Something has kept popping up on my mind for the past few months and I wanted to start a conversation on it. 

It seems (this is a subjective observation open to debate) to me that many times, when one  writes an article in direct opposition or disagreement with something another person has said or done, the other person is severely inclined to be personally hurt by it.

This makes sense to a certain degree.  What I believe is a part of who I am.  When I write or say something to another person and they challenge that, it feels like they are challenging me.  When a person devotes their lives/ministries/time to a particular area and then they are told (sometimes repeatedly) that they are wrong, it seems to me that would feel like everything they believe in is being challenged.

It is important to note a few things.  First, there are some people who when they disagree with somebody else, will attack that persons character.   That’s not good, they need to be confronted.  Second, this site and its authors attempt to avoid personal attacks.

It is hard to see things you’ve said and done be attacked when you feel you’ve worked hard serving Christ in whatever ministry you are in.  It feels personal.  This is a major challenge for ministers in the church (let alone on the web) because pride begins to creep in and we want to defend ourselves and say everything I did was right.  It’s good for us to remember that our thoughts, words, and actions do not always glorify God.  Even when we want them to.

From here:

“It is only a matter of time before we see couples in bed, “on stage”, in churches to celebrate sex. Two years ago I predicted that we would have the equivalent of pagan temple prostitutes in evangelical churches. Except in church, it will be married couples (for now) demonstrating it all in public. You’ve been warned.”

Those are the words of Ingrid over at SliceofLaodicea.com.

She continues:

“The clip from YouTube below a promo for Revolution Church’s sex campaign last summer. (One of hundreds of churches engaged in this sort of thing.) I give it 3-5 years before we have the real thing in church somewhere.”

I guess I’m a little confused. Is Ingrid saying that we will have live married people laying in bed together on church stages, or will we have full-blown old-testament hookers offering their bodies for sale for religious practices in our churches?

Here’s my question: Even if we have two married people depicted on a church stage in a drama setting, is that the equivalent of the pagan temple prostitutes she speaks of? Are they anywhere even close to the same thing? Seems like she’s comparing apples and oranges.

Please help me understand.

We’ve already determined that there are two things that you don’t discuss in church: sex and bodily functions (like dung or flatulence). What else should the church NOT talk about?

The Indy Star has an article on some of the emerging churches in their area. Its interesting in that they ask the questions and then get out of the way, letting them speak in their own words.

Click here for the entire article. Oh, and please, actually read the whole thing before getting out the blow torch.

HT: DoubleV

Download episode 28 of Justice and Mercy here. Or listen to it below.

On this episode I talk with Virgil Vaduva about the internet and the church, and we we talk a bit about the emergent church.

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 Justice and Mercy #28 - Virgil Vaduva: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download