A new dynamic to Christ?
Perhaps it is best to preface this entry by saying anything that follows is not a direct shot at anyone. My words and thoughts are not intended towards anyone or any specific group, But God has placed this on my heart lately and I finally feel as though I am able to put emotions into words in this case.
In the ever fast growing world of Christianity there is always a hot topic or an up and coming theme or movement. This has been true for hundreds of thousands of years. It just so happens that in the time I live in the hot topic is the emerging church. Inside of this delicate child, that is the emerging church, lies an amazing passion for God and an awe inspiring love for today’s culture.. I have no doubt in my mind that those who consider themselves the emerging church are looking out for the sake of Christ and taking forth His gospel to those who have never heard.
I cannot, however, escape some of the terminology used in the culture today. Often times I hear someone speak of a new dynamic gospel presentation. Or I read about a new dynamic church. This is where I encounter hardships with what they are saying, or better yet, what they are portraying to me. Here is what is being portrayed: There is a new dynamic to the gospel or the church. When I spent some time dwelling on this it became abundantly clear that this cannot be true. Christ died on the cross and rose again to conquer death, and all who believe that he died for their sins and did indeed rise on the third day will be saved. This is the gospel of Christ. This is not new, 2,000 years old actually, and to say we have something new about it would be to add to this account. I do not believe that any one of us is willing to do so.
Then there is the issue with the word dynamic. Allow me to say that the gospel is extremely dynamic, the dynamic in the gospel is not us however, it is the Holy Spirit. To think that we are the dynamic or could add to the dynamic is foolish. The fact that anyone hears the words that we speak about the gospel and believes it to be true is amazing. But this does not happen because of us, it happens because God speaks through us and uses the Holy Spirit to take the utterances from our mouth and translate them into music that penetrates hearts and satisfies souls. That is dynamic. There is nothing more we could do, in fact there is nothing we can do, we do not save people, God does.
Last week I sat at a graduation for Phoenix Seminary and listened to the guest speaker Alistair Begg. He spoke to the 36 graduates and not the hundreds in attendance. He may have bored almost every single person in room, but he had my full attention as well as the graduates. He spoke on taking forth the gospel, and when you do so you can not take any glory for yourself, it all belongs to God. Yes we speak the words, but they are not ours. Yes we go out to the people, but God has placed them there for us to reach. Yes they came to knowledge of Christ, but the Holy Spirit worked in their heart. All the glory is to God. To say that we have something new or dynamic about this is to take glory for yourself. To say that you have a new dynamic church is to say that Gods previous church was not enough.
Please do not get mixed in my words, there are different creative ways to present the Gospel and there are different creative ways to run a church, but nothing new or dynamic has come in the last 2,000 years and to say otherwise is crossing a line that none of us want to cross.
In the ever fast growing world of Christianity there is always a hot topic or an up and coming theme or movement. This has been true for hundreds of thousands of years. It just so happens that in the time I live in the hot topic is the emerging church. Inside of this delicate child, that is the emerging church, lies an amazing passion for God and an awe inspiring love for today’s culture.. I have no doubt in my mind that those who consider themselves the emerging church are looking out for the sake of Christ and taking forth His gospel to those who have never heard.
I cannot, however, escape some of the terminology used in the culture today. Often times I hear someone speak of a new dynamic gospel presentation. Or I read about a new dynamic church. This is where I encounter hardships with what they are saying, or better yet, what they are portraying to me. Here is what is being portrayed: There is a new dynamic to the gospel or the church. When I spent some time dwelling on this it became abundantly clear that this cannot be true. Christ died on the cross and rose again to conquer death, and all who believe that he died for their sins and did indeed rise on the third day will be saved. This is the gospel of Christ. This is not new, 2,000 years old actually, and to say we have something new about it would be to add to this account. I do not believe that any one of us is willing to do so.
Then there is the issue with the word dynamic. Allow me to say that the gospel is extremely dynamic, the dynamic in the gospel is not us however, it is the Holy Spirit. To think that we are the dynamic or could add to the dynamic is foolish. The fact that anyone hears the words that we speak about the gospel and believes it to be true is amazing. But this does not happen because of us, it happens because God speaks through us and uses the Holy Spirit to take the utterances from our mouth and translate them into music that penetrates hearts and satisfies souls. That is dynamic. There is nothing more we could do, in fact there is nothing we can do, we do not save people, God does.
Last week I sat at a graduation for Phoenix Seminary and listened to the guest speaker Alistair Begg. He spoke to the 36 graduates and not the hundreds in attendance. He may have bored almost every single person in room, but he had my full attention as well as the graduates. He spoke on taking forth the gospel, and when you do so you can not take any glory for yourself, it all belongs to God. Yes we speak the words, but they are not ours. Yes we go out to the people, but God has placed them there for us to reach. Yes they came to knowledge of Christ, but the Holy Spirit worked in their heart. All the glory is to God. To say that we have something new or dynamic about this is to take glory for yourself. To say that you have a new dynamic church is to say that Gods previous church was not enough.
Please do not get mixed in my words, there are different creative ways to present the Gospel and there are different creative ways to run a church, but nothing new or dynamic has come in the last 2,000 years and to say otherwise is crossing a line that none of us want to cross.
posted by palmercat at 8:10 AM
1 Comments:
i feel that the wording or terminology used is purely semantics. every one who is currently a christian must agree with everything you say. and no. there isn't anything new about the gospel, it is the same perfect good news that the apostles preached. the emerging isn't attempting to add anything to it - but simply using semantics in order to be relevant to the post-modern thought process of the emerging generations.
for example...
jesus loves you - when said to a christian has incomprehensible depths. to a non christian its a joke.
what if we said to the nonchristian
Iesous expresses Himself to you.
then they just might say
really? SHOW me.
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