Our Mission
With our one-year anniversary approaching (December 21 for Slicedlaodicea.com; January 6 for ChristianResearchNetwork.Info), it is time to revamp our “about us” section into something more suitable which gives a better idea of our mission here at CRN.Info
It has been noted by folks much brighter than me that one can only go on for so long as an organization by being defined by what you are NOT - and eventually you must define yourself on what you ARE. In this spirit, I am proposing the following description of our mission here at CRN.Info, and I am asking for input from all of our writers and readers (even the vast number of you out there who read but don’t comment) so that we can put this in place soon, when I revamp our static pages (don’t worry, Julie - I’ll keep the Glossary and the Logic Lessons!)
So, without additional introduction, here is my draft proposal:
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Our Mission
Jesus, the Messiah, once commented about the greatest commandment:
” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
With this in mind, we at CRN.Info seek first to love God in the following manner:
1. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” and so it is that first we seek to obey his commands and to teach others to do so. With many commands, this instruction on obedience is very clear, and so it is that we instruct others to follow in this clear teaching.
2. In many situations, we must make decisions based on scripture in which there are conflicting concepts at work, or unclear guidance - particularly when weighing literal meaning (ex. “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair…”) and underlying meaning (”Women should dress modestly, not in the manner of prostitutes”). In these situations, it is necessary to take the advice of Jude 3 and contend (”To strive in opposition or against difficulties; struggle”) for the faith and search for the appropriate meaning and application of scripture to these situations.
3. Jesus said that we are to worship God and serve Him only. As such, we believe it is also important that we see worship in all that we do in service to Him - not just confined to a short period of time one day per week. In this vein, we see that it is important that we give specific devotions and worship to Him in our writing, and that all of our writing would honor Him, even when it is not “devotional” in nature.
With the second greatest command, “love your neighbor as yourself”. In seeking a definition of love, we view Paul’s writing to the Corinthians:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Also, we see guidance in our loving treatment of brothers in Christ in Paul’s letter to the Galatians:
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
1. Jesus said that we are to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” We believe this is best accomplished by individual believers and the local church ‘living the gospel’ and sharing it in relationships with others. As such, we believe that the medium of the internet is not best suited to this purpose, but rather to use scripture and the talents granted to us by God to equip Christians for ‘living the gospel’. Therefore, this site’s primary audience is a Christian one, in which we can offer encouragement and new ideas to individuals and churches seeking to evangelize, rather than being a principal tool of evangelism.
2. Jesus also taught us, through the thread of all scripture, to care for “the least of these” - the sick, the poor, the hungry, the prisoner, the widow, the orphan, the stranger among us - and that when we do so, we are doing it for him, as well. However, our words cannot fill stomachs. Our sentences cannot heal the sick. Our graphics cannot bring the poor out of poverty. Again, as with evangelism, we can, through God’s help, equip individual believers to care for the ‘least of these’ and encourage all of us to be more “missional” in our outlook to the world around us.
3. For all of its advances, the internet as enabled Satan to re-tool his spirits of gossip, slander, deception and divisiveness to enter the sheepfold under the guise of “discernment”, attacking those whom are already saved in a dying world. This spirit of “discernment” elevates personal piety to new heights while completely missing the greater gifts of justice, mercy and faithfulness. This “discernment” is of the same spirit of the Pharisees of old to whom Jesus spoke:
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
This “discernment” is of the same spirit which sought to slam the doors to the kingdom of God in the faces of those who sought to enter it, while denying that this kingdom even has begun its existence here on earth. This “discernment” spirit has sought to disrespect, disavow, discourage and disenfranchise individuals and entire groups of brothers and sisters in Christ as part of its elevation of external preferences and its adherence to systematic doctrines of men. With the tool of the internet, this spirit of “discernment” has pulled together its aberrant views and narrow, twisted “theology” has sought to do harm to the bride of Christ. And so, it is with this tool, the internet, that we believe that God has given us the time, the tools and the talents to battle this spirit within this present darkness. It is with this tool that we believe God has empowered us to focus on the lowliest of the tasks listed here.
