My time as a youth minister
Thursday, June 7th, 2007***This post is a work in progress***
For over two years I worked as a youth minister in an Anglican Church. One thing that I never ceased to be amazed about was the liberalism widely held to among the people within that denomination.
So, what makes a denomination liberal or conservative?
Recently I came across an article about core and non-core essential beliefs of Christians. Few would actually argue with the core beliefs listed, however, I’d point out two points with which I take issue.
1) Among the core beliefs there is no mention of the afterlife. The most common lack these days is in the belief in hell, while virtually everyone with any Christian/quasi-Christian belief thinks they are comfortably on their way to heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ makes it very clear that both places exist.
2) Among the non-core beliefs is the concept of women in ministry. Many these days in favour of women’s ministry turn passages in the Bible completely upside down to say completely the opposite of a plain reading of the text. I do not believe in women in ministry and it is something that will never ever happen in the Church which I and my family attend.
I’ve often thought of this in terms of a Venn diagram.
If those who compromised in the area of women’s ministry were contrasted with those who deny the existence of hell, the overlap would be large, almost identical. The same goes for those who believe in the ordination of homosexuals. Those who believe in ordination of women are on the whole all for it, if not sloppy on the issue. Of course, what I say here can be little better than anecdotal, but there’d be plenty of people who can testify to the experience, whether or not they agree or disagree with the existence of hell or the ordination of women per se.
Why does this all matter? It’s not to say that ordination of women is the worst sin in the world. We are all sinful, and there is no sin more heinous than the other. However, once you allow one group of people into leadership in the Church (which isn’t just the women themselves, but those who appointed them) who say that the Bible simply doesn’t matter and can be disrespected, you allow the thin edge of the wedge for a later generation who will simply turn the Church into a total circus.
A believer can always be assured there will always be Churches that do not compromise on these ‘peripheral’ issues and preserve a Church where God is truly glorified for future generations, should the Lord tarry. Certainly, if I ever choose to work in ministry at a Church again, I will be making sure that they include some of the issues increasingly seen as ‘peripheral’ among they classify as core beliefs.
