imagining how the church can reorient around mission

“By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have been a Christian for a long time now. I became an ardent follower of Jesus at 21, 40 years ago. During those days there was fresh fire and unquenchable faith. There was also not just a little bit of arrogance and desire for certainty. Also, during those days I listened to several Bible teachers on the radio (that’s what you did then). One of those was John McArthur. He was sure and brave…and “biblical.” Everything I was looking for. But, even in the cocky, more youthful version of me, I quickly began to sense his hard, and non-humble take on things. He was the only one “right” in the world. I also quickly discovered that he had a very unyielding theological grid in which he read the Bible through. This came off as very ungenerous and very ungracious toward others. It became most evident to me in a book he published called, “The Charismatics.” A book in which his deductive approach (I’ve pre-settled the issue, now I will interpret the Bible to prove my opinion) was clearly exposed. It was incredibly stilted in its hermeneutic. After combing through it several times, I reasoned that it was nonsense. He built a fence of fear around the full-life of the Spirit for scores of good-hearted Christians who hung on his words as gospel. Even as a young pastor, I intuitively felt like there was something more going on. Almost a vendetta. I turned the radio off. I stopped listening. read more

By Holly

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