Theological Word of the Day

Emerging Church

The “emerging church” is a representative designation for a growing ethos or way of thinking among many dissatisfied Christians (primarily those in Protestantism). While there is no primary leader or credal unity among those in the emerging church, there are certain characteristics that stand out among “emergers,” as they are called. These characteristics are not necessarily found in all emergers, but are representative of the emerging ethos.

1. Epistemologically, they are less optimistic about our ability to come to know “the” truth, but find value in many perspectives.
2. Theologically, they are prone to questioning traditional theological dogma.
3. Politically, they call for change and social activism and often a disassociation with the Republican party.
4. Sociologically, they call on the church to reach out to those in need with love and compassion.
5. Missionally, they focus on “mission” as the everyday role of Christians that should permeate every aspect of their life.

The Barna Group - Five Myths about Young Adult Church Dropouts

The Barna Group - Five Myths about Young Adult Church Dropouts

Theological Word of the Day

Cognitive Dissonance

The condition when some of a person’s beliefs are in contradiction to other beliefs they hold or to the way they live. Often people’s habitual patterns do not harmonize with their intellectual convictions. In Christianity, it is often the case that people attempt to live according to a Christian worldview due only to traditional bents without ever personally experiencing a true cognitive or intellectual conviction about such. This can produce a dichotomous life of dissonance or inconsistency in their beliefs and practices.

I AM TIRED OF CHURCH by John Hawkins, Pastor of Center Pointe Church

the JOURNAL of the JOURNEY

I am tired of church or I should say I am tired of churchianity. I am tired of the politics, the power struggles, the emotional immaturity (present company excepted), the expectations, the hypocrisy, the personality disorders, the inauthenticity, the hidden agendas, the selfishness, the apathy, the spiritual laziness. the lack of honesty, the defensiveness in people, the insensitivity to others, the pride, the made up lists of do’s and don’ts, the judgmental attitudes, the plastic smiles and fake love, the critical and negative attitudes, the stinginess, the unbelief, the rebellion to truth, and give me a minute and I’ll think of a few other things while I am on a role. I am tired of how we took something God made simple and for the purpose of building our relationship with him and others and institutionalized it. We have organized it, complicated it, hierarchied it, and paralyzed it so it no longer does what God intended it to do. We have split it into a thousand factions so it no longer functions in unity as one body and fulfills the mission Jesus gave to it.

Perhaps I am being too broad in my indictment. I can not speak for the church at large in the world, I am not an expert on the subject. My frame of reference and experience is the church in America where I have pastored for 38 years. Does this all sound too cynical or negative? I have had plenty of people as I would invite them to church use one or several of these reasons for not coming. Even as a pastor I have felt this way at times. I think most pastors have at one time or another if they were honest. At times we question our call and tell God we want to quit and go do something else. He is ok but we just can’t stand people. I think Jesus felt a little like this when he came into the world and started to work with the “church” (religious crowd of His day). He turned things upside down and was a real contrarian when it came to the whole religious thing. Read the sermon on the mount sometime – as the new Moses He gave us the new way.

Contrary to how this sounds I am not some cynical, bitter preacher ready to give up on the church and go sell cars (though I have told God several times I was done). Rather as someone with more years of ministry behind me than in front of me I want to make my final years count. I want to find the simplicity of what true ministry is about. I think it has something to do with building relationships not organizations, buildings, programs, empires, or being successful. I think it is about leaving a legacy of lives my life has touched for God. Maybe this is too idealistic or naive but I am going to try to find my way in this. I would rather do this than become the cynical preacher who gives up on the church. Maybe I just haven’t been doing it right. You are never too old to learn. recently a mentor I work with gave me some thoughts on focusing your life for the second half. They were pretty helpful to me, allow me to leave them with you they are from author Dave Legg:

Slow your pace.
Narrow your focus.
Focus on things that strike passion and desire in your heart.
Focus on people more than programs.
Measure life in terms of people.
Invest your life by investing in people.
Give the whole gospel and not just the salvation piece of the gospel.
Commit to community and its high importance at this time in your life.

An Anonymous Letter From a Homosexual To The Church

Dear Church,

I’m in such pain; I just had to write something to someone, because there’s no one to call at this hour. Don’t think poorly of me because I am still learning to lean on God… and because sometimes I need arms to hold me; even God said it is not good that man be alone. I don’t want to disturb anyone at this hour. I’m afraid if I did, they would reject me… people seem to be eager to help when it’s convenient. For me to call someone now would be inconvenient, and I could not take the possible rejection on top of the pain I already feel in my heart. Sometimes the stuff I'm forbidden to have can look awfully good when I'm feeling empty on the inside, with no one to call.

