Taken 4 Granted

Original Sin

2010-09-04T15:13:00.008-05:00

Original Sin
by Alan Gray

THE SIN

Eve, being the feminine wonder that she was and not accustomed nor designed to face the brutality of Satan's vicious assaults, was caught unaware while her mate and companion was not around. Like the woman brought before Jesus, after being entrapped by the sons of the same devil, she was really quite helpless and unequipped to deal with what came at her. She wasn't devious or rebellious, she was simply a responder and designed to shine in the protection of her Father and in the presence of her dear Adam.

No doubt, being the wide eyed, innocent wonder that she was, she was full of trust. But the one who stood before her now would nearly always trump the moment over the One who had entrusted her with the freedom to wander on her own. She merely listened, as we all are so unfortunately familiar with doing, to the smooth toned, warm, round words of the greatest deceiver the universe has ever known.

When Adam found her, she was different. She knew more than he and he most certainly knew it the moment he saw her with his own eyes and she averted hers. Being the perfect man that he was, he inquired no doubt, with his heart rushing to meet hers where ever she was. Quite possibly, in the fast moving events of the moment and the overwhelming change Adam had suddenly sensed, decisions were made in haste and Adam fell headlong into the deception.

This second deception had no doubt been masterfully engineered by the snake - Satan. It is always a sign of someone who is infected with the will of this devil who waits and preys on women and children. They are to this day the most loathsome of criminals. Nonetheless, the deed was done. Their eyes had opened and the whole of creation suddenly took on a darkness they had never before noticed.

They saw, for the first time, the futility we see every hour. They felt gravity pulling them down, never before sensing the weight of their own bodies. The once warm breeze had turned cool and for the first time they felt a chill. They felt their nakedness, it was strange and raw. They were suddenly aware of their own bodies in ways they had never known before. Even looking at each other, they suddenly needed to cover themselves in the shame of noticing such a difference between them where they had just moments before seen nothing less than a glorious yet unique sameness.

I have never doubted that at the moment His children became aware of the two, dualist opposites they had never before perceived, He knew something terrible had happened and came looking for His children, the crown of his creations and for the first time having to call out for them. When He finally found them, they peered up from the bushes at Him, wide eyed and hunted.

THE SEPARATION

He looked in the eyes of His two children and down at the creature who had had his way with them and knew that with innocence lost, nothing would ever be the same again. They could in no way joyfully play in the world He had made for them, free of all drive and compulsion except what their own nature suggested they enjoy. He knew that they had already begun weighing the value of everything they had only moments before accepted openly without condition. He knew they would be burdened with decisions and choices they were entirly unfamiliar with. It would no longer be the simple joy of putting their hands to the activities of the day they would enjoy but rather a burdensome task and a demanding requirement.

What was going to be a joyfully and momentarily painful delivery of their first child, would now weigh on Eve's mind as she could no longer simply take each moment on it's own, but rather chose to hate the pain that was forced on her, knowing it was not a 'good' feeling and certainly a 'bad' one. She would place it, along with every other experience on this new mental spectrum of good and evil and would now look in fear to the future of the pain she was inevitably forced to endure.

Nothing would be the same. Everything had changed. The simple laughter coming from the garden, the joy in His children's eyes as they played with the many animals Adam had himself named, the wonder on their faces as they stood and stared out at the fields and gardens He had made for them, was never going to be the way of their lives, as He had planned. The terrible knowledge of the war waged between Himself and enemy and the inevitable sorting of what was right and what was not, was no longer His own to bear, it had spread to His children. They had, by this one violation of His will, brought a powerful system of control and manipulation down upon themselves and their progeny.

Knowing the power of this new knowledge and the great destruction it would inevitably produce, it would be necessary to introduce as well, some system of futility to temper it's otherwise devastating result. It would need to be checked by a system of struggle such that the judgements and rejections, the manipulations of personal worth and feelings of superiority they would now have to negotiate would not have a free hand but rather be slowed down to a frustrating pace by the increasing of their labor and multiplied pain of their proliferation.

It was a sentence that no doubt broke His heart yet in it's absence would give them no chance at all to survive, let alone multiply and fill the earth. But far worse than that, the deadly warning He gave them about that tree would sadly be their only hope of rescue from this dark and heavy knowledge. Death would be required of each of them to provide it's relief to their suffering and the hopelessness of the unsolvable riddle of constantly having to weigh out every moment on the scales of good and evil.

THE RESULT

Each morning when the sleep now required from the previous day's labors had ended, they would awake to a vision of futility that they could mostly overcome, but it would take everything within them to do it. Every moment would be a challenge to keep their focus on those thoughts and actions that did not bring them grief and disillusionment. The loveliness of the garden they once were able to see clearly with their eternal eyes, was gone. They looked out at the previous day's remains and everywhere around them stood the incongruous patterns made by human hands. These man made patterns disturbed their souls and brought grief to their hearts. Straight lines that had never been part of their previous world, save the horizon, were now everywhere.

A momentary glance up at the trees and clouds brought back a refreshing reminder of the days when they looked out and saw the artistic brush strokes of their Father's hand spread across the land and sky. Shapes that defied definition. Shapes that swayed and changed filled with innumerable shades and colors, all changing with the whim of a breeze or the shifting of the sun. Now however, they were some how only painful reminders of all that they had lost. The garbage and debris of their fending for themselves, the stench and disease of the rotting remains of their slowly passing days would rise up to remind them of the smell of death they would one day both dread and long for in their uncharted future.

THE CONSEQUENCE

As a baby emerging from his mother's womb, eyes closed and clogged, ears plugged, lungs gasping for breath, we are born with nearly no sense of the spiritual. We sense it's surrounding presence but we are at complete loss for words to describe it and so, have no way to understand it, let alone appreciate it's amazing wonder. We see only the physical, feel only the touch of the tangible. Our five senses are limited to perceive only those things that are destined, under the ancient sentence, to die or otherwise fade away to ultimate destruction.

While we enjoy the many visions of life around us and our souls grasp for deeper spiritual connections with life and with the other isolated human souls embodied in those loved ones we hold dearest to us, they remain beyond our reach and we must be satisfied, if we are able, to simply know they are there. We are separate, we are alone. We carry our thoughts deep in the recesses of our own minds, so deep that we ourselves cannot even trace their origins. God seems as far from us as our own imaginations can take Him yet, with some effort and concentration, as near to as our own thoughts and feelings. We are separated but not abandoned.

THE OFFER

"Repent, the kingdom of God is imminent" says Jesus as his introductory herald of the evangel of our rescue and release. "I have come to make a way, I have come to make you sons and daughters of your one true Father again. I will lead you to Him, as he is very close at hand. But you must believe me and what I tell you or you will wander, as is your nature, off the very narrow path I will lead you on. You must lay aside your reasonings and calculations. Your common sense will only return you to the circles you have orbited from the beginning.

The darkness and isolation of your soul, the private fears and anxieties that have been your self constructed guard rails will be washed away when, in the presence of the Light of our true Father, your spiritual eyes will begin to clear. Your ears will begin to open and your lungs, for so long barely breathing, will be filled with the freshness and life giving oxygen of Spirit and Truth. You will grow, day by day, to recognize your true Father standing beside you, listening, hearing, ready to catch and hold you. You will begin to know the feel of his warming, living water showering down on you as you simply step back into it's showering streams. You will begin to feel the completeness and the new and unfamiliar justification and right to be here, when leaning back into His arms and finding your self simply absorbed into His, where you will begin to understand and know your life and His are, more and more and from time to time, One.

You will begin to experience and feel the eternal, unlimited, unhindered life that knows no death because it needs no saving death to rescue it from the futility of a world caught up in sorting out every right from every wrong. A life that needs no duality to provide balance. No ying and yang, no yes and no, because in Him it is always yes and in this life there is no darkness. In this life there is only light and life. In Him is life and the life is the light of men. This light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot understand it nor can it overcome it.

Good News, Kingdom of God, Salvation, Hell

2010-08-10T10:42:00.001-05:00

This is from a friend of mine, Alan Gray, who responded to a question I posted on Facebook. What is the gospel of the kingdom of God? WOW!

"What is good news?
"Your biopsy turned up negative". "You inherited $55,000". "The house next door with the drug dealers living for the past 3 years has been cleared out and a respectable family has purchased it and is going to do a complete renovation of it."
"Your wife and new baby are going to be fine". "The war has ended." Good news is universal. Everyone knows what good news is. The gospel is good news.

What is the kingdom of God?
We vote in elections because this is how we participate in our government. We obey the laws because this is how we honor our country. We pay taxes because that is how we fund the work of the social support of our society. While there are some kingdoms left in the world, most are now considered countries. Perhaps Kingdom is better understood as the Country of God. But while countries have geographical boundaries, this kingdom of God is made up of a growing citizenship of human beings who willingly commit to ally with it. Those who chose to assign their allegiance to Jesus as their present and coming king, join this expanding citizenship that crosses all geographical boundaries.

Much like a citizen of France living in Canada, he may participate as much as a non-citizen can participate, honoring and supporting the government and people of Canada but their heart is truly in France. They may watch French news or read French magazines, they are a valuable member of the country of Canada by honoring it and following it's rules, even though they may seem foreign and unnecessary. They may engage in changing Canadian culture or even government to reflect more of the French culture they believe in. But regardless of their activities, they are not Canadian, they are French.

What is Salvation?
Salvation is the life long process of rescue from immanent destruction.

The theologians of the first several centuries, in an effort to position themselves in places of power and authority, mutated the meaning and purpose of Hell, the sternest of warnings Jesus gave to those Jewish leaders who thought that by virtue of their genealogy, they were exempt from immanent destruction. These early theologians, with the help of thousands of subsequent bible dreamers have pushed the very present threat and danger of a godless, wasted existence out, far into the infinite future in some mythical fantasy of raining swirling fire, so they could become the imaginary gatekeepers and final arbiters of who escaped it's dreadful fires and torment and who didn't.

Shifting our focus from the everyday, ongoing process of salvation to a one time infinite future event, these imaginative thinkers, stole it's power for themselves and, in the minds of their followers, reduced it's valuable ever present reference to an irrelevant and powerless doctrine that has nothing whatsoever to do with our present lives.

But hell is all around us. Anguish, depression, weeping, gnashing of teeth, tormented souls who have given themselves over or have been tricked into leaving their will and purpose in the hands of personal lust, greed, judgment and condemnation of others, critics of everyone around them, impatient with neighbors or fellow workers, envious of the resources of those around them, protective of their own image, hungry to dominate others, insecure of what they have no control over, hatred and anger at everyone around them for wrongs they themselves have suffered, waging war with spouses, children, parents, other races of people, others of higher or lower income status. It is a nearly endless, day to day, moment by moment enticing that this world beckons us to join in and for our current consideration, it is nothing short of hell. It can be a life time of pain and suffering, it can so define us throughout the length of our lives that even though we claim Jesus to be our savior, we refuse to or even call ourselves powerless to change. We may search for a human salvation through a friend, a spouse, a child, a medical procedure, a drug, a hobby, a career, an identity, an affiliation with a particular group but nothing will free us from this self centered life except to let go of one tie and connection at a time, over as short a period of time as we can endure, to where we hold on to none of these things and denounce all of them in our own lives.

Like a home owner who has been the victim of a hurricane or perhaps the surviving relative of such a one, we sift through these lives with great hope, discarding that which is ruined and collecting up that which is good. With the endless and ever present guidance of the Spirit of God, we take up each thing which was once so dear to us and lay down that which is not.

We are not saved from an eternal infinite existence of pain and suffering, we are being saved from a very present one. What God does with the infinite future is in his hands, what we do in this very short and finite present one is very much in our own. We are being saved but we are very much a part of that process, it is not left in the hands of one savior who died once so we could simply claim him as our birthright and king and then neglect everything he has commanded us to do. There is no salvation in that. In the end, we may have a lifetime of devotion to present to Him and nothing of a changed life to accompany it. Our lives are not our own, they were bought with an invaluable price. "

Tithing - Is it Biblical?

2010-06-14T02:06:00.002-05:00

I have had some really wonderful conversations with a friend of mine about God and the one word that drives him a little bonkers is biblical. The reason is quickly obvious since just because something is stated in the Bible doesn’t mean we should follow it without using a wee bit of brain matter.

A simple example of this is when Judah hired his daughter-in-law Tamar as a prostitute. Of course, he didn’t know she was Tamar as she was in a very clever disguise. She got pregnant through this nefarious liaison and he wanted to have her killed for sullying the reputation of his dead sons, until of course he found out that he was the daddy. You can read about this quaint little biblical story about Judah’s family in Genesis 38. The remarkable thing about this biblical story is that their son, Perez became the great, great, great….grandfather of Jesus. “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron” Matthew 1:3.

So what’s the moral of this biblical story. Make your daughter-in-law become a prostitute, hire her services, get her pregnant and in a few generations the saviour of the world will be born. Ok, that’s crazy. There’s only one saviour of the world. Just settle for getting your daughter-in-law pregnant while she works at her trade of prostitution. After all, it’s biblical.

That’s basically how much thought has gone into the issue of the practice of tithing to a local church or in the case of some big name tele-evangelists, tithing directly to them because of the great spiritual food they’ve been serving up.

So let’s examine tithing for the next few minutes or so and see if it stands up to being something some Christians have been involved in for over 1,500 years.

First of all, before going into the teaching from the law, let’s ask the question to Abraham about tithing to Melchizedek, king of Salem. It was a one time event from the spoils of war. Nobody else in Abraham’s army tithed on their portion. Man, I actually taught my son to tithe from his paper route. Surely Abraham could have been a better teacher to his men and made them tithe as well. And oh, what did he do with the rest of the spoils. Oh yeah, he gave the other 90% to the king of Sodom. Abraham, “did you leave instructions about this practice of tithing on the spoils of war.” So then… what is the moral of that story and what should we do about that magic word tithing that is within it? I agree, NOTHING!

We are now getting to the law, which should teach us the principle of tithing. Note: there is a clear distinction between the term tithing and offering. Tithes are actually taxes and are not really free will giving. Biblically, there is clearly a distinction between tithes and offerings. “But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.” Deuteronomy 12:5,6

So what is the biblical teaching on tithing in the Law? What is generally not taught or known is that there are actually 3 tithes, so without drawing this out any longer, let’s see what they are.

1) INHERITANCE TITHE
"I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. Numbers 18:21

When God was carving up Israel amongst the 12 tribes, the Levites received no land. Apparently, they were to be somewhat scattered throughout all of the land acting as the civil authorities of the day. Some of them were priests who would eventually serve at the temple.

The tithe they received came only from crops and herds and was what we would consider today to be a 10% tax. But it wasn’t really a tax because it was really an inheritance. Also, take note it could only come from crops and herds which meant the poor who had neither would not have tithed, nor would someone who made their living (like my son’s paper route) in some other way, tithed. The law was very specific about where the tithe was to come from. And the law is the law. You don’t mess with that.

2) CELEBRATION TITHE
Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23

This tithe was party time and could only be used for celebrating in Jerusalem. This is a rather interesting tax. It seems God must really like a good party.
Note once again, that the labourers who harvested the crops and were paid in money would not have tithed as the tithe was only on the crops and herds.

3) SOCIAL JUSTICE/WELFARE/ CARE FOR THE POOR TITHE
At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 14:28,29

This particular tithe was only required every third year (twice in 7). No tithing was done in the 7th Sabbath year. It wasn’t to be taken to Jerusalem but was actually to be put in “storehouses” throughout all of Israel. Requiring the poor to have to travel to get a meal would have been a little harsh. And requiring them to tithe on the grain that they would have received from the storehouse would have been a wee bit INSANE. Lucky them, they didn’t have to tithe. Why? Cuz they were POOR. How lucky can you get? Freedom from tithing.

So what does all this mean? Well, the inheritance tithe still kind of exists. Prove you’re a Levite and demand your rightful inheritance tithe, I think that’s how that works. Not sure if anyone from the other tribes will pay much attention to your “insane” demands.

The celebration tithe, well that was for Jews to celebrate in Jerusalem, so again if you’re a Jew and are planning on celebrating at the Temple (oops, no temple) you can be a faithful tither and have a fantastic party in Jerusalem. If you have to go a long way you can change your cows into money and then change the money back into cows when you get to Jerusalem. Probably a premium to be paid for cows in Jerusalem but hey, that’s just good business.

The social justice tithe is kind of cool. It’s the one that Malachi was talking about when the rich land owners were NOT coughing up their share every 3rd year to go into the storehouses for the poor. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” Malachi 3:10

It seems storehouse meant a place to store food, and food actually meant honest to goodness, FOOD. And remarkably, this food was for the POOR. It seems that God gets a little snitty and takes it personally when people don’t care for the poor. Malachi thought it was about the same as robbing God.

Just to back up a couple of sentences to emphasize what Malachi was all riled up about. He actually speaks for God on this (pretty serious stuff for a Jew to do) "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 3:5

I know everyone knows that context is important when we’re trying to understand “biblical” stuff. But let me simply say this, CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT!!!

To invoke the idea of robbing God when it comes to tithing without understanding that NOT doing social justice was what God considered ROBBING Him is a stench that should leave us gasping for breath. It’s kind of crazy isn’t it, since there’s a few people that seem to have twisted the original meaning of good ole Malachi.

So there you have it. That’s tithing in the Old Testament. To be biblical, which tithe are you practicing?

A Dream: Adam and His Father

2010-04-23T19:50:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd bring in a perspective from someone I got to know on facebook that's from Australia. This is a dream his wife, Emma, had the other night.

Adam and The Lord spent their days together, walking and talking to one another. They delighted in each other’s company.

When The Lord came by one day, Adam was so caught up with the busyness of life he told the Lord, “Not today”. Adam began to let the cares of this world take over time, he still continued to love the Lord however he just had so much else on his plate and he just wasn’t able to do both.

After some time had passed, Adam began reminiscing on the times he had spent with The Lord; he remembered how much he had enjoyed His presence. Adam wanted to enjoy the Lord’s presence again but this time it needed to fit into his lifestyle. So Adam went about building a meeting place where he could go a couple times a week to meet with the Lord.

Adam and some of his friends began the meetings, Adam and his friends sung a couple songs and then Adam would talk to the rest of the group all about the Lord. After, they would have a cuppa and then go back to their lives until the next meeting.

Because The Lord loved Adam and his friends He came to the meetings, everyone would feel Him and enjoy His presence. The Lord would say “I have come because I love you, is anyone willing to walk with me? I have a purpose for each of you, is anyone willing to walk with me now?” They would answer “Not yet Lord, I’m just not ready, I need to learn more from Adam, one day I will”.

This continued from meeting to meeting. The Lord wondered how His Beloved had come to a place where they stopped trusting Him; He wondered how they thought they would learn more by meeting and listening to Adam rather than walking along side Him where He would be able to whisper the Mysteries of the world into their ears. However because He loved them he continued to come to the meetings to see if anyone was willing.

Eventually Adam grew a little tired of The Lords interruptions. The Lord would keep asking the people to go with Him, but Adam needed them to stay and serve in the music team, the Café team, the children’s ministry. Adam placed ear muffs over his ears and all those in the meeting place, now they could enjoy the presence of the Lord but they did not have to listen to all His interruptions.

Some of Adam’s friends began questioning in their hearts; surely there is more than this? The God of the bible wants us to live in relationship with Him, but how can we have a relationship with someone we cannot communicate with? This is when they took off their ear muffs.

The Lord came to the meeting and asked “Is anyone willing to walk with me?”. Those whose ears had been opened heard the Lord and they said “Yes Lord we are willing”. In their excitement they tried to tell the others but the others were not willing “I’m sorry but we’re just too comfortable here, besides Adam needs us to serve his ministry, and this is all we know, we’ve been doing this for years”.

Those who were willing, began to walk with The Lord, they found it so liberating, they were able to not only enjoy His presence as before but now they were able to see Him expressed freely through one another, they were in relationship with Him. Each day whether they were at work, spending time with their families or whatever they were doing, The Lord would be with them delighting in them, He would be speaking to them, giving them His heart for those around them. They were not burdened by another man’s vision any longer; they were being used in the very purpose they had been created for.

Who is Church?

2010-04-20T01:42:00.005-05:00

This is from a friend of mine Alan Gray. These words were simply from a couple of comments that he posted in a discussion we were having on facebook. But wow, did they ever ring true deep inside of me!

My church is, at once a billion people spread across the face of the earth and the company of just two or three others. I love the church more than anything else but there is only one, She is the radiant bride of Christ. She is everywhere and I enjoy her company on all occasions in equal degree. Sitting, isolated in silence for an hour on a Sunday morning in an environment that functionally forbids my speaking except perhaps if I am fortunate and quick enough to catch her making a hasty exit after the formal procedures are duly satisfied. Maybe then we can spend some real time together, not simply sitting silently in the same auditorium considering it "gathering together" to satisfy what was originally meant to be helpful advice to a very wayward group of her misguided Jews 2000 years ago, that has now become a command and requirement to demonstrate my committedness to her.

The idea that our relationship with the rest of the church ever be reduced to measuring what we give and what we get displays a tragic loss of love. A marriage will never survive the language of equitable exchange in giving and receiving.

It is not the deep intimate nature of a relationship with other members of Christ that I prefer to avoid. On the contrary, I seek it at every chance I get through out the week and throughout the day. It is the rigid human sequences and lifeless processes of organized human logic reduced to something we thoughtlessly and ignorantly call a "service" and repeat endlessly week after week until all the intimacy is completely squeezed out of it that I am avoiding.

Once you are no longer a herd, wandering in the wilderness being lead by a single man and being fed the same food, as wonderful and life sustaining as manna was, there is no comparison to the milk and honey of a land in which we are free to feed ourselves and enjoy the freedom to follow the Spirit of God and not the visions of a man.

A freedom that even the ancient Hebrews could not sustain due to their indifference to the love of their Father in heaven and their servile dependence on human leadership. A freedom that is now, as it was then, greatly taught but only slightly lived within the duty bound institutions of humanly organized corporate religious thinking. A non-profit corporation that plagiarizes the name 'church' and calls out to those who are conditioned for labor from years of bearing the burden of their own sin so it can lift it, for a short time, only to replace it with the burden of policy and mission and the work of the gospel to be done. In the one case they were burdened with the weight of their own sin in the latter, they are given the weight of the sins of everyone they meet. The burden of hell is no longer just your own, you must carry that responsibility for everyone you know. You must be a moral beacon, you must be a servant of all, you must not lust with your heart, you must give all of yourself to the mission. You may be the only Jesus your neighbor will ever see and when they are burning in the fires of hell, they may call out and ask you why you never told them about this salvation.

If a Jew or anyone else for that matter, has found his way to no longer worship in "this place or that place" but rather "in spirit and in truth" and the only yoke he is bound to is the love of his own life now held in obedience by the hand of his loving Father in heaven, then that one has most certainly entered the promised land.

A Gift From Jesus

2010-04-13T13:26:00.003-05:00

This is a present from Jesus that finds almost no equal in our society.

Hollywood doesn't require the greatest actors to wow the crowd every week and even they are helped by an entire entourage of helpers and supporting actors.

Educators are helped by getting a fresh batch of students every term. They don't have to create new material and they get to use the same stories over and over.

Students actually have the benefit of actually picking and choosing their courses or in my case I actually chose some courses based on who would be teaching it. They even get to graduate and get on with their lives.

But then Jesus comes along and creates a church model that requires lots of devotion being given to one person for an extended period of time that is not seen anywhere else in society. And even then he only makes a 3 year attempt at this kind of devotion.

He also puts a 10% admission fee on their devotion to the minister and the meeting facility. There really is nothing else to compare this kind of activity to on the face of the earth except of course in other religious models.

It certainly has created an incredibly caring and supportive group of people with ministers being able to take the lead in society, all the while living off of the charity of others.

The fact that this goes on generation after generation and great men aspire to take the lead in this model is perhaps as miraculous as the resurrection itself.

My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me

2010-04-02T17:46:00.003-05:00

So many preachers take the view of this passage that Yeshua's father had forsaken him. That is inconsistent with a loving God.

Here is an excellent article giving an alternative view.

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani
Matthew 27:46, Psalm 22
by John W. Shoenheit

Matthew 27:46
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

These words that Jesus cried out as he was hanging on the Cross have been a source of much confusion and debate among Christians through the years. Some teach that Jesus became sin, God cannot look on sin, and thus God forsook His Son. Others, citing the following verses, say that God did not forsake His Son when he needed Him the most:

John 10:30
“I and my Father are one.”

John 16:32
“You [disciples] will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

2 Corinthians 5:19
“To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.”

By His very nature, our heavenly Father could not turn away from His only begotten Son, especially at the moment for which God has been preparing him all of his life. Jesus Christ was the crux of history, the one on whose shoulders the salvation of mankind was riding, the one who trusted his Father step by step all the way to this defining moment of His-story. And then God forsook him? That just doesn't make sense. More importantly, it is not what the Bible says.

continued at www.truthortradition.com

How Do I?

2010-03-02T02:06:00.006-05:00

How Do I... ?
By Wayne Jacobsen BodyLife • March 2010

How do I...?" Probably 80% of the questions I get begin with those three little words. I shudder now when I hear them, though I don't always show it. Believe me, I understand well enough. It used to be three of my favorite words, too.

How do I get the relationship with Jesus I want?
How do I find other like-hearted believers near me?
How do I get my spouse to see what I want him or her to see?
How do I get my book published, find an agent, or launch a bestseller?
How do I find my ministry?
How do I start a house church?
How do I find an audience for the things I want to share?

The list goes on and on. But I must warn you at the outset that similar questions asked of Jesus didn't get the answer most were looking for. This article probably won't either because the question itself beginswith the wrong focus. It already buys into the lie that if we don't have something we want, there must besomething we can do to get it.

We've been pressed by four thousand years of religious indoctrination into that conclusion. The life you want is a few good decisions and a lot of hard work away. Fifty years of self-help books have underlined that same self-deifying approach. Give me three steps, five rules or eight keys and I can do it. Except wecan't, and when our efforts fail we only have ourselves to blame with some form of, "I didn't do enough, I didn't do it right, or I didn't have the right steps." Thus we are left to either find better answers or workeven harder.

Now I'm not saying hard work won't be rewarded in this temporal world. It will--much more than lying on a couch hoping to win the lottery. But in the kingdom of God human effort and our confidence in it are two of the greatest obstacles to living in his joy.

Religious lie #212 is, "If we won't, he can't," and it underlies so many of the ways we motivate people and make them feel responsible. While that may lead people to work hard to do something great for God it only leads to the disillusioned hopes of self-effort, especially when we think ourselves successful.

Jesus described a very different Father, one who was working every day in the world inviting us to come alongside him. That's how Jesus lived. He watched what his Father was doing and joined him there. Pauladmonished us to do the same. "Watch what God does, and then you do it." (Ephesians 5:1, The Message)

One of the signs of his working in us to take us beyond the good intentions and failed hopes of religion is that we are no longer concerned with doing things for God, and instead learn to do things with him. And that begins with the simplest of opportunities.

Hounded by Luke 14

I've slaved under the lie of self-effort and the frustration it engenders for most of my spiritual life and when you combine that with spiritual passion, the results are disastrous. It wasn't that God didn't try to warn me, but that his nudges were not nearly as compelling as the internal drive to climb the ladders that would make me feel more significant and important than others around me. There was so much God wanted me to do for him, or so I had convinced myself. Looking back, it's hard to imagine that I didn't even notice that the things I thought God wanted of me and the things that would make me successful and important were synonymous. That should have been my first clue.

God wanted me to write and teach, and I needed an ever-expanding audience to validate that calling and the truth of what I was sharing. I was so driven to find myself an audience worthy of my imagined calling and spent endless nights in frustration and anger that God wouldn't bless my efforts the way I thought he should or that others wouldn't help me the way I thought I needed. Oh, how naive I was.

During this season of my life I had a number of people approach me saying they had a Scripture on their heart for me. After three or four times over a period of five years, I would just look at them and say, "Luke14." Their eyes would get wide and I knew I was right. "The story about the banquet," I'd add and they would nod with a bewildering look on their face. "You're not the first," I'd reassure them.

The story is found in Luke 14:7-11. Jesus attends a Sabbath feast and notices how everyone comes into the room jockeying for the most honored seats. He warns them not to. Better to take the last place and be invited up, rather than presume the honored one and have to be moved down. He finishes with one of hisfavorite lines, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted.

Over a twenty-year period in my life I had different people bring up this story at least a dozen times. Each time grew more frustrating, as I wondered why I hadn't yet learned whatever lesson he wanted me toknow. Just how humble do you have to be to merit a wide-ranging ministry? But that really wasn't the point of the parable or what God wanted me to know. Whenever we set ourselves to be honored above others, or promote our own influence, people only become a tool to ourown ends and real life and real love cease. Why did God bring this story to be so many times? I find that he confirms in extraordinary ways the lessons we have the hardest time learning, and this one answers the how-do-I question better than any other I know.

The Fight For the Top

They came into the party with their eyes glued on the head-table. Who wouldn't? Banquets are designed to draw attention to the front of the room and celebrate the most-honored guests. And few people walk in without wishing they could have that place of honor so that others would know how important they are.

If you're talented enough, or have the right contacts, you can claw your way to the top at someone else's expense, but Jesus warned us here that the wake-up call from our contrived posturing will be painful indeed for those who think of themselves more highly than they ought to think.

Celebrity is one of the sickest realities of the human family--we stratify ourselves in terms of perceived relative value usually based on someone's talent, looks, or success, and then believe the lie. Those who sitat the head of the table bask in the perception of their own self-importance, and those who don't wish they were. Jesus let his disciples know that his kingdom works very differently. He was confronting fallen humanity's need to find our significance in comparison to others. It is a trap, and all the better if you get there and still believe the lie.

And yet, there is a dysfunctional drive in broken humanity, especially those with creative gifts, to be the next celebrity. You see it at American Idol auditions and hear it in the voices of would-be artists and authors. They think all their dreams will be fulfilled if someone will just "discover them" and offer them the platform they haven't found for themselves.

But it is often true that those who make such big jumps often get twisted by them, and end up crushing others when their influence exceeds their personal character. Perhaps that's what Paul meant when he warned us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, whether we aspire to a place of influence or already have it and think it gives us a place above others. Do you know how many people approach me, certain that my work with The Shack proves I have the key or the audience to promote their project into the stratosphere? What happened there was the result of three men God brought together along with a lifetime of experiences, pain, work, and relationships to do something that was beyond each of us.

We didn't have a formula to work then and we don't now. We learned that God opens doors as he desires.To be honest, that whole project was far more fun and far more impacting when we'd only sold a few thousand and people felt like they had stumbled upon a hidden treasure. The bigger it got the less it seemed to impact the people reading it. The book became the star instead of the God we wanted people to engage through the book.

Head Table Wannabes

They are not hard to recognize. They always draw attention to themselves, and scheme for favors to advance their ministry. Most of the ones I meet really think this is what God wants for them. I did too. But that still makes you a user. Their friendships last only as long as the benefit they derive and they easily discard people when their benefit is used up. Those who make it into the limelight become quite different people, enamored with themselves and their famous friends. They treat common people as if they are beneath them and if anyone challenges them, they counter with whispered accusations, or cutting off the relationship altogether.

Interestingly enough, the men and women I know in the world who most live loved by Father and demonstrate that love to others around them, are not household names nor are they people who seek the stage. Most have not written books, nor are they frustrated with the sphere of their sphere of influence God has given them. But they have more impact on the world around them than those with more recognizable names and larger platforms.

I wonder if that is why Jesus never wrote his own book, or started an organization? He knew the limitations of both and that they would distract from his real mission of shaping lives to live loved by the Father. He would rather have left the world with a hundred and twenty men and women on the road to living loved than anything else he could think of.

But what I don't wonder about any more is what table I'd prefer to sit at. I've sat at head tables. They are false space indeed. There's not much real conversation there, since people are facing away from each other in more ways than one. Those people are caught up in appearances and posturing and making the next connection to advance their own agendas. That's why I don't think Jesus' point was to take the last place as a way to get to what you think is first place. Maybe his point was that the last place in a room is really the best place to enjoy him and love others in a way that is meaningful and transforming. Maybe that is why he washed the disciples feet as the greatest demonstration of his affection for them, and encouraged them to do the same.

The Organic Growth of Service

I don't know of a story that better answers all of our how-to questions. How do I find relationship, fellowship, or an outlet for my creative expression? Instead of looking for what we don't have, Luke 14 invites us into the space of responding to God's working right where we are. Rather than having to make something happen by our own wisdom or ingenuity, the path to God's life comes by loving the people he has already put before us, applying our gifts to their needs. I'm convinced that will create opportunity enough for whatever God wants to give us and what he desires us to share with us.

Most of our how-to questions focus on our abilities, wisdom, or connections and trying to find what we don't have, rather than allowing us to live freely in what God has already given. It's easy to miss his gentle nudges when we're more focused on our desires or ministry. He knows how to draw us into relationship with him and, it's not by following someone else's steps.

And He knows how to connect us with others near where we live. Most think they have to find an existing group of like-minded people. While that is a wonderful gift if you come across one, it doesn't often happen. What if you just began to love the people that God has already put around your life--neighbors, co-workers, other parents at your children's activities, and even strangers who might cross our paths on a given day? Caring about them would lead to conversations and conversations to relationships and you would soon find yourself a caring part of people's lives instead of attending a group.

As for ministry, trust that the slow reality of organic growth has far more value in this kingdom than flash-in-the-pan promotion the world exalts. As you simply do what God puts before you and let him beconcerned with how far it travels and whom it touches. If your life is encouraging others on this journey,opportunities will come to share that with others. But keep your eyes focused where it counts the most, not on high-visibility opportunities, but occasions to help others. Serving them, rather than getting others to serve you, will open more real doors than the false promises of hype and promotion. It probably won't be as fast as you want, but it will be real and your focus will be more on the people you're touching than the "ministry" you want to grow.

In the Scriptures we read about a God that transforms over time--of a seed growing into a plant, of Abraham wrestling with the promise of a son for 25 years before Sarah got pregnant, of Jesus spending 30 years as a carpenter before he ever performed a miracle, or Paul, the former Pharisee, sorting out whoGod was over 17 years in a wilderness before he ever taught anyone else. Why, then, do we keep looking to build a name for ourselves or create a following others will notice?

God is less interested in helping you reach a place of honor, as he is teaching us how to honor the people he has already placed around you.

Live, Love and Listen

I often meet people who want to live the way I do, writing and traveling to encourage others on this journey. I get that. I love living where God has placed me, but most have a distorted view of what that is. They don't see the cost and pain that underlies a lot of my journey, or the constant barrage of those who want to use me for their own purposes. And most have no idea that what I live now I did not find by my own scheming, but unfolded organically over years of simply following the gentle nudges on my heart where the consequences were unseen and the impact seemingly insignificant. In the end, we are only asked to follow him, not to build an audience or to produce our own transformation.

I wrote my first book, The Naked Church, back in 1987. That book was not successful by any publishing standards, and I was incredibly frustrated at the time that that book didn't have the sales arc of a bestseller. I wrote it to change the course of Christianity in the west and it failed that hope. In spite of my distorted agenda, however, God knew how to take it to all the places he wanted to take it. I still get email from people who were deeply touched by that book way back then, some of them in very remote corners of the planet.

I look back now grateful for what God did with that book, knowing that if it had fulfilled what I wanted at the time, I might well have been destroyed in the process. I now know what those emotions preyed on and if God had satisfied them then, I am fairly certain I would not be on the road I am today. And I wouldn't trade this road for any other. And so much of what I'm a part of today spilled out of that little book and the unintended consequences of it.

Whenever you are frustrated at God for not opening better doors for you, that might be a sign that you're focused at the wrong doors. I have come to trust the organic growth of simple relationships over the substitutes of self-promotion, manipulation and begging favors from others.

So how do you find ministry, find fellowship or live transformed? Simply accept the invitation to live deeply in him, love those around you the way you are coming to understand how he loves you, and then simply listen when he nudges your heart. If you live in that space you will find his power transforming you, his Spirit connecting you to others and everything he wants to do in you will be fulfilled by him.

That's what Jesus wanted his disciples to know. If they had set out to change the world, they would have failed miserably, lost in their own ingenuity and wisdom to accomplish so large a task. This is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by it. It's best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest acts of giving or receiving makeyou a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing." (Matthew 10:41-42, The Message) Jesus knew the most amazing things could begin with a cup of cold water.

© Copyright 2010 Lifestream Ministries
Permission is hereby granted to anyone wishing to make copies for free distribution.
www.lifestream.org

The Spirit of Mammon (Money)

2010-02-10T10:11:00.003-05:00

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24

ALL organized Christian churches require money to exist. In fact, they close down when the money dries up. In other words, money is their master. And Yeshua said you can't serve 2 masters.

Meanwhile, the gospel of the kingdom of God requires no money to advance within our world.

3 Views of Following Yeshua

2010-01-26T07:25:00.003-05:00

These 3 status updates were on my facebook page. I thought the varying perspectives were interesting. Can you guess which one I posted?

Yeshua told his disciples that if they wanted to be great in the kingdom they needed to be a servant. How did people understand the role of a servant in that time? They were typically unnoticed and were seen as little more than a useful piece of furniture.

THINKING ABOUT YOU,ITS ALL ABOUT YOU.YOU HAVE BEEN PREDESTINED TO BE GREAT AND SO YOU ARE...YOU HAVE PREDESTINED TO BE THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH,YOU HAVE PREDESTINED TO THE THRONE,YOU HAVE BEEN PREDISTINED TO RULE FOREVER....AND SO YOU ARE AS THE WORD HAS SAID,HALLELUJAH JESUS

This is the hour that all Apostles and Prophets, Pastors and other leaders are being tested to reveal their motives and the authenticity of their message. Many will be found wanting, but to those who embrace the central message of Jesus, they will come into the most productive time of ministry in their lives.

Your Help Is Needed

2010-01-16T08:13:00.003-05:00

In my musings, ramblings, bashings, thrashing, and jousting with windmills I found myself longing for something practical, touchable, perhaps even real. It's not hard to read this blog and discover that I find little, maybe nothing from my church past that is endearing to me. I don't mean the people stuff, I mean the system stuff. Good things have happened, miraculous things have happened but they were invariably in spite of rather than because of the system of churchianity that I was "saved" into.

I'm looking at finances in the kingdom these days and I'm appalled at the prevailing mindsets of sucking the life out of God's people to erect an edifice of brick and mortar, whose only purpose is to make a name for someone's ego. I'm thoroughly tired of people thinking they need to line themselves up to look at the back of their friend's head and proposing that this is the life in the kingdom that Yeshua died to give us. And then I run into these following two contrasts of how we are to handle finances in the kingdom. Enough of my little rant you can decide for yourself what message seems more like what Yeshua would want for you.

I have a friend who's been a traveling evangelist for years and is now starting a church about 30 minutes from me in a small town. Here's something he posted on Facebook.

Just received a pledge for $250.00 for chairs. Only 35 more to go! This will be the only time that members of ***** church will be allowed to sit with no action!! Souls, Souls, Souls. We will then get off our seats and hit the streets!

This next fragment of a letter comes from a financial letter that I subscribe to.

But first, and far more important, is the tragedy that is unfolding in Haiti. Long-time readers know that several times a year I mention in this letter my very good friend Walt Ratterman, who volunteers his time going all over the world to install solar-power systems for hospitals and clinics, along with other relief efforts. My readers have been very generous over the years to Knightsbridge and their relief efforts. Walt and other members of Knightsbridge literally go into places where if they were caught by the government they would simply be shot (as in Burma). In Afghanistan, before our troops went in, the Taliban put a very hefty price on his head as he brought food and medicine to the northern tribes. Pakistan, Sudan, Darfur, Sri Lanka after the tsunami, in rebel-held territory, to bring medicine when no one else could get through - the hell-holes of the world. He and I talk frequently about the wisdom of taking such risks, and he cheerfully replies that someone has to. There are people dying.

Back to me. I know Haiti has captured the world's attention with a devastation that leaves us all dumbfounded. And I hear from people all over the world living in impoverished situations that we wouldn't tolerate for our dogs, saying let's help Haiti. But even while people rally around Haiti, I am aware of the fact that 17,000 kids die of hunger/malnutrition every day. Because this devastation is spread out all over the world, it is easy to adopt the "out of sight/out of mind" philosophy.

It's not that churches have not fulfilled the kingdom mandate of equality, it is that Christians choose every week to give to themselves, thinking God in heaven must be thoroughly impressed with our worship of 3 songs, a prayer and a story.

Evangelism -- It's Not What I Was Taught

2010-01-14T21:38:00.005-05:00

I've written before about the tyranny of evangelism and all the angst that seems to be out there amongst Christians. If you want to get a Christian to lower their head in shame, just ask them who they "witnessed" to this week?

But Yeshua gave a very simple command about how we are to witness to being His disciples. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34,35

So....I think the idea is that those on the outside are supposed to ask how do we get in on this radical love you guys have. I'm not saying we don't have an answer but isn't the timing supposed to come when they ask the question? Isn't this what Peter said?

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
1 Peter 3:15-17.

This is what Peter did when it came to finally going to a gentile by the name of Cornelius. In essence, Cornelius asked and Peter answered.

Whew, no more pressure about needing to witness. All we have to do is love one another and do something decent for others. While we're having a good time, once and awhile somebody's going to want to get in on the party. How cool is that?

The Sunday Sermon--Resilient as...

2010-01-07T11:48:00.026-05:00

As part of the reformation, there was a significant amount of energy spent in denouncing some man made religious practices that were contrary to Biblical teachings, the most abhorrent being the selling of indulgences: for the right price any sin could be forgiven. The other was the veneration of idols in the image of saints. Those who chose to dismantle those forms of religious gobbledy gook were called iconoclasts and often pointed to the idea of “Sola Scriptura”, ie. the Bible alone should be our only means of determining our beliefs and practices.

Tucked neatly away from the onslaught of dismantling “traditions of man” was the highly valued Sunday sermon. After all, it is rather difficult to denounce the Sunday sermon, by using a sermon to do so. To be fair, there weren't a heck of a lot of options for people to have a chance to hear someone's interpretation of the word. It was virtually impossible for them to read the word as it was so closely guarded by the religious elite. The fear of course was that if people actually knew what was in the word their power base would disappear.

The challenge today is that sermons are not inherently evil and from time to time do serve a purpose. What isn't necessarily useful is creating a religious dependence, especially to the Sunday sermon, that lends itself so easily to becoming an idol in our lives: both for the hearer and the preacher. Add to that, the very real possibility of it being an obstacle to having a meaningful discussion with a non-believer or ex-church goer and it might not even be a kingdom principle. Yikes!!!

Of all Christian practices the Sunday sermon has been placed in a unique position. It is something that is almost always “sold” with no one questioning this practice. Rarely would a person “preach” and not get a salary or an honorarium for doing so. The term honorarium might even have its roots in the religious interpretation of 1 Timothy 5:17 "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." It would have been difficult to gather enough people around him to make a living since there were no church buildings and groups were limited in size to what a house could handle. I doubt if 10-20 people would have thought it was their responsibility to pay for an elder to teach them. (NB: If double honor meant money, I am not aware of any church models that pay ALL of their elders.)

One could volunteer in a myriad of volunteer positions and not expect to receive any monetary compensation. You could literally give 10+ hours a week looking after youth programs, bus ministry, worship leading, teaching Sunday school, caring in the nursery, working on the streets with the homeless, ushering, cell group leader, etc., etc., and not expect or even want payment. You might even be insulted if payment was offered. After all these things are meant to be a gift in appreciation for the gift that Yeshua has so lovingly given.

But when it comes to the value that we place on sermons, and even more pointedly the Sunday sermon, “where our treasure is…”, comes to mind. Buildings are literally built with the express purpose of honoring the place of the sermon. The Bible itself does not even have that much honor given to it. Sure Jesus said some great things but without His words being spoken on Sunday morning, what value do they actually have? Some people can go all week without thinking twice about something Yeshua said, but miss Sunday, only when hell freezes over.

Literally, billions of dollars have been given to the prominence of the Sunday sermon. Just think, sermons are preached every week in places of comfort and even grand design, with the full knowledge by both listeners and preacher that a child dies every 5 seconds of hunger/malnutrition. Ironically, the sermon could even be about caring for widows and orphans.

Most people have not stopped to consider that a sermon is simply a lecture: a method of communicating some information. In that sense, it is no different than a book, an article in a newspaper, a news report on radio, tv or the internet or a recording of some kind. We are comfortable with the medium because our school system taught us to be good listeners. And for those that didn’t like the lecture method in schools, well it’s only an hour each week, and isn’t our Lord worth at least that much of a sacrifice?

What is actually quite odd about this particular methodology is how ineffective it actually is in terms of effectively teaching something. According to David Sousa, How the Brain Learns (2006), determined what we retain after 24 hours of a teaching episode. The findings:

5% of lecture
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we both see and hear
70% of what we discuss with others
80% of what we experience personally
95% of what we teach to someone else

The book of Hebrews would seem to indicate that all Christians should attain a level of maturity that comes through teaching and not just being listeners. “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again.” Hebrews 5:12 Without any scientific study it seems that it was well known 2,000 years ago that maturity came by being the teacher.

But since the methodology of preaching sermons is so highly regarded as THE “best” way of teaching and this method doesn’t lend itself to the “many” becoming teachers, we end up with preachers who truly know a lot, (teaching really is a fantastic way to learn something) constantly taking centre stage. The result of course is that everyone else feels inadequate to teach and thus ends up simply quoting the preacher. If they want someone to know something the preferred methodology is to take that person to hear a sermon. It doesn’t even matter if the sermon is not pertinent to the individual’s circumstances. That’s the best that could be hoped for. Why take on the responsibility of being accountable for what you taught? It goes without saying that no one can do it as well as the professional preacher. Practice does work.

What is even more remarkable is that we have no Biblical records of the type of preaching that is prevalent today. There’s an Old Testament law that is very insightful as to what needs to be emphasized in the lives of God’s people.
"Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing." Deut. 31:11

It would seem the value wasn’t placed on the hearing of the Law, although that was required to make sure the priests didn't run amuk but rather the value was on putting into practice what was heard. Ironically, even this value got twisted by the Pharisees who put more value on their interpretations than on the actual scriptures. Sound familiar?

Yeshua's longest recorded teaching is the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5-7 (15 minutes) and typically he spoke from 1-5 minutes in real life settings, homes, on the street, etc. (And yes, He did teach from a boat to a crowd on the shore). He often didn't even use scripture but rather told stories and parables. If preachers did that today, they would get fired in a heartbeat. And a lot of His teaching was to correct the faulty interpretations that had been forced on the people. It’s ironic that preachers manage to take a one-minute story from Yeshua like the prodigal son and turn it into a 30-45 minute sermon in order to emphasize their interpretation. And they never even realize that the setting that these stories were spoken in were as important to the message as the story itself.

The challenge with the acceptance of the Sunday sermon as a core religious activity is that it tends to produce passive listeners who are like lambs to the slaughter. There is little/no allowance for discussion and to openly disagree is seen as insidious rebellion. At that point the sermon is no longer in the category of a method but is now an icon with all of the appropriate worship that icons deserve. I mean, I know couples that could have a rip snortin "discussion" on the way to the Sunday sermon, smile beatifically during the sermon, and carry on with the "discussion" when they got back in their car. Maybe not you, but been there, done that. I know families that have been ripped apart over allegiance to the Sunday sermon. If that ain't idolatry, I don't know what is.

When the printing press was invented it was thought by some that the gap between the laity and clergy would have been obliterated, for everyone would be able to read the Word for themselves and have no need of someone teaching them. The resiliency of the Sunday sermon has managed quite nicely to repel that naïve thinking, with dusty Bibles paying hommage to its power.

Today, there is a new battle brewing over the widely accepted need for the Sunday sermon. It actually started a number of years ago with television preachers. They were relegated to Sunday morning shutins, but the VCR managed to make them available anytime. And the need is growing less and less through the wonder of the internet: podcasts, live streaming, facebook, blogs and free downloads of the best preaching of the past century. They can even choose a topic that is of personal interest to them. Hmmm, that would be a novel idea. People are no longer trapped in isolation and can no longer be so easily manipulated about its value. Well, some people anyways.

However, it does have something going for it that the average method doesn’t and this cannot be easily dismissed: religion has managed to deceive people for millennia and it is rare, if not impossible for the emperor’s new clothes to be exposed within the confines of any religious system. There are some very wonderful men and women of God that have dedicated their lives to its ongoing welfare. For without it, it will be difficult to get people to follow their vision and people will be hard pressed to pay for their services without the weekly reminder of how necessary they are. They do the work of listening to the Holy Spirit, they don't want to burden everyone with that particular chore. It really is difficult to get someone to understand something when their job depends on not understanding it.

Has the Sunday sermon produced some good things? Sure. Has it produced some hearers and not doers of the word? Sure. A bible in a hotel room has produced some good things as well. People are funny in that they will give the Sunday sermon credit for producing the good things but will blame the listeners or even the preacher if something bad is produced. What's even crazier is that the listeners often show up looking for answers to specific questions and no sermon can possibly satisfy every question at one time. Perhaps that's what keeps people coming back, maybe in a year their question will be answered.

Thank goodness their personal history will not alter the intent of the preacher's interpretation and cause some silent misunderstanding to take place. Thankfully, they nor the preacher would even know that miscommunication had actually happened. There is no need for messy dialogue and clarification in order to enjoy the sermon. You know the stuff that makes relationships happen. What an incredible time saver.

Are there any scriptural precedents for the centrality and iconic value of the Sunday sermon. NO! None, 0, nada. If we were to try to answer the question of "why" do we need a Sunday sermon, even the famed and oft quoted "forsake not the assembling of yourselves together" is not referring to the Sunday sermon. When asked what does the previous verse say, people usually glaze over even though it is this verse that gives the reason for getting together. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Heb. 10:24

Could a church group survive without the Sunday sermon? My guess is that the group would not consider the question. Their identity is as wrapped up in the ritual as they are in Yeshua. And perhaps even Yeshua would take second place.

The one thing that the Sunday sermon is very good at is getting people to come back to listen to another one next week. This is in spite of the fact that they usually can’t remember past Sunday dinner what had been spoken that morning. Talk about resilient. This thing will give a cockroach a run for its money.

Was Yeshua a Great Leader?

2009-12-28T01:28:00.004-05:00

When I think of Yeshua and leadership, I am more than a little mystified. By any standard, modern or historical, He was just awful.

For the first 30 years he was just a good, oldest son. No one knew of his remarkable qualities. It seems that the only thing on his resume was that he was well liked.

When he finally did get around to doing something, he went and hid in the desert for 40 days.

He gathered up the most common of men to hang out with. He was supported by a group of women.

His followers loved him and hated him, often within minutes of these two opposites.

He didn’t have anyone write anything down. His closest friends didn’t think to write anything about him for at least 20 years after he was gone.

He talked a lot about his relationship with his father.

They only thing that really seemed to matter to him was building friendships with some very unlikely men and women. Even then, his most ridiculous teaching came in the form of washing their feet.

Even today, people don’t put much thought into his model of building friendships.

When he died his closest friends abandoned him. He was such a poor leader that if he hadn’t risen from the dead those closest to him would simply have gone fishing for the rest of their lives.

People seem to really miss the point when they talk more about his miracles and teachings rather than the startling fact that his entire plan for mankind hinged on the friendships that he had developed over the course of three years.

Would you have entrusted the destiny of the world to the likes of a Thomas or a Peter or a Martha?

Hebrew Yeshua vs Greek Jesus

2009-12-15T18:05:00.002-05:00

Click on this link to watch a fantastic teaching video Hebrew Yeshua vs Greek Jesus

It takes about 2 hours and is time well invested if you enjoy studying the Bible.

An astonishing realization has recently gripped the Christian world: "Jesus Christ" was not a blond-haired, blue-eyed Gentile. Yeshua of Nazareth was raised in an observant Jewish family in a culture where the Torah (five books of Moses) was the National Constitution.

Yeshua's teachings, which supposedly form the basis for Western Christianity, are now filtered through 2000 years of traditions born in ignorance of the land, language, and culture of the Bible. The issues over which Yeshua wrestled with the Pharisees are simply not understood by modern Christians; nor are his most important instructions followed by those who claim to be his disciples.

