Major Confusion - please help

norbie said:

And how do we minister to our Non-Christian Friends?
"it's all between you and God: what are we teaching? same Sex relation, don't worry it's between you and God. Divorce-Remarry, don't worry it's just a formality for the o.k. from the Bishop and don't worry what's written in Matthew.
I think we have a lot of thinking to do!

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The question wasn't really about whether or not we are teaching about same-sex relations here at CF, but whether or not the site is a ministry. I agree with Naomi in that we Christians minister to each other and to non-Christians here on CF by praying for them, fellowshipping with them, encouraging, and engaging with them in seeking out the will of God. Engaging with them doesn't mean judging them. It's about coming alongside people, isn't it? It isn't about standing nose-to-nose with someone shouting at them that what they are doing is sinful. We point them towards the Way, towards Christ, towards Scripture, and then we let God be God and we let the Holy Spirit be the Holy Spirit.

Well said, Naomi.

erin74 said:

Yes we are all called to be ministers - but that doesn't make CF a ministry. If I go to the pub with friends and we minister to people while we are there, we are doing ministry, but the pub isn't a ministry, just a location.


CF is now just a location where ministry may occur - it used to encourage it, now ministry will be done despite it.

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That's the same for any real-life ministry, though, Erin.

There are places where we carry out our ministries, and there are functions that we do. CF is a place for us to do a particular ministry, and we do it by reaching out in the forums.

I'm one of those people who considers church to be the people, rather than a building or the clergy. Here, we've shifted the deck chairs around a bit, but the people are still the same. The only people we have control of are ourselves, and we don't need anyone's permission to continue doing what we have always done, and may even have some of the shackles removed so that we can do so more freely.

I do have a lot of concerns about CF at the moment. I support Erwin's vision, but I don't like the way we are going about getting there. It gives way too much power to extremists (from either end of the spectrum) and not enough to those of us who acknowledge grey areas.

I think abandoning the witch hunts over icons is a good thing. I think that if someone wants to call themselves a Christian, that is between them and God. It's not for 'CF' to judge. The Christian faith is a journey - you don't know it all from day 1. When someone makes a decision to turn their backs on the earthly world and follow Christ, this does not suddenly turn them into A1 theologians who have a clear and orthodox view of what the Trinity means - therefore, when someone, in their infancy, says something 'wrong', it is an abomination that we should be jumping up and down calling for their Christian icon to be removed. I found this to be quite sickening.

The old CF was judgmental and merciless. At the moment, the new CF is not much better - only more open about it. What we need is a focus towards living out the gospel, and encouraging those in their faith. We don't need to be their judges - God is quite capable on his own, and we need to focus on him rather than how other people have fallen short.

Erin...

Don't worry yourself. Stick around on staff, and let the stressed out people work out what they want from all this back-and-forth debate about the forum. In the end, it will be much the same as it is, God willing, and then we can all get back to being CFers.

It will all pan out- just enjoy the ride, watch the circus and get comfy with some popcorn until it's over.

erin74 said:

and possibly Semper Reformed - I've posted there on and off for quite some time, but not sure if I count given I've yet to affirm L.

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You'd be most welcome at SR

Naomi4Christ said:

How do we minister to others?

First of all, we pray for them.

Secondly, we live out the gospels ourselves

Thirdly, we are encouraging, edifying and uplifting to others.

What we shouldn't do is tell them they are wrong or unworthy. We should meet people where they are and not where we want it to be. By extending the hand of friendship, and living out the gospel, we can prepare their hearts to open up to the power of the holy spirit. Only then can they experience the life changing power of the Christian faith, when the factors that shaped their old life become less important than those in their new life in Christ.

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Well said, Naomi