First off, you got the link right but the name wrong… it’s Alan Hartung…

Okay, I address some of your concerns, I think, in some of the other core issues posts. There are five now at A Different Perspective.

But to give you a more direct response, and to try to give a couple shots at the questions you’ve been asking for a long time… here goes.

“Is the switch to relativist thinking a good thing?”

That depends on whether you’re talking about the philosophical version of relativism or the way it works out practically in culture. Practically, the culture is shifting towards a more perspectival approach. The perspectival emphasizes the impossibility of understanding something completely from a limited perspective.

I think this is a good thing, because it’s accurate. Problems occur when the approach is taken to the extreme and the conclusion becomes you can’t really know anything at all. The church can and should shift from its rigid stance of objectivity (which is a fallacy) to a perspectival approach.

It would be bad to embrace true relativism, but what is practiced in the beliefs of the culture is not true relativism. It’s perspectivism.

“How would we change the church is such a way that activity is valued over teaching? When would this be going to far to the point where teaching takes a back seat to service?”

As I suggested in the original post and also in my podcast (War on the Sermon), removing teaching as the central activity of the church would be a huge step in valuing activity.

To your second question, I’m struggling to find the right words. I guess I’ll just ask a simple question. Can you read the gospels and believe that Jesus would think teaching is more important than serving?

I think the Church has gone too far in valuing teaching over service. It’s time to correct that. Good teaching, in fact, would instruct us to serve and that is more valuable than having everything “right.”

Again, I deal with clergy issues in later core issues posts. I would say the clergy definitely needs reformed. I question the numerous staff positions many churches have. When there are pros doing the job, individual parts of the body don’t see why they should do it…

On a final note, you should learn how to use trackbacks. You’ll get better traffic back then just a comment on a blog saying check out my post for comments. I’m not sure how they work in blogger, or I’d tell ya.

Thanks for engaging this issue on your blog. I hope APU is as good or better of an experience for you as it was for me. Tell Yarchin I said hello…

I agree 100% with that statement! I’m fairly active in my church (musician and youth leader) and I find that makes it even more difficult to ask questions, let alone disagree with the “pros”. In the context of our youth group, I’m the one that is supposed to have the answers.

I feel like I have some hidden side of me that I’m not allowed to show on Thursdays and Sundays.