[...] [go to part 2 here] Tags: emergent, faith, people, religion [...]

I agree Nathan that God’s Sovereignty does not make sense in the case of baby Eliot and his parents. We are limited in what we see on this side of eternity, but through faith in Christ we can see the eternal perspective through God’s Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. There is no perfect church in the human institution sense, but there is the body of Christ which goes beyond 4 walls, denominations, and American culture. We are called the “Bride of Christ” and are being prepared for eternity to be pure, without spot or blemish, because He bought us with his blood. On this side of eternity I have experienced glimpses of what we are to become, but in the meantime we must individually and communally continue on the journey of being conformed to the image of Christ. He is the Head of the Church, we are not.

First off, we must never equate authority granted to God by his sovereignty with human tradition and experience. That was not the authority that was used by this church that hurt the young woman. That was the choices of fallen man. We must not also fall into nihilism regarding our ability to functionally experience the outworkings of Christ’s Body the church because of differing opinions on hermeneutics. The disarming question to ask the young woman is how has she felt hurt and unloved, not what is her idea of the perfect church. The first question seeks to “demystify” and unearth her wounds while examining herself. The question he asks perpetuates her own justification and rationalization for her rejecting God’s command to be apart of the body. It automatically assumes that her position is correct and the opposite is wrong. If you read other works by Tony Jones you will see this theme come out. “Post-modern Youth Ministry” and “The Sacred Way” both communicate a person bored with Christianity and the “confines” of Scriptural authority while elevating the importance of finding a new path. The current system is broken therefore new is right. Having personally heard Doug Pagitt and Brian Mclaren, and listened through interviews Tony Jones and Rob Bell speak I am gravelly concerned about “the new Christian” and their struggle with Biblical submission. Being a Christian is first and foremost about submission and obedience to God. That is accomplished by adhering to His word and when you strip or modify the level of authority or accept the authority on a partial basis then submission and obedience becomes relative. Church (including people) are not the measurement of success the Bible is, and when that is lived out in maturity and fullness you have an environment were God is glorified, disciples are made, the world is changed. It is getting toward midnight and I have a 6:30 meeting tomorrow morning so if this makes sense great. If not, then

Coffee is a must man. Ignoring you? I could never ignore coffee. What’s your next week look like?