It is so hard to walk a line that leads down the middle of the road. Walton Padelford says, "The only thing you find in the middle of the road is a dead skunk with yellow paint across its back."
IOI was recently refused an audience with a missions committee because we are "too inclusive" and therefore not "orthodox". The funny thing is that in this democratic church I was never allowed to speak to the committee, nor was I ever asked one question. The conclusion was based solely on the fact that we work with so many denominations in Ethiopia, and our support comes from so many different churches in the USA.
The fact is IOI is an orthodox Christian missionary organization. As far as our Statement of Faith we site the Apostle’s and Nicene Creed, and believe the Bible to be inspired of God without error in the original manuscripts. Furthermore the ministers supported through IOI should preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ clearly as explained in scriptures such as I Corinthians 15:1-6 and be expecting the physical bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is about as orthodox a statement as one could possibly make.
The real issue it seems is not theology rather it is methodology. We are not charismatic enough for the Charismatic, we are too inclusive for the Cessationists. It is not the issue of revelation that is a problem (IOI holds to the classical Protestant view that there is no "new" revelation about God - Sola Scriptura, while at the same time giving honor to tradition when it complies with Scripture), rather it is speaking in tongues that plagues us as the unity breaker.
To be honest, most of what I see that is called a "work of God" seems to be nothing more than flesh on parade. Yet, I cannot deny that God still does miracles and there are many gifts that God gives. Scripture is clear that we are not to forbid speaking in tongues, furthermore Scripture is clear in how tongues are (or not) to be used publicly. We teach Biblical exercise of all the gifts to the glory of God and the edification of the Church. If the Church is not edified then cease.
Rather than promotion of a denominational flavor IOI is committed to the teaching of sound doctrine and sound methodology according to Scripture. It may not be possible to walk this line, but our law is the Law of Love. We see our brothers and sisters in need and we are striving to have compassion them. We seek to aid them financially and practically, as well as theologically and methodologically.
May God grant us His grace as we seek to fulfill this labor of love in unity of the Holy Spirit.
IOI was recently refused an audience with a missions committee because we are "too inclusive" and therefore not "orthodox". The funny thing is that in this democratic church I was never allowed to speak to the committee, nor was I ever asked one question. The conclusion was based solely on the fact that we work with so many denominations in Ethiopia, and our support comes from so many different churches in the USA.
The fact is IOI is an orthodox Christian missionary organization. As far as our Statement of Faith we site the Apostle’s and Nicene Creed, and believe the Bible to be inspired of God without error in the original manuscripts. Furthermore the ministers supported through IOI should preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ clearly as explained in scriptures such as I Corinthians 15:1-6 and be expecting the physical bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is about as orthodox a statement as one could possibly make.
The real issue it seems is not theology rather it is methodology. We are not charismatic enough for the Charismatic, we are too inclusive for the Cessationists. It is not the issue of revelation that is a problem (IOI holds to the classical Protestant view that there is no "new" revelation about God - Sola Scriptura, while at the same time giving honor to tradition when it complies with Scripture), rather it is speaking in tongues that plagues us as the unity breaker.
To be honest, most of what I see that is called a "work of God" seems to be nothing more than flesh on parade. Yet, I cannot deny that God still does miracles and there are many gifts that God gives. Scripture is clear that we are not to forbid speaking in tongues, furthermore Scripture is clear in how tongues are (or not) to be used publicly. We teach Biblical exercise of all the gifts to the glory of God and the edification of the Church. If the Church is not edified then cease.
Rather than promotion of a denominational flavor IOI is committed to the teaching of sound doctrine and sound methodology according to Scripture. It may not be possible to walk this line, but our law is the Law of Love. We see our brothers and sisters in need and we are striving to have compassion them. We seek to aid them financially and practically, as well as theologically and methodologically.
May God grant us His grace as we seek to fulfill this labor of love in unity of the Holy Spirit.
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2 comments:
it's sad that so many get caught up in the labels. but i suppose that's a result of our relatively accepting culture.
persecution has a way of weeding out fakers and making allies out of groups with insignificant differences. NOT that i'm praying for more persecution, but you know what i mean.
i guess it's discouraging that times of peace can't also be times of great cooperation.
As a kid my church helped get a Russian man out of prison in Siberia (it took years of work with the State Dep., money, etc.). When he got here we explained that we had been praying for years that the USSR Christians would be freed from their heavy persecution. He told us that Russian Christians prayed that we would experience more of it here!
At first I thought that a cruel prayer, but growing older I begin to understand the love for Christ's church that motivated it.
Great post, and great comment from Nic Pfost.
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