Post by LDM on Feb 18, 2010 11:15:17 GMT -5
I have been asked to give my impressions of the Zyxter Church. First, let me say that I am not personally familiar with the church. I am not a member nor have I followed them. So, what I have done is gone to their website to see what they say about themselves.
Clearly, this only gives me one perception of this organization. Perhaps things are poorly worded or maybe I am just misunderstanding some of their presentations. However, this is I believe the most objective way for me to see what they are about. So, in this note, you will see quotations from their site as well as my thoughts in those areas.
This of course is not about "ME" and what "I" think. I mean, who cares about that? Again, I am only writing this because folks are asking me for my impressions. As with anything else I say, I would encourage people to go to God directly themselves for the truth in any matter, for He is faithful to answer.
********
FALSE UNDERSTANDING OF CHURCH
My main concern is that Zyxter seems to have a false, religious understanding of what - or rather WHO the church is. Does this one thing make them any worse than most other churches out there? No. But it doesn't make them any better either. Consider some of their statements below.
"For far too long people have gone to church to fulfill an obligation through some ritual and so are reduced to actions without meaning...You won’t feel like you’ve been sentenced to prison when you visit the Zyxter Church experience....It is time to come to church with an expectancy to experience and encounter God in such a way that it forever impacts and changes our lives!...If you think it is time for a change in the way you attend church, come experience God with us."
Zyxter seems to be all about changing the "church experience". There are a couple of issues with this.
One, it is preaching an experience seeking Gospel. It mistakenly puts forth that our experiences define who God is and even more importantly WHERE God is.
Our society has become so used to being "entertained" that the discipline of studying God's word is being lost. This plays into that mindset and it is dangerous because it is a soulish approach. There is much to be said for quiet moments of study and meditation on the things of God. Implying that such things are akin to a "prison" works against the sobriety and watchfulness with which that God says we need to be clothed with in the last days so that we are not deceived.
This is why many people now have the attention span of a gnat. From ipods, to cell phones, to Internet, to video games...we are raising generations of people who think it is normal to be continually stimulated. According to Scripture, this is exactly the type of environment that makes it hard to "experience God". He tells us to "BE STILL" and know that He is God.
Second, it continues a false representation about the church being some building or fellowship. People should know that the word "church" in the New Testament is the Greek word Ekklesia which simply means the "called out ones or the elect". So the church is not a place, but a people. If you are a believer in Christ, then you personally are what Scriptures in many translations call the "church".
Why should one "come to church" with an expectancy to experience God? Shouldn't we expect to experience God every day because we ARE the church and He abides in us? The idea that there is someplace we must "go" to experience God is false. The kingdom of God is within us.
"Are you tired of church? Do churchy people get on your nerves? Would you be interested in being a part of a community of faith if you felt like its people were giving everything they had to live like Jesus?"
"Churchy" people??? Really?! WHAT does this mean? Does that mean people who stand for God's word? Who contend for the faith? Who do not compromise on the truths of the Gospel?
Why would ANY "church" want to paint the picture of things associated with church as a bad thing and something that "gets on your nerves"?
Again, this seems to be a bunch of soulish, religious works with no life from the Spirit of God. Please understand this. I don't care if you "give everything you have" for it. MAN CANNOT LIVE LIKE JESUS!!! Let me say that again.
MAN CANNOT LIVE LIKE JESUS!!!
That is the same misleading concept behind things such as "What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD)".
We cannot "try" to be like Jesus because we don't have that capability in and of ourselves. We will fail EVERY time. We MUST be born again so that Jesus can live through us. Then, it will be Him who lives and NOT ourselves (Galatians 2:20).
All over the world, people are running around in their own effort, "giving everything they have" to be like Jesus. This is what the "Progressive Christians" teach you. Jesus was here to be an example of how to live. So, all we need to do is try to be like Him. This is a lie! Jesus came not to be a give you a good example, but to pay the price for your sin! When we repent, we turn away from sin and lay our lives down for Him so that He can reach others.
Erroneous understanding about who the church is leads to the creation of a religious idol that has nothing to do with God.
WORLDLY VIEW OF LOVE
In explaining "why" they do what they do, Zyxter basically sums it up as "love". However, this love seems to be based primarily in good works and tolerance & acceptance "of all". It is a worldly view of love that is touchy-feely and sensual (sensory-driven), but not having its foundation primarily in the word of God.
"It is our belief that to truly follow Jesus we must show all people the unconditional love and grace of Jesus without any reservations due to their lifestyle or religious background, past or future. This love has no agenda behind it (I Corinthians 13:5). This grace sets no time-line on personal change or standards for spiritual growth (Romans 4:4-5)."
