Keith Brenton asks if maybe the good hearted men who began the Restoration Movement (of which my church has it's roots) didn't perhaps start off in the wrong direction in the first place.
The whole Restoration exercise has made us church-centered instead of Christ-centered. We preach church instead of Christ. We preach what to do instead of what He has done - and is doing, and would like to do through us, if we'd just let Him. ...I don't want to be like the church of the first century. Or the eighteenth century. Or the twentieth, or even the twenty-first. I want to be like Jesus.
Amen Keith. I think you nailed it. Rather than the restoration business, perhaps we need to be in the redirection business. Redirecting people to Jesus.
Yep! Keith did good. I like "Redirection" - that would be a good new era.
The entire early Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement wasn't interested in restoring first-century worship practices. Elements of that appeared later.
Redirection vs Restoration.. well said Doug!
I like "Redirection" too!
I agree with Keith's sentiment, but I think its more complicated than that. The men who started our movement were looking for truth and freedom, as well as Christian unity and the "restoration of the ancient order."
Josh
Fair point, Josh, but I think you'd agree that somewhere along the way the goal drifted, however, and restoring the new testament church became the focus.
I came to this rude awakening about 5 years ago but he says it much better than I ever could.