Tim Keller is Blogging
Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 10:34AM Tim Keller is blogging, and his first post is very helpful. He uses John Frame's 'tri-perspectivalism' approach to reflect on Willow Creek:
John Frame's 'tri-perspectivalism' helps me understand Willow. The Willow Creek style churches have a 'kingly' emphasis on leadership, strategic thinking, and wise administration. The danger there is that the mechanical obscures how organic and spontaneous church life can be. The Reformed churches have a 'prophetic' emphasis on preaching, teaching, and doctrine. The danger there is that we can have a naïve and unBiblical view that, if we just expound the Word faithfully, everything else in the church -- leader development, community building, stewardship of resources, unified vision -- will just happen by themselves. The emerging churches have a 'priestly' emphasis on community, liturgy and sacraments, service and justice. The danger there is to view 'community' as the magic bullet in the same way Reformed people view preaching.
By thinking in this way, it makes it possible for me to love and appreciate the best representatives of each of these contemporary evangelical 'traditions.'
Reader Comments (1)
A small step in the right direction. But in the end whatever your evangelical bias, even if it be the more egalitarian tri-perspective approach, your still left with, at their best, well intended human paradigms.Foundationally speaking, it's all about the Eucharist, my brother. Always has been, always will be.