Authentic Means Real

Emergent blogger Bob Robinson went to hear D. A. Carson speak on the emergent church in Akron, OH. He quoted Carson as saying, “the Emerging Church is making a plea for authenticity. That’s good. But since the Emerging Church does not use the Bible as its standard of what is authentic or not (relying more on feelings and cultural acceptability), then the authenticity has to be called into question.”

This brings up a good point I’ve thought about quite a bit. How do we define authenticity in Christianity? And how would we recognize it in today’s world? Here is where the pragmatic definition of truth runs into trouble. If we define authenticity in pragmatic terms (truth is what works for me), where do we end up? Pretty hard to say.

The notion of “working” can be pretty subjective. What does it mean when we say something “works?” Is Osteen’s church “working” when he attracts 47,000 in attendance? Well, he still hasn’t matched Sung Myung Moon’s success. Unfortunately, while I believe results matter, in the absence of objective guidelines for what God considers success, results tell us nothing. Carson is right. Only scripture can give us the spiritual standards by which to judge results.

Christians should spend time pondering what God teaches on this question. Exactly what are we looking for when we say “this approach works?” What do others say on this? What can we get from scripture? There must be multiple answers.

This is at the heart of the question when it comes to authenticity. Authenticity isn’t just a feeling we get because people are being intense. It has to mean that our service for God is real; that God is working in our midst. How would we know?

Filed under: authenticity, church growth, evangelism, purpose of the church by Dennis McCallum
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Church leaders and scholars don’t agree on what we are here to do as the church. Some think our mission is to extoll God in worship. Others think we are mainly here to build the kingdom of God through reaching non Christians and building them up spiritually.

The New Testament states the church’s mission in several different ways. By looking at various formulations, we can gain a sense of the purpose of the church in God’s program.

* Jn. 20:21 “Jesus therefore said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’”
Jesus calls attention to the nature of his own mission as a way of understanding the mission of the church. To be specific, we could look at Jesus’ description of his intent in various places where he declared his own purpose:
* Lk. 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
* Jn. 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.”
* Mk. 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

So, viewed this way, we are left here to continue Jesus’ work, which is the rescue of humanity.

* Mt. 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

This passage contains Christ’s so-called “great commission” to the church. We notice that reaching the lost millions in the human race again figures prominently. The church is to go, not to wait for others to come. International missionary outreach is explicitly mentioned.

Notice that baptism is included, as well as “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.” In other words, part of the church’s task is to teach and disciple those we have reached with the gospel so they have a healthy walk with God. This process is a natural part of a healthy evangelistic strategy, since those who have been discipled are in the best position to join in the task of reaching others.

* 2 Cor. 5:15-20 “And He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf… Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

In this passage, Paul once again draws the parallel between the mission of Christ and that of the church. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself…” and “he has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” The church is to take up the work of reaching those alienated from God (which is the cornerstone of reconciliation). However, our work doesn’t stop there. We are to press the work of reconciliation forward in the area of bringing members close to God through enhancing their walk with him, teaching them how to worship him and how to gain victory over their own personal problems. Seen this way, reconciliation is both an event and a process.

* Col. 2:19 “[Beware of those who come up with their own religion instead of] holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”

Here Jesus is the head of the body of Christ. Our mission is to hold fast to him, receiving our directions and nourishment from him, often through the agency of other members (the “joints and ligaments”). Likewise, we, as joints and ligaments in our own right, are responsible to take of Christ and give it to others. This is describing how Christians depend on each other for ministry within the church. However, he also points out that the whole body “grows with a growth which is from God.” In other words, as a living spiritual organism, the church is to grow like other living things. Here the ever-present importance of reaching out to those who do not know Christ is again evident.

* Eph. 4:11 “And he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

In this passage, we again see Paul’s vision of the properly functioning body of Christ. Under the headship of Christ, not only are there leaders who equip other members (the saints) but the saints themselves do the “work of service.” This work of service is the responsibility and opportunity of “every joint” and of “each individual part.” In other words, the vision here is of a community where everyone has a role in being built up spiritually and building up others. The result is growth. Qualitative growth, or spiritual maturity among the members (we are no longer to be children tossed here and there) as well as overall growth through reaching the lost (the growth of the body).

* 1 Pet. 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

In Peter’s version of the commission of the church, the identity of the Christian community is stressed along with its mission. Its identity is that of the people of God. Its mission is to serve as a race of priest-kings who proclaim the excellencies of God. Some versions read “declare the praises of God” (NIV) which is not an accurate translation of the word arete (”virtues” or “excellencies”).

Question: What problematic implications arise from the NIV’s translation here?

Filed under: church planting, evangelism, great commission, purpose of the church, reconciliation by Dennis McCallum
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Nothing is more exciting that living in an outreaching church. Nothing more dreadful than living in an ingrown church. The difference between these two is greater than night and day, as anyone who has experienced both will attest.

In a victorious outreaching church, people feel a tangible sense of excitement as they watch others come to Christ. The church’s mission is clear, and God’s blessing rests on the community as they share the love of Christ. Both those with evangelistic gifts and those gifted in nurture have their hands full as the needs of lost people and brand new Cristians call out to Christian hearts like the cries of baby birds to their mother. People routinely experience the thrill of sensing God’s power flowing through them as he uses them to meet desparate needs in others’ lives. Those with encouragement gifting have lots of work to do as they urge forward those who reach out. Prayer ministries are at a premium in an environment that will draw extra fire from Satan, who ignores peace-loving, ingrown churches to focus his attacks on outreaching churches. The outreaching church is always totering on the edge of confusion and chaos as the action challenges those with administrative gifting to keep up.