Former Pharisee, Nehemia Gordon, a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and Semitic language expert, explores the ancient Hebrew text of the Gospel of Matthew from manuscripts long hidden away in the archives of Jewish scribes. Gordon's research reveals that the more "modern" Greek text of Matthew, from which the Western world's versions were translated, depicts "another Jesus" from the Yeshua portrayed in the ancient Hebrew version of Matthew. Gordon explains the life-and-death conflict Yeshua had with the Pharisees as they schemed to grab the reins of Judaism in the first century, and brings that conflict into perspective for both Jew and Christian alike.

Kingdom Finances -- Equality and Freedom

2009-12-13T08:39:00.006-05:00

Principle #1 EQUALITY

Jesus said,
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Matthew 6:24

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"
Luke 16:10-11

For many years I didn’t see what the Bible taught about money. I was caught in the mindset of working, paying my bills and tithing to my local church. I experienced both success and near bankruptcy during this time. If someone said do you serve money, I always answered no.

When I was working at General Motors as a toolmaker, I had a certain amount of financial success. I gave generously to my church but the scriptures that talked extensively of caring for the oppressed were in most part, ignored and not understood by me. It wasn't that they were difficult to understand but it was like there was a cloud over my thinking to really appreciate them.

I always had small misgivings about where my trust really was, God or GM, but I managed to push those insecurities into the background. I wasn't even aware of Paul's words to the Thessalonians. "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." 1 Thess. 4:11,12

I even proved that I wasn’t a slave to GM when I quit this well paying, very secure job. I managed to go to Bible College for 3 years, with 3 young children and came out of that experience with no debt. I then went and pastored for 5 years in a small northern community for 5 years, making a third of the wages that I had made at General Motors. We were poor but my kids never knew it. In all of this, I really didn’t understand the basic teachings of finances that I would like to share with you.

One of my favorite studies in the past was the topic of the endtimes. A key passage that is often ignored by endtime teachers is found in Matthew 25,

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Matthew 25:31-45

I am a little shocked by how Jesus separated the sheep from the goats. It was essentially over the issue of the handling worldly wealth. Providing the basic necessities of life: food, water, clothing, and friendship to those who have less than us.

I come from a church tradition where tithes and offerings get dispersed in this order: buildings, salaries, programs, district office, missions and if anything is left over, some form of benevolence.

For some reason, a simple to understand verse that speaks specifically about caring for the poor was used by me to take up an offering for the above priorities.
1Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2.

I often quoted from verse 2 when taking up the offering at church. I know it is often printed on tithing envelopes. But the context of this passage was that it was a collection for the oppressed and likely people the Corinthians would never meet.

As a follow up to this passage Paul writes this about a year later.

8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."
2 Corinthians 8:8-15

Our first priority in handling money should be the goal of equality. This is equality on a global basis.

When we hear a kingdom word like equality, our immediate response should be joy. And for some it may be. But for those who might be more like me, it may mean a big pang of fear, or a quick dismissal or maybe it feels like a small bone caught in your throat.

Some people have rejected the idea of a good God on the basic premise of “Why would a good God allow innocent children to die needlessly of hunger and malnutrion.” As a Christian, I somehow closed my ears to that argument and yet it has significant merit.

The reality is that God weeps over every person that has been oppressed and He expects His people to do something about it. My heart was closed to this concept for most of my 30+ years as a Christian. It wasn’t that I wasn’t giving away money, it was that I wasn’t fervently seeking EQUALITY in our world.

The more I meditate on this one concept I am astonished at how much of the evil in the world would be eliminated if we simply desired and acted upon this one principle.

How many trillions have been spent on war or how many millions have been spent on toothpaste for whiter teeth or how many billions have been spent buying bricks for beautiful edifices while children drink contaminated water and fill their bellies with dirt.

Equality would get our priorities straight. Surprisingly, I don’t think we would do without anything of value, in fact, we would even prosper more if we established this as a priority. How much of our taxes goes to lining the pockets of those who have the most and building bombs that supposedly have the purpose of bringing freedom? The waste and excess could be RRRRRRolled back considerably if equality became a real goal.

Praying about equality cannot be done passively. It does require a right understanding of giving and receiving. It requires us to take action but it does not allow us to make beggars of others. This simple caution steers us in a much more creative process of things like micro loans and teaching people to fish.

Let’s not confuse the kingdom principle of EQUALITY with forced equality that is advocated by power mongers in order to control the masses.

Principle #2 Freedom

Wealth and freedom should not be confused with being satisfied with gold. The streets of heaven will be paved with gold. Being satisfied with pavement is a very sad state of affairs.

Some have erroneously interpreted Paul’s caution to Timothy about desiring money to mean that money is somehow evil.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10

But take notice that in this passage Paul isn’t referring to money itself but our desire for it. In other words, when money comes first there is a corruption that inevitably follows.

Principle #1 – Equality is a very nice thing to keep in mind as I write about gold. It is difficult to bring equality to the less fortunate when you have just enough for yourself.

However we shouldn’t fear the effects of money as reflected in this prayer,
God, please don’t let me be so rich that I forget you or so poor that I curse you.

The poorest person can find peace with God and the richest person can be at peace as well. In fact there is no economic situation that can stop someone from knowing and loving God.

My goal is to somehow navigate between the extremes and see what the scriptures teach us about not being consumed by our circumstances, especially in the area of our use of TIME and our willingness to GO.

Abraham is considered the father of our faith. When he was asked to go to a land that he did know, he went. This should be normative for every child of God. When God says go, we go.

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
Genesis 12:1

But here’s what is sometimes forgotten in the equation.
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:4,5

Abraham didn’t go poor. In fact there were a number of people that had to go with him because they were either indentured servants or slaves. (An indentured servant is a person who willingly gives there time to someone else for an agreed upon price.)

So here is Point #1

Only a free person can go where they want.

Slaves go where their master tells them to go. If Abraham had been a slave or an indentured servant he would not have been able to obey God’s voice.

You need to pause and let this one sink in.

We live in a country of opportunity and freedom that is the envy of most of the world. Our Canadian passport is one of the most sought after passports because it opens more doors for travel than any other passport in the world. And yet, how many Canadians feel free to go wherever and whenever God tells them to?

Something happened in the past two centuries that is different than any time in history. We became indentured servants without knowing it and the cost was to give up our personal freedom, especially in the area of time.

Henry Ford was a genius in creating a system of indentured servants. He paid men $5 a day to work on his production line. He also lowered the daily work day to 8 hours. (This was so he could get 3 shifts out of a 24 hour day.)

Families literally flocked to his factories from all over the country to work for Henry. In so doing, they gave up there personal freedom for about $1,500 a year. A large sum in 1910. Henry is known as the father of modern mass production. He also amassed one of the largest workforces of indentured servants that history had ever seen.

When I left my job at General Motors to go to Bible college a number of eyebrows were raised. How could I leave the security of such a good job?

Years later, I ended up being out of the ministry and my wife and I went to Korea to teach English. After a year, I came back and attended a conference from the organization I had pastored in. I was a little dismayed that they were pushing hard for missions funding. On July 31st of 2001, I knew nothing about teaching English as a second language and on August 28 we were making money and teaching there.

Meanwhile the old paradigm of begging for money to do God's work was alive and well when I arrived home. At the same time, the world is willing to pay for people to come and teach them English with the side affect of sharing our lives with them. I wasn't even financially free, in fact I was a month away from personal bankruptcy, but I was able to go without begging.

It was in Korea that my heart began to yearn to understand business from God's perspective. It wasn't until just recently that God opened my heart and mind to the possibilities that can only come through a business model.

Financially free people never have to ask for money to Go where God wants them to go.

This leads us to Point #2

Security does not equal Freedom

Security is a myth that is dangled by the few to control the masses. If I said that just a few months ago many would have mocked me. But with the economic meltdown that is happening right now people are shocked to find out that what they had put so much trust in has let them down. Even those with jobs are sitting on pins and needles praying that they won't be next.

The slave has no control over where he goes or what his master decides. A slave’s only hope is that his master is benevolent and makes good decisions.

It has been suggested that immediately following the abolition of slavery in the United States that the slaves’ new freedom made them worse off economically than they had been as slaves. Without the gold, freedom is simply like floating on a raft in the middle of an ocean with no destination in sight.

So how does God speak to his children regarding being slaves.

Paul said, “I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Cor 6:12)

Paul knew freedom. He travelled where he wanted, when he wanted. He not only provided for himself but others.

32"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. Acts 20:32-34

Paul’s business of tent making allowed him to travel where he wanted and when he wanted. Not only that, but it provided for others. Paul did not only talk or pray about equality, he brought it into existence. He was never diminished by doing so. The more he helped others, the more he gained. He really understood the idea of marketplace Christianity. As he ran his business he was able to mix with people and share his faith.

Jesus himself, put a high value on us increasing in wealth which leads us to Point #3

Wealth Gives Freedom and Authority

This story is often overlooked by many Christians who are caught in the mindset of being an indentured servant. The idea of rewards for those who increased in wealth and using it for kingdom purposes, like bringing equality, is a mystery and/or perplexes many Christians.

Luke 19:11-26 he tells the parable of the Ten Minas. A mina was equal to about 1/3 of a year’s wages. In this story, one man used the opportunity to make a mina into 10. The only way to do that would have been by using some kind of a business model. Another man made his mina into 5.

We need to pause and listen seriously to what Jesus thought of these two men.
17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' The one with 5 was put in charge of 5 cities.

There were also 7 slaves who went and spent the money on themselves and it was not a good day for them when the master returned.

And then there was the one who hid his mina in the ground.
20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'

24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'

25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'

26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
Luke 19:20-26

It seems in Jesus’ view of the kingdom, the rich do get richer.

Jesus’ encounter with the man who hid his mina leads us to Point #4

We are not to be afraid.

With the economic meltdown that is currently happening, are the millionaires of this world really afraid? Is the guy or gal that owns Tim Horton’s afraid. They might not get their biggest profits this year but more than likely they will take their trip to Cancun or Banff just likely they always do.

What I am hearing from many people, Christians and non-Christians who are indentured servants is fear? There is an endless list in the Bible for us to not be afraid and yet many Christians are caught in its vice-like grip.

Even churches are feeling the effects of this downturn. Pastors will be laid off and/or salaries will be decreased. Building programs will be scaled back or stalled altogether. The idea that God gave the vision but our economy determines its outcome is very real. The idea is to hang on until the economy goes back to what it was and we can have our sense of security and then we can move forward with God's vision.

Slaves are always stuck with whatever the circumstances are at the moment.

Interestingly enough, I was talking with a businessman this week and he is planning a significant expansion of his business. For him, this downturn simply means there are more people available to work for him and at a lower wage to boot.

Business people think differently. They are creative and expand when others are like deer caught in the headlights. Successful business people are never motivated by fear. Even if failure does befall them, they don’t shrink away in fear but rather they learn the lesson and continue to seek freedom.

Does that mean that everyone that works for someone else is motivated by fear. Of course not. Many have learned that whatsoever state they are in to be content. Nevertheless, without funds channeling through their lives they to will have to cut back on the number of orphans or widows they are currently caring for. They will miss simple opportunities of doing more and equality in our world will be an unrealized dream.

There are many people who only dream of the opportunities that we as Canadians have. They can’t imagine someone thumbing their nose at simple opportunities that they would literally give their right arm to have. They are the ones who will face the harshest realities of this economic collapse, as help from Canada decreases. There are many people who have been hard working employees and were very generous but even they can’t give what they don’t have.

But I also know many Christians who will be caught in the trap of fear and will not explore business opportunities to overcome their financial distress. They are hoping and praying that their place of employment will survive. They never for a moment consider going after financial freedom and still desire the myth of security. The goal of global equality has never seriously touched their imagination.

Even though their place of security has left them in fear, they will not open their minds to the possibility that perhaps financial freedom might have been a better goal.

While many people were thanking Henry Ford for the opportunity of being able to serve him, Henry travelled where he wanted, lived where he wanted and used his time the way he wanted.

The goals of equality and freedom are not exclusive ideas. In fact, they are two sides of the same coin.

Are there business models out there that would allow everyone to enjoy financial freedom and more importantly freedom to go when God says go? Of course there are. Paul had one 2,000 years ago. I’m in one that allows virtually anyone to enjoy personal financial freedom.

We are living in a day when the opportunity to be in business has never been more accessible. The current economic crisis gives us the opportunity to look at the myth of security without the possibility of being equal to the person we work for. Or we can challenge ourselves to step away from the false security of being an indentured servant and become the master of our time and our wealth.

Remarkably, in a time when our governments and corporate leaders are struggling for answers, those who are willing to make a slight adjustment in their goals and aligning themselves with Biblical values of being financially free with the purpose of bringing equality, we can radically impact our world.

If you are free to go when God says GO, you are not an indentured slave. This freedom isn’t even always tied to job security or even having lots of gold but is really tied to a mindset of obedience to God, desiring equality for all and understanding God does not have slaves. We are his children.

Healthy Conflict - Iron Sharpens Iron

2009-12-08T18:47:00.001-05:00

Life in Healthy Conflict by Mike from ROCK Canada

We co-hosted a weekend gathering in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada. It was an opportunity for people from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives to share the journey of faith they are experiencing; the good, the bad and the ugly. For my wife and I this was an exceptional weekend, we enjoyed ourselves and were challenged in wonderful ways.

There were folks from a variety of backgrounds, some who were “free range” Christians to those who are ardent supporters of institutional forms of Church. While I was well aware of the diversity of people attending and the potential for conflict, I was more concerned that it would be just another gathering of Christians where we all put on our “best face” and never say what we really believe / think. What a surprise when people were pretty darn open and honest, and while this created some mess it was a real gift from God.

A friend wrote his Master thesis on Conflict from a business perspective and focused on two kinds of conflict; 1) Conflict that ends relationship and 2) conflict which inspires creativity and innovation. The latter being a very healthy and very necessary form of conflict but one which is often times missing in western evangelical / charismatic Christian circles. It seems, though unfortunate, in matters of religion often disagreement ends with schism, formally like church splits or with informal factions within a body. So the tendency in many church settings is passive aggressive by simply playing nice while playing “respectable” politics aka “power games”. This seems to be appealing to many because it is the preferred modus operandi. After all it keeps the peace (gingerly though it may be) but in reality it is one of the biggest road blocks to authentic healthy community. Why? Simply because we never really deal with our issues together, hiding our true thoughts and feelings – our very selves – from others. Community cannot form and be nurtured in this climate. The best we can hope for is some congeniality and some cooperation, but I suggest Christian community is so much more!

There is a misnomer that the absence of conflict is the sign of a mature healthy community, and conversely, conflict in a church must mean it is somehow unspiritual or unhealthy. I strongly assert this is a completely erroneous distinction. The reality of life with real people is that when we are truly honest, we admit we are broken people. We all have issues and these issues manifest themselves in a variety of ways – some of which are more socially acceptable than others. Regardless, we all have our issues and conflict is inevitable. The demarcation of healthy or unhealthy, spiritual or unspiritual church communities is not the absence or manifestation of conflict. Health is determined by how we deal with conflict when it arises – and it will. How we deal with conflict will directly have an impact on the depth to which communities can actually form and become safe places to be. To become safe communities we must embrace conflict and deal with it in love and allow Holy Spirit to inspire us, to heal us and give us creativity to address our personal and corporate challenges together.

The emphasis needs to be on relationship and the path of healthy relationship is intersected by conflict. Our church communities prefer the efficient operation of the service and programs – this is the ultimate goal. As such we have no time to address real issues as the schedules and demands of our “product” trump the needs of relationship. As such, unhealthy power will be exerted to force or manipulate parties back into their service to the machine. Rules and hierarchy will be instituted to manage the brokenness. Positional power is often invoked along with political power to bring about conformity. Unfortunately these never deal with the issues and only hide them requiring a bigger and more “violent” use of power to keep the issues under control in the future.

The other means of avoiding conflict is through “busyness” and the “new and shiny”. The old adage “idle hands are the devils workshop” seem to lead us to keep very busy, too busy to get into trouble. Workaholism is very alive and well in evangelical Christianity but even busyness doesn’t avert conflict but will very often inhibit our ability and resources to deal with it. Likewise, the shiny and new also seeks to take our mind off the relational issues and put them on a new project, new mission, etc. Unfortunately this is not unlike a married couple attempting to keep their struggling marriage together by having children. While it diverts attention from the issues, they will no doubt surface in the not to distant future!

So what do I mean when I say things like relationship over issue? I mean that we must value healthy relationships over mission (aka the efficient operation of our services, programs and activities). I would dare to say that healthy loving relationships are the primary mission of the Kingdom of God. Consider “they will know you are my disciples because you love one another.” John 13:35

Again, conflict is a part of reality, a manifestation of our brokenness, however, Jesus has taught us to embrace the conflict, deal with it and disarm it! How? Is any of the following familiar?

“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”
“Forgive one another”
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you”
“If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer them your left”.
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned”
“Don’t let the sun go down on your anger”.
“Seventy times Seven”
“If someone demands your shirt, give them your coat as well”.
“If you are told to go a mile, go the second”.
“Serve one and other”
“No greater love than this than a man lays down his life for his friends.”
“ A new command I leave you love others as I have loved you.”

All these and many more are practical examples of how we deal with conflict in spiritually maturing communities. These scriptural values will convert conflict to a catalyst for deeper relationships – authentic, honest, safer and caring communities.

I have heard it said that God will often offend the mind to reveal the heart and my experience affirms the truth of this. So in the bit of the mess of our gathering last weekend, a gift of God was made manifest which I hope we do not over look. The process of the conflict with others and their ideas may in fact be God himself challenging us to deal with our own blind spots and brokenness. Failure to do so will perpetuate relationally shallow church and faith. Many of us have higher hopes for the Church and are prepared to step out with courage and love into the joyous mess that life can sometimes be.

How to Steal From the Poor and Give Everyone a Clear Conscience

2009-12-06T06:01:00.015-05:00

I read this from a church budget update that I saw online.

Weekly Budget | $25,000.00 When a financial goal for a particular project has been reached, ****** Church reserves the right to allocate additional funds to the most urgent need at that time.

What does this mean? Let's say the project was "Care for the Poor in Honduras". And the budget amount is $20,000. If 50 church members felt God lead them to give $1,000 to this cause, $50,000 in total, the leadership could use $30,000 of their giving to go to another budget item like advertising. The people that gave to the poor in Honduras would never know that this happened. But at least they've done their part and followed the leading of the Lord.

When people designate their giving to a particular budget item, it usually isn't in the category of paper clips or cleaning supplies. Understandably, a project could be fixing the roof and therefore surplus dollars should be allocated elsewhere.

Some people take a different approach to their giving and don't designate any of their offering. The assumption they have is that a percentage of their giving would go to worthwhile projects. The Honduras project is 1.5% of the church budget. Therefore for every $100 that they give they would be happy to know that $1.50 would go to the poor. But if $20,000 of the Honduras budget came in through designated offerings, maybe even through just 1 person giving the full $20,000, that would mean that no one else even gave 1.5% of their offerings to that particular project.

How would you know if this has happened? You could ask but you will likely be given the impression that you are not trusting the leadership simply because of your question. And I've got a hunch that if that scenario did happen that way, that they wouldn't tell you how much had been designated and how much was re-allocated.

Would the leadership do this? What if the church does not reach its budget target each week? You do the math.

p.s.
This is actually a common practice in many churches and pastors teach each other this. It is the modern day application of what Jesus denounced the Pharisees for.

Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'
Matthew 15:3-9

Oh my, Someone else thinks Church is Boring.

2009-11-25T19:02:00.002-05:00

CHURCH IS boring. I don’t ever recall hopping out of bed on Sunday morning jazzed about the sermon, even when the preacher was good. I’ve never driven to church in anticipation of hearing the choir or the worship band, even when they included remarkable musicians. When I went, it was to see my friends. I wanted to talk. Sunday school and Bible study were okay, but breezeway and parking lot conversations were the most invigorating. My utmost communion with the Body of Christ didn’t even happen on the church premises. That happened in some loud restaurant that offered free refills of Diet Coke that helped me power on past noon and large portions that would render me unconscious fifteen minutes after I got home.

For the rest of this rather truthful article go to, The Flabby Body of Christ.

Wow, What a Question!

2009-11-17T19:45:00.001-05:00

Lover or Prostitute? The Question that Changed My Life
by David Ryser

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship;
it moved to Greece and became a philosophy;
it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture;
it came to America and became an enterprise.

Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old–barely out of diapers–and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, “An enterprise. That’s a business.” After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked such a simple question,

“A business? But isn’t it supposed to be a body?”

I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued,

“But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class.

Martha’s question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her question at least once every day. “When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

What do I mean when I say “really know Him?” Our understanding of knowing and knowledge stems from our western culture (which is based in ancient Greek philosophical thought). We believe we have knowledge (and, by extension, wisdom) when we have collected information. A collection of information is not the same thing as knowledge, especially in the culture of the Bible (which is an eastern, non-Greek, culture). In the eastern culture, all knowledge is experiential. In western/Greek culture, we argue from premise to conclusion without regard for experience–or so we think.

An example might be helpful here. Let us suppose a question based upon the following two premises: First, that wheat does not grow in a cold climate and second, that England has a cold climate. The question: Does wheat grow in England? The vast majority of people from the western/Greek culture would answer, “No. If wheat does not grow in a cold climate and if England has a cold climate, then it follows that wheat does not grow in England.” In the eastern culture, the answer to the same question, based on the same premises, most likely would be, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to England.” We laugh at this thinking, but when I posed the same question to my friends from England, their answer was, “Yes, of course wheat grows in England. We’re from there, and we know wheat grows there.” They overcame their cultural way of thinking because of their life experience. Experience trumps information when it comes to knowledge.

A similar problem exists with our concept of belief. We say we believe something (or someone) apart from personal experience. This definition of belief is not extended to our stockbroker, however. Again, allow me to explain. Suppose my stockbroker phones me and says, “I have a hot tip on a stock that is going to triple in price within the next week. I want your permission to transfer $10,000 from your cash account and buy this stock.” That’s a lot of money for me, so I ask, “Do you really believe this stock will triple in price, and so quickly?” He/she answers, “I sure do.” I say, “That sounds great! How exciting! So how much of your own money have you invested in this stock?” He/she answers, “None.” Does my stockbroker believe? Truly believe? I don’t think so, and suddenly I don’t believe, either. How can we be so discerning in the things of this world, especially when they involve money, and so indiscriminate when it comes to spiritual things? The fact is, we do not know or believe apart from experience. The Bible was written to people who would not understand the concepts of knowledge, belief, and faith apart from experience. I suspect God thinks this way also.

So I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God–much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ–that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha’s question again one day, and considered the question, “What’s the difference between a lover and a prostitute?” I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, “What would happen if God stopped paying me?”

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several months to work through these questions. Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

Transformed

2009-11-10T19:59:00.002-05:00

A simple, powerful message. Conveying a life changing truth need not take long. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to make it come alive in the listener.

Helping People Help People

2009-11-01T14:56:00.006-05:00

The vision I want to talk about in this blog is a really simple way of helping people. Lots of preaching out there about something something but I'm not sure if much rubber ever meets the road. This plan is practical, can be reproduced and it helps others without making people beggars. Even those who have or are at risk of losing jobs can dig in right away to do this. The only obstacle to success is people's unwillingness to try something new. Aren't you glad you aren't one of them? And thank goodness you only have to get a couple of others to join you. Surely you have that much influence in your life.

The Vision

Years ago, people died of malnutrition simply because they didn’t know that fruits and vegetables contained the vital vitamins and minerals that our bodies need for good health. And even though we now understand that we need them, not everyone gets the full range of vitamins and minerals that are the building blocks for our minds and our bodies. Even those who can afford and have available the 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables that we need each day, rarely take in those in quantities to ensure good health.

But this isn’t about supplying vital nutrients to those who have them easily available. There are literally millions of people (including widows, orphans, homeless, innercity kids, etc.) that do not have access or can afford to buy that much nutrition in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables. Is there a simple solution to this lack of equality in our world?

YES! It comes in the same way that we would supply a spaceship, concentrated supplements with all of the goodness of shopping carts filled with fruits and vegetables, packed into a bottle that fits in the palm of our hands.

Remarkably, this approach to nutrition is more cost effective than growing gardens in urban jungles nor do we have to deal with the daunting issues of freshness, quality, delivery and storage.

Caring for others and ensuring that everyone is given equal opportunity for healthy minds and bodies is a mandate that we can all take seriously. By simply learning to work together we can see this lived out on a global basis. I have no idea why the powers that be are not doing this today, but I also know that it doesn’t have to be left in the hands of anyone but us. We can make a difference!!!

HOW?

We simply need to do 2 things to make this a reality. Use the most advanced forms of food sourced supplementation available today and combine them with a sustainable means of delivering them to those in need.

WHY SUSTAINABLE?

Good intentions does not make something sustainable. How do we tell a mother with 4 young children that what we started in bringing them health is no longer available because someone has lost their job and can no longer supply the needed supplements? To bring hope and education and then not follow through seems a rather shortsighted gesture.

We need a sustainable plan. Sustainable means creating the necessary funds to ensure ongoing support without the threat of being interfered with by job losses and other priorities replacing the hope that is being provided.

This kind of guarantee of ongoing support needs to be funded through a business model and not a donation model. And this, for many, will be a significant paradigm shift. The time to learn and implement this model will take much less time than it takes to prepare, let alone, plant, weed and harvest a single garden. It simply takes a willingness to try a new approach.

There are 2 requirements that are necessary for this plan to work.

#1 – The desire to see people helped through providing good nutrition.

#2 – The understanding that this is something that needs to be sustainable.

Sustainability

There a 2 types of people that should be involved in the process of sustainability.

95% of these people should simply be good customers and 5% should be business people.

Good Customers: These are people that believe good nutrition is important and understand that it is as important to finish something they have started as it is to start to do a good thing. The simplest way for this to happen is by making enough money from giving this help, to ensure they never have to stop. This is like a sports fisherman that catches enough fish for his family and his neighbours.

Business People: These are people who take this matter of caring to a more developed level. They do this as their main source of income. They look after the good customers, the distribution of the supplements, have decent computer skills and the drive to ensure the ongoing fulfillment of this vision.

Which kind of person are you?

Do you see the vision of caring for others by providing nutrition in the form of supplements?

For those that say yes to this vision, I would suggest that you start as a customer. Begin providing help today by registering as an associate in my business of Mannatech and letting me take care of the details of getting those vital supplements to those in need.

Down the road you may want to learn and do more within the business model but the secret of success in this vision is by simply starting.

