I had the privilege last week of speaking to the staff of Ambassadors for Christ who were on retreat in the Atlanta area. Former member and friend of MVBC, Wallace Francis, put the retreat together. The highlight for me was conversations with numerous folks who have devoted their lives to sharing the Good News. They are eager to be theologically sound, and they are committed to sharing the Gospel wherever and whenever they can.
My message was entitled, "You Pick: Emergent, Emerging, or Enduring?" I talked about some different methods of "doing" church in the twenty-first century. However we go about engaging in church ministry, our goal has to be to protect the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Some churches try to change the Gospel to meet the times. This is the Emergent movement. They insist that as the culture changes the Gospel changes. They argue that the Gospel is a story, not a declaration. Stories can (and must) be changed to fit the context. As our culture is more diversified, the Gospel message needs to be diversified as well--so they say. The problem with this approach is that the Gospel is a declaration. There is no way around it! It is true yesterday and it is true today: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners through a cross.
Some churches ignore the Gospel to meet the times. Such churches would not say that the Gospel changes, but you get the sense that they don't pay much attention to the Gospel. It is assumed more than anything. It may be offered in a private counseling session or a Christmas Eve service, but the Gospel just isn't part of the fabric of the church. It isn't everywhere. The reasons why churches ignore the Gospel are legion and different. Some do it because they don't want to be offensive to seekers. Others do it because they don't think a specific message about the cross is necessary for salvation. Others don't intend to ignore the Gospel, it just sort of happened--other stuff got in the way.
Finally, some churches eclipse the Gospel. Churches like this may very well be Gospel-centered and yet, one can't help but get the impression that other things are more important--a style of music or dress or target audience. The packaging of the church has a way of taking center stage. Sometimes, when you get really dressed up, all people can do is think of what you are wearing, they don't actually get to know you. It can be like that with churches. There is a lot of good content here, but the conversation so quickly moves to context (where the church is, how the music sounds, how good the preacher is) that the Gospel is just sort of eclipsed.
So, at MVBC, we need to be careful. Of course we don't want to change the Gospel--that is to abandon the faith altogether. We certainly don't want to ignore the Gospel. The damage would be nearly as bad as changing it. A good Gospel, ignored, is really no Gospel at all. Finally, we need to be careful not to focus so much on demographics or style in such a way that our focus on the Gospel is diminished.
The missionaries of Ambassadors for Christ have a real heart for the local church. They want to see the people they witness come to know Christ as Savior plugged into a church. My prayer has been that my comments would encourage them to stay personally involved in a church while understanding some of the dangers methods of ministry pose today.
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