Sad News

Kyle Lake, the pastor of University Baptist in Waco Texas, died yesterday after being electrocuted during a baptism. Apparently, a microphone dropped into the water and electrocuted him. (This is the church where David Crowder serves as the Arts and Worship Pastor.) Be sure to pray for Kyle's family. The full article is available here.

More thoughts on apologetics

For those of you who are interested in apologetics and/or the emergent church conversation, then you may want to check out this article: Emergent Apologetics. While discussing the (re)emergence of originality, Myles writes the following:

No longer can the same sermon be preached without care to the specific people in our context. One strength of emergent apologetics is its emphasis on genuinely listening to people and getting into their world. In doing so we can craft our conversations and messages around who they are (instead of who they are not). This will help us to avoid copycat formulas and instead inspire original conversation that is alive with the spontaneity of the Spirit.

Let me take a few moments to comment on this quotation. We must be listeners! I am afraid that we are often more ready to be heard than to hear. I love having the opportunity to express my thoughts/ideas/passions/concerns, but I also realize that other people love to do the same. Those of us who are naturally talkative must be cautious that we do not dominate every conversation that we enter. (In reality, does healthy conversation even take place when one person dominates the speech?) If we strive for genuine conversations, then I believe we will also learn how to more clearly speak forth the Truth into the lives of those people in our context.

On the Horizon

I am not sure how much I will be able to blog over the next few days because my weekend is packed: Amy and I will taking Alora to my parents after I get off work today. Then, we're meeting Emily in Columbia for dinner at the Mellow Mushroom and the "A Collision Concert." On Saturday, we are taking some youth for a hike and picnic. Then, we are all going to the Stewart Farms Cornfield Maze. Hopefully, I will be able to make some posts on Sunday afternoon after church. Until then, here's a preview of some posts that you are likely to see in the near future: Are We Progressing? (Dealing with racial issues within the church); The Emerging Church part 2: Aspirations and Goals; Thoughts about the concert (Hopefully, I'll remember to bring my camera, so that I can post some pictures!); etc.

Stop Assuming. Start Digging.

I grew up in a medium-sized baptist church in the small town of Honea Path, SC. Every so often, we would watch an evangelistic play or film that portrayed the "secret rapture." (Yes, I am talking about the classic Dispensational--Thief in the Night--Left Behind--view of the rapture.) Anyway, for most of my life I assumed that this eschatological view was true. And why wouldn't I assume that this was true? This was what I was taught from the pulpit, the sunday school classroom, and of course, the films. Yet, over time I began to realize that I had made many assumptions in regard to my beliefs (such as the rapture). Instead of truly searching the Bible, I had assumed that everything that I had been taught was correct. Granted, most of the doctrine that I had been taught was true (I was very fortunate to learn from many great pastors/teachers). Yet, I soon discovered that some of my assumed beliefs did not line up with the God's Word. Discovery is difficult, but refreshing. My prayer is that I will always base my beliefs on God's Word instead of my assumptions. I am sure that some of you are wondering what I discovered about Christ's return and the "secret rapture." Of course, I still believe that Christ will return one day (and what a wonderful day it will be!); but, I can honestly say you won't find any of Tim Lahaye's "prophecy" books on my bookshelf. And in regard to the "Left Behind" movie that is currently sitting among my DVD collection...let's just say that if I ever move anywhere, this is one movie that will get left behind.

The Emergent Church

Over the next days/weeks I am going to attempt to post my thoughts on what is often referred to as the emerging church (also refered to as the emergent conversation, church in emerging culture, emergent movement, Emergent, etc.). In all honesty, it is difficult to summarize the goals/beliefs/practices of those within the emerging church for a number of reasons. First, those involved in the emerging conversation come from various denominational/ecclesial backgrounds (conservative, liberal, charismatic, non-charismatic, calvinist, arminian, baptist, methodist, presbyterian, etc). Second, many of those who oppose the emergent church fail to recognize/acknowledge the distinctions that do exist among those within this movement; therefore, their comments can be misleading. Yet, despite these difficuties in discussing the emerging church, I believe that many issues do need to be address. So, I will attempt to highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of the movement. In case you are totally in the dark about the emergent church, I am going to list some links to various sites (both pro-emergent and anti-emergent) that directly/indirectly address the emerging church. Please note the following: First, I have only listed these sites in order to aid those who are interested in investigating this movement for themselves; I do not nessessarily endorse or agree with the all of information/assessments/beliefs contained on these sites. Second, I have not taken the time to indicate which sites are pro-emergent as opposed to anti-emergent because some of these sites cannot be broken up into such distinct categories. (For instance, the Monergism site contains both pro and con material) Third, most of these sites contain links that will help you continue your research. With all of that said, here are some links: Wikipedia, Monergism, Emergent Village, Emergent No, The OOZE, Challies Dot Com, Emerging Church.