re EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS, MORMONISM, FRANK PASTORE, & DERICK BOWEN (?)

I LEARN  a lot from the radio talk shows as I  am driving around southern California ... particularly I've been listening to a lot of Frank Pastore lately ... & today (10/10/11) Frank had a guest by the name of Derick Bowen (?) (he didn't spell the name & I didn't find anything when I googled his name, but I heard mention that he was involved with seminaries & education for the mormon church, albeit both the guest & Frank frequently made sure they made us aware that he was not an "official" representative of the mormon church, simply an informed mormon giving his thoughts & information about the mormon church, particularly in regard to whether they think of themselves as Christians or not) ... the topic arose, of course, because of the comment by a pastor Jeffress who said that Mitt Romney is a "good moral person, but not a Christian..." ..and that "mormonism is a cult..." ... so they discussed it... this is NOT the full interview (you can get the full audio at Frank Pastore's website) ... Derick insisted that mormons are Christians & that they believed that Joseph Smith had a better or "fuller" understanding of the Bible.. and at one point said that they should not be called a cult, but maybe "unorthodox Christianity"...to which Frank responded that he is "not ready to go that far yet"... both of them also made mention of Richard Mouw (president of Fuller Seminary, and coincidentally a friend, or former friend (Of sorts, I guess) of our family when we were living in Grand Rapids...when Mouw was a professor at Calvin College.. incidentally, I've been trying to find out more about Mouw's life lately, but can't seem to find out anything about his childhood...only academic credentials as an adult.. even when I asked my dad, who used to socialize with Rich (& maybe still does) he said he didn't know that much (said maybe his dad was a New jersey reformed church pastor?.. it just struck me as strange that I know SO LITTLE about a man who came over to our house with his wife, Phyliss, & socialized with my mom & dad..and also attended the same church as us for fourteen years...his son Dirk was a year older than me.. I'm not saying that there's a "secret past" about Richard, but simply that I wish I knew more about his roots).. anyways... back to Frank & Derick..the conversation went on for a while..some callers insisted that Christianity can't be called "mormonism" so why should mormonism be called Christianity ? good point... my own feeling is that I admire the spic & span style of the mormons on their bikes...with white shirts & ties... that's impressive..the two years of service they give..knocking on doors despite knowing most of the time they will get a "no thanks, not interested" response.. I would like to see more "orthodox Christians" doijng some of this..i even see more Jehovah's Witness out on the streets than I see "orthodox Christians:" ... I myself am an evangelical Christian and am actively engaged in street ministry...but would be hardpressed to get some of my fellow church people to do it with me.. certainly would not be able to get my Christian Reformed friends to do it with me... and that bothers me.. (albeit there is a small segment of CRC folk who do engage in missions..and were with me when I went to the Philippines for a summer mission)...but it brings up the topic of fruits.. you can call yourself an "orthodox Christian" and have all the right doctrine, but if you're not OUT THERE ..giving out the good news, showing the fruit.. at some point those who ARE out & about, despite having "flawed" or different orthodoxy may be the people Jesus spoke of as having the "fruit" ...and the others being a withered fig tree.. nonetheless, doctrine is important....when evangelical Christians combine right doctrine along with right action.. they are the apple of Jesus' eye.. but right doctrine alone will not save anybody.. ..By the way, when Derick says that "evangelical Christians" even reject the Roman Catholic church... the problem is "which evangelicals" ? I think he has in mind a small segment of  "radical evangelicals"...some of whom you see holding those YELLOW signs with very strong, sometimes shocking, statements..and if you dialogue with them they will say that even the Roman Catholic church is wrong.. I would say that these "radical evangelicals" are like "radical Muslims"...that they don't represent mainstream orthodox Christians or mainstream evangelical Christians... there are evangelical Christians devoted to telling the good news who do NOT reject orthodox Christianity or the Catholic church...i myself being one of them.. and am very appreciative of the Roman Catholic church..and respect the daily mass & eucharist.. (albeit occassionally I have run into "cradle Catholics" who have made the local catholic church more of a matter of "localism" than universal catholicism but that's a different story.. localism is a problem for every church & denomination...those Christians born & raised in a specific church on the corner of 4th & 2nd...who have NEVER gone OUT into the world & attempted to proclaim the Good News & grow as Christians with other Christians..these "cradle Catholics" or cradle Christians who never go & grow do not represent the Catholic church nor any other branch of Christianity..sometimes they stifle it.. even my own denomination..the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) has "cradle CRC's" ...still going to the same church they were born & raised in and very protective of a localistic element.. hard to break in there if you weren't born & raised in that specific church building on the corner of Main & Pine, so to speak.. )...BUT true, good, decent, growing evangelical Christians should NOT be pigeon-holed as rejectionistic radical evangelicals who say they & they alone are the true Christians..

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