5 Signs Your Church Might be Heading Toward Progressive Christianity - Alisa Childers

A friend posted this article on Facebook. I thought it was very interesting and timely. - Chris

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5 Signs Your Church Might be Heading Toward Progressive Christianity
by Alisa Childers
8 May 2017

Several years ago, my husband and I began attending a local Evangelical, non-denominational church, and we loved it. We cherished the sense of community we found among the loving and authentic people we met there, and the intelligent, "outside the box" pastor who led our flock with thought-provoking and insightful sermons. Sadly, the church started going off the rails theologically, and after about a year and a half, we made the difficult decision to leave. Today that church is a self-titled "Progressive Christian Community."

Back then I had never heard of "Progressive Christianity," and even now it is difficult to pin down what actually qualifies someone as a Progressive Christian, due to the diversity of beliefs that fall under that designation. However, there are signs””certain phrases and ideas””that seem to be consistent in Progressive circles. Here are 5 danger signs to watch for in your church:

1. There is a lowered view of the Bible

One of the main differences between Progressive Christianity and Historic Christianity is its view of the Bible. Historically, Christians have viewed the Bible as the Word of God and authoritative for our lives. Progressive Christianity generally abandons these terms, emphasizing personal belief over biblical mandate.

Comments you might hear:
”‹The Bible is a human book...
I disagree with the Apostle Paul on that issue...
The Bible condones immorality, so we are obligated to reject what it says in certain places...
”‹The Bible "contains" the word of God...

”‹
2. Feelings are emphasized over facts

In Progressive churches, personal experiences, feelings, and opinions tend to be valued above objective truth. As the Bible ceases to be viewed as God’s definitive word, what a person feels to be true becomes the ultimate authority for faith and practice.

Comments you might hear:
That Bible verse doesn't resonate with me....
I thought homosexuality was a sin until I met and befriended some gay people....
I just can’t believe Jesus would send good people to hell....

3. Essential Christian doctrines are open for re-interpretation

Progressive author John Pavlovitz wrote, "There are no sacred cows [in Progressive Christianity]....Tradition, dogma, and doctrine are all fair game, because all pass through the hands of flawed humanity." Progressive Christians are often open to re-defining and re-interpreting the Bible on hot-button moral issues like homosexuality and abortion, and also cardinal doctrines such as the virgin conception and the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The only sacred cow is "no sacred cows."

Comments you might hear:
The resurrection of Jesus doesn't have to be factual to speak truth....
The church's historic position on sexuality is archaic and needs to be updated within a modern framework...
The idea of a literal hell is offensive to non-Christians and needs to be re-interpreted....

”‹4. Historic terms are re-defined

There are some Progressive Christians who say they affirm doctrines like biblical inspiration, inerrancy, and authority, but they have to do linguistic gymnastics to make those words mean what they want them to mean. I remember asking a Pastor, "Do you believe the Bible is divinely inspired?" He answered confidently, "Yes, of course!" However, I mistakenly assumed that when using the word "inspired," we both meant the same thing. He clarified months later what he meant””that the Bible is inspired in the same way and on the same level as many other Christian books, songs, and sermons. This, of course, is not how Christians have historically understood the doctrine of divine inspiration.

Another word that tends to get a Progressive make-over is the word "love." When plucked out of its biblical context, it becomes a catch-all term for everything non-confrontative, pleasant, and affirming.

Comments you might hear:
God wouldn't punish sinners””He is love....
Sure, the Bible is authoritative””but we've misunderstood it for the first 2,000 years of church history...
It's not our job to talk to anyone about sin””it's our job to just love them....

”‹5. The heart of the gospel message shifts from sin and redemption to social justice

There is no doubt that the Bible commands us to take care of the unfortunate and defend those who are oppressed. This is a very real and profoundly important part of what it means to live out our Christian faith. However, the core message of Christianity””the gospel””is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and resurrected, and thereby reconciled us to God. This is the message that will truly bring freedom to the oppressed.

Many Progressive Christians today find the concept of God willing His Son to die on the cross to be embarrassing or even appalling. Sometimes referred to as "cosmic child abuse," the idea of blood atonement is de-emphasized or denied altogether, with social justice and good works enthroned in its place.

Comments you might hear:
Sin doesn't separate us from God””we are made in His image and He called us good....
God didn't actually require a sacrifice for our sins””the first Christians picked up on the pagan practice of animal sacrifice and told the Jesus story in similar terms....
We don't really need to preach the gospel””we just need to show love by bringing justice to the oppressed and provision to the needy...

”‹
Conclusion:

Identifying the signs is not always obvious””sometimes they are subtle and mixed with a lot of truth. Progressive Christianity can be persuasive and enticing, but carried out to its logical end, it is an assault on the foundational framework of Christianity, leaving it disarmed of its saving power.

