"Always remember, when somebody comes up with something new,
it's usually wrong. We are to be plagiarists of the same information that
God gave the first Christians." -- Dr. Matthew McMahon, aPuritansMind.com

 

27 May, 2008   comments: (0) Church History   "We Do It Because it Works" (Tips From 770AD) "It works!" That's the eureka reaction towards today's seeker centered evangelism. And how can you argue with the numeric results? Churches are growing and, at least some, people are actually getting saved. So isn't that all the proof that we need to be in favor of these methods? To help us answer that question, let's look at another proven church growth strategy from history; it had numbers, it had true converts. But I'll warn you right now, you're not going to like these methods. After reading this however, you will have to admit that it DID work; it's hard to debate the salvations and church growth that it once generated. This posting is based heavily on a chapter in Bob DeWaay's book Redefining Christianity, and a subsequent article on his website. Bob DeWaay sets up this scene for us, from church history: In 770 AD Christendom had suffered greatly. The former Christian strongholds of northern Egypt and the Near East had been over run by Islam. The pagan Saxons of Germany despised Christianity. They murdered the missionaries sent to them and were enemies of the Franks. At this point in history Charlemagne arose as the great king of the Franks. Through a bloody, thirty year series of wars he subjugated the Saxons and forced them to convert to Christianity. Historian Justo Gonzalez writes, "Charlemagne resolved to drown the rebellion in blood and in the waters of baptism. Those who proved intractable were slaughtered. The rest were forced to accept baptism." In 800 Pope Leo II crowned Charlemagne the "emperor" in a move to revive the Roman Empire. Charlemagne's policy of forced conversions (he also forced tithing to the church through civil law) became a new way to enlarge the visible church. The practice continued for many centuries; but as grim as this sounds, the result was positive. The Saxons actually became civilized and eventually became accustomed to Christian culture. Thus Christianity became established in a previously pagan land. Although no one today is likely to endorse such a policy, it would be possible to rationalize it historically. For example, prior to their "conversion," the Saxons were savage marauders committed to pagan gods. They killed the missionaries sent to them. After Charlemagne's conquest, the Saxons were forced to follow the teachings of Christianity. The Capitulary for Saxony, required, under the penalty of death, respect for the church and its buildings, tithing, the keeping of Lent, the keeping of the Lord's Day, baptism, and other Christian duties. Eventually this led to a better situation than they had under pagan war lords, because they were in the visible church. In their new situation there was, however dim, the light of the gospel and some were likely truly converted. Thus, for centuries to come, Saxons had a more civilized existence with better rule of law and as much Christian light as the medieval Roman church had to offer. It could be argued that souls were added to the Kingdom because of Charlemagne's campaign. Yet what Charlemagne did was repulsive and wicked. Bob DeWaay makes the necessary distinction between the visible church and the invisible church. For example, we know that not everyone who attends our churches is a part of Christ's true church. There are false converts in most every assembly of believers. He goes on to say: [What Charlemagne did] does not justify the theory that one ought to use whatever means work best to grow the visible church simply because people are better off "churched" and some may actually be saved. That rationale assumes that Christ has not told us what the church is to be and do. It assumes that we have the liberty to adopt any plan that gets people to come to the visible church and stay there. I deny that we have that liberty. It opens the door to unacceptable options. In his book Ashamed of The Gospel, John MacArthur expresses similar concerns: That is precisely my concern about today's pragmatic church-growth strategies. The design is to attract the unchurched. For what? To entertain them? To get them to attend church meetings regularly? Merely "churching" the unchurched accomplishes nothing of eternal value. Too often, however, that is where the strategy stalls. Or else it's combined with a watered-down gospel that wrongly assures sinners that a positive "decision" for Christ is as good as true conversion. Multitudes who are not authentic Christians now identify themselves with the church. The church has thus been invaded with the world's values, the world's interests, and the world's citizens. Some will conclude all of the following, for both - Charlemagne's methods of conquest and today's Seeker-Sensitive / Purpose Driven methods: They greatly increase the size of the visible church. Some true converts are produced through these methods. These methods are unbiblical and do not please God. It underscores the tremendous need to obey and follow the bible's instructions, rather than looking to man's proven methods for marketing, church growth, and generating 'decisions'. Related Information And Resources: Are we supposed to center church services around seekers? Ezekiel obeyed and delivered God's message instead of a popular one Why did God scare the 'seekers' away in the book of Acts? Are you evangelizing for all of the wrong reasons? Read Bob DeWaay's source article Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.313   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism