The actual term “heresy” has fallen out of style, but the concept is still a large part of Christianity. Despite how serious an accusation of heresy is within a church, few pastors talk about what heresy really means. The word becomes something like a child’s first swear word. It is something bad, but no one quite understands more than that. They might know that heresy means going against Christian doctrine, but no one discusses how far a person has to disagree with doctrine to reach the level of a heretic. Is a Catholic who ate bacon on Friday a heretic? Is a Pentecostal Christian a heretic if they do not believe in speaking in tongues? What makes a person a heretic?

Dealing with heresy also means addressing how ordinary Christians should handle heretical thoughts. If they find themselves thinking that an idea is pointless or foolish, what should they do? If a friend confides in them that they disagree with doctrine, how should a person respond? Heresy is still a very real accusation, but church leaders need to make sure their congregations know what it really means.