{"id":6945,"date":"2006-10-11T21:01:48","date_gmt":"2006-10-12T02:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=6945"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:35:13","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:35:13","slug":"5189","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/11\/5189\/","title":{"rendered":"Greg Boyd: \u2018Judgmental Attitudes Keep Christians from Loving\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n

CHICAGO, IL (October 11, 2006) – Controversial author and pastor Greg Boyd told North Park University students that their job description as Christians is \u201cto agree with God that every person you meet was worth Jesus dying for them.\u201d
\n
\nBoyd, who is interviewed in the current issue of The Covenant Companion<\/em>, is the author of Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Power is Destroying the Christian Church<\/em>, as well as God of the Possible<\/em> and several other books.<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>He also is pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Myth of a Christian Nation<\/em> grew out of a six-part sermon series entitled “The Cross and the Sword.” The sermon series resulted in some 1,000 people leaving his church \u2013 about 20 percent of the average attendance. Others say they were inspired by the series.<\/p>\n

Boyd spoke during the Sunday evening College Life chapel service and expanded on what he said is a simple message: Love is at the heart of the Kingdom of God. \u201cLove is ascribing unsurpassable worth to another at cost to yourself,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cEverywhere in the New Testament it screams at us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians may think they are loving, Boyd observed, but the church as a whole has not been, he maintains. \u201cIf we have that one down, where are the prostitutes?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhere are the tax collectors?\u201d<\/p>\n

People on the lowest rungs of society need to be asked whether the church is loving, he suggests, contending that a majority of people would reflect a negative view of \u201cevangelical Christians.\u201d \u201cIf everybody thinks you\u2019re a jerk, maybe you\u2019re a jerk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Boyd also questioned the value of many revivals. \u201cDid people walk away from that revival with a greater capacity to love their enemy?\u201d Boyd asked. \u201cIf not, it was just a carnival.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church must focus on holiness, Boyd said, adding, \u201cIf you\u2019re not holy out of love, it\u2019s not holy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians suffer from judgmental attitudes that keep them from loving, said Boyd, who counted himself among the afflicted. \u201cYou can\u2019t love and judge at the same time,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to ascribe unsurpassable worth to others when you\u2019re using others to ascribe worth to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drawing a distinction between judgment and discernment, Boyd says the former is done to improve one\u2019s own self image – the latter involves making proper decisions.<\/p>\n

Hatred for people who commit evil acts is natural, Boyd said. If Christians are to love as Christ did, however, they need to understand that \u201ceveryone has a prequel.\u201d People are responsible for their actions, but even the worst criminals have events in their lives that led to their sinful acts, he says.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: to read the Companion article, please see Covenant <\/a><\/strong>Companion<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/div>\n

\n
Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Stan Friedman CHICAGO, IL (October 11, 2006) – Controversial author and pastor Greg Boyd told North Park University students that their job description as Christians is \u201cto agree with God that every person you meet was worth Jesus dying for them.\u201d Report This Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGreg Boyd: \u2018Judgmental Attitudes Keep Christians from Loving\u2019 - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/11\/5189\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Greg Boyd: \u2018Judgmental Attitudes Keep Christians from Loving\u2019 - 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