These are the sorts of thoughts that go through my head these days:

Humour based on observation of humanness in all its absurdity seems to have taken over from ‘gags” in Stand up Comedy. Has observational preaching based on a good moving communicator unfolding our humanness before our startled or moist eyes taken over from “doctrine” based on God in Christ in pulpits?

“Meology replacing Theology ? “: Remember wondering that about the first time I heard Rob Bell doing a sort of meditation on a theme type talk, when he was still the darling of the Evangelical world. It is not I felt he was not a Christian, but just a feeling that maybe, as happens, the pendulum was about to swing too far in his case away from being a preacher about Christ to almost becoming a secualr preacher of hope or motivation more appropriaate to a column in a Women’s magazine page or in a talk show setting than a preaching pulpit or  even a touchy feely smoke filled preaching platform,  or  a conference or event stage. 

It is as though nowadays  salvation  is achieved through understanding ourselves from a psychological point of view and offering settings for emotional release, sometimes indeed very public and large settings, even national settings for outpouring of locked up thoughts, feelings, responses to events in the News. Humanity discovering its shared pain for a moment is a good thing. However, Christ as the Healer? Officially barred from entrance, not to be mentioned.

The devil tsays to those who do not beleive in his voice, “Come and I will make you fishers of men.” Christians hooked mouths are being reeled in, with the bait of words like “missional opportunity.”

Anyway, just sharing my wondering,: well, not quite that innocently. My thinking is already leaning one way and I am sharing it. Don’t get me wrong. Discovery of true God leads to discovery of true me. However I don’t think that is what is happening at the moment in church scenes, conference scenes that I was and to an extent still am most aware of. 

If you are preaching this weekend, be more than a commentator on the human condition, helpful though that may be. Bring the truth of Christ to bear upon that condition. To undestand myself is one thing, to save my eternal truest self and eternal soul  through that understanding is quite another. It cannot be done. If you have the opportunity to speak publicly to any sort of group this Lord’s Day, I  hope you have the beautiful feet of thosewho proclaim good news, so that people may call, “Save Me” to the One of whom they will have heard through you.

God Bless

Kenny