Monday Morning Insights

Photo of Todd
    .

    Today’s Buzz:  Emergent Core Beliefs?, Mrs. Hinn, Mrs. Swaggart, & Al Mohler’s

    Bookmark and Share

    Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
    Great article by Steve Sjogren recently.  He writes:  For months I have noticed a sad historic cycle that bears comment. This cycle has repeated itself throughout Church history. It’s simple:  As believers who understand the vital importance of aiming ourselves outwardly we tend to get off course with our message of life for those who do not know Jesus yet. Tragically what started out so strongly, with such health, often ends up becoming a despenser of moral lessons after some period of time. When we get off course, we often get WAY off course!  He then goes into why he thinks it’s difficult at best when Christian groups get involved in political issues, like global warming.  Great article.  Love your feedback.  Read it here.

    Benny Hinn’s Wife Goes on Rampage?
    I believe I’ve correctly identified this woman as Mrs. Benny Hinn.  I’ve not seen this footage before yesterday; but she kind of loses it saying that if you’re not feeling what she’s feeling, then you need a “Holy Spirit Enema”.  (A WHAT?) Youch.  She also mentions that we need to be ‘God pleasers’.  If we’re not, then we’re ‘people pleasers’ and ‘people pleasers’ are nothing more than ‘butt kissers’. You can watch the tirade here. Oh… where is VCY when you need them?

    Mrs. Jimmy Swaggart is “Whorified” about The Message
    Speaking of various vulgarities AND TV evangelist’s wives, it seems that Mrs. Jimmy Swaggart does not like Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” very much.  She calls the Bible paraphrase “just plain vulgar”.  “This is not the language of a Christian,” writes the evangelist’s wife, Frances. “This is the language of darkness and depravity, bitter from rebellion toward God.” HT:  The Bible Belt Blogger. You can see her article here on page 13.

    Emergent Church Core Beliefs and Non-Core Beliefs
    Dan Kimball has an interesting post over at his blog. He reports about the recent Emergence Event and one of his sessions on Core Beliefs.  According to Dan, here are what he would classify as core beliefs and non-core beliefs.  What do you think?

    Core Beliefs:
    Inspiration of Scripture
    Fruit of the Spirit Seen in our Lives
    Deity of Jesus
    Salvation Through Jesus Alone
    Virgin Birth
    Covenant of Marriage
    Serving Those in Need
    Triune God (Father, Son, Spirit)
    Resurrection of Jesus
    Atonement for Sin
    Future Return of Jesus and Judgment

    Non-Core Beliefs:
    Alcohol
    6 Day Creation
    Clothing
    Music/Movies
    How Jesus Will Return
    Gifts of the Spirit
    Election/Free Will
    Apple/PC
    Role of Women in the Church
    Worship and Preaching Styles

    Dan writes:  “So I was trying to stress, that I wish we would focus on what I called “Core Beliefs” and unite on those. I hope we don’t fight, point fingers, slander, argue about the “Non-Core Beliefs”. I have read and heard such ugly attitudes from Christians about these things in the “non-core beliefs”. I know that “the role of women in the church” is such a very hot and understandably emotional issue, and some may say it is not a “Non-Core Belief” but a “Core Belief”. But the fact is, there are wonderful people who take the study of Scriptures very seriously, and hold the Scriptures with high authority and do have differences of opinion on that and are complementarians or egalitarians. So I put that in the “Non-Core Beliefs” category, as something we shouldn’t fight over or slander others if another church holds a different opinion than our own.”

    What do you think?  I know Dan speaks for himself and not every ‘emergent’ leader out there… but it sounds like a good start to me.

    Non-Negotiable to Al Mohler:  Women in Ministry
    Interesting contrast from the previous story.  Dan Kimball lists “Women in Ministry” as a non-core belief.  Here’s the other side of the story from Al Mohler as he writes on a woman being called as senior pastor of a SBC mega-church: 

    “A look at Julie Pennington-Russell’s education, experience, and related qualifications would appear to qualify her for a major pulpit . . . except for the fact that she is a woman. On that point both sides in the controversy over women in ministry should agree. Those opposed to the service of women in the pastorate are not arguing that women are less articulate, less bright, less winsome, less caring, or less educated. Gender is the issue. For those who support and celebrate women as pastors, this singular concern is irrational. For those who believe that the Bible is clear that only men should be pastors, this singular concern is non-negotiable.

