Things I Think…
1. The Southern Baptist Convention is holding its annual meeting in Anaheim, CA this week. There is much cyber ink being spilled wondering how the group will respond to the sexual abuse reports that have come out showing how bad the issue is in the denomination.
I’m here to dispel the mystery for you…nothing will change because change would necessitate the end of autonomy and the loss of power for autonomous pastors…to say nothing of the confession and repentance that would also be required. Lip service will be paid…but it’s simply deflection…
2. Abuse advocates are wasting time trying to reform current denominations…they are not reformable outside of an act of God or the plague or God sending the plague…on the other hand, He may already have done that…
3. The SBC is a mirror for the rest of the country…it has critical issues it must solve to survive, but its leaders are looking for victories over their perceived enemies rather than solutions…the destruction of both is made inevitable by such…
4. Institutional Christianity has lost its power because its lost the Holy Spirit through disobedience and unbelief…you must go outside the camp to meet Jesus…and once we’re all there we’ll make new institutions that will fail in the future…but Jesus never will…
5. American Christianity teaches that if you have favor with God, then you will have “success”…we probably should read the prophets more… biblical success is measured by endurance in suffering as much as anything…
6. After taking Smokey to the cat ER over the weekend, I was going to advocate again for people to carry pet insurance…then thought about how many people don’t have health insurance at all…for themselves…
7. “Kenosis” is the theological term for the “emptying” of divinity and self will that Christ manifested in the Incarnation…and that every follower of Jesus will experience on their faith journey…at some point we all must say, “not my will, but thine” to continue toward home. It’s easier when you’re old…
8. Certainty is a mark of spiritual immaturity…there are a few things we can be sure of, but explaining mystery is just a way to try to take control of our fears…
9. I think that explaining to Jesus why we divided over political issues is going to be uncomfortable…
10. Qualifications for the Faith Hall of Fame…
āThese all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.ā
(Hebrews 11:13 ESV)
Hmmm. Re: your number 8: I think certainty is a mark of spiritual maturity, not of spiritual immaturity. Hebrews 11:1 …being certain of what we do not see, for example. I suppose it depends on what exactly I am certain of. If Iām certain that new Toyota Tundra is for me, well, no. Immature for sure. But if Iām certain the Lord will provide all my needs (transportation, for example), then yes, that is a sign of spiritual maturity.
That would depend on how you define needs…many of us the world over are starving or under persecution…
Thinking God will always meet all your needs is a sign of privilege, not maturity.
Ok, after all this time here, I hope you will agree with me that I care a great deal about people and the abuse.
But from point #1, is it even possible to have authority end at the local church level, āindependentā local churches, and properly deal with abuse?
Is some sort of apostolic or denominational oversight the only solution?
“Is some sort of apostolic or denominational oversight the only solution?”
Yes.
#9
The division because of things that WE make more important OVER AND ABOVE the things Jesus thinks are important are all around meā¦.
Broken relationships affecting whole families over quite minor issuesā¦tragic and the brokenness will last decades, maybe into eternity.
Iād like to see how that would work?
WHOM would oversee that?
And I donāt see the requirement for that in Scripture. But maybe the times warrant itā¦
Rome, and a lot of better and worse Protestant āRomesā have oversight over millions and are horrific.
Iām all ears thoughā¦
I see it as comparable to fatherhood.
There really are only very poor substitutes for when a father neglects or abandons his family.
Other safeguards can āhelpā but no one can really oversee fathers in an AUTHORATATIVE way. Even though abuse is all around us.
We need better fathers. But I still have a lot to learn.
jtk,
It is a difficult question…but we have to find answers.
The first answer is to quit worshipping the god of autonomy.
There are people that could shut me down in minutes…because I have chosen to be accountable to them.
āAnd my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.ā ā Phil. 4:19.
Do you believe this? That is called faith. Certainly Paul is not exhorting us to an immature faith, but a mature one.
(*guess I must clarify: He will supply all your NEEDS, not all your WANTS.)
“The series of abuse reform recommendations, while significant for the SBC, are the ābare minimum,ā said Bruce Frank, chair of the SBC sexual abuse task force.”
USA Today
Number four batted clean up and cleared the bases.
foulballfil
Dinner
Does that happen with us just sitting round and waiting or him to supply our needs or is there some action due on our part
Should read āDonnerāādamned Spell check
āAnd my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.ā ā Phil. 4:19.
I believe this to varying degrees.
We know that many Christians have starved, live without the basic necessities, and have been martyred.
Their needs weren’t met.
Mine have been, again to a degree.
Michael
Interesting
Some people arenāt working thinking āand my government will supply your needsā¦ā
Back in the ā70ās many thought the Lord was going to return so they dropped out of college to just wait around. I know this to be true because my mother in law was a researcher at UCI and several promising medical students did just that.
Just a passing thought