Our Challenge
Our challenge in fighting this spirit is in not stooping to the same levels at which it does to achieve its ends. Our challenge is to fight this spirit in love and charity - both of which it will not grant in return. When we fail in doing all things in love, it is incumbent that we will admit our mistake and repent, once again following in the way of love.
Our challenge in fighting this spirit of modern-day phariseeism is to not become a tax collector, standing in a corner saying “thank God I am not like that Pharisee!” Our challenge is to find that middle ground where holiness, humility and grace meet.
Who We Are
We, the writers at CRN.Info, are volunteers across many denominations within Christianity, with a common faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. We also share a common desire to see the way of Jesus lived out in our world - seeking relational unity despite our doctrinal differences. We seek to model the way that Christians should disagree, and to model the way Christians to act when they fail in that end.
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My original thought was to circulate this amongst the writers here at CRN.Info and publish it in the coming weeks. However, because our readers/commenters are a vital part of our community here, I thought it would be best to open it up to all of us to discuss and challenge.
In doing so, I realize that I also invite risk as well.
To that end - if you are intent on making snarky comments, insults or unconstructive criticism, I would ask that you continue to do so on the other threads you’ve likely graced to this point. To the rest of you, I would ask that you not respond in kind to these types of responses, but rather to just ignore them as if they do not exist, and let their presence alone testify to the character of their authors, in light of this request.
So - what have I missed? What have I overemphasized? Is this the right direction?
Discuss.
December 18th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
One thing that I have heard discussion on would be a “who we are page.” Put some humanity to the writers.
December 18th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
This is probably a good idea - can it be boiled down to one paragraph like the “Challenge” and “Who we are?”
December 18th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
To lift up God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit through teaching, correction, confrontation, humility, praise, worship, and that in all things Christ may have the pre-eminence. We ackowledge our imperfections, our shortcomings, and our dependence upon the Word of God as our final authority. We encourage discourse, dialogue, debate, and even disagreement. And above all things, we endeavor with flawed success to do all things in the love of God.
December 18th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
“Jesus, the Messiah, once commented about the greatest commandment:
†‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.â€
Will the new mission of this sight work to accomplish this commandment? That depends on your understanding of how this great commandment is kept. By an act of God, or an act of us?
And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine HEART, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live (Deuteronomy 30:6 KJV).
Outside of the “spiritual newbirth” this commandment can never be truly accomplished, unless those posting have been circumcised in the heart. Can the wisdom of man truly convert anyone?
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: (Romans 15:8 KJV).
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3 KJV).
But the hour cometh, and now is, when true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24 KJV)
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that OF THE HEART, in the spirit, and not in the letter (Mosaic law); whose praise is not of men, but of God (Romans 28,29 KJV)
F Whittenburg
December 18th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Whit,
Is there a reason you always use KJV? I always end up having to put it into biblegateway to get a decent translation…
December 19th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Is there a reason you always use KJV?
It is simply the version that my mother gave me as a gift years ago. I went out and bought a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordence years ago that was also KJV. I also had a KJV Franklin electronic bible that I use to carry in my pocket. I have found it easier to stay in one translation instead of jumping around. Do I seem “scripturally challanged” as a result of using the KJV?
F Whittenburg
December 19th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Sounds awesome to me. I’d just change one word (in Our Challenge):
Given the context, might “may” be a more appropriate word than “will”? To me, “will” says that we’re fighting a battle that’s already been lost. But then, maybe I misinterpret.
Are you getting verklempt?
December 19th, 2007 at 12:48 am
Sounds good. I think a “who we are” page with the writers (and links to their sites, etc.) wouldn’t be a bad idea.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:04 am
It’s just the KJV is such a flawed translation IMO
December 19th, 2007 at 7:35 am
“It’s just the KJV is such a flawed translation IMO”
Would you rather me respond to these posts from the Vedic scriptures of India and just dump the Bible altogether?
