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More Elephants.
05.12.08 | Permalink | 1 Comment | 44
My friend Jenn told me that my post, “Elephants in the Room” was not really about elephants in the room. Then I was like “whatever”, and she was like “whatever”, then I stormed off.

Ok, not really.

I suppose I did deviate from the original question to some extent, so I thought I’d try again. Plus, Jeff bumped the question to the top of his blog as well, so it’s probably as good a time as any to rehash it. Here’s his question again:

There are very few things as wearisome to a Pastor as the infighting in the kingdom of God over gray issues. Most God-fearing people can settle their theological and philosophical disputes on the black and white issues, but the gray issues become bloody battlegrounds of bias.

Mark Batterson, of National Community Church in Washington DC, blogged about some of these issues when he wrote:

“About four hundred years ago, a German theologian named Rupertus Meldenius, was frustrated with the infighting and backbiting in the church. And he said something so profound that it has passed the test of time.” He said:

In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.

We have turned “issues into elephants”! We love to skirt around the issues. The church bells ring with criticism and gossip because of the “elephant”. The “world” cuts us out of the equation because we don’t care enough about their “real needs” to put down our battle axes.

Would you take a second to comment on this question: What “elephants in the church” would you like to see us speak about during an upcoming series? What are the real issues that intrude on our divine purpose? I am not sure what my timetable will be on doing this series, but hopefully sometime soon.

This should be interesting.

Here is my list:
1. Politics
2. Divorce
3. Gluttony
4. “Pet sins”
Politics

I don’t suggest that political topics be discussed over the pulpit, but rather the role of Christianity in politics. Should we try to make America a Christian country again (if you believe it ever was one)? I say no. I say that it does more to hinder the spread of the gospel than it does to further it. And ultimately, that is the bottom line. Greg Boyd (see Blogroll) has a great sermon series on this topic. It caused him to lose half of his 5000 person congregation - speaking of a bloody battleground. The series is called The Cross and the Sword. Click here to visit his archives page, or click on each sermon for the mp3:
1. 4/18/2004
  Taking America Back for God?, Greg Boyd – 38:44
2. 4/25/2004
  The Difference Between the Two Kingdoms, Greg Boyd – 43:43
3. 5/2/2004
  Abortion: A Kingdom of God Approach, Greg Boyd – 38:41
4. 5/9/2004
  Is the Church the Guardian of Social Morality?, Greg Boyd – 44:28.
Divorce

I think this would be an interesting discussion. I am divorced, and I have heard the opinion that I am now, and will forever be, in a state of disobedience. I know of pastors in the UPC who will not re-marry people unless their spouse has died or was unfaithful. And even then, I know it is a touchy subject.

Gluttony

This is an interesting topic to me, because it is one sin that never seems to be discussed. I don’t just mean gluttony with regards to eating, but I do think that is the primary implication. We as Americans are gluttonous in so many ways. It has to be one of my greatest struggles. I equate it to wastefulness and materialism.

“Pet Sins”

I was reminded of this when I was writing about gluttony. Are certain sins more grievous to God than others? Some say yes - some say no. To me, a “pet sin” is something that most all Christians can get behind because it it not a real concern for them — it’s either something they don’t have tendencies toward (homosexuality), or it is something so outside of society norms (theft, murder, etc) that it’s easy to avoid. “Lesser” sins such as gossiping, backbiting, gluttony, envy and lust are much more prevelant, but don’t tend to get the same attention. I wouldn’t mind learning more on this topic.

So there you go. Attempt Number 2. I hope this meets your standards, Jenn.
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