What if you were stranded as a child on a desolate island with only the Bible to read? Now imagine that after 20 years you were rescued from the island and you found your way into your church. Would what you had come to believe from the Bible be consistent with what you experience in your church?
This is the scenario Francis Chan presents in the first few pages of his new book, Forgotten God.
I have to admit, I am not sure what I would see. I say that because I have been so conditioned by my culture and my upbringing in the Baptist church that I don’t think I can say, without doubt, that there would be no inconsistencies – in fact, I think I could name a few.
So where does that leave us? I think it should give us reason for pause. Moving forward, I think we should:
- Weigh everything we do against scripture – if there is no justification that can be found in the Bible for what we are doing, maybe, just maybe we should jettison it.
- Bend what we do to meet scripture – not the other way around
- Approach each issue with humility not arrogance – make sure your heart is beating in unison with the heart of Jesus
- Err on the side of grace – being judgmental and obstinate has not served us well to date
- Love – just love!
Clay in the Hands 
Hi Brian,
I find it encouraging to see others questioning what we’ve believed as those traditions pertain to God’s word. Similar ideas have been a consideration of my heart in recent times. We all need to remain within the boundary of Jesus’ teaching (2John 1:9), and refrain from going beyond what is written (1Corintians 6:4). Thanks for your post.
amen
I’m really enjoying reading ur blog in the mornings. It’s very encouraging, and 86% of the time it us very relatable to me and/or something that I can identify with. Keep it up. And ushould put a reccomended reading list on the site somewhere. Or tell me where to find it if it is. Later man.
Hi, I’ve noticed that you’ve blogged about Forgotten God, by Francis Chan. As you may know, we have just released a Forgotten God DVD Study Resource. Because of your wonderful blog post about the book, I’d like to offer you a free copy of the DVD to review. Please email me your address, and I’d be happy to send it. Thanks!