So, I have had some conversations with some folks about what I was talking about on my last blog post. Well I recently read an article that I found
here. Basically, it pretty much sums it up...
Feel free to talk amongst yourselves...
"Bible Bielieving Churches" by Joseph E. BoggsWe've all heard someone say it...maybe we've even said it ourselves - "I attend a Bible believing church." Usually it's spoken with a sense of pride, as if the person speaking attends the only Bible believing church in the world. Many times it's spoken while looking down our nose at the person to whom we are speaking. And sometimes it is even said with sincerity and honesty and the best of intentions. However it is said, we've all heard someone (or many people) utter this sentence. Whenever I hear someone say it, I want to ask one question: As opposed to what? Are there really a bunch of non-Bible believing churches out there? Is my church one of them? Am I in danger of the fires of hell because I don't attend your church, the one that believes the Bible? If I were to guess, many people would answer by laying out for me their church's interpretations of the hot button social issues (i.e. abortion, homosexuality, immigration, etc.) and how those interpretations and those interpretations alone are biblical. For example, I could ask an attender of a Bible believing church, "Why is your church 'Bible-believing?" The response could well look like this, "Well, we believe that being gay is the most damnable of all sins and that abortion is murder and that God is an American and blah blah blah." So-called Bible believing churches are more defined by their social stance and rhetoric than any true allegiance to the Bible. What if there was an alternative? What if there was something more than simply being a "Bible believing church?" What if, instead of focusing on verbal arguments about what the Bible says or doesn't say, we focused on vocational actions - putting into practice the things Jesus calls us to do? What if instead of being Bible believers, we became Bible behavers. A Bible behaving church would look a whole lot different from a Bible believing church. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what it would look like or even if we would be able to recognize it. But wouldn't it be amazing to attend a church and be a part of a community that was more concerned with actions than arguments - with grace than judgment? Think about it...
Joseph E. Boggs is an associate pastor at a somewhat conservative church in NW Indiana. He grew up in the "modern" church, but says he is slowly beginning to identify with and develop dialogue within the emerging context. To contact Joe you can find him here
Pastor Joe ...always used by permission.."
