Dear Relevant Post-Modern Christian,
Thank you for making Christianity cool. Thank you for updating our image. I just have some questions for you really. Do I really have to loosen my morals to really walk in the freedom that Jesus came to bring? Just because I chose to have standards, does that mean that I am religious and legalistic? Do I really have to sit down with someone and drink a cold beer with them to build a relationship? I believe there has to be other ways for me to "relate" to someone without comprising my beliefs. I am not trying to make an issue out of drinking or condemning you for what you believe, but please do not condemn me either. I think it is awesome that you wear all the really cool clothes, I wish they made them in my size as well. I agree with you that we need to do more to relate to people where they are, but God still has a plan for the local church. I really get tired of you bashing it all the time. Understand that we are the church and the church still is the Bridge of Christ. I hear you say all the time that you do not have a problem with Jesus but you hate church. Well, the issue with that is like telling a man you really like him, but his wife is an idiot. Be careful, to not run so far away from conventional, traditional church that you become set in religion on the other side of the pendulum.
Eric
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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These are my thoughts as I read this very thought provoking article... By Chris Newbern
Dear Relevant Post-Modern Christian,
Thank you for making Christianity cool. (That might not be a good thing.) Thank you for updating our image. I just have some questions for you really. Do I really have to loosen my morals to really walk in the freedom that Jesus came to bring? (The freedom that Jesus brings is not a license to sin; it is the power to reject sin.) Just because I chose to have standards, does that mean that I am religious and legalistic? (Only when you, I, any other Christian, or denominational/church leadership aims to impose those personal standards on others does it become religious or legalistic. Yet, we may choose to cooperate on certain issues that are negotiable in order to better our society or save certain individuals from the demonic forces of addiction.) Do I really have to sit down with someone and drink a cold beer with them to build a relationship? (You do not “have to”. That is a matter of discernment within your bubble of influence. But Jesus did turn water into wine. It wasn’t grape juice! They accused Him of being a drunkard. Why do you suppose that was? Maybe it was because he sipped on a glass with the sinners. There are a lot of gluttonous people in the Church, but I do not refrain from food in order to help them. Although, I do not over eat. I have not sewn my mouth shut to help the gossipers. Yet, I do not slander others. On the other side of the coin it really does not matter if you abstain or sample you will be accused of something! (Cf. Matthew 11:18-19)I grew up thinking that it was a sin to watch a beer commercial. I wish I had been told that alcohol is not the problem. Man’s immaturity and immorality (fallen-ness) is the problem.) I believe there has to be other ways for me to "relate" to someone without comprising my beliefs. (Define beliefs, versus convictions. Is there a difference? We cannot believe two different things and both be right, yet we may have varying values or convictions.) I am not trying to make an issue out of drinking or condemning you for what you believe, but please do not condemn me either. (But in the AG in America, our track record is to excommunicate those who do. Isn’t that akin to condemnation? It is best to remember WHY we call for abstinence from alcohol. I think that it is primarily to set an example for those who fight alcohol abuse and addictions, not because it is inherently a sin to have a beer or a glass of wine. The Biblical mandate is emphatic that we be not controlled of mastered by anything but the Lord himself.) I think it is awesome that you wear all the really cool clothes, I wish they made them in my size as well. (I jumped off the fashion train a few years ago when I began to raise children.) I agree with you that we need to do more to relate to people where they are, but God still has a plan for the local church. (God has no other plan; although, the local church may not always look like the entity or paradigm in which we presently serve. I know what you are saying here, Brother Gordon, the local church is the hope of the world! But remember this: the local congregation as a whole is not the Church. The wheat and the tares grow together. A lot of people in our churches are not truly born again.) I really get tired of you bashing it all the time. Understand that we are the church and the church still is the Bridge of Christ. I hear you say all the time that you do not have a problem with Jesus but you hate church. (That is impossible.) Well, the issue with that is like telling a man you really like him, but his wife is an idiot. (On the next episode..: “Why I Got My Butt Kicked”) Be careful, to not run so far away from conventional, traditional church that you become set in religion on the other side of the pendulum. (Moderation and temperance!)
Eric