What flags are we flying?
No, this is not about whether or not we have an American flag in our meeting place. We don't. We won’t. Neither do we have a Christian flag. Why we don't is for another post. The flags to which I'm referring are more of a theological nature. These are positions or code words which identify a church. Often they are used on church signs or printed material with a view to attracting others who already fly these flags. These are often in addition to denominational identity.
Common flags include, "fundamental," "King James Only," "dispensational," "reformed," "separatist," "traditional music," "contemporary," "casual," "pre-trib, pre-mill," etc. I'm not denying that some of these may be appropriate for certain churches in their context (although I don't know why any church would want to be known as KJO). But these are not our flags. It does not mean that we are anti-dispensational or anti-reformation, that we don't believe in and practice biblical separation or that we eschew eschatological views. It does mean that we don't fly these flags as part of our church identity to the greater public for which these markers have no meaning. We do have one flag we raise high and wave – the gospel flag – good news for those who believe; bad news for those who remain in unbelief. For more on being gospel-centered see What is Gospel Centered.
Great post, Steve. I’m looking forward to the issue of national flags in the church as well. I’ve worked for two different churches that had 40-plus nationalities in them — some were here as citizens and some as guests and some still trying to decide. Having “I love America” services and so on would have been confusing and disconcerting for many of them. Two weeks ago, I visited in a church where everyone was told to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the worship schedule. I’m a patriotic American, but we’ve turned American patriotism into a co-equal expression of worship and Western Christianity in many churches and in doing so erect doors where windows should exist, in my opinion. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Dan
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