the response was not surprising. some called it a 'purge'; others a 'witch hunt'. in october, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) told its 1300 staff members that they are expected to abide by the organization's theologicl commitments - in particular those on human sexuality. if a staff member disagrees with IVCF's views (which are traditionally orthodox), they are expected to resign.
we have a different name fro IVCF's action: DISCIPLESHIP.
in a recent LifeWay Research survey, 62% of churchgoing Christians - and 57% of evangelicals - said their church does not have the authority to withhold the Lord's Supper or to exclude them from fellowship. an earlier LifeWay survey found that 9 in 10 evangelicals said the church doesn't have the authority to declare they're not christians. a 2011 Barna study found that only 5 % of christians involved in a church say their church holds them accountable (the figure was about the same for members of christian small groups).
the popular belief among christians seems to be the one expressed in an open letter to IVCF, posted in full by Religion News Service, objecting to its decision: 'we understand that conversations related to marriage, sexuality and gender are critical for christians, but we also recognize that christians of mutual goodwill can have these conversations and arrive at various conclusions'.
of course they can. but that doesn't mean those christians should be discipling college students through InterVarsity, or heading up a local church college and youth ministry. that's especially true when the evangelical organization or church, after h years of study and prayer, has rightly concluded that human sexuality is a core theological issue.
and that's the rub. an open letter from the Gay Christian Network argued: 'while we sympathize with the need for religious organizations to be able to take theological positions, we do not believe witch hunts based on privately held personal beliefs are the right way to handle a sensitive issue where many christians are EVOLVING. (note - does the truth of the Bible evolve? No. Jesus said in matthew 5.18 - for truly I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot (the smallest letter in the Old Testament Hebrew language) or tittle ( a tiny extension of another Hebrew letter, daleth(sp?) SHALL IN NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED. (ie. in the eternal state following the final destruction of our earth.)
...we live in a world that listens to a steady song of absolute autonomy, with its refrains of 'my rights', 'my freedom', and 'my truth'. others advocate communities of inclusion that embrace the intellectually marginalized. at the same time, media and university elites who sing such songs are the very ones who 'excommunicate' those who don't agree with their ideas...
there is plenty of room for grace in church discipline. and forgiveness. and gentle teaching of those who have yet to make up their minds : 'Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,,II timothy 2.25
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