My goal will be to help you become sustainable in the giving of this care. Simply help me by sharing this simple means of caring for others once and awhile with some friends that you think would want to do the same thing. I will look after the details and you can rest assured that through this simple form of teamwork that we will bring nutritional equality to those who have no one but us to help.

To our own health and the health of others.

David
Write me at mannagrant@gmail.com to get started today.

I can immediately work with anyone that can legally work in any of these countries, United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

To understand the business model and the impact that we can have go on to my next blog titled, A New Paradigm for Helping Orphans.

Rumspringa

2009-10-24T11:16:00.002-05:00

An interesting view of children deciding for themselves how they want to live out their faith. It kind of reminds me of the father who willingly gave his prodigal son his inheritance. Luke 15

Did God Really Say?

2009-10-08T13:19:00.007-05:00

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say,
Genesis 3:1

Words seem to be important to God. That likely means they should be important to us. With that in mind it seems to me that it might be important to take God at his word. Many people tend to spiritualize God’s word into meanings that are different than they were originally intended. The challenge of course is that when you go down that road we end following the same deception that Adam and Eve faced in the garden.

Here’s a few examples of words that have been radically altered and accepted within many Christian expressions.

Tithe/Storehouse/Food -- Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Malachi 3:10

Original meaning: Tithe – always in food. Storehouse meant a place for keeping food. And in this context, specifically for the widow, orphan, and alien.

Modern meaning: Tithe means money and storehouse means the local church. The food the church provides is not physical but spiritual food ie preaching and teaching.

Talent -- To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Matthew 25:15

Original meaning: a large sum of money
Modern meaning: gifts and abilities

Supplied/Hard Work/Help -- You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak. Acts 20:34,35

Original Meaning: Hard work – physical labor. Supplied – the outcome of working. Help the weak – physical care.
Modern Meaning: studying the bible and providing spiritual nourshment to the weak.

Sabbath: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8

Original meaning: last day of the week from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, a day of rest, a day to celebrate God as our creator, to take time for relationships
Modern meaning: 1st day of the week, all day Sunday, a day to go to a church meeting, celebrate the resurrection of Jesus but not like a yearly anniversary but because of the specific day that it happened on.

Church -- And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

Original meaning: the group of people that identify themselves with Jesus as their Lord. Jesus used this word to refer to a singular and specific group.
Modern meaning: a special building that people go to on Sunday, to hear something from the Bible. There is nothing unifying about this usage today.

Did God Really Say?

I’d like to hear of anymore that you can think of. For fun why don’t you do one on the meaning of the bread and the cup that Jesus used at the last supper.

The Road to Destruction

2009-09-28T01:01:00.002-05:00

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13,14

This passage is remarkable in that I have always heard it quoted as referring to sin. But the context of this passage, both what precedes and what follows, is Jesus cautioning his listeners about the perils of .... not just any old sin but the most seductive barrier to knowing him, religion.

Think about it. Sin isn't deceptive at all when it comes to anyone thinking that it is a great way to get to heaven. So for Jesus to be talking about sin being a road to heaven doesn't make any sense.

I always thought that the broad path was referring to sin. And quite frankly that interpretation simply shows how deceptive religion really is.

Publically and From House to House

2009-09-19T10:30:00.006-05:00

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Acts 5:41,42

This passage, and many more like it, was the normative life of the early church. Public meetings were not like they are now. Today, we build buildings and open them to the public. Publically, in the early days meant going to where people didn't know Jesus. Sometimes the message was met with great enthusiasm, sometimes it meant getting stoned. All of the apostles experienced stonings, beheadings, imprisonment, and floggings for speaking publically. Very, very few preachers today, truly speak publically. They are usually surrounded by a great throng of admirers saying amen. A visitor is a distinct minority in this not so "public" setting.

Most of the persecution came from religiously minded folk. Stephen was stoned for speaking against the Pharasaical interpretation of the law and their trust in a building, the temple. If you went to any church today and spoke against their building, doctrines or rituals you would get "stoned" as well. Actually we are more civilized here, you would simply get thrown out on your ear or treated with the death of silence called shunning.

So now we have public meetings that aren't really all that public. They are more like a school rally before a football game.

But what about the house to house part. That place where people get to really know each other. That place where love can be lived out. That place where real interactive learning takes place through healthy questions and answers. That place where all 55 of the one anothers in the NT, love one another, encourage one another, provoke one another unto good deeds, etc. is done. That is considered optional at best and practiced by few.

Many Christians today can't imagine gathering without a sacred building as a focal point. The early church couldn't imagine gathering with a sacred building as a focal point.

Jesus said, If they persecuted Me they will persecute you. Who is the "they"? Religious leaders. Non-religious people simply think you are irrelevant.

If you don't think this is true, just tell somebody that their church building does not represent the heart of God. You'll find out very quickly where their passion and their treasure is.

The Perfect Storm

2009-09-12T05:10:00.002-05:00

Doom and gloom or Understanding our times? John Paul Jackson speaks a timely word to what lies ahead. He calls it the perfect storm.

Churches, Government, Beggars

2009-08-28T07:02:00.006-05:00

How are churches and government the same?

They want your money and then expect you to thank them IF they do something for you.

How are churches and beggars different?

Beggars don't expect you to give but if you do they always say thank you.

The Art of Manipulation - Tithing

2009-08-25T09:25:00.005-05:00

Simplicity - K.I.S.S. Keeping It Simple Sweety

2009-08-23T06:53:00.001-05:00

It is not the complexity of the problem but the simplicity of the solution that confounds most people.

A truck driver, with a full load, thought he could get through a low tunnel. He couldn't and became jammed in the tunnel. Professionals came from all over to try and get the truck free but were stymied with the problem. A ten year old boy came by and suggested letting the air out of the tires.

Joseph gathered 20% of the crops during the years of plenty to save his family and the world of his day during the time of famine.

Paul got into the marketplace by making tents giving him opportunities to meet many people and practice caring for the weak. Acts 20:32-35

In Kenya, $100 will buy 4 goats that will create a lifetime of wealth for a family.

In Pakistan, a bicycle can make a huge difference in a family's life.

What other simple solutions are you aware of that can have a profound impact on people's lives?

Put a Ring on It

2009-08-21T12:27:00.003-05:00

This is fun. A nice spin away from Beyonce.

I Must Decrease - Kingdom Leaders - Oops I Meant Servants

2009-08-19T04:22:00.008-05:00

In any kingdom there can only be one king. John the Baptist understood this and that's why he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30

The world's leadership models demand followers. The greater the leader, the greater the number of followers. But the kingdom does not work on this principle. There is but one king.

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:42-45

In the kingdom a servant's role is to be there to help, then get out of the way. The human condition being what it is, makes it very easy for people to want a king. Hearing is easier than doing. Listening is easier than teaching. Some prefer to be led, some prefer to lead, and yet as brothers and sisters we each have something to contribute.
1 Corinthians 12.

Even Jesus said that it was better that he leave. "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."
John 16:7

Why do we need the Holy Spirit if a leader is there to tell us what to do and what to think?

It is subtly seductive to have people following us. Often times, leaders don't even realize that they have been making disciples after themselves. It has been said that the way to tell if someone is a leader is to see if someone is following him.

And yet the best way to measure the true impact of a servant is by how well people do when they are gone.

Paul said this, "Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears."
Acts 20:30-31

A simple safeguard from making disciples after oneself is to do what Paul did and not become financially dependent on anyone or any group. A golden cage is still a cage. I know it has become normative for some of God's servants to become dependent on other servants and live on their donations, but that doesn't seem to be a reproducible model that can be applied to everyone.

Paul went on to say to this to the pastors of Ephesus,
"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Acts 20:32-35

Here's a simple question. Do children spend money on their father or do fathers spend money on their children to bring them to maturity?

I have often heard leaders trying to get people to do more and give more, not realizing that their physical presence might be causing people to do less.

I think that is why the great commission has the word, Go, in it.

When a leader is more quoted than Jesus or when people can talk more about a teacher's teachings than what Jesus said and did, you know they have made followers after themselves.

Paul gave a strong "warning" to the Corinthians about the problem of following someone,
"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1: 10-17

A few years learning from any servant is more than sufficient. It's not that they won't be in your life, but if they are, it should be as a brother or sister.

Just as there are different roles within any family, the goal is that these roles change and each member rises up to their full potential. So it is in the kingdom. Without doubt, we all start out as babes, but we should all rise up to maturity of being fathers and mothers.

We all can rise up like eagles but we must also help baby eagles leave the nest.

Christian Culture

2009-08-18T17:09:00.004-05:00

No doubt, many have been offended by the hypocrisy that is often found amongst Christians. But is it possible that the unique sub-culture that every Christian group eventually develops for themselves, keeps some non-Christians from looking more into the life of Jesus?

The Kingdom of God and Money

2009-08-15T11:33:00.004-05:00

Jesus spoke more about money than any other topic. It would seem that He said enough on the subject to offend everybody: rich, poor and the simply satisfied.

The New Testament actually contains,
215 Verses Pertaining to Faith
218 Verses Pertaining to Salvation
2,084 Verses Dealing with the Stewardship and Accountability for Money and Finance
16 of Jesus’ 38 Parables Deal with Money

If someone is thirsty give them a drink.
Matthew 25

If someone is your enemy, do good to them.
Mathew 5

Give money to your enemy. (cool promise if you do) Luke 6

He liked the idea of using worldly wealth to make friends. Luke 16

He commended those who made money. 10 minas. Luke 19 talents Matthew 25

He condemned those who hoarded it for themselves. Luke 12

He did not want or need a building to bring the kingdom.
Matthew 8

He told his disciples not to trust in a building.
Matthew 24

Stephen was stoned (at least in part) for mentioning the value they placed on their building.
Acts 7:48,49

The desire to belong to something localized can be (not always) one of the greatest distractions when it comes to the kingdom and the use of money.

God wasn't pleased with a group that decided they needed a building and a name. (for fear of being scattered)
Genesis 11

The great commission has the word GO. Build is not in it.

The only building that God is interested in is the one made of you and me.
1 Peter 2

The apostle Paul applied Jesus' teaching (it is better to give) by telling the elders of Ephesus to work hard as he had done with his own hands and support the weak financially.
Acts 20:32-35

Paul did not condone people becoming dependent on others.
1 Thessalonians 4

Jesus did not come to make servants of God, His royal priesthood, beggars looking for the next offering.

Our goal in handling worldly wealth should be EQUALITY on a global scale.
2 Corinthians 8.

If you haven't been offended by some point on this topic, hmmmmm.

Servant Leaders

2009-08-14T07:16:00.002-05:00

A popular idea that is often preached from a church pulpit is servant leadership. Those in full time ministry often express this as their heart’s desire. No one seems to see a strange paradox in how this message is practically worked out between parishioners and clergy.

Many Christians are very happy aligning themselves with and paying a minister to preach to them about servanthood. In fact, they are very uncomfortable with someone who doesn’t align themselves with a paid servant of God.

The average Christian makes no money as they serve and are often very committed to the group they are in. Their pastor on the other hand is usually only there because he/she receives a paycheque. If they don’t get paid they move on to a group that is willing to pay them. This is called servant/leadership.

Is it any wonder that those on the outside of the church question the leadership model within the church?

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:42-45

Church

2009-08-12T22:13:00.001-05:00

A building with a special room, specifically designed to focus on one person.

The Tipping Point

2009-08-09T05:35:00.001-05:00

In the book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, says this, “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. That’s what I’ve been dreaming about for the past year and a half.

I’m in a network marketing company that sells some really good nutritional supplements. I’ve been in the company for 2 years but didn’t understand network marketing at all when I got in.

Then one day it hit me. This thing I’m in could make a significant difference in the lives of children who simply do not get basic nutrition.

Iron deficiency, the most common form of malnutrition, affects 180 million children under age four. 684,000 child deaths worldwide could be prevented by increasing access to vitamin A and Zinc.

My company makes a great multi-vitamin/mineral that could help these children. Based on a simple business model of exponential growth, 10 million children could receive these multivitamin/minerals in 20 weeks.

How is this done? There are only 3 steps.

STEP 1 Spend $100 a month to purchase 5 bottles of these vitamins and send them wherever they desire. (or ask me where to send them)

STEP 2 Get 2 more people to do the same thing this week.

STEP 3 Help them get their 2 people in the following week. To keep things going each person simply needs to get 2 more people involved. Doubling the number of new people from the previous week.

This model is now reproducible through others and is like a perpetual motion machine. You continue to spend $100 a month but don’t need to recruit anymore people. (unless you want to) You have started the ball rolling and from then are in a business leveraging other people’s time for your financial benefit.

You also have the satisfaction of knowing that more children are being helped than you could have personally helped in a lifetime. If this happened steadily for 20 weeks, 10 million children would receive their vitamins.

This model is sustainable because it is based on business rather than donations.

Why is it sustainable? As soon as a person gets 2 people who get 2 people. 6 in total. The commission for the first person is $100. From then on the commissions grow exponentially. Everyone wins, even the person just starting because they have helped 5 kids immediately.

As it sits right now, the business plan is legit, the need is real, the answer is simple. I’m simply anticipating the tipping point when people catch this idea on mass.

Is there a lot of money to be made through this model? Yes. And the more you make, the more children are helped.

Maybe you’ll take some of the profits and drill water wells or some other humanitarian endeavour. That’s completely up to you.I'm looking forward to you joining me and being part of this dynamic tipping point.

Are You Financially Free or a Slave to Your Job?

2009-08-06T11:57:00.004-05:00

(If you haven't read Principle #1 - Equality, read it first. The two principles only make sense when understood as a single unit.)

Desiring financial freedom should not be confused with being satisfied with gold. The streets of heaven will be paved with gold. Being satisfied with pavement is a very sad state of affairs.

Some have erroneously interpreted Paul’s caution to Timothy about desiring money to mean that money is somehow evil.

10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10

But take notice that in this passage Paul isn’t referring to money itself but our desire for it. In other words, when money comes first there is a corruption that inevitably follows. Principle #1 – Equality is a very nice thing to keep in mind as I write about going for the gold. And let's not forget that it is difficult to bring equality to the less fortunate when you have just enough for yourself.

However we shouldn’t fear the effects of money as reflected in this prayer,
God, please don’t let me be so rich that I forget you or so poor that I curse you.

The poorest person can find peace with God and the richest person can be at peace as well. In fact there is no economic situation that can stop someone from knowing and loving God.

My goal is to somehow navigate between the extremes and see what the scriptures teach us about not being consumed by our circumstances, especially in the area of our use of TIME and our willingness to GO.

Abraham is considered the father of our faith. When he was asked to go to a land that he did know, he went. This should be normative for every child of God. When God says go, we go.

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
Genesis 12:1

But here’s what is sometimes forgotten in the equation.
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:4,5

Abraham didn’t go poor. In fact there were a number of people that had to go with him because they were either indentured servants or slaves. (An indentured servant is a person who willingly gives their time to someone else for an agreed upon price.)

So here is Point #1

Only a free person can GO
WHERE they want WHEN they want.

Security does not equal Freedom

Jesus himself, put a high value on us increasing in wealth which leads us to Point #3

Wealth Gives Freedom and Authority

We are not to be afraid.

With the economic meltdown that is currently happening, are the millionaires of this world really afraid? Is the guy or gal that owns Tim Horton’s afraid. They might not get their biggest profits this year but more than likely they will take their trip to Cancun or Banff just likely they always do.

What I am hearing from many people, Christians and non-Christians who are indentured servants is fear? There is an endless list in the Bible for us to not be afraid and yet many Christians are caught in its vice-like grip.

Even churches are feeling the effects of this downturn. Pastors will be laid off and/or salaries will be decreased. Building programs will be scaled back or stalled altogether. The idea that God gave the vision but our economy determines its outcome is very real. The idea is to hang on until the economy goes back to what it was and we can have our sense of security and then we can move forward with God's vision.

Slaves are always stuck with whatever the circumstances are at the moment.

Interestingly enough, I was talking with a businessman this week and he is planning a significant expansion of his business. For him, this downturn simply means there are more people available to work for him and at a lower wage to boot.

Business people think differently. They are creative and expand when others are like deer caught in the headlights. Successful business people are never motivated by fear. Even if failure does befall them, they don’t shrink away in fear but rather they learn the lesson and continue to seek freedom.

Does that mean that everyone that works for someone else is motivated by fear. Of course not. Many have learned that whatsoever state they are in to be content. Nevertheless, without funds channeling through their lives they to will have to cut back on the number of orphans or widows they are currently caring for. They will miss simple opportunities of doing more and equality in our world will be an unrealized dream.

There are many people who only dream of the opportunities that we as Canadians have. They can’t imagine someone thumbing their nose at simple opportunities that they would literally give their right arm to have. They are the ones who will face the harshest realities of this economic collapse, as help from Canada decreases. There are many people who have been hard working employees and were very generous but even they can’t give what they don’t have.

But I also know many Christians who will be caught in the trap of fear and will not explore business opportunities to overcome their financial distress. They are hoping and praying that their place of employment will survive. They never for a moment consider going after financial freedom and still desire the myth of security. The goal of global equality has never seriously touched their imagination.

Even though their place of security has left them in fear, they will not open their minds to the possibility that perhaps financial freedom might have been a better goal.

While many people were thanking Henry Ford for the opportunity of being able to serve him, Henry travelled where he wanted, lived where he wanted and used his time the way he wanted.

The goals of equality and going for the gold are not exclusive ideas. In fact, they are two sides of the same coin.

Are there business models out there that would allow everyone to enjoy financial freedom and more importantly freedom to go when God says go? Of course there are. Paul had one 2,000 years ago. I’m in one that allows virtually anyone to enjoy personal financial freedom.

We are living in a day when the opportunity to be in business has never been more accessible. The current economic crisis gives us the opportunity to look at the myth of security without the possibility of being equal to the person we work for. Or we can challenge ourselves to step away from the false security of being an indentured servant and become the master of our time and our wealth.

Remarkably, in a time when our governments and corporate leaders are struggling for answers, those who are willing to make a slight adjustment in their goals and aligning themselves with Biblical values of being financially free with the purpose of bringing equality, we can radically impact our world.

If you are free to go when God says GO, you are not an indentured slave. This freedom isn’t even always tied to job security or even having lots of gold but is really tied to a mindset of obedience to God, desiring equality for all and understanding God does not have slaves. We are his children.

Evangelism or Discipleship?

2009-08-05T02:01:00.011-05:00

The great commission is "go and make disciples...teaching them everything I commanded."

When it comes to evangelism most Christians will nod their heads that it is the most important thing in the world to them. Truth be told, very few Christians share their faith with anyone. It's my guess as to why they will give money to an evangelist: it relieves their conscience. And many evangelists will remind Christians that it is their sacred duty to evangelize. That's code for give me your money and I will do your job.

The reality is that evangelists don't want people to evangelize. Hmm, 1.5 billion Christians in the world. Everyone reaches 1 person for Jesus this year. That makes 3 billion. That 3 billion reach 1 person each in the following year. That pretty well covers the entire population of the world. Oops, no more need for an evangelist. Therefore no more money either.

Discipleship is what we have been called to. And even in this calling we don't have to feel some terrible shame. Nor do we have to feel some terrible angst about not doing enough evangelism. It's as simple and difficult as raising a child. Don't do it as some planned activity. "Tonight is discipleship night." It really is more like being friends and sharing things that are important to you.

There is a lot of emphasis on evangelism (especially the fund raising part) and yet the real work is in discipleship. It seems that talking about and giving to evangelism is much easier than loving our neighbor as ourself.

The difference between the two is that evangelism is like making babies whereas discipleship is about fathering/mothering adult children.

The gospel is about living our lives together with Jesus at the centre. We must guard our hearts from turning Jesus it into a ideology to be proclaimed without the reality being part of our daily lives.

How many people should we disciple? If we all cared for 1 or 2 others once in a while, that would get the job done.

Evangelism 101

2009-08-03T17:53:00.008-05:00

Can we all be evangelists? 85% of Christians have been saved before they were 18. But what if every adult did win just 2 other adults to Christ. Would that make much of a difference in the kingdom? Let's look at 2 models to see how the numbers work out. Neither model is normative, they are simply used to create discussion.

Model A
A charismatic pastor is able to inspire 100 people to join him in his church planting vision in the first year. This group of people is able to continue to reach others at the rate of 20% per year for 10 years. This growth rate is considered exceptionally good. The church hires staff, builds buildings and has a significant budget. The founding pastor is busy, busy, busy and is being asked by everyone to tell them his secret for such phenomenal success.

Model B
Another lover of God decides to pour his life into 2 people for a year. He disciples them in such a way that they do the same thing in the next year. He continues to work with them but they are the ones actually doing the discipling. He stays in their lives into the third year and is well respected and loved.

These disciples continue in this pattern of reaching out to 2 others. But the one that started this model is not known by most who continue to come to Christ through this model. He continues to work at his “secular” job, take care of his family and whatever else he enjoys doing. He never purposely disciples anyone again and has time for anyone that wants to talk to him.

(This last statement is only said to show the power of exponential growth through simply reaching 2 others. Of course he would reach more than just 2, as would those he discipled.)

In 10 years which model would have produced more people being discipled?

Model A
(20% growth per year)
100
120
144
173
208
250
300
360
432
520

Model B
(discipling just 2)
2 + 1 = 3
4 + 3 = 7
8 + 7 = 15
16 + 15 = 31
32 + 31 = 63
64 + 63 = 127
128 + 127 = 255
256 + 255 = 511
512 + 511 = 1023
1024 + 1023 = 2047

At the end of the 10 year period the pastor from Plan A is well known.
Nobody has heard of the guy that started Plan B.

After 20 years of unprecedented 20% growth, 2,600 people are in the Model A church.

Model B would have reached 2,097,151 in the same 20 years.

In 32 years, 8.5 billion people would have been reached through Model B.

How many people did each person have to reach in Model B?

Yep, it really is this simple. Why is this so hard to believe?

We Can All Do It

2009-08-02T06:46:00.009-05:00

What is your it?
If you ask an evangelist, it will be reaching the lost.
If you ask a mother, it will be loving her child(ren).
If you ask an entrepreneur, it will be the next great business plan.
If you ask an adventurer, it will be the next thrill ride.
If you ask a musician, it will some form of worship through music.
If you ask …, it will be whatever is important to them.

In our world of high profile leadership models that will often try to conform us to their image, it is easy to lose sight of our own uniqueness. We can end up chasing after whatever or whoever is the most inspirational in our life at that moment. In the end, we end up being nothing more than a wave being tossed about in the sea.

One of the most zealous and inspirational leaders in the early days of Christianity was the Apostle Paul. His passion was unique even amongst those who had personally known Yeshua. Paul was able to throw off his years of prejudice and reach out to the gentile world. Paul was the one that rebuked Peter for compromising grace by living a double standard of legalism and freedom. He had no problem with being cold and hungry as he sought out the next person for the kingdom. Stonings, floggings and imprisonment were simply a small part of the cost of knowing Yeshua.

However, he also had no problem zealously seeking out Christians prior to his conversion and having them put in jail or even stoned to death. What we sometimes miss about his life is that Paul simply stayed true to who he was. He knew what his “it” was.

Did he need to learn something beyond his "it"? Was Paul always loving and nurturing to those who were not like him? Not at first. It is difficult, knowing the character of Paul, picturing him writing the greatest love passage of all time, 1 Corinthians 13.

One of the great personal fights that came between 2 great friends, Paul and Barnabas, was over their young protégé, Mark’s homesickness. For Paul it was like Mark had abandoned the faith and betrayed him personally. (see Acts 15) Whereas, Barnabas (son of encouragement), recognized that his mentoring of Paul was no longer needed and left Paul in order to nurture young Mark.

Imagine the disaster that would have happened to the core message of the gospel (love) if both Paul and Barnabas had abandoned Mark for the cause. We might not have the gospel of Mark today.

Paul would likely have never had Mark in his life ever again, whereas near the end of his time he was able to say, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:11

It is possible to let our personal passions push out the people that God has brought into our lives. Our ideologies can erode the most important message of the cross, love. At the end of the day we need to know that Yeshua is desiring to work with each one of us individually and personally. When Peter was told all that would happen to him from the resurrected Yeshua himself, his very next question was what about John?

“When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"

Each one of us needs to hear Yeshua’s rebuke to Peter.

Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
John 21:21,22

Our calling is to follow Yeshua, not like someone else does, not like the group might demand of us, but personally, as a friend does.

We can all do it, be who God wants us to be. We simply need to remind ourselves our “it” is for us alone, our love is for those that God places in our path.

The Simplest of Sermons

2009-07-30T08:01:00.002-05:00

The simplest stories can reveal the greatest truths.

Finances in The Kingdom of God

2009-07-27T19:10:00.023-05:00

I have a pastor friend who struggles with starting a business because he doesn’t want to abuse his spiritual position in his parishioner’s lives by making money with them. Ironically, week after week he takes up an offering for his salary. He is not alone in this kind of mindset and I understand because I've been there, done that. Somehow, I had not appreciated the fact that the Apostle Paul had a tentmaking business that provided for himself and those he was mentoring and established a model that he wanted passed on to all leaders.

“I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Acts 20:33-35

This passage has dramatically changed much of my thinking about finances in two specific areas: charitable giving and making money. To say the least it’s been a huge paradigm shift for me to see kingdom values about finances in a very different way than I was originally taught.

One of my biggest shocks was that charitable giving was primarily to be used to support those who have no other means of support, ie. the weak: widows, orphans, persecuted, disaster victims, etc. And yet today, the lion’s share of charitable giving goes to support the administration of churches/ministries with very little going to those that really need help.

Much of the church’s understanding of finances is taught by professional teachers/pastors who have become dependent on the offerings of their followers. Where Paul was able to say "I have worked hard with my own hands to supply the needs of others", leaders today have to say "My followers have had to work hard to supply my needs". The professional clergy model that exists today for making money cannot be duplicated by their followers and in truth, has made them dependent upon their parishioners. Paul clearly said we are not to become dependent on others.

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."
1 Thessalonians 4:11,12

One friend suggested that if I feel so strongly about this now, that I should give back everything I made during my 8 years in paid ministry. Perhaps he’s right. The problem of course is that it would make it a huge obstacle for any pastor to transition into the values that I am suggesting.

Why wouldn't pastors want to model to those they are discipling something that can be practiced by all? Is it really necessary to create a separation between clergy/layity of how to provide for our families?