As the pace of outreach picks up, every member is naturally compelled to lay aside any number of selfish issues that might lead to fights and dissapointment, to grab the nearest oar and pull for all they are worth. With more younger, unsanctified Christians in the group, financing the church’s ministry is always a challenge. Even though people are growing in the area of giving, the church is chronically short of finance, trying to stretch a dollar and get by with less. Staff members have to live with tremendous sacrifice as they earn far less than their secular counterparts. They do so willingly because they are excited to be a part of the spiritual action.

An ingrown church suffers pitifully by comparison. The biggest question in the minds of members of an ingrown church is “What’s the point?” As the sense of reality in people’s Christian walk drifts into eclipse, a quiet desperation wells up. “What’s wrong with me?” people wonder. They begin to question whether they have drifted away from God. With a sigh, they may remember earlier days in their Christian journey and wonder where the zeal went. An ingrown church is rarely unified. In the absence of clear direction, everyone has a different idea of what the church needs. Yet, outright division may not occur for the simple reason that no one has the energy to put up a fight. Squabbling and negativity are the more common result.

While outreaching churches feel the power of God shaking them in annointed ministry, people in ingrown churches live in a dangerous experiential vacuum. In this vacuum of healthy experience with God, the quest for excitement can lead to bizarre and dangerous conclusions. People are ripe for exploitation by those who promise to fill their vacuum with the final experience. Depressed people in the ingrown church often turn to the standby pacifier of religion the world over: religious dissociation. Dissociation means a separation of attention, or an altered consciousness. People who no longer sense the reality of God in their normal state of mind try to “zone out” in a dream-like state which they interpret to be the presence of the Spirit.

Efforts to attain this dissociated state may become quite frenzied, sometimes including corporate self-deception as everyone agrees to unspoken rules like “Miracle stories and manipulation can never be questioned, because that would be quenching the Spirit.” Some churches may become quite artificial in their deliberate efforts to stimulate dissociation. What evoked the sense of God’s presence at one time may not be enough for long, and the group may turn to more strange and far-out efforts to preserve the sense that something is happening spiritually.

Strangely, we find no suggestion in Scripture that the people of God should seek dissociation. On the contrary, Christians are called to be “alert and sober,” ready to engage in spiritual warfare. When extraordinary experience came to people in the Bible, it did so unexpectedly and spontaneously without any need to meet and pump up the juices. But when dissociation becomes the goal of the church, prayer is perverted. Instead of being a time of simple communion with God and a crucial tool for waging spiritual warfare, prayer now becomes the avenue to a pleasure state. Intead of praying as a ministry to others, I begin to see prayer as my time of transcendence and dissociation. Prayer has become self-centered.

Don’t think I’m pointing the finger at the charismatic church. Many charismatic churches are among the best outreaching churches. A great example would be Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California. Many non-charismatic churches are among the worst ingrown churches. I believe the movement in some evangelical circles toward high liturgy is an indication of an ingrown experience quest. Some charismatic and pentecostal churches are ingrown as well. If the shoe fits, wear it.

The ingrown church has lost its sense of mission. Experience becomes a problem only because the church isn’t sure what it’s supposed to do. Instead of experience following after spiritual reality–a natural reaction to the great hand of God moving in the church’s midst–experience becomes an end in itself. This is why the ingrown group turns features of healthy Christianity into unhealthy gimmicks. While prayer, praise, the performing arts, and worship should take their natural place in the lives of Christians actively serving God and seeing him work, in the ingrown church these become the hoped-for avenue of experience to fill the aching vacuum of reality with Christ. How can praise and worship be authentic when we have one eye on God and one eye on our emotional thermometer, checking to see whether we are attaining an adequate high?

Am I exaggerating? If so, why not set me straight?

Filed under: Prayer, charismatic churches, evangelism, ingrown church, mission of the church, purpose of the church by Dennis McCallum
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Christine Wicker’s book details numerous serious problems facing the evangelical church today, as explained in earlier posts.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2

One of the most ominous facts she refers to comes from Josh McDowell. Wicker quotes McDowell from his book, The Last Christian Generation, saying. “It has been estimated that between 69 and 94 percent of churched youth are leaving the traditional church after high school, and very few are returning. Furthermore, only 33 percent of churched youth have said that the church will pla a part in their lives when they leave home.”

This is about as bad as news can get. The church is losing its voice with young people more than any others. Why should we be concerned about that? Look at this chart:


As you can see, most people become Christians during their high school and college years. If the church is losing its voice with these people it means we can expect the anemia of recent years to deepen rapidly. This is perhaps the most critical problem the church faces today–how will we develop effective outreach to students, and how can we form communities that they consider cool, spiritual, and nourishing?

Even though Xenos is know as a leader in this area, we too feel the tension. The reputation of Christians are at an all time low with students, especially in college. You can check out our work with 750 university students here.

Filed under: Fall of the Evangelical Nation, Wicker, campus ministry, church growth, church leadership, church ministry, church planting, ingrown church, large churches, ministry, mission of the church, pseudo-growth, purpose of the church by Dennis McCallum
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Tags: church growth, declining church, Wicker, youth ministry