1 John 4: 1-6
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Here is the conundrum of our day: How does one respond when people profess Jesus Christ and manifest behavior which appears in conflict with the spirit of the teachings of Christ?
Your thoughts?
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Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Spirit of the Code. Part Three.
In this post, the remaining excerpts from a church "Code" are examined. This is the church body that removed a special needs child who reacted with a loud but joyful noise following a praise song.
We Are All About the Numbers – Tracking metrics measures effectiveness. We unapologetically set goals and measure progress through all available quantitative means.
This author has to wonder if this code may help explain their behavior. Do they maintain their decorum as an honor to God or protect their attendance records? Also, does this attitude quietly suggest that something is wrong with "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I (Jesus) am in the midst of them." The modern, American church experience is often justified inside more church buildings than simply the one in question on the basis of the number of people drawn into the sanctuary. Regardless of the number jumping in, seems like a more important measure is the spiritual maturity being gained by those who are participating in the spirit of the group. How many of these "unapologetically" gathered are faithfully finding the spiritual rest, which in turn manifests the fruits of the spirit?
We Need Your Seat – We will not cater to personal preference in our mission to reach this city. We are more concerned with the people we are trying to reach than the people we are trying to keep.
Clearly the scripture makes no direct statement on how to accept a person with cerebral palsy and its physical limitations into the group gathering. However, the spirit behind a policy of removal from the gathering of one so weak feels alien to the spirit of love, patience, and goodness which we Christians proclaim is the evidence, the fruit, of the Presence of the Spirit of Christ.
We Act in Audacious Faith -- In order to dominate a city with the gospel of Jesus, we can’t think small. We will set impossible goals, take bold steps of faith and watch God move.
Domination and manipulation are the signature characteristics of the spirit of the age, the spirit of the anti-Christ. Can a group set out to "dominate" in the spirit of Christ? Has any group been called to domination of a city? Two enter a home which greets them with peace or the two leave a city shaking the dust from their feet can be found as the direction of Jesus. Preaching to thousands can be found in the "Acts of the Apostles". Domination of a city is not found in the New Testament. Are the attitudes and decisions needed to fulfill this part of the code justifiable in view of "blessed are the meek," and "blessed are the poor in spirit." Sometimes as Christians we adopt the ways of the gentiles to achieve the ends we perceive give glory to God. However, I think God holds us accountable for the ways, means and ends. An appearance of godly outcomes may be just that.
I mentioned before, I do not intend to condemn, nonetheless I am convinced the Code of the church in question is very much an evidence of what weakens the message of the gospel being preached in this spirit.
We Are All About the Numbers – Tracking metrics measures effectiveness. We unapologetically set goals and measure progress through all available quantitative means.
This author has to wonder if this code may help explain their behavior. Do they maintain their decorum as an honor to God or protect their attendance records? Also, does this attitude quietly suggest that something is wrong with "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I (Jesus) am in the midst of them." The modern, American church experience is often justified inside more church buildings than simply the one in question on the basis of the number of people drawn into the sanctuary. Regardless of the number jumping in, seems like a more important measure is the spiritual maturity being gained by those who are participating in the spirit of the group. How many of these "unapologetically" gathered are faithfully finding the spiritual rest, which in turn manifests the fruits of the spirit?
We Need Your Seat – We will not cater to personal preference in our mission to reach this city. We are more concerned with the people we are trying to reach than the people we are trying to keep.
Clearly the scripture makes no direct statement on how to accept a person with cerebral palsy and its physical limitations into the group gathering. However, the spirit behind a policy of removal from the gathering of one so weak feels alien to the spirit of love, patience, and goodness which we Christians proclaim is the evidence, the fruit, of the Presence of the Spirit of Christ.
We Act in Audacious Faith -- In order to dominate a city with the gospel of Jesus, we can’t think small. We will set impossible goals, take bold steps of faith and watch God move.
Domination and manipulation are the signature characteristics of the spirit of the age, the spirit of the anti-Christ. Can a group set out to "dominate" in the spirit of Christ? Has any group been called to domination of a city? Two enter a home which greets them with peace or the two leave a city shaking the dust from their feet can be found as the direction of Jesus. Preaching to thousands can be found in the "Acts of the Apostles". Domination of a city is not found in the New Testament. Are the attitudes and decisions needed to fulfill this part of the code justifiable in view of "blessed are the meek," and "blessed are the poor in spirit." Sometimes as Christians we adopt the ways of the gentiles to achieve the ends we perceive give glory to God. However, I think God holds us accountable for the ways, means and ends. An appearance of godly outcomes may be just that.
I mentioned before, I do not intend to condemn, nonetheless I am convinced the Code of the church in question is very much an evidence of what weakens the message of the gospel being preached in this spirit.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Of What Spirit is the Church "Code"? Second in a three part series
So how do we qualify the spirit of a group?
Examining the Code statements of the group in the previous post, and consider each separately against the scriptures.
1. We Are Known for What We Are For – We will speak vision and life over our people. We will lift up the salvation of Jesus rather than using our platform to condemn.
Nothing to take issue with here. Most of us Christians would agree and say something similar. It also appears fully in line with the revelation of Jesus.
Luke 9:54-56A
When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."
2. We Are Ruth's Chris, Not Golden Corral – Simplicity enables excellence. We place a disproportionate value on creating a worship experience that boldly celebrates Jesus and attracts people far from God.
Likewise, most Christians would agree with attracting others by lifting up Jesus.
John 12:28-32
"Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven : "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered ; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. "Now judgment is upon this world ; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
3. We Are United Under the Visionary – "church name" is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will aggressively defend our unity and his vision.
Here, I would sound an alarm.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Oh, the dangers of lifting up the vision of one human as the vision of God for others! I am certain Pastor Steve is a fine guy, but he is just a man. The anointing is on Jesus--Christ means anointed--and as He dwells in the believer, so the anointing of God is on the believer. The anointing of God pours itself out on the righteousness of Jesus, and is therefore on each of us. To place maintaining unity on the "vision" of one man sounds good as long as it works--meaning the man is able to continue unify people around his continuing efforts. However, it begs the question of whether or not these people are unified in spirit, and in particular, are they unified in the Spirit of Christ? What unity do Christians find by declaring unity in spirit with a singular person?
Quite simply, the code as written is not in line with Ephesians 4 above. The revelation of the Word of God tells us to be unified in the Spirit of Christ not the leader's vision.
Most likely, the answer given by those who would recognize the above recorded code or something similar from their church is that the word choice is just semantics. Since Pastor Steve lifts up Jesus and is their leader, they are unified around Jesus.
I would contend there is a spiritual function associated with wording of the code that undercuts reliance on the Spirit of Christ. The power of group-think is hard to recognize inside of the group, but it is nonetheless real. Worded as is, what happens if one disagrees with anything Pastor Steve says? We are all subject to subjective emotional forces in the soul. We often adhere to a group's unwritten codes as a means of self-protection and self-justification. In a group that reinforces moral living, this force is not regarded as