The more I study kingdom finances, the more I realize that we are to help each other prosper. The way things are right now is that people are isolated and have little desire to work together to increase each other’s financial position in order to do more within the kingdom of God. Working together for kingdom purposes should be normative for Christians and yet when it comes to making money most Christians are virtually on their own.

I recognize that this simple view of providing for ourselves and others would be a radical departure from what is currently being practiced. Does that mean that it is an absurd idea or is it simply because we have never done it this way before?

Oh and BTW, it really is better to give than to receive.

"A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn’t the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn’t flat. When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic."—Dresden James

Why is Sunday Special?

2009-07-25T09:15:00.011-05:00

Many Christians believe that listening to a sermon, praying and singing a few songs is a core value to be done on Sunday. In fact they believe it so much that they spend literally billions of dollars every year to support this value.

When they are asked, "Where in the Bible does it say to do this?" They quickly respond with, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Hebrews 10:25

But this passage doesn't say we should venerate Sunday and make it more special than any other day of the week.

The passage does talk about our relationships with each other being important but that has to do with developing strong friendships, not making a particular day of the week special.

I remember a conversation with a retired minister on this topic and asked him to tell me about his friends. He told me he had three guys who were his good friends. I asked him when they met. "At church on Sunday", was his reply. But when else were they friends. The answer was never.

It's really too bad that many can quote Hebrews 10:25 to support going to church on Sunday (which it doesn't require) but struggle with quoting the preceding sentence which really answers WHY we should get together. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."
Hebrews 10:24

Which day of the week can this be done on? Is there anything wrong with meeting on Sunday? Any day of the week is good for getting together. Do Christians have to change their lifestyle regarding Sunday? No, as long as they don't expect or give new believers the impression that they need to go to a church service on Sunday in order to do what God has asked of them.

It seems rather ironic that those who venerate one day in the week sometimes miss the fact that the body of Christ isn't about 2 hours on Sunday but rather lives being lived out with such love for each other that we truly reveal Jesus to our world.

Would pastors be comfortable with parishioners forgoing Sunday and deciding to get together more often but with just a few others in order to pray, encourage one another and seek out ways to help others?

I remember a couple from the first church we were in who were in such desperate financial straights that they "stole" toilet paper from the bathroom at church. This couple were faithful attenders and tithers. And yet we (the church) were happily ignorant of how difficult things were for them. But boy, did we love going to church on Sunday.

The goal isn't showing up for a service but to do what Jesus has commanded us to do and this is His desire.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34,35

Paying the Price

2009-07-23T18:57:00.008-05:00

The simplest definition of repentance is change. And its simplest application means growing up. The Apostle Paul said it this way, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."
1 Corinthians 13:11

Most religious groups place a high value on the term repentance but often relegate it to moral types of sins. But what about a wrong understanding of God and His ways? We need to obviously grow up, change/repent, in order to come to a right understanding.

Now here’s the rub with this maturing process. What if you end up seeing differently than the group that you belong to and that so wanted you to change? I’m not even saying that you’re right and they are wrong. I’m talking about being true to your own conscience at that particular point in time.

You discover what you think is a significant truth but it doesn't fit the group you are in. Who do you share this “revelation” with? The catch 22 in this scenario is that you could very well be ostracized for going against the status quo if you are honest about what you think. BTW: This has happened countless times over the years with people leaving to form new groups only to end up ostracizing a new person who disagrees with their "new" perspective. Nobody questions that maybe belonging to a group isn't what Jesus had in mind for His church.

You read scriptures like "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34,35

You already know that in our society that our "love for one another" is not exactly causing anyone to take notice, at least not in a positive way.

And you know from watching what happens to others that if you speak up, you will not be accepted. If you leave, you will be seen as rebellious or bitter and if you stay you will violate your own conscience.

Each week you hear a sermon that requires some form of change and you come to realize that exploring anything outside of the status quo is a very costly matter and repentance is really just code for fitting in with the group.

The Pharisees put such a high value on their group’s interpretation of being right (their identity) that when they saw Lazarus raised from the dead, they conspired to kill Jesus. They were notorious for expecting everyone around them to change, yet when confronted with their own need to repent, they chose murder instead. (Shunning is the acceptable method in our day.)

"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
John 11:47,48

Ahhh, the cost of "belonging" and the cost of "change". Make no mistake about this, you will pay for one or the other.

Come As You Are -- Leave Changed

2009-07-21T12:17:00.002-05:00

Church signs offer an interesting snapshot of the beliefs of a particular group. This sign left me wondering what they were selling.

Come As You Are -- Leave Changed

How would a church member feel about the sign?
How would an outsider feel?

I see 2 potential interpretations and I'm sure you can come up with many more.

1. The sign gives the impression that the church will accept you as long as you change to become like them.

2. It might mean that everyone in the church is in a constant, creative mode of allowing change to be normative in their lives.

My feeling is that this sign is there to make the parishioners feel that they are offering hope to those on the outside. Missing the possibility that it is a bit arrogant in that those already in are doing better than those who aren't.

Generally, I don't think people want change all that much. So offering change as a sales pitch seems somewhat naive. It would be interesting to find out if anyone actually showed up as a result of this marketing campaign.

How would you write the second part of this ad campaign?

Come as you are -- Leave ....

Can You Hear?

2009-07-19T08:57:00.001-05:00

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:43

Following the group and following Jesus are definitely not the same thing. In our Father’s economy there has always been a desire for us to make a personal decision to seek him with our whole heart. Jesus made the invitation that anyone and everyone could follow him. It was not some exclusive club that only allowed those with the right money, family, or heritage to join. But the other side of that coin says it has to be a very personal choice, separate from family and heritage.

Jesus scolded the crowds for following him because he fed their bellies but did not necessarily want anything to do with him personally.

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. John 6:26

Carrying on with the story after the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000 it should be noted that “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” John 6:66

2,000 years later nothing much has changed. Most people are not really following Jesus but are relying on belonging to a group, either friends, family or church and calling that following Jesus. 85% of Christians were saved before the age of 18. And of those that do come to Christ after that age only 6 out of 100 had no prior knowledge of Jesus. These percentages are staggering in that so much is made about evangelism and personal choice and yet the reality is that most people come to Jesus because of childhood influences.

This doesn’t mean that their experience with Him is not real, it simply means that the systems in place to reach the lost are woefully inadequate. Some would even say that’s why we need to spend even more on children’s programs. Missing the point that it wasn’t children’s programs that influenced a decision for Christ but family ties.

What is rather hypocritical is that Christians are notorious for praying for the “lost” from other major religions asking for the veil to be taken from their eyes, forgetting the reality that the main reason they follow Christ is the same reason that others don’t, childhood influences.

One simply has to take a demographic of any church group to discover that the vast majority of people within the group come from the same socio-economic background. They are comfortable with each other, with the corollary being that “outsiders” aren’t comfortable with them nor are they willing to change to allow outsiders to join them.

Jesus, on the other hand, was notorious for accepting people from every strata of society, which often made people more than a little uncomfortable. We tend to minimize/ignore His words about family influences and selfish motivations when it comes to following him.

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:37,38

All groups look for conformity. There really is no need for the Holy Spirit for members in the group. Unless, of course, the Holy Spirit lines up perfectly with the values of the group. When Jesus said it was for the disciples good that He goes away so that the comforter would come, He was really talking about people having the empowerment to follow Him without being dependent on a group or a leader. You don’t need the Holy Spirit in order to go with the flow and belong to a particular group.

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7

What is always fascinating about groups that say they rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading is that they actually believe that every individual involved in the group is there because they have been “called” to that group. And yet, everyone knows the unwritten rule that they cannot deviate from the prescribed teachings or practices of the group without feeling shunned or minimized in some way. And belonging to the group is very important to most people.

Leaders often make the false assumption that it is their role to protect the group rather than guide people into being free to hear the Spirit’s voice in their life. When this is done, leaders unwittingly or even worse, purposefully, often find themselves making disciples of themselves but usually not followers of Christ. If Jesus needed to leave in order to free his disciples to hear the Holy Spirit, why do leaders today not do what Jesus did?

Failure to understand the influence of groups, family and selfish motivations will inevitably lead to a dulling of our ears to hear the Holy Spirit’s gentle call.

For those that have ears to hear let them hear.

Living by Faith

2009-07-17T09:08:00.008-05:00

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Thessalonians 4:11,12

I tend to wonder why professional ministers, evangelists or pastors, talk about quitting their jobs and equating it to living by faith. To some onlookers, that kind of radical decision does have the appearance of a kind of faith but is not biblically supported. It also gives the very false impression that those who have jobs don't really live by faith.

Somehow, something has changed from Paul's day (around the time of Constantine 320 AD): leaders now openly declare that God has "called" them to be dependent on the charity of others. To make matters even worse, they are the ones that teach that to be a good Christian, everyone with a job should financially support them.

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it."
-- Upton Sinclair

Jesus -- From a Distance

2009-07-15T18:22:00.000-05:00

Jesus truly loved, surprised and perplexed the people of His day. I often wonder if Christians are happier looking at Jesus from a distance but would be very uncomfortable with an up close encounter. What if He said something that didn’t fit our thinking?

Commitment: Dangerous Ground

2009-07-13T05:06:00.005-05:00

Mistakes Were Made (But not by me!) Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions and Hurtful Acts

Looks like a great read that I'm going to have to get to. The book discusses cognitive dissonance theory. We cannot hold two opposing views at the same time. It also shows that the higher the commitment to something, the more willing a person is to ignore the facts. The first chapter, which is available on Amazon, gives some good examples to explain this.

In light of my previous post, this book sheds some light on why people will hold onto a lie once it has been proven wrong. After reading through more of the comments on the chalk story it was interesting that a number of Christians didn't care if the story had been proven false. It made them feel good and that is what they were holding onto. And even though they want everyone to know and love Jesus, the fact that they wouldn't admit to the lie, turned people off to that possibility.

The book talks about the more we buy into something, the greater the sacrifice, the less we are able to turn away from something that might not be true or the best for us. After my first year of Bible College I was at a crossroads as to whether I would quit my job at General Motors. I had been on a 1 year leave of absence. We had sold our house and bought another one in Peterborough. I could have easily gone back to my job. But we were committed to the plan. There simply was no way that I couldn't follow through. Was it God leading or simply ego at that point?

We have a very unfortunate ability to rationalize our decisions in spite of the facts. Looking at both sides of the equation is not a strong suit for most of us. And for Christians who do things because they felt God leading them, it is even worse because if something they did by the leading of the Holy Spirit proved to be wrong, maybe everything they believe about His leading is wrong.

When I reflect on the extreme contradictory beliefs that are held under the umbrella of Christianity, this theory helps me understand why people can form their little fortresses of groups that allow them to be happy even though those looking in can see the contradictions so easily.

Loving our group with our whole heart should not be equated with loving Jesus with our whole heart.

It would seem that the most dangerous place to be, when it comes to admitting we are wrong, is to those that are the most committed.

Gullible or Noble?

2009-07-12T06:55:00.013-05:00

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Acts 17:11

Someone thought I lost my faith the other day because I dared to question the truth of a story he was telling. It was a story I had heard many years ago, but had been changed into a Christian urban myth. I couldn’t quite remember the roots of the story but vaguely remembered that it wasn't chalk that was dropped but a beaker. I simply suggested that before he goes repeating it, it should be verified.

The story is told on YouTube, with an ironic title, This Should Keep Us All Thinking. And with over 8 million hits and 45,000+ comments it has obviously created a bit of interest. Sadly proving that something doesn't have to be true in order to inspire.

After suggesting it should be verified I did check out the truth of the story for myself. Here is the research from Truth or Fiction, that should have gone with the story.

What fascinates me in all of this is that there seems to be a disconnect between desiring truth and building faith. I thought they were two sides of the same coin.

Some Christians don’t seem to get the fact that being credible is actually important to some people and I would say, the generation in their 20’s actually expect it.

And for those enamored with miracle stories I think they need to tone them down a lot and have the credibility to verify them 6 months later. Miracle stories will sometimes help those directly touched by them, but they don’t actually do much to build up faith. Albeit, they do impact emotions for a moment. As soon as some crisis comes along and no miracle happens, the people whose faith is based on a miracle are like waves tossed on the sea: as quickly as they jumped in, they also jump out.

Jesus didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement to those that could declare great prophecies or healings and thought that was what serving God was all about.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Matthew 7:21-23

But He did highly value a very practical faith that was filled with love and helping one another.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:31-40

The Potential Trap

2009-07-11T07:27:00.004-05:00

This is an excerpt from a great read, A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God, by Larry Osborne.

Why Being All We Can Be
Might be a Dumb Idea.

"We tend to see unfulfilled potential as a tragic shame; squandered opportunity as a sinful choice. We assume that God couldn't possibly be pleased with anyone who settles for being less than the best they can be -- in any area of life.

But it's a lie.

Potential is not a sacred responsibility.

Potential is a harsh mistress--seductive, never satisfied, prone to exaggeration, nearly impossible to figure out. Those who pursue her inevitably end up in the poisoned land of self-centered priorities and me-first decisions.

But it's a quest that's often justified with pious platitudes about following God's calling and using all the gifts we've been given.

However, God's highest calling won't be found there. It's on another path, far removed from the "me-first" orientation of the maximized potential crowd. It's found on a seldom traveled side road filled with opportunities for sacrifice, service, and self-denial...

The formula for maximized potential is strangely similar to the recipe for a nervous breakdown or a broken home...

To a culture enamored with the allure of self-actualization and fully realized potential, love is fine--as long as it doesn't get in the way.

But let it threaten to become a major distraction, an impassable roadblock, or a heavy burden, and it'll be quickly left behind, jettisoned in favor of the far more alluring goal of reaching our fullest potential.

Which is why I am so leery of this thing I call the Potential Trap. And why I believe trying to become all we can be is often the worst thing we could ever do."

Credit Squeeze

2009-07-10T14:29:00.004-05:00

The number one stress in most people's lives is money, actually the lack of it and the debt that many people have been lured into. Banks and credit card companies are in serious trouble and because of their poor decisions, they are now putting the pressure on the average person who fell into the trap of debt. What is really incredible is that this pressure will simply cause more people to declare bankruptcy or walk away from their mortgages, which in the end will wreck the banks anyway.

Here is an article that describes one of the ways that banks are putting on the pressure.

CREDIT CARD FIRMS TRY OUT NEW SQUEEZE TACTICS

But then again, money, debt, inflation, foreclosure, deflation, bankruptcy are all pretty boring. If you would like something more interesting, here you go.

Celebrity -- Risky Business

2009-07-08T07:07:00.003-05:00

Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Luke 6:26

In this short interview (click on question 7) with Wayne Jacobsen, he talks about the distraction of success. He is the publisher and editor of “The Shack”, a book that is shattering many people’s perceptions of who our Heavenly Father is and how He desires to love us. The challenge that Wayne is encountering is that he finds that people want to treat him like a celebrity because the book has generated over 7 million in sales with literally no end in sight.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
Acts 14:14-15

Going Green

2009-07-07T07:04:00.004-05:00

My wife and daughter made an interesting observation yesterday. I finally managed to switch over to green grocery bags. It was a bit of an adjustment since even once I purchased them I more often than not would forget them when I went grocery shopping. However, now that I have made the adjustment we are finding that we don't have any plastic bags for garbage.

Stores are happy. They just reduced their costs for providing plastic bags and can now charge a nickel for each bag with no one complaining since no one wants to appear environmentally challenged.

This reminds me. I need to put small garbage bags on my grocery list.

Success -- A Definition by Jesus

2009-07-05T09:08:00.004-05:00

Have you ever heard this preached? Jesus defined success by how well one person invested money and made a substantial return.

"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
Luke 16:16,17

Does Church Work?

2009-07-01T03:32:00.013-05:00

Billions of dollars are spent each year on a myriad of programs within institutional churches. The following book reveals some unexpected results. Unexpected, that is, by the leaders of these churches. Even the authors call the results, "shocking." Young adults aren't surprised at all and their response is more like, "Duh!"

Already Gone

Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it

By Ken Ham and Britt Beemer

If you look around in your church today, two-thirds of the young people have already left in their hearts; soon they will be gone for good.

That is the alarming conclusion of the first scientific study of its kind, the Beemer Report, which reveals startling facts discovered through 20,000 phone calls and detailed surveys of a thousand 20-29 year olds who used to attend evangelical churches on a regular basis, but have since left it behind.

In Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it, popular author Ken Ham and consumer behavior analyst, C. Britt Beemer, combine to reveal trends that must be dealt with now... before we lose another generation.

The study found that we are losing our kids in elementary, middle school, and high school rather than college, and the Sunday school syndrome is contributing to the epidemic, rather than helping alleviate it.

The results are not just surprising; they're shocking:

Those who faithfully attend Sunday School are more likely to leave the church than those who do not.
Those who regularly attend Sunday School are more likely to believe that the Bible is less true.
Those who regularly attend Sunday School are actually more likely to defend that abortion and gay marriage should be legal.
Those who regularly attend Sunday School are actually more likely to defend premarital sex.

Reaching the Lost or Paying the Bills

2009-06-27T08:01:00.024-05:00

I first heard the gospel at a little Pentecostal church over 30 years ago. The church had been around for over 25 years and had about 50 members. A new pastor had come in with the realization that if the church didn’t grow beyond this number that it’s doors would close. There just wasn’t enough money being generated to pay for a building and supply a decent living for a pastor.

The new pastor did a great job and the church did begin to grow. Slowly but surely the church increased its budget to the point where a pastor could make a decent living. The members worked hard to get others to join them. The gospel of Jesus carried with it the expectation/need that new members would help with the operation of the organization.

If the new believer coming in, read the fine print they would have discovered that 10% of their income (called either tithing or "free will" offering) was to be given to the local church for the rest of their lives. In other words, the person making $300,000 was to give $30,000 and the person making $10,000 was to give $1,000. A completely fair system of giving, seeing that the rich person ended up living on $270,000 and the poorer person still had $9,000 left over to live on. (One pastor told me that this wasn't true, the person making $300,000 should give a lot more than 10%.)

Note: Some churches actually teach universal tithing where the poorest of the poor will be financially blessed if they tithe on their welfare or disability cheque. This is a far different view from tithing in the Old Testament where only those who owned land or livestock, tithed. The poor were recipients of the storehouse tithe that is spoken about in Malachi 3 and never paid a tithe since they had no crops or herds to tithe on. They didn't receive grain or meat from the storehouse and then told to give 10% back as a tithe.

Of course, financially supporting the local assembly to the tune of 10%+ is never taught as part of an evangelistic outreach. The goal was to get them in and then later help them understand that part of maturing in Christ is tithing to the local assembly. The promise given, is that when giving to the local assembly is practiced, financial blessing is sure to follow. Not surprisingly, the person who tithes from a disability cheque never owns as nice a house as the pastor that directly benefited from their tithe. It also means that children that die of preventable diseases in Africa must not have been part of a family that tithed.

Ironically, most Christians in this teaching never reach maturity since only 18% of Christians in a church that teaches tithing, actually tithe. This creates a rather strained relationship between those teaching tithing and those not practicing it. It creates the potential for pastors to only listen to those who are shouldering the financial burden of their pay cheque and parishioners questioning a pastor's motivation in the care that is provided.

It also intrigues me that the only givers who substantially receive from church funds are the paid staff that teach this practice. Churches tend to give between 2-8% to the needy and 30-50% to staff. Even on missions trips, churches will pay a pastor to go but expect non-salaried people to pay their own way.

Is there anything wrong with giving to one's local church group? Of course not. As long as it is understood as being no different than paying for a golf club membership, except of course you get a charitable receipt for doing so. But when the impression is given that God somehow requires us to give in such a prescribed way, then that is nothing but manipulation, with no scriputural grounds for doing so.

We never thought that our evangelistic outreach was about increasing the church’s financial coffers but ultimately it is not "reaching the lost" but rather dollars that are the measuring stick of the viability of a local church. If the church had increased to 300 people but most of them chose to give their offerings to dying children in Africa, the church would have had to close its doors and the people giving to the children would have been labeled as immature or even worse, "robbers of God".

Anyway

2009-06-24T19:15:00.003-05:00

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

Check out the origins of this fabulous piece here.

Treasure that Lasts

2009-06-23T07:08:00.002-05:00

As the global economy is shaking many people are taking a second look at investments. The stock market has proven to be really volatile with a few making a lot of money while the vast majority watched their portfolios shrink by half or even worse. What is sad that even during the best of times, while people were increasing their wealth on paper, the number of desperately poor in our world continued to grow.

This sounds like the farmer who increased in wealth and said to himself, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.”
Luke 12:18

The obvious lesson is that the only thing that lasts are what Jesus calls real treasure.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21

Treasure that Lasts = People

It seems that many have been very busy investing in treasure that will not last. Why not invest in treasure that lasts an eternity?

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Luke 16:9-13

Does Jesus endorse the idea of investing in people?

He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
Luke 19:12-13

From this passage, the answer seems obvious to me. So then, if Jesus tells a story about investing in people, would it be wise for us to do the same?

What were the expectations of the master regarding a return on investment?

"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
Luke 16:16,17

A criticism that is sometimes thrown at people who invest in others is that you shouldn’t get a return on your investment. But let’s follow through with the rest of Jesus’ story.

"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'

"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
Luke 16:22-24

There was clearly an expectation of return on investment. Not only that, but Jesus gave the one who had the greatest return, the one mina that had been buried.

Is it possible that the 2 who increased the minas to 5 and 10 actually did this by investing in others? Did they learn the lesson from their master that the best investments are helping others succeed?

Most people invest to build their own portfolio or to build a bigger barn. Why not invest where both you and the people you invest in, can increase with the purpose of laying up even more treasure in heaven?

So, how are your investments doing?

More Than Enough

2009-06-19T05:36:00.005-05:00

MORE THAN ENOUGH

(helping those that cannot help themselves)

I had a nice chat with a friend yesterday. We ended up talking about a vision I have of bringing nutritional supplements to ALL of the neglected children of the world.

Did you know that iron deficiency, the most common form of malnutrition, affects 180 million children under age four and that 684,000 child deaths worldwide could be prevented by increasing access to vitamin A and Zinc?

Through a little bottle of children’s multivitamins/minerals, we can supply the missing nutritional building blocks for children. As it stands right now, the need is outpacing the supply and children needlessly die. The plan I showed him not only supplied the vitamins but because it comes through a business model, everyone involved can help at literally no financial cost to themselves.

31 people agreeing to work together for just one month could literally supply nutrition to 62 children for a year at no financial cost to themselves.

How does this work?

31 people agree to utilize my company's compensation plan
and SHARE the commissions for just the first month in which they start.
They each purchase an All Star pack for $499 + $40 shipping and tax.
Total cost = US$16,740.
Each pack contains a two year supply of children’s vitamins.
The total commissions that this group agrees to pool together is over US$16,800.
And voila, 62 children are helped for a full year.

From then on, it is up to each individual as to what they want to do with their own business. It’s reasonable to assume that there would be others who would want to help children as well and this plan could easily be shared with others. At this point the original 31 people have the possibility of literally sending more vitamins to more children at no cost to themselves. That’s called sustainability.

THE NEED NO LONGER OVERWHELMS THOSE WHO CATCH THIS VISION.

How do these vitamins get delivered? By utilizing a delivery system that already exists. Tens of thousands of people travel the world everyday. We simply find a few of these people who are willing to carry an extra suitcase, loaded with high quality children’s vitamins and are willing to deliver them to any one of the many caring groups already helping these at risk children.

This plan is simple and doable. Money is not a factor. The VISION to join with a few others is all that it will take to bring some of the missing nutrients to children who cannot help themselves.

If this vision of joining with a few others interests you, please write or call me. I am coordinating getting the 31 people together. You don't have to get 31 but simply say you would like to be part of a group of likeminded people.

Together we CAN make a difference!

Year of Jubilee – The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

2009-06-16T07:54:00.006-05:00

Leviticus 25 is one of the more obscure and misunderstood Old Testament Laws. Every 50 years the economy in the nation of Israel was to have a reset button. All debts were to be forgiven, slaves were set free and the land was to be returned to the original owner.

I have always believed that the laws of the Old Testament weren’t just some willy nilly decrees by an uncaring God wanting to test His people in order to see if they would obey Him no matter what. Adultery isn’t wrong because the Bible says so, it’s wrong because it destroys relationships and the law simply states that reality. In other words, His laws aren’t prescriptive but are rather descriptive of what makes for a healthy lifestyle or a destructive lifestyle.

So why did God implement an economic reset button? As life unfolds human nature tends to over extend itself. Sometimes it’s because of greed, or lack of self-control or misfortune like sickness or an accident. Whether the downward spiral of indebtedness is caused by a person’s own poor decisions or are a result of outside factors there is often a deep sense of hopelessness for those who are enslaved by debt.

God understood this trap that human nature tends to go into all too easily and gave the gift of resetting the economy back to having no debt every 50 years. In other words, everyone got a fair chance to start over within their lifetime.

Wealth Transfer in Jubilee

Whether planned or unplanned, every Jubilee is accompanied by a large transfer of wealth.

Proverbs 13:22b “But the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous.”

So according to the Bible, who are the financially wicked and righteous?

Psalm 37:21 “The wicked borrows and does not repay; But the righteous shows mercy and gives.”

So, according to the Bible, the wealth of the one who borrows and does not repay (wicked) is stored up for the one who shows mercy and gives (righteous).

Meekness

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth (land)”

So what is meekness?

—Having great power or capacity and using very little of it.
—Vines Bible dictionary says, Meekness is “the fruit of power.” “The common assumption is that when a man is meek, it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was meek because He had the infinite resources of God at His command.”

The sad reality is that most of us, definitely including me, have not lived within our capacity.

A friend of mine told me that if you can’t finance a house without a clear plan of paying it off within seven years, that you are over extended. When I heard that I thought that was farfetched and yet it simply requires the capacity to pay 10% more than what the bank would require off of the principle, each year.

When it comes to credit, people have simply not lived in meekness. I just heard about someone praying for someone to loan them $20,000 for a down payment so that they could increase their indebtedness by another $400,000. They actually thought that if the loan happened then that meant God was looking after them. God would never want someone to enslave themselves to a debt that could potentially crush them and stop them from being able to freely go where they wanted or worse yet, tempt them to become a wicked person by not repaying their debt.

Debt has increased at an unprecedented rate and there is about to be a correction. We no longer have a clear plan of when to push the economic reset button and yet it is obvious that the human condition of getting in over our heads financially has not changed.

