Blog - dialogue or diabolical?

I need to be clear on something. There is a saying attributed to St. Augustine that says, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all points, charity." This blog and our church and my personal philosophy of ministry are centered around this.

What that means is that we have some core doctrines that we believe are clearly found in the Bible and that are essential to our faith, specifically the doctrines of The Trinity (including the deity of Christ); salvation by grace through faith alone; the virgin birth; the return of Christ; and the supremacy/inerrancy of Scripture. Without elaborating further, these are doctrines that we can't compromise on without calling into question the veracity of the Bible. A particular group is judged to be Christian (Baptist, Assemblies of God, Evangelical Free, Methodist, etc.) if they accept these, or cultic (Mormon, Scientology, Jehovah's Witness, Christian Science, etc) or of another religion (Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, etc.) if they do not. So in these essential doctrines, we have unity. We do not/will not sidestep, compromise, or turn away from these things.

But then we have some non-essential doctrines within Christianity that based upon a person's adherences to (or non-adherences) would determine denomination. These doctrines include (but are not limited to) the extent and role of spiritual gifts today; the role of women in the church; the particulars of the 2nd Coming of Christ, etc. My goal has been to not major on non-essentials - to allow diverse thought and liberty in these areas. As a pastor and spiritual leader, I have my own opinions, but I have a hard time requiring people to hold to those things which the Bible does not clearly line out. So non-essentials (of which I have barely scratched the surface) like these where there is disagreement, we have liberty to believe as we each sees fit.

But the last thing is that we are to show charity/love in all points. No matter what someone's opinion, we are to demonstrate the love of Christ to each of our neighbors (the 2nd greatest commandment). This takes into consideration all the things that Jesus said are important (remember the Beatitudes we are discussing?) - Jesus said mercy, forgiveness, compassion, justice - these things are important as they specifically relate to our treatment of others.

I call on us to remember this last point. This blog is meant to promote conversation, not confrontation or dissention. I feel that people might take things wrong at times when there is disagreement. If I disagree with you, please know that I do not speak to hurt or offend you or tear you down - and I would wipe out any comments that were destructive or were said mean-spirited. You can email me personally at robw@thejourneynh.com if I have offended you or call me at my office.

This blog is a dialogue - call it "dia-blog" - but let's not make it into something "diabolical." Let's use it to discuss and debate and sharpen each other. I know most everyone who comments, and I will speak up when I feel a foul is committed.

I ask your opinions on many things with never the intent to be-little or set ANYONE up as a fall-guy/fall-girl. Please understand that. I asked you below about what first impressions people might have - specifically non-believers who visit us with a friend or out of curiosity. My goal with that is to make sure that we have NOTHING that distracts them in service and NOTHING that deters them from coming back THAT WE CAN PREVENT. Too many diabolical forces are at work, trying to undermine all we do.

So the question is - what are some practical, cost-effective, noticeable fixes that we can do to make it so there are no distractions, disruptions, or turn-offs when people visit, specifically non-believers...? I would REALLY like to hear from you on these kinds of things. My two eyes only see so much - maybe you see something I don't. Maybe you can fix something I can't. LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO! :)