Letters To 7 Churches?

Q: What are the "Letters To 7 Churches." I heard someone preaching about them on the radio the other day and was not familiar with them. The guy on the radio said they're in the Bible?

A: John, the author of the book of Revelation (the last book in the Christian Bible) included in that book letters to seven different churches that were all located in what was then known as the province of Asia. They were in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These were simply cities in that province and the letters were simply addressing the Christian church located in each city.

The significance of the letters - or perhaps their relevance in our modern day culture - is that each church displayed a certain set of behaviors. Some were godly and some were not. Each letter addressed the strength of the church to which it was written. But each letter also addressed the weakness of the church to which each particular letter was written.

If you read the letters (Revelation 2 & 3) you'll see that the nature and character of those church congregations was very common to what we might find in American churches today. So the challenge is then to look at my own church and see what it has in common with any or all of those seven (7) churches. Would Jesus have any different perspective or point to make with my church than He did with those churches? Definitely not!

The letters to those seven churches back then were meant to motivate those churches to make changes. They're there for us to read today for exactly the same reason. We should read them and be motivated to make changes!

Emergent Church?

Dear Victorious,

What do you think of the emergent church movement? Should I be attending an emergent church?

J.C. - Pine Bluff, AR

Dear J.C.,

Wikipedia.com describes the emergent church as "a movement .... that crosses a number of theological boundaries." It further says that, "Proponents of this movement call it a "conversation" to emphasize its developing and decentralized nature, its vast range of standpoints and its commitment to dialogue."

I think this alone is sufficient information to tell Christians that we are on shaky ground, thin ice and in danger of true heresy (false religion).

The nature of the true Christian church is not developing or emerging. The church is not built on modern ideas or thinking - but rather on spiritual heritage given to us by Jesus Christ, the early apostles and the prophets of the Christian church. It is centuries old. There is nothing to talk about.

So, no, you should definitely not be attending an "emergent church." Any church that describes itself that way should be a huge red flag for a true Christ-follower. This is because they haven't decided who or what to follow yet. They are literally making it up as they go. Moreover, you should be on the lookout for churches that maybe don't describe themselves as emergent, but act like it anyway. Emergent or not, any church that is making it up as they go represents a false religion that true Christ-followers will have no part of.