The Problems with Tribes in Christianity

I've been working on this piece for my own blog, but I think it may add to some of our recent discussions. www.pastoralgraffiti.com

The New Ministry Paper

If you are pondering the New Ministry Paper coming to A.C., some thoughts have been well expressed on Dunker Journal. Click to read.

How Our Various Tribes Must Work Together.

Please, take the time to watch this and pray about being part of the solution . . . of bringing our "tribes" together.  Thanks to Ray Hileman for sharing this.  Honestly, I'm glad you did, because I have some tendencies to be in Mark Driscoll's "tribe."

I can't say it any better than Driscoll.  Please ! Watch this.

We Are Not of One Mind.

A phrase that is often heard in our denomination is, "We are not of one mind."

Is that a Biblically acceptable position?

Philippians 2: 1-2

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 

History of the Bible & the Brethren - by P.V. Lee Smith

"The Brethren have always been known as a people of the Book. They viewed and treated the Bible as God's very words delivered to man through His Spirit that communicated the mind of God to them. Such a perspective led them to take the Bible "as written" without questioning its authenticity, accuracy, and trustworthiness. Recognizing it as the sole authority for their faith, life, and practice, they sought to begin a new fellowship obedient to its teachings. Such a fellowship can only continue to exist today as it remains faithful to those same teachings."

An early Brethren pamphlet, dating back to 1747, described the Bible as  “a letter of God which He has written to the human race through the operation of His Eternal Spirit.”

One of my favorite quotes to describe the Brethren view of Scripture can be found with H. C. Early's statement made at the start of the 20th century: "Brethren lead in teaching the Authority and the Unity and the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures. They hold that the Bible is an inspired revelation of God to man, that it was     given with authority and confirmed and sealed by the death of the Son of God. It is held that when God speaks it is final, that there is no appeal, that he speaks with full understanding, as well as authority, and that the only safe ground is to accept the Word of God in all good faith and obey it."

And, as for the discussion about "literalness" and "inerrancy," I think that the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy puts it well: http://www.alliancenet.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID307086_CHID750054_CIID2094584,00.html

Standing with you all for the authority of God's inspired, written, and inerrant Word for the sake of His name,
Lee Smith

Regarding the New Ministry Paper

One item of business coming up at Annual Conference is a new process for calling out ministerial leadership.

Here's a summery from Dunker Journal

Biblical Authority as it was in the COB

Since we are actually going to be taking a look at Biblical Authority at this year’s Annual Conference, I want to offer some examples from some older books in my personal library.

These brief quotations show clearly show the COB’s  former stance on Biblical Authority.

From – “The New Testament Doctrines”  by J.H. Moore – Brethren Publishing House, 1915

Page 15 – Under the heading:   “The Bible, God’s Revelation”

. . . As each man wrote, he was guided by the Holy Ghost;  so that the Bible comes down to us with the Holy Spirit and God behind it.  We need not offer special evidence in support of its Divine Authenticity.  What it is accomplishing in the conversion of men and women, and in making the world better, to say nothing of its perfect adaptations to the needs of man, is ample proof of its claims as the Revealed Will of the Most High.  As has well been said:

“This Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers.  It’s doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and it’s decisions are immutable.”

From – “Studies in Christian Belief” by William M. Beahm  - Brethren Press,  1958  

BTW:  Beahm was also the Dean of Bethany at the time.

Page 20 – Under the heading  “The Bible is the Word of God”

It is truest to the Bible’s own view of itself to regard it as the Word of God. . .

Page 21 – Under the Heading:  “The Bible is Unchanging”

{After listing many New Testament events, Beahm wrote:}

. . . these are not a set of mere ideas or maxims.  They are events which occurred and of which the Bible bears witness.

Page 23 – Beahm also mentioned Biblical authors as, “under the living influence of the Holy Spirit.”

Editor’s Note, so have we become a stronger, more vibrant church since we ditched the Authority of Scripture?  Or are we in a death spiral?

Radical Christianity !

What would Radical Christianity look like?  A piece from my own blog:  www.pastoralgraffiti.com

Scouts ?

Regarding the Boys Scouts policy change on "openly gay" members, this is just another win for militant gay activists groups. They scored their first big win in the early 1970's when the American Psychological Association (APA) took homosexuality off their list of mental illnesses. What was the big change for the APA? PRESSURE ! It was nothing scientific. They just got tired of the demonstrators showing up at their convention every year, so they caved.Sound familiar ?

Finding Strife Quickly

With the speed of today's technology, we can find ourselves feuding fast.  A piece from my personal blog. "Rapid Depravity."

Editor on Twitter

You can now follow me on Twitter -https://twitter.com/@PastorDStiles

David Stiles, Editor

Here comes Annual Conference

I have some mixed feelings about our Annual Conference this year.  On the positive side,  Sunday looks fantastic.  The schedule has the obvious  fingerprints of Bob Krouse all over it.  I love Bob, he’s a great Brother and has been a great mentor to me.

This transition to a much more obvious Spiritual focus is badly needed.

But, once Sunday is over,  we really need to keep our eyes on “the ball.”  I’ve been to quite a few Annual Conferences and for the most part, not seen “the ball” very often.

