That church down the street isn't the only one pandering to the congregation.
Trevin Wax | posted 3/14/2008 09:07AM
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to ...
In response to the poll: my husband and I are currently suffering burn-out from a 2+-year-long search for a new church home. Visiting more than a dozen churches is very encouraging in that we realize all the great service and love ministries that are happening all over in the church. However, one of the things that exhausts us in this process is the way that each pastor seems to "warn" us about other "other churches" and "other pastors" who would lead us astray. The comments are always subtle: it's the way OTHER churches ask for money, or that liturgical churches are "on their way" to knowing God, or "now I don't know why OTHER churches aren't talking about this..." After a while, it's hard to listen to: how do I know he/she is not the pastor that the OTHER pastor was warning me about?? Perhaps the 54% of people who feel that their pastor "never" speaks ill of other Christian denominations or churches - even generally - should put themselves in the shoes of a visitor.
Derek
Posted: March 16, 2008 7:51 PM
I love it. I'm guilty of this -- it's safe and it puts me on the "right" side of the tracks.
Richard Miller, how do you reconcile Romans 14:4? How do you think Paul reconciles it? (Hint on answer: Are you suggesting that the examples the author uses are equivalent to the teachings of false teachers?)
Here's a thought... It's easy to critique the article, it's harder to do critical thinking.
Richard Miller
Posted: March 16, 2008 11:11 AM
And how does the author reconcile his message with the fact that Paul called out false teachers and named names?
Soois
Posted: March 16, 2008 11:04 AM
Dear "the G" you clearly should read the article again. Even those things are not the things our Lord wants, but a loving heart and a serving soul. I pray that He will open your eyes to the truth. Amen
IndyChristian
Posted: March 15, 2008 6:58 AM
Even this is easy enough to preach (conceptually) from the pulpit... But what preacher in his right mind would dare mention the Church's overall effectiveness rating in the U.S.? Or even his own neighborhood? Barna reports that 4% of us hold a biblical worldview. So when might 'preachers' become 'leaders' and work together to build up the citywide, multicultural Church we read about in God's Word? And btw, would we, the congregation, stand for it?
Lindsey McLean
Posted: March 15, 2008 5:11 AM
This is a great article. This hits home for a lot of people, including me. Its so easy to think of people in your life who the preacher is talking about except for the one person who you need to be thinking of. Again, this is a wonderfully written article that makes you really think the next time your sitting in the pews.
Jim Denton
Posted: March 14, 2008 10:18 PM
AMEN!!!! Thank You for this article. How convicting. I generally see myself as having itchy ears, but the Lord has really been working on me in this area. And this article was right on target.
Irene Voysey
Posted: March 14, 2008 4:45 PM
Spot on! For decades we sheep have been taught from the pulpit to love one another and so, obediently, we have done what our parents did not do (my 95 year-old mother says that in her day Protestants crossed the road if they saw a Roman Catholic coming). Today I love my Catholic and charismatic friends, listen to good Baptist preachers, and despite being `evangelical' I thoroughly enjoy singing Hillsong compositions. We sheep have knocked down the barriers and generally love one another despite our differences. Today too many shepherds tear each other apart publicly, in the name of `right doctrine', and we sheep can only watch, helplessly and sadly.
Sam Nadler
Posted: March 14, 2008 3:49 PM
Well said, but not often said, no, not nearly said enough. Though a priest is surely needed in the counseling room, a prophet is sorely needed in the pulpit. It was primarily to those who called themselves "God's people" that the prophets of old spoke boldly without concern for their own popularity. The reputation of the servant is the concern of the Master; the concern of the servant is the Master's reputation, not his congregation's! may our congregatuion be reputed as having a sanctuary, a holy palce, a set apart place, indeed! And judgment still needs to begin with the household of God. May we thereby be the kindling for His revival and the sanctification of His name. It is these that burn as kindling that will set ablaze the larger community with His fire from above.
C.T.
Posted: March 14, 2008 3:30 PM
Very good article. A fresh way of looking at a well-known verse. Churches need to hear the truth of Scripture, not only what puffs us up. Unfortunately, many Christians today don't want to be confronted with their own sins.
Fred 'Fundy'
Posted: March 14, 2008 3:05 PM
10+ years ago I discovered an Evangelical Covenant church, which has as it's pillars of faith, belief in Christian orthodoxy as declared in the Nicene and Apostles Creed, the necessity of a personal faith in Jesus, the Bible as the only source of doctrine and life. The fourth one, thank you, Jesus, is Christian freedom and liberty. Praise God, for over ten years I have not had endure and hear put downs and criticisms of others from our pulpit. We have celebrated the different heritages we all represent (including my own fundamentalist / evangelical background that has introduced so many to faith in Christ and a knowledge and love of Scripture). In fact, in adult education we often hear the question, "you come from a (whatever) background. What is your perspective on this?" As a result we have many once wounded and bruised reeds as well as mixed denominatin marriages in our midst. What wonderful freedom, what fresh air!
Kathy
Posted: March 14, 2008 1:06 PM
Excellent article. This really addresses some of the nastiness that is pervasive in evangelical Christianity (yes, I'm an evangelical - just a fed up one).
Judd
Posted: March 14, 2008 11:44 AM
Probably the best article I have read in the Christian media for some time.
KK
Posted: March 14, 2008 11:24 AM
Awesome, humbling article. I really needed to read this.
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