Keeping the Porch Light on in a Dark World
“The foundation of true education is the truth that man, though fallen and sinful, is made in the image of God the creator and king. Education is a core implication of the gospel truth that Jesus Christ is Lord over all the earth.”
Video by Joe Boot of the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity here.
“Only God gets to decide what’s normal.”
Peter Drucker, not Sam Drucker (pictured above) has a lot of influence in the business world. He also has greatly shaped the Evangelical world.
Much has influenced the modern evangelical church. This is not surprising, because every institution is subject to outside influences, and this is not all bad. Add to that, we are affected by the architecture we choose, by our geography, our art and music–the list continues.
Churches who wish to be faithful to Scripture do not need to reject everything that is new simply because it is new, nor hold to everything that is old simply because it is tradition. But Christians are called to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1), because not every influence is benign.
There has been much said in the past few decades now about churches and their relationship to non-Christians, to Christians, and the very purpose of the church. Some churches have consciously adopted a consumer approach. This is also known as being seeker sensitive, or attractional. It is the driving force behind the megachurch movement, of which Rick Warren is one of the best known names.
For those interested in the goings on at the North American Christian Convention (founded in 1927), it is now a major church philosophy implicit in that gathering.
Some change is unsettling (even good change), but if the North American church has been largely shaped by a philosophy foreign to Scripture, it might be good to know. Regardless of personal opinions on this, the discussion is long overdue.
I could go on, but please listen to this, from Chris Rosebrough at Pirate Christian Radio, along with this PowerPoint presentation.