Chris:
"I’ve gotta admit… I probably would not have considered the guy if I was on the pastor nominating committee." Which, of course, is the entire point. I first heard about "Paul's application" during a sermon in a Baptist church and the pastor agreed -exactly- with what you just said. But then he added that, well, maybe he really needed to question his interpretation of Christian faith. We can go further. If it really was the Apostle Paul, heck, it would be necessary to question one's faith, wouldn't it? Kierkegaard once said something similar, to the effect that if Christianity must always be meek and mild and respectable, then what we have isn't actual Christian faith but weakness, conformism, and fear of what others may think, rather than commitment to the truths of faith. Not to overdo it, but any living faith, so it seems to me, necessarily will be controversial, and it will necessarily offend some people (also a point made by Kierkegaard). Which, to be sure, is all too true of pietism, it is loathe to be controversial and loathe to offend anybody. And so it only is half of Christian faith or some fraction, but not the whole of that faith, no matter how you look at it. Also a fact is that "establishment" churches, as different as they are from pietism, are also controversy-averse, and hate even the thought that they might offend anyone. In either case this hands one victory after another to the Cultural Marxist Left and to anti-religious libertarians. The point of everything is that Christianity is now in serious trouble. What to do? The answer of pietists and of establishment Christians is: "More of the same but we should pray harder and be even more meek and mild." Never mind my objections and criticisms, the fact is that more and more and more of the young simply don't buy into that kind of outlook and are walking away from the Church -in the millions. The point of my paper about Clement is that there really is an alternative but it is neither pietistic nor establishmentarian. Indeed, it is antithetical both to establishmentarians and to pietists. Will my alternative appeal to the young? Only time will tell. But it is worth a serious try and worth commitment and, in any case, more-of-the-same-but-pray-harder is no solution to anything. In my humble opinion Billy ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Chris Hahn <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2018 1:28 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [RC] Letter of application for employment from a troublemaker I’ve gotta admit… I probably would not have considered the guy if I was on the pastor nominating committee. From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Billy Rojas Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2018 11:09 AM To: Centroids Discussions <[email protected]> Cc: Billy Rojas <[email protected]> Subject: [RC] Letter of application for employment from a troublemaker The following has been around for many years; it first surfaced in the mid 1950s. The following is a somewhat shortened version of the original. RE: Letter of application for employment Dear Sirs: I understand that a position as pastor is open in your church and I would like to apply for it. I have some qualifications for the work, and this letter is an honest review of my past service in the ministry. I am almost 60 years of age and have been in the ministry for about 25 years. I’ve never lasted very long in any one place, but I did stay in one church three years. People say my health is not good, but I ignore these kinds of irritants and press on anyway, believing my ill health is actually an advantage to keep my big ego in check. I’m a strong leader and have usually wound up in charge of everything I’ve ever done. I’ll be frank with you, I’m not always popular, and have been expelled from a number of cities where I ministered. But in every case it was because of a trouble-making opposition I seem to get everywhere I go. I just preach the truth and some people get angry when they hear it. You may hear about the time when I confronted the highest leader in my denomination to his face -- in front of an entire church body. But he was clearly in the wrong and he backed down. It is that simple: I was right, and he was wrong. I spoke the truth, as I always do. And my truth won the day. I have seldom been able to work full-time in the ministry, so I have usually had employment outside of my ministry to help support me. In some churches I received no salary at all, and occasionally my job even provided for paying the staff too, though that was not the average situation. Don't the idea though that I worked only with large churches. Most of the churches I've worked with were small, and all of them were able to meet in a house or small hall. . I have had some success at church planting, though some believe my methods are wrong. What I do is enter a new city and find the local religious gathering. I attend there until I get an opportunity to teach or speak, then I show them how their doctrine is wrong and the doctrine I teach is correct. This usually causes a lot of division, and those who side with me generally split off the original group and with that core group I start a new church. In case you follow up on my references you may discover some questionable events. So I need to give my side on these stories. Yes, it is true that I am guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. But that was before I accepted Christ. And it is true that because of several problems since becoming a Christian, I have been put in jail. But most of these were short stays,.. But I’ve never given up on my faith—even as a convict.. Spiritually I have had an incredible journey. Early in my ministry I had "another world" experience—which I do not even talk about. And you need not worry about a charismatic influence, for I am a hard-liner on that issue, always limiting speaking in tongues to a few at a time, and though I speak with tongues myself. I never do so in public meetings. I have always worked in a staff ministry, and usually expect a staff as normal. If your church can't pay them, I will figure out a way to have them work directly for me. My staff is generally loyal to me, in fact I demand it. There may be other rumors and accusations about me that you hear when following up my references Strong leaders have strong opposition. So, I wish to address these other rumors and reports directly to you as follows: * I can get along with church leaders, so long as they are not narrow-minded and legalistic. * I am not a liberal on issues of behavior and keeping church traditions * The single woman we stayed in that first week in Europe was a new convert and she had said, "If you consider me a believer, come home and stay with me." Besides. there were several of us anyway, and she had servants there, also. * I did not use a new-age seeker-approach to reach the academic community. I merely started where they were -in belief in an unknown god. * My involvement in casting out demons is not the primary focus of my ministry * I am not personally benefiting from my ministry and not making tons of money off of it -I do not even break even. I hope you will consider my application. Sincerely, Paul the Apostle -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
