Someone once wrote me the following: "Since you are not emergent, will this prevent you from allowing a guest preacher who believes in emergent theology to preach in the assembly you lead?" I replied that there is an assumption here. The question assumes that a Congregational minister prevents or allows preachers in the Church. Here are my thoughts. The Congregational Church follows centuries-old, Biblical tenets. So this already decides who will preach. A host of people, both past and present, so decided. Then, in the Acts of the Apostles, we find a Congregational decision-making process: "This proposal pleased the whole group." Thus it is the whole group which decides -- not the minister. OBSERVATION: There were two occasions (maybe more), where the "whole group" was thoroughly divided about a guest preacher. In these cases we said no. If the guest preacher has this effect, then it would not be wise to have them.
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