Emergent leaders Deconstructing the Scriptures into Mumbo Jumbo

Keeping things simple is the way I enjoy understanding life. I realize life gets complicated, but when God speaks to me it is usually simple and easy to follow. He speaks to me from Scriptures and speaks to me by His Spirit. Thank God He speaks and by the grace of God I hope and plan to always listen.

As a pastor I find people need and want life and lessons presented with simplicity so they can grasp the wonderful grace of God. When it comes to words and there meaning I find having a dictionary handy if words get to fuzzy for me.   Throw a bunch of fancy words at me and I run to the dictionary to make sure I know what is meant and where it is going. The first time I heard the phrase "Deconstruction" as it relates to Christianity I had to shake my head a couple times to make sure I heard it correctly. Then I said. “What does that mean?”  I knew construction meant to build something so I suppose to "de" construct meant to take it apart and then reconstruct meant to rebuild it, right?

 Well just so we are on the same page here is Webster online definition of the Word de`con`struc´tion   Pronunciation: dė`kŭn`strŭk´shŭn  A philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning. This method questions the ability of language to represent a fixed reality, and proposes that a text has no stable meaning because words only refer to other words, that metaphysical or ethnocentric assumptions about the meaning of words must be questioned, and words may be redefined in new contexts and new, equally valid and even contradictory meanings may be found. Such new interpretations may be based on the philosophical, political, or social implications of the words of a text, rather than solely on attempts to determine the author's intentions

Now if you apply that word and its definition to Christianity you have a formula for heresy.

In this modern ago let's use the word  house ( home)  as an example of what is happening with the Word of God and the Bible as it relates to mankind.

A house is constructed for what purpose?  I know it seems ridiculous to even ask what the purpose of a house is for. But for the sake of this article hang tight with me so I can show you how we must be careful in this day of post modernism.  A house is for people to live in. People take shelter from the elements and live in their homes. Inside the confines of the structure they find safety from the elements, rest for their bodies and a place to eat meals together.  The house structure provides many things including but not limited to safety, protection and rest. Then comes the Emergent one and they say lets "re"construct the meaning of the home from what has been the traditional purpose or intent of the home. So now the emergent one might say, here is a home constructed and what do you feel the structure is for"?  How do you feel about it? How does this structure speak to you? This home can mean anything to you since its structure is all relative to you.

So in essence an emergent post modern perspective is: the house can mean whatever you want it to mean for you. If the house speaks to you as a structure designed to house hundreds of plants to stay safe from the harsh elements of the outdoors where cats and dogs can live at peace under the roof, than that is the purpose of the "house" for you. Personally I would call that a greenhouse with a formula for a mess, but if that is what someone wanted to call a house then they would deconstruct it from the original meaning and reconstruct it to mean something other than it’s original meaning and purpose.

So many today are taking this kind of deconstructive approach to the 'Scriptures". To "de"construct the Bible is for it to mean to YOU whatever it speaks to you about. Even if the original author meant one thing it is acceptable now to let it "speak to us" another meaning than its original purpose. Thus we now live in the era of  ”deconstructing" the meaning of the Bible and its Words.

A good biblical example of this is the creation in Genesis chapter 1-3.  Genesis 1:3-5 says  and God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.

Now right here the Word of God gives anyone with common sense the impression God just created light and separated it from darkness and now there is morning and evening – Day 1. Then he created for 5 more days and then he rests on the 7^th day. Now we have a full week.

Then in Exodus 23:12 we have this record in scripture. "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.

These two scriptures verify 24 hour cycles and a full week of time as we know it.

In order for any other understanding of scripture one must deconstruct the meaning of certain words and then reconstruct them to mean periods of time or any other assortment of meanings to have another gospel understanding of the God of creation.

Children can grasp a simple story taught about God creating the world in 6 days. But when they get older they get a deconstructed and reconstructed version of the story of the true meaning of how long it took God to create if they even leave God in the how. The original meaning that was conveyed for generations has been that God made all that is within 6 days and rested on the 7th day.

The bible story is "constructed" to convey the miracle and majesty of Almighty God creating the world as we see it and know it in less than a week.  The modern man comes along and presumes they have uncovered deeper truth and proof that the world as we know it could not have been constructed in 6 literal 24 hours periods. So they begin to "deconstruct" the chapters and words of Genesis to mean something different to them than what it was "constructed" to mean to all men and therefore they "reconstruct" the meaning of the scriptures from its original intent and purpose.  Within the walls of this new "deconstruction" they develop new meanings to the word 'Day ' so now it means periods of time. They place millions of years between the "days" so that God's Word can still fit into there meaning and perception of how they believe things were created  or evolved and the time line of man.

The list can go on and on of how men are deconstructing the bibles in this present generation.    We need to be careful that in this day and age we do not allow the "emergent mystic preachers, teachers, professors and writers to "deconstruct” and “reconstruct” the bible to mean anything other than what God intended it to mean to us.

The bible is written to easily convey Truth and Salvation to all men. When things begin to sound fuzzy to your ears then they probably are. When someone asks "How do you feel about this scripture?" be careful because they may be about to "reconstruct truth right before your eyes to mean something different than what God meant.

Since God called us to live by faith it really does not matter how any of us feel about the bible. It matters that we trust the Scriptures as the divine words of God as it was constructed to be. Thank God for the simplicity of His Word and the meaning of His Word. Remember John said in 1 John 2:26-27 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit - just as it has taught you, remain in him

Be careful what you read and who wrote it as there are many today deconstructing Christianity and then reconstructing it into heresy.  If it sounds like mumbo jumbo then it probably is.

