Rob, i just finished reading the article. I can certainly appreciate the difficulty that the pastor faced in dealing with the problem. I am confident that the real problem was more cultural than it was "spiritual", which may prove to be the same in some settings. This type of problem surfaces in churches everywhere, just under a different description. Perhaps, it is suits and ties as opposed to pants and t-shirt. I know that a great number of people disregard my opinion on matters due to the fact that I have tattoos or because I have a gotee. Often people consider my thoughts to be of little consequence due to the fact that I am a "pastor" and what do I really know about living life outside of the Church walls. There was only one point in the article when it was suggested that it was ".. a sign of submission to a higher authority" to remove a person's hat inside of the Church building or during prayer at a Graveside Service. It seemed to me that wearing the hats had less to do with a "spiritual position" and more to do with rebellion. No question that the rebellion ultimately was against God and his call for all believers to consider the needs of the fellowship as a whole, but that was not really conveyed by the Pastor to the family. I have found it interesting that such a great deal of emphasis has been placed on the "proper things to do in the church building", not necessarily within this post, but in general. As if the building truly represented the body of Christ as a whole. Paul makes such a strong argument for the believer to be identified as the "temple" of God in opposition to a building. If everything we do outside of the building is contrary to the Law of the Spirit, does it matter if we honor the "rules" inside of the building? On Oct 20, 2008, at 10:04 AM, Rob L. wrote:
> > In discussing James 4:12 last week I was trying to make a point that > if we don't obey a law because we think it is silly we are judging > that law. I initially used some driving laws to make my point (a > speed limit set to low e.g.) but turned to biblical laws. First let > me say that I don't think any of God's laws are silly and believe He > has a reason for whatever directives He has set - I was trying to stir > up some conversation about why we dismiss some scripture and obey > other parts - i.e. are we guilty of judging the law.... I threw out a > comment about a friend of all of ours wearing a "do-rag" in church and > how as an old-school type church person I didn't particularly care for > it; but I acknowledged it seemed like a silly thing to make an issue > of even though I know there is some scriptural support for my > opinion. WELL!! let me tell you, this opened a can of worms about > reaching out to people, and not judging, and freedom in Christ, and > all manner of objection and I ended up talking myself into a corner. > If you don't know I'm referring to Jim Joyce, and I have related to > Jim that he was the object of our discussion and it was as a learning > point rather than a protest or complaint. I don't want to come across > as gossiping behind Jim's back or anything. The objections were > specifically that Jim is reaching out to skaters in the community as > part as his ministry to youth and if dressing like them helps them > feel more comfortable in a church environment and ultimately brings > young people to Christ then who am I to get all "pharisee" on him. > It troubled me enough to come back to the issue yesterday and actually > we spent the whole class discussing this linked article - > http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/1998/spring/8l2054.html > It kind of reminded me of the whole "dancing" issue so I thought you > guys might find it interesting. In reading it I would encourage you > to see the baseball caps as a metaphor for whatever postmodern > behavior you think is relevant. Some scripture we referenced included > 1 Corinthians 8 and 1 Corinthians 11. I have more to add regarding my > own opinions but as always I'd like to see you'alls thoughts before I > inject my own bias (anymore than I already have...) > > Rob > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Crosspointe Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/crosspointe-discuss?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
