Welcome doctrine: church navigational principles

For those who have received seminary training, do you have warm fuzzy feelings about your systematic theology classes? Do Greek vocabulary memorization and parsing evoke the same nostalgic feelings as a song on the radio that sends you back to the good ole days?

Eric Clapton's "Layla" takes me back to the Quakertown swimming pool where I heard it oh-so-often blasting over the AM radio waves

David Brown writes in his book, Serving our French people : the challenge of the emergent church (237): “We want [our contemporaries] to truly hear the good news, in a way that touches their emotions, conscience, imagination, [and] will.”

Consequently, the French Evangelical Alliance group “Gospel and Culture” has set out six principles (see previous entry) for churches that wish to navigate the turbulent waters of a chronically morphing world. They developed these guidelines in an attempt to be faithful to Scripture and in sync with people—unbelievers and believers.

Let's reflect on the first principle:

1/ “We believe we need to bring together the biblical convictions of a professing church with warm welcome toward those who come in contact with that church.”

Some people's opinion of church

I came to Christ at Penn State University. Here's the abridged version:

I met a believer, Bill, on my dorm floor (North Halls); we played intramural football together, stuff like that. He invited me to attend "church" on campus (Schwab Auditorium, see: www.acfpennstate.org). Being a good (no longer practicing) Lutheran, I thought, "Why not?"

I could not tell you what the pastor said. I was simply impacted by the palpable joy that I observed in students who were like me, sort of. So I began my inquiries and the response was, "Well, it's Jesus."

One night I was talking with a girl, also from Quakertown, who had accepted Christ into her life just a few months earlier. As usual the response came back, "It's Jesus." I went into my dorm where a party was going on to which I was invited. I looked in and it was dark. Not just the lack of luminosity, but the atmosphere was dark. I thought, "I don't want this anymore" and invited Jesus into my life.

Phil Keaggy's "Love Broke Thru"

Like a dreamer that was trying to build

A highway to the sky

All my hopes would come tumblin down

And I never knew just why

Until today when You pulled away the clouds

That hung like curtains on my eyes.

I was blind all these wasted years when

I thought I was so wise.

But then You took me by surprise.

Why do I relate this story? My regeneration is a result of the Spirit's work thanks to Christ's death on the cross (yes, I believe in substitutionary atonement). But what brought me to embrace Christ and his finished work was not those indispensable doctrinal truths (and I'm sure there are other people have become Christians through purely intellectual investigation). Rather, I became intrigued with Jesus because people welcomed me, interacted with me, responded patiently to my questions.

Of course this leads to the discussion on "believing to belong" or "belonging to believe," my journey most definitely being the latter. Brown and the Gospel and Culture group emphasize the need to welcome unbelievers through solidarity in our common humanness (as Paul says, “Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to Christ” - 1 Cor.9.22 NLT) while remaining faithful to Truth/Scripture.

Gospel and Culture states, “we seek to…

• insure that our churches are places where people feel welcome…
• promote true dialogue with people who have other worldviews…
• explain the Biblical texts through sound exegesis (not personal/collective opinions that can alienate the very same people we have welcomed)
• recognize honestly the errors of the Church, and even well-meaning believers, throughout history.

Graciousness and Gospel Truth wedded together. How novel…

"Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" John 1:17

And how impossible without the Scriptures AND the Spirit.