The Internet Monk Archives

Am I an Evangelical?

How do I describe myself as a Christian? Am I an Evangelical? Can I call myself anything else?

Let me give you a bit of background. I have attended seventeen different churches in my life. Each for a period of at least one year. Sixteen of them I attended since the age of eleven. Fourteen of the moves were for reasons of change of address or church closings where the previous church was no longer practical to attend. Only one the moves was for theological reasons. One other was because I strongly felt thatGod was leading in a different direction. Seven of these churches were Christian Brethren. Five were Baptist. Four were Christian and Missionary Alliance. One was Pentecostal. All solidly in the Evangelical camp. I am fifty now, and I have been attending my current church for six years. That is twice as long as I have attended any other church.

What has always struck me about the churches I have attended, and many others of wider traditions that I have visited is that each have certain theological hills that they are willing to die on. (No pun intended – I think.) For the Brethren it was, among other things, the pre-tribulation Rapture. For the Baptists it was adult baptism by immersion. For the Alliance it was sanctification. For the Pentecostals it was speaking in tongues as initial evidence of being Spirit filled. It has recently struck me that there is a bit of a paradox here. For if a particular piece of dogma is so important to a church that they are not willing to budge on it, if it is so important to have this distinctive, then it must hold that the vast majority of believers do not hold this view with an elevated importance. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that there are Christian essentials. I hold to the early Christian creeds. Perhaps you could call me a creedal Christian, but that is probably too loose of a definition. In my long dormant blog I call myself an “Eclectic Christian”: One who is willing to consider the best from all streams of Christianity.

Am I an Evangelical though? One commentator on Internet Monk last week commented that being Evangelical is now defined by James Dobson and the like. To paraphrase him, the war for the word “Evangelical” was lost and was now defined by those much more right wing than I would consider myself. In a sense he is right. Evangelical are defined by many things that I am not. I feel that tension even within the middle of the road Evangelical church I attend. I don’t like the word “Inerrancy”, I believe in the theory of Evolution. I recognize a wide mode and method of Baptism. I support (with admitted tentativeness) gay marriage. I believe in the equality of women (not an issue in my current church). Politically I am neither strongly left or right. (I was however once quite right wing, and was described in my youth as being slightly to the right of Attila the Hun.)

If I don’t hold to these things am I an Evangelical? There are two streams of thought that are keeping me in the movement. One, I belong to a very caring Evangelical church community, where, although I may disagree on a number of issues, they are doing a lot of things right. As I mentioned, I have been there six years now. While I have struggled with things at times, I don’t see myself moving on any time soon. Quite honestly, it is wonderful to be a part of a church family where you can feel at home, and where I am usually in theological step with the teaching on Sunday morning.

Secondly, I don’t think that I have completely conceded the word “Evangelical” to Dr. Dobson. There was a wonderful document came out a few years ago called the Evangelical Manifesto. Please, please read it. It was produced by a large group of Evangelical leaders and theologians who gathered to define what the core beliefs and values were for Evangelicals. (I don’t believe James Dobson ever endorsed it!) It really represents what I love about being Evangelical as well. Did you notice that none of the “distinctives” mentioned above are part of the Manifesto?

So yes, based on these two things I still call myself an Evangelical. I would be very interested in reading your comments about the manifesto and if it resonates with you too.

The Prophets Speak!

After reading this morning’s post and participating in the discussion, alert reader Randy sent a link to the following article in Charisma, dated yesterday: “Rick Joyner Predicts Destruction of Republic, Third Great Awakening.”

The article includes this breathtaking passage:

As Joyner sees it, no election is going to fix America’s problems because the system is broken. He believes our only hope is a military takeover—martial law.

“I believe there are noble leaders in our military that love the republic and love everything we stand for—and they could seize the government,” he said. “I am not advocating this. I am just telling you what could happen. They could seize it and help restore the foundations, help restore the Constitution.”

It also says this:

Joyner also predicted an “inevitable” collapse of the U.S. dollar but said it could lead to a jubilee—a new beginning if the right people are in leadership. His conclusion? We have to turn back to God as a nation.

