A caveotic blogosphere

Why do we feel the need to caveat everything to death? This applies to the blogosphere, but even more so to the Godblogs - including myself.

I'm an especially wordy person. I like to write my opinion and usually have to work hard at being concise and pithy. It's so hard for me to get that whole "soul of wit" thing. With my thoughts running on the long end anyway, for some reason, I feel the need to slap the "Now, I don't agree with everything he does" somewhere in my post just to make sure you don't connect me with everything that person believes.

When did it become assumed that just because a blogger or any writer comments about one thing that they agree with everything. Recently I talked about how I liked NewSpring and Elevation churches. I think God is doing a tremendous work through Perry Noble and Steven Furtick, "but I don't agree with everything they do." Well of course I don't, there not me.

I could go into things where I may differ from Furtick or Noble, but it's not really that important. The specific issues aren't that important and those possible disagreements aren't really important to anyone. There is no one out there that agrees with me on every issue. There is no one that agrees with you on every issue. We are going to share commonality on certain issues and on others were are going to diverge. After hearing the messages at the Convergence Conference, I am even more impressed that as Christians we need to start uniting around the core principles of our faith (dare I say "mere Christianity) and move forward.

Some Christian leaders, pastors and bloggers are too reformed for my tastes, some aren't reformed enough. Some are too anti-intellectual, some are too anti-anti-intellectual (?). Some are too purpose driven, some are too against Rick Warren. Some are too motivated by culture, some don't understand culture enough.

My point is this and I will steal it from Ed Stetzer because I obviously agree with everything he has ever said (as an aside, I don't think Ed Stetzer agrees with everything Ed Stetzer has ever said, I could say the same for myself): With in the Southern Baptist Convention, I agreed with the Conservative Resurgence and am glad that the "Battle for the Bible" has been won, but too many people want to keep on fighting and "bombing the rumble." If you believe in the Bible and the core doctrines of our faith and you want to be a part of fulfilling the Great Commission - I can work with you.

But why do we feel the need to add the caveat any statement of support for another's ministry? Because we fear the guilt by association that so often comes with forays into the Christian blogosphere minefield. If we say one good thing about someone else (and we are deem worthy of a takedown), many of the watchdog "ministries" or individuals spring into action and play six degrees of separation from heresy. The person we commended has said something good about another ministry which once published a book which had a book jacket quote from this person who once knew this other pastor who said they enjoyed a message by [insert heretic here].

We need to be on guard about our doctrine. We should not throw out endorsements like candy. But we also have to realize that those who desire to tear down instead of build up are going to do just that. The "wife beaters" as Joe at Evangelical Outpost called them, would rather spend their time punishing the bride of Christ for disagree with them - on anything.

But I'm tired of living in a caveotic blogosphere (one filled with incessant caveats), so here's my one and hopefully only caveat for all of you "wife beaters" out there: there is not one writer, pastor, blogger, Christian that I agree with on everything, including you. So if you want to spend your time calling everyone a heretic except your only little Christian clique - go ahead, just know that some one out there disagrees with you - no caveat.