Recently we had a lady visit us who shared her personal converson in great detail. She has a successful business and "supports" one of the TV preachers with her wealth.
It did not take long to learn she is a typical "cruisematic"--that is, cruising between churches but uncommitted to any of them. Her explanations of the various church groups she has attended revealed her total ignorance that she is a limb in the Body of Christ. She had no knowledge of the powerful experiences that occur living in a true ecclesia..
The Christian community suffers violence because of the heretical teaching that salvation is a "personal" experience that allows a new believer to remain endlessly detached from authentic community life. This precious woman loves her Lord! Her tramping around is because she is a victim. She has never been taught that there are no "lone rangers" in the Kingdom. She was, of couse, carefully taught she could experience the personal baptism of the Holy Spirit, but never exposed to the great truth that life in Christ is life attached to hands, feet, arms and inward parts that compose Christ's present body.
How do you feel about this? Post a response, please!
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I think the personal aspect of salvation is valid. Christ died for each of us personally. However, as my own pastor has said many times, it was never meant to be private.
ReplyDeleteThat's where so many churches today fall short as you wrote above. Evangelism methods in use today are anything but relational, making the entrance into the kingdom a lonely one for many new believers. No wonder so many fall away or never experience personal transformation through a true, biblical community.