Some of my fondest memories as a child involve our yearly treks to the beach. I would spend hours in the ocean. Often, when the surf was rough, over time, I would unknowingly be swept down the shore, prompting my parents to feverishly motion to me to return in front of them. Normally, the pull of the current would necessitate that I get out of the surf and walk along the beach.
Sadly, this is a fitting picture for many evangelical ministries today, having been “tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14). Willingly or, more often, unknowingly, the cultural tide with its redefined unbiblical definition of Christian love, and deceptive, interpretive gymnastics has washed them away from biblical orthodoxy, having been taken “captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).
The solution for these ministries is three-fold. First, recognize how adrift you have become by heeding the impassioned calls for your return. Second, remove yourself from the current by assessing which siren calls of authors, associations, and admonitions have sent you awash. And finally, renew your commitment “to examine all things; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil” (2 Thess. 5:21-22). According to Francis Schaeffer, the result will be reformation, which is a return to the sound doctrine of the Bible, and revival, which is the practice of that sound doctrine under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Please continue to pray that EA would itself remain firmly anchored in Scripture and serve as an instrument of reformation and revival for God’s glory and the advancement of Christ’s Church.
And thank you for your continued prayer and financial partnership in this endeavor!