Think Hybrid?

What an excellent name for a blog post, it got my attention. And it is something that has been on my mind, lately.  I was raised in a church atmosphere of "We're the only ones who really have this right. You depend on us for your spiritual needs, and you'll be ok."  Visiting other churches occasionally at a friend's invitation was seen as suspect-- and you certainly could not have gotten your spiritual fill there. Worse, you probably were given wrong doctrine and will require "damage control."  Add to this the rule-- spoken or unspoken-- that your regular attendance was required or you'd miss the best seats on the train to heaven.

The truth about church, Dustin Neeley points out, is "many movements and denominations market their brands as 'the way' to get the job done. However, because of our fallen world, none of us are entirely right about anything."  He encourages, "'Thinking hybrid' is about drawing from a number of wells instead of just one. In doing so, we are able to maximize the strengths of our heroes while minimizing their weaknesses, instead of reproducing them in our own ministries."

Be warned, however.  When you step out of your doctrinal comfort zone and consider other views, sometimes you are stretched. You see things in a new way.  You actually start exercising your discernment, and you find yourself testing the things you've always believed against what Jesus actually said.  Dustin says during this process you should do three things:

1. Read and listen widely: draw what you can and leave the rest.
   
2. Befriend someone from another "tribe" and see what God may say to you through him.
3. Be humble: is your insecurity so strong that you can't question what you've always believed?