What the hell is going on? Yes that doesn't sound "Christian" and it is not meant to be. My specific goals with my blogs are to be honest with the facts I have, hard hitting, holding no punches and to serve as an Ambassador for Christ.
I attend a "non-denominational" church and we believe the Bible as the infallible Word of God, and accept ALL of the teachings that it contains. This includes the "gifts of the Spirit," such as healing intercession for others, and prophecy.
Some years back, a visiting Evangelist proclaimed that there will come a day when Pastors will no longer preach the Word of God, and ordinary people will have to stand up and proclaim their faith. I see the church in general in very bad shape. Many Pastors are not teaching the entire Word of God, and many are offering watered down versions of the Gospel and teaching "Be Happy!" instead of Be Saved!
Honestly, this is why I decided to start this organization, and spend time blogging about Politics and the Christian Religion in the United States today.
This is an old story, but it has come to my attention today and has confirmed to me that Liberalism and Satan has infiltrated the church, and that some Congregations out there are in danger of finding themselves not among the redeemed, but the lost.
The church is losing it's focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and some congregations are adopting the false view that there is more than one way to Heaven. Really! That's not what the Bible teaches, and if you are in a congregation that accepts and welcomes sin and immorality, or believes that there are many ways to God, you are sadly mistaken, and no matter what your view is, it is in opposition to the Word of God. Are you people making up your own gods as they do in India where they have one million three hundred thousand gods?
This brings me to today's post. Yesterday morning I was watching a television ministry in the background as I was doing research, and a story made my ears perk up. I believe that the story may be dated, but it's the importance of what I heard that has me commenting here.
The cross atop the bell tower of this formerly Christian church in Spring Lake, Michigan has been removed, as has "Christ" from the congregation's name. The congregation has been re christened "C3 Exchange," preferring to be identified as neither Christian nor church; rather, they seek to be an "inclusive spiritual community," promising to "honor all spiritual paths" and accept you "for who and where you are." Whether your tradition is Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Islam, agnostic, atheist, or anything in between, C3 Exchange offers to free you from what its leaders view as the dogmatic baggage of traditional religion for a chance to grow in the safety of their big tent.
Am I alone in asking "What the hell?" This is a deception from the gates of Hell, and I alone am declaring this congregation and Pastor to be apostates, and warn that what they are doing is against everything the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob stands for. Does their communion consist of a Big Mac and a Coke?
The congregation broke ties with the Reformed Church of America in 1996, after the local governing body censured then-pastor Richard Rhem for teaching that salvation is available to non-Christians. The community chose to secede and operate as an independent Christian church.
Their direction took a dramatic turn in 2004 when Rhem retired and was succeeded by Ian Lawton, a former Anglican priest with a deep concern for people not in the pews--and a marked disdain for hierarchy and structure. Lawton left his native Australia for the chance to lead an independent church free of ecclesiastical authority. Giddy that he no longer had a bishop to answer to, Lawton had a miter placed on his head during his installation, while assuring the assembly he was not merely poking fun at Catholics. "I find the Episcopal Church or Anglican Church just as hilarious as the Catholic Church," he quipped in his inaugural sermon. "In fact, I find all denominations equally hilarious in their structures and their hierarchies."
The Pastor of this "community" advocates access to abortion, embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage-and not merely as personal opinions. They preach it from the pulpit, and have put the Christ Community Church congregational stamp on campaigns for Michigan ballot initiatives to lend their support for these causes. In his sermon of May 23, 2010 Lawton formally announced plans to remove the cross. "Don't look back, where the past lures you into ancient beliefs about not being good enough or needing a savior from outside of you." While embracing certain aspects of the Christian tradition, Lawton rejects its central tenet of the need for a savior--and he urges his community to reject it as well, contradicting the promise to "honor all spiritual paths.
In John 14:6, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." And Lawton says this isn't true? To believe otherwise compromises the entire basis of our faith. This is a universal truth that cannot be denied, but the sole universal truth C3 Exchange professes is love-which Lawton calls the "glue" that holds them together. The cross will be replaced with a heart, which he believes to be a fuller symbol of love than a cross.
In attempting to do due diligence, I have discovered that Pastor Lawton has placed the church building up for sale because of financial difficulties. This was reported in the Grand Haven Tribune on May 23, 2011, but according to their web site, C3 Exchange is meeting elsewhere.
According to the High Point Enterprise, more of this garbage cropped up nine months ago when Durham, NC pastor was fired for proclaiming he no longer believes in the traditional view of hell as a real place of eternal damnation, teeming with fire and brimstone.
The pastor, the Rev. Chad Holtz, was let go by his rural United Methodist church after he wrote a note on his Facebook page indicating he no longer subscribed to that traditional view of hell. Instead, he wrote, he agrees with author Rob Bell, whose controversial book “Love Wins” says churches that espouse belief in hell are “misguided and toxic.”
Local pastors, however, say their view of the Bible and its truths about hell haven't changed – nor will they change – despite an obvious shift in culture toward a kinder, gentler God.
“I’m not a sadist – I don't enjoy the concept of hell – but I dare not tamper with the words of Jesus,” says the Rev. Steve Welborn, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Archdale. “He said more words about hell than he said about heaven. ... I think it was C.S. Lewis who said, ‘Hell is not just a bad hotel.’ I think we need to be very careful about lessening what Jesus held firmly to.”
Chris Fitzgerald, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in High Point – the same denomination as the Durham pastor who lost his job – says that John Wesley, credited as a founder of the Methodist movement, certainly believed in hell.
“John Wesley simply said we give Scripture primacy, and Jesus spoke about hell,” Fitzgerald explains. “It’s defined in Scripture in terms of a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, as outer darkness, as the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. But there’s a common thread running through all of that, and that is that hell is depicted as a place or state of being separated from God.” Welborn reiterates that, just because people don't believe in hell like they once did, that doesn't change the truth.
Photograph courtesy of integrallife.com
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