In Support of Open Membership

May 5, 2010

This post was first published at internetmonk.com. Feel free to comment here or join the already extensive discussion at internetmonk.com.

I find it difficult to belong. You would think it wouldn’t be that hard. I am a Christian who sees many positive things in many traditions. If feel quite comfortable in many types of church settings. I am however, in my core beliefs, an Evangelical.

The problem is that where I live, Evangelicals are in the minority. In my community of 27,000 there is one Evangelical church. I helped start it. It was a Pentecostal church, and although I am not Pentecostal I figured that having one Evangelical church in town was better than having no Evangelical church, and so I offered my help.

My wife and I served under two Pastors there. We led worship, served on the leadership team, served on the pastoral search committee, taught Sunday School, and organized outreaches and banquets. All the while I was dreading the time when the church would become large enough to receive its “organized” status. For when the church received this status, membership would have to be formalized. We didn’t qualify. Membership required agreement to the statement of faith, and we didn’t believe the Pentecostal teaching on tongues.

Eventually we felt God calling us away from this church community, and we had a very amicable parting of the ways. We ended up at a church in another community, which unfortunately due to competing visions within it’s elder’s board, ending up closing its doors three years later. As we looked at other churches, most had something in their statement of faith, that excluded us. They were either too Calvinist, or too dispensational, or too anti-Charismatic for us to fit.

After a long search we found a church in a third community. We quite love it, and I have some very good things to say about it. Again, we didn’t qualify for membership, this time because my wife’s mode of baptism differed slightly from theirs. Although we do not believe in rebaptism (especially for those who have already been baptized as believers), our desire to belong eventually became stronger that our distaste for rebaptism and my wife was rebaptized. We became members shortly afterwards.

Are there others like me who have difficulty belonging? Conversations with people at places like Internetmonk.com make me think that my experience is hardly unique. So here are some questions I would like us to consider:

1. Does requiring agreement with a statement of faith lead to increased fragmentation within the body of Christ?

2. Or are there essentials that need to be agreed upon no matter what in order for someone to be accepted as a member?

3. If Christ has accepted me as a member of his body, are there ways to make it easier for me to be accepted into a local church body?

4. Could we lessen the requirement of membership in many evangelical churches, so that prospective members do not have to give complete agreement to a statement of faith, but instead will agree to uphold it and not teach contrary to it?

5. Are there similar situations in other faith traditions? If so, are there resolution that have been seen to work?

6. Finally, what could you do in your church to help people in my situation become part of your congregation and membership?

I don’t have a problem with a church having a statement of faith. I feel it is a good tool to say “this is what we are about as a church.” Is it not possible to say that “We welcome those who have slightly differing viewpoints” as long as they agree to uphold and abide by the statement of faith”?

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

3 Comments | church life, communion, Evangelical, statement of faith, theology, unity | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

The Professor, the Wardrobe, and the Holy Spirit

Apr 19, 2010

It was the sort of house that you never seemed to come to the end of, and it was full of unexpected places.

I love the book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.  Honestly, there are too many things about the story that I love, to recount them all in this post.  This photo made me think about the Wardrobe.  In Lewis’ story, the four Pevensies  are evacuated from London because of the air-raids during WWII.  They are sent to the home of Professor Digory Kirke.  When in the house, the children become enamored with an old Wardrobe that, as it turns out, is a portal into another world – the world of Narnia.  In this, C.S. Lewis is brilliant.  He has found a way, through the mechanism of a children’s story, to create an experience that gives his readers a frame of reference for understanding the Gospel:  A land that has been cursed, subjects who live in fear and slavery, a Queen who rules by lying and manipulating the desires of her subjects, A  Great Lion who gives his life to break that curse, the Kingdom of that Great Lion vanquishing the curse by redeeming slaves and freeing the oppressed.  It’s just so great.

I also find it fascinating that the children enter into this “true vision” of the world, when they enter a Wardrobe that is found in the house of Professor Digory Kirke: that is Professor (a Teacher), Digory (the British word for a levee of water), and Kirke (the Scottish word for church).  I believe that in this, before Lewis ever begins his epic tale, he establishes a subtle way of telling us how people are taught this true vision of the world.  Let me explain.  As a character, I believe that Professor Digory Kirke symbolizes the Holy Spirit in much the same way that Aslan, the Great Lion, symbolizes Christ.  This view of Professor Kirke as the Holy Spirit is further founded in Lewis’ description of him in The Magician’s Nephew, which reveals that the Professor had been present with Aslan at the creation of Narnia.  I believe that Professor Digory Kirke’s name emphasizes three works of the Holy Spirit: “Professor” – Revealing the Word of God, “Digory” – Applying the Water of Sacrament, “Kirke” – Establishing the Church of Christ.  So then, Professor Kirke is the Holy Spirit who works through the Word, Sacrament, and the Church.  The Pevensie children have run away from a war they don’t understand, to seek safety in a house of refuge, and to be taught by a Professor through an epic story that is discovered by entering through a Wardrobe found inside the Professor’s enormous old house.  Isn’t that cool?