We shouldn’t be surprised to find some of these ideas infiltrating our churches. Jesus warned us, "Watch out for false prophets” who "come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). So if you spot any of these 5 danger signs in your place of worship, it might be time to pray about finding fellowship in a more biblically faithful church community.

The full article is found here:
http://www.alisachilders.com/blog/5-signs-your-church-might-be-heading-toward-progressive-christianity

A church that says/does those things is no longer a Christian church. That's not even subtle. It would not be difficult to decide to leave a church that is headed in that direction.

The more subtle and difficult problem is a church that still teaches the Bible but uses worldly marketing methods to get people in the door and keep them coming back. The preaching is biblical but it is not "hard;" there is adherence to classic Christian doctrine but the HS is, if not explicitly, then in practice, pushed aside because "the show must go on."

That is the church I find myself in and I am pretty sick about it. I know the leaderships heart is in the right place; they just don't seem to know any better.

Hi brother Todd.

You say: " I know the leaderships heart is in the right place; they just don't seem to know any better"

What do you mean by that?
If we find ourselves in this kind of church setup, what do we do?
Why is it we cannot address these issues in these churches, or feel we cannot?

Just some questions to consider.......the forum is welcome to respond

Blessings,

Mine is a very large church with numerous campuses and the head pastor (CEO?) is far up the food chain and not accessible. Each campus has a local pastor but they take direction from up the chain. Plus, 95% of the attenders, if they were to read my last post, would have no idea what I was talking about. They would think everything is hunky dory.

It is not something that I am going to change- that's up to God. I don't feel a responsibility to try to change it. So we must decide whether to stick it out or go elsewhere or go home church.

"So we must decide whether to stick it out or go elsewhere..."

And I have a tough decision to make as well.

I must decide whether to stick it out with my wife or go with Elsie Whair.

What you must do, do quickly!

...decisions...decisions!

...the things which are eternal...

It's not always that simple savannah when other folks you care about are involved. It's not a question of separating from heathens but rather Christian brothers and sisters we have grown to love.

Nobody said it would be easy, but it is necessary.

Deuteronomy 13:6-11 

Suppose your own full brother, your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have previously known,the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other). You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him. Instead, you must kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community.You must stone him to death because he tried to entice you away from the Lord your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you.

Matthew 18:8,9

"If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. "If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell." - Jesus

Matthew 10:34-39

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.
- Jesus

I highly recommend you get yourself a copy of the DVD "The Insanity of God."

Do not take any of this lightly!

You may be becoming comfortably numb.

"Remember Lot's wife!" Lk. 17:32

That you are traveling along that road is reflected in your posts. As the head of your home, you are responsible before the Master for the direction you are leading your family. May God give you wisdom from above!

I repeat, please get a copy of the DVD "The Insanity of God."

Do not turn a deaf ear to His Word in this post.

You are a strange ranger savannah.

Thanks, Chris, for sharing this article.

The points made are those one hears from people in the church and "in the street", many very religious. Which brings me to a point that I have become convinced of: the most common sin among people, even so-called Christians is lying. Plain and simple: lying.

Lying is perverting truth. It can be an straight forward opposite of truth, it can be truth twisted in order to convey something other then reality. It is the latter I am concerned about. Saying the opposite of reality should be obvious but the latter is more subtle and misleading. And this is what the writer is concerned about.

How close does this come to describing a religious narcissistic?

Sandra

Once a sister I know from my workplace asked me about the condition of her church. The pastor's son was having an illegal affair with another girl in the Church even though he was married. Though it was obvious to everyone, they tried to ignore it, because he was Pastor's son. She asked me how to create awareness in the Church and change them.

My answer was, imagine you are travelling with a group of people in a train or bus to New York. After some time you came to know that the bus is travelling in the wrong direction that will not take you to the destination (NY) but to some where else (say GA), then what will you do? Will you continue sitting there in the bus because your friends and relatives are there? Will you continue to sit because others whom you think are fellow brothers in Christ are there? What if they are all interested in travelling to GA but only you wanted to go to NY? Will you change your destination for them? Or will you continue sitting the bus, trying to convince others to come with you to NY?

The answer is you will not change anyone, but get down of the bus as early as you can so that you will not go further away from your destination.

Same way if a Church is not moving towards its destination, which is to become a representation of Christ's body on this earth, then will you continue sitting there? Sitting and trying to change the direction of the Church is as stupid as sitting in the bus and trying to convince everyone including the driver to take you to New York while others are not. The more you sit in the bus, the further away you move from the destination.

So if becoming like Christ and to be his pure bride is my only intention (destination) in this world, then I will not stop until God leads me to a fellowship of fellow brides.