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Emerging Church Paranoia
Okay. What follows is one of the funniest stories I've heard in a long time, ut while also illustrating how easily people can become demonized and defamed with labels.
A preacher who is known for his creativity and humor came up with a very funny idea for a church skit. The idea was a four-day "Dog Revival". The first night of the revival was an emphasis on "Obedience" using a well trained Golden Retriever that would demonstrate several acts of obedience. The preaching then would be about being an obedient follwer of Jesus. The second night's emphasis was "Sniffing Out Sin" with a trained German Shepherd doing several demonstrations of dog-sniffing ability. Preaching on sin would follow. The third night was something else. The fourth night's emphasis was "Turning Your Life Around" with a transformed Pit Bull that had mauled people before but had been changed through training to be gentle and harmless. As a demonstration little children were going to be invited to approach the Pit Bull to hand feed it Milk Bone Dog Treats. Preaching about life transformation would ensue.
The guy put together a very professional looking flyer and randomly chose a city for that this Dog Revival Ministry was based out of. He then mailed the flyer out to about 20 churches in his part of the country.
Weeeeelllllll, one of the preachers that received the flyer takes it seriously and gets on a preacher's forum and starts a thread about it. Other preachers that received the flyer chimed in and then this huge controversy began to build. What exactly was this ministry about? Who was behind it? Who pastors in this city? A pastor's name from that city gets injected into the conversation. People start defaming the guy and saying this sounded like something he would do. It sounds like it is part of the Emerging Church movement, they decided. The whole thing starts snowballing into this big huge bruhaha, when in truth all it was was a harmless set up for a skit.
Is that not hilarious? Is that not also pathetic? It is so illustrative of how these forums take on a life of their own and many times people, places, events, and ministries don't get a fair representation of what they truly are. We must all take what is said here and elsewhere circumspectly because we never know who we might be unjustly labeling.
This whole Emerging Church paranoia among us is disturbing. First of all, I doubt too many people really know what the EC is. But it is now fashionable to tar and feather just about anyone with that label if they seem different or non conventional. A friend of mine was at a district youth convention recently and heard a young preacher tell the young people that they need to "be afraid of these two words: 'relevant' and 'emergent'." I have been reading district magazines with articles that show a preoccupation with this EC stuff. I wouldn't be surprised to see some "emerging" resolutions at the district and/or national level attemptoing to target certain elements that are perceived to be EC.
First, the EC movement is trinitarian. I doubt they would be accepting of any One God preachers. Second, from what I can tell there are varying degrees of EC. Some are waaaayyyy out there embracing some really disturbing stuff. Others are simply asking questions, challenging the status quo, and seeking for ways to reach today's world that is so different from the world our parents grew up in. Third, if someone is trying to get their church to be more involved in community ministry, that does not make them EC. If someone has a congregation that looks non traditional, that doesn't make them EC. If someone has a different style of ministry, worship service, preaching, teaching, etc. that doesn't make them EC.
What do these people want? A church that is submerging and irrelevant? Lighten up people! Quit worrying about what Bro so-and-so is doing across town, across the state, or across the country and roll up your sleeves and get busy building the church God has called you to build. Some people need Southern Gospel church to reach them. Some people need Black Gospel. Some people need Contemporary, etc. Why do we need to demonize those who have a different taste, emphasis, or vision? I get weary of it.
So, somebody is having to make a bunch of phone calls and retractions to clear the air because of the faux-controversy. There is a completely innocent pastor who is blindsided by defamatory comments and he is clueless about the whole deal. It really is an unfortunate state of affairs among Christians when we seem so bloodthirsty for excommunication and witch hunting.
Don't you think Jesus knows who His church is? Don't you think He's fully capable of managing His own Body? Mind your own business and do what you are called to do. You won't have to give an answer for me or anyone else. You'll stand alone before Him and give an account for your responsibilities.
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When a newspaper posed the question, "What's Wrong with the World?" G. K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: "Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton." That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus.
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