Common Ground of Three Transformative Movements: A Critical Examination
Orientation
Many feel pressured to adapt their churches to contemporary trends, fearing irrelevance if they do not embrace new movements and experiences.
- The pressure comes from influential movements promising renewal and relevance.
- This creates anxiety about holding to historic biblical doctrine.
- The feeling is that Scripture alone may not be sufficient for today's challenges.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
— 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Clarification
These movements often confuse believers by using biblical language while undermining biblical authority through experience, unity, and dominionism.
- They prioritize experiential 'knowledge of God' over the objective truth of Scripture.
- They advocate for global unity that requires setting aside essential doctrinal distinctions.
- They promote a dominionist theology where the Church builds God's kingdom now, contrary to Scripture.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
— 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Structure
Biblical stability rests on the objective authority of Scripture and the distinct, heavenly calling of the Church revealed through Paul.
- God's truth is revealed in the objective Scripture, not subjective experience.
- The Church's hope and inheritance are heavenly, tied to Christ's return, not earthly kingdom-building.
- Doctrinal purity, defined by Pauline revelation, guards the gospel of grace.
How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
— Ephesians 3:3-6
Weight-Bearing Prose
The core conflict is between objective biblical authority and subjective experiential knowledge. The movements in view—Emergent, Purpose Driven, NAR—each, in their own way, displace the final authority of God’s word. They follow the pattern of higher criticism, pragmatic anthropology, or aberrant revelation. This rejection has a direct effect: it undermines the doctrines of justification by faith alone and the believer’s secure inheritance in Christ. Pauline categories are specifically targeted. The call for ecumenical unity at the expense of doctrine sidelines the distinct, heavenly truth of the Church as one body. The dominionist agenda of building God’s kingdom now contradicts the scriptural teaching that the kingdom comes with Christ’s return, replacing the believer’s rest in a finished work with human striving. The result is not renewal but the destabilization of Protestant orthodoxy, compelling churches to refashion themselves according to trends rather than the apostolic foundation.
Integration
Your assurance and stability are not found in keeping up with trends or experiencing new revelations. They are anchored in the finished work of Christ, delivered according to the Scriptures. The pressure to adapt is removed by the sufficiency of what God has already spoken. Christ is your righteousness, sanctification, and reward. Your inheritance is secure in Him, a heavenly calling distinct from Israel’s earthly program. The Bema seat is a celebration of what Christ has done, not a fear of what you have failed to do. You are free to rest in the objective truth of the gospel, to be grounded in the Pauline revelation of the Church, and to await Christ’s return without the burden of building a kingdom He has reserved for His own coming. Here there is no hierarchy, only the solid ground of Scripture.