TueDec302008
Question: Where does KSBC stand in regard to the Purpose Driven Life, the emerging church and the new Christianity that is coming out of "Bible believing" churches?
Response: What makes this a difficult question to answer is the fact that some of these trends are very broad. For example, the "emerging church" label applies to churches who are adapting themselves to the changing demands of postmodern culture. The steps they take may be appropriate or they may be dangerous; the "emerging" label doesn't tell us. So if we want to respond biblically to these new directions, we need to look at what motivates them.
These trends have found a root in the American church for a reason. The fact is, we haven't always done such a good job of explaining how the Word of God is timeless—how it addresses the challenges of a modern world as well as the world of two or three thousand years ago. Sometimes we focus so much on preserving a "Christian bubble" of man-made traditions and focus so little on asking how the teaching of God's Word can help us become salt and light in our communities.
The "Purpose Driven" movement, for example, addresses the problem of worship in our culture. When we wander away from Jesus Christ—the focus of our worship not only on Sunday mornings but in all that we do and say—we lose our sense of purpose and feel as though our lives have no point. Or perhaps we find our purpose in our careers or possessions or families or relationships rather than in Christ. The aim of the "Purpose Driven" movement is to remind us to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), which I hope everyone at KSBC wants to happen!
Similarly, the "emerging church" tends to emphasize aspects of our walk with God that sometimes get neglected in the American church—compassion for the poor, justice for the oppressed, beauty in art and music, etc. This is a good response to the extravagant church campuses, health-and-wealth teaching, and cheesy "Christian" merchandise that is so common and that dishonors our God.
At Kossuth, we want to make sure that the message of the gospel is explained clearly and applied to the world around us. We want to be careful of any trends that pull our attention away from the good news of "Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). If we are so concerned about being relevant to our culture that we're willing to compromise the centrality and truth of the gospel in order to be accepted by others, then we have lost our mission and denied our Savior. Let's take what is good from many of these trends while maintaining our focus on Jesus Christ, who is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).