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I enjoyed reading this, although I probably would not let my younger children read it. My 16 your-old boy, yes.

I like the “Detergent Church” expression, and agree it beats the expression “emergent church.”

I speak to my independent, fundamentalist Baptist brethren -— I have a dear Filipino Baptist preacher friend who has a REAL church high up in the mountains on Cebu Island. His name is Nene Tonacao (Toe-nya-kow) and he came up with a phrase that fits the “Detergent Church” idea. He says, “Some of the brethren around here preach King James but live king germs!” That'll preach.

I know full well some reading this will spit nails when I mention the name Ian Paisley. I have been listening to some of his messages on the subject of Biblical Fundamentalism, recorded over the past twenty years. He preaches FIRE — not wildfire — but Bible FIRE. I have required some of our institute students to listen to his preaching to hear what genuine prophetic preaching is all about. Some of you Baptists will squack that I would use a Presbyterian as an example. It is not the first time, I assure you. America used to have some great prophets among Presbyterians. That would include the great Billy Sunday. Great Baptist preaching has been on the wane since J. Frank Norris and R.G. Lee went to Heaven.

Thanks for posting this article.

1. Get men who dig being rowdy back in the pulpit.

YEAH!

I once "Supplied" in a large fashionable church and somehow the sermon topic was faith and I started with an old chestnut about faith. It was integral to the point of the sermon.

It's not that funny, but I was greeted with gales of laughter. Afterwards somebody said, "Thank you. No one has told a joke in that pulpit for years!"

Honest to doodness, sometimes you'd think that people think if they're not boring the audience it's not a sermon. I don't get it."

The Gospel is Da BOMB! If you don't think so or can't or won't convey that, get out of the pulpit.

While I don't know all that much about the church he is talking about, nor the author of the book "A Time to Clash," what the post says is very interesting. More "church" leaders should be proclaiming the Good News of Jesus the Christ. Doctrine is important, and when understood does divide believers from unbelievers, or real Christians from make-believe Christians. I've been preaching and teaching things that are hard-hitting for a long time, and becaue of that, have been called all kinds of things, from heretical to crazy, a fool, unorthodox, etc. This does my heart good, for I know I'm getting through just as the Apostles did. The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and what he accomplished at the cross. That seems to just be an appendage to what is preached now-a-days. I endorse his efforts to cleanse the church of unbelievers and pew-sitters. AMEN!

Yes sir, I think what we need is a “movement” that would purge the skid mark that sin has left on man’s soul and our society rather than a group of nerdy Christians trying to be Ryan Seacrest.

It's liberalism infecting Christianity. Young wanna-be hipsters who find regular ol' Christianity too ostracizing from the culture at large simply repackage it under the glossy, PC-friendly "Emergent" covering. Emergent simply means liberal postmodernism. Nothing more.

The Emergent church is, IMHO, just another falling away.