Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Values: Do Christians Think Biblically?

I receive mailings from all different parachurch ministries.  Most of the time, they desire to promote the reason they exist and why as a church we should invest time and or finances to support them.  I am not trying to demonize these ministries; many have an important role to play (Though, I always wonder if we could consolidate a few).

Anyway, I received a letter that stated the purpose of the ministry.  They listed four values and one Biblical reference to support each one.  Granted, many churches do the same thing.  The church I am a member of does something similar. Feel free to check it out at Auburn Alliance Church under ‘Belief’ in the menu bar. 

I wonder though if such a thing is always necessary, especially if such an exercise does not seem to take the time to think critically of what the ministry believes and why.  Here are the four values and in italics my two cents worth.

The Expectation of God-Moments
We believe that God is at work all around us.  Eph. 2:10 – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The verse quoted contextually does not deal with the works of God, but informing the Christian that they are to do good works because we belong to God.  How exactly does it deal with “God-Moments?”


The Life of Integrity
We believe that how we live is more important than what we say.  Gal. 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

How does Gal. 2:20 support the statement prior to the scriptural quote?  Does not what we say is just as important?  Jesus states that it is not what we put into our mouths but what comes out that defiles a person, Mark 7:20.  Neither Jesus nor Paul ever separates the two, so why should we start?

The Discipline of Excellence
We believe in serving that exceeds expectations.  Col. 3:17 – And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This is the best of the four values.  It does make sense.

The Priority of Children
We believe that Every Child is a Winner.  Matt. 18:14 – In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

I am not against children.  I have four of my own.  How does the salvation of a child have anything to do with this ministry’s position regarding the self-esteem of the child?

In my opinion, the ministry team that put this together did not take the needed time or the best approach in assessing their values through the lens of Scripture.  What are your thoughts?

PuritanD

1 comment:

  1. I could not agree more. Very, very weak. It is an embarrassing example of the Biblical ignorance we face on a massive scale in the Church.

    ReplyDelete