What I find fascinating is that the author of the piece goes on to say: I don’t really know how to respond to this, but what I can do is share a prophecy God gave me a few years ago!

God reportedly said to her:

Yes, there is a great awakening coming to this nation. I am the Author of it, and I will bring it to pass. Just turn from your wicked ways and humble yourselves. Stand in the gap, and make up the hedge. I am the Lord, and I am a warrior. I will not leave or forsake this country. I will fight through you and with you to regain what has been lost.

Ok then.

The article concludes with this set of amazing questions:

What is the Lord saying to you about the hour we’re in? Is America heading for destruction? Is a Third Great Awakening eminent [sic]? Or both?

I wonder what kind of discussion we’d get on Internet Monk if we had an Open Mic on those doozies!

Breaking News: RIP Pastor Chuck

UPDATE: Michael Newnham at Phoenix Preacher has a nice list of links to articles reflecting on Pastor Chuck Smith’s death.

* * *

While we’ve been discussing Pentecostal/Charismatic/Third Wave theology and its influence on politics this morning, I saw this breaking news from Christianity Today:

Chuck Smith, the evangelical pastor whose outreach to hippies in the 1960s helped transform worship styles in American Christianity and fueled the rise of the Calvary Chapel movement, died Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, after a battle with lung cancer. He was 86.

Though the Calvary Chapel church movement never had much of an impact on my life, related ministries such as Maranatha! Music were greatly influential in my spiritual awakening in the 1970’s.

Chuck might not appreciate the traditional, liturgical nature of this prayer, but I offer it on his behalf today:

May angels lead you into paradise; upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, once a poor man, may you have eternal rest.

Mixing It Up, Feathers and All

They have swallowed the Holy Spirit, feathers and all!

– attributed to Martin Luther

The past couple of weeks have shone a bright spotlight on Texas Senator Ted Cruz, his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, and the government shutdown. Methodist pastor Morgan Guyton has written a fascinating portrayal of the theological roots of Cruz’s views in his article, “The Theology of Government Shutdown: Christian Dominionism.”

In the piece, he raises concerns about how certain segments representing the Christian faith have been gaining influence in U.S. politics. Complementing reports from the past couple of years regarding the New Apostolic Reformation (see here and here and here), Guyton reinforces the observation that the “Christian Right” has morphed into a movement that is receiving renewed energy from Charismatic/Third Wave beliefs, practices, and networks.

He focuses his attention on Ted Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, a preacher in Purifying Fire Ministries, founded by Suzanne Hinn. The elder Cruz is his son’s chief mentor and advisor, and they traveled together this past summer speaking out against “Obamacare.” This article in National Review, describes the growing influence Rafael has been having on Tea Party conservatives.

Morgan Guyton references a sermon Rafael Cruz preached last year at New Beginnings Church in Dallas. He spoke as part of a series Pastor Larry Huch called, “Getting to the Top and Staying There.” Huch introduced Cruz with these words:

We’ve been doing this series here that God laid on my heart: Getting to the top and staying there. A message for us as individuals, the kingdom of God, but also for America. It’s not enough to get there. We need to stay there. It’s not a coincidence that in a few weeks, we go into what’s called in the Bible Rosh Hashanad [sic]… It will be the beginning of the spiritual year 2012. The number 12 means divine government. That God will begin to rule and reign. Not Wall Street, not Washington, God’s people and His kingdom will begin to rule and reign. I know that’s why God got Rafael’s son elected, Ted Cruz the next senator.

But here’s the exciting thing… The rabbinical teaching is… that in a few weeks begins that year 2012 and that this will begin what we call the end-time transfer of wealth. And that when these Gentiles begin to receive this blessing, they will never go back financially through the valley again. They will grow and grow and grow. It’s said this way: that God is looking at the church and everyone in it and deciding in the next three and a half years who will be his bankers. And the ones that say here I am Lord, you can trust me, we will become so blessed that we will usher in the coming of the messiah.

