"Teaching them to obey..."

I've been wondering about something lately. What if we elevated the importance of a "lifestyle" statement in our churches? What if instead of being focused on what Baptists or Presbyterians or Anglicans "believe" we really tried to grasp (and apply) how Christians "live"? Please do not jump to conclusions and think that I am trying to ignore biblical doctrine. I know we have to have doctrine, it is VERY important. But maybe in our rush to quantify every single aspect of our doctrine we have neglected some very basic things about our practice. Maybe we have been so concerned about what we believe that we have forgotten to be concerned about how we live.

I was reminded of these ideas by a quote from an Associated Baptist Press article about Rick Warren at the Baptist World Alliance congress. Warren says that what we need now is a transformation. Warning that Baptists often are

"...known for what we're against rather than what we're for..."

Warren continues,

"I am praying for a second reformation of the church" that will focus more on deeds than words. The first Reformation was about beliefs. This one needs to be about behavior. ... We've had a Reformation; what we need now is a transformation."

How would this look? I'm not really sure. Maybe we could start by coming up with a "Statement of Essential Beliefs" that would probably be much like some of the creeds of the ancient church. This would list the biblical doctrines that we could never compromise. Our foundation. From there we could develop a list of values or behaviors that reflect specifically the teachings of Jesus. After all, He said,

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18-20)

He didn’t tell us to "teach them to believe all the right things." He called us to obey.

I know, I know, the danger of legalism creeps in. Obviously this list of behaviors would have to be descriptive instead of merely a list of do's and don'ts. And what will drive our actions if we aren't careful about what we "believe"? Those would be problems we would encounter along the way. But I guess that at present I'm more afraid of ignoring the call to obedience and think that maybe the pendulum needs to swing the other way for a bit. It's food for thought. What do you think?