The Post-Modern Acts of God

This fundamental shift in thinking naturally affects the way people approach faith and their relationship to faith-based institutions. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, with its rigid structures and traditional approach to outreach, will certainly not be able to continue with business as usual in a post-modern world. I believe Jesus gives a glimpse of the Adventist dilemma in Matt 5:13-16. There He articulates two types of Christian community. One is based on the model of a city/fortress, the other is based on salt.

In the fortress model of evangelism, the saints are safely enclosed in protective walls with strong gates. They avoid undue influence from "the world" and safeguard the integrity of the community. From time to time, however, they will hold a "crusade" by opening the gates, sending out the army, and snatching up a few captives. The captives are brought back to the fortress, the gates are slammed shut and all is well in Fortressland. But we live in a world where the captives are becoming fewer and the casualties larger as a result of this approach.

In the salt model of evangelism, the salt mingles with a dish of food and melts in to the point where one can hardly tell what is salt and what is food anymore. But the result of this process is that the entire dish tastes better. The salt model is an incarnational model. The saints go out into the world and seek to make it a better place by their presence.

While the fortress model worked extremely well in the age of Christian modernism and continues to work well in territories where a large number of Christian modernists can be found, I believe the salt model points the way to a work for post-moderns that will engage the church and society in a productive interaction. I see nine changes in traditional Adventist outreach that will be necessary if we wish to participate in the mighty act of God that we call post-modernism.

Read the entire article here

Our church has always worked on the "salt" model. Jesus said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Mat 28:19, 20)

We are also counseled to call people out of the Babylonian churches into the safety and haven of the Remnant Church. "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." (Rev 18:4, 5)

Paul, as a good shepherd, jealously guarded his flock. He often counseled church members to avoid hypocrites and heretics and people who rejected the gospel as it is in Jesus. "And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." (2 Thes 3:14, 15)

1 Corinthians
5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

2 Corinthians
6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,
6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Mike, your post betrays that you have not read the entire article since you repeatedly, seemingly unawares, make contradicting statements without further comment.

"... contradicting statements without further comment." What do you think is contradicting?

The general points that the article makes, and which you would have been aware of when reading it.

To illustrate, you start with saying "Our church has always worked on the "salt" model."

The next paragraph says "We are also counseled to call people out of the Babylonian churches into the safety and haven of the Remnant Church."

The secound quote tells me that you do not know/understand what Paulien meant by the salt model, nor it seems what Jesus might have meant with it. If you do know and meant the secound sentence quoted to critique the article, that should have been done in a clearer way.

Thomas, you did an outstanding job of summing up the article. Considering that English is not your first language, makes it even more impressive.

Mike,

Ive realised Ive made a mistake. That you do not agree with the contents of the article doesnt nessessarily mean that my previous conclusions are true. Im sorry for that. Of course you are entitled to your own oppinion regarding these things.

Tom,

Its acctually not a summary of mine. I quoted a part of the article that I thought would be most likely to catch the attention of the netizens of the SDA Maritime forum.

Well, nice job quoting!

Thomas, I believe mingling with worldings for the sake of leading them to Jesus is a worthy model. But it must be on Jesus' terms. I agree with Paul's counsel of concern. We need to be very careful in ministering to worldings that in the process they do not lead us away from Jesus.

Yes, in mingling with the world, which we need to do, we need to be careful that, in mingling with the world, we do not become of the world.

PS - I read the entire article. I normally do not buy into ideas and theories that label people or generations of people. However, I did appreciate Pastor Jan's insights regarding new immigrants and indigenous people. I suspect this applies especially to people who immigrate from places where religious freedom is suppressed. But eventually people succumb to worldliness and the Gospel takes a back seat - what some call "lukewarm".

Regarding the verses you quoted in your first post. I thougth that since Paul writes about "brethren" as the ones doing those things, it would have refered to church members being guilty of it. Treat them as unbelievers. And how are we to treat unbelievers? Are we to pour contempt over them? If we do that, we ensure that they will continue to be unbelievers. Are we not instead to continue to model the Love of Jesus to them, even though they may not for the time being be our brothers or sisters?

Thomas

Thomas, here are the texts I quoted:


I agree with Paul, and with you, that we should be careful to not shun people who may be won to Jesus or won back to Jesus. But people who persist in despising or misrepresenting Jesus should be avoided. At what point, however, do we make this unfortunate decision "that he may be ashamed"?

Titus
3:10 A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject;
3:11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Tit 3:9 But avoid foolish controversies, arguments about genealogies, quarrels, and fights about the law. These things are useless and worthless.
Tit 3:10 Have nothing to do with a person who causes divisions after you have warned him once or twice.
Tit 3:11 For you know that a person like this is corrupt and keeps on sinning, being self-condemned.

Having had a look at Titus chapter 3, it seems to me that whom Paul is talking about here is the local pharisee in your church. The person who just cant keep him/herself from having oppinions about other peoples faith, acts or general relationship with God. And I agree with Paul here. Seldom does anything good come from assosiation with the local pharisee (or any other pharisee for that matter).

Thomas