Cruz then preached on Revelation 1:5-6, asserting that Christians today are called to be either “priests” or “kings.” In the Bible, the priests were those who worked specifically for the temple and represented God to the people. Kings, on the other hand, “were anointed to take dominion. Kings were anointed to go to war, win the war, and bring the spoils of war to priests so the work of the kingdom of God could be accomplished.”

Applying this to today’s believers, Cruz says:

Our churches unfortunately are very focused on only one of these anointings and that is on the priestly anointing… Those of you who think you don’t have the anointing to teach the word of God, to be teaching Sunday school, you’re second class citizens. And so you begin to lead frustrated lives… The majority of you… your anointing… is an anointing as king. God has given you an anointing to go to the battlefield. And what’s the battlefield? The marketplace. To go to the marketplace and occupy the land. To go to the marketplace and take dominion.

Guyton concludes by giving a summary interpretation of what he heard in these messages from Huch and Rafael Cruz, and how it applies to the recent efforts of Ted Cruz in Washington:

So to pull all this logic together, God anoints priests to work in the church directly and kings to go out into the marketplace to conquer, plunder, and bring back the spoils to the church. The reason governmental regulation has to disappear from the marketplace is to make it completely available to the plunder of Christian “kings” who will accomplish the “end time transfer of wealth.” Then “God’s bankers” will usher in the “coming of the messiah.” The government is being shut down so that God’s bankers can bring Jesus back.

Continue reading “Mixing It Up, Feathers and All”

Winning The War, Part VI: He Who Proceeds From The Father

One of the first tasks you face after converting to Orthodoxy is to decide what stance to take towards the West and towards Western Christianity. There is a real temptation to despise the West, or even worse, to let the whole West just simmer in all the heresies you had to renounce when you were chrismated. There are certainly Orthodox converts who feel this way. I met one convert from the who I believe had been so scarred by his upbringing that he couldn’t avoid seeing the diabolical fingerprints of the legalistic, liberal West all over what he called “World Orthodoxy”. I lost contact with him when he left the Antiochian Archdiocese for a traditionalist group left over from the union of ROCOR with the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007. He is the one who told me this:

We don’t need anything the West has to offer.

Take a few minutes to think about how bold that statement is. Laying aside my Orthodox brother’s manifest pathologies, I am going to give him the Amen. We aren’t missing a lung, and we are not anybody else’s missing lung. Rome’s departure diminished us neither a jot nor a tittle. We don’t need the unifying charism and ministry of Peter, nor the Ordo Saluti, nor the Active Obedience of Christ imputed to our accounts, nor the Solas, nor the Law/Gospel distinction, nor Papal Infallibility, nor the Hermeneutical Quadrangle, nor the Baptism in the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues, nor a born-again experience of accepting Jesus Christ into our hearts as our personal Lord and Savior. We are not awaiting a revival, a reformation, or a renewal. That is dogma, not Mule’s personal opinion. A statement like that doesn’t mean that the Orthodox Church considers herself perfect, just that she isn’t going to be looking to the West to provide solutions.

Nevertheless, despite this ecclesiological arrogance, the Orthodox Church still has to deal with the West. Dealing with the West is not an option for anybody; not the Islamic world, not the Hindu world, not the Chinese. At this present time in history, the West, by which I mean primarily the European world north of the Danube and west of the Vistula as well as her successor states on the other side of the Atlantic, bestrides the world like a Colossus with a constellation of military might, economic power, and cultural influence unparalleled in human history. That alone is enough reason not to turn your back on the West, but a more compelling reason is the ongoing spiritual agony of the West.

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Musical Pews

A man spent several years stranded on a desert island. When he was finally rescued, the sailors, looking back at the shore, asked him, “You say you were all alone here?”

“Yup, all by myself,” he replied.

“Then why are there three buildings?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” the man said. “That one there is my house, and that’s my church.”

“And the third one?”

“That’s where I USED to go to church.”

Christianity, in these denominational days, is a pretty active affair. Born Catholic? Move on to a more enthusiastic group. Born Evangelical? Seek for the tradition you’re lacking. Born Orthodox? Boy, that Quaker simplicity looks good. Wait, Quakers don’t have sacraments? Back to the Catholics. And so it goes.

