Cultural Relativism, Cont.

Real Dudes,
Last week I posted an article on Cultural Relativism. As I was looking through some John Cooper sites on-line, I ran across this article and thought it’d make for a perfect follow-up to the previous posting. This article is about the effects of Cultural Relativism, and Deconstruction Stories – Influential “Christian” Leaders  who are “Nicely” Falling away from their faith and families and attempting to take followers with them…leading them astray. Notice who John Cooper is calling out and what he feels such leadership should be teaching and encouraging.

Skillet’s John Cooper is Deconstructing Deconstruction
Robyn Roste January 28, 2021
For more than 20 years Skillet’s frontman John Cooper has entertained audiences as lead singer with his message of positive Christian rock.
While Cooper has always been outspoken in his faith, over the past year he has taken to social media more and more to battle cultural relativism, which he says has infected the church and modern Christianity.
On January 10, Cooper released a “Ten Minute Talk” leaving no room to wonder where he stands politically or spiritually as he urged Christians to “open your eyes and see what’s happening.”
Cooper took some heat online for his stance, but he stands behind it and was recently interviewed on Alisa Childers’ podcast where they discussed cultural relativism and the recent trend of “deconstruction,” in many Christian circles, which has seen many Millenials walk away from the church, and their faith. Click on this Link to watch and listen to this interview.
Deconstructing Deconstruction
Childers’, who was formerly of the Christian pop group ZOEgirl, has played shows with Cooper in the past. They lost touch over the years, but reconnected after his viral Facebook post from August 2019.
“It was fire,” she said about the post, saying it vocalized what everyone else was thinking about the string of deconstruction stories and wondering what was happening in Christianity.
The term “deconstruction” comes from the Emerging Church Movement, which has led to many Christians stepping away from their faith and rejecting God altogether.
Cooper said he wrote the Facebook post because he was wondering where all the pastors were and why they weren’t speaking up more about “the insane things people are saying.” 
Both Cooper and Childers know many musicians within the Contemporary Christian Music scene who have lost their faith and announced it on their public platforms. One of the more recent “deconstruction” stories is from May 22, when Hawk Nelson frontman Jon Steingard announced he no longer believed in God.
Cooper said these worship leader deconstruction posts are very confusing to people, and his goal was to help people understand what was happening. Describing these moments as “gut punch after gut punch,” Cooper said it is church leaders’ responsibility to help Millennials who are going through these faith crises understand good theology and where to look for answers.
He added how our culture has to stop looking to worship leaders and thought leaders as the relevant influencers in Christendom and to look to theologians and pastors for the old wisdom.
Passion for Scriptures
Cooper’s outspokenness is aimed at reminding Christians to be passionate about the Word of God, and about the Gospel. He wants people to remember that the things they live for are not of this world and that our hope should be in nothing other than Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.
In his “Ten Minute Talk” Cooper said when bad things happen, his faith isn’t shaken.
“I think we have to understand that sometimes God purposes us to go through bad things in order that the Gospel is advanced. To bring glory to His name, I don’t know why. That’s the way God wants it.” https://faithstrongtoday.com/robynroste/skillets-john-cooper-is-deconstructing-deconstruction

Indeed, some individuals are not clear representatives of Christ (they are neither heavenly minded, nor are they of earthly good when it comes to advancing His Kingdom). Realize this, they aren’t leaving Christianity, for they were never a genuine Christ-Follower to begin with. Therefore, please don't judge genuine Christ-followers based on what the pseudo-Christians do and say. Remember, Satan is subtly working even in the lives of the people who enter the Church doors. The responsibility of the genuine follower-of-Christ is to continue in the faith, keep growing in the knowledge of Him, spreading that knowledge (truth) to our upcoming generations, and finishing the race well for His glory.
All alarms are sounding right now…Cultural Relativism and Deconstructionism are real concepts within our very own community…according to the verses below where do these paths lead to? What should that cause you to want to do for our leaders, fellow lay-people, relatives, spouses, children, grandchildren, and churches? As the Apostle Paul said in Colossians 1:3a (NLT), “We always pray for you…”
Practicing His Presence,
Nate
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Isaiah 9:16

• (NIV) Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.
• (ESV) for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.

Acts 20:30 (NLT) Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.
1 John 2:19 (ESV) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
Mark 8:36-38 (NLT) 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?[a] 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Colossians 1:23 (NLT) But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

Song: Lose My Soul by Toby Mac