The Dumbing Down of Christianity

[stovebolts]

i am not a big fan of church of Christ .i have listened to several of the ministers in coc .they all say they are the true n.t church.. a person can be coc and be saved that is not my issue. there is nothing wrong with musical instruments clasping shouting what ever be of the spirit. i have yet to attend one of the churches either . but they are there GOD chose through the preaching of the word to save the lost .
many churches many pastor get the idea they ate the only one will make it. the old saying if everyone in this church was just like me. what kind of church would this be? my son first teacher was church of Christ. grade school he asked kids in class out loud who wanted get save. she put the desk together kids prayed.. i had deep respect for her... saying all this i was raised UMC not my cup of tea..but i went back Christmas eve new years eve and preached Jesus . i dont preach against denoms the name tag will either fall off going up or burn off going down...the new age movement has been filtering into the Body of Christ for years.... Jesus said let no man device you .. read the Bible i like a crisp spirit filled service my self..

I understand. Were not perfect, and some are very hard to love. One thing you can't say about us is that we are liberal. John Mark Hicks has some great teachings.... they are rejected by the most conservative members to whom you address. Conservative, liberal... it's all perspective. I'm called a liberal for agreeing with John Mark Hicks, and accused of being a conservative by some community churches... ehhh, I don't care much about those labels. I just want to follow Jesus the best I know how.

We put a big emphasis on baptism and Communion as core doctrines. We also put a big emphasis on studying Gods word, but most important, we teach the necessity of living out our faith.

 

[ezra]

it has nothing to do with perfect but the one who is perfect i have no idea what will happen when the apostolic Pentecostal an d the Church of Christ the die hard who think they are true and only Church.. by some chance the have knowledge of denoms.. there is no name tags in heaven.. might i add there are gen baptist and southern baptist who have a hard time staying in the same room with each other

 

[stovebolts]

it has nothing to do with perfect but the one who is perfect i have no idea what will happen when the apostolic Pentecostal an d the Church of Christ the die hard who think they are true and only Church.. by some chance the have knowledge of denoms.. there is no name tags in heaven.. might i add there are gen baptist and southern baptist who have a hard time staying in the same room with each other

Amen.
I am teaching for ne then 6 weeks. We were talking about that very thing. The idea that any denomination is the one true church is nonsense. We are all children of God and saying otherwise has to stop.
The Elders where in my class and fully supported it.

1 john 3:15

Look at the diversity we have on this board. Unity doesn't mean uniformity.

 

[Jim Parker]

Yes, we have a weekly soup kitchen and work closely with the Michigan food bank
We gave Love Inc a piece of or property and a house. We work close with them to help those in need.
I was involved in prison ministries, and for a while FAN, families against narcotics.
One of our ministries is called Christian's in action. We've helped roof houses etc.
For several years. We put on a carnival for the community. We averaged over 1,200 visitors. We gave away prizes, fed them and had lots of games.
I'm not saying this to brag. Were not perfect, and we have our issues, but we are family, and we are very giving.

Each Wednesday, we take up a cup of blessings. A different member each week takes this collection and finds somebody in need, and gives it to them.

A REAL CHURCH!!!!

 

[OzSpen]

God is not interested in how smart you are or how smart you think you are, and in fact, knowledge "doth make one mad", so be careful how full you stuff your head.
GOD is only interested in how available you are and how committed you remain to the truth and to being obedient.

Kidron,

The Lord is not against wisdom & knowledge:

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.​

​

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Prov 9:9-10 NIV).​

Its because the PRIDE of the THEOLOGIAN concludes that because they have more degrees then a thermometer, this elevates them into a self realized false position of faux-authority to be a BIBLE CORRECTOR, and so, they create one that SUITS their belief system just in time for Easter or Christmas at your local Bible Book Store.
Money Money Money Money Money.....is of course the other reason you have SO .....MANY........FAULTY......"VERSIONS".
This DEED, is the error of the FOOL, and there are thousands upon thousand of them writing books and teaching in Seminaries.

Please provide examples. Otherwise it looks like personal opinion or assertions or someone has an axe to grind.

Oz

 

[Maria E Abreu]

The Dumbing Down of Christianity
https://churchleaders.com/outreach-...dumbing-down-of-christianity-ethan-renoe.html

I like the Cotton Mather quote -


“Ignorance is the Mother not of Devotion but of HERESY”




ME

 

[Maria E Abreu]

Yes, we have a weekly soup kitchen and work closely with the Michigan food bank
We gave Love Inc a piece of or property and a house. We work close with them to help those in need.
I was involved in prison ministries, and for a while FAN, families against narcotics.
One of our ministries is called Christian's in action. We've helped roof houses etc.
For several years. We put on a carnival for the community. We averaged over 1,200 visitors. We gave away prizes, fed them and had lots of games.
I'm not saying this to brag. Were not perfect, and we have our issues, but we are family, and we are very giving.

