Eric Barger on How to spot the Emergent Church in your church

[billiefan2000]

HOW TO SPOT THE EMERGENT
CHURCH IN YOUR CHURCH


Here is a short list of authors, teachers and areas
of concern that may indicate that the leadership of
your church is being influenced to varying extents
by Emergent Church philosophy.



* Are books or videos by teachers such as Brian
McLaren, Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt or Tony Jones
being recommended or used in classes, home
groups or church services?


These men began by
simply questioning the authority of the Bible and
the orthodox nature of Christian doctrine and
have now redefined what they call Christianity
into a completely cultic, yet loosely defined and
identified, religion.


It is a genuine oxymoron that the wildly unorthodox
ideas taught by these men could be as readily
accepted as they are in supposedly “Evangelical”
churches, seminaries and even entire denominations.




* Have biblical doctrines such as salvation by
grace, repentance and the reality of a literal Hell
been marginalized or abandoned?


Is there a constant
insistence that the Church must abandon
history and orthodox teaching and change our
methods in order to be relevant to the postmodern
world?


It is a completely flawed concept to believe that
postmoderns are somehow different than all generations
before them and that if we are to reach
them then we must change.


Sin in the hearts of
men is still the problem and the Cross is still the
antidote! God has entrusted us with the ONLY
message that can cure the sickness of sin. Who
are we to change the message?


We must lovingly
and accurately deliver the whole Gospel
regardless of how it may be accepted and remember
that it is the Holy Spirit’s task to draw men to
Jesus – not ours.


To edit the Gospel – regardless
of how well-intentioned – is to thwart the Holy
Spirit’s work and merely assures the eternal damnation
of those we seek to reach. (Romans 1:16)



* Is Contemplative Prayer/Spirituality being introduced
and practiced?


Is there talk of “Spiritual
Formation,” centering prayer and something
called “lectio divina” which, in a nutshell, is leading
Evangelicals directly into the mystical and
sometimes occult-based practices of the Roman
Church? Have you heard the term “labyrinth”?



(An usually intricate maze to meditate in, with
basis in Greek, Egyptian and Cretan Mythology
and used in Tantric Buddhism.)


Mystics contend that utilizing a labyrinth will supposedly bring a
relaxed mental attitude and end the search for
life’s meaning!


In reality, this road leads to New
Age mysticism and even the occult, as does the
popular Emergent practice of Yoga.



A few popular contemplative adherents are

Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Leonard Sweet, Thomas
Keating, Richard Foster and Frank Viola

* Have buzzword phrases like “Missional Christianity,”
“Incarnational Christianity,” “Conversational
Christianity” and “Relational Christianity”


been attached to the identity of your church?


* Have the teachings of Open Source, Open Theism
or Process Theology been embraced?


(Open Theism teaches that God knows the past and lives
in the present but has no idea of what the future
holds. Obviously, this destroys every prophetic
passage in the Bible – including the blessed hope
of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.)



* Is there a new, uncanny identification with saving
planet Earth? Has environmentalism become
common pulpit rhetoric?


(Brian McLaren contends
that it is Earth – and not unregenerate humans
– that Christ came to save.)



* Perhaps the most important question to ask is
about the authority of the Scriptures. In your
church, is the Bible held in utmost regard by
those in leadership? Is the inerrancy of the Bible
preached faithfully?

Is there a complete and unapologetic
dependence on God’s Word by those
in leadership?



The growth of liberalism and
Emergent ideas is directly proportionate to the
value placed on the Scriptures by individuals and
church leaders.



Without an unwavering accountability
to the Word of God, every individual
Christian, as well as every local church and national
denomination, will soon find themselves in
jeopardy.




WHAT TO DO IF EMERGENT IS IN YOUR CHURCH

* Prayer (conduct Spiritual Warfare!)
* Dialog (ask questions)
* Confront (Matthew 18)
* Warn Others!
* Flee! (when all else fails)


What we see happening in the Church today is no
shock to those who study prophecy.



The Scriptures
are replete with warnings about false teaching
and false teachers. Jesus alone warns of this
an amazing 14 times; Paul and Peter, too.


A great
end-time apostasy is indeed going to sweep
through the Church preceding the return of the
Lord. I believe that before the spirit of Antichrist
is finished, error will be the norm in allegedly
“Christian” circles and orthodoxy will be the oddity.



But as overwhelming as it may seem, I guarantee
that you are not alone!


If you are alarmed at even the subtle Emergent
influences at work in your church, so are many
others who are battling for the very life of their
local churches and even their denominations.



Many biblical Christians are making the same
stands that you are faced with making. God will
indeed lead you as you hold faithfully to His
Word, as you witness and as you pray.


Great is
the reward for those who walk with Jesus and
follow the command to contend for the authentic
faith (Jude 3). Don’t quit!


http://www.ericbarger.com/How_to_Spo...ent_Church.pdf

[skywalker]

Maybe most churches will be in the state that the sanhedrin were in when Christ came the first time. Makes you wonder how many will really be raptured.

[billiefan2000]

I believe ur right skywalker

[arapahoepark]

Yeah That's totally what I believe. Even though there are supposedly 1.5 to 2 Billion Christians in the world I seriously doubt even a majority are born again believers

The term fundamentalist conjures up ideas of terrorism and cult following and the term evangelical means nothing, even orthodox and you hear of neo-orthodoxy and that is nothing even close.....