FOREFRONT CHURCH, UNITY, AND THE MARGINALIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

It is distressing to see what is happening to the Church today, especially in metropolitan and university communities. The Church’s message is being brought into conformity with political correctness and whatever will attract new members. Consequently, the only doctrines that are retained are those which will appeal to today’s consumer.

My wife just brought this “statement of faith” of Forefront Church, Brooklyn to my attention:

·       OUR VALUES: Who we are, what we do, and who we want to become is deeply rooted in our faith in Christ. He is at the center of everything we believe. The values of our church community are drawn out of the life Jesus embodied and our desire to emulate Him, so that Christ’s prayer of renewal "on earth as it is in heaven" may become a reality. https://www.forefrontnyc.com/values

Instead, Christ’s prayer reads, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In contrast, Forefront’s statement claims that this is about “renewal on earth” rather than God’s will. Does Christ give us a mandate to renew the earth along with its institutions? Hardly! Instead, the Bible warns us that things will get worse, not better, despite our attempt at renewal. Such a mandate belongs not to the Scriptures but to the social justice movement and its expectation of creating a heaven on earth.

·       HUMILITY (John 14:12-14): Acknowledging the limits of our own wisdom, we create space for the Spirit of Christ to call us toward an ever evolving and loving way of life. We believe that the divine mystery of the Trinity calls us to lovingly ask better questions rather than searching for and claiming to have all the right answers.

While some things change, others do not. The Word of God remains the Word of God, and the Spirit works supernaturally through this Word to build us up:

·       And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

·       And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

In contrast, Forefront disregards the essential role of the Word of God: “lovingly ask better questions rather than searching for and claiming to have all the right answers.” However, the right answers are necessary for our growth in Christ:

·       And he [God] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. (Ephesians 4:11-14)

There are thousands of examples of this principle. For example, if I didn’t believe that God forgave and cleansed me of my sins when I confessed them (1 John 1:9), Satan would have destroyed me by now.

·       COMMUNITY (John 13:34-35): We invest our whole selves in vulnerable, inclusive, and imperfect community, committed to living out our stories together. We build honest relationships with one another and we are fully invested in living and affirming the stories of absolutely everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or socioeconomic standing. Read this New York Times profile of our founding pastor, his family, and our church to learn about how we have transitioned to become inclusive and affirming towards LGBTQIA people, who are encouraged and invited to participate at all levels of leadership and areas of church life, while holding a diversity of different views on LGBTQIA issues within our congregation. Our motto will always be, "Unity not uniformity." We are more interested in asking good questions than in having good answers. To meet Queer & Questioning Christians in Forefront, connect with Queer Communion. 

While we should all embrace honesty and transparency (our brokenness), this is of little value unless we minister to one another with the real hope of God through the Scriptures. However, this is seldom done in seeker-sensitive churches

Likewise, unity is an important goal, but Scripture doesn’t affirm the pursuit of unity among all people but rather among those in the Body of Christ:

·       eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:3-6)

Besides, we are warned against being yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). Instead, the most loving thing is sometimes to encourage unrepentant sinners to repent as Jesus had warned:

·       And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-5)

Once again, Forefront displays a flagrant disregard for the Words of our Lord and certainly regarding His Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). While they talk about following Christ, it doesn’t seem that they care at all about His teachings.

·       ANTI-RACISM (Galatians 3:28) Understanding racism means that our church must be aware of how race and racism affects the lived experience of people of color and how people participate, often unknowingly, in acts and attitudes that have a negative impact on people groups. We follow the example of Jesus Christ, who didn't treat people equally but rather equitably based on their lived experiences within society. We prayerfully strive to do the same.

Oddly, after citing Galatians 3:28, Forefront dismisses the concept of “equality” within the Church, seemingly to embrace racial preference, a form of “affirmative action.” However, this is not the Scriptural model:

·       My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.  For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing…(James 2:1-3)

It seems that at every turn Forefront has embraced a secular understanding of social justice. From their perspective, “understanding racism” is the secular understanding of racism. Expect to become an outcast if you mention that the social justice entitlement programs cause of much of the plight of people of color.

While such churches emphasize unity, they are actually quite repressive towards those who do not agree with their understanding. Why? Once they have sidelined the Scriptures, rational argumentation, and their “answers,” the only way for their understanding to prevail is to say, “This isn’t the church for you.”