I actually thought I was being very clever by leveraging the inflated value of my home in order to buy what I could not afford. It seems I was just one of literally millions who are all too willing to enslave themselves to a future of debt thinking that housing would always continue to go up in value.

Many people have been in the habit of buying on credit and then clearing their credit card debt by refinancing their houses. In other words, they increased their indebtedness, hoping that the economy will continue to move forward. As long as houses continue to go up in price there is always the safety net of refinancing in order to deal with our natural capacity to over extend ourselves. The average person in North America tends to spend 110% and many 140% of their capacity. In other words we’re just like the government that thinks deficits are a good way to buy ourselves out of momentary discomfort.

But what happens when there is an economic downturn and people lose their jobs? They no longer have the ability to pay for their $300,000 home. So they sell. As more people sell, the price of housing actually begins to go down in value. It actually starts very slowly since the last thing our ego wants to admit to, is that we are in over our heads.

Housing no longer rises at 5-10% a year. Even people who still have jobs no longer have the cushion of refinancing since they are mortgaged to the max and their house didn’t go up in value. And then they lose their job as well and now they can’t pay their mortgage. What started off as a trickle begins to gain momentum, housing prices drop a little more and the small asset, (the difference between the mortgage and the relative value of the house diminishes) and now the mortgage is higher than the value of the home. People now begin to declare bankruptcy instead of selling their homes.

Meanwhile, the banks which had been over extending themselves in the name of profit are now stuck with homes they don’t want and they sell them for less, driving the value of housing lower.

At this point some people actually jump into the housing market and there is a small surge because interest rates are low and there are some deals to be had. Banks are still willing to extend credit because they need to sell the houses they don’t want.

60 Minutes - The Mortgage Meltdown

But now there are others who need to be able refinance their mortgages but that can only happen if their house went up in value. At this point, the small surge has only stopped houses from going down in value and now this new group of people must sell. But this time the price of housing takes a modest 5% drop. People are even more uncertain about their job situation and can’t afford a mortgage that is more than the value of their homes. Many of them have financed their house to 90-110% of its value.

Many houses come on the market at the same time and what was only a 5% drop turns into a 15% drop. If you have a job you ride out this loss but lo and behold you lose your job. The mortgage is 300,000 and now your house is only worth $280,000. Oops, I got a little over extended with another a car payment and some credit card debt that I expected to clear up by refinancing my house.

But there is an answer for me, I can reset my indebtedness. It’s called personal bankruptcy. God calls this wickedness. Why? Because I will deny others what is rightly owed and they can't pay others as well. My wicked actions can literally begin a chain reaction that harms innocent people.

Now the banks are stuck with houses that they don’t want, plus they just lost $20,000 in credit card debt that won’t get repaid and repossessed a car that now costs them money to get rid of.

The bank didn’t even have a chance of forcing foreclosure and now must sell their increasing number of houses cheaper and the price of housing drops another 10% which precipitates another cycle of personal bankruptcies.

Meanwhile, those who have not ever extended themselves, have watched what they thought was a great retirement asset diminish by 25%. They see the writing on the wall and can afford to sell and still make a profit. After all, they bought at $60,000 and even though their house went up to a paper value of $300,000 they are still going to do ok by selling for $240,000. This again drives the market down a little more and within 6 months that same house is only selling for $200,000.

There is always little surges in the market because people can’t resist jumping in considering that a house that sold for $300,000 last year is now a bargain at $200,000. No one expects the downward spiral to continue.

But in all this, those that needed to refinance because of credit card debt can’t and even though they weren’t anywhere close to bankruptcy last year, the drop in housing prices has tempted them to sell or declare bankruptcy. After all, they still have a job with decent cash flow and it simply doesn’t make sense to hold onto a liability when they have seen so many others get out of their debt so easily.

When will this downward cycle reverse itself? Impossible to say. Is this cycle possible?

God gave the year of Jubilee to show us that once every lifetime, society needs to push a reset button to clear debt.

The meek who have maintained their cash by not spending beyond their capacity or being greedy for a great deal, will be the ones who can afford to buy when houses bottom out to real values. (The actual cost of the materials to build not the inflated prices that we think are the value of a home.)

And this is when, the meek shall inherit the earth.

Do a Little -- Change the World

2009-06-06T08:21:00.002-05:00

Mass evangelism has had a significant impact in the expansion of Christianity. I was at a meeting just a few weeks ago, where Reinhard Bonke was sharing his vision and results of seeing upwards of 1.5 million people making decisions for Jesus in a single 5 day crusade. Wow!!!

That seems to make what I want to say seem almost insignificant. And yet, I can’t help thinking that little is much when God is in it.

Did you know that if you impacted just 2 people this year with the gospel and they did the same thing next year and that trend continued for 20 years that you would have started a revolution that would reach over 2 million people in 20 years? In 30 years a third of the world would have been reached.

And yet there tends to be a lot of angst among Christians that not enough is being done to reach others. Why is that?

Is Jesus the Reason?

2009-05-29T01:11:00.003-05:00

Here's a great question from a concerned mother that will be talked about on the Drew Marshall Show this Saturday.

This week on the Counsel Of Many: parents of a teenager want to know if they should let their son attend a completely different church, one they’re not really all that comfortable with.

“My husband and I are having a tough time figuring out if we should let our 15 year old son attend a different church. Our family has been going to a United Church around the corner from our house for years. A couple of months ago, he started going with some friends to a Pentecostal Tabernacle church quite a distance away from where we live. His friend’s parents take a few kids whenever they have a special youth event on. I never really had a problem with our son going to those events once in a while, but now he wants to go to their youth group and ditch the one at our church. He also wants to go to their Sunday services instead of going to the one at our church. Both my husband and I are a little leery about the stuff they teach at this church. We’ve never gone but some of our friends have told us that it’s pretty out there. Lots of emotional manipulation, always talking about money, and apparently they want everyone who goes to this church to “speak in tongues”. It almost seems kind of cultish and as parents, we just don’t want our son getting involved with a bunch of whacky religious fanatics. And yet, I wonder if we’re being too overprotective. I mean, it’s not like he’s out there doing drugs and getting wasted with a bunch of hoodlums off the street. Maybe some other parents, or teens, could give us some advice? Do we forbid him from going to this church or should we just relax?”

This kind of highlights the point that many Christians misunderstand each other and that Jesus is not necessarily the focus of their religious activities.

I talk about this in another blog called "Sheep Stealing 101".

Gathered or Scattered?

2009-05-28T01:41:00.005-05:00

Over a million Christians are leaving organized religion every year. In fact, this is the first time in church history that large numbers of people are leaving the institution of church in order to be the church without ties to a local group.

This leaves professional pastors somewhat befuddled since they have been trained to care for a group of people under their leadership. The idea that people can serve Jesus without aligning themselves to a specific person or place seems almost blasphemous to them. And if that is too strong a statement, they certainly feel that it isn’t God’s “best” for these wayward people.

I’m not sure if that many people have actually left the institutional church or if they have simply stopped going on Sundays. Those in the latter camp would have a myriad of reasons for stopping attendance. Hurts, doctrinal disputes, or just plain old bored are just a few of the reasons cited for not attending. That doesn’t mean they have philosophically changed their thinking about the body of Christ being represented by a formal allegiance to a particular group’s brand of Christianity.

However, there are a number of people who literally see the scriptures in a way that endorses the idea of there being only one body of Christ, represented by countless members. For them, allegiance to a particular brand of Christian religion seems to take away from the idea that our belonging comes from the understanding that we are all brothers and sisters through the blood of Jesus.

One of the most common expressions of our humanness is the desire to belong to and identify with a group. The problem is that this desire is often more important than allowing God to reign over us individually. This can be seen as early on as the uniting together to build the Tower of Babel. Even though they knew that God desired for them to go forth and multiply throughout His world, they feared being scattered,

“Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
Genesis 11:4

If Abraham had put belonging to his own country ahead of being willing to be scattered, there would have been no Israel.

Later on, the human propensity for wanting someone to rule over them, (in spite of their heritage from Abraham), was found in the nation of Israel’s rebellious demand for a king.

But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
1 Samuel 8:6,7

Ezekiel 34 is a prophetic call to God’s people to follow only one shepherd.
" 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
Ezekiel 34:11-16

Many people have stopped following shepherds who are only interested in gathering people together in order for them to fulfill the pastor's vision. God is longing to be THE shepherd of our lives as much today, as He was in Ezekiel’s time.

Does that mean that we shouldn’t receive guidance from elders? Of course not. But the guidance should always be to point us to God’s desire to care for us no matter where we are and that we should desire to care for one another, no matter who they are. It need not be guidance to be faithful to a group that ultimately simply endorses the name of a leader and/or a particular doctrinal approach.

A father’s greatest joy is to see his children grow up and live independent lives, while staying connected through love. This should be the same for anyone who desires to be an elder within Christ’s body. They should rejoice in helping others hear God’s voice and being free to be scattered (GO) throughout His world, representing Him in every facet of their daily lives.

Elders/pastors who make a name for themselves will always be at risk of catering to the human condition of desiring a king and fearing being scattered.

When it comes to praying with one another, one of the most cited passages of scripture is,
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Matthew 18:19,20

And yet when it comes to gathering together, religion would seem to imply that 2 or 3 is not sufficient to say that we have gathered together. The problem this poses for the religious mind is that 2 or 3 doesn’t need a designated leader nor does it cater to the false idea that there is safety in numbers. In fact, many of the great stories of the Bible seem to highlight the value of one.

The great commission is filled with the promise that as we GO (be scattered), each one of us can walk in our destiny of discipling one another. Ultimately, the purpose of being gathered together is to free us to be scattered.

Religion or Jesus

2009-05-07T05:59:00.001-05:00

Bait and Switch

Trading the Vibrant Life of Jesus for a Ritualistic Religion Called Christianity

By Wayne Jacobsen

I saw the sign a year ago in Georgia: Live Free for Three Months. It was a developer’s marketing strategy for a declining housing market. When I saw it, however, I wasn’t thinking about houses. I thought about Christianity and how we invite people to live free in Christ and then soon after saddle them with all the obligations of being a “good Christian”. We generally don’t even let them have three months.

When the early believers were first called Christians, we don’t know if it was a complement or a mockery. We do know that they didn’t invent the term for themselves. The culture called them “little christs” because they had found so much identity in following Jesus. Whatever spawned the term, those early believers adopted it for themselves and for 2,000 years it has been the dominant identifier for those who claim to follow Christ. But that might be changing.

Recent surveys show even believers are becoming uncomfortable with the term. At least in the United States it is increasingly used not for people who reflect the passion of Jesus in a broken world, but for adherents of a religion that has been built on a distortion of the life and teaching of Jesus, not necessarily it’s reality. The results can be confusing.

“Are you a Christian?” I used to love it when someone on a plane asked me that question. “Absolutely,” I’d answer, proud to be on the side of all that’s good and right in the world. But over the last fifteen years, answering that question has become far more difficult. Much of what has been done in recent years in the name of Christianity embarrasses me and disfigures the God I love. Some of it even horrifies me.

So now when I’m asked the question today, I hedge a bit. “It depends on what you mean by ‘Christian’,” I often respond. If they are asking whether or not I am a faithful adherent of the religion called Christianity, I have to confess that I’m not. I’m not even trying to be. But if they are asking me if I am a passionate follower of Jesus, the answer would be an enthusiastic yes.

In a few short years those realities have diverged significantly. Perhaps there has not been a time since the Middle Ages, where what it means to be a good Christian and what it means to thrive in a relationship with God, couldn’t be more at odds. You can do everything required of a ‘good Christian’ in our day and still miss out on what it means to know him and be involved in a meaningful relationship with him that transforms you to love as he loved.

How many people endure repetitive rituals certain that doing so endears them to God? How many embrace a slate of ethical rules or doctrinal propositions thinking that doing so ensures God’s blessings? Jesus offered us a vibrant life of relationship with his Father, and we ended up creating a religion that often disarms that very Gospel of its glory.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Mark 7:6-7) These words are as true for us today as when Jesus voiced them to the religious captives in his. His warnings in Matthew 23 about the pitfalls of religion, are more applicable in our day than they were in his. When is the last time you heard a sermon from that text? Read it. You’ll know why.

Something Is Broken

For the last few months I’ve done numerous radio interviews for people concerned about what’s being called the collapse of Christianity. Newsweek did a cover article in April about the collapse of Christianity’s influence in America and that fewer people identify themselves as Christian or are a committed part of a local congregation.

There’s a lot of handwringing going on about those statistics, most of them blaming the culture. But the problems in religion itself have never been greater. Conservative Christianity aligned itself with a political agenda and a party that turned out to be as corrupt as it blamed the other party for being. More and more believers I know are embarrassed at the anger and arrogance of many so-called leaders who speak to the press on behalf of Christianity. So it’s no wonder to me that last year 4000 churches closed in America, 1700 pastors left the ministry each month and another 1300 pastors were terminated by their church, many without cause, and over 3500 people per day left their church last year.

Clearly we have a problem that cannot be blamed on the secularization of our culture. The kingdom is no longer a pearl of great price, and knowing Jesus is no longer the fruit of our religious activities. And people who are beginning to see that, are often marginalized as rebellious or unsubmitted for simply wanting what Jesus promised them.

Many people giving up on local institutions are not doing so because they’ve rejected Jesus, but finding that the culture of Christianity is actually diminishing their faith not enhancing it. In an email I got the other day, from a frustrated pastor trying to help people follow Jesus, and is just coming to realize that his own job may be at odds with his greatest passion. “Church has become a hindrance to building relationships and loving others.”

He’s not alone. Many of us came to faith enamored by the life and teachings of Jesus. We were promised a relationship with God but were handed a religion of doctrines we had to believe, rituals we had to observe, obligations we had to meet and a standard of morality to adopt. While most of those were true enough, many found that their attempts to follow them did not produce either the life of Jesus it promised, nor the reality of true, caring communities of faith.

We have traded the simple power of the Gospel for a religion based on human effort. We were invited to relationship and ended up with a host of irrelevant dogma and burdensome obligations. Fortunately people from all over the world are waking up to a fresh hunger to shed the dictates of religion and embrace the wonder and power of a love-filled relationship with the living God.

Was Christianity Ever Meant to Be a Religion?

I guess all of this begs the question, did Jesus intend to start a religion called Christianity, or did we do this to ourselves? I suspect the latter. I am wholeheartedly convinced that he came to end all religions, not by lashing out against them, but by filling up in the human spirit what religion promises to fill but never can. Religion seeks to manipulate human effort to earn God’s approval, when such approval can never be earned.

Abraham, a Jewish man, lead the tour portion of a trip to Israel I was on fifteen years ago. Some of those on the tour had been rude to his faith as they tried to “help” him embrace Jesus as the Messiah. On the last morning, I found him alone by the bus and had the chance to ask him if he’d been offended by some of the remarks.

He smiled. He told me he’d been guiding tours for 30 years and someone is always trying to convert him to their faith—Christians, Reformed Jews, Muslims and Mormons. Then he asked me, “Do you know why it makes no difference to me?”

I shook my head. He led me out to the street and pointed at a building, “Do you see that synagogue with the star of David? That’s our building. The one over there with the cross on it is yours. Further down, do you see the dome? That’s theirs. On the surface they may look different, but underneath they are all basically the same. You would think that if one of us was serving the Living God, it would look differently.”

I still remember how much his words impacted me. Religion is the same all over the world. It is a prescribed set of doctrine, rules, rituals, and ethics. It celebrates sacred space, exalts holy-men as gurus and tries to muscle its way into the culture. For 2000 years many have practiced Christianity as a religion, essentially no different than the others, except in who it claims to follow. But if one of us was serving a Living God, wouldn’t it look very different?

When we cram the life of God into a box, we rob it of its life and power and only distinguish it from other religions by claiming a more truthful doctrine. Could that be why Jesus didn’t teach his disciples how to gain a following or build institutions. He didn’t teach them how to meet on Sunday mornings at 10:00 with a worship band and a leader to lecture the others. He didn’t give them a prescribed set of behaviors that people were suppose to follow as the means to serve God.

No, he invited them into his Father’s house, and a reality of relationship with his Father that would transform them and opened the way for them to share that love with others. That you can’t put into a religion and trying to only chokes out any hope of relationship. Putting creed and doctrine above a growing friendship with him supplants the reality he offered us, no matter how correct our doctrine or moral our ethics.

Don’t get me wrong. Truth is vital, as is righteousness, but without love they are also empty. Learning to live as a beloved child is far more transforming than the greatest principle you can follow. The life of Christian community isn’t found by sharing religion together, but by embracing a journey of growing relationship with him that transforms us by his grace and power.

Losing Your Religion

What does this mean for us? Should we stop calling ourselves Christian or judge those who do? Should we come up with a new term to franchise so we could separate the ones who live it relationally from the ones who are caught up in religion? If we did, we’d only be making the same mistakes that have diminished our life in Jesus over the centuries.

The truth is that Christianity as a religion is a dangerous disfigurement of the God of the Bible. But not all who call themselves Christians live religiously. Given all the excesses and failures of Christianity, I am delightfully grateful that the Gospel of Jesus is still relatively intact inside its doctrine. Unfortunately it only lets new believers live free for so long before burdening them with religious obligations.

And I meet many believers and leaders who have a profound faith and are seeking healthy ways to communicate that journey with others. I rejoice in that, as I do the amount of compassionate aid that such groups share with the world in need. But too many people miss out on the life Jesus offered them by practicing it as a religion instead of growing to know him.

Ultimately the transformation from practicing religion to living inside a relationship with God is not an institutional battle; it is a personal one. We could tear apart all of our religious institutions today and nothing would change. I’ve been in many a house church filled with people who see the institutional church as the problem and are oblivious to the fact that they’ve just moved their religion into a home, where close fellowship only makes it more oppressive.

So how do we know if you’ve been tricked into religion?

When God is a distant concept to you instead of a real presence.
When you find yourself following another man, woman, or a set of principles instead of following Jesus.
When fear of eternity, not measuring up, or falling into error drives your actions.
When you find yourself in empty rituals that do not connect you in a real way to him.
When you are burdened by the expectations of others and feel guilty when you can’t do enough.
When you look at others who struggle with contempt instead of compassion.
When the approval of others means more to you than remaining in the reality of his love.
When you hesitate to be honest about your doubts or struggles because others will judge you.
When you think of holiness as an unachievable duty, rather than aglorious invitation.
When you think righteousness depends on your efforts instead of his grace working in you.
When following him is more about obligation than affection.
When correcting someone’s doctrine is more important than loving them.
When God seems more present on Sunday morning, than he does on Monday.

If you have only known Christianity to be a set of doctrines, rules and rituals, I have great news. Jesus came and died to open up access between you and his Father. Religion supplants that, distracting us with discipline, commitment and hard work that never yields the fruit it promises. If you’ve been worn out by religion, don’t think you’re alone. Others are just pretending, afraid they are the only ones, too. Life is only found in him.

Switching Back

There’s something about our flesh that craves the illusion of safety that religion affords. Anyone of us can find our heart easily turned toward following rules instead of engaging him. When we recognize that happening, we can simply turn our hearts back to him and choose to move away from the religious traps and connect once again with God as our Father.

Living the Gospel means we live in his love. We come to know the Father’s love for us and then sharing that love with him, and with others he puts in our path. (John 13:34-35). No other motive will suffice; no other is necessary. This is where the journey begins and this is the only place it can continue.

Returning to our first love isn’t as difficult as we like to make it. For me it just means finding a quiet place and talking to God. When you find yourself caught in religion, tell him you’re tired of chasing a religion that isn’t working and you want to know him as he really is. Then, wake up each day with a similar prayer on your heart. Watch how he makes himself known to you in the simple reality of living each day. Follow the nudges he puts on your heart instead of the obligations and rituals. Find others who are on this journey and find ways to share the reality of a growing relationship and help guard our hearts about following into empty religious practices.

If you’ve been steeped in religion for a long time, you’ll find yourself going through a very disorienting time. One woman I met called it a Pharisectomy, which is simply having your inner Pharisee removed. You might feel guilty, lonely, lost, or fearful in the process. Your former religious friends may feel threatened that you’re no longer doing the things they do. But in time you’ll find yourself sliding into the reality of relationship with him that is as increasingly real, transformative and engaging.

Among It, Not of It

So let’s not go to war with religion, railing against its failures fighting against its dictates. Instead let’s do what Jesus did—let’s live beyond it. Let’s find a reality of freedom and authenticity in him that can walk alongside anyone with patience and gentleness. Religion is what people crave when they haven’t found life in him. Taking their religion away won’t fix that. The only thing that will is helping them see a reality of relationship with God that makes all our religious activity unnecessary and unattractive. Jesus could be in religious settings and not be captured by them. He could care about a Pharisee as much as a prostitute.

Live among religion if he asks you to, loving toward those mired in it but you never have to be of it. The Gospel opens the door for us to re-engage the transcendent God, to know him as our Abba and to walk with him through the twists and turns of life, sharing his affection with others.

Live in the reality of that relationship and you’ll find it quite naturally finding expression through you as you love and treat others the same way God treats you. People who refuse to live to fear, conform to ritual or put doctrine above love will find themselves having ample opportunity to help others on this journey as well. A dear friend wrote me recently who was feeling a bit swamped by all the people seeking out his help these days, “You didn’t say anything about being safe is like hanging up a “counseling available” shingle.”

We live in a great day. The emptiness of tradition is being seen for what it is and people are hungering for the reality of relationship. Live there each day and there’s no telling where that will take you or who you’ll end up walking alongside as Jesus becomes your life.

Then you can live free, not just for a few days or even three months. He came to set you free eternally!

What Kind of Winner are You?

2009-05-02T23:37:00.000-05:00

For most of us, the word “winning”, is a very simple concept. You create a goal, and when you achieve it, you’ve won.

Well, there’s actually much more to it then that, because your subconscious mind has it’s own definition for “winning”, and whether you like it or not, you and your entire life are run by this little bugger.

If your subconscious doesn’t want you to “win” when it comes to wealth and money, you’re not going to. Period.

By definition, your subconscious thoughts and its agenda for your life are hidden from you, unless you’ve trained yourself to communicate with it.

If you don’t know what its definition of “winning” is for you right now, how can you ever move forward? And that’s the point on this article… We’re going to find out what “winning” means to your subconscious right now…

There are 5 ways for you to win...

1: You win when you’re comfortable.

This person’s primary goal is to just go through life as comfortably as possible. They don’t want stress. They don’t want to be pushed or challenged. They don’t like conflict. The just want to go through life on cruise control, hanging out with their friends, and having a good time.

Everything they do is designed to support their pursuit of comfort.

This is your average, life-long employee who’s more than happy to have a safe, stable, comfortable job.

If you push this person away from that goal, and challenge them or their routine lifestyle, watch out.

2: You win by being liked.

This person’s primary goal in life is to be liked by others. They want acceptance from everyone, and will do just about anything to reach that goal. They’d rather be liked, than be right or wrong.

When you put someone like this in a leadership role, the business will usually fail because they won’t be willing to make hard decisions that would anger someone. They would try to please everyone all the time because their ultimate motivation is to be liked by others.

3: You win by being right.

This person is usually an expert in a specific field like a professor, lawyer, or a wife. (Just kidding ladies! ?). People who win by being right, don’t accept criticism and aren’t open to new ideas.

They tend to reach a glass ceiling when it comes to money, their career, and relationships, because they can’t accept their short-comings in order to move past them and achieve personal growth. Arguing with this person never works because they’ll always find a way to prove you wrong, even if it means sabotaging their relationship with you in the process.

In order to win, this person must be right.

4: You win by winning.

This person is an achiever. Their primary motivation is to win. They are very competitive, and will do whatever it takes to win. They won’t quit, and they’ll constantly push themselves to gain the edge they need.

This category describes all successful entrepreneurs and athletes. Winning is their reward, and on the dark side, some of them will go too far and compromise their integrity in order to do so. Key Lay of Enron is a great example.

This type of person doesn’t care if others don’t like them, and they welcome discomfort because it provides them with new opportunities to win.

5: You win by losing.

This person wins by being a victim. They want sympathy from others or their spouse. Just when things start to get better, they will sabotage themselves, and say, “I knew it wouldn’t work”, giving them their victory once again.

There lives are always filled with problems because they don’t win unless they lose, so they create circumstances and excuses that help them fulfill that destiny like, “Your book won’t teach me anything new. I don’t have the money. This is just another scam. I’ll give it a try…”

So, where do you see yourself?

Now if you’re like me when I was exposed to this, you’re taking a long hard look at your life right now.

There are people who are not wealthy because they want to be comfortable. There are people who are not healthy because they want to be comfortable. There are people who are stuck in the same job without a promotion for 10 years because they want to be liked. There are people who are addicted to struggle because they win by losing.

And most likely, you see a little of yourself in each of these categories.
I know I do, but what’s important to remember, is that winning is a continuous process that is brought to an end once you’ve won, which is an event.

As soon as you’ve “won”, the process starts all over again. This is why you tend to feel lost or unfulfilled after you achieve a goal.

So what kind of goals are you putting in front of you? What kind of winner are you?

(adapted from an article by Mike Dillard)

A Great Voice and Inspiration to All

2009-04-17T18:09:00.003-05:00

Here's the background story for Susan Boyle.

Go to this YouTube link. 21,000,000 million others have.

Easter Passover Reflections

2009-04-07T18:14:00.020-05:00

I truly love exploring the story of redemption and specifically meditating on the last few hours that Yeshua spent with His disciples. I’m just going to ramble a bit with thoughts of what Passover means to me. Reflection and meditating doesn't mean any of us have it all figured out. Thankfully our salvation isn't dependent on perfect theology. Perhaps the simplest prayer of salvation is found in the declaration of the thief on the cross, who said, "remember me". Luke 23:42

Dating

This year Easter and Passover are very close together. For observant Jews, Passover will begin at sunset on Wednesday, April 8th. This is likely as close to alignment with the majority of Christian expressions regarding the timing of the celebration of Yeshua’s sacrifice as we will get.

Most Christians use dating that was instituted in 325 AD, with heavy emphasis being placed on venerating Sunday. It's up to you why the Jewish dating was rejected. My guess is that it is rooted in anti-Semitism and was done to ensure a clear separation between the gentile church and Judaism.

Friendship

In the business of Christianity an important thought process is woefully neglected: Yeshua’s using his final hours to emphasize over and over His desire for us to be friends with Him and each other. John 13-17.

