Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Talk About a Slippery Slope?!

Have you heard about this:

Some Christian pastors embrace Scientology

Scientology as a "tool to augment" the Christian faith? If you're not sure what Scientology is about, go here.
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1 comment:

Brian V. said...

A slippery slope indeed. Ministry can be such a challenging area. You can't just say, "This is what the Bible says--believe it!" anymore. Or if you do, you can't necessarily expect a secular world to listen. The speakers and writers I've heard who discuss cultural relevance and post-modernism have unanimously reached one conclusion: the prevailing mindset of the world around us is that people want to know if something "works" before they'll believe it. And so when pastors or others in ministry see something that appears to work--whether it's a drug recovery program or The Ways to Happiness--it can look like a good "in" for reaching people who find traditional church increasingly irrelevant to their lives.
North Point generally, and Andy Stanley specifically, have received their share of criticism from those who think we're watering down the gospel and turning church into entertainment to attract attenders. While the latter may be partially true, I don't think the former accusation holds any water. In the 9 years I have attended NPCC, I can't think of one time I've thought, "Whoa, I don't think jives with what the Bible says." Andy's messages do tend to focus more on the practical application of Biblical truth than the underlying theology, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Especially given our audience, which includes a lot of people who are new to church or newly returned to church after many years away. The idea is that if people come and hear something they can identify with and see it as helpful, they will be more willing to listen to the parts of the story that challenge their mindset.

November 2, 2007 at 12:06 PM

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