As a continuing discussion of this topic, please see a post on Cerulean Sanctum "The Ingredients Needed For A Genuine Church". Dan sez:
Looking over the comments so far on that church planting post, a few themes emerge, one of which is the qualities of a good church. Some people have mentioned a strong emphasis on the Gospel, meeting the cultural needs of the attendees (cultural relevance), and so on. Having a nice coffee bar wins a few points too.
But at the risk of alienating a few folks who will not see their favorite emphasis mentioned in what follows, I want to share what I think makes all the difference. I wrote about this a few weeks ago, but it bears repeating.
His post boils down to this: when the body is in need of love, uplifting, mercy, who (if anyone) steps up? What you answer is says a lot about the kind of assembly you are dealing with.
I would agree...to a point. I think we need both. We need genuine Christians fellowship but we need that to be coupled to the ministry of the Word. I have zero interest in it being "culturally relevant". If the Word of God is not relevant to you, that is a problem with you and not with the fellowship.
We can have the most orthodox fellowship in the world and yet be void of spirit and love. We can also have a fellowship that does great loving one another and performing acts of mercy but has no concept of the Gospel. It is a lot to ask but I say we need both. In reading the exhortations of Paul, it is hard to see where we have the option of an "either-or" proposition, either orthodoxy or love. Orthodox theology rightly taught should lead to greater love. Love of Christ should lead to a great thrist for the truth.
Read Dan's post and let me know what you think...
2 comments:
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 means Dan's post beats yours, Arthur. ;)
Dan believes we need both, too, which is why he emphasized love in action: in the current "Godblogger" landscape, orthodoxy as a hallmark of a healthy church gets a lot of airtime, while our love for each other does not.
It's not just that "orthodox theology rightly taught should lead to greater love," but that it always does so. "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20). That so few really, actually love their brothers is merely evidence that there is little "orthodox theology being rightly taught" today.
To borrow from Alan Knox's Scripture... As We Live It series, the prevailing attitude among the Godblogger community seems to be, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I'm better than those other guys." (1 Corinthians 13:2 re-mix)
I will admit that I haven't read all of Dan's other posts. I agree with what he is saying, but I want to emphasize that love and orthodoxy are not an either-or proposition. I run into lots of doctrinal dictators on the blogosphere, but I also stumble across people who speak a lot about loving God and yet cannot articulate who God is and what He has done.
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