Yeah, there's even some evidence that Rick Warren is moving this way. Not that I'm a Saddleback/Purpose Driven fan, because I'm not. But I was glad to see Warren step up and sign the NY Times ad for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, speak out on global warming, and even against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He's not for the latter, but, at least he doesn't want to write discrimination into the Constitution. Many others not so famous have done the same. I was honored last year to be invited as the Keynote Speaker for the first annual conference of the Pentecostal & Charismatic Peace Fellowship. (They only had about 50 people, but that's about how the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America started in 1984 and now we get close to 400 at our gatherings!) I met an Assembly of God pastor in Waxahatchie, TX who had been preaching expositorally through Matthew's Gospel during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. He told his people that, based on his reading of the New Testament, Christians weren't to support war. He lost about 30% of the congregation--the wealthy part of the congregation in this small town. It has meant that he has had to become bi-vocational,but the congregation is growing again, now attracting young people who would never have before darkened its doors.
I read an article about this pastor in today's Gainesville Sun. What struck me the most was when the article talked about 1000 of the 5000 of the membership leaving, but so many of those who remained thanked him for putting voice to so many of their own thoughts and beliefs. It gives me a lot of hope.
Wow. Good article. It is good to read of pastoral grit and courage such as this. I wish people would think of this image when they hear "Christian" or "megachurch."
Bruce: Help me remember the Amy Suyllivan piece from earlier this year about the young buck GOP operative in Alabama who got slapped in the face for bucking John Giles Christian Coalition Party Line there. James Ault, I cannot say often enough is instructive in these matters. An interesting thing is going on in young SBC reformer Marty Duren's www.sbcoutpost.com blog of the last several days. SBC Frank Page's FBC Taylors SC secretary Renee Morton's husband Chuck, is spreading his unrefined manure analysis of the roll and interpretation of inerrancy in the SBC takeover. Evenso, I think the lunch set for Noon Thursday in Enid with Wade Burleson and David Flick is interesting. See if you can get yourself invited and give us a report. I will be promoting your presence on my blog. Sfox, Bama
A lot of the younger generation of evangelicals are moving to a politically neutral position. Rick Warren doesn't want politics to get in the way of preaching the word. Good. This is, at least in my mind, a good thing.
However Greg Boyd's (and Brian McLaren who is also cited) have pretty weak evangelical standing. Long before politics came up, they have been denounced by various evangelicals for their spiritual and theological views. Boyd is an advocate of "open view" theology which is essentially a heresy that denies the omniscience of God. McLaren and the Emergent folks have their own baby and bathwater issues which are well documented.
6 comments:
Yeah, there's even some evidence that Rick Warren is moving this way. Not that I'm a Saddleback/Purpose Driven fan, because I'm not. But I was glad to see Warren step up and sign the NY Times ad for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, speak out on global warming, and even against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He's not for the latter, but, at least he doesn't want to write discrimination into the Constitution.
Many others not so famous have done the same. I was honored last year to be invited as the Keynote Speaker for the first annual conference of the Pentecostal & Charismatic Peace Fellowship. (They only had about 50 people, but that's about how the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America started in 1984 and now we get close to 400 at our gatherings!) I met an Assembly of God pastor in Waxahatchie, TX who had been preaching expositorally through Matthew's Gospel during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. He told his people that, based on his reading of the New Testament, Christians weren't to support war. He lost about 30% of the congregation--the wealthy part of the congregation in this small town. It has meant that he has had to become bi-vocational,but the congregation is growing again, now attracting young people who would never have before darkened its doors.
Bruce,
I read an article about this pastor in today's Gainesville Sun. What struck me the most was when the article talked about 1000 of the 5000 of the membership leaving, but so many of those who remained thanked him for putting voice to so many of their own thoughts and beliefs. It gives me a lot of hope.
God Bless,
TammyJo58
Wow. Good article. It is good to read of pastoral grit and courage such as this. I wish people would think of this image when they hear "Christian" or "megachurch."
Bruce: Help me remember the Amy Suyllivan piece from earlier this year about the young buck GOP operative in Alabama who got slapped in the face for bucking John Giles Christian Coalition Party Line there.
James Ault, I cannot say often enough is instructive in these matters.
An interesting thing is going on in young SBC reformer Marty Duren's www.sbcoutpost.com blog of the last several days. SBC Frank Page's FBC Taylors SC secretary Renee Morton's husband Chuck, is spreading his unrefined manure analysis of the roll and interpretation of inerrancy in the SBC takeover.
Evenso, I think the lunch set for Noon Thursday in Enid with Wade Burleson and David Flick is interesting.
See if you can get yourself invited and give us a report. I will be promoting your presence on my blog.
Sfox, Bama
I wonder how much the airfare is from Texas to Min.? That sounds like I church I would like to be a member of.
A lot of the younger generation of evangelicals are moving to a politically neutral position. Rick Warren doesn't want politics to get in the way of preaching the word. Good. This is, at least in my mind, a good thing.
However Greg Boyd's (and Brian McLaren who is also cited) have pretty weak evangelical standing. Long before politics came up, they have been denounced by various evangelicals for their spiritual and theological views. Boyd is an advocate of "open view" theology which is essentially a heresy that denies the omniscience of God. McLaren and the Emergent folks have their own baby and bathwater issues which are well documented.
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