So let’s play Lewis’ thought out a little further… I think it is safe to say that when people come into the Church on Sunday Mornings, they are running away from a war that they do not understand.  They are running away from a world that makes no sense.  They run into a House of Refuge.  Yet, when inside this house, they need more than safety.  They need strength, they need nourishment, they need truth, and they need their vision to be adjusted.  In other words, they need to see and understand.  They need to peer through a “window”,  move through the back of a wardrobe where they will see the world as it really is.  They need to see the truth of the Gospel.  They need to be baptized into the waters of the Church.  They need to adore the beauty of Christ through the power of Word and Sacrament.  This is Lewis’ view, and in this vision, he is so dead on correct.

Sadly, in recent times, modern Christians seemed to have lost faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.  And, having done so, they have also lost touch with the power that comes through the Holy Spirit – the Spirit working through the Word, the Spirit working through Sacrament, and the Spirit working through the Church.  So often, Christians abandon the Spirit of Christ and run off – chasing after the idols of the age.  We abandon God’s Story – the powerful, trustworthy, unfailing narrative of the Gospel found in the Bible.  We abandon God’s Sacrament – where the Gospel in Baptism and Communion are like the front of the Wardrobe of Earth intersecting with back of the Wardrobe of Heaven.  And we abandon God’s People – the household of Christ, where the power of the Gospel is relationally affirmed, again and again and again.

Getting back to the photo above – nothing seems out of the ordinary. Does it?  It’s just a room.  A window.  A desk.  And a dresser.  Yet, look at the mirror.  Like the Wardrobe, it reveals something special.  It is a portal, leading us into another world.  O how Christians need to reaffirm a trust in the Holy Spirit, who reveals Himself to us and leads us through this portal.  With a firm grip on the Gospel found in the Word, Sacrament, and the Church, we need to follow the Spirit as he leads us through the old coats and hats of the Wardrobe until we feel our hearts adjusting to the truth that comes from another world.  For in following the Spirit in this way, Christians renew themselves in the excitement of Lewis’ description of Professor Kirke’s old house: “It was the sort of house that you never seemed to come to the end of, and it was full of unexpected places“.

4 Comments | C.S. Lewis, church life, Holy Spirit, People, theology | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Tim Melton

Responding to the problem of pain – A new look at Job

Feb 14, 2010

The following post is written by Michael Powell , a Pastor of Michael Bell. It was first published at InternetMonk.com

A wise person once wrote the following lyrics in a song called Suffer: “All that you suffer is all that you are.” Now, while this statement may not be entirely true – as we are also defined by experiences of happiness, joy and peace – I’m sure we can all agree that going through some kind of suffering is an inevitability for all of us as humans, and that what we suffer does in fact shape us profoundly. Physically, we feel pain, as our body is designed to protect itself and provide us with signals of potential or actual danger. Through trial and error, we become aware of the limits of our existence. We learn that touching things that are hot or sharp can hurt us, so that we’ll hopefully be less apt to make the same mistake again in the future. At other times, our bodies feel pain to let us know that we’re sick or that something within us demands our attention – like a warning system to let us know something’s wrong or that we should consider modifying our routine behaviour. We also feel emotional pain, which is often related to social interaction. At times, we hurt because we are intentionally or inadvertently excluded or insulted by someone else’s actions or words. Other times, we suffer because we are temporarily or indefinitely separated from a person or people who are important to us. Whatever the case, our experience of physical and emotional pain is universal, and has a direct impact on our personal identities, how we view and relate to others, and how we process and deal with spiritual things. Ultimately, what we suffer personally and collectively influences our understanding of God.

C. S. Lewis, in his book “The Problem of Pain”, wrote this:

If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both. This is the problem of pain, in its simplest form.

Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | acts of kindness, church life, encouragement, faith, health, Pain, sermons, theology | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Ruminations on Sheep

Dec 11, 2008

By Peter Heath

I live in a Middle Eastern (Muslim) country, and currently I have 12 days off work due to National Day and Eid Al Adha celebrations.  We enjoyed the National Day fireworks from the roof of our apartment building (45 minutes of dual-source synchronized fireworks!).  And then we put ear plugs in so we could go to sleep with all the young guys driving/honking//backfiring till 3 AM on our street.  We remind our kids that this qualifies as a cultural experience!

Eid Al Adha is the Muslim festival that comes at the end of the Hajj (required journey to Mecca) and about 6 weeks after the end of Ramadan.  It also commemorates Allah providing a ram so that Abraham didn’t actually have to sacrifice Ishmael.  (That is the Muslim take on it.)  Muslims normally slaughter and eat a sheep as part of the festival.  In years past, apartment staircases here have run red with the blood of slaughtered sheep, but now residents must take their sheep to authorized slaughter-centres that are set up for the occasion.  (Sort of reminds me of polling places appearing and disappearing over elections.)  So, a couple of days ago, i discovered a sheep in the parking lot of my building!  Didn’t take too much imagination to figure out what was going on.  This morning, Mr Sheepy was gone, and it looked like the short-term owner took the legal route on preparing his meal.  Fortunately for Mr. Sheepy, he didn’t have any clue what was waiting for him.  Sort of reminds me of many of my friends.

