I think you have just stated the desire of most people on earth. Why can’t we “just have all the nice living in community and becoming better people stuff and dispense with the stories of the resurrection and following Jesus”? That would make things simple wouldn’t it?

Unfortunately not. I will reply from a spiritual perspective and from an earthly perspective.

Spiritual perspective: it is more than the outward behavioural benefits that matter. God wants our hearts, He wants our souls, He wants our strength, and He wants our minds. I have tried time and time again to change my outward behaviour by my own means. Though I succeed at times, for the most part I fail horribly. Especially when I look at the standard – Christ. I need something that can help me to change from the inside out. It is not easy to love other people (especially when you grow up in an environment that is not conducive to love) – I need someone to help me and teach me to love other people. That person is Jesus. I believe God created me for community and love, but I can not achieve my God given purpose on my own. I need to read the manual – the Bible. I need to talk with the creator – God.

Arguments are temporary. Look at the role model – Christ. When we try to live like him, most arguments fall to the ground and become less important.

Earthly perspective: what is our standard for “nice living in community and becoming better people”? Look at world history. There is war after war. There is crime after crime. There is corruption and more corruption. Humans have an absolute propensity for good, but also an absolute propensity for evil. Take away religion and there will still be plenty to fight about – land, money, pride, envy, lust, oil. We need a standard. We need a guideline. The only person who can give that guideline is the One who is totally love and totally good – all the time. God.

How do I know that it is God that we need? Well, I have seen shattered families totally restored just because one person decided to use Christ as the standard of love, and through prayer received the strength they need to show that love. I have heard of the Holy Spirit doing more in people’s lives in one minute than could be done in years by other counselling.

The distinctive about the Christian church is its metaphysical baggage - the belief in salvation, a creator God and his personal involvement in our lives.

with all due respect, there isn’t a whole lot going on in Perth, it is a newly growing movement. Take Hammos church, the whole idea is that its a neighborhood thing. So to say that you cannot plug into it is in a way the point. They are limiting their focus to the people in their neighborhood, and seeking to do the community there as well as possible. So you could plug in easily if you lived in the neighborhood. Infact his neighbors all do know about it and plug in in different ways. Some just for social time, some for special events, birthdays and naming ceremonies, and some for full membership and worship.

You cannot judge these communites by the same criteria you judge the mega church by.

the rev

Is the emerging church an illusionary distraction from the underlying trend away from Christianity in the West? Is experimentation and theorising about new structures made any real difference to this trend?”

I could not agree more.

And the funny thing about the emerging church, that for all of its talk about being missional and community-orientated……if you’re in the community……it’s damn near impossible to find a way to plug into this exclusive little club…unless the ‘emerging church’ happens to be located within an existing traditional church.

And i hardly think Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Bryant are talking over the back fence in Keilor about Brian McLaren’s visit to Melbourne.

Hello, I’m a talent scout for the Anglican church.

Would you like to become a bishop?

the rev

the rev

we get many people who come into my church in perth, many who do not believe in God or who do not accept christian beliefs in general, but they continue coming to church and to some of the social events held because they are genuinely accepted for who they are.

i have seen many of these people, who by being open to receive a different point of view, have been impacted by the teachings of Christ and prompted by the Holy Spirit, have made public confessions of a new found faith in God and have professed the physical resurection of Jesus.

You don’t need to believe what we believe to attend our church and be loved by our church. Jesus taught that we should always love our neighbour as ourselves.

The term Christian means to be a follower of Christ and as such you are on a journey with him. The basic principle is taken from the bible. We are told “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
—Romans 10:9

In other words, salvation begins when we put our faith in God to accept that Jesus was raised from the dead (more than allegorically), and accept him as Lord. yes there will be doubts, but it is a starting point.

It looks to me like you have done some study on this yourself and are not oblivious to Christian doctrine.

Some churches have a “what we believe” page because they want people to understand what is required to “partner” with them in achieving the mission of that local church. For instance, if the mission of a local church is to tell everyone that Jesus has paid the price for your sins and you can find forgiveness in him, than those people who partner with the church in sharing that message will need to believe that too.