Below is a peek into Brian McLaren’s new book, “A New Kind of Christianity”.  Before going further, you may be asking yourself a question; Why is it important to look at this book?  Answer: Because it is very likely, maybe even probable, that your Church is teaching material by this author, or one of his Emergent Church colleagues (Rob Bell books and nooma videos, Doug Pagitt, Jay Bakker, etc.).  Where are they teaching it?  Down the hall, in the College Sunday school, or down the other hall with the youth pastor.  Please know, I am not trying to incite suspician and division, but these teachings are creeping into many, many Texas churches, and the alarm must go out.  Why is it so important to examine what they are teaching?  Because these teachings directly attack the Bible and the truths it contains.  See for yourself.  On page 268  as a footnote to Chapter 5, McLaren has this to say when discussing the God of the Bible as presented in the book of Job: 

“As we will see again when we read the story of Job in response to the authority question, it may help us here [in Elohim's “coming-of-age" story] to see “God” not simply as the real God, but as a character in a story, seen and described unapologetically from a human point of view. This character is thus rendered in starkly human terms, which excuses the character for displaying less emotional maturity that we might expect in an actual deity.  This character seems, if we’re honest, rather limited in foresight (threatening and then not imposing the death penalty with Adam and Eve, not anticipating Cain’s violence to Abel), and somewhat insecure and threatened by human potential, worrying first that humans “will become . . . like us” (Gen. 3:22) and later that “nothing will be impossible for them” (11:6).” 

So according to the Emergent Church, the God of the Bible (and thereby Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity) is immature, ignorant, emotional, shortsighted and indeed not God at all.  Don’t kid yourself into believing that because this material is found in a footnote, it is not all that damaging.  It is worse to be found in a footnote.  Why?  Because that means teachings based on these views is being presented in a far more eloquent and insidious way in the regular text, and they are being presented to young minds.  These are not just “doctrinal differences” they are direct attacks on Christianity by those claiming to be Christians. Please look into what is being taught in the classroom down the hall (on a regular basis), and hold your pastoral staff accountable.