Like my hockey buddies (yes, ice hockey).  A couple of nights ago, HockeyGuy turned to me on the bench and says “I think Jesus showed us the ultimate example of humanity.”  I pulled out my CS Lewis Handbook and replied that Jesus claimed to be God, so either he was loony or else he was/is God.  Either way, you can’t take the “great man” approach.  HockeyGuy basically said to me “I don’t think the I-am-God stuff matters.  I just like the Great Moral Man stuff.”  Must be that post-modern mindset kicking in, i guess, that someone can pick and choose what they like or dislike about Jesus and totally ignore the rest.  Or is that just human nature?  Isn’t that what the Gnostics did so very long ago?  Anyway HockeyGuy, who *is* a good guy, doesn’t believe he needs a Saviour and misses out on Jesus as the Eternal Sacrifice.  Hmmm, kind of reminds me of all the Muslims i know…

1 Comment | Church History, crucifixion, Gospel, heresy, theology, work of Christ | Permalink
Posted by peterofarabia

Minimizing Christianity to the Glory of God

Aug 8, 2008

A Guest Blog by ~ C Michael Patton ~

The following is a posting by C Michael Patton from Parchment and Pen that he has graciously allowed Eclectic Christian to repost here. I feel as if his “Centralist” position is one that really underlies that of being an Eclectic Christian. Emphasis has been added by Eclectic Christian for the purpose of clarity. (Thanks to Michael Spencer for pointing out this article.)

Being in ministry—being in theological ministry—the passions run high. You are going to say some wrong things and you are going to have some wrong things said about you. Such is ministry. One needs to develop some thick skin if they seek to surf these waters.

As a consequence of being misunderstood, you get mislabeled. One label that has been recently tapped on my back with red crayon is “minimalist.” What does that mean to be a minimalist?

Minimalist

One who sees Christianity as a system of belief that only recognizes the least common denominator. In other words, let’s just find out what all those who call themselves Christian believe and say that this is true Christianity and then let’s not talk about anything else. Talking about what divides, well . . . divides. And division is bad, bad, and double bad. Therefore, let’s just all get along.

Many of those in Pop Evangelicalism, the Emerging Church, and the Emergent church take this perspective.

From the standpoint of those who call me a minimalist, I represent a branch of Evangelicalism that compromises truth for conciliation in the name of ecclesiastical unity.

Stepping back and looking at this criticism, I can see where it comes from. I understand how people would get this impression. I do tend to encourage people to focus on the things that unite. I do tend to plead with people about the danger of talking past each other. I am even sometimes critical of militant apologetic methods that seem to deepen chasms, hardening others in an apologetic position that only focuses on what they are against, thereby losing perspective. However, I would not classify myself as a minimalist.

Let me introduce some similar terms that will help get a grasp on this issue.

Maximalist

One who seeks unity only with those with whom there is maximal agreement. Any disagreement, no matter how small it is perceived to be, does not take away from its importance. All issues are equal, or at least close to it.

Roman Catholics, some Eastern Orthodox, and Fundamentalists would normally share this perspective.

Centrist

One who seeks unity by finding areas of compromise. Taking the dialectical method, opposing positions are rarely correct, but the truth is found in a compromised center.

Many in the Emergent and liberal Church share this perspective.

Centralist

One who starts with the center of Christianity and believes that it provides the anchor from which all other conversation will find its ground. A centralist is focused on the most important elements of the faith so that the other issues can be seen in light of the perspective it provides.

Most in the Historic Evangelical church, some emergers, and some Eastern Orthodox hold this perspective.

It is in this camp that I can be found roasting marshmallows.

What is the “center” of the faith?

The doctrine of the Scripture? The doctrine of truth? Helping those in need? Social action? No. None of these in my opinion are the center of the faith. The center of our faith is Christ. If you want to say “the doctrine of Christ,” that is good as well. It is the person and work of Christ that is the center of Christianity. “Who do men say that I am?” is the most important theological question there is. If you get this wrong, all else will not only come undone, but it will be meaningless. If you get this right, there is a foundational unifying factor that we must recognize and in light of which all other issue must find their place.

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2 Comments | Eclectic Christian, theology | Permalink
Posted by eclecticguest

Two Thumbs up for Theological Scribblings

Jul 24, 2008

Robin Parry
Okay, so he’s maybe not my new best friend, but Robin Parry is certainly an individual I find very interesting. He writes a new blog, Theological Scribblings, with content that covers the sort of questions that I have asked myself from time to time. It is almost like he reads my mind. Wonder what questions Mike has this week? Robin Parry has probably already answered them. A bit of an exaggeration, but he certainly is someone that I would love to be able to sit down with over a cup of coffee and have a discussion about life, the universe, and everything.

Incidentally, I found out about Theological Scribblings from Darrell Pursiful, another very interesting read.

Comments Off | theology | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

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