The Origins Conference (April 30-May 3), put on by cultural architect, distinguished futurist and lead pastor for Mosaic Erwin McManus is now underway. Origins is “an interactive experience which mobilizes people to serve through the discovery of one’s uniqueness. Includes Gallup’s StrengthsFinder, Myers Briggs Type Indicator, and Character Matrix (based on Uprising by Erwin McManus).”

In this exclusive report for Apprising Ministries and Christian Research Net we find out participants will be able to:

Become An Unstoppable Force by shaping and creating an apostolic ethos within a missional community. Includes a fusion of music, art, dance, film, interaction, and messages with Erwin McManus, Eric Bryant, and the Mosaic Leadership Team.

Well, AM/CRN’s source inside Origins tells us that opening day yesterday was quite entertaining featuring “Conference Man” who apparently turned out to be a real handful for the host. It’s also important to understand that Origins is not your typical teaching conference but focuses more on the issues of culture, community & spiritual passion. Erwin McManus spoke on Acts 17 and Paul at Mars Hill with the usual Emergent take that Paul was adjusting his message in order to be relevant.

In the second session today McManus used his Mosaic church itself as his backdrop to share one of his core teachings:

I know it may sound like heresy, but it is more important to change what people care about than to change what they believe! You can believe without caring, but you can’t care without believing.

This is really a not so thinly veiled criticism of Reformed Biblical Christianity, which is also common in the Emergent rebellion against the Bible. This is their misunderstanding of the critical importance of proper doctrine. Instead, because the Emergent Church is more about a feelings-oriented approach to the Christian faith, men like McManus are forced to deemphasize what one believes in favor of the more subjective Emergent and “missional” Barbarian approach.

Session Three began with a rap about TV evangelists, which you may have seen on You Tube (see below), and this then set the stage for Erwin McManus to speak again. One particular highlight according to our source inside Origins was McManus’ suggestion that we should never criticize the methods someone is using if they are reaching people for Christ. Of course that courtesy seems to end abruptly when considering someone like myself or Dr. John MacArthur who preach the historic orthodox Christian faith.

But most disturbing, and yet still totally in character for human potential advocate Erwin McManus was his saying:

My job is not to feed Christians, but make them hungry.

And it’s not the first time he’s said it either as Norman Jameson pointed out in his piece for Associated Baptist Press “California pastor challenges colleagues to move beyond ‘church’ to unbelievers”:

McManus is impatient with Christians who flit from church to church looking for a pastor who will “feed” them. He said Christians are bulimic, spiritually “feeding” on Sunday, and then vomiting so they can feed again the next Sunday. “My job isn’t to feed the Christians, so they can feed the sheep,” he said. “My job is to make them hungry so they can feed themselves.” (Online source)

Unfortunately for Erwin McManus, who can barely hide his contempt for proper Biblical doctrine, our cultural architect is now in direct contradiction to Jesus Himself. You see the Master Teacher, using a question to heighten the effect, instructs His pastors to do just the opposite of McManus’ musings as Jesus speaks with the Apostle Peter and says to him:

“Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:17-18)

Better we listen to Christ Jesus the Resurrected from the dead than Erwin McManus the inflated of the self. Our source who is inside Origins: The Experience 2007 should have another report for us tomorrow.