He answered "No", when I asked him if I had said anything that was heretical. I went on to quietly explain that that particular Scripture was referring to the false teachings and philosophy of Gnosticism, not of genuine enquiry. He could not accept it.

You would think that with 40 years experience this past and would have had some understanding of what Paul was referring to in this letter and the problem of Gnosticism. We have a problem here, how can a congregation understand these things either and be able to interpret their Bible?

If the many pastors persist in preaching, lightweight and shallow messages to the congregation, the results will always be a people, who do understand their Bible very well. Pastors preach again and again 'moral essays' and 'warming affirmations', for this is what good Christians do, if they truly 'love' each other.

It seems that, so long as we are positive and 'nice' to all, it really doesn't matter if Christians are falling between the cracks because of a lack of knowledge.

Think about it, the more 'relevant' Christians become, to the world, the less relevant christians are in reality, to the world. :-(

Why do Pastors get stuck in a rut of favorite topics and 'feel good' messages? Preachers preach on a verse from 1 John further a part about a victorious one from Luke; topical address from Matthew following on with the true faith of Mary Magdalene or the rigtheousness of Abraham.

After preaching portions from here and from there, through the Bible we need then to put it all together in a clear, understandable way for our congregation.

Constantly we are bombarded with new publications and modernist ideas, some of them dangerously leaning toward Liberal theology. We are repeating history, but if we were to teach the basics of Church history, we would be more equipped to avoid repeating that history.

Our role as teachers of the flock is to take the fragments of God's Word and plan certain together in a beautiful tapestry that the Church can draw on, helping them to understand God, the Bible and the Church.

This is not difficult to attain, if we put in some good prayer and study.

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. (NIV)