- Senior, junior, associate, youth, music pastors
- Pulpit-pew structure
- Passing of offering plates to collect money
- Worship leaders
- Worship services
- Miracle crusades
- Healing services
- Health and Wealth preaching
- Mid-week services
- Building church buildings
- Seminaries
- Hiring of professional speakers
- Clergy ordination, resumes, interviews
- Denominations
- Leadership hierarchies
- Contemporary Vs. traditional services
- 'Going' to church
- Preaching against certain type of sinners
- Political endorsements, protests, threats
- White church, black church etc
- Pentecostal church, baptist church, methodist church etc
- Questions such as "What kind of a church you go to?", "How big is your church?", "How many services do you have?" etc
- Evangelism department
- Making something into a "movement"
- Seminars on "how to win souls?", "witnessing" etc
- Emphasis on rituals such as Baptism etc
- Prayer chains
- Altar calls
- "Spirit-led" worship Vs. Spiritless worship
- Confession
- Miracle water, hand kerchiefs etc
- "If you are a Christian, you are to be perfect" mentality
- Veneration of '10 commandments'
- Emphasis on behavior modification, teaching of performance-based acceptance.
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
'Christian' practices?
Some of the practices which are so ingrained into modern Christianity, yet hard to find it among the early Christians of the first century or in the Bible...
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Nothing will work other than Christ Himself.
Follow up of the previous post Christianity is not working for many, even for pastors!
I come from a place where communism still exits not only it exists but has a tremendous impact on people’s lives. There are many who have been martyred for that man made ‘ism’. There are many who are still ready to die.
When we see Christianity just as a belief system, a technique for living in peace, an organization for having companionship of others, a place for children to grow morally acceptable, then it is nothing but another ‘ism’ or 'ology' which outwardly looks very attractive but never works in the practicality of being connected to the creator.
Jesus did not invite us to an organized set of principles to hold on to improve life in this world. He invited as to ‘Him’, to that person of Christ, to the living Word who had been made flesh. He did not point out a way for us to try and fail. He said He IS the way. He did not explain the secrets of being happy and harmonious by being a blind follower of certain existing natural truths. He said He IS the truth.
When Yonggi Cho of South Korea borrowed the ‘name it and claim it’ philosophy from ‘Buddhism’ he thought that is going to be a version of ‘working Christianity’ and it soon spread all over the world like a wild fire. It sounds attractive, it produced a new generation of ‘positive thinking’ and ‘positive talking’ people. Is it working? Not really! But people are trapped. They give themselves for their belief system though it doesn’t work.
The pride of man does not let him proclaim the fact that it doesn’t really work.
Nothing, absolutely nothing will work long term other than the truth, the way and the life which is Christ himself. That is a guarantee like the death.
It is Jesus who forgives us, saves us, sustains us, gives us blessed hope, securing us in Father's hands, intercedes for us, He is our very life and it is He who lives in us and through us.
I come from a place where communism still exits not only it exists but has a tremendous impact on people’s lives. There are many who have been martyred for that man made ‘ism’. There are many who are still ready to die.
When we see Christianity just as a belief system, a technique for living in peace, an organization for having companionship of others, a place for children to grow morally acceptable, then it is nothing but another ‘ism’ or 'ology' which outwardly looks very attractive but never works in the practicality of being connected to the creator.
Jesus did not invite us to an organized set of principles to hold on to improve life in this world. He invited as to ‘Him’, to that person of Christ, to the living Word who had been made flesh. He did not point out a way for us to try and fail. He said He IS the way. He did not explain the secrets of being happy and harmonious by being a blind follower of certain existing natural truths. He said He IS the truth.
When Yonggi Cho of South Korea borrowed the ‘name it and claim it’ philosophy from ‘Buddhism’ he thought that is going to be a version of ‘working Christianity’ and it soon spread all over the world like a wild fire. It sounds attractive, it produced a new generation of ‘positive thinking’ and ‘positive talking’ people. Is it working? Not really! But people are trapped. They give themselves for their belief system though it doesn’t work.
The pride of man does not let him proclaim the fact that it doesn’t really work.
Nothing, absolutely nothing will work long term other than the truth, the way and the life which is Christ himself. That is a guarantee like the death.
It is Jesus who forgives us, saves us, sustains us, gives us blessed hope, securing us in Father's hands, intercedes for us, He is our very life and it is He who lives in us and through us.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Christianity is not working for many, even for pastors!
Two pastors who spoke recently with CNN explained that when it comes to religion, they still preach the core beliefs of Christianity. But when it comes to practicing what they preach in a modern world, borrowing from Scientology helps.
Read full article here: Some Christian pastors embrace Scientology
Isn't Christianity practical enough?
What does it mean by 'The righteous shall live by faith'?
Borrowing from man-made '---ologies' to substitute Christ?
What did Apostle Paul mean when he said: 'I am crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me'?
Is that a concept, feeling or '---ology' that Christ lives in a Christian?
This is more alarming:
Kennedy knew that before he could introduce any Scientology-related text to his congregation, he would have to prove that it did not contradict his Christian beliefs. And so, he found Scripture to match each of the 21 principles.
Apostle Paul prophetically reminds us about this potential harm at Colossians 2:8
To me, this is a reminder of the importance of understanding our identity in Christ, total forgiveness in Christ, New covenant, walking by faith and above all the unconditional love of God and His grace.
Thoughts welcome.
Read full article here: Some Christian pastors embrace Scientology
Isn't Christianity practical enough?
What does it mean by 'The righteous shall live by faith'?
Borrowing from man-made '---ologies' to substitute Christ?
What did Apostle Paul mean when he said: 'I am crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me'?
Is that a concept, feeling or '---ology' that Christ lives in a Christian?
This is more alarming:
Kennedy knew that before he could introduce any Scientology-related text to his congregation, he would have to prove that it did not contradict his Christian beliefs. And so, he found Scripture to match each of the 21 principles.
Apostle Paul prophetically reminds us about this potential harm at Colossians 2:8
To me, this is a reminder of the importance of understanding our identity in Christ, total forgiveness in Christ, New covenant, walking by faith and above all the unconditional love of God and His grace.
Thoughts welcome.
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