As a follow up to ‘The Emergent Church’ and ‘Purpose Driven Ministries’ I have a question for you.
As far as I understand, the particular teachings of these two types of church center around seeking out non-Christians – but water down the Gospel in the process.
If we are not to become involved in this type of ministry, what is our purpose as Christians living in these final days before the rapture? Is it not our duty to spread the Word and do as Jesus instructed ‘…go and make disciples..’?
I feel quite confused regarding this matter. Although I don’t subscribe to ‘purpose driven teachings’, I have always taught my children that we are to be witnesses to God’s grace through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Are we still to reach out to the unsaved or just live our lives as we are? In short – what is God’s will for our lives?
The Lord’s final instruction to His disciples was to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19)
The fault that many find with the Emerging Church movement is that it leaves out the last half of the Great Commission. Since preaching the Gospel could limit their attendance, there is often little or no effort to do so in this movement. The result is that people aren’t being born again and baptized. It’s commendable that they have so many people doing the things that Jesus said to do, but it’s deplorable that they don’t also teach them to believe what Jesus said to believe.
Some leaders in the Emerging Church movement have even said that having congregations made up of at least 50% non-believers is a good thing because in that way a consensus can be built that moves the others away from their traditional evangelical beliefs. Others have said that learning about His return is a distraction from the Church’s work, and therefore we shouldn’t study prophecy.
The Emerging Church claims to want followers of Christ, not just believers, but to get more followers they’ve skipped over the believer part. Jesus said that the one thing God requires of us is that we believe in the one He sent (John 6:29). He also said that many who did great things in His name would be refused entry into the Kingdom, indicating that they lack this one essential quality. (Matt. 7:21)
To mix a couple of metaphors, the emerging church has put the cart before the horse, and is leading many down the wrong path.