VIDEO: The Real Roots of The Emergent Church

I cannot even begin to express to you how heavy my heart has been in recent weeks to witness first hand the devastating effects of the spiritual cancer that is apostasy, blasphemy, and/or heresy upon a congregation and the relationships there.

Though it's not surprising, it's still heart-breaking nonetheless (2 Timothy 4:3-5; Acts 20:31). Why does it bother me so much though? I mean, it's not like I walk around thinking I'm "Holier Than Thou" with some kind of pious, self-righteous attitude.

Look, the Lord knows that I have my private sins I'm ashamed of so why are the sins of others really weighing on my mind more than they probably should? Is it wrong for me to feel so angry and defensive when it comes to seeing others I know and love prostitute Christ's Church in the name of "love" and "unity" for the sake of being "missional" even?

With the previous post in mind, I thought it was an appropriate time to call attention to a series Christian documentaries that I recently came cross that will expand upon the essential truths espoused in that piece.

Many of you may be wondering what brand of Christianity could produce a "Christian" like Rob Bell or Rachel Held Evans who have absolutely no problem whatsoever questioning ANYTHING and EVERYTHING while constantly challenging the authority and supremacy of God and His Word (James 1:6-8).

Worse, people like them do so to the point of blasphemy and heresy while deceiving millions of well-meaning believers all under the guise of "love" and all at the expense of Biblical truth (2 Corinthians 11; Galatians 1:6-8).

The sad irony, is that they also demand to have all their questions answered despite Deuteronomy 29:29, but rarely ever give you a straight answer to a question of your very own even when you tee things up for them where a simple "Yes" or "No" would suffice.

Simply put, Rob Bell, Rachel Held Evans, and their cohorts are a product of what's known as the "Emergent Church" these days, which is the unholy marriage of Christianity and Postmodernism.

I present to you an ironclad rebuttal against these false teachers and the millions they have deceived (are deceiving). Pray that their eyes and ears would be opened to the truth and that they would repent!

Below is the first of a series of eye-opening Christian documentaries I've come across and would like to share for His glory and for your benefit.

Even though they're not distinctly Lutheran, they've been a blessing to me as I continue my exodus from American Evangelicalism to becoming a Confessional Lutheran and I hope you'll feel the same after watching them.

Due to the importance of this subject and the length of each film, I will not publish any new material here at Look Up Fellowship for a few days to give you some time to watch each documentary.

Because diversity characterizes the Emergent Church movement, it is difficult to paint everyone in the movement with a broad brush. Some have observed that defining the Emergent Church is like nailing jello to a wall. All participants agree on their disillusionment with the institutional church, but do not all agree on where the church is destined to go from here. They share a common concern with many evangelicals over the state of the modern church, especially the mega-church phenomenon and “seeker-friendly” churches. For this reason, many evangelicals who observe the Emerging Church are fascinated by it, drawn to its creative approaches to worship, genuineness of many of the leaders, and desire to reach Gen Xers. However, these evangelicals fail to look beyond it to understand its underlying theology, or lack thereof.

This Christian documentary film The Real Roots of the Emergent Church will take an honest look at the leaders of the Emerging Church movement such as Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Rob Bell, Tony Campolo, Steve Chalke, Peter Rollins, Dan Kimball, Richard Rohr, Phyllis Tickle, Spencer Burke and others. Who are they and what are they teaching? Become familiar with the postmodern Emergent Church and its popular tactic of literary deconstruction applied to the Bible. This film takes an in-depth look at what the Emerging Church believes concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, absolute truth, hell, homosexuality, mysticism, contemplative prayer, other religions, and eschatology in comparison to the Bible. Much more than candles and couches!

Subjects of this film were contacted for direct interviews. Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, and others were contacted in April 2011. No response. At a Love Wins book signing, Rob Bell told us he would be willing to do an interview and to contact his church which was done several times with no response. We do not fault them for that knowing they are all probably very busy people. But for this reason we have resorted to their own public statements. This film is our way of joining the conversation.

Participants: Eric Ludy, Joe Schimmel, Chris Rosebrough, Bob DeWaay, Gary Gilley, Ray Yungen, Robert LeBus, Jay Peters, James Sundquist, and Elliott Nesch.

Running Time: 120 minutes. You can download this film for FREE by clicking on this link. All films are FREE, not to be bought or sold, but you do have permission to make copies and distribute freely. To obtain a DVD, simply contact us for a free copy or make a donation with your request. Your support is greatly appreciated. Resources are mailed as time permits. Your patience is appreciated. Please give extra time if this material is needed by a certain date.

I get that it might be difficult to come face-to-face with the truth, especially if it condemns someone you have admired for quite some time who was identified as being a False Teacher.

Yet, remember, God's Word makes it perfectly clear that we are to be like the "Bereans" (Acts 17:11) and "test all things" (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1). We are not supposed to just look the other way when it comes to such blatant lies. In fact, we are expected to contend for and defend the faith "once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3; Galatians 2:5).

Be sure to enter the spiritual battlefield as truth-loving apologists always "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) using His Word at all times since it is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness: that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good word" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In a Lutheran layman's terms, that's why this documentary is so important.

[NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Finally, you might discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote on this blog definitely fall into that category since I was a Lutheran-In-Name-Only at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a "Book of Concord" containing our Confessions even existed. I decided to leave those published posts up only because we now have this disclaimer and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life. Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time and help. Grace and peace to you and yours!]

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