ow.ly/w5pFK @albertmohler calls the church a family of families (19:32). Waiting for my detractors to attack him... CRICKETS! For those who dont remember, I was the subject of numerous articles, blog posts, classroom lectures, and even a chapter in Andreas Kostenbergers reprint of God Marriage and Family for having said the SAME THING! People wrote endlessly about the fact that the church was made up of baptized believers... NOT families, as though I (a 1689 Second London, Reformed Baptist) didnt know that. The idea that I was NOT talking about the theological makeup of the church was simply ignored. Kostenberger even used the term earlier in God, Marriage, and Family before chastising me for using the term in Family Driven Faith! Admittedly, some of the critics have come around on this issue. They have had to acknowledge the fact that 1) the term is not unique to me, 2) the statement is not a comment on ecclesiology, 3) our church has individual, not family membership (therefore negating the charge that I use the term to mean something heterodox), and 4) others, including some of my critics, have used the term without consequence. Nevertheless, there is still the occasional article or blog post that pulls the old family of families straw man off the shelf and beats him to a pulp. It is interesting, though, that when theological luminaries like Kostenberger, and now Mohler, use the exact same phrase, they are given the benefit of the doubt. To my knowledge, there has not been a single article or blog post condemning Kostenberger for using the phrase (in both editions of GMF). Nor do I expect any against Mohler... but why? Because neither of them pastors a church that puts the idea into action! Neither of them has attacked the Youth Ministry/Systematic Age Segregation sacred cow. Therefore... CRICKETS! Here are some articles Ive written on the family of families subject: ow.ly/w5tqB ow.ly/w5ttj
Posted on: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:05:13 +0000