POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAYS: Rewriting History to Manufacture Evidence, Part II (and a whole bunch of other stuff all mooshed together)

This essay is inspired by my continuing ruminations on Reggie McNeal’s book, MISSIONAL RENAISSANCE – but not about the book at all…

As I said here http://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2010/05/possibly-irritating-essays-rewriting.html , I don’t disagree with McNeal’s intent to push the church – which is the people who follow Jesus Christ and confess Him as Lord and Savior – into serving Him and bringing people into His presence. What I DID disagree with is the massive rewriting and selective vision of McNeal’s “emerging or emergent church” movement.

So, when I went to get gas for the van late last night, I stopped at our neighborhood convenience store with a coupon for three cents off per gallon from a competitor. The store is in an area I grew up in whose demographics have shifted from white, blue collar workers to recent African emigrants and former Mexican migrant workers who have chosen to stay in the US. Some people think it’s “not a safe neighborhood”. A student from the school I work at was gunned down a month ago during a fight three blocks up the road from the convenience store.

After I was gassed up, paid and was headed to the van, I saw a couple of black boys. One of them was totally freaking out, whipping his black hooded sweatshirt around and screaming swear words while his friend laughed at him.

Truly frightening, right? Until I add the following bit of information: he had a junebug on his jacket that wouldn’t let go.

Ever have that happen to you? Those suckers are GROSS! I mean, look at that picture above. Creepy! And tenacious. And they fly smack into your screen windows while you’re watching TV and sound like a bullet hitting a window when they bounce off.

That was when I saw it. People have changed. Demographics have changed. Language has changed. The church has changed.

But in the grand scheme of things, in the eternity eyes of God, it’s all the same. We are fallen sinners, destined for destruction if we continue to live without Christ.

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

It doesn’t matter if we’re “emerging” or sitting in our pews oblivious, if we are in Christ, we are free. Can you be in your pew, oblivious and still be in Christ? Yes. Can you be emerging and be out of Christ? Yes.

Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For it is by GRACE you have been saved by faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the free gift of God, not as a result of works that no one should boast.”

(So, it’s OK to sit on our butts and do nothing then? Is that what I’m saying? Nope. But if you’re reading this and you think you heard me say that, then I must have said it. To you at least. And what you do with that is up to you.) More on this subject…next time!

image: http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blogimages/ddm/June23JuneBug01.jpg