.

Knowing more about God's Word is a blessing, and a necessity if we're to understand how He wants us to live. The Bible is God's guidebook for His children (that's us, if we call ourselves Christian). So studying the Bible is good. We just need to be cautious so that we're truly hearing what God has to say to us, and not being influenced by false doctrine or man's teachings.

With that said, if you'd like to study the Word with me, let me know. I'm always open to sharing what God lays on my heart and hearing what God is saying to others. It thrills me to learn more about God and His Word and I'd love to share that blessing with you as well.

Are Churches Still Holding Revivals?

Used to be there was a revival at some area church about every week. Nowadays, it's rare to see a revival notice. What's going on?

I know that many pastors guard their pulpits very closely. They don't feel comfortable allowing just anyone to preach. And that's a good thing! The Bible directs us to test the spirits to be sure they are of God (1 John 4:1). We need to be convinced that those who preach from our pulpits (where we have authority and for which we are responsible) are true to the Word, trustworthy and faithful. That's understandable.

But most denominations, I assume, have their own evangelists. The Church of the Nazarene does. And there are many unassigned district licensed ministers (Greg and I are two) who also preach and hold revivals. So why isn't the church making use of these people of God to spread the Word within our denomination at least?

Could it be that we are so programmed with activities throughout the week that we don't have time to hold special services and add additional time constraints to our already full calendars? Or maybe our people just don't have the commitment to attend? (I know the attendance at the last revival we held when we pastored in Crossville was very low - and that was with one of the best evangelists in the Church!). Certainly, it's not that we don't need revival. Our world today proves that we need it more than ever.

Maybe there are reasons that my pea-sized brain doesn't grasp. Whatever the case, I pray that God's people begin to seek revival for their own hearts and for their churches!

On that note... Greg and I would love to hold a revival for your church! We never charge a fee, we only ask that our lodging be provided and that the church take a love-offering to cover our travel expenses. Other than that, we'll go to any size church and help in any way we can (a week, 4-5 days or even a weekend). Let us know if we can serve you. We love to minister in Jesus' name and meet our brothers and sisters in Christ who are scattered across the US.