Edgy or Offensive?
Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Lifechurch.tv, has been amazing me. I've mostly always liked Groeschel. Seminary forced me to begin carefully examining all the "hip and cool" churches of the day. Yes, they do "neat" things, but is "neat" biblical, God-glorifying, and submissive to Christ? Frankly, not always. There are tons of "cool" mega churches, and small churches for that matter, that do a bunch of "neat" things. But as I've matured in the faith, much has been exposed simply by comparing various church methods with Scripture.As I've begun to carefully and critically (in the constructive sense of the word) consider various contemporary, power-house churches, Lifechurch.tv has been no exception. I admit, there was a time when I questioned their depth. I loved their methods, but worried that the message was being overtaken by the method.
BUT, as I've followed Groeschel's message podcasts, and as I've followed his blog, I've been royally blown away at the growing depth of his heart. I'm no expert, I'm only beginning in ministry, but even I, a young pastor in the faith, can see amazing growth in one of America's leading contemporary pastors.
Here's why I say all this, Groeschel posted an awesome blog on "When Edgy Becomes Offensive." HE ABSOLUTELY nailed it on the head with this one. For example, one of the highlights of his brief post is, "The message of Christ and the cross is offensive. But our language and attitude doesn’t have to be." He is correct about the cross being offensive (1 Corinthians 1:20-25).
He also writes, "without wisdom and prayerful attention, a pastor can easily cross the line from edgy to offensive."
This is awesome. I am wildly encouraged by his blog, and other recent posts and podcasts as of late. Awesome, simply awesome.
Check it out . . .
posted by Bryan Laramore @ 7:49 PM
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