We’ve spent some virtual ink on iMonk talking about particular moves, from evangelicalism to Lutheran or Catholic churches. But let’s talk about the phenomenon of moving itself, since it seems that American Christians are moving from and to every denomination. Should people move? That might depend on why they’re moving. What’s important enough to move for or to stay for? I’ll toss out some of my ideas, but I’d be interested in hearing from the wider iMonastery, too.

People change churches, it seems to me,

Because their church has changed. They want to find or recover what they see as genuine Christianity. Maybe their denomination begins teaching that Jesus was an alien and the ascension was him being beamed up to the mother ship. More realistically, some have left denominations that used to say that abortion was wrong but now are willing to allow it – or birth control, homosexuality, or ordination of women. Some took off when churches scrapped the hymnal and started projecting choruses on giant screens, while others left in disgust when hymnals were reintroduced.
In response to their own growth or change. Here the church hasn’t changed, but people have. As they’ve matured in their faith, they are looking for more challenging spiritual disciplines or a more liberal and loving attitude toward sinners; for more scripture, or more sacrament. Of course, from someone else’s point of view, those same people might be backsliding into legalism or antinomianism and are abandoning the truth they were raised in.
To find certain settings and programs that are important to them. A lot of people find, for example, that the church that suited them when they were single isn’t as satisfying when they have two little kids. People look around for different Sunday schools, youth groups, music styles, and architecture. They may not change denominations for this reason, but they certainly change congregations.
To follow a personality, such as a famous preacher, or to follow a political or social agenda that has become more important to them.
Because of family pressure. They marry someone from another church and agree to go there instead, or they follow their grown child to the church he attends.
For personal reasons. People have been disappointed, offended, or abused at churches. They’ve gotten divorced and can’t stand to stay where their ex is. They want to sing solos or be the worship leader but aren’t asked to. Someone else takes over the rummage sale that they’ve run since 1957.

Are some of these good reasons? Are some of them insufficient to justify so major a change? That’s a hard call. We could probably agree that alien theology would be a good reason to leave a denomination, and abuse would be a great reason to leave a congregation. Maybe having a snit about the rummage sale isn’t. I expect, though, that there are people reading this who have left for most of the reasons on this list and felt happy and justified to do so.

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A Description of Heaven and Hell?

The Rich Man Being Led to Hell, David Teniers the Younger

The story of the rich man and Lazarus has long been a fire-and-brimstone preacher’s dream. The reality of the afterlife in black and white terms. The issue of salvation in sharp perspective. The urgent necessity of making a decision for Christ before death, when a “great chasm” will be fixed between the blessed and the tormented. Heaven and hell. Eternal life with God or eternal torment. Plain and simple.

Some folks have even considered this the depiction of a real event and not a parable or fictional story. Back in seminary, I gave a sermon in my preaching class during which I mentioned this “parable.” My professor, who had ministered to generations of Scandinavian pietists with a firm literalist view of the Bible, came up to me after class and challenged me, as he had no doubt been confronted in his churches.

“Son,” he said, “What makes you think that passage is a parable? It doesn’t say it’s a parable, does it? Jesus was talking about two actual men and what happened to them. Heaven and hell are real, son. Don’t go saying they’re not.”

My professor knew full well that Jesus was telling a parable or folktale, but he was wisely preparing me for what I would face as a minister down the road. “You’d better be ready to have a good answer for that,” he warned. “And you’d better know how to deal with people with strong opinions who suspect that your seminary learning drained you of common sense.”

So, what about Luke 16:19-31, the story of Lazarus and the rich man? Did Jesus tell it to warn us about hell? Is this a realistic depiction of the afterlife and the issues that attend salvation? Or does it have a different message?

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The Homily

Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? (Ecclesiastes 7:13, KJV)

Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” (Acts 16:6)

My 78-year-old mother has been having some kidney problems of late. In trying to figure out what brought these about, I thought of the many pain pills she has taken over the years for other ailments. So adding two plus orange to get a cloudy day, I came to the conclusion that I should stop taking ibuprofen to spare my kidneys. Of course, the week I came to this great revelation, my back began hurting with a vengeance. Not just hurting, but being spiteful about it. Out came the bottle of ibuprofen. Then, once I got my back under control, my surgically-repaired knee (two surgeries on it in the 1990s) began hurting like billy-o. I could hardly stand, let alone walk. I reached again for the ibuprofen.

Things don’t always go as I plan.

I once pictured myself working in publishing until I was 62, then retiring to a cottage where I could read and write and watch the stars at night. Then publishing went upside-down, I lost my job, and now I am working retail to get by, and most likely will until I’m 82. I sometimes see the stars through my windshield when I’m driving home at night from my store.

Things don’t always go as I plan.

Have I done something wrong, and now God is punishing me? Did I miss a turn on the road that would have taken me where I wanted to go? With the pain pills, I could suck it up and endure the pain. I have a pretty high tolerance for physical pain, and am developing the same for emotional pain. The thought, however, of stabbing, searing discomfort every time I move is not one I want to cling to, even though I had resolved to keep my kidneys clear of what would help my back and knee. With my job, well, I have applied for so many other positions over these last four or five year I have lost track. Not many want to hire a 54-year-old former teacher/editor who now works retail.

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Saturday Ramblings 9.28.13

Oh, what to do? What to do? I am a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. But I am also preparing for confirmation into the Catholic Church. So who do I have to root for today? I want to pull for the Sooners, but “Sooner” is a term for a law-breaking line jumper. And I like Notre Dame, mostly because so many others don’t. (If you haven’t figured out that I am an unrepentant contrarian by now, where have you been?) Yet they wear those horribly ugly gold helmets. I am open for suggestions, iMonks. Of course, later today I’ll be pulling for The Ohio State Buckeyes to beat Wisconsin like a rented mule. In the meantime, what say we ramble?

Outreach Magazine has released its list of the 100 Largest and the 100 Fastest Growing churches in America. Ed Stetzer notices some trends among these churches, although I’m not so sure that allowing a service aimed at young adults to branch off and become its own congregation can be considered “self-sacrifice.” I think most of these churches would simply see it as a good business move. And make no mistake. These churches are very much businesses. Look over the lists and tell me what you find in common among these churches, or rather what churches you see missing here.

Then there is Faith Street, an app to help you find a church in any of more than 3,000 cities in the U.S. Ok, I thought that might be a helpful thing. Then I read a little further. FaithStreet doesn’t make money unless people give to their local churches. Churches that use FaithStreet encourage attendees to give online, from which FaithStreet takes a cut. Am I the only one who is bothered by this?

Then there is this woman’s moaning and whining, sent to me by Rev. Randy. I don’t even know where to begin with this. Maybe we can start with how she can smell poverty as it has a distinct odor. Or how being poor is keeping you from fulfilling your spiritual assignments. Your turn.

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This Is Your Heart On Music

When we speak of “pop” music, we are using shorthand to describe “popular” music. Yet I cannot help but think of “pop” as in soda pop, the teeth-rotting sugar water we guzzle by the barrel. St. Paul Harvey once said, “The best thing you can say about soda pop is that it is worthless.” I think the same can be said for pop music. The best that can be said about it is that it is worthless.

I am not a musician, and while I worked in radio broadcasting for many years and through that made friends in the music industry, I really don’t have a grasp on how it works. But I do know how the book industry works, and there are similarities. There are steps to follow if you want your novel to be popular and sell well. Don’t make it too challenging to read. Write at a fourth grade level. Have your plot follow well-worn paths. Make sure it is all wrapped up in a nice red ribbon at the end. If it can all be done in Amish country, so much the better.

Books that challenge the reader to, shudder, think don’t sell as well. Three of my favorite novels (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, The Historian, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) are not cookie-cutter books. They didn’t follow the formula needed to be successful. They show more than they tell, and that means the reader has to take ownership in the stories in order to keep up with the authors. Yet these are books that have become good friends of mine, books I revisit time and time again. They are books that have challenged me. And, in the case of Jonathan Strange, have drawn me closer to God.

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