The Emergent Church

I think the Father is using this to draw the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy away from set in stone doctrine or traditional doctrines not based on the Word of God, and even practices which aren't based on the Apostolic tradition, it will make them think I pray and move more toward the centrality of Christ and Him alone along with community, and action toward the world.’ Ah! in other words, let’s let the Spirit of God to do the teaching, and let’s live it out in community, and toward all the world.
This is a very good thing, because as Post Modern , it is calling on the Orthodox to a more Generous Orthodoxy. It is a break away from the scientific, rationality of the period of Enlightenment, which is why so many people are stuck in trying to figure the Father and Jesus out, rationally rather than living in Him experientially and leaving it at that. One's Orthodoxy is narrowed down to just words, but to the life within, the life of Christ within them. Now there is an orthodoxy, don't get me wrong, I don't buy the entire emergent churches message, in some of what I am hearing. I think yes, we must be absolute that having been born of the Spirit and Christ being that resurrected life, we must believe He is the only way to eternal life, which isn't defined by the afterlife effect, to often we have traditionally sold this to mean- heaven, but Christ defined it as this - to know the one true God and His Son whom He sent, Jesus Christ, of course then entails more than a head or doctrinal knowledge or asset to who he is, but a real life, where the rubber meets the road, intimate relationship with His presence in our life, which is lived out in God's defined love toward others.
It is like I have said many times. Each Christian man’s truth is his truth, but that truth isn’t related to which doctrine, eschatology, which one is absolutely correct, or truth, Truth is only embodied in Jesus Christ alone, and that relationship to Him and His life within you, though it may draw you in inwardly to see yourself for who you really are, and why you need Christ, but it will not remain your individual little box to put God in, but if it is truth it will take you outwardly to confront and engage the world around you in love and compassion, mercy and God’s justice not men’s concept of it. It will lead others to Christ, without having to use words to condemn, but love to win.
It is for this reason I no longer accept the Penal Substitution atonement as absolute, but rely and believe more in the Christus Victor, atonement. Explanations for what the Father did through the Son is still mere words, and concepts of men. I think Christus Victor atonement brings and relates more to who the REAL HEAVENLY FATHER IS by recognition from the story, and my experience, and not the doctrines of men.
The Penal Substitution Atonement Theorem to me is based on the fear of God, like in the Old Testament, rather than the love of God as expressed in the New Testament. "Perfect love casts out fear."
Anyway read this -
Brian D. McLaren has written several books, the first one I have peeked at on Amazon, is “The Secret Message of Jesus, and this one http://www.amazon.com/Generous-Orthodoxy-conservative-contemplative-fundamentalist/dp/0310258030/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288804759&sr=1-2#reader_0310258030

Actually he has written several books not just these few. I still see the greatest failure of the Orthodox is to judge those that aren’t or who to try to reshape Orthodoxy to perhaps fit society (Materialism), but in the end only reduce Christ to a feel good sermon, or less than who he is, and they create a God once more in their image, rather then the image provided to us in the Flesh- Jesus Christ.
At least with the Emerging Church, they are not approaching God, centered on Orthodoxy ( defining what is acceptable and true doctrine of which no matter what or how you live, if you believe these things, then you are OK with me) but on Orthopraxy ( the living out in practice of the truth- the life of Christ within)
See Orthodoxy may hold a few tenants of definable truth but the only real truth is Jesus Christ being the central one, but those tenants of faith and doctrine have changed over history, and time, and are still argued today. Calvinist, versus Armenians, Catholics versus Protestants, Universalism, Limited Grace, etc.
Whereas, the life, the action, the move, the missional, the doing, has never changed, for we cannot argue or disagree on the story of Jesus, or the life he lived. The division comes down to when we try to explain in inept words, rather than just allowing the Spirit to do it, in us, as us, and through us.
Don't get me wrong, to say you can have that intimate knowledge of God, through religion any religion other than a relationship with Christ, I don't believe that.
I don't believe in the Emergent Churches, lack to define this, and don't accept their idea, that all religion, can get you to the Father. Matter of fact I believe even Christian " religion" will not get you to the Father or the Son, there must be genuine change of heart, and a new birth from the incoming presence of Christ, coming to live within you. Now no matter what the Emergent Church may say, if we let that go, then you can't even be a "Christian." You might be religious, and even globally religious, is what I saw at the Glenn Beck rally- which I didn't agree with. He is buying the one world religion baloney, that I fear the Emergent Church may sadly be moving toward. We don't need a one world religion, we need people throughout the world to be born of Him!
