We're all to familiar with outreach. We set forth to welcome people who are not believers, people who are against Christianity, people who are interested, people who are falling out of faith, people who are in need and any other persons who hasn't known Christ yet. Carrying the same meaning, we have an array of reason for outreach such as spreading the Good News, spreading the Gospel, bringing glory to God, offering redemption and salvation from sin, preparing people for His second coming, demonstrating God's amazing grace, living out our faith, showering people with God's love and so on.
A certain experience I had this week though made me realize there is another kind of reaching going on here, on campus. It's what I'd call inreach. There are many churches around campus and there are many Christian focused campus organizations whose outreach sometime crosses over to inreach. This is where they reach out to believers belonging to other Christian groups or Churches. I believe their reasons are primarily comparative such as we have better activities, we're more fun, we're more friendly, we know the Bible better, out pastor is so awesome.
For me, this is sad. I grew up with a Catholic mom and a Methodist father. The first Church I attended was a Catholic Church. Then we went to a Charismatic Church, after that I went to a Brethren Church and had a short experience with the Revival movement. Infact, I've never failed to hear a sermon or remark from the pastor or elders elders in the Church about why they're the right way, the better way and it doesn't end without mudslinging at other denominations, particularly Catholicism. It is by far the reason my mom has given up on attending Church anymore.
The reason I'm writing this is because Intervarisity, as a non-denominational Christian focused campus organization will surely be filled by everyone from different background of faith and theological understanding. And surely we will encounter other Christians groups who may be denominational and have other differences with us, both small and big. Just a couple of weeks ago, we affirmed our believe in the Trinity, that Jesus is really God and also fully man at the same time. This is a position not held by all the people who call themselves Christians though. In fact, I can't be sure either that everyone who was at the Bible study session held that view either. In light of this, have you ever thought about your position when you're face with inreach, whether in within AIV or between other groups on campus? Have you anticipated the challenge being a leader in a non-denominational group may bring? When there exist a conflict between the truth you're convicted of, the interest of the group and the truth the person in front of your holds, what might be our action? And most importantly, internally, in our prayers, both in private and corporately, who are we willing to pray for and what are we willing to pray for.
Hi. Am I allowed to know who you are?
ReplyDeleteIt's Jason Paul Caleb lol
ReplyDelete"This is where they reach out to believers belonging to other Christian groups or Churches."
ReplyDeleteThere really is nothing wrong with this, and even though it can seem comparative a lot, I really believe that many times it happens because we want to strengthen the other parts of the body. Every campus group and church group has different strengths and weaknesses, as we are all different parts of the same body. We should therefore encourage one another in the body. Maybe what you saw was unfortunately some "we're better than you" garbage, but many times, we are out to learn about the kingdom culture of other groups and to see what we can offer other groups as well.
"And surely we will encounter other Christians groups who may be denominational and have other differences with us, both small and big. Just a couple of weeks ago, we affirmed our believe in the Trinity, that Jesus is really God and also fully man at the same time. This is a position not held by all the people who call themselves Christians though. In fact, I can't be sure either that everyone who was at the Bible study session held that view either. In light of this, have you ever thought about your position when you're face with inreach, whether in within AIV or between other groups on campus?"
If you are saying that non-denominational means that we can accept doctrines that dispute the Trinity or the divinity of Christ, I completely disagree. We have a doctrinal basis that is inflexible to these heresies. While we can love these people and make them feel welcome as people, we cannot yield any ground when it comes to these essentials. I'm also kind of happy to say that most campus groups share these basic core beliefs that we share, and we really don't have to worry too much about the essentials, even though we can differ on other details.
I'm not quite sure what you are trying to get at with the talk of being non-denominational, but we need to make sure that we don't alter or yield our beliefs simply to make people feel welcome in our fellowship.
I did experience the "better than you" thing. And regardless of personal experience, the "better than you" syndrome does exist. I don't know about you or anyone else in particular, but I too have the better than you syndrome sometimes. So I've been thinking about that recently and about my willingness to pray for other campus groups too.
ReplyDeleteIn bringing up the non-denominational aspect of IV, I wondering when and how to stand ground on our believes. In the same way we might bring a person who doesn't think God is real to SG Bible study, LG talk or a GIG meeting, we might be faced with Christians who don't share out doctrinal basis or who diverge on some smaller, finer details. I think this is one area I'm weak in and I should prepare myself should such an event arise. And surely the experience you guys have would be very helpful.
I also read an article on IV's website about them helping a LDS church member come to know and accept the Trinity.