Comments on: The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith 1 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/ A virtual notebook of Christian expression, journey, and study. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:01:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7-beta3 hourly 1 By: paula montes http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-18221 paula montes Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:03:03 +0000 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-18221 Happened upon the tribe website and read couple posts here and there. Interesting. A little intimidating because I'm not well educated, but definitely looking for God. Have attended mostly small independent pentecostal holiness churches all my life, off and on. Feel like there is a bigger picture that is being left out. Anyone familiar with this type church , denomination, or can compare the ideas within your posts to pentecostal holiness doctrine? It is unfathomable the amount of study, books, reading, teaching, perspectives, doctrine, etc. that is out there. But where is God? And with what / whom do we fellowship, because, the truth is, many / most / all of us are in some part(s) in error, yet surely all are not forsaken by God for these errors!! Happened upon the tribe website and read couple posts here and there. Interesting. A little intimidating because I’m not well educated, but definitely looking for God. Have attended mostly small independent pentecostal holiness churches all my life, off and on. Feel like there is a bigger picture that is being left out. Anyone familiar with this type church , denomination, or can compare the ideas within your posts to pentecostal holiness doctrine? It is unfathomable the amount of study, books, reading, teaching, perspectives, doctrine, etc. that is out there. But where is God? And with what / whom do we fellowship, because, the truth is, many / most / all of us are in some part(s) in error, yet surely all are not forsaken by God for these errors!!

]]> By: paula montes http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-18220 paula montes Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:51:33 +0000 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-18220 Happened upon the tribe website and read couple posts here and there. Interesting. A little intimidating because I'm not well educated, but definitely looking for God. Have attended mostly small independent pentecostal holiness churches all my life, off and on. Feel like there is a bigger picture that is being left out. Anyone familiar with this type church , denomination, or can compare the ideas within your posts to pentecostal holiness doctrine? Happened upon the tribe website and read couple posts here and there. Interesting. A little intimidating because I’m not well educated, but definitely looking for God. Have attended mostly small independent pentecostal holiness churches all my life, off and on. Feel like there is a bigger picture that is being left out. Anyone familiar with this type church , denomination, or can compare the ideas within your posts to pentecostal holiness doctrine?

]]> By: Shawn Anthony http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15991 Shawn Anthony Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:04:43 +0000 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15991 @Pistol Pete: Absolutely. The question is however, one of authenticity. We can - and have - expressed this Christological center in fairly generic terms. We have done so because numerical or surface growth is more important than an authentic centering in Christ. IMHO. @grace: Right on. Christology informs discipleship in such a way that without it we won't have the other! You got it! :) @Pistol Pete: Absolutely. The question is however, one of authenticity. We can - and have - expressed this Christological center in fairly generic terms. We have done so because numerical or surface growth is more important than an authentic centering in Christ. IMHO.

@grace: Right on. Christology informs discipleship in such a way that without it we won’t have the other! You got it! :)

]]> By: grace http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15982 grace Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:26:36 +0000 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15982 Shawn, Great post! I have been thinking about how evangelicalism has become disconnected from discipleship and that, as you said, a change in the way we "do church" will be necessary to recapture that focus. I agree that it would resonate with those who see little value in what the church has become. Shawn,
Great post! I have been thinking about how evangelicalism has become disconnected from discipleship and that, as you said, a change in the way we “do church” will be necessary to recapture that focus. I agree that it would resonate with those who see little value in what the church has become.

]]> By: Pistol Pete http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15964 Pistol Pete Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:24:37 +0000 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15964 No doubt a Christological center need be part of any authentic Church. Our primary purpose is to help people grow in a living and loving relationship with Jesus Christ. If we can do that, the other things will fall into place. No doubt a Christological center need be part of any authentic Church. Our primary purpose is to help people grow in a living and loving relationship with Jesus Christ. If we can do that, the other things will fall into place.

]]> By: Shawn Anthony http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15959 Shawn Anthony Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:35:08 +0000 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15959 Hi! First of all, I'm reading an article by Augsburger, not a book. This article is taken from BIC History and Life, August 2000. I have yet to get my hands on Augsburger's books, but I will! :) Now then, as regards your question concerning how this classical Anabaptist Christological center cited by Augsburger would change the way we "do" church ... I'm speaking specifically from a Brethren in Christ context wherein a classical Anabaptist expression has been seemingly replaced with a more generic Evangelical one. The embrace of this generic Evangelical expression has resulted in a bunch of ways to "do" church that look nothing like the ways of doing church if church was in fact centered upon the classical Anabaptist Christological center as cited by Augsburger. Make sense? So, for example, if we, in the BIC, would lean back into our Anabaptist heritage more than we do a generic evangelicalism, then we would see a drastic change in the way church is done, in this context. Salvation would not be about guilt or fear; Christianity would not just be about getting into Heaven; church would not be the place where we simply check in with God; doctrinal confessions would not be more important than the relationship. I think these things would radically change the way we "do" church, and they are all rooted, according to Augsburger, in classical Anabaptist Christology. I also happen to think this is exactly what the upcoming generation of believers is looking for, as the generic evangelicalism has been tried and found wanting. Hi! First of all, I’m reading an article by Augsburger, not a book. This article is taken from BIC History and Life, August 2000. I have yet to get my hands on Augsburger’s books, but I will! :)

Now then, as regards your question concerning how this classical Anabaptist Christological center cited by Augsburger would change the way we “do” church …

I’m speaking specifically from a Brethren in Christ context wherein a classical Anabaptist expression has been seemingly replaced with a more generic Evangelical one. The embrace of this generic Evangelical expression has resulted in a bunch of ways to “do” church that look nothing like the ways of doing church if church was in fact centered upon the classical Anabaptist Christological center as cited by Augsburger. Make sense?

So, for example, if we, in the BIC, would lean back into our Anabaptist heritage more than we do a generic evangelicalism, then we would see a drastic change in the way church is done, in this context.

Salvation would not be about guilt or fear; Christianity would not just be about getting into Heaven; church would not be the place where we simply check in with God; doctrinal confessions would not be more important than the relationship. I think these things would radically change the way we “do” church, and they are all rooted, according to Augsburger, in classical Anabaptist Christology. I also happen to think this is exactly what the upcoming generation of believers is looking for, as the generic evangelicalism has been tried and found wanting.

]]> By: lombard mann http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15958 lombard mann Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:09:10 +0000 http://www.lofitribe.com/2008/02/01/the-contemporary-relevance-of-the-anabaptist-faith-1/#comment-15958 I've been doing some reading myself on Anabaptist tradition and was intrigued by your synopsis of Augsburger's book. At the end of your post you wrote: "A contemporary expression of this classical Christological center will change the way we live and the way we “do” church." I'm curious how you see this center may change how we "do" church? Can you give example(s)? I’ve been doing some reading myself on Anabaptist tradition and was intrigued by your synopsis of Augsburger’s book. At the end of your post you wrote:

“A contemporary expression of this classical Christological center will change the way we live and the way we “do” church.”

I’m curious how you see this center may change how we “do” church? Can you give example(s)?

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