We must not be tossed about by every wind of doctrine, and the way to avoid that is to make Christ center of it all. One must eliminate the questions, of whose, right on all the issues of eschatology, theology, etc. and get to the basic, the center of what faith is, it is a relationship with Christ, an experiential one as well as the story as revealed in Scripture, but that doesn’t remain in a inward focus, I’m right and everybody else is wrong, it must result in a reaching out to a world that is hurt, lost, and in need, but not to bring them in for our specific doctrine, or orthodoxy or even our so called “truths” but, in bringing God’s justice to a world that doesn’t know it. This becomes the revealing of the real Jesus, who reveals the real Father. His justice is compassion and mercy, not judgment and condemnation, or dividing up in little groups of creed or doctrine, or even eschatology for that matter, there must be a hands across the table compassion to everyone, for this was the life that Jesus lived, right down to what took him to the cross.
We avoid this in our lives, because to be radically different, not necessarily in our statements of faith, or creed or doctrine, but in the way that we differ is our absolute surrender of love toward the Father, by the Son, to the absolute surrender to love others, at no matter what the cost, even the Cross.
This is why we generally avoid, love, mercy, or even justice, is because it will cost us to much, it is to take up our Cross daily and follow Him, because in the end, it all leads us to Calvary, but what better, then to die to ourselves, and the way this world does things, and do it the Jesus way. What better than to die at that cross with Him, and see the morning dawn in our resurrection. Our true resurrection as we become Him, in life, word and deed,
We cannot discount the thousands of Christians, missionaries, Pastors, and others who have lived that life, and even given up their lives for the sake of others, for though they may have had titles, and even been called great by men, if we look at them, many of them carefully and reserve judgment for God, we will see, their hands scarred like Jesus. We will see a life, that touched the lives of others in ways and means that you and I have never approached yet. Thus do we discount the many that maybe they weren't Orthodox in the sense of what we or the group we belong to defines it thus. Protestants in general will never see the good, of the Mother Teresa's or the St. Francis of Assisi's because they hold to much prejudice against Catholicism. Yet, their lives, regardless of trying to define or judge what their reasons were for doing it, by their Orthodoxy, we must and have to say, the results were real because of their Orthopraxy, the lives they touched and lifted from out of despair to hope. This is the life of Jesus, not some sitting in our living rooms and placating ourselves, with an hour of CBN or TBN. It's not an hour of Sunday sermon, 10 minutes of Bible reading, and ten percent of our money, it's not a prayer before our meals or bedtime, it is the life of Christ, lived out in us, as us, and through us, and all that we do and say. That message is love for God and love for others above all things, and to love like Jesus loved will cost you everything, even your Orthodoxy at times.
I am not disparaging those who may do so, for they may just be right where God wants them for the moment, but if that moment, turns into a lifetime, can we say, that they had true faith. For Faith without works is DEAD! This is where the rubber meets the road.
We can go to church on Sunday, but when our lives are lived out just like the rest of the world who live in despair and hopelessness, because we are individualistic, materialistic, and self worshiping, and self serving, what good is our faith. What if Jesus would have remained a Carpenter, and not have changed his occupation to Fisher of men and become the Itinerent Preacher who empowered the powerless, the unloved, the dredges of society, and just preached, and that was it, and then died. Would we still see God as love? No, as the people said, he spoke with authority, not like the Pharisees, and the Scribes, you can talk all day long about love, but unless I see it, in the love that is expressed as Jesus expressed it, your words, deafen me. Jesus words didn't deafen the Pharisees, they challenged them, they chose to put their own fingers in their ears, for to listen would have required change, loss of title, loss of recognition, loss of being self righteous to become humbled and give up the things so cherished, that they valued their lives on, their sense of pride.
They are as most of us, we dare not walk away from all that we own and have, and give our lives, to reaching out to those less fortunate then we are - why others would say were foolish, irresponsible, and all the things, that put man in bondage and offer us no freedom at all of our Spirit to break away from the commonplace, the common sense. Thus the rich young ruler could live the Orthodox, the keeping of the Law, but he could not go and sell all that he had, and give it to the poor, for that would have cost him everything, thus it is often our comforts in life, that quench the Spirit of God in our lives, to really know and experience the Kingdom of God.
