Funamentalist...Evangelical...Emergent...Emerging...Conservative...
Christian churches and speakers like labeling one another. We discover a few things about what a church believes or, more often, how a church operates and we label them. And the labels we use are many. But are these labels really effective? Do they do what they are intended to do?
I like labels on soup. It's good to know when I grab the can off the shelf if I'm getting Chicken Noodle or Cream of Celery. Before cracking it open, the label clearly identifies what I going to get. Barring some freak accident at Campbell's, I'll never open a can of Tomato and somehow get Cheese and Broccoli. Soup labels clearly identify the product.
Not so with our modern church labels.
Just try to get a clear definition of the term "Fundamental." I'm a part of a fundamentalist forum where we are endless debating the definition of fundamentalism! No one seems to know exactly what it takes to be a "fundamentalist" or what it takes to cease to be a “fundamentalist”. The same would be true of the term "Evangelical" or...well just pick your label! And the labels have different meanings to different people. They even change depending upon your geographical location. What may be "progressive" in the Bible belt would be considered "conservative" on the west coast.
For example, there are many who are trying to fully understand and clarify the emerging or emergent church. Dr. Doug Brown identifies the problem of defining the movement in his article entitled "The Emerging Church: The New Worldly Church"; "Leaders and proponents within the emerging church seem to relish the fact that the emerging church eludes defining. Much of their literature is intentionally slippery and vague, often raising more questions than answers." The point? "Emerging" cannot be clearly defined therefore it does little to clearly identify a ministry.
I understand that sometimes labels are helpful, so I'm not advocating completely abandoning them. However, I think they can make a person lazy. Since “so-and-so” says that a certain church is “emerging” then we throw them in the bad box without doing any research ourselves. Or we read an article where Dr. “what’s-his-name” declares that radio preacher leans “more evangelical than fundamental” and we think, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t listen to him.”
In my opinion, we are called be God to be more diligent that that (2 Tim. 2:15). We should thoroughly study God’s Word, listen carefully to a person, read a ministry’s doctrinal standing, and then compare them to God’s Word! For sure there are some things the Bible would say we are to separate from. But to please God in this area it takes study, time, and hard work. But diligent study is what God has called us to do! Not lazy labeling!
I guess what I’m saying is that we need to practice the biblical teaching of separation with more effort than we give making soup.
I like labels on soup. It's good to know when I grab the can off the shelf if I'm getting Chicken Noodle or Cream of Celery. Before cracking it open, the label clearly identifies what I going to get. Barring some freak accident at Campbell's, I'll never open a can of Tomato and somehow get Cheese and Broccoli. Soup labels clearly identify the product.
Not so with our modern church labels.
Just try to get a clear definition of the term "Fundamental." I'm a part of a fundamentalist forum where we are endless debating the definition of fundamentalism! No one seems to know exactly what it takes to be a "fundamentalist" or what it takes to cease to be a “fundamentalist”. The same would be true of the term "Evangelical" or...well just pick your label! And the labels have different meanings to different people. They even change depending upon your geographical location. What may be "progressive" in the Bible belt would be considered "conservative" on the west coast.
For example, there are many who are trying to fully understand and clarify the emerging or emergent church. Dr. Doug Brown identifies the problem of defining the movement in his article entitled "The Emerging Church: The New Worldly Church"; "Leaders and proponents within the emerging church seem to relish the fact that the emerging church eludes defining. Much of their literature is intentionally slippery and vague, often raising more questions than answers." The point? "Emerging" cannot be clearly defined therefore it does little to clearly identify a ministry.
I understand that sometimes labels are helpful, so I'm not advocating completely abandoning them. However, I think they can make a person lazy. Since “so-and-so” says that a certain church is “emerging” then we throw them in the bad box without doing any research ourselves. Or we read an article where Dr. “what’s-his-name” declares that radio preacher leans “more evangelical than fundamental” and we think, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t listen to him.”
In my opinion, we are called be God to be more diligent that that (2 Tim. 2:15). We should thoroughly study God’s Word, listen carefully to a person, read a ministry’s doctrinal standing, and then compare them to God’s Word! For sure there are some things the Bible would say we are to separate from. But to please God in this area it takes study, time, and hard work. But diligent study is what God has called us to do! Not lazy labeling!
I guess what I’m saying is that we need to practice the biblical teaching of separation with more effort than we give making soup.
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