Here is a bit of a transcript of one of Mark Driscoll’s sermons (either recently passed or about to be preached).

I believe that humility is the great omission and failure in my eleven years of preaching. I believe that this is my greatest oversight both in my example and in my instruction.

I therefore do not claim to be humble. I do not claim to have been humble. I am convicted of my pride, and I am a man who is by God’s grace pursuing humility.

So in many ways this is a sermon that I’m preaching at myself, this is a sermon you are welcomed to listen in on as I preach to myself.

But I truly believe that were there one thing I could do over in the history of Mars Hill it would be in my attitude and in my actions and in my words to not only emphasize sound doctrine, encourage in strength and commitment and conviction but, to add in addition to that, humility as a virtue.

And so I’ll start by asking your forgiveness and sincerely acknowledging that this has been a great failure.

Now go and read some of the comments to this. Its really amazing that a public confession could be picked apart like that.

The creation of associations and associative barriers are ways in which our minds pair up concepts so that we can quickly understand a situation, without having to work through multiples of logical connections to reach a conclusion.  When we hear the wail of a siren on a stormy night here in the midwest, we instantly think “tornado” and take appropriate action.  When we’re driving at night and see someone else driving erratically, swerving without reason, we instantly think “drunk driver” and act accordingly.

Associative barriers are helpful in day-to-day life, both practically and spiritually.

However, while they are helpful in many areas, when we fail to recognize them and start making false associations (assumptions), these helpful mnemonic devices do us more harm than good.

For instance, because of the political landscape in America, a majority of Christians have aligned themselves with “conservative” causes because their “hot-button” issues – primarily anti-abortion and pro-family policy – is considered a key part of conservatism.   In making this alignment, though, these Christians often find themselves seeing other “conservative” issues as being their own, as well – from tax policy to defense to governing philosophy.  Additionally, specific issues such as environmentalism, social responsibility, regulatory oversight are often associated with “liberal” policy, and have been co-opted as causes of the left.

So, when Christians without self-reflective ability to understand these barriers hear other Christians talking about things like environmental and social responsibility, their associative barriers instantly flag these brothers as “liberal” (or “emergent” or whatever anti-Conservative boogeymen are most assosicated with environmental/social action).  Thus labelled, these brothers can now be “outed” and ostracized for their apostacy of aligning themselves with baby-killers, homosexuals and pedophiles.

Which brings us to today.

This post by the spinless, unnamed “Editor” of CRN today is indicative of this myopic and destructive mindset.  They link to this story which describes leaders from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) meeting with government and industry leaders on the benefits of cutting energy usage in church buldings – which include demonstrating good stewardship of God’s creation and a potential $200 million savings from reduced energy usage. The CR?N commentary for this article?  Here it is, in toto:

People may be headed to Hell in unprecedented numbers in our generation, but hewy(sic), at least they’re saving money as evangelical churches in this nation abandoned by God conserve energy.

Someone tell Julie that we’ve found the copy of the Book of Life she lent out.  Apparently the Editor of CR?N has it since he/she knows the “unprecedented” numbers of people going to Hell in this generation.  Sarcasm aside, this 1-sentence post, having been written by (we assume, since we don’t know their identity) a Christian,  is incredibly disturbing from so many angles, that it’s hard to choose just one.  But we’ll try.

This one-sentence post is so indicative of the associative barriers I have observed in the church, including myself, over the past ten years that my reaction is primarily one of sadness.  The author’s use of the English language doesn’t tell us whether it is the “evangelical church” or the “nation” which has been “abandoned by God” (a topic alone in which we could unpack all sorts of ungodly, dysfunctional thinking), but the implication seems to be clear that churches which participate in environmental sustainability initiatives have missed their mission and are hellbound.

I say nuts to that.

Being a good steward of God’s creation is part of the mission we, as a people, were given in Genesis.  While I will be one of the first to stand up and declare my skepticism toward the belief that global warming exists and that man is a primary cause of it (I’ve seen much of the data, and – more importantly – the science behind it, and like John at VerumSerum, I find it a race to reach a foregone conclusion for political gain), I also believe that there are a number of basic “sustainable” ways of living which demonstrate our love for God in caring for His creation, and – in this society – would serve to hold Him to to show that He is the One True God.

Such things include:

• Conservation of energy
• Searching for alternative, sustainable and humane sources of energy
• Recycling
• Waste minimization
• Pollution reduction
• Species protection (within reason)

These things are not “liberal” or “conservative” issues – they are God issues.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven 

So, please – let us not eschew doing good by God’s creation because some cause we disagree with fundamentally agrees with us on this issue!  And, while we’re at it, let’s knock off cursing Christ’s bride and the house she lives in.

[Just to note - associative barriers cut in many directions, such as when some of us see Calvinists hiding behind every disagreement while others see "emergents" as the driving force behind anything/everything distasteful to them (and, therefore, to God).]

….who’s the biggest heretic of them all?

I saw this article by Greg Boyd the other day, and it’s been on my mind ever since.  In it Boyd asks the relatively simple, but profound question:

If love is to be placed above all else, if everything else is to be considered worthless apart from love and if everything hangs on fulfilling this one law, how can we avoid the conclusion that refusing to love even our enemies is the worst heresy imaginable?

If the answer to this question is yes, than it seems that there are for more heretics in the Church than we could imagine.  It’s easy to point to an article like this and take a self-righteous stance of the Pharisees saying, “Thank God I’m not as unloving as those people”.  I don’t think it’s hard, once we take a little time, to think of a few people who we consider our enemies.  Are we truly loving them?  Do we serve them?

Personally, I know I struggle with even trying to not wish harm or hardship on people I have issues with.  When I am wronged, my first thought is not to bless that person, but to get even with them.  The fact of the matter is that I am probably a bigger heretic than some may already think I am.

Just some food for thought…

So here should be a fun discussion topic in light of the last post.  In what arenas, if any, should a non-believer be allowed to serve in the church?  Are people only allowed to serve in a ministry area once they have been converted, or are there places where they can serve and still be seeking?  Could a pre-beleiver be a secretary or a janitor?  Could they pass out the bulletins in the morning?  Could they be a helper in sunday school? 

**Note** heretical answers may be picked up and posted out of context at CRN, in which case you will recieve a CRN.info merit badge of honor