Quoting myself in an off-the-blog conversation about the biblical foundation for the new New Strategic Plan provided by Jim Moss at the Conference gathering this past Saturday:
"...the ideas that the Church can be life-giving or a pastor/parish priest can be life-giving, for me, come right out of the Vatican."
One of the Seven Deadly Choices, contained in the ERC's new New Strategic Plan, that I've been describing, is:
Middle Ages over New Testament.
I didn't hear Jim Moss give his biblical foundation for the new New Strategic Plan but, by now, I've had...am having...two conversations about it and I'm convinced that I understand what is crucial about what Jim did, and didn't, say.
The two recountings I'm receiving are from bright, involved people and those accounts are remarkably similar to each other. And, they are thumbs-up reviews of Jim's remarks.
The argument Jim made, I'm told, is that God is the giver of life. Jesus is the giver of abundant life. Part of our responsibility is to bring the life found in Jesus to the world.
Is there anything objectionable or anti-biblical or theologically corrupt there?
Not necessarily. Not as far as that goes.
However,...
...as soon as the ERC new New Strategic Plan-ners put those principles into practice, they hop into a time machine and they absolutely do not travel to Jesus and the New Testament (plan). As usual, they set the Vatican, Middle Ages as their destination.
As is well-known by now, they focus on three entities:
1. The local church, or parish.
2. The local church pastor, clergyman or parish priest, and
3. The church leadership hierarchy.
As we know:
1. Jesus hardly ever talked about church and, when He did, He never talked about the church in this way.
2. Jesus trained people to be apostles advancing the Kingdom, never, ever clergymen/pastors leading the local church, or parish.
3. In your wildest dreams, can you imagine Jesus suggesting that the Kingdom would be advanced through the work of a churchly leadership hierarchy?
As we also know, if you want to justify healthy, life-giving churches, pastors and hierarchs you will find that thinking, not in the pages of the Bible, but in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages.
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The message of the Gospels is simple and clear. From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God...not the church...and, in light of the appearing of the Kingdom, Jesus called on all people to repent.
There is nothing of the message and ministry of Jesus in the ERC's new New Strategic Plan.
You approved it...
...but, if you love and follow Jesus, I can't guess why.
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