Well I've joined the blogosphere and the first thing that came to mind when I had to fill in the title of your blog spot was "That's Not Mayonnaise." So what does it mean? I recently finished an extremely eye-opening course on The History of Christianity in America at the seminary I attend, taught by Dr. Jeff Bingham. In it, we were exposed to the atmosphere of the times in America during the First Awakening (1730's & 40's). And that's where the mayonnaise started getting...well, not so mayonnaisey. During this time, being a part of the community was part and parcel of being part of the local church. People started finding it easier and easier to put on their church clothes, read their church books, speak their church lingo, and eat their church food. Soon, people were clinging to church culture rather than to the church Head (Jesus Christ). Now the mayonnaise, even though it looked and smelled like mayonnaise, was not mayonnaise. It was what several pastors during the time, like Theodore Frelinghausen, Gilbert Tennent, Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitfield called, "perfunctory orthodoxy," or "that's not mayonnaise." So, thanks to the creative student who gave Dr. Bingham this analogy, I start this blog with that in mind. All too often I find myself eating perfunctory mayonnaise, even handing out those little packets of perfunctory mayonnaise, which are packaged and distributed by many American Evangelical churches today. It's a lot easier to follow the American version of Jesus than it is to follow the NT version of Jesus. I just want to be the first to admit it for myself and hopefully be a solution to the problem by saying, "Hey, That's Not Mayonnaise!"
6.11.2007
...so what does that mean?
Well I've joined the blogosphere and the first thing that came to mind when I had to fill in the title of your blog spot was "That's Not Mayonnaise." So what does it mean? I recently finished an extremely eye-opening course on The History of Christianity in America at the seminary I attend, taught by Dr. Jeff Bingham. In it, we were exposed to the atmosphere of the times in America during the First Awakening (1730's & 40's). And that's where the mayonnaise started getting...well, not so mayonnaisey. During this time, being a part of the community was part and parcel of being part of the local church. People started finding it easier and easier to put on their church clothes, read their church books, speak their church lingo, and eat their church food. Soon, people were clinging to church culture rather than to the church Head (Jesus Christ). Now the mayonnaise, even though it looked and smelled like mayonnaise, was not mayonnaise. It was what several pastors during the time, like Theodore Frelinghausen, Gilbert Tennent, Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitfield called, "perfunctory orthodoxy," or "that's not mayonnaise." So, thanks to the creative student who gave Dr. Bingham this analogy, I start this blog with that in mind. All too often I find myself eating perfunctory mayonnaise, even handing out those little packets of perfunctory mayonnaise, which are packaged and distributed by many American Evangelical churches today. It's a lot easier to follow the American version of Jesus than it is to follow the NT version of Jesus. I just want to be the first to admit it for myself and hopefully be a solution to the problem by saying, "Hey, That's Not Mayonnaise!"
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3 comments:
Man, you sure are on this church history kick! I suppose it's a good thing, as long as it's culturally relevant. LOL. just kidding. (Although, I think what you're saying is very 'emerging'). As a fellow eater of the fake mayo, I salute and join your case!
Yes! Welcome to the blogosphere. You'll become an addict now. The blog looks good.
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