A Warning Shot?
Part II
In my September 2010 article, “Warning Shot,” I quoted best-selling author Anne Rice’s reasons for leaving the church and why she would no longer identify herself with the brand “Christian.” Her actions caused her to be quickly dismissed by some as irrelevant, anti-church, and anti-god.
Redeeming Disillusionment by Stephen R. Crosby
Dear friends,
Based on recent conversations with many of you regarding the “state of affairs” of things apostolic-prophetic in recent years, I thought the following “Prophetic Manifesto” might be of interest to you. I did it about 2 years ago and if you and I are newly friends, perhaps you have not seen it.
Who is the Good Samaritan?
Introduction
When we approach the Scripture we must always keep context in mind. Untold harm is routinely done to the saints by those who wrangle impossible meanings from Scripture through their subjective fancies and mental imaginations, perceived as “God speaking to them.” The de-contextualized presentation of Scripture is an epidemic problem in Charismatic and prophetic circles where any notion that pops into someone’s head is given the same status as the disciplined presentation of the Scripture. It is one thing to have liberty and personal edification in our private devotional application of Scripture. It is another matter to teach others from our subjective musings, ignoring the explicit context of Scripture.
The Kingdom of Heaven Does Not Forcibly Advance
(Matt 11:12)
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.[1]
This post article is an excerpt from Healing: Hope or Hype? Eloquent Books Copyright 2007. Dr. Stephen Crosby. www.stevecrosby.org.
Maturity—is there a more dangerous Christian concept? The preaching of a Christian maturity message is the #1 opening for legalism in the life of a believer. The tendency is particularly strong in what might be called deeper-life, high-calling, high-commitment, pursuit of God, sonship, or discipleship environments. The underlying thinking in these settings is the erroneous concept of “getting more of God.” This is defined as the acquisition of virtues and the elimination of sins resulting from our effort in various spiritual disciplines: out with the bad, in with the good. Allegedly, if we’re sincere, obedient, and embrace the latest “word,” we will experience some sort of spiritual return on investment blessing. If we fail, or do not perform to standard, then spiritual jeopardy supposedly results as the fruit of our disobedience. This performance and reward paradigm is sadly normative of much Western Christianity.
