I consider myself to be a Charismatic Reformed Baptist. To be “reformed” is to celebrate our Calvinistic roots. To embrace a theological viewpoint that is centered on the Word of God but welcomes its changing application to contemporary situations. As the theologian Karl Barth explains, a reformed theologian “has a Bible in one hand and the New York Times in another.”
Notice that I am saying that we are “open to change”. I did not say that we are perfect. Many of us, I am afraid, do have an unwarranted assumption that the church is, or should be, perfect, sinless, free of the intrigues and petty jealousies that have plagued her since disciples fought over who would be number one. Now be honest: haven’t there been times you have pulled out of a church because of decisions and behavior that you have deemed improper?
Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon days fame creates a fictional church–Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility–to illustrate an important point: we are so busy that we forget to be the caring place that a church should be. There is a hunger in us that simply will not be met by frenetic, religious activity.
A pastor once remarked, “Church members do not die–they are offended.” The painful fact is that we in the church are not good at dealing with conflict. Small problems fester into open sores that make us totally ineffectual. Therefore, we no longer find the love of God in Church. Karl Barth warned, “The church is often our last hiding place from God.”