According to Albert Mohler, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is losing more than two-thirds of its youth between the time that they become teenagers to when they become adults. In a recent speech, SBC President Mohler said: "The Southern Baptist Convention is either going to become younger or dead. Here we have a big issue; we're losing at least two-thirds of our young people somewhere along the line between adolescence and adulthood." Although the numbers look bad for the future of the SBC, this trend is taking place across the board in Christendom. The fact of the matter is that the Church as a whole is losing its youth. The reasons for this are many and diverse, but I am convinced that one of the primary reasons is the Church's lack of cultural engagement.
Although Christians can usually agree that the Church is meant to be "salt and light" (Matthew 5:13-14), it seldom can agree on what this phrase actually means. In this section from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his congregation that they are the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world." He takes the metaphor further by saying that if the salt becomes tasteless, it is no longer good for anything. Further, Jesus tells them that—like a city—a light must be elevated to be visible to all. Hiding the light in a basket completely defeats the point of the light's existence. It is clear that Jesus is telling His followers that they have a mission to season and illuminate the earth and the world. Little disagreement exists over this in theory, but trying to get a room full of Christians to agree on what this means in practice is a different story entirely. In other words, it is not the orthodoxy (correct doctrine) that raises the conflict, but the orthopraxy (correct action).
Yesterday, I received an email from a faithful reader who is unhappy with some of the recent articles about movies. He wrote: "I am not interested in movies but what I can pass on to others concerning our Lord and Savior." I understand this, not everybody is interested in the same things. I do not take issue with his interest level in movies, but I do take issue with his implication that movies do not concern our Lord and Savior. They most certainly do, in fact, everything concerns our Lord and Savior. The Christian faith is not one of compartmentalization, but homogenization.
CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE
http://christianreader.typepad.com/christian_reader/2009/08/homogenization-not-compartmentalization.html
Forward email
http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1101814511817&ea=ignoble.experiment%40arconati.us&a=1102682464595
This email was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us by announcements@tollelegepress.com.
Update Profile/Email Address
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?p=oo&v=001D5z3cl58IfCW_zlwOmgOId3gVLzgiXV7qjt8Tjs6Qk2USG3Lt9R7HRTR8dqnU8YWb-gwiONktoc%3D
Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe(TM)
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?p=un&v=001D5z3cl58IfCW_zlwOmgOId3gVLzgiXV7qjt8Tjs6Qk2USG3Lt9R7HRTR8dqnU8YWb-gwiONktoc%3D
Privacy Policy:
http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp
Email Marketing by
Constant Contact(R)
www.constantcontact.com
Tolle Lege Press, LLC | PO Box 5069 | White Hall | WV | 26555
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.