“The Ball,” is the Great Commission to go and make disciples.  So, why are we going to waste time talking about the Changing of Earth’s Climate?  No disrespect intended if that’s your thing, but I don’t believe that is church business. 

My belief on the issue is simple;  God is going to destroy it all anyway.

  

The church in America is in very bad shape.   There are two big things that the COB has really taken the bait on:  sidetracks and divisions.

The earth’s climate is only the most recent and obvious sidetrack.  The heart of the matter that could very well decide the fate of the COB is how we handle New Business, #1 – Biblical Authority.

I have enough OLD COB books in my library to prove that our stance, as a denomination, changed significantly and then officially with the 1979 paper on Biblical Authority.

The results of the change are obvious.  We are in rapid decline, along with many other traditional denominations in America.   I have a hunch that there could be people whistling in the dark to avoid this unpleasant reality.

Thus:  I recommend a book:  It identifies just how bad things are in the American church and the actions we can take to have a pray of a chance for the future.  If you can’t see the link below, turn off Ad Block.

America's Uncivil War, the Gay Agenda.

Nothing new here, but a good summery of dealing with gay activist talking points.
Click here

The Big Question is Before Us !

When I opened my Annual Conference booklet,  I was delighted to see new business item 1.  A Query on Biblical authority.  If you are new here, take a look at the title of this blog !

Putting all the pomp & circumstance aside, this IS the ultimate question.  How it is answered will determine the future (if we have one) of the Church of the Brethren.

Jesus said,  “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”  Obviously, we are not standing as a denomination, we are crawling toward extinction.

The root of all are current mess of “dialogue & tension” is the ambiguity of the 1979 paper that tossed Biblical Authority out the window.

I offer here a video I made a while back, but it speaks to the issue.

A MUST Read.

While we spend precious time having dialogue . . .

Ambiguous, Authoritarian & Healthy Disciple Making

Prior to entering full-time time ministry, I spent over a decade of my life counseling teenagers and parents.  From that season of my life, I bring the experience of seeing the three basic styles of parenting.

First, there are the harsh, authoritarian type of parents.  These homes are run like boot camps.  Every expectation is clearly laid out, like a formula.  Discipline in these homes is harsh and comes quickly, when a line is crossed.  The results are often a lot of rebellion and strife as the children from these homes go through the process of developing who they are.

Second, there is what I will call ambiguous parenting.   These parents draw no clear lines and rarely embrace a set of expectations.  These homes are often full of strife, because the parents are very inconsistent.  Nothing is clear.  So, a child will begin “testing” and pushing the limits to see if there actually are any limits.  An incident of negative behavior from a child could yield no reaction from the parents.  Yet, a month later, the same behavior could trigger a harsh parental attempt to “crack down.”  These kids are a mess, because they never know what to expect.

Finally, the healthy style of parenting occurs when parents clearly and lovingly teach their children right and wrong.  The big rules of the house are clearly understood, but unique situations are talked through and children are given some opportunity to express their feelings.

When I look at the churches of America, I see the same kind of dysfunction in their processes of raising up disciples.  We have harsh, legalistic churches with lots of “rules” about what “good Christians” do and don’t do.   Again, discipline can be swift and harsh.  Honestly, I’ve helped several people over the years who have “escaped” from these “Stepford Christian” factories.

Then we have churches that are extremely ambiguous.   They stand behind the word “tolerance,” in order to justify their lack of clarity towards morality and Theology.  They are like the parents who want to be their children’s “buddies.”   Members of these churches often emerge with no absolute system of right and wrong on many simply and clear issues, because their leadership has swallowed the “everything is relative” attitude of academia.   The Bible is wide open to interpretation, and not seen as the absolute Word of God.  In these churches, people don't know what to believe.

Finally, we have churches that lead with grace and maintain the Bible as their moral compass.  Those who attend this type of church understand that foundational Biblical principles are not open for negotiation.   However, they also understand that forgiveness and restoration are a free gift that is available to all through Jesus Christ.   

For we all have indeed fallen and are not worthy to stand before God without Jesus.  It would seem that this is the “narrow way,” that our polarized churches need to discover.  In America, these are the churches that will survive in the 21^st century.

Reaction to: Revelation at the Paradise Diner - By Bruce Jacobsen

I received a copy of the most recent Messenger, (March 2013), and while I was not surprised by the article (Revelation at the Paradise Diner) written by Earle Fike Jr., it did sadden me, as it is a hollow, false, powerless gospel that helps me to understand why evangelism isn't important to those who hold to his view of Scripture.

Mr. Fike uses an allegorical story to unfold his version of the gospel, a version that believes that because Jesus Christ died on the cross, that all mankind is going to heaven.  In his view, there is no hell, just variances of distance from God in heaven. 

 The true gospel in this story is referred to as a "culturally dated vision from another time".  

If this doesn't stir the fire in your bones to boldly proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel where we are saved from eternal torment in hell by the awesome grace and love of God demonstrated to us through the life, death and resurrection of His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, I don't know what will!

Keep preaching the Word!

Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

Hmm. . . Someone messing with us?

When looking "under the hood" of our website, I noticed today that a source that has provided 2 hits to this website is "gogetporn."  Kind of makes one scratch one's head.  Is somebody trying to set us up?

Just thought I'd put it out there right away.