Clarification on "Boxes"

Based on some questions I've received, I need to make sure that nobody believes I am advocating the "Emergent Church" movement.

The Emergent movement is, in my opinion, nothing more than political correctness gone mad INSIDE the church. For a basic understanding of the Emergent movement, in essense they say that as the world (& culture) has changed, the church should change (or emerge) to meet the world. While this may sound like a good thing, we must make ourselves aware of what that really means in the context of the Emergent movement.

In a post-modern world (Post-modernism can be thought of as a dissolution of "cold, hard fact" in favor of "warm, fuzzy subjectivity."), the norm is compromise for the purpose of ecumenism (unity among people coming from different religious and ethnic backgrounds and diversity in the expression of corporate worship). Unity sounds like a great thing. I mean, nobody (especially Christians) should be fighting with each other. Unity, at the peril of the Truth, is NOT of God. We are called to be "set apart" from the world, not compromise for the sake of getting along and not rocking the boat. If we are strangers and aliens, why would we want to blend in?

Emerging churches are teaching "experience over reason, subjectivity over objectivity, spirituality over religion, images over words, outward over inward, feelings over truth." Since experience is more valuable than reason, Truth has become relative. Because feelings are more important than truth, everything biblical is subjective. There can be NO absolutes any more. This is a result of our PC world, where we cannot offend anyone...especially with Truth. Emergent thought is not of God because He is absolutely Holy. He hasn't changed. He is no different today than when He said "I AM."

In "Boxes", my point is that we (the church) have become a country club and a place of exclusivity. We love our traditions; our legacy. We are comfortable and complacent. We like our status, both in the community and in the church. Folks, the people we see every Sunday are NOT the people we're supposed to be reaching with the Gospel. We should be ministering to each other inside the church while reaching out to those on the "fringes of society," because they are the ones who are being left out.

Jesus died for people with tattoos. Jesus died for people with piercings. He died for the poor and destitute. He died for people who don't look like you. He died for people who DO look like you.

Jesus sacrificed Himself. He gave up His rightful place at the right hand of God, to take upon Himself the penalty for the sins of everyone who has ever lived or ever will live. He paid MY price. He paid YOURS.

Jesus paid Hitler's price, too. He paid for Osama bin Ladin. He paid for Jeffery Dahmer.

The difference between Hitler, bin Ladin, Dahmer, and myself is that I have accepted the FREE GIFT of salvation. I humbly accept Jesus' payment on my behalf. My debt has been paid. I know that I don't deserve it, and but for the Grace of God, I could be another Hitler, bin Ladin, or Dahmer. I am well aware of the depth of my own depravity. This is the Truth that is compromised in the Emergent movement. This Truth must not be compromised.

If we, the church, were consistently more aware of the Truth, there would be no reason to focus on differences between denominations. We would be able to see the only difference that matters: our salvation versus the lost condition of the world around us. If I am as grateful as I should be, then my greatest desire should be to share, with as many as possible, the FREEDOM I have been given through the Cross.