I like what I’ve learned from the bible, even though it’s hard to accept some things. But I need more; I need to see Jesus modeled by the Church. I need to see you who believe actually BE the ears, arms, and eyes of God. I need friends. I need guys in my life I can get together with - pals, buddies… I need the stuff I didn't get growing up, and that most guys don't have time for in the Church - because they have families and fathers and careers already. But I don’t need a baby sitter or a teacher; I need a human being who cares and who is willing and able to be a friend. I need men in my life who will love me where I’m at, who are willing and able to spend time with me; I need men to show me examples of what a healthy relationship between men looks like, not just an hour a week at Sunday school… but in real life.

I think guys who have families forget what being single is like... some will argue the reverse, that I’m better off single… but they don’t know what they have – and they would rethink things if they found themselves alone, as I am. They want to fix me, and think that I should bury myself in work like they do; but maybe that burial is why their marriages are dying. Maybe I’m not the only sick one here – maybe most guys are just as scared as I am over sharing their hearts. I've had several suggest that the right job would fix my loneliness... but I know from personal experience that work doesn’t fill the need for human contact, and the secular workplace doesn’t fill the need for Godly relationships with other men.

Sometimes you, men of the Church, make comments that I’m too open, and sometimes I think to myself, “You should be a man, keep the feelings in and be strong.” But is this really what God wants – or is it male pride? I think those words “Be strong” are whispered directly from Satan’s mouth into my ear… and the ear of every man… because in my strength, I draw away from needing God and others, and I am really weak – even though my pride fools me into thinking I am powerfully “self-reliant”. And when I am weak, I am strong, because I am more connected with God and with other men… because I need them.

Heck, the people I can relate to most in any setting seem to be the older ones or the kids - because most of the guys my age have lost something that kids and older people have. I don't know what it is, maybe people my age are too arrogant, too set in our ways, too proud, or too busy to be bothered with such “trivial” things as friendship and love. I miss friends from my old life… because even though some of those interactions might have been sinful, at least I had friends who would spend time with me. The Church can seem pretty sterile when the only time I see you – you who call themselves “brothers and sisters” – is in a bible study or at church. I feel like I'm starving for human interaction, when all I get is two or three hours a week in groups. Is this what you would call “ministering”?

Do you, dear Church, want to know the real reason I stumble into pornography and gay sin? It is for one reason: I am starved for relationship, for friendship, for touch... but I am afraid to ask, and be told “no” yet again. The pornography might be sin, but at least the “high” took my mind off the pain of isolation for a little while, when you weren’t willing to; and pornography is always there; you, men of the Church, are not. It made me forget my loneliness. When life gets tough, you have wives and family to comfort you – or at the very least to keep you occupied. When my life gets tough, married men tell me to seek comfort in God – spoken from the comfort of their wives arms. This is convenient… for them. I have put work into relationships, and you didn’t have time, dear Church. It’s funny how you have time to condemn homosexuals, to rally to abolish gay marriage, or get on the band wagon over this cause or that, all in the name of God. But you don’t have time to be friends with a homosexual who wants to change. If I were to define hell, it would be "a void of relationship". If I were to point to a place on earth where I have found the most hell, it has been within the walls of the Church. I’m tired of all the verses and the theory. You want me to change; stop talking and SHOW me how to be a loving Christian in Godly relationships by LIVING that theory with me, by inviting me into these relationships… or I will stumble – and you, men of the Church, will not be guiltless.

I want to live life, to share life with people. There seems to be no outlet for me – the single male struggling with sexual brokenness – to do this, other than little bits here and there. I have much to offer, along with my peers, even though I am also needy. I want the touch of another human being. I want it to matter when I laugh and when I cry, and I want the tears and laughter of others to matter to me. I am frustrated by so many things in not only our society, but in the Church; men do not know how to love one another as God intended... if we all did, there wouldn't be so much homosexuality; it is a backlash, a result of men not loving as they should... including you, men of the Church.

