Evaluating 40 Days of Community

You might be wondering if I am against attending a 40 Days of Community small group. Well, if you are wondering whether you should go, my answer is a qualified YES. My qualification is this: if you have your ears perked up on alert, if you rely on the scriptures and the Holy Spirit to test all things, if you read all the scriptures being referred to in context... you are prepared to handle anything that comes at you. This is not to give the green light to approve every teaching out there; we should desire to eat good fruit and not to have to dig through 90% sinew for a measly 10% meat, but it is to say that if your church has begun a program that you don't agree with, staying home probably is not the best thing to do. You can be of help to others if you read the text with an open mind, test what is being said and bring discernment to the group. Beware, however, that many who have attempted to hold Rick Warren's teachings accountable to God's Word have been suppressed, reprimanded and even disallowed from attending such a small group. The reason cited is that they are disrupting the unity of the group, however if that unity is based on error, then it is not true unity based on the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.

I've been thinking pretty hard about this issue of attending Rick Warren's small groups. I am reminded of my thoughts about sending my children to public school to be exposed to ungodly teachings about evolution, self-fulfillment, and other worldly philosophies where they will meet ungodly people that could thwart their lives... and I'm reminded of what Jesus said in Matt 10:16 (NASB): "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." My children have the distinct advantage of having parents that are going to help them in the midst of the trouble. But if we teach them well, they will become extremely strong through this process. I have written this blog with you in mind -- that your eyes may be opened to the truth so that you would be discerning in what teaching you digest.

For our part in the church, there should not be a time when we stop testing the things that are being told to us. We cannot let our guard down, relax and assume the spiritual coast is clear and all is safe.

"Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. But examine all things; hold fast to what is good. Stay away from every form of evil." -- 1 Thess 5:19-22, NET.

The argument that we can trust a teacher or minister because they seem to be sincere is fatally flawed. Here's the problem: does the fact that one is sincere guarantee that what they are saying is the truth? Is it not possible to be sincere and also to be wrong? We must be good Bereans and test all things to see whether they are true.