    Just how do we determine our non-negotiables without being laden down in law?

    Times are Changing...
    Here’s an interesting pair of statistics from Christianity Today:
    42%—American evangelicals who say school boards should have the right to fire homosexual teachers.
    73%—American evangelicals who said this in 1987.
    SOURCE:  Dallas News Religion

    I’d love to hear your comments on any of these subjects today…

    Word on the street is that the Emergents don't really stand for anything... they question God's Word on every single matter. We'll one pastor involved in the emergent movement has listed his core-beliefs and contrasted them with his list of non-core beliefs. I think you'll find it interesting. And, as you know... we've been tackling the subject of just exactly what is 'vulgar' here at MMI the last week or so. Today, we show you one TV evangelist wife that borders on the vulgar; and another who thinks that a popular Bible paraphrase is 'just plain vulgar'. Plus, Steve Sjogren on "Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing"...

    Comments

    if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, they will displayed on any website that supports them.

    1. Camey on Wed, June 06, 2007

      Ohhhhhhhh THAT’S cute…... Mrs. Hinn, Mrs. Swaggart and especially Al Mohler all together with some Dan Kimball in the mix….


      “Just how do we determine our non-negotiables without being laden down in law?” - Stop thinking of ourselves as THE police??

    2. Brent on Wed, June 06, 2007

      You know, we do the best we can to try figuring out what God expects of us, and as soon as we decide to share the best conclusion we could come to, someone out there is going to tell us we didn’t go far enough, while someone else is saying we went too far.  Everyone has a right to believe what they believe.  Please don’t feel so threatened by their expression of their beliefs just because it isn’t what yours is.  Too many people assume that the expression of a belief equals cramming it down someone else’s throat.

    3. Josh R on Wed, June 06, 2007

      Regarding Mrs Swaggart:


      The ESV uses the word ‘whore’ or a variant 48 times.


      I don’t think God’s prophets had much reservation in using frank language to describe the vulgar state of mankind.

    4. Peter Hamm on Wed, June 06, 2007

      How many times does the KJV use the word “piss”?


      I love these buzz columns, Todd. They’re great.


      But I gotta disagree with Dan Kimball on one key thing. Apple/PC is a HUGE deal! PCs are unrepentant sinning pieces of hardware, and Dan’s failure to put the issue on his list of core beliefs definitely puts him in the heretic category, imho…


      Think different.


      http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/wink.gif

    5. Daniel on Wed, June 06, 2007

      At the heart of most of the debates in the contemporary Western Church is the question of what’s core and what’s not.  For some churches (think uber-fundie), EVERYTHING is at the core (so pretty much, everyone but them is going to hell); for other churches (think bleeding-heart liberal), NOTHING (except maybe warm fuzzy feelings about God) is at the core.


      In Evangelicalism, people are in the middle, so you’ve got Mohler and Driscoll (and all the neo-Reformed folks, pretty much) saying complementarianism is a ‘core’ issue.  In the emerging church, folks are saying (and I’ve surprised Kimball wasn’t more explicit about this) the proclamation and embodiment of Christ’s Kingdom is ‘core’.


      If I were to design a core, it would include non-violence and egalitarianism.


      Perhaps this whole ordeal can remind us of the benefit of having ‘monastic’ communities (e.g. the New Monasticism) which order themselves around non-negotiable practices and beliefs.  Otherwise, it can quickly degenerate into a power game of people trying to define in and out so that they can be in and others can be out.


      Notice also how if ‘in’ means ‘is going to heaven’ and ‘out’ means ‘is going to hell’, the ante is raised exponentially (because if you’re wrong about what’s ‘core’, you might burn forever!).