I was just talking with someone the other day and they told the story of leaving a church after 9 years of attendance and no one called or even noticed. Sadly, this is not an isolated story. The general rule of thumb is, "out of sight, out of mind."

Yeshua said the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34,35

That sounds like people that notice each other. In the quest for larger numbers as the ultimate symbol of "success", is it possible we have forgotten to draw closer to each other and simply not noticed what is happening in each other's lives? In some circles accountability is emphasized and yet friendships are a much more natural and dynamic way of encouraging and building up one another.

The Cup

Let’s move on to Yeshua’s most significant time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. I actually had the privilege of being in Israel in 1995 and had a chance to share this message with a group of fellow pilgrims in the very garden itself.

Yeshua’s act of intercession in the garden is portrayed with his wrestling with his duty and identity.
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26: 39

This passage has often been interpreted to mean that Yeshua was not wanting to go to the cross. As if He would have balked at the very purpose for which He came. What if it is as simple as Him knowing that no matter how much he loves his children, that many will reject His love and be forever separated from Father and him. His agony was not about himself and what he was to endure but the loss of others for all of eternity.

His disciples were told that we are to drink the same cup as Him.
You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup,
Matthew 20:22-23a

Is the cup our taking on sin or is it to intercede for those who have rejected our savior and to feel the anguish of Father over that loss?

Abandonment

I don’t know how many times I have heard it preached that Father turned his face away from Yeshua based on his cry,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
Psalm 22:1

And yet in the same Psalm we read,

For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
Psalm 22:24

Or listen to Yeshua as he prepares his disciples for his death - and what he will achieve with the words “you will be scattered….. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” John 16:32

Abandonment theories simply do not help me appreciate Father more.

Became Sin

A passage from Paul's writings in 2 Corinthians is often cited to prove that Yeshua became sin.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21

And yet an equally appropriate interpretation is that He became a sin offering for us.

I find nothing in the Old Testament about the sacrifice for sins being anything other than unblemished innocence. There is no indication that the sacrifice became sin. And it is in the Old Testament that we find the first picture of atonement that was to be completely fulfilled in Yeshua, who is the lamb of God.

Even the scapegoat did not become sin but rather carried sin away from the people. Lev. 16: 20-22 I believe there was even a tradition within Jewish thought that if the scapegoat returned after being sent into the wilderness that they celebrated. Not only were their sins carried away but they got the goat back.

In essence, Yeshua carried away our sins and then returned to us.

Either Father is Love or Is He Just Plain Cruel

More often than not, Father is portrayed as a vengeful tyrant that if you don’t play by His rules, He will ultimately whack you. The picture given of the cross is that Father is angry at his children’s sin. In order to forgive them, He turns on His son and beats him to death and then punishes him in hell for 3 days. A strange notion when you consider Yeshua said this to the thief on the cross. "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43

Just imagine your friend hurting you and then coming to you for forgiveness. You say to him, I will forgive you but in order for me to do that I will have to go back to my house and kill my son. Would your friend want that kind of forgiveness?

Yeshua said, "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." John 14:7

If I can’t picture Yeshua doing something like killing someone, why is it so easy to see Father doing it? Let's not forget who the real killer is. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

The purpose of the cross is to bring us back to Father. Let's reflect on the fact that ALL of what Yeshua did was to reveal His Father to us and for us to enjoy being in His presence.

Why Sunday?

2009-04-05T04:39:00.001-05:00

Saying No to Sundays

March 2009 by Tom Ehrich, Religion News Service

For five decades and in growing numbers, American Christians have been saying no to Sunday church. I think it is time we listened.

We have labeled them “unchurched,” “nonbelievers,” “former Christians,” “happy pagans,” “lost,” and a “mission field” that’s “ripe for harvest.” These negative terms imply that the absent have a flaw that needs to be addressed.

New congregations have harvested some of these former mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churchgoers. But even their numbers rise and fall — especially when the founding pastor slips up or retires, and the overall trend in church participation remains down. In some Western states, Sunday churchgoing has fallen below 10 percent of the population.

When this slide commenced in 1964 as baby boomers began graduating from high school, many church leaders didn’t even acknowledge it. For years, they kept counting the absent as present. Then, when the losses couldn’t be ignored, they blamed them on whatever hot-button issues were roiling the religious establishment, as if new liturgies, women in leadership, and liberals (or conservatives, take your pick) had driven people away.

We need to see that these “formers” aren’t saying no to God, or to their Christian identity, or to their yearning for faith. Many are simply saying no to Sunday church.

They are expressing a preference for something other than getting up early on Sunday, driving across town, sitting in a pew for an hour or more, making small talk with people they don’t really know, and driving home again.

They are saying no to Sunday, the only day they can get a slow start in this everyone-works-hard era.

They are saying no to being an audience in an age of participation and self-determination.

They are saying no to institutional preaching, repetitive liturgies, and assemblies controlled by small cadres usually older than themselves.

They are saying no to being told what to believe.

They are saying no to having their questions ignored.

Instead, they find spiritual enrichment on the Internet and on television. They read faith-related books. They pray on their own. They find their own networks of faithful friends.

The problem isn’t their faith. The problem is Christianity’s delivery system. We are stuck in trying to lure people to physical locations at a time of our choosing, to do what we think they ought to do, and to be loyal in paying for it. It is time we looked beyond the
paradigm of Sunday church.

I think the future lies in “multichanneling’’: a combination of on-site, online, workplace and at-home offerings that create networks of self-determining constituents, many of whom might never attend Sunday church.

The first challenge, however, is to recognize how deeply wedded we are to Sunday on-site participation as the only true expression and measure of faithfulness. Almost everything about our institutions — facilities, ordination training, staffing, budgeting — aims to draw people to a central location on Sunday.

We need to see that what works for some doesn’t work for others. Not because the others are flawed, nor because our culture has collapsed and turned against God, but because things change. Just as Jesus took his ministry out of the synagogue and radically rethought the meaning of Sabbath, so God is drawing us away from “former things,” even ones we treasure and consider our duty.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Ehrich (see web site) is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project.)

Only on April 1

2009-04-03T22:16:00.000-05:00

This is Wayne Jacobsen having a little fun on April 1.

A Most Amazing Meeting

Orlando, Fl April 1, 2009 — They arrived by first class or flew in on their private jets for this first-ever gathering of mega-church pastors from all over the United States. They had gathered to trade secrets of their success and form a new denomination called Church of the Champions.

But in their first session as Bob Johnson, a renowned media analyst who was going to brief them on new strategies to exert pressure on the media and to take back the culture for God, started to speak a bright light suddenly appeared over the lectern and many reported later that a voice spoke out of rafters: “Pastors, pastors, why are you persecuting me?”

Observers say everyone sat spell-bound in their seats for a moment. Nothing in the room moved. Soon many of them began to weep and fall to the ground confessing the error of their ways. Some confessed to dividing the body of Christ by competing to be the biggest and best church in their area. Some admitted that they had supplanted Jesus in the lives of their followers by teaching the people to follow them instead of following him. Others said they had lived lavish lifestyles on the backs of those who lived in need. Still others confessed to manipulating people’s need for approval instead of freeing them to live as loved children of God, to providing a public persona different from the reality of their own doubts and struggles, to being in love with power and influence instead of the simple reality of the kingdom.

After nearly two hours of soul-purging confession they read together Matthew 23, admitting that they had created the same realities that Jesus had warned the Pharisees about. By unanimous acclimation they agreed to abandon their plans to form a new denomination, and instead go home and tell the people the truth, apologize for their short-sited ambitions, dismantle the institutions that blinded people to God’s reality and start living in the honesty of their own spiritual journey.

In what might be a related story, scientists that have been observing the fires of hell from the Haney Terrascope buried deep within the earth outside Lubbock, Texas have observed strange white matter appearing on the surface of hell’s lake of fire. “It looks like ice,” one scientist said, “though I know that doesn’t make any sense. We’ll have to run more tests to be certain.”

Jesus Yeshua

2009-04-02T02:18:00.003-05:00

Several years ago I changed my name to David. It took awhile for friends and family to make the switch. Even to this day when I meet friends from my pre David days, it takes them awhile to get comfortable with the switch. I guess because of this I'm a little sensitized to the value we place on our names.

I don't want to make a big deal of this but I was wondering why we don't use the Hebrew pronunciation for our savior? When I was introduced to him it wouldn't have mattered to me if I called him Jesus, Yeshua or Bob. Historically the pronunciation got trapped in the Greek translations. Some of that is likely rooted when some anti-semitic church leaders from the 2nd century and on, were trying to separate Christianity from its roots in Judaism.

So now that I know that His name would have been pronounced Yeshua in Hebrew, I think I'm going to try to create a habit of saying it that way. This isn't some weird doctrinal thing, it's just something that interests me.

The Shack Update

2009-03-29T20:58:00.001-05:00

The Shack has now sold over 7 million copies in a little more than a year and a half. Not bad for a book that was published by a couple of guys working out of their garage and an author who wrote the book for his children to try to explain his amazing encounter with grace and the Father's love.

Scroll further down to see about taking a survey asking why you loved it, hated it or maybe never even heard of it.

You can see and hear more of Wayne Jacobsen at www.lifestream.org

Ideas worth listening to, especially if you disagree.

The following are a few blogs by Wayne Jacobsen.

His Love is Overwhelming

This email arrived in my inbox this morning and I wanted to share it here, not for the kudos it offers to me, but for the encouragement it might offer others who live where this woman has lived. I hope we all know by know that only God can win someone to his love and affection. Don’t get me wrong. That some of the things I’ve been involved in provided a conduit for him to be revealed in her is wonderful and encouraging to be sure. But the larger story is of how God makes his love known to people who have not known a lot of love in their lives. I want to share her story because I know there are hundreds if not thousands like her out there.

They were raised in the demands of a religion devoid of love. They didn’t find it from their overly-religious parents, and never found it whatever kind of “faith community” they were raised in. But God never gives up. He pursues us with a love that can overwhelm all of our failures and hurts.

If you’ve never known God’s love for you, don’t give up. Just keep asking him to make it real to you. And if you know God’s love be aware that some person like this one may cross your path today and perhaps God can give them a glimpse of himself through you. Perhaps a smile or a gracious word from you might open a door that will allow God to find someone he has been looking for, for a long time.

Words will not come close to expressing my thanks to you for your book He Loves Me. I was born into a pastor’s home. There was no real love but lots of condemnation. I didn’t hear God’s love preached from the pulpit. My childhood was an extremely sad place. When I was six I went forward to accept Jesus as my Savior six nights in a row at children’s camp. When my father asked me why, I replied, “Because I’m not too good saved yet”.

That has been my journey. No love at home so I couldn’t believe that God loved me. To say I have struggled with God would be a huge understatement. I have walked away for years at a time, come back when I was hurting from my choices of looking for the love and approval I so sought.

Last June after a particularly hard time I heard about the book The Shack. Oh my goodness! It tore apart all the false beliefs and showed me a Papa I had longed for. I’ve shared that book with my friends and talked about it to anyone who will listen! Over the next months I read So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore. That book knocked my socks off. Then came along He Loves Me. “WOW!” is all I can say. Papa will have to bring to your heart the understanding of how powerful your book has been in my heart and my life. It has changed everything. Even that is a big understatement.

Wayne, one day we will meet in heaven and I just to warn you, I am going to be the one who jumps up and down telling you about how Papa used you in my life. We are now studying your book in our Bible Study and the women are loving it. Thank you for the remarkable work he doing in my life because of finally understanding HIS LOVE.

I think God did let me in on what happened in her heart. I teared up reading this. I can only imagine what it must be like for someone who has never known love to find for it full and free inside God himself. Isn’t that what the gospel is all about? We all have a Father that loves us more than anyone on this planet ever has or ever will.

His Love is Overwhelming Part 2

After my last blog posting I got this response from a woman who now pastors in Illinois It continues the conversation in a wonderful way:

I just read the e-mail you posted on your blog. I also just recently read your book. Wow!! I realized that there are probably countless individuals who can relate to the individual who was raised in a “religious” home where “law” was enforced and mercy and love were absent.

I was also raised in a home where my Pastor father was an amazing and gracious and loving man and my mother was broken and extremely “religious”. I never knew whether she would grab a Bible or a belt. For many years I believed I deserved only punishment and judgment. I believed I could never and would never be good enough to face a Holy and righteous God. What I didn’t realize was that Jesus loved me and was pursuing me passionately. As I was running I encountered HIM.

His love completely overwhelmed me and today I am free at last….free at last!!! When I read your book I was once again reminded of his amazing and everlasting love. I truly believe that we all need a revelation of God’s great love for us and to hear of his love over and over again. I have always believed that Billy Graham has had such an overwhelming response to the invitations he gives because when ANYONE who is lost or hurting hears the first few words of “JUST AS I AM” it is just so powerful. You have written a simple and most POWERFUL book of love. Thank you from my heart!!!!!! I love him because he first loved me.

The Shack Reader Survey

Can I ask for your help?

Windblown Media has been approached by a doctrinal candidate at Regent University to help conduct a survey of readers to gauge the impact of this book on the population. The book has now reached its 43rd week at the top of the NY Times bestseller list and over 7 million copies are in print.

They are looking for a broad cross section of people to respond to this survey, so please feel free to post this request and the survey link on your blog or forums that you regularly participate in.

Here is their request: “As researchers, we would like to understand what you think of the best-selling novel by William Paul Young (Copyright 2008, Windblown Media). Your answers will be extremely helpful in helping us to understand the story’s influence and appeal.”

You can take the survey here.

Take a minute, and help them out, will you?

Rich Dad Poor Dad Cashflow Quadrant

2009-03-26T07:14:00.004-05:00

Why do I post network marketing ideas on my let's rethink church site?
The reality is that our job is to care for people and we need money to do so. Churches say the same thing. That's why they take up an offering every week. Essentially churches are businesses that are structured on the traditional corporate model. Where they differ is that instead of getting paid, the workers (parishioners) pay their pastor to tell them to work.

I promote the network marketing business philosophy simply because it promotes teamwork and equality in the making of money. People can then choose how they want to use that money for caring for others. As their business grows they can be responsive to whatever their heart is telling them. That might mean changing locations or banding together with a few others to build an orphanage. They never need to make emotional pleas asking for money. Prayer becomes a matter of hearing from God and doing what He says.

This is why I want to be in business and network marketing allows me the privilege of helping others succeed in business as well.

The Biggest Challenge of Going into Business.

Robert Kiyosaki explains the cashflow quadrants. Many people struggling with finances have a difficult time moving to the right side of the quadrant. The biggest roadblock isn't technical skills or opportunity. The biggest battle is with ourselves and making the emotional shift from desiring security to living financially free.

What’s Wrong With Being a Pharisee?

2009-03-23T07:09:00.009-05:00

In most Christian thought processes the term Pharisee is offensive since it was this group that were ultimately responsible for putting Jesus on the cross. The other negative aspects of being labeled a Pharisee was that they were cruel, hard-hearted and very legalistic. No one could fault them for their zealousness as they believed in their system and sacrificed greatly to go over land and sea to convince others to do the same.

On the positive side, they were faithful to the word of God and were not just hearers of the word but believed that it must be applied to their daily lives. With that approach, how could they have missed Messiah, the very one that they were seeking after?

Easy. We all have a tendency to go down the same path as them. We create a thought process or system that we end up serving rather than the one who never did what others expected. I’m simply a recovering Pharisee and when I realize that, it helps me re-examine some of my motives and interactions with others. My heart says I don’t want to be a Pharisee, cuz a Pharisee’s not fair, you see. But my actions are not always in alignment with my heart.

The secret to not being one is really quite simple. Allow yourself to be one for a while and interact with Jesus like they did. Don’t think of yourself as being better or above them. And then ask Jesus to break through the blindness and reveal himself in a deeper way to you.

How do we do this? Read the gospels daily. Don’t get caught reading the Bible everyday without reading the gospels everyday. Read them as the stories that they are meant to be, not teachings but stories that reveal Jesus to us as He interacted with his world. Put yourself in the stories playing different roles. Be a leper that Jesus cleansed. Be a leper that didn’t come back and say thank you when he was healed. Be the woman at the well. Experience her surprise when she “discovered” the living water. Be an onlooker and feel their disgust when Jesus talked to this sinful woman.

Anoint Jesus’ feet with tears and perfume and realize that there were others condescendingly looking on. Allow yourself to be Judas arguing that her gift could have been better used for the poor, while secretly lusting to control more money. What was it like to be a people forsaken, money grubber like Zaccheaus, and then have Jesus invite himself to his house for a party? What unbridled joy caused him to pay back all that he had extorted from others? Did everyone accept him after his “conversion”?

What about being the person Jesus was talking to when he said, "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' Matthew 25:16
I discovered a modern day application of this passage when I was surprised to discover that I had been teaching and practicing tithing to a local church, ahead of family or the needs of the desperately poor? This actually didn't make things easier since many of my friends believe and teach tithing is to be done first. They now see me as one who robs God. I had to come to grips with following my heart and not the crowd and letting others have the freedom to do the same. BTW: I find it easier to do the former rather than the latter. Yeppers, I'm still a recovering Pharisee.

Imagine being a Pharisee at Jesus’ first miracle when they would have been enraged that He used the water from their ritual washing pots to make wine. Do you think they enjoyed His wine? Would your conscience let you enjoy His wine today?

Try to imagine being one of Jesus’ followers who had no hope inside themselves immediately following the crucifixion. Or what if you were Mary who discovered the empty tomb and nobody believed you that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Jesus broke all of the man made rules and showed them mercy, justice and faithfulness. Step into the shoes of every person that saw Jesus face to face. Experience their joy, anger, sadness, confusion, disappointment, peace… as he upset every system that they had learned to trust while loving them more than life itself. If He were to walk in our world today, do you think it's possible that he would offend any of the groups that are following Him with their whole heart?

There's a well known acronym, WWJD, What would Jesus Do? I think before we ask that question we might want to answer this one, WDJD, What did Jesus do?

The stories were written to help us be there, enjoy them. Then, ask the Holy Spirit to make them come alive in order to know Jesus as He is meant to be known today. Don't be surprised when you are surprised.

You + 2 = This Rocks

2009-03-17T19:33:00.009-05:00

Click on this.

MAKE 3k in 30 DAYS.

These guys did it in
11 days!

So can you!!

www.davidgrant.mtexpro.com

How Do You Make Money?

2009-03-14T18:31:00.030-05:00

Do you remember being asked this question when you were a kid, "How will you make money when you grow up?" Of course not. We were generally asked, "What will you be when you grow up?" My son wanted to be a fire engine. The options were virtually unlimited. We could dream of being anything but then we grew up and realized that dreams were for kids. We needed to get practical and settle on something that would get us through life.

We learned the lesson that money really does make the world go round. And while we certainly didn't want to end up serving the next dollar, no one doubts that having money is more than a little useful.

Somehow, I missed the lesson that there were only 4 categories for making money. I certainly never considered looking at the pros and cons of each model. And yet HOW we make money will determine many things in our lives: how we spend our time, where we live, who we hang out with, who we will help, the number of children we will have and how much education we will need. These are just a few examples that show that determining how we make money will significantly impact our lives.

So how do people make money? Let's look at the 4 different categories that all jobs ultimately fit in. (I won't look at investments since this model tends to come after doing ok in the other categories.)

The first and most common category is simply working for someone else. What most people don't realize is that this model requires that you give up your time and abilities in order to make someone else money. Employees are often thankful to their employers for giving them their job, while in fact it is the owner who should thank them for making him/her a profit. This model usually requires a person to be tied to a specific location and income stream. Or in the case of management positions like banking, retail or the military, to be to told where to go and how long they will live in a particular location.

The cost of education is often a significant factor when one is determining how much they will eventually make when they go to work for someone else. There is often the expectation from employers that new employees will have already invested a significant amount of time and money in their education prior to being hired. When going for a job interview there are 2 questions that will inevitably be asked, "What is your educational background and how much experience do you have?" Employers love finding people that they don't have to invest in. Never mind that it often takes 3-7 years to be able to pay off educational debt and this is only if they get a well paying job.

The risk of being passed over for promotions because of favoritism or that others aren't pulling their weight is a constant point of frustration. That's why unions are often accepted and even desired. Equality is often the rallying word for employees. Employers tend to not like this idea at all. They would rather employees be subject to whatever they want, whenever they want it. Whether it be pouring coffee, managing a large group of people, being a minister in a church or even being a professor with a PhD at a university, everyone is simply an employee and are not free to come and go as they please.

They are also very vulnerable to changes in the economy or in the specific business that they are employed in. When I got into being a toolmaker 30 years ago, it was considered one of the best paying and secure of all the skilled trades. Today, I know a number of highly skilled tool and die makers that are now driving trucks due to advancements in technology and globalization.

The one thing that this model does not produce is the potential for financial equality between the workers and the owners or the educated and uneducated.

Category number 2 is the self-employed business model. Historically this was the most common model but as we moved away from an agrarian society, more people ended up working for someone else. This model makes you the master of your own destiny and you don't have to bow down to a boss. Not quite true, they often end up having to appease many bosses, their customers. This model includes jobs as diverse as a mechanic to a salesman to a farmer to a doctor and each one has this one thing in common: they are are always vulnerable to a catastrophic event such as sickness or an accident. And if a loved one needs more of their personal time, the self-employed person doesn't always have the freedom to respond to the need. Even a farmer is at the mercy of the weather while other occupations can be drastically effected by economic downturns in their particular area of expertise.

The challenge in this model is that the individual has to be more than just good at his particular skill but has to understand all aspects of making a business work. There is often a significant investment in hardware or education. The constant need to keep up with developing technologies, market trends and ongoing educational upgrades can be overwhelming at times. A mechanic friend says it this way, "I'm not sure if I own this business or if this business owns me."

The third category is owning a business. Essentially, all businesses are based on the simple principle of leveraging other people's time and skill to profit the owner. This model has the potential of producing significant profits for the owner. Bill Gates has done fairly well within this model.

However, the vast majority of people never even consider this possibility. The complexities of starting a business and seeing it through to success is a mountain few people are willing to climb and even fewer climb it successfully. 4 out 5 new businesses fail within less than 5 years. There are so many facets that have to be mastered: Research and Development, understanding market share and demographics, having a great product, hiring and firing, training and development of workers, warehousing, customer service, deliveries, accounting, sales, etc. The biggest hurdle of course is the initial start up capital and ongoing capital investment.

This is why many have opted to own franchises where much of the expertise necessary has been supplied through the franchise. It's why people are willing to invest $500,000 in a Tim Horton's. The rewards can be significant but the financial risk, emotional investment and the huge amount of personal time are still significant to anyone who dares to see the view from the top of this particular mountain.

The idea of teamwork is very popular in this model because the owner knows more can be accomplished by getting his employees working together. Naturally this improves his/her profit margin. Owners have all the power and even though this isn't always the best for the business or the employees, it is the reality. He/she took the monetary risk, so therefore deserves all the benefits. The fact that their employees took a lot of risk when committing themselves to the company is never even considered when it comes to critical decision making. This model never considers the idea of equality for all.

But there is a fourth category that is often misunderstood because it literally takes the best of each of the above categories without being cluttered with their inherent weaknesses. I never cease to be amazed by this, the most revolutionary of all business models, network marketing.

In its simplest form it requires little (no) financial risk like that of owning a traditional business but has the potential for anyone and everyone to enjoy financial freedom. It thrives by benefiting from the work of others without making a slave of anyone. It is a little like being self-employed in that one gets to use their skills and talents for their own advancement but without taking the risk of relying solely on oneself. It also gets to optimize the tax advantages only granted to business owners, something that hourly/salary workers never have the chance of doing. If personal circumstances demand more time, this business can continue to grow without direct involvement. Equality for all is the heartbeat of this business.

The one thing it doesn't bypass is that you must be willing to do some work and have some perseverance to get the job done. But unlike other jobs it doesn't take 30 years or a significant investment to achieve financial stability and freedom. The biggest challenge is that no one can ever force you to do the work since personal autonomy is one of the pillars in this model.

All businesses require the selling of something, whether it be a product or a service. And yet one of the most misunderstood aspects of this business is that it does not require everyone to be great at sales. Virtually anyone who is willing to help 2 or 3 others pass this model on to just 2 or 3 people, can enjoy the dream of becoming financially free.

Is it really this simple?

Yes!!

Why doesn't everyone do it? Why aren't more people successful in it?

The immediate concern for most people is that this business is involved in sales. Usually there is an initial response of a tightening of facial muscles, a knot in your stomach, breaking out in a cold sweat or in my case a combination of all 3. But when you consider that we all sell stuff everyday this response should be a little surprising.

All of us, spend most of our days selling something. Some have sold their skills and services to the highest bidder. That might mean being willing to stand at a drive thru pouring coffee while taking the next customer's order. Or another person may spend an exorbitant amount of money and time to become a forensic scientist and then have to sell their skills within a very limited, niche market. You may enjoy encouraging your friends to go to a great movie that you just saw. How many of us have been involved in advertising by wearing designer clothes with the logo prominently displayed? Do you know any Mac owners who seem to always be selling the idea of owning a Mac or the "need" we all have for an Iphone? You'd think they had stocks in the company. No matter what we do, there is rarely a day that goes by that we have not sold something, either products, services or ideas. What you didn't learn in kindergarten was that it is ok to get paid once in awhile for selling something.

Generally, we have been taught since kindergarten that our role in life will be to work for someone else. Since about 95% of what we learned programmed us to do just that, is it little wonder that this is how 95% of us make money? We were taught over and over that financial security is the dream and that happens only after many years of keeping our nose to the grindstone. We simply can't imagine that doing well financially can be relatively simple, quick, and easily shared with others. We definitely were never taught to measure personal financial success by how financially free we helped others to be.

That is far different than the single owner model where success is measured by how well one person manages to control a group of people. The employee model measures success with terms like reliability, teamwork, hard work and doing what you're told. Some may even get satisfaction that they made Sam Walton and his kids billionaires but I can't say that I really understand that kind of satisfaction. Becoming financially free while helping others become financially free is never a consideration within the self-employed model since others are not even part of the equation.

The Dream of Financial Freedom

Financial freedom is not the language, let alone a goal for most people. They have only thought in terms of letting their circumstances determine the limits of their dreams. Most people have never contemplated this simple question, "What would you do with your life, if money was not a consideration?"

