2008: A year of anger, rebuke and rebellion?
Captain Sensible writes: It doesn't sound very "Christlike" does it? Pronouncing a year of anger, rebuke and rebellion. Well, think again. Jesus didn't come to earth as some "meek and mild" hippy that contemporary Christianity feels safe with. It's time to put away such childish things. As Paul Coughlin writes in No More Christian Nice Guy: When Being Nice--Instead of Good--Hurts Men, Women And Children, Jesus wasn't "nice", He was/is "good".
We should all stop trying to be nice and instead embrace being good. And, as Jesus and people throughout the Bible show, that sometimes means getting angry, rebuking bad or cowardly behaviour and rebelling against the comfortable, cosy, status quo.
I like this passage on Amazon from a review of the Coughlin book:
'It's the author's contention that male believers have fallen prey to passivity, and also follow an emasculated parody of Christ. His strong face-offs against the Pharisees and other confrontational moments are ignored. Instead, today's "gentle Jesus" kind of man shows no emotion and has no backbone. Many believe that it's better to be a "Christian Nice Guy" (CNG) for the sake of "harmonious fellowship." Rebuke is labeled as "unloving," so people are allowed to continue along harmful paths without needed correction. Risks are avoided in favor of "praying about it first," so crucial ministries go unfilled. And Christian men seeking to be equally yoked are labeled as "predators" by sisters who consider dating a swear word.'
Be prepared to be unpopular at your church in 2008. Be prepared to be rebellious. Be prepared to receive erroneous contentment lectures. Be prepared to be treated worse by other Christians than you would be in the world. Be prepared to "do church" in a different way, if need be. Be prepared to have one or two allies only at best. Be prepared to be a target for the enemy (so be careful about embarking on this unless you are strong in your faith, steadfast in your commitment to the Lord, and disciplined in your expression of it in terms of regular prayer times and Bible reading!) Then choose to be part of a global movement for change in 2008!
Exciting, isn't it? (And maybe you felt sad at the turn of the year, believing in your heart that the new year would probably just bring the same old, same old... Ha! That's what the enemy wants you to believe! Think again, my friends, think again!)
We should all stop trying to be nice and instead embrace being good. And, as Jesus and people throughout the Bible show, that sometimes means getting angry, rebuking bad or cowardly behaviour and rebelling against the comfortable, cosy, status quo.
I like this passage on Amazon from a review of the Coughlin book:
'It's the author's contention that male believers have fallen prey to passivity, and also follow an emasculated parody of Christ. His strong face-offs against the Pharisees and other confrontational moments are ignored. Instead, today's "gentle Jesus" kind of man shows no emotion and has no backbone. Many believe that it's better to be a "Christian Nice Guy" (CNG) for the sake of "harmonious fellowship." Rebuke is labeled as "unloving," so people are allowed to continue along harmful paths without needed correction. Risks are avoided in favor of "praying about it first," so crucial ministries go unfilled. And Christian men seeking to be equally yoked are labeled as "predators" by sisters who consider dating a swear word.'
Be prepared to be unpopular at your church in 2008. Be prepared to be rebellious. Be prepared to receive erroneous contentment lectures. Be prepared to be treated worse by other Christians than you would be in the world. Be prepared to "do church" in a different way, if need be. Be prepared to have one or two allies only at best. Be prepared to be a target for the enemy (so be careful about embarking on this unless you are strong in your faith, steadfast in your commitment to the Lord, and disciplined in your expression of it in terms of regular prayer times and Bible reading!) Then choose to be part of a global movement for change in 2008!
Exciting, isn't it? (And maybe you felt sad at the turn of the year, believing in your heart that the new year would probably just bring the same old, same old... Ha! That's what the enemy wants you to believe! Think again, my friends, think again!)
posted by Captain Sensible at 2:53 AM
1 Comments:
Well said Captain.
Post a Comment
<< Home