      Good thing ‘hell-ology’ isn’t a ‘core’ issue… ...  ... or is it?

    6. Derek on Wed, June 06, 2007

      I just finished reading Eugene Peterson’s Eat this Book, a well-written work on the art of spiritual reading and the role of Scripture in spiritual formation.


      The last chapter is called “The Message.” He tells the story of how the Message Bible come into existence and he spends some time talking about the importance of putting the Scriptures in the venacular of the everyday man (or woman…or person…whatever fits your non-negotiable position). He had an interesting comment on the KJV. He said that the majority of the KJV came from Tyndale’s translation. He says the KJV translators put “lace cuffs” on Tyndale work, because Tyndale desired to provide an English translations for everyday English-speakers. The KJV used a more elitist form of English in the 17th century. Interesting….


      The debate over Bible translations will never end. I am anticipating backlash from some of the KJV only guys, but oh well. Is the Message Bible vulgar? I don’t think so. It may speak candidly about sex, but any clear reading of certain portions of Scripture reveal very honest talk about sex.


      The video of Mrs. Hinn by the way is hilarious!


      Derek

    7. Camey on Wed, June 06, 2007

      Most I know who own The Message use it only for a devotional type book. It has in no way replaced what they use for serious Bible study.


      Thought I’d throw that it there….

    8. Leonard on Wed, June 06, 2007

      I use KJV because if it was good enough for Jesus and Paul it is good enough for me.

    9. Camey on Thu, June 07, 2007

      Leonard,


      Yesterday was Wednesday….. You’re not supposed to laugh or make jokes on Wednesday. The Rules clearly state you cannot make jokes or laugh until Todd post his Friday jokes. Now, should Friday come and alas, Todd does not post any Friday jokes, therefore depriving all of his loyal subjects, don’t start posting jokes. Do not laugh until he posts jokes again. Which, if he cares any at all about his loyal readers he will do so the following Friday. So, if you’re laughing at this - STOP IT IMMEDIATELY! If you’re even remotely smiling which could lead to a laugh…. Get up from where you are sitting and put your hands on mouth and spin around and say, “I will not laugh unless it’s Friday” three times. You, sir, have been warned.


      Camey

    10. MB on Thu, June 07, 2007

      I’m not as disturbed by the “street language” as Mrs. Swaggart is, but I am generally disturbed by The Message. Look at the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and explain to me how Peterson concludes “Hallowed be thy name” can become “Reveal who you are” and “Give us this daily our daily bread,” can become “Keep us alive with three square meals”? I think he’s gotten so wrapped up in trying to use the daily vernacular that he’s jumbled up key theological points (in this case, the need for us to show reverence to the holy God; and the key representations of what “the bread” means through the Word, the crucifixion, the communion we take to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice, and so on.)


      Here’s Peterson’s full interpretation:


      Our Father in heaven,


        Reveal who you are.


        Set the world right;


        Do what’s best— as above, so below.


        Keep us alive with three square meals.


        Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.


        Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.


        You’re in charge!


        You can do anything you want!


        You’re ablaze in beauty!


          Yes. Yes. Yes.

    11. Pastor Rene on Thu, June 07, 2007

      Benny Hinn’s Wife Goes on Rampage?


      I"m not a Hinn fan at all, but this video is years old. Why are you rehashing this stuff? Let it die already. Pretty soon you’ll have the “Farting Preacher”  video posted and the guy that puncehd Pastor Daughtery. Did you hear about Swaggart and his adultery? Ohhh? And while we’re at it, how about that haggard Confession? Let it die and stop watching youTube!

    12. Jim on Mon, June 11, 2007

      Don’t the people of the world already mock the Lord’s holy name, why do we keep feeding them with ammunition, People watch these women and we wonder why they think that Christianity is a joke, something to be laughed at.


      I love a good laugh, but people like these become “The reason of the week” why people reject our message, and move on to something more “intelligent” like evolution, and humanism.

    13. Page 1 of 1 pages

      Post a Comment

    14. (will not be published)

      Remember my personal information

      Notify me of follow-up comments?

    Sponsors