Christians are careful, afraid to call a spade a spade, often accused by present day progressive “cultural Marxist” ‘Critical Theory’ of “being judgmental”, so we often have to walk on eggs. So Alisa Childers unpacks very carefully this new trend in Western Christianity that took over the torch from the ‘Emergent Church’ which kind of petered out.
This MUST WATCH interview is well done. The interviewer asks the right questions, and
Alisa Childers answers them thoroughly, based on her own experiences in a “progressive church”. If you want to know if YOUR church is going down this subtle garden path, make sure to watch it, so you can get some discernment to recognise the little snakes in the grass.
“Progressive Christianity is Dangerous”
What is a “church” or the Church Anyway?
Did you ever realise that in the entire Bible it doesn’t say anywhere “to go to church on Sunday?” But Jesus DID give some other very direct commandments that are kind of ignored by those who stress church attendance, like “GO into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” The church in the WORD is not a building, nor an organisation or denomination, but “church’ comes from the Greek word “Ekklesia” which in those Greek old days meant something like a council of people selected out of the populace to serve the community.and that is the term the Gospel writers chose for the early groups of scattered & persecuted first Christians.
Others say the Church (Capital C) is the body of ALL born again saved believers in Christ, no matter where they are or what they belong to, and Jesus is the Head of the Church in Heaven. The Early Church was a collection of house or home churches that shared all things and were engaged in the spreading of the Gospel. And it seems that we are again going back to those difficult days with the increasing worldwide persecution. Many church buildings and church congregations are being attacked, burned, ransacked, and even members hurt and killed all over the world. Look at France for example.
SO The early churches were not places of worship to congregate once a week to listen to a preacher and a worship band to squint their eyes and wave their arms in the air for an hour. No, they lived and banded together to live active Christian lives to change the world and culture around them with Love and the Gospel from the Word of God. That is quite a different picture. They didn’t “forsake the assembling together” for they loved each other and lived and worked together in sowing and reaping the harvest together. As Jesus said, “Hereby shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”
Now that is a church that is not “progressive” but one that makes progress and spreads the Gospel everywhere and makes disciples of all nations. And mind you, then – in that first century – there was no other kind of church than that. In the consequent centuries they stopped living together and took over the pagan temples, threw out the idols and gathered once a week for services or mass.
In fact our service only begins when we leave the buildings when we go out and reach others with the Gospel, as Jesus Himself did hoofing it on the hot dusty Galilean roads preaching everywhere. As He said to His disciples who just returned from buying bread in town, “I have food to eat you don’t know about”. They said, “Has anyone given him bread to eat?”
Jesus answered, “My food is to do the will of my Father. Don’t say, there are yet 4 months and then comes harvest, for I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the field, for they are already white unto harvest”.
For at that very moment the woman that Jesus had witnessed to before at the well, was returning from town with all her men friends whom she had told about the Messiah! And Jesus saw the white clad crowd coming from afar, and knew that he wouldn’t be able to finish his bite of bread before they arrived and had to start talking with them. As a result they were invited to stay for 2 days in that town, Sychar, where they were wined and dined.
Jesus also said that they would enter into His labor of sowing the seed and that they would be reaping together and enjoying the harvest and wages for their work. Read it for your self in Gospel of John chapter 4. THAT is a picture of a real PROGRESSIVE church, one that makes progress in reaching and taking over the world for the Kingdom of God! Is that the kind of church you belong to? I hope so. Go ye into ALL the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. They that believe and are baptised will be saved,…” Mark 16:15,16.
If you like to be that kind of church member, you are welcome to download our tracts from our site and print them yourself and venture out into your town or city and share them with everyone you meet on your journey. And if they are interested they will ask you questions and ask for the reason of your faith, and then you can share your testimony with them and invite them to pray the Sinners’ prayer…
Dear Jesus, I believe in you, I am a sinner, please forgive me my sins, and please come into my heart and give me your free gift of Eternal Life. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.” And help them thus join the REAL progressive worldwide catholic (universal) Church and Body of Christ and His born again believers.
paradisepostblog.wordpress.com 