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March 11, 2005
Something has been bugging me lately, mainly about myself. I've noticed that I'm developing a semi-critical heart. I like to point out who is right and who is wrong. (See last post for a recent example). I notice this tends to happen a lot in the reformed community - we like to point out error in others.
Now, i think partly that this is healthy. It's important (read as: God commands us to) guard right doctrine, and to point out theological error. That is well and good. What distrubs me is that it is often done without presenting the truth. If there is theological error, we need to present theological correction. But even more so, when all we do if point out error, it becomes very easy to lose sight of our call to missional living. I do it all the time.
As I was thinking about this, I found something that Mark Driscoll wrote to some Acts 29 pastors awhile back, and it reminded me of why I am so glad to be part of the network. It also humbles and convicts me - so I thought I'd share it here as well. Enjoy.
Let me agree that much of the church today is incredibly frustrating. Personally, when I hear so many young guys denying substitutionary atonement and the like after drinking from the emerging church toilet I turn green and my clothes don't fit. However, let me say though that we need to stay on mission.If Satan can't make us fall through sin, he'll sidetrack us through diversion and anger. I speak as chief of hypocrites on this one. I am reminded of Nehemiah where he and his men were building the wall and labored with a sword in one hand and trowel in the other. Their critics gathered around and tried to coax them down off their ladders for years of debate and fighting. But, he told his men to remain atop their ladders and keep working and to only fight if someone came up the ladder and got in the way of their work. We need to do likewise.
Spurgeon named his magazine The Sword and the Trowel after this scene and it guided his ministry to remain focused on the mission of the gospel and cultural transformation through the church by its' power. I would just compel us all to stay on our ladders and not waste time coming down to fight legitimate but lesser battles. Not to boast, but we have stayed on our mission and gone from nothing to 3600 in the nation's least churched city. Meanwhile, the gay pastors are on their mission, the Republican pastors are on their moral mission, the Charismaniacs are on their prosperity mission, and the list goes on forever. What I'm finding is that if I stay on my mission eventually a platform gets big enough that you kind of just have permission to do your thing and others respect you even if they don't like you.
Sure, some pastors and churches are angry that I'm not putting my weight behind their mission but in the end. I won't stand before them for judgment and they won't stand before me, so I just let it go and keep pushing ahead until I see Jesus and he can separate sheep and goats and hand out rewards to the faithful. In the meantime, I refuse to get off my ladder but keep my sword close by and if a wolf shows up in my flock then I draw my sword but not until then.
I love you guys very much and don't want us to become yet another bitter group of Calvinists angry at the works of other men making it our mission to do anything less than what the gospel we know is true compels us to. Blessings brothers. Grab your trowels.
Comments
bill, thank you, thank you, thank you for you honesty. i agree with tiffany, calvanists don't get to claim this one all to themselves they didn't patent arrogance and self-righteousness disguised as protecting the faith, many others have done the same. granted, calvin was a nasty guy when it came to "protecting the faith" ;-) but so was the catholic church and many others. when it comes right down to it we are seeking our own if we must pick on others. that would not be God's will for us and our ministry. staying on mission is difficult when we confuse our God-given mission with our agenda.
one of the very areas that has turned me off about emergent (and other groups) has been the angst. i want to build the kingdom of God, not fight over it. i know there are going to be differences in doctrine but if our foundations are the same our mission is the same. fighting each other is not the mission i'm called to. pointing fingers isn't either. if there are obvious people that are seeking to lead God's people astray then we need to call that out and i'm committed to doing that (yucky though it is) but only as it contributes to the mission we are called to. there will always be teachers of false doctrine, the light shines brighter in darkness.
the question i ask myself when faced with the opportunity to diss on someone elses views is if it's worth my time and God's. if the answer is no then i must move on to what is truly my mission. i can't always tell but i have to at least test my heart in the matter. if it feeds my arrogance to argue then it's not what God wants me to be doing.
Posted by: jmw at March 11, 2005 06:44 PM
been thinking this through as i prepare for this weekend (titus 1:10-16). the apostle paul seemed to get pretty peeved when false teaching was allowed to fester over a period of time. especially with those who i don't think i would agree with i approach it with a, "is this a primary issue or a secondary issue." it's when the person elevates secondary issues and makes them primary issues that i put the boots on and go to work. i've learned over the yrs. to just notch it a down a bit with some things but with specific, eternal issues i'm ok with seeking a divorce or dying on a certain hill. of course, it's all done in love. =)
Posted by: terry at March 11, 2005 08:30 PM
What a wonderful article by Mark Driscoll, he really has an insight into these matters, and a great attitude to go with it, he is a guy that I would receive counsel from.
I believe that a lot of these frustrations come from Church planting, its par for the course, we don't know we are doing it until it catches up with us. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: John at March 11, 2005 10:25 PM
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I don't know if you reformed folk [;-) ]get to take al lthe credit for this particular blunder. I think it is a weakness in most of us who simply enjoy a good intellectual debate for the sake of the debate. It is easy to lose sight of that which is most important in the issue-which is Christ. It occurs to me to wonder if that wasn't part of the reason that Paul determined to know nothing except "Christ and Him crucified" I think it is especially easy in this electronic world as well. Afterall, most of the time you don't know the person you're talkin to-in a way they don't seem entirely real. It is easy to by pass the whole love thing infavor of being right. Nolan recently had some really great insights on this I'll ask him to share, I'm not sure I could do it justice. How does one figure out the difference between defending doctrine with those who are professing Christians and yet not turn into the angry bitter Calvanists that Mark Driscoll was warning against?
Posted by: tiffany at March 11, 2005 03:47 PM