At this moment, the church in Malaysia is theologically conservative.. For all our differences about tongues, clapping, grape juice, baby baptism etc. there are at least two things that unite us...
1) We believe that we are justified by grace alone through faith in Christ alone
2) We believe that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Put positively, we believe the bible is trustworthy and reliable.
Both pillars of this 'evangelical consensus' have fallen on hard times. For most of us, it's barely noticeable but the ground is slowly but surely shifting.
(Sometimes, I am actually thankful that not much theology comes out from the pulpit. Ignorance can be an effective defense, but it will not capture the hearts of future leaders)
Many people who no longer hold these forts do so because they feel they are doing something positive for the Church.
But before we join the rush away from these 'boundarymarkers', we'd do well to consider McLaren's call that our theology oughta be done in context of missions.
An actual survey was done on 2 groups of denominations/organisation over a period of 16 years. The number of missionaries in Group A dwindled from abt 2000 to 1500 while Group B increased from abt 18,000 to 23,000. Both groups had about the same size/resources.
The only difference is theology. Group A is relatively liberal while Group B is conservative (Wycliffe, Southern Baptist convention, etc)
This is a modern day parable. And those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
1) We believe that we are justified by grace alone through faith in Christ alone
2) We believe that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Put positively, we believe the bible is trustworthy and reliable.
Both pillars of this 'evangelical consensus' have fallen on hard times. For most of us, it's barely noticeable but the ground is slowly but surely shifting.
(Sometimes, I am actually thankful that not much theology comes out from the pulpit. Ignorance can be an effective defense, but it will not capture the hearts of future leaders)
Many people who no longer hold these forts do so because they feel they are doing something positive for the Church.
But before we join the rush away from these 'boundarymarkers', we'd do well to consider McLaren's call that our theology oughta be done in context of missions.
An actual survey was done on 2 groups of denominations/organisation over a period of 16 years. The number of missionaries in Group A dwindled from abt 2000 to 1500 while Group B increased from abt 18,000 to 23,000. Both groups had about the same size/resources.
The only difference is theology. Group A is relatively liberal while Group B is conservative (Wycliffe, Southern Baptist convention, etc)
This is a modern day parable. And those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Comments
And does liberal = charismatic? Any sources of the data?
Thanks! :D