Smoky Mountain Reflections #160
The
summer is upon us and as I ponder things to communicate I find myself wondering,
ruminating, if you will, about why there are so many words in the evangelical
vocabulary that make me cringe a little bit every time I hear them. Please know
that I am not saying that these words cannot be used in a context that is
perfectly orthodox (right practice) but for the most part, I think they are used
in ways that are unorthodox and a misapplication of the Christian faith. Here
are some popular evangelical terms I do not like, and explanations for why.
Jesus Follower: There is no shortage of
good Biblical passages that clearly teach that we should follow Jesus, however
when this term is used it is often used to focus on the Christian instead of
Christ, in what I believe is an unhelpful way. Instead of reinventing the wheel
I prefer the tried and true, 2000-year-old “Christian” because it is more
difficult to misuse such a Christocentric term and it keeps the focus on the
one to be followed instead of the follower.
Revitalization: This term has no real Biblical
resonance; the closest things to it in the Bible would be to “distill” or “purify”,
but these terms are never used in that way. Unfortunately, this term is loaded
with a lot of theological and enthusiastic baggage. Most often when this term
is applied to the church, it is used to downplay the value of centuries of
orthodox practices in favor of newer, trendier, man-centered practices for the
sake of “the Gospel”.
Seeker: I feel that this term is a
misnomer and should be replaced by what it really means: “a dissatisfied church
shopper”, because people who are dead in their trespasses and sins do not seek
Christ. But don’t take my word for it; St Paul says in Ephesians 2:5 …we
were dead in our trespasses…and in Romans 8:7 we read “the
mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. I do not see how we
can be “seeker-sensitive” without appealing to the flesh, which not only is not
Christ-centered, it is antithetical
to Christ.
Vision:
We are not speaking of seeing with our eyes here, we are speaking instead of a
21st century version of the 5-year business plan. There is nothing
wrong with the body of Christ in a community finding out what the real needs of
a community are and looking for ways to share the love of Christ through works
of mercy and kindness in order to establish relationships and share the Gospel
through word and deed. However, this term is often used by modern evangelical Pastors
(who sometimes act more like CEOs than Pastors) to give the authority of holy
inspiration to their priority list. Pastors are called to serve God’s church, not
dictate plans.
Felt needs: Let’s call those what they
really are: wants. We live in such a
narcissistic society that we have come to the point of letting the world set
the priorities for the church. When the church starts looking and acting like
the dark world…., who is inviting whom into what place? How about we help the world see what they really need: God’s means of grace;
inviting them to come out of the darkness in to the marvelous light, which
exposes sin but also washes it away.
Life-changing: Becoming a Christian is clearly a life-changing event,
whether it happens when you are 12 days or 12 years old. However, with this
term, we again find ourselves falling into a ditch of sorts, focusing on
temporal results instead of the eternal reality. Another example of this is the
term “Redemptive power”, which is
often used as a rabbit’s foot that will guarantee a big house, nice car and
beautiful spouse. God’s word guarantees only our eternal condition; there are
no temporal guarantees. Will those who live a life in accord with God’s
precepts have a long prosperous life? That is possible, but we must also
acknowledge that the Bible includes a book called Job, in which a man living in accord with God’s precepts suffered
greatly. We must acknowledge that a man “after God’s own heart” (David)
suffered greatly. We must acknowledge that history’s wisest man (Solomon)
suffered greatly. Over the past 2000 years, many millions of Christians have also
suffered and died, simply because they refused to deny Christ.
Authentic: The problem with this word
is that it is often used to determine in a practical fashion whether what
someone is doing is God-pleasing. Meaning, “if it moves you spiritually then it
must be authentic!” This idea, however, has been known historically as the
heresy of enthusiasm (the notion that
God speaks to us directly, through
our feelings, rather than His revealed word). The best way to determine true authenticity
is to ensure we are communicating God’s truth in accord with His word, using the means he instituted
(word & sacrament) to distribute and receive the faith and forgiveness
Christ bled and died for. Keeping Christ central is not an easy task, but it is
one that Christians are
called to. We should then use our words carefully in order to communicate the
Gospel clearly.
In Christ,
Pastor Portier
No comments:
Post a Comment