NUT UP or SHUT UP (Spiritually Speaking)

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NUT UP or SHUT UP (Spiritually Speaking)

Posted by Evan Dawson in BLOG, Body of Christ, Church, Discipleship, Doctrine, Hypocrisy, Internal Battles, Jesus, Leadership, Passion, Social Media | Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

An e-mail came across the virtual desk of Third Option Men the other day. It simply said:

“What is your doctrine? Doctrine is important you know. Thanks.”

A fellow Third Option author and I happened to be meeting one-on-one, in the real world, for discipleship, when we saw this e-mail. We immediately discussed what the appropriate response should be to a question which may or not have been back-handed.

My first thought was something along the lines of, What a D-bag. Just being honest. The born-again mind inside me quickly chimed in at that point with a more spiritual and beneficial, What if this is a valid question, simply seeking an earnest answer?

In all actuality, the question at hand is extremely loaded. And that’s exactly what the other author and I said in our response:

Hey (name),

This question is quite “loaded.” We have many authors writing for T.O.M. from varying denominational backgrounds, traditional belief systems, etc. The easiest way to answer your question (and by far the most beneficial), would be one-on-one conversations in which we ask you about your beliefs in regard to doctrine. Here are two authors willing to speak one-on-one with you about this topic (should you desire, you’re more than welcome to converse with all 20+ Third Option Authors):

Author #1: (555) 555-5555

Author #2: (555) 555-5555

We encourage you to reach out to these men. Our goal is discipleship in a real world setting. E-mails and phone calls do not do doctrine or Scripture justice at times. But in this case, it’s a good start.

PS- we may even be writing a post regarding your question; it’s certainly a valid one.

You know what’s sad? My cynical side knew the guy wouldn’t call either of us.

You know what’s sadder? He didn’t call.

No reply e-mail. No Facebook comment. Not a peep.

I say “No Facebook comment” because Third Option Men relayed this man’s question as an “Engage Question of the Day” on its page that same night. Here is the question and sample of comments from the pool of 3,000+ men who “Like” our page:

Engage Question of the Day:

Someone asks you point blank, “What is your doctrine?” How do you respond?

George ***** Christ…nothing more, nothing less

Vince ***** The Apostle’s Creed.

Bob ***** Im not a Dr in anything…I believe in the resurrected Christ whose blood was shed to set men free….there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.

Geoffrey ***** No better friend no worse enemy

John ***** Lutheran

Kevin ***** Nicene creed?

Stephen ***** Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. My sins pardoned and forgiven.

John-Mark ***** Wesleyan-Arminian

What a revelation these answers provided. Many parts of the Body of Christ are represented in the men who commented. Different denominations. Different traditions. Different creeds.

Same Jesus.

I can’t make this stuff up; as I’m typing this post, a pastor of a local church comes on t.v. and says the following (My wife will attest to the timing; we were watching an episode of The Office on our DVR and I had her rewind the commercial several times in order to quote the pastor verbatim):

“Are you concerned about the direction of Christianity? The moral and doctrinal compromise? The sensationalism and emphasis on entertainment. Are you tired of preachers begging for money to build their own empires. Jesus wasn’t wishy-washy. He never preached a watered-down, feel-good gospel. He gave it to ‘em straight.”

Amen. This is me giving it to you straight. I’m not Jesus, but I’m supposed to look like Him. I am His hands and feet. I am His ambassador to a lost and dying world.

And so, my final word to men who spend their time questioning the beliefs of others:

Enough looking for cracks in the armor of other brothers in Christ.

Enough looking for problems within the church. You’ll always find them. Why? Because the Church is made up of men like you and me. We’re flawed. We don’t have all the answers. All we can do is point men to the One who does.

Get off your spiritual high horse.

Get off the computer every once and a while and go make disciples. Stop asking us how we do it – what can we tell you that isn’t already written for you in God’s Word?

Let’s remember who the enemy is and advance God’s Kingdom together.