Coffee, Candles & Couches (T.E.M. Part II)

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.''

Matthew 21:12-13

The image of the church is radically changing. (If you have not yet read my first article regarding the Emerging Church, please click here.) There has been a huge shift- do you recognize it? Although this post is directed more at the cultural changes of the church, it is inclusive of the ideals at the heart emergent movement.

My mother tells me of 'once upon a time', years ago when the greatest debate was rather or not to allow a small kitchenette to be built in the basement of the church. There was great concern that the church building remain a place of reverence and respect; a house of prayer- without giving any opening to compromise. Today, however, kitchens are commonplace and seen as a necessity to a complete worship center; the great concern now is what color the tile should be and if stainless steel is in the budget.

But it hasn't stopped there... In fact it has quickly accelerated into something much more. The Mega-Church model offers us gift shoppes, bookstores, Deli-cafe's, coffee lounges, community centers and movie theaters. It's one stop shopping right in your own backyard! Have we adapted too much to the culture around us? What is the purpose in providing all these services within the church doors? Community and fellowship? A seeker sensitive atmosphere that will bring in the unsaved in droves through the front doors?

Although there is nothing inherently wrong with coffee, candles and couches, I find that we have been introduced slowly to this new wave of church "must haves" and the need for the Holy Spirit and the conviction that He brings is "old news". ' As a church we've been seduced into worshiping a God whose primary values are comfort and blessing. Yet the God of Scripture promises us only discipline and sacrifice. While we seek after blessing and protection from pain, pain and persecution are exactly what he promises us'.(1)

Consider the international and persecuted church for a moment... Savings pages of scripture ripped from the Bible and passed from family to family; secretly meeting in darkened rooms for a fear-gripped time of fellowship in Christ; knowing that their conversation could mean dire consequences for their business and family; separation, imprisonment and even death for their unfaltering faith and declaration in Jesus. He is the one they ultimately cling to. He is the one they are willing to die for.

It is not my intent to promote legalism either. I do not believe that sitting on a hard backless wooden bench makes your time with God deeper and more spiritual then if you were to be praising him on a plush lazy-boy recliner. Hiding in an upper room in fear of your life does not assume you are holier than those who meet in the freedom of Sunday church service. Wearing a suit and tie does not make your time with God more meaningful than if you were to wear your favorite pair of denim duds. Meeting on Sunday for worship as opposed to a Saturday night is not necessary for salvific assurance.

It is, however, the mentality of the emergent model that gives me reason to pause and question theses cultural changes within the church. Many churches have adopted this 'comfort' model with the hope to bring more people through the door, but have not yet embraced the philosophy and theology that accompanies it. I warn you though...they will eventually. If the Holy Spirit isn't enough to bring people in (through evangelism of your congregation); then why would comfortable lounges keep them there? When life gets hard and burdens overwhelm in abundance...they will have realized that Jesus doesn't make "life easier" and will take him off... just like an old bulky coat that is uncomfortable.

Why the changes? Why is it 'out with the old and in with the new' the only way? Why must new convert hopefuls be teased and tempted with cappuccinos and candle-lit services? Why are we wetting the appetite of the next generation for the pleasures of self and the desire of entertainment? This is absolutely opposed to scripture and the nature of God's spirit! 1 Cor. 2:4-5 says, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

If we continue to embrace the influential culture of this fallen world in our churches, there will soon be no difference between us. And hasn't God called us to be set apart? To be 'in the world', but not 'of the world'?

Consider the Apostle Paul as he writes in 2 Cor 11 "Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. "

Are we preparing the church for the last days in a stand against the toils of Satan and the true hardships of following Christ? Or have we tickled their ears with sensual sermons and visions of a life full of blessings and prosperity? Our joy as believers lies in the knowledge of eternity with Christ, not in this pleasures of this ever changing world! Let us follow the absolute standard of the Bible that is always the same! Praise the Lord; He never changes and His mercy will never fail!




(1) http://www.sethbarnes.com/index.asp?filename=remedy-for-a-sleepy-church

The Emergent Movement: Part One

Faced with such opposition and the pressure it brings, postmodernism is a form of intellectual pacifism that, at the end of the day, recommends backgammon while the barbarians are at the gate. It is the easy, cowardly way out that removes the pressure to engage alternative conceptual schemes, to be different, to risk ridicule, to take a stand outside the gate. But it is precisely as disciples of Christ, even more, as officers in his army, that the pacifist way out is simply not an option. However comforting it may be, postmodernism is the cure that kills the patient, the military strategy that concedes defeat before the first shot is fired, the ideology that undermines its own claim to allegiance. And it is an immoral, coward’s way out that is not worthy of a movement born out of the martyrs’ blood.

J. P Moreland

Have you noticed lately that the topic of much debate in the church is whether or not absolute truth matters? Whether or not the Bible is free of error? It has been said that as believers, we should be assured that our faith is true, but that we can't be certain of it; or that belief of the virgin birth is not essential to our Christianity; or lack of a literal Hell; inability to accept a six literal day creation; the list goes on and on.

God has given us his Word, the Holy Spirit, the Law written on our conscience and conviction to show Himself to us. We have not blindly accepted the truth of the Bible, but rather it's truth has been revealed to us as we search, read and witness first hand in creation. Until we are in eternity we will always be searching to know more about God and his nature, but to continue to question the foundation of our faith gives proof that it has not yet been fully embraced by the seeker.

The Emergent movement is quickly creeping in the churchwith ideology that absolutely conflicts to the foundations of our faith and knowledge of truth. I am going to take the next few posts to give you a background of what exactly the basis of this moment is founded upon, the influential leaders in our culture and the problematic theology in the context of scripture.

The emerging church (also known as the emergent church movement) is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century whose participants seek to engage postmodern people, especially the unchurched and post-churched.

Dr. R. Todd Mangum, Associate Professor of Theology and Dean of Faculty at Biblical Seminary, describes it this way:

“Emergent” is a loosely knit group of people in conversation about and trying experiments in forwarding the ministry of Jesus in new and different ways, as the people of God in a post-Christian context. From there, wide diversity abounds. “Emergents” seem to share one common trait: disillusionment with the organized, institutional church as it has existed through the 20th century (whether fundamentalist, liberal, megachurch, or tall-steeple liturgical)."

Any text such as the Bible takes on a personal meaning as they experience it, but it has no objective, authoritative meaning such as authorial intent to distinguish a right from wrong interpretation. A plurality of Scriptural interpretations is acknowledged in the emerging church movement. Emergent Village leader Tony Jones says “We must stop looking for some objective Truth that is available when we delve into the text of the Bible.”

Marcus Borg, for example, notes that individuals who have read the same Bible "literally" may have different accounts of the message of Christianity, which are often mutually exclusive. Borg claims that many aspects of people's lives, including their political beliefs and their surrounding culture can provide a "lens" that can distort the Bible and influence which parts of the Bible they take literally, and which parts they may ignore. The postmodern relativism which predominates the emerging church movement causes participants to believe there are radically diverse perspectives within "Christianity" that are valuable for humanity to progress toward truth as they understand it and a better resulting relationship with what they understand to be God. They believe this non-dogmatism coupled with a liberal social agenda will facilitate harmony with the rest of God's creation (other people and the rest of the universe).

The previous portion of italicized text can be found in full context at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerging_Church . I think that you can get a very firm grasp of someone's theology based on their interpretation (or lack thereof) of absolute truth. Do you understand the depth of what this group is proposing? We'll explore affect on the modern day the in the church in Part II.