A Visionless Church

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” – Colossians 2:8 Yesterday, I told you about my uber-religious elementary school teacher who instilled major fear in me and my fellow classmates. By reinforcing the idea that we should live with constant anxiety about going to hell so that we continually confess our sins, she introduced a toxic theology that was focused exclusively on what you can’t do. Unfortunately, she was not alone in her dogmatic and fear-based beliefs — such thinking has pervaded many sectors of the church for generations. The major problem with this kind of dogma is that it stifles our souls. When we’re constantly fixated on giving things up without having a greater reason, we become joyless and lackluster. If we need proof of