Chris Rosebrough, the host of the
Fighting for the Faith radio
program, made this comment on
his September 18th show:
If you’re going to a Purpose-Driven church and you’re gonna try to combat this
as a church congregant, you’re going to be given the left foot of fellowship
because that’s what the Purpose-Driven church teaches them to do with people who
are dissidents. They don’t tolerate dissidents because you’re supposed to
unquestioningly get behind the vision of the pastor.
By
Purpose-Driven, Chris means a church that follows the seeker-sensitive
blueprint often found in the Church Growth Movement. The term
Purpose-Driven
comes from Pastor Rick Warren’s book
The Purpose-Driven Church, and his
subsequent book
The Purpose-Driven Life. These types of churches often try to
recast the die on how a church should look and operate – the technical term is
paradigm shift.
In moving a congregation to a more seeker-sensitive "model," many things are
thrown out the window. Out go the pulpit, hymns, and the Old Testament Lesson,
out go doctrine, unity, and your grandpa’s confession. Out goes the name on
the front of the building, and possibly even the cross on the wall. They are
replaced by a sermon series on how to solve your problems, praise bands, coffee
bar, consultants, and vision. The Gospel is twisted into Law.
CONTINUE
Next comes the push for a re-engineered church "management" structure,
Constitution, and By-Laws. The senior pastor becomes a manager, and you, the
parishioner, become the minister. Your church starts looking like the
"evangelical" community church down the road.
These kinds of "hostile takeovers" are not pretty. If you’re one of those people
who think that the main focus of your congregation should be Word and Sacrament
ministry instead of meeting the felt needs of unbelievers, and you dare to voice
your opinion, watch out! You might just get the left foot of fellowship. At the
very least, you’ll be labeled as "divisive" and ostracized.
I mention this because it’s happening now in a church near you – possibly even
in the pew you’re currently occupying.
Chris states that the pastors of
Purpose-Driven churches are taught to give
troublemakers the heave-ho. This sounds like a bit of an exaggeration, but it
isn’t. It’s the game plan of choice if you want your seeker-sensitive church to
be a "success." Kick out the discerning, doctrinally oriented members, and
replace them with "seekers."
If you’d like to get a sneak peak at the play book that provides the details on
how to excise these troublemakers who resist the paradigm shift, here are two
well written articles on the subject:
By Ralph M. Petersen on his blog
Well-Meaning Gentlemen With Different Ideas,
titled "
Resisters, Obstructionists, and Troublemakers."
By Berit Kjos on her apologetics website
Kjos Ministries, titled "
Dealing With
Resisters."
If you’re in one of these churches, and you’re the type of person who’d rather
fight than switch, put on your shoes and breastplate, strap on you belt and
helmet, and grab your shield and sword – you’re in for a fight.
Written by
Scott Diekmann
www.soundwitness.org
Return to the Stay Alert home page
