I just found out that the origin of the quote, “Hate the sin, love the sinner,” came from Gandhi. Makes you wonder how much of cliche Christianity is counter-scriptural, doesn’t it?

Thanks to Truth Matters for initially posting this:

I find it intriguing that Mark Driscoll even questions Rob Bell, Brian McLaren and others. VERY good explanation of the Emerging Church movement.

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, recently studied Acts 2 to come up with a definition of what constitutes a Christian Church. This is what he came up with:

The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.

I think he hit the nail on the head. Having read Mars Hill’s doctrinal statement, I was very surprised that he chose to use the word “sacraments” rather than “ordinances” or “testimonies” to refer to Baptism and Holy Communion.

I like calling the sacraments/ordinances “grace-gifts,” but that’s just a personal preference. I do believe they are powerful means of grace through which we receive Christ’s grace and forgiveness.

What do you think? Did Driscoll forget anything that is crucial to the Church? What did you like about his definition? What did you not like?