Yes, there may be many who did things for the wrong motive, but who are we to judge what their motives were. If the fruit is good, so isn’t the tree, if they be not against us, as Jesus told the disciples, they are for us.... This is what we must look at, there are Catholics, Protestants, and others, of all groups in some way , at sometime, that had individuals within them, even as today there are, that knew, Christ was the center of it all, and that, living that out, was to die to self, and live for God, right down to the cross, so even great saints of the church, like St. Francis of Assisi, understood that, whether he was Catholic or not, he gave his life in love, to the centrality of Christ, in love toward his fellow man, especially those, like Christ did, the very one’s the world rejects, hates, judges, disdains, the dredge of society, the poor, the downtrodden, the unsuccessful, the prisoner, the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, this is the life of Christ lived out, not in an individual cocoon of self righteousness, or self assertiveness, that I am correct and everyone else is wrong, it is the fruit of giving in missional life, that proves the tree. The tree is worthless, if our life, is just another, business as usual even if we go about saying the name of Jesus or arguing a new or old doctrine, what worth is it? What good does it do? If we do not offer the hope, and the reality of love to those we meet, in a sacrificial way, for to do good to those who deserve no good, is to definitely, find ourselves, in precarious situations in the eyes of the world, matter of fact, it will stir up the anger, of those who have bit into and lived the lie of the ages, of good versus evil, rather than holiness, which is only achieved by a life lost to Christ and to the Cross. This is the only resurrection that can be achieved, is when we die to us, no matter how painful or dreadful, we lay down our lives for others in the larger community of the world, then just to think, that we really are doing something, by going to work everyday, and bringing home a dime or two. Though for some that is fine, but it is what do we do with that dime or two, are we willing to let it go, to reach out, and lift up those without hope or sustenance. Do we only take enough as Paul taught to be content with food and clothing, or have we drowned out the cry of the hurting, the loss, those without any hope, in exchange for our own comforts, of society and family.. any real faith, or faith that is real, will be expressed in your personal loss, and someone else's gain.
This cannot be done alone, it does take Community, and a heart for others, but it must be a heart, not superficial or an attempt to appease God or men, but in the reality of the life of Christ in us, that moves us, for this is the work of the Spirit in our lives.
In every case, we see, where the Spirit of God, is, He is gentle but forceful, silent but active, always creating life anew. Christ is the center of all of it, this is what I believe and though not in perfection have reached for constantly, to be continually broken and of a contrite heart, so that He can renew, create, and move within me, to live out His life first and foremost through me, to a world, that needs light and salt. Light can hurt our eyes, and salt can sting, it is only when we know the benefit of these, that light becomes good to us, it dispels the darkness, not just for us, but to all of those around us, and salt, is healing, and flavorable, and it feeds the spirit, and flavors the spirit, and brings, flavor to the stale food of life that many around us, may be experiencing. I wished I could only put in words, what I feel in my heart, and what I know to be true, but then, if I could, someone would turn it into a doctrine, or orthodoxy, or creed or doctrine, and it would become the yeast of the Pharisees, this is where Theology has erred, it has attempted with scientific reason, most limited, by the human mind and linguistics, to put into words what can only be known in the heart, and this is why, we have such division, because each man tries to find the right one, that points to his present experience, with God, and there is no, right one way to express the truths of God, because the Father encompasses all of human experience, travail, pain, wonder, love, art and more. He is in all through all things of the human experience, relating Himself to us, and we must never sit down, and draw up, a decree.. of who he is, or what he is, or how he is, but only look to the one, that was He- Jesus Christ, what does the story say, it’s not about the Words as much as what the story tells us, about the Father as lived out, and by the Son, why He was here. This is where we miss it, we don’t see the story, we see, words, and we try to encapsulate and extrapolate, on these, instead, of allowing them to be the very soul and heart of the Father, our Creator, the one who is love without bounds, mercy without judgement, compassion without condemnation, He is always reaching out, touching and healing the sick, making the blind see, opening the eyes of the deaf, casting out the evil that binds men, raising the dead, feeding the hungry, this is God, expressed through the flesh and blood of His Son, and how He expresses himself, in those who are born of His Spirit, washed in that precious blood, crucified to self, raised in newness of life. This is what effects the world around us, and we often don't understand, why some people seemed to be blessed, when they in our Orthodox opinion are so evil.
See we have put the Father in a box, of good versus evil, rather than that which the story tell us, For Christ died for YOU and ME and ALL while we were yet sinners. For Jesus said, He gives rain to the just and the unjust. Be ye therefore perfect as your Heavenly Father. How?
Treat Orthopraxy as more important then Orthodoxy, and life changes will come, you will begin to love as He did, the undeserving, and perhaps even learn to love yourself. In truth, when Christ is lived in us, as us, and through us, we can say, we are Orthodox, and isn't always going to be down the line, of any particular denomination, creed, sect or other. It will be in line with the life of Christ in us.
It is not an easy road, it is the road to Calvary, but it is easy, because He is inside, we can draw upon Him, wait in Him, live in Him, but it ALL comes down, to Him! See Jesus is Lord, not you, not I, not Catholicism, or Protestantism or any of our "ism's" - He is Lord!

Joe
Your brother in Christ and in Him alone always,