This is very misleading. Love as defined by the world is very different than true love described by God. Love is NOT based on how it makes you feel, it is not based on how people treat you, it is not emotion-based. Love is obedience to the commands of God. Period. If we do God's will and follow His ways, then THAT is love.
"The world is a tough place and unfortunately all too many people have been hurt by religion...Our prayer is that God feels our love from what we do to serve this hurting world."
The message is subtle, but still wrong. Religion? Bad. Letting people FEEL your love? Good. We often judge what is love based on how it makes us "feel", but that is not God's standard.
Now, I am the LAST person who is a proponent of religiosity. However, the idea that religious beliefs are the anti-thesis of love is a common thread in the new age agenda. There are many efforts underway to put aside beliefs in God in favor of simply doing "good works" to mankind. That is humanism.
When Jesus took the whip and chased the money changers out of the temple...THAT was love.
When Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites...THAT was love.
When Jesus extended grace to Peter to bring him back unto Himself after he had denied Christ...THAT was love.
When Jesus told them to let the dead go bury the dead...THAT was love.
When Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more...THAT was love.
There are many things Jesus did which some folks would label as anything BUT loving, but it was still love nonetheless. If we start defining what is love by how it makes people feel versus what the word of God says, then we are preaching people a soulish Gospel that is powerless to save.
PROMOTION OF A FALSE SALVATION
They mistakenly promote a version of the "sinner's prayer" as being the way to be saved. Must we repent and turn in faith to Jesus to be saved? Absolutely! But repentance and faith are live-long bonds of our covenant relationship with Jesus, not some instant superglue that grants us eternal life.
"If you’ve prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any different...The Bible tells us that your eternal salvation is secure!"
Huh? What about being born again? What about having Godly spiritual fruit demonstrated in their life? What about being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ?
Salvation is not about simply reciting a prayer. It is about entering a covenant of faith with God the Father through Jesus Christ where you no longer live for yourself, but for Him.
JUST THINK of how much shorter the Bible could have been if ALL we had to do was say a prayer. When looking to see who the brothers and sisters are in Christ, why does Jesus tell us to look for fruit? Why doesn't He just tell us to ask them if they had said the prayer?
It is because this is not a true presentation of salvation.
******
So, I think this is honestly enough...at least it is for me.
Again, I would encourage each person interested in this topic to simply got to God for clarification and confirmation for anything which has been said.
Clearly, this only gives me one perception of this organization. Perhaps things are poorly worded or maybe I am just misunderstanding some of their presentations. However, this is I believe the most objective way for me to see what they are about. So, in this note, you will see quotations from their site as well as my thoughts in those areas.
This of course is not about "ME" and what "I" think. I mean, who cares about that? Again, I am only writing this because folks are asking me for my impressions. As with anything else I say, I would encourage people to go to God directly themselves for the truth in any matter, for He is faithful to answer.
********
FALSE UNDERSTANDING OF CHURCH
My main concern is that Zyxter seems to have a false, religious understanding of what - or rather WHO the church is. Does this one thing make them any worse than most other churches out there? No. But it doesn't make them any better either. Consider some of their statements below.
"For far too long people have gone to church to fulfill an obligation through some ritual and so are reduced to actions without meaning...You won’t feel like you’ve been sentenced to prison when you visit the Zyxter Church experience....It is time to come to church with an expectancy to experience and encounter God in such a way that it forever impacts and changes our lives!...If you think it is time for a change in the way you attend church, come experience God with us."
Zyxter seems to be all about changing the "church experience". There are a couple of issues with this.
One, it is preaching an experience seeking Gospel. It mistakenly puts forth that our experiences define who God is and even more importantly WHERE God is.
Our society has become so used to being "entertained" that the discipline of studying God's word is being lost. This plays into that mindset and it is dangerous because it is a soulish approach. There is much to be said for quiet moments of study and meditation on the things of God. Implying that such things are akin to a "prison" works against the sobriety and watchfulness with which that God says we need to be clothed with in the last days so that we are not deceived.
This is why many people now have the attention span of a gnat. From ipods, to cell phones, to Internet, to video games...we are raising generations of people who think it is normal to be continually stimulated. According to Scripture, this is exactly the type of environment that makes it hard to "experience God". He tells us to "BE STILL" and know that He is God.
Second, it continues a false representation about the church being some building or fellowship. People should know that the word "church" in the New Testament is the Greek word Ekklesia which simply means the "called out ones or the elect". So the church is not a place, but a people. If you are a believer in Christ, then you personally are what Scriptures in many translations call the "church".
