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    Lots of People in Hell Have Perfect Doctrine

    September 26, 2008 // 4 Comments »

    I was listening the other day to a message given by a teaching pastor that I respect.  He was teaching on baptism, specifically whether or not aspiring members needed to share the official doctrinal stance of the church before being accepted as members.  Rather than addressing that question directly, he decided to take a round-about approach.

    He spoke of how important it is for the church to create a

    relational culture…that is more intentionally and radically servant-like, other-oriented, thoughtful, outgoing, humble, thankful, aggressively concerned and caring, moving into the lives of others rather than moving away from them, committed to the hard work and sweet rewards of loving other people in the church.

    He drew these characteristics from Colossians 3:12-17.  And his point was essentially this; it is in this sort of context that wisdom flourishes and when wisdom flourishes we can hope to come to agreement about baptism.

    And here was my first thought.  If you have successfully created a relational culture of the sort mentioned above, who in the heck cares if you are in agreement about baptism?!

    Do you see what I mean here?  It’s like finding ways to mutually inspire love, affection, connection, commitment, and excitement in marriage and then, when you do, thinking that it would be a good idea to talk about how you define love.  Who cares how you define it if you ‘re already both experiencing it?  In fact, defining it might be the most sure-fire way to kill it as you nit-pick at nuanced differences.

    I am not in the least bit saying that there is no connection whatsoever between doctrine (what we say we believe) and praxis (how we live).  I am just saying that if you are living out a faithful Christian witness and example where God is glorified, your doctrinal stances matter very little.

    Another problem.  At another point the pastor said,

    As a member of this church, you can be wrong on election, wrong on the power of sin, wrong on the extent of atonement, wrong on the power of grace, wrong on perseverance, and wrong on the sovereignty of God… [but you can still be a member]

    Man, I chafe under this sort of mentality.  “We, as the pastors and elders, have all the important doctrinal stuff worked out, and you don’t have to agree with us to be a member here, but this is the way it is, and we will pray for you to come around.”  I can imagine nothing more inhibitory to what Chritian community is all about than this sort of mindset.  How is the church supposed to listen to the Holy Spirit and fall in love with God through Scripture together if it’s a 1-way street?

    I seriously pray for myself that I would always be more passioante about God than my limited ability to understand and articulate God.

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    Posted in God, church, culture, doctrine, hell, love, marriage, preaching/teaching, relationships