Saturday, January 06, 2007

Moving, Shaking, The Church Is Quaking!
I've been reading a message board that consists mainly of denominational ministers and members, I have a love hate relationship with that board...Love to hate it and hate to love it, at times I think I'm simply addicted, swear I'm not going to read it, have basically quit posting there, except when it just gets to me, and then I rarely use my real name, a pen name is perfectly acceptable, so my name is__________! There's been some discussion there concerning the emergent church, a movement within the Body of Christ that seems to have no denominational ties, it simply is the desire of men and women of God that want to see the church become what God has always intended for it to be. In this movement there appear to be many schools of thought, some I agree with, some I'm not sure of, and some I'm absolutely opposed to. What interests me is that concept that regardless of where the church has been, is, and will be, it is always emerging, it is constantly rising up in every generation to insure that the message of Christ and the Gospel are embraced. For some this movement is a matter of style, of cultural relevance, the ability to relate to the surroundings the congregation is located in. For others, it is separation from what is deemed traditional and the moving into the mystical realm of worship and ministering unto the Lord. To me, serving God is mystical, it is a mystery to me how a virgin could conceive a child and give birth to the savior of the world. It is a mystery to me how the Holy Spirit can operate in this earth in the manner that He does and it would work. It is a mystery to me how that we can believe in One that we have never seen, and yet, He remains real and relevant regardless of culture, community, and has never been hindered by time, traditions, or our inability to comprehend everything about Him. Christianity is a mission, it is about taking the message of Christ to people wherever they are, it's about finding a way to connect with people, to expose them to Christ and their need for Him. Personally, I love charismatic church, enjoy the emotional worship, the dancing and the praise, I love the spirited preaching and the overwhelming presence of the Lord...but when the books are closed and the day is done, what label we're under and how we did it really won't matter...All that will matter is that our names are written in the Book of God and that we have led others to Christ so their names could be there too! Call me simple, I'm just trying to get to heaven and take some with me!

1 comment:

ruthrap said...

simple message.......profound impact!