Why should one "come to church" with an expectancy to experience God? Shouldn't we expect to experience God every day because we ARE the church and He abides in us? The idea that there is someplace we must "go" to experience God is false. The kingdom of God is within us.
"Are you tired of church? Do churchy people get on your nerves? Would you be interested in being a part of a community of faith if you felt like its people were giving everything they had to live like Jesus?"
"Churchy" people??? Really?! WHAT does this mean? Does that mean people who stand for God's word? Who contend for the faith? Who do not compromise on the truths of the Gospel?
Why would ANY "church" want to paint the picture of things associated with church as a bad thing and something that "gets on your nerves"?
Again, this seems to be a bunch of soulish, religious works with no life from the Spirit of God. Please understand this. I don't care if you "give everything you have" for it. MAN CANNOT LIVE LIKE JESUS!!! Let me say that again.
MAN CANNOT LIVE LIKE JESUS!!!
That is the same misleading concept behind things such as "What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD)".
We cannot "try" to be like Jesus because we don't have that capability in and of ourselves. We will fail EVERY time. We MUST be born again so that Jesus can live through us. Then, it will be Him who lives and NOT ourselves (Galatians 2:20).
All over the world, people are running around in their own effort, "giving everything they have" to be like Jesus. This is what the "Progressive Christians" teach you. Jesus was here to be an example of how to live. So, all we need to do is try to be like Him. This is a lie! Jesus came not to be a give you a good example, but to pay the price for your sin! When we repent, we turn away from sin and lay our lives down for Him so that He can reach others.
Erroneous understanding about who the church is leads to the creation of a religious idol that has nothing to do with God.
WORLDLY VIEW OF LOVE
In explaining "why" they do what they do, Zyxter basically sums it up as "love". However, this love seems to be based primarily in good works and tolerance & acceptance "of all". It is a worldly view of love that is touchy-feely and sensual (sensory-driven), but not having its foundation primarily in the word of God.
"It is our belief that to truly follow Jesus we must show all people the unconditional love and grace of Jesus without any reservations due to their lifestyle or religious background, past or future. This love has no agenda behind it (I Corinthians 13:5). This grace sets no time-line on personal change or standards for spiritual growth (Romans 4:4-5)."
This is very misleading. Love as defined by the world is very different than true love described by God. Love is NOT based on how it makes you feel, it is not based on how people treat you, it is not emotion-based. Love is obedience to the commands of God. Period. If we do God's will and follow His ways, then THAT is love.
"The world is a tough place and unfortunately all too many people have been hurt by religion...Our prayer is that God feels our love from what we do to serve this hurting world."
The message is subtle, but still wrong. Religion? Bad. Letting people FEEL your love? Good. We often judge what is love based on how it makes us "feel", but that is not God's standard.
Now, I am the LAST person who is a proponent of religiosity. However, the idea that religious beliefs are the anti-thesis of love is a common thread in the new age agenda. There are many efforts underway to put aside beliefs in God in favor of simply doing "good works" to mankind. That is humanism.
When Jesus took the whip and chased the money changers out of the temple...THAT was love.
When Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites...THAT was love.
When Jesus extended grace to Peter to bring him back unto Himself after he had denied Christ...THAT was love.
When Jesus told them to let the dead go bury the dead...THAT was love.
When Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more...THAT was love.
There are many things Jesus did which some folks would label as anything BUT loving, but it was still love nonetheless. If we start defining what is love by how it makes people feel versus what the word of God says, then we are preaching people a soulish Gospel that is powerless to save.
PROMOTION OF A FALSE SALVATION
They mistakenly promote a version of the "sinner's prayer" as being the way to be saved. Must we repent and turn in faith to Jesus to be saved? Absolutely! But repentance and faith are live-long bonds of our covenant relationship with Jesus, not some instant superglue that grants us eternal life.
"If you’ve prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any different...The Bible tells us that your eternal salvation is secure!"
Huh? What about being born again? What about having Godly spiritual fruit demonstrated in their life? What about being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ?
Salvation is not about simply reciting a prayer. It is about entering a covenant of faith with God the Father through Jesus Christ where you no longer live for yourself, but for Him.
JUST THINK of how much shorter the Bible could have been if ALL we had to do was say a prayer. When looking to see who the brothers and sisters are in Christ, why does Jesus tell us to look for fruit? Why doesn't He just tell us to ask them if they had said the prayer?
It is because this is not a true presentation of salvation.
******
So, I think this is honestly enough...at least it is for me.
Again, I would encourage each person interested in this topic to simply got to God for clarification and confirmation for anything which has been said.