(Just for your FYI: Kluck has also written a great book on the Emergent church movement entitled, Why We Are Not Emergent
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.)The event is scheduled for Saturday March 12th at 7 pm and will be held at Grace Brethren Church. Tickets are by donation.
I'll be having a chance to interview Kluck on the Town Crier Show in a couple of weeks too. Be sure to tune in to get your interests peeked.
4 comments:
From the comments on Amazon.com, it seems that Mr. Kluck's new book is loved by those who say that everyone should attend a typical American church, but not loved by those who find true Christian fellowship, love, and service outside of a typical American church. One reviewer noted that Mr. Kluck did not seem to interview or research any of those people who do not go to a structured typical church. I have not read the book myself, but I would guess that those who are die-hard church attenders will love the book, as we often love that with which we already agree. I think that if we would first go to the Scriptures to form our views rather than forming our views (or rather, having our views formed for us via "church") and then picking out supporting points from the Bible, we would see much differently. If Jesus were in Ashland, whould He have to pick one of the hundreds of "churches" to attend and become a member?
Make sure we distinguish: Kluck does not say everyone should attend a "typical American church." Jesus would not even dawn the steps of such churches.
Kluck thinks that one should only attend a local church that demonstrates true fidelity to Christ.
As for the question if we are mandated to attend a local church, please see http://covenantchapel.blogspot.com/2009/05/case-for-membership-or-why-should-i.html
I wonder if you have ever read any of Frank Viola's books. If you have, I suppose you read them thinking, "That's not right," "That's not what the Bible means," etc. Yet, that is how one can easily read Mr. Kluck's books unless one has been raised and trained to blindly believe what he teaches. If one agrees with him, one with applaud his works unceasingly. Will those who also believe that everyone must be in a traditional church (unlike the early church) challenge Mr. Kluck's invalid points? I did not think so. I think that Mr. Kluck and Mr. Viola represent opposite extremes, neither of which is absolutely correct. Even a casual reading of the Bible will find it hard to imagine any approval of today's American denominations and hundreds of "churches" in the same town. We are not united. We follow denominations, yet blindly and Pharisaically refuse to consider any other option or even consider that this way may not be what God intended. As for Rev. Timmons' blog about the case for church membership, that too seems to come from one who has been trained in one theological viewpoint, and from that viewpoint he then goes to the Bible to support that viewpoint, rather than first clearing one's mind of what one has been taught and then prayerfully read the Scriptures and see how the Biblical church really was. Who are the elders of the church in Ashland? It is sad to call denominations necessary evils. With so much worldliness in the church today, do we simply say that worldliness is a necessary evil? Of course not, but we like our denominations and our hundreds of divided churches, and most pastors are too proud to even think of giving up their denomination to become one body in a locality. If the church at Ashland would really unite, we would have hundreds of "elders," most of whom would not step down from their positions of power. There are many flaws and false arguments in Rev. Timmons' blog about church membership, but in these cases, his own denomination would joyfully approve of what was written, and so all in that denomination remain happy. The outcasts remain those who question the established church--as it has been for all time.
How about doing some critical analysis? What is good/bad about Viola/Kluck? What is right/wrong about the membership article?
The only thinkg that I glean from your comment is that no one has a right interpretation of Scripture, and there is no church of Christ on earth--the gates of hell have prevailed against it.
Surely this isn't true, is it?
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