I did find it interesting that a Christian Standard author would use my report from the GA for Word and Way as fodder for his article. I'm not sure he understood what I was trying to say. As for me, I believe our commitment to unity and to diversity are strengths. That there is flexibility is a strength, though at times it can be a weakness. You are also correct that our lean toward universalism is not the reason for our discomfort with evangelism. One can be a universalist and share the good news of Jesus. Now, I agree, when I get together with my good friend who is Hindu next week for coffee I probably won't try to convert her. But she knows that my interfaith engagement is deeply rooted in my faith in Jesus (as do my Muslim and Jewish friends).
I think it's fair to say he's doing the same thing with the term "flexibility" as he is in the other areas I outline -- he's asserting that flexibility is a weakness and leads to decline, and counting on most readers to nod their heads in agreement. He never argues why flexibility is bad, just that anything that steps away from the thin red line of (his definition of) orthodoxy is going to lead inevitably to decline. Again, why? Maybe it does, but it doesn't strike me as an inevitable development.
I left out another riff on how American Legion posts and bowling leagues have declined by the same amounts over the same period, and they didn't "abandon orthodoxy." Trying not to repeat myself too much...
I did find it interesting that a Christian Standard author would use my report from the GA for Word and Way as fodder for his article. I'm not sure he understood what I was trying to say. As for me, I believe our commitment to unity and to diversity are strengths. That there is flexibility is a strength, though at times it can be a weakness. You are also correct that our lean toward universalism is not the reason for our discomfort with evangelism. One can be a universalist and share the good news of Jesus. Now, I agree, when I get together with my good friend who is Hindu next week for coffee I probably won't try to convert her. But she knows that my interfaith engagement is deeply rooted in my faith in Jesus (as do my Muslim and Jewish friends).
I think it's fair to say he's doing the same thing with the term "flexibility" as he is in the other areas I outline -- he's asserting that flexibility is a weakness and leads to decline, and counting on most readers to nod their heads in agreement. He never argues why flexibility is bad, just that anything that steps away from the thin red line of (his definition of) orthodoxy is going to lead inevitably to decline. Again, why? Maybe it does, but it doesn't strike me as an inevitable development.
I left out another riff on how American Legion posts and bowling leagues have declined by the same amounts over the same period, and they didn't "abandon orthodoxy." Trying not to repeat myself too much...
One of the Regional Ministers at General Board mentioned to me that he had been sent the article. So, apparently it is getting noticed.
I want to grow, start new churches, and see people encounter saving faith in Christ Jesus. Just wanted Cincinnati to know we exist.
To the "Standard," you are a unicorn. Mythical, unlikely to be seen in the wild.
Thank you, Jeff. May I share this with my elders at New Hope?
Certainly. Whatever is beneficial to the body as a whole!
Thank you.
Not without the express written consent of Major League Baseball