Word association – Emergent verses Biblical Holiness

                        I am not advocating a new denomination or a new group but I see the makings of one in progress by default. In January 2009 within a month of settling into my new home and pastorate in FL I received a packet mailed to: All Florida Pastors. Since it was not personal I was not in a hurry to open it, but because it was not junk mail I was not inclined to just throw it away since it had a steep price tag for postage on it. I thought, someone has something to say to send and spend this kind of money to all the Nazarene Pastors in Florida. So one night I opened it up and started reading this well thought out research. At first when I read the adverse comments about Rick Warren and his book “The Purpose Driven Church, I was inclined to shut it down, but I continued to read along anyway. After I finished the packet I was challenged to research and verify for myself that the info about the Emergent church move was true and more widespread than one might realize.

                                    Since I hunger for the truth and desire to follow God in holiness and all His ways, I began doing exactly that: RESEARCH. The more I read the more alarmed I was and dismayed at how I had missed so much of what was happening within Evangelical Christianity in North America and within the Church of the Nazarene. Now some 18 months later I am far more keenly aware of not taking teachings for granted because others I trust say so. I try not to be a skeptic on everything that is said or written either. I truly do measure more diligently then ever all things against the Word of God. I am ashamed to say, but I will confess that I was truly buying into things as a postmodernist without balancing it out with the Word of God.  

        I am thankful for the folks who spent the time and energy researching the Emergent Church movement because it helped touch this pastor's heart, and God used it to awaken me to the deception that is happening in the church on multiple fronts with regards to doctrine and teachings. Finding a balance without becoming an alarmist or extremist is such a delicate balance as well.

       As I reflect on the beginnings of the Church of the Nazarene I can see how God drew conservative holiness people together from different groups and parts of the country and other denominations to those who were like minded with His passion and purpose. Then within a short time The Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene was born and named such as it merged two large groups. Within a few short years controversy arose within the modern church of that day on the use and misuse of the gift of tongues. Before they knew it they had to define themselves as Nazarenes more clearly by in 1917 by dropping the name "Pentecostal" because it had become so strongly associated with those who said one HAD TO speak with tongues as an evidence of the Holy Spirit and being entirely sanctified believers. The word Pentecost or Pentecostal was never evil or bad, but the word association became more associated with a false understanding of the gifts of the Spirit, so much so that a change was made necessary.So today Emergent is associated in the same controversial manner.

                        So here we are as a denomination that has crossed the great barrier of 100 years of age as a group. We are 2 million members strong in 157 counties of the world with (officially) 47 Nazarene’s who have died for their faith as modern day martyrs. God is pouring out His Spirit and anointing preachers and workers around the world for some of the greatest harvests in the entire world.  The mission is still great before us all and yet the Church of the Nazarene is being infected with distractions away from the focus of the great commission, and mostly so in the more civilized world and the strongest economic hub of the Church of the Nazarene (North America). A younger generation is growing up in our midst who are being polluted by the current liberal culture and mindset with another word association in the wrong path yet again. I find so many who embrace the new thinking called Emergent. Emergent is not a new word, but by association with many liberal thinkers, philosophies  and writers it has indeed become associated with the liberal agenda more than a conservative holiness one. Likewise there are many words being used and redefined in ways of bringing about the deconstruction of the Church. My wife received her masters’ degree in social work back in the late 80’s. Her minor was in "social justice". Those two buzz words together, “social Justice”,  are not new today at all, but yet amongst liberal thinkers and even within the political landscape it is being used and  redefined and associated with a range from social work and environmentalism, to socialism.  

           I still embrace the Church of the Nazarene and still believe in the her biblical teaching of Holiness.  I am concerned about what many are turning to and accepting as gospel , and especially so because of the new redefining of former terms and words in this post modern day.  When I hear certain terms I try not to jump to conclusions but it is difficult. Those words and terms include, Emergent Church, emerging, Social Justice, post modernism, social restoration, mysticism, spiritual formation, meditation, among others that are being redefined today.  It seems that when I read about and hear these words it does end up being a liberal or compromising situation and I either confront it with biblical truth or I need to withdraw and run the other way.   

Trevecca Nazarene University last year added a Social Justice  major that really concerns me. Not because serving justice to society is wrong, but because of the new association the terms mean in post modernism. Who are they attracting or will attract with that major? Will the liberal post modernist start enrolling? Or will Nazarene parents who are educating themselves and aware of the new word association run in another direction with their tuition money because they perceive a more liberal university than they desire? Personally I think TNU is hurting themselves to choice that term in the heat of the battle of word means and associations if they want to be associated as a conservative Biblical holiness university.

      In these last days word association and terminology is vital and we need to be constantly clear with what we mean when we label and use terms so that we associate with biblical holiness and not the modern deconstruction of the holiness church and the ever increasing heretical liberalism.  

       As much as the early Nazarenes probably despised having to drop the name Pentecost from their official name in order to preserve biblical holiness in those early days, we Nazarenes may need to separate or re-associate a clearer term to progress and press forward with that ever lasting message of Holiness. Around the world these issues might seem trite and divisive and even the discussion might seem like a waste of time, but in the civilized world being clear about who we are and who we are not will be vastly important to who we will continue to be. If we are not clear we could easily end up in the mainline denominational camp that is the fastest declining segment of Christianity in the world. As it is now only 4% of Generation Y (under30) can even be found in churches each week in the U.S.  The Emergent movement may be trying to become all things to a younger generation to win them, but winning them to a deconstructed church and  Bible will gain us nothing for eternity.

So what terms we use and label ourselves with, and our ministries and efforts including in our colleges and universities, will truly determine who we will attract and become. May God grant us wisdom with the jargon we use and define ourselves.  If this even means dropping terms and names such as “Pentecostal”, by all means let us do so that we might win the lost and preserve the message of holiness in these last days.