I was writing an address I delivered to our Elders and Deacons at our biannual meeting Saturday June 14. It had to do with the admission of Willow Creek, that their methodology over the last 30 years has been as mistake (These are not my words, but theirs.) Not only has this admission come along, but also they have chosen to bring along guys like Brian McLaren to help them figure out the next direction.
Granted the "admission" was made in a Summer 2007 Summit meeting which is the main WCA Conference and McLaren was invited to the Shift Student Ministry Conference 2008. I understand that these are two different venues, but let’s not forget that the original Willow model was born out of Youth Ministry. This seems to be the way things go as far as progression at Willow. All of that to say that it appears that one of the major "band wagon" instigators has now jumped onto a much bigger (and more dangerous) bandwagon itself.
McLaren and all of his hip wannabes reject any semblance of Orthodox Christianity. Need I go further? Because much (to much) has been written on this matter. The reality is though, as with almost every aberrant movement, there is a nugget of truth in there.
Observation in these things sometimes has merit, but application is where most go overboard. The observation that the Evangelical church (do I need to define Evangelical church?) has failed to speak into some of the social issues of our day (except abortion) is true. That we have abandoned the cities for the comfort of the suburbs is not all true. You know the rest of the story.
McLaren and his folks way of dealing with this is to literally reshape the gospel into one that is not the gospel, so you end up with a gospel that supposedly solves all the "Global Crises" as McLaren puts it, but ultimately doesn’t save anyone from a Christless eternity in Hell. His solution reads something like this, "Equity, Security, and Prosperity (What McLaren sees as our Christian duty) come through a sacrificial (wait for it…) people (dang, he almost got it) who embody reconciliation (who to whom?) and bring peace through justice and love, the Kingdom of God is at hand!"
Wow! Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?! We can take it to the bank that this will send people straight into the pits of Hell! This is not the gospel. Jesus said it a lot more simply. I believe His words were, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 4:17) If we are not going to the cities, the suburbs or around the world with this message in tote, we are not doing what Jesus did! All the social programs in the world can not ultimately save any one! It might speak to their current need (which we need to do) but it must come packaged with the truth that can set them free spiritually, even if the social program fails to do so physically (which many will.)