Safety and security is the language that is used by owners to control their many workers. And while loyalty is often talked about, as soon as things get tough for a company, the first ones to pay the price are the loyal employees.

I believe there are many people who believe we should be working together and looking out for the good of each other. They just didn't see it through the eyes of making others financially better off. The days of a community working together to build one person's barn is a thing of the past. Well, almost a thing of the past. Working with others to build a successful network marketing business is the modern day equivalent of this kind of teamwork. And just as the farmer remained fully independent after the barn was built, he always knows that working with and serving others is a very rewarding experience.

Does Network Marketing Work for the Average Person?

I know of a couple that had almost gone bankrupt at the age of 63 from a business they had owned for 30 years. Within a year in my company they were making a wonderful living and after 5 years were millionaires.

In just the past three weeks, a 21 year old man, with no experience in this business made $4,000, won a trip to Costa Rica and a laptop computer by understanding and applying this simple foundational principle for success: just get 2 more people involved and help them get their 2. Not only did he do well in his first month but his 2 best friends also made $3,000 and will be joining him in Costa Rica.

Freedom Really is an Attainable Goal

This cooperative business model allows you to go where you want, decide how much you want to make and choose who you work with. No longer does anyone have to be tied to a job that doesn't allow them the freedom to live where they want. And no one has to be at risk because of decisions that are out of their control. Nor do they have to fear economic uncertainty since this model works well in good times and even better in difficult times.

The secret to success in this business is very simple: have great, proprietary products that people use regularly and a great compensation plan that can be easily explained to those who have little or no training in either sales or business.

Does this mean their isn't any work involved? Of course not. The business is not complicated but it isn't magic either. No successful business owner has ever accomplished anything without a good plan, good training and the willingness to follow through with their vision.

Most people shrink their dreams to match their income, few expand their incomes to match their dreams. Since we know that many hands make the work easier, why not choose to join a team of like minded business owners that have chosen to work cooperatively together for the purpose of making each other successful?

The secret to success is adding something positive to your life each and every day. Take 15 minutes to watch this presentation to see how dynamic and reproducible this model is and then take an action step to make it work for you.

www.3kin30days.com

How to Use the Bible

2009-03-14T05:07:00.003-05:00

I think that understanding the purpose and value of a thing is extremely important. If I bought you a new car, and you thought that a car was to be used as a house, it wouldn't take more than a few days for your car to start stinking to high heavens.
Darrin Hufford has put into words some significant thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for a number of years about the purpose and use of the Bible. You will either love what he has to say or you will hate it, and possibly a lit bit of both. No matter what, you will hear a perspective that needs to at least be talked about. I personally like reading things that resonate within me right away, but I don't want to be like the Pharissees who rejected Jesus because he didn't resonate within them nor could they hear a new thing simply because their system of applying the scriptures wouldn't allow them the freedom to do so. Sometimes it is simply a good thing to read something from a fresh and/or new perspective.

Here is a brief excerpt. This is where you can find his whole article, Christians and the Bible.

"Until you understand that cars are made for transportation, you will never truly experience its blessings. The same is true with the Bible. We have made declarations about it that have nothing to do with its real purpose and value. This false understanding of what the Bible is for has caused us to become a spiritually retarded generation. Christian chat rooms and forums are filled every day of the week with people machine-gunning Scriptures back and forth in heated debate. Some of us can't even talk normal anymore because our vocabulary is filled with King James' quotations. Authors can't even make a spiritual point without having to "back it up" with Scripture. It's pretty sad when Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit have to have a Scripture verse to back up a spiritual principal that even a child can understand. Unfortunately in today's Christian world we have been taught to think in Bible verses. We've become as soulless as computers."

Inner Circle - The Right Pieces Fitting Together

2009-03-14T04:35:00.002-05:00

This is an excerpt from a blog by Darrin Hufford, titled The Church that Christ Built.

About two years ago I started taking a close look at my life and the lives of people around me. Everyone I know has their own personal circle of friends they hang out with. It may consist of family members, people from work, school, internet or their neighborhood. Every person I know has their "Inner Circle". It usually consists of between 5 to 10 people. They have other friends as well, but those people wouldn't be considered "Inner Circle" friends.

To be an "Inner Circle" friend, there just has to be something that causes a mutual connection between the two of you. There is no recipe for it, and one can never predict when it's going to happen. You can't force it, plan it, cultivate it or even command it to take place; it literally blooms totally on its own. I have found that only certain people can "jell" together on a level of deepness that is not necessarily shared with others. It's almost as though they were made specifically with the other person in mind. In a realm only known to God Himself, these people fit together like pieces of a puzzle. In fact, I believe that they were brought together by the Holy Spirit. Only He sees the inner structure of each individual soul and then finds another soul to connect snug and tight. It's unexplainable and cannot be manufactured or re-created by human hands in a million years.

Today Matters

2009-03-13T11:35:00.003-05:00

Today Matters
John C. Maxwell

We tend to linger too much in the past, dream too much about the future and yet we miss the only point in time that we have control over,

TODAY

12 Steps for Living In Today

1. Choose and display the right attitude

2. Determine and act on important priorities

3. Know and follow healthy guidelines

4. Communicate with and care for your family

5. Practice and develop good thinking

6. Make and keep proper commitments

7. Make and properly manage your money

8. Deepen and live out your spiritual faith

9. Initiate and invest in solid personal relationships

10. Plan for and model generosity

11. Embrace and practice good values

12. Seek out and embrace personal improvements.

"Decision making is way too overvalued.
Managing decisions is way too overlooked."

Recommended Reading by John Maxwell

Talent is Never Enough
Today Matters
Failing Forward
Put Your Dream to the Test

If Christianity was Illegal

2009-03-10T08:09:00.004-05:00

Preposterous. Not if one considers history or some present day situations.

So what would happen if this became our reality?

That which is considered vital, would become unnecessary.
That which is considered optional and boring, would become vital.

Buildings would be confiscated by the government.
Large, weekly gatherings would no longer exist.
Church names would no longer exist.
Some (many?) would renounce Jesus for fear of losing their jobs and would turn in to the authorities those they had previously called brothers and sisters.

Doctrinal squabblings would be put on the back burner.
Bibles would no longer collect dust on shelves. They would either be thrown out or secretly preserved and read.

People would desire to meet often in small, passionate gatherings.
Each person would be hungering to share what they were hearing from God.
Jesus would be the central figure in these gatherings.
Many would make clear, public declarations that Jesus is their Saviour.
Some would go to jail.
Brothers and sisters would work together to help each other.

Would Christianity survive? Not as we know it.

Thank God, it is not illegal.

How Important is Your Name?

2009-03-08T16:05:00.006-05:00

Back in 2000, I chose to legally change my name to David. For those who knew me by my original name, it was difficult for them to make the switch. There was a reluctant desire to honor my wishes while at the same time struggling with the habit of using what they had known me as. They were actually very uncomfortable using my new name.

I even have a story about the misuse of my wife's name. I remember being quite embarrassed when I first started dating Terry. She was first introduced to me as Therese and yet on a bowling date, when I wrote her name that way, she corrected me and said it was Terry. How could I have been so stupid to have gotten her name wrong? Over the years it has always been somewhat embarrassing to me that even though I now know that her name really is Therese, that I can’t pronounce it accurately. My French is terrible and no matter how much I try I can’t seem to get the pronunciation quite right. I have defaulted to calling her Terry since it is just plain easier for us English folk. The truth be told she would rather be called Therese but with the right pronunciation.

As someone who has had a fair bit of exposure to diverse cultural names because of my job of teaching English as a Second Language, I have become even more aware of how we value our names. Some of my students actually choose, as my wife has done, to use an easier English name than their own personal name. It’s just too painful to hear their name pronounced poorly.

One of my Korean students from last year actually has fond memories of me as a teacher, not because I taught her so well, but because I was the only teacher that could pronounce her Korean name properly. I have another student that wanted me to use his real name. I had been mispronouncing it for some time and then, just last week, he came to me at the beginning of the class and in his very broken English, taught me to pronounce it properly. Every time I say his name now, a big smile comes on his face.

It seems our names are important and when they are forgotten or mispronounced we feel a little saddened.

The personal name of our creator is written YHWH in Hebrew and is pronounced Yahveh or Yahweh. I remember from my Hebrew classes that even though we are not 100% which one is the perfect pronunciation, the one pronunciation that it cannot be is Jehovah. Reducing YHWH to simply god or lord like the million other names that refer to others gods seems to miss the mark even more than simply mispronouncing it.

What is fascinating is that even though the personal name of our creator is Yahveh, Bible translators universally agreed to using the impersonal word LORD or God when translating YHWH. With the ease of fixing this poor translation because of advancements in technology, why have publishers not corrected this?

Why would we opt for an impersonal term like Lord or God when our creator’s personal name is used over 6,800 times in the Old Testament and 1,000 times in the New Testament? This literally makes His name no different than the myriads of other names that use the term god. It’s crazy that we have managed to commonly use statements like money is my god while at the same time having to use a meaningless statement like god is my god to refer to our heavenly father.

The third commandment states,
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Exodus 20:7

The first commandment actually says his name is Yahveh Elohim.
In Hebrew it is actually stated this way,
“I am Yahveh your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” The Third Commandment states: “You shall not take the Name of Yahveh your Elohim in vain, for Yahveh will not leave him unpunished who takes His Name in vain.” Exodus 20: 2, 7.

Why have we chosen not to use it? Likely, you have simply been taught to use lord or god when referring to Him. You read your Bible and His name simply is there in spite the 6,800 that it is there in Hebrew. But once you know his name is Yahveh and you know he actually likes being referred to by his name, why would you continue to use the impersonal lord or god when referring to him?

The sad reality is that you would look like a kook amongst your Christian friends and they would think you have gone off the deep end. But is this a valid reason to ignore his wishes for the sake of the traditions of men?

If you were in another country, would you want someone calling you, Man or Woman, instead of using your name? How would you feel if they kept doing so once they knew your name? My kids can’t always refer to me as Pa when talking about me to someone else. But I would be very insulted if they chose to refer to me by something different than my own name.

Why would our heavenly Abba, Daddy, want to be referred to in the same impersonal way that all the supposed gods of this world are referred to, especially when he has clearly told us his personal name. Some will say that it is to make sure they don’t use his name in vain and are therefore afraid to say it. The third commandment does not say we can’t speak his name, simply that we aren’t to misuse it. If my children, were so afraid to call me Pa or Daddy, and called me Mr. Grant, I would feel that our relationship was weakened and not strengthened. On the other hand, when they were younger they tried the divide and conquer technique of lying between parents. They tried using my name and saying that I had said yes to some request, when their mother had asked them why they were doing something. In that case they needed to be very afraid of misusing my name.

I had to change my habit of mispronouncing a student’s name and friends have had to change how they referred to me simply because I asked them to. If we are willing to work at getting our friend's name right, why wouldn't we use the name that our creator wants us to know him by? The Hebrew scriptures tells us that his name is Yahveh. He would love you to use it.

Saying I Love You is NOT Enough

2009-03-04T06:41:00.009-05:00

As a proud Canadian and a Christian, I have managed to insulate myself quite comfortably from helping my fellow man. I have been seduced into believing that everyone is being taken care of in our society through our social system. I am aware of the dysfunction of the system and yet somehow still managed to take comfort in it. This allowed me to focus on the "best" help that can be given to anyone by tithing to make sure we had a nice building in order for them to hear the gospel and accept Jesus as their Saviour. The primary purpose of giving in order to financially help/bless others is relatively new to me.

How did this happen? I have no one to blame except myself, but I would say that there were contributing factors that led to this deception.

When I became a Christian at 19, I immediately began to tithe to my church. I was taught that this was the appropriate application of giving generously. The fact that only a tiny fragment of those monies actually went to physically help anyone was not a concern for me. I assumed that the leadership in my church heard from God and knew what they were doing.

After being a Christian for about 2.5 years and having landed a decent production job at General Motors, I was doing well financially. I owned a house and had 2 children. I was then laid off from GM and was over my head with a mortgage that had jumped from 10% interest to 18% at that time. I even had a foreclosure letter from the bank. During that time of falling behind on my mortgage payments, I never fell behind on my tithing. Meanwhile, Terry was pregnant with our third child and the pressure on our marriage was mounting.

Even though everyone at church knew we were going through a very stressful time, we never received any financial help or counsel other than to remain faithful in our tithing. We do remember receiving a bag of groceries with a bag of dated, broken cookies in it. Terry simply cried because of this gift. I think that is when I finally broke down to my brother in law, about our financial dilemma and he went to the church leadership to see if any help was available. I was young, proud and very embarrassed. They did give us $500, which didn’t get us out of our foreclosure dilemma. I had given at least $5,000 to the church over the past couple of years and had remained faithful in giving. I even tithed on the $500 that they gave us. Fortunately, just before losing our house, I was recalled to GM and even ended up getting an apprenticeship as a toolmaker. Some would say, “See, tithing works.”

Even though we had gone through a serious crisis in our young marriage, I didn’t understand what John meant in 1 John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

A few years later, we had friends who were in a worse situation than we had been. The wife and mother of three was on chemo for cancer and the dad had lost his job because of a severe back disorder. They were a very nice couple and very positive but were truly up against the wall. I remember that they told us about having to “borrow” toilet paper from the church because they literally had no money.

It never dawned on me that perhaps I should divert my tithe to help them. We gave them a few bucks but I would certainly not have stolen from my tithe to do so. I know they did receive some anonymous help, which they were very thankful for. I have no idea if the church helped them at all. If they did, it was never talked about. In fact, I don’t ever remember a sermon from the following passage that put Christian love into a tangible perspective.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
1 John 3:16-20

I look back on those days and realize I had the opportunity to see something for what it really was. I don’t think anyone was purposely being cruel or hardhearted. We, and this included the leadership, were being faithful to what we were being taught about tithing. (There is a different interpretation on tithing that I have written on titled, Malachi 3.)

I find myself reading passages that I had virtually not comprehended about caring for others and I am dismayed that I missed such simple language and instructions about making money in order to provide for my family and others.

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Ephesians 4:28

"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Acts 20:32-35

It seems that in my zeal to do what I had been taught, I had become what Jesus said of the Pharisees.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
Matthew 23:15

Perhaps what I regret the most about the tithing/offering model was that it depersonalized giving to such an extent that we missed the joy of seeing a single mom blessed with a new washing machine or sponsoring a third world orphan to go to university or whatever else the Lord would have put in Terry's and my heart to do. I was so busy giving to the church in "secret" (a sealed offering envelope) that I missed the opportunity of doing what Jesus said to do. "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."
John 16:9

The church system I was in did not put into practice, in any significant way, the basic message of demonstrating love by giving practically to others. I was quite proud of tithing to the church and teaching others to do the same. I literally loved our new building and being able to see our pastoral staff increase because of the great work we were doing. At the same time, friends had to steal toilet paper.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us.
1 John 3:18-20

We don't have to look far for opportunities to bless and/or help others. If you don't know anyone close at hand don't miss the opportunities of giving to those further away who will die without our help.

You might want to consider spending $100 to buy 4 goats for someone in Kenya which will give them a livelihood for life.

Or you might consider Hands at Work. A prophetic ministry to widows and orphans in South Africa.

If you want to personalize your giving to those far away you can go to www.facelessbook.com to get to know someone who is definitely worse off than you.

Are You Prochoice?

2009-03-03T09:48:00.005-05:00

I like to think that I have been prochoice for many years now. I have always thought people should have the right to make informed decisions. The challenge of course is how much information do we actively seek after in order to make those decisions. The reality is that we don’t always make choices from having all the information in front of us. Way too often we find ourselves making decisions for things other than truth issues.

Ironically, when it comes to church practices truth is often not a prime motivator for decision making. Political correctness and fitting in at church are generally higher priorities for people doing what they do.

Pastors are often guilty of how truth is presented. They give their interpretation and don’t allow for other points of view to be expressed. In some ways, they are like college professors, with lots of experience, who have learned how to handle questions from naive 18 year olds. More often that not, issues that have varied interpretations are not allowed to be discussed openly, allowing parishioners to make up their own mind.

This happened in 1906, with what Pentecostals would call the re-emergence of the acceptance of the gifts of the spirit. When the early Pentecostals had these life enhancing experiences they believed they would be able to go back to whatever churches they belonged to and bring them the fuller message of the gospel. History tells us they were severely chastised for bringing that kind of disruption to the group that they had faithfully been a part of. They didn’t plan to form into a new church, they just didn’t think they had other options.

Ironically, Pentecostal pastors would not allow things I write about in this blog, like tithing is not for today, offerings should primarily be used for the care of the less fortunate, pastors shouldn’t get paid or the Lord's supper is best practiced in homes as a meal, to be discussed openly within their church.

It seems that truth is in the eye of the pastor and it is his job to control his perspective on truth within his congregation. People are not given the chance to hear other points of view from the very pulpit that they pay for.

The mark of a great pastor these days is that he is able to get a large group of people to do what he wants. The goal of equipping believers to stand on their own two feet is usually not a primary consideration. Consequently, the label of being narrow minded can be easily attached to most church groups since they don’t allow differing viewpoints to be expressed openly and honestly. Generally, people are happy with this system, since it requires little brainpower from them and gives a semblance of peace.

Prochoice is definitely not highly valued within most churches that I am aware of. And I am sure that I have blinders on that I am not aware of. That's why we need each other without the stifling confines of aligning ourselves with group think or a single interpretation.

Going to Church and Being Friends

2009-03-01T07:47:00.010-05:00

Perhaps, the most revolutionary social idea that Jesus taught and practiced while on Earth was that God wants to be friends with us. Surprisingly it is grasped by very few of God's people. An even more threatening idea is that He also wants us to be friends with each other.

9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:9-17

I’ve done some informal surveys of people who go to church regarding their friendships in church. When asked, “Do you have many friends at church.” The answer was an emphatic, “Yes.” When asked what they did with these friends outside of a planned church activity the answer for many was “nothing.”

The glue that holds the friendship together is a church activity that required very little personal interaction with their friends. Often it was simply the 5-10 minutes of social interaction before and after a meeting that generally centered on the weather, the economy or sports. Obviously, I’m writing as a guy since the women would also talk about how the family is doing.

Friendships at church aren’t based on common interests or mutual building one another up. In fact, most members don’t know each other outside of a planned meeting context. Drop the meeting, drop the friendship is the golden rule of church membership.

Most people at church don’t know what is really going on in each others lives. Could we say as Jesus did, that everything we have learned from our heavenly Father, we have made known to our friends? Or is it more like, everything the pastor has ever known is quoted by the people.

There is a quiet, unobserved isolation that all too often, happens at church. Most people don’t realize it until they are in a marital, financial or health crisis. In many congregations you could quietly stop going and nobody would even notice. However, heaven help you if did something wrong because everyone would know that. In fact, some churches make you stand in front of the congregation to let them know the error of your ways. This is obviously done for mutual edification.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some real friendships in the institutional church, it simply means that most don’t experience them because of the institutional church model.

Jesus defines friendships by how he related to his disciples. 15”I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business.” In other words, friends know what is going on in each others lives.

John goes on to write about friendship in a way that was to define Jesus’ church. 16”This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
1 John 3:16-19

The sharing of possessions with those in need is a very tangible measurement of our love that cannot be fudged with spiritual jargon like, I'll pray for you. I was in an institutional church for 25+ years, tithed faithfully and yet I rarely practiced this kind of personalized giving, either as a layman and definitely not as a pastor. It simply never occurred to me or anyone that I was "friends" with. In fact, people rarely give these days if there is not a donation receipt attached to the giving and it is illegal to give to a specific person and get a receipt. (Pastors and single person ministries are the exception to this law.)

My guess is that in building centered churches as opposed to the friendship centered church, that even though we are in the greatest economic collapse since the great depression, we will not hear of institutional churches selling off holdings, stopping building programs and consolidating resources in order to make sure all of its members get through this.

Many people are praying for revival these days. The greatest revival would be one in which we get back to simply being friends with each other and learning to lay our lives and finances down for each other.

Doing God’s Will

2009-02-28T07:06:00.006-05:00

What does it mean to do God’s will? Is it praying, prophesying, going to church, preaching or caring? It would seem that in our day and the circles that I have come from, that spiritual issues like prophesying, performing miracles, preaching, praying and soul winning gets the greatest attention, while the more practical issues like caring for the poor and oppressed takes a distant backseat.

Jesus seems to have a different set of priorities. Let’s look at two different groups of people and how Jesus thought of each one.

Group 1
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Matthew 7:21-23

Group 2
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Matthew 25:31-40

It would seem that Group 1 was very aware of how spiritual they had been. They could document their visions, prophesies and miracles. Documenting these things was very important because it could have a profound effect on the financial bottom line and/or the amount of prestige and power one could garner. And yet Jesus said he never knew some of them.

Ironically, Group 2 was practically unaware that what they had been doing was living out God’s will in the way He truly intended. But Jesus was very aware of them and welcomed them with open arms.

In both cases, listening to sermons or the size of the church one comes from does not even get honorable mention. Even more surprisingly is that soul winning isn't on the list either.

It is a dangerous deception when we are more interested in the “glory” spiritual activities of prophesying, preaching, receiving visions, evangelizing, going to church and even performing miracles, while at the same time ignoring helping the poor and the oppressed in very practical ways.

What if Starbucks Marketed Like the Church

2009-02-22T06:44:00.001-05:00

Does this sum up the latest craze for looking for the holy grail of relevancy at church?

Why are We Afraid of our Homes?

2009-02-21T10:27:00.024-05:00

No church historian would argue that the early church met in homes. Not only was it normative for them to do so, but it was practical and allowed for true community to exist in a face to face atmosphere.

There are 58 exhortations of “one-anothering” in the New Testament: love one another, care for one another, encourage one another, etc… A larger sampling can be found in an early blog, titled, A Layman's Job Description. These are face to face encounters that require some form of letting go of our natural bent towards selfishness and self-centredness.

The church was never viewed as a building but a gathering of God’s people.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila…Greet also the church that meets at their house.
Romans 16:3,5
Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
Colossians 4:15
To Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home.
Philemon 2

Since the time of Constantine (320 AD) there has been a love affair with buildings that created a distinction of sacred/secular, clergy/laity and the corresponding costs that the early church knew nothing of. In the United States, building centered churches own about $230 billion worth of real estate with Christians giving about $10 billion each year to them.

I have even heard numerous ministers referring to their building as a witness within their community. For the first three hundred years the church thrived without such a witness. Besides, Jesus did not say that the world would know we are his disciples by the size or beauty of our building. But He did say that He would be known by our love for one another.
John 13

On the other side of the balance sheet there are no limits to size or outreach associated with meeting in homes. As the church grows, people simply meet in more homes. There are no fund raising pleas, more leadership is encouraged and released, personal participation is not only welcomed but needed. The numbers are small enough to allow for creative approaches to caring for and discipling one another. Helping the needy is doable since funds are not being diverted to salaries and buildings. The care can also go beyond daily needs but may even be personalized into teaching someone to fish.

Simple examples might be combining resources to give a scholarship to a child from a needy home either locally or internationally. Or the group might work together to sponsor an entire orphanage. A village in Africa could receive solar powered electricity for the cost of $35,000. Any one of these is not beyond the scope of what 4-8 families could accomplish in a single year.

A large group of people, meeting in a sacred building, do not have the ability to care for one another, equip all believers or strengthen authentic relationships better than a small, intimate group of people meeting in their own homes. In fact, brick and mortar buildings and meetings tend to undermine these values. Howard Snyder puts it beautifully,

"The New Testament teaches us that the church is a community in which all are gifted and all have ministry. The church as taught in Scripture is a new social reality that models and incarnates the respect and concern for people that we see in Jesus Himself. This is our high calling. And yet the church, in fact, often betrays this calling. Churches meeting in homes are a big part of the way out of this betrayal and this paradox. Face-to-face community breeds mutual respect, mutual responsibility, mutual submission, and mutual ministry. The sociology of meeting in homes fosters a sense of equality and mutual worth, though it doesn’t guarantee it as the Corinthian church shows.

The New Testament principles of the priesthood of believers, the gifts of the Spirit, and mutual ministry are found most naturally in this informal context,

Meeting in homes is revolutionary because they incarnate this radical teaching that all are gifted and all are ministers. They offer some hope for healing the body of Christ from some of its worst heresies: that some believers are more valuable others, that only some Christians are ministers, and that the gifts of the Spirit are no longer to function in our age. These heresies cannot be healed in theory or in theology only. They must be healed in practice and relationship in the social form of the church."

For ministers to say they love the teachings of New Testament without appreciating the context in which these teachings are applied is akin to saying one can enjoy the game of basketball while playing on an ice hockey rink. The difficulty for many Christians is that what they think is a Biblical standard of belonging to a local church with a building, a paid elder (pastor) and established services was unheard of during the days of the first apostles, well into the third century.

In a rather strange inversion of priorities many modern day Christians gravitate to a model which is financially costly compared to the early church model that financially cost very little. The irony is that which doesn't need to be done frequently and could be done individually is done frequently (meeting for a sermon) and that which does need to be done frequently, "one anothering" is rarely done or is at best seen as optional. It seems we would rather pay money for a setting that enables a high degree of anonymity while staring at the back of a stranger's or acquaintance's head rather than paying the higher price of actually knowing one another in face to face encounters. What would you have preferred, being one of the 5,000 that Jesus fed or being a participant in the Last Supper?

While it is true that there are no edicts to say one must meet in homes in order to mature and love one another, it is impossible to understand the early church outside of this context. Peter argued strongly that we are His building,
"you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 2:5

There is definitely no command or even a single example of exclusive sacred buildings as a focal point for Christian activity. I gave no edict to my son when he got married that he should find a home for his new bride, he simply knew from example that to raise a family a home was required.

Meeting in homes does require input from travelling leaders like apostles, prophets and evangelists. Local elders also need to learn to work creatively together. There will likely be special times when the many small house groups will come together to be a witness that we are one Body, one church within the city. This was a pattern in the New Testament as well. This would happen infrequently since the core values of "one anothering" would already be happening regularly. Without these functions working cooperatively, it is definitely possible to become inward, exclusive and fragmented. Brick and mortar churches face this same dilemma. That's why we need these sources of wisdom equipping us.
Ephesians 4

So the bottom line is why are we afraid of homes as the main venue for nurturing and building up one another? Perhaps the better question is, what New Testament practice can be done better in a sacred building than in a home?

A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn’t the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn’t flat. When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.
Dresden James