Each Wednesday, we take up a cup of blessings. A different member each week takes this collection and finds somebody in need, and gives it to them.

Nice.

 

[PeterJens]

What I have found among some believers is the simplistic idea that people are either in one camp, ok, or another camp
the enemy. The idea of learning, growing, expressing deep points or theology passes them by.

I met a young believer on the street once, who was convinced everyone they met needed converting.
Once some get in their minds loving people where they are is not the goal, but bringing them into the place where the
speaker is, things go wrong. Jesus declares He will finish the work He has started in us, Amen.

Scripture is so vast, to the day I go to be with the Lord, I will still not have finished grasping it.
Fractals are mathematical relationships that expand infinitely at whatever level you see them. Jesus's words do
this, as you grasp one layer, another appears.

So I have faith the Lord will bring His church to maturity, we just need to share our passion for His word and His
love, and the rest will flow, Amen.

 

[Papa Zoom]

A REAL CHURCH!!!!

I have a friend in AZ who is constantly busy with this community project and that one. His big thing is ministering to young married men helping them adjust to marriage, family life, and developing a real work ethic. His church is very involved in the Community. My friend is 70. He still works in social work. I asked when he was going to retire from all that work and his response: I'll never retire. This is what I've been called to do in life!

Yeah, he's a Catholic.

Here in my town, we work with the other area churches on community projects. It's ongoing. The way the Church ought to be.!

 

[Jim Parker]

Here in my town, we work with the other area churches on community projects. It's ongoing. The way the Church ought to be.!

I have some friends in Boulder City AZ. They do a weekly feeding of the homeless/poor with anout 4 other churches. They're Russian Orthodox, there's a RC priest, a Baptist, and a couple more all working together.

 

[Brock]

I don't get the hate for music in church in this thread? Music heals, music speaks, God speaks through music. This is coming from a person in which God used music to heal. Music In church is not a bad thing especially when Its talking about God which it should be.

 

[WIP]

I don't get the hate for music in church in this thread? Music heals, music speaks, God speaks through music. This is coming from a person in which God used music to heal. Music In church is not a bad thing especially when Its talking about God which it should be.

Brock, I'm not sure where you see music as being hated in the church. Can you post some links? Thanks.

 

[Brock]

Brock, I'm not sure where you see music as being hated in the church. Can you post some links? Thanks.

In post 11 Reba quoted the article where it says "We have replaced rich, robust theology in the church with emotional music." I should've said I don't get the hate for music in the article not the thread my bad.

 

[ezra]

I don't get the hate for music in church in this thread? Music heals, music speaks, God speaks through music. This is coming from a person in which God used music to heal. Music In church is not a bad thing especially when Its talking about God which it should be.

no nothing wrong with anointed music .when you stand up sing the same chorus 5 times in a row. or the music is louder than the singer .music has its place but one can over sing the service and hinder the preaching of the word..

 

[reba]

I enjoy both worship music and what i call Jesus pep rally music.. each has its place with some cross over..
I so enjoy Carmen's music it packs one heck of a message .. but i do not find most of it to be worshipful ... At the same time not all worship music has to sound like a funeral or like the people singing are dead...

 

[reba]

ezra, folks seems to want their ears tickled.. as if God is a snuggley teddybear,,,

 

[ezra]

not all worship music has to sound like a funeral or like the people singing are dead..

AGREED a good leader can encourage Congregational participation

 

[ezra]

ezra, folks seems to want their ears tickled.. as if God is a snuggley teddybear,,,

i know and it is sad.. the church we attend we do a video sing along at the opening of the service... i disagree with that... a song service should be led by a enthused leader. if the leader is dry the song is dry

 

[Brock]

when you stand up sing the same chorus 5 times in a row. or the music is louder than the singer .music has its place but one can over sing the service and hinder the preaching of the word..

True, I can see how that can get boring.

 

[WIP]

I enjoy both worship music and what i call Jesus pep rally music.. each has its place with some cross over..
I so enjoy Carmen's music it packs one heck of a message .. but i do not find most of it to be worshipful ... At the same time not all worship music has to sound like a funeral or like the people singing are dead...

I hear you here. In our church one of the, I'll call it a disappointment for lack of better term, is that when we sing hymns we don't sing them with the emotion they seem to be projecting. One of my biggest examples is at Christmas time we often sing "Joy to the World." To me that is a joyous song full of uplifting and powerful messages. A celebration of the birth of the Savior. But when we sing it in our church I feel like it is a funeral procession. All of the music we sing in church comes out that way.

I realize that I can inject emotion into the music when I sing it but it is difficult and feels like I'm trying to push a train.