the people fail for lack of vision
This was curious. I occasionally drop by Boundless webzine--Focus on the Family's webzine for college students.
Is "Transforming the World" Biblical? by Motte Brown on Apr 30, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Ted just sent me this link from freerepublic.com about the United Methodists changing their mission statement this week at conference.
Previous mission:The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
New mission:The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Rejected amendment:The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls and the transformation of the world.
Now I don't want to read too much into this. I mean, I'm a marketing guy so I understand wanting a pithy mission statement. But it seems they should have rejected the latter phrase of the rejected amendment, not the former. It's just too man (and earth) centered. You know, how about something like, "... for God's glory."
As freerepublic.com notes,"transforming the world" sounds more like a political agenda than a church mission. And from my experience, it will likely be a leftist political agenda.
Anyway, it appears my optimism about the "conservative governing majority" was a little premature.
Is transforming the world Biblical?!!!!!! Obviously Mr. Motte Brown would not like Mr. Doug Jones--too liberal-sounding. To my mind, the disciples part is a duh! The church is supposed to be discipling its members for the good of their souls. But I like the transformation of the world part. It recalls Adam's original call to husbandry. It embraces and celebrates the power of the gospel over all the world.
Of course, I don't know much about the committee that put this all together, and many Christian denominations are becoming increasingly liberal. But don't choose narrow phraseology out of fear of the other guys. Go with what's Biblical! Even if it means making fuzzy labels!
Further, Boundless featured an article from the editor of Brio. And that was another one that bothered me. Brio looks at Seventeen and other chick confetti and says "How can we put a Christian spin on this piece of crap?" That's ultimately unsatisfying. Why not ask, "how can we write a distinctively Christian story?" Don't shoot so low!
Is "Transforming the World" Biblical? by Motte Brown on Apr 30, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Ted just sent me this link from freerepublic.com about the United Methodists changing their mission statement this week at conference.
Previous mission:The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
New mission:The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Rejected amendment:The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls and the transformation of the world.
Now I don't want to read too much into this. I mean, I'm a marketing guy so I understand wanting a pithy mission statement. But it seems they should have rejected the latter phrase of the rejected amendment, not the former. It's just too man (and earth) centered. You know, how about something like, "... for God's glory."
As freerepublic.com notes,"transforming the world" sounds more like a political agenda than a church mission. And from my experience, it will likely be a leftist political agenda.
Anyway, it appears my optimism about the "conservative governing majority" was a little premature.
Is transforming the world Biblical?!!!!!! Obviously Mr. Motte Brown would not like Mr. Doug Jones--too liberal-sounding. To my mind, the disciples part is a duh! The church is supposed to be discipling its members for the good of their souls. But I like the transformation of the world part. It recalls Adam's original call to husbandry. It embraces and celebrates the power of the gospel over all the world.
Of course, I don't know much about the committee that put this all together, and many Christian denominations are becoming increasingly liberal. But don't choose narrow phraseology out of fear of the other guys. Go with what's Biblical! Even if it means making fuzzy labels!
Further, Boundless featured an article from the editor of Brio. And that was another one that bothered me. Brio looks at Seventeen and other chick confetti and says "How can we put a Christian spin on this piece of crap?" That's ultimately unsatisfying. Why not ask, "how can we write a distinctively Christian story?" Don't shoot so low!
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