I have one dream... I want Jesus to hold me, to let me cry, to sob, to let my body shake with the grief of the losses I have felt in my life. I want him to be there and hold me through it, whether I cry for a minute, a day, or a year... until finally there are no more tears left. And then I want to fall asleep in his arms, I want to be safe. I want to go back, to be a kid again, and to get what I didn't get back then, what I can't get now by myself, but which can only come through Jesus and through other men in a healthy way. I am frustrated and angry - and I feel cheated, that I have no attraction to women, that I have no family. I have worked so hard simply to overcome the trauma of the rejection I went through from my father... he didn't mean to do it, but I carry those deep scars, and they go right to the foundation of my heart.

Do you want to crucify the homosexual, or save him? If you want to save him, here I am, and I’m asking to be saved. I’m asking you to be Christ’s arms and ears, to hold me and let me cry, to let me know Jesus does care about me – that even though I feel rejected and broken and alone, at least someone does care. Or do you want to help in theory, so you can feel good about yourselves? Or maybe it’s just easier to throw the first stone. Some days, I would thank you for throwing that stone; the pain would end.

I know you can't fix me. You may not know what to say. Men of the Church, you think you have to say something profound to "fix" others. Wrong. You are here to teach me God’s ways by EXAMPLE, to be examples of love in a world of hatred. Ironically, I – the homosexual – am here to teach you, too, men of the Church. “To teach us?” you may ask in shock. Yes, to teach you something you’ve forgotten; we are here to teach you the strength of vulnerability, the power of facing the truth - we are powerless, that we are all broken and we can fix nothing... that Jesus died to fix us. When in my weakest moments I share with you, I am doing what God wants me to. I am an example of vulnerability, and my example gives you – men of the Church – permission to shed your masks of self-strength and self-righteousness. Listen and learn, men of the Church: we can’t put on God’s armor, until we first take off our own useless armor… and we can’t do that until we set our pride aside, and get honest with one another. I’m ready. Are you?

Aren't we God's hands extended?

I AM TIRED OF CHURCH

CENTER POINTE CHURCH
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA

By John Hawkins

I am tired of church or I should say I am tired of churchianity. I am tired of the politics, the power struggles, the emotional immaturity (present company excepted), the expectations, the hypocrisy, the personality disorders, the inauthenticity, the hidden agendas, the selfishness, the apathy, the spiritual laziness. the lack of honesty, the defensiveness in people, the insensitivity to others, the pride, the made up lists of do’s and don’ts, the judgmental attitudes, the plastic smiles and fake love, the critical and negative attitudes, the stinginess, the unbelief, the rebellion to truth, and give me a minute and I’ll think of a few other things while I am on a role. I am tired of how we took something God made simple and for the purpose of building our relationship with him and others and institutionalized it. We have organized it, complicated it, hierarchied it, and paralyzed it so it no longer does what God intended it to do. We have split it into a thousand factions so it no longer functions in unity as one body and fulfills the mission Jesus gave to it.

Perhaps I am being too broad in my indictment. I can not speak for the church at large in the world, I am not an expert on the subject. My frame of reference and experience is the church in America where I have pastored for 38 years. Does this all sound too cynical or negative? I have had plenty of people as I would invite them to church use one or several of these reasons for not coming. Even as a pastor I have felt this way at times. I think most pastors have at one time or another if they were honest. At times we question our call and tell God we want to quit and go do something else. He is ok but we just can’t stand people. I think Jesus felt a little like this when he came into the world and started to work with the “church” (religious crowd of His day). He turned things upside down and was a real contrarian when it came to the whole religious thing. Read the sermon on the mount sometime – as the new Moses He gave us the new way.

Contrary to how this sounds I am not some cynical, bitter preacher ready to give up on the church and go sell cars (though I have told God several times I was done). Rather as someone with more years of ministry behind me than in front of me I want to make my final years count. I want to find the simplicity of what true ministry is about. I think it has something to do with building relationships not organizations, buildings, programs, empires, or being successful. I think it is about leaving a legacy of lives my life has touched for God. Maybe this is too idealistic or naive but I am going to try to find my way in this. I would rather do this than become the cynical preacher who gives up on the church. Maybe I just haven’t been doing it right. You are never too old to learn. recently a mentor I work with gave me some thoughts on focusing your life for the second half. They were pretty helpful to me, allow me to leave them with you they are from author Dave Legg:

Slow your pace.
Narrow your focus.
Focus on things that strike passion and desire in your heart.
Focus on people more than programs.
Measure life in terms of people.
Invest your life by investing in people.
Give the whole gospel and not just the salvation piece of the gospel.
Commit to community and its high importance at this time in your life.

Thank you, John Hawkins for writing your heart. I, myself is very tire of the institutional churchianity.

Charlie Brown Praise Break