For the past two years I have intended to respond prophetically to the statistical report sent out to the congregations of the CGGC. Both times, the emotion became so intense that my spiritual wires got crossed and the static in my soul became so loud that I was stymied.
What has come down from the mountain reeks of institutionalism, ecclesiolatry, high church-ism, Medievalism, "to talk-ism," organized hypocrisy, cheap grace and a false church-based definition of righteousness.
I will attempt to illustrate these realities in a number of shorter posts
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For the moment, I will start here with a big picture rhetorical question:
Since our mission--to which even the mountaintoppers must submit--involves establishing churches on the New Testament plan, have you noticed how much of what the Scorecard values has absolutely no authority from the New Testament and derives either from recent fads or Middle Ages Roman Catholicism?
There are dozens of examples of theologically corrupt and bankrupt values evident in the Scorecard. Here is what is probably the lowest hanging fruit:
ReplyDeleteSince our we are ONe Mission to establish churches on the New Testament plan, where is even a micro-spec of authority to practice "child dedication" services?
Note the unabashed lack of biblical support for the practice.
What does it say about our leadership that this practice is tracked in the Scorecard when, clearly, there is no New Testament "rule" to justify it?
For me, this is evidence of rampant popism--the practice of people or one person asserting their/his authority over even that of the Word of God.
I counted. It takes the mountaintoppers 99 words to explain how to determine the average number of people in weekly worship. None of this stuff, as far as I can tell, can be traced to what Jesus did or taught.
ReplyDeleteThis strikes me as the same sort of heavy burden the Pharisees put on their disciples. It also smells of shepherds attempting to make the thing that is unique to their gift to be the essence of all life in the kingdom. This is what makes out shepherds a mafia.
Thinking About the Standard of Realism set by the eNews
ReplyDeleteI read every issue of the eNews. And, I know its take on life in the CGGC. Every pastor is a spiritual giant, every church is a dynamic force for mission. There are no dissonant voices, no controversies. There is perfect communion among the saints.
How realistic is the universe portrayed there?
With eNews as context, how honestly and realistically do you suppose the typical pastor and leadership team will respond to, for instance, "We are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?"
There is a culture of dishonesty that is fruit of the way CGGC mountaintoppers portray themselves and the fruit their labor produces. And, the fruit of that dishonesty is the lesson to all that honesty and realism are out of place in the ministry of the CGGC.
What purpose will be served by these questions. Who will answer them accurately?
We must repent.
One of the items of self examination under the "mission metrics" section goes:
ReplyDeleteWe seek to understand and serve our local community.
This is classic CGGC Shepherd Mafia faddism.
Think about it. When did Jesus do that? Where does He teach it? He spent most of His time in remote places and He dealt with people as individuals.
Where in the "New Testament plan" do you see early Christians dealing with their communities on the level of community?
The answer in both cases? Nowhere.
You and I are called to be followers of Jesus and take Him into the world as individual witnesses and ambassadors. This community stuff is shepherdism. It is extremely recent and it is classic faddism.
There is nothing of it in the Word or in our roots in the CGGC!
Just a quick note by way of full disclosure: We tried the local community thing at Faith.
ReplyDeleteWe abandoned it for a few reasons, including the realization that we were showing love and mercy but not making disciples and, ultimately, because we couldn't find authority for it in Jesus' talk and action or in the Book of Acts.
"We tithe time, talent, and treasure outside the local congregation."
ReplyDeleteOf everything in the scorecard, this is, by far, the most evil concept. It is unbiblical and it is vile.
For servants of a Lord who commands that we love our neighbors as ourselves, the suggestion that we merely tithe outside the congregation is an absolute abomination.
Speaking for ourselves, we give virtually everything and could not settle for less. AND, we believe the Lord asks nothing less.
IMO, if your congregation merely tithes outside of itself, it is unholy and you and your pastor(s) may be in for a rude awakening on the Day. For sure, most CGGC congregations don't do even that. But, there was a time when many of them exceeded this tithe. This is one reason I decry our spiritual state and condemn our mountaintoppers who create with no biblical authority such an unrighteous standard.
Think people, think. What, based on the Word, is right about this?
This tithing of time, talent and treasure thing fascinates me. It falls under the category of theological corruption as opposed to theological bankruptcy. It is dangerous heresy because if you do it you will be defying both the teachings and example of Jesus and the first disciples.
ReplyDeleteThis fascinates me because this example of theological corruption doesn't come from the usual source. The usual source is traditions that can be traced to Catholicism in the Middle Ages. For example, the dedication of children is a poor man's sacrament of infant baptism.
But, the notion that a local parish should tithe money and resources to its community is certainly not a high church thing. This heresy is a bit of an outlier for the Rosenberrians. Honestly, I can't guess where it comes from. It was not an MLI thing the time I did MLI.
If anyone has a theory, I'd love to hear it.
Just a quick note of explanation on the difference between theological bankruptcy and theological corruption.
ReplyDeleteTheological bankruptcy, in this context, has to do with actions or thoughts that are at odds with foundational theological concepts. For instance, in the CGGC, our mission is to establish churches on the New Testament plan and the first statement of our faith has the Bible being our "only" "rule."
So, anything we teach or do beyond the pattern or teaching of the New Testament is theologically bankrupt.
Theological corruption, then, is something that is simply heretical or disobedient without specific reference to the CGGC universe. A clear example is the tithing of time, talent and treasure in the face of Jesus' teaching of wholehearted love for God and neighbor.
There is too much of this in the CGGC of 2015.
Think, for a moment of the story of Jesus coming to earth, of the spare accounts of the places He lived in His infancy and childhood and of the Gospels' descriptions of the places He stayed and traveled during His ministry. Think of the sort of people He invited to share His earthly life. Think about the opulence--or lack of it--of the values that He pursued on the earth.
ReplyDeleteNow, based on what you know, think about what Martin Luther revolted against, the height of the religion of the Middle Ages, the churchly wealth, the extravagant lifestyles of the Popes and the priests and, specifically, the capital campaign to, again, enhance the wealth of the Pope and his Bishops.
Now, read the 2014 LOCAL CHURCH FINANCIAL REVIEW in the 2014 CGGC Scorecard.
What value system does it resemble? The one of Jesus or Middle Ages popery?
We talk New Testament plan and the Bible as our only rule but we walk the religion of past Popes.
Hypocrisy.
Theological bankruptcy.
We should be ashamed.
We must repent.
One characteristic of the current crop of CGGC mountaintoppers is that they are enamored with fads.
ReplyDeleteOne way they do this fingernails on a chalk irritating to me. It is the inappropriate adoption of fad language and applying it to the CGGC.
The, faddishly dubbed, um, SCORECARD asks us to assess mission "metrics" in the church. This term is ripped off of Reggie McNeal via MLI.
A metric is a measure of quantity, of something that can be counted. How many meters did you run today, for instance.
However, in the, um, SCORECARD we are asked to "count," "We are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Inane.
Nonsensical.
Foolish.
Faddish.
Meaningless.
Typical.
In fact, that actual metrics are as old, traditional and internally focused as they have ever been: Membership, attendance, professions of faith [not very New Testament language but very shepherdy], baptisms, child dedications.
ReplyDeleteNot a lot of missionality there, eh?
Talk about theological corruption!
ReplyDeleteI've been reading over the explanation of how we "meter" our success in making and mentoring disciples. Think about what Jesus says about the prerequisites for even beginning the life of a disciple: Hatred of those most beloved by you, self-denial, cross carrying. Now, imagine what a body which sets the example and teaching of Jesus aside in favor of what is comfy to shepherds living as parish priests and bishops. Then read the instructions foe the scorecard. Guess what you see. No surprise. You see no Christ and all Christendom.