I spent two hours in a parking lot in a conversation with a devote disciple of a offshoot of Hinduism. I used the wisdom I found in the KJV in my responses and at the end of the conversation I was asked to come teach in their temple. I put a copy of that conversation that day in my ebook (When Faith Came page 115-118).
I found them more “committed” in their pusuit of the “absolute truth” than anyone I have heard from on any blog site I have found. I just think they were looking for it in the wrong place. Even they did not claim that “absolute truth” did not exist. I ask this question to this whole site then. In your opinion, what is the purpose of the Emerging Church, to pursue “absolute truth” or to create it (i.e. consensus reality)?
F Whittenburg
http://www.christiannewbirth.com
December 19th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Whit,
You can use whatever translation you like - I just wondered your motivation for using KJV. Some use it because it “sounds more holy”, whereas others do because they consider it the ONLY viable English translation. You, on the other hand, don’t come off as either of these, so I just wondered your reasoning.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:39 am
It is the most flawed translation in wide circulation, but for about 350 years it was the best possible translation. But, I don’t believe its flawed enough to urge people to switch if that’s what they like, and get the most out of. Every translation has its issues, noting the weaknesses of one is not the same as saying “you can’t get any use out of it in a parking lot talking to a Hindu”.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Do they have “Don’t be so defensive pills?” because you need to take some.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Joe,
If they have those, then I have a few people to nominate for involuntary injections.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I tweaked a couple things, unsplit one infinitive, etc…
Our challenge in fighting this spirit is to refrain from stooping to the same levels, to refrain from employing the same tactics.
Our challenge is to fight this spirit in love and charity - whether or not they are granted in return.
When we fail in doing all things in love, it is incumbent that we admit our mistake and repent, once again following in the way of love.
Our challenge in fighting this spirit of modern-day phariseeism is not to become a tax collector, standing on a corner saying “Thank God I am not like that Pharisee!†Our challenge is to find that middle ground where holiness, humility and grace meet.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:02 am
a bit more tweaking
We, the writers at CRN.Info, are volunteers across many denominations within Christianity. We share a common faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. We also share a common desire to see the way of Jesus lived out in our world - seeking relational unity despite our doctrinal differences. We seek to model the way that Christians should disagree, and to model the way Christians should act when they fail in that end.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I like “3″ with the excption of assigning the ODM’s as Satan’s work.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Before any of us hits “submit” or “publish”, my hope would be that we will evaluate what we have just written against this middle ground. I think an excellent example of this middle ground was Chris’s recent post on toning it down a tad. I think a guideline we might use to facilitate this middle ground is to keep our comments focused on the content of what the ODMs write rather than the ODMs themselves unless we have something positive to say about the individual. Nathan wrote to this effect back in October.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:57 am
All good comments.
Neil - I was trying to separate the spirit behind what comes out of many of the ODM’s from the individuals themselves. I will look at toning that down to make better sense without being inflammatory to individuals.
John - I like that middle ground, but often I find myself straying from it, myself. I think having it in writing makes it harder to stray (at least without being called on it).
Joe/Julie - I will add a “Who We Are” section where each of us can create a page for a bio. It was on my list to do before, and (as I so often do with things) I forgot about it. My apologies for the oversight.
All - I’d kind of like it to be a bit longer (rather than more general), as I think it helps us divide up our writing into difinitive areas, and it better helps us to answer the inevitable first question of every new commenter sent here from CR?N/SoL - “how are you any different from the watchdoggies?”
December 19th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
When you say “middle ground” I assume you mean in style and tone - not belief… correct?
December 19th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Maybe “How we are different from the ODM’s/Watchdogs” would be it’s own section.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Neil, basically going back to the “window washing” sermon we linked to - not being pharisaical and not being hedonistic - finding the middle ground where we can be critical of both extremes in humility and grace.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Interesting… I was going to put some of those things in a “policies” page, but they could probably be worked in on the mission page…
December 19th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
But I’m better with brevity.
This will be perplexing.
I may have to commit to something!
December 20th, 2007 at 11:44 am
I’ve added a “Who We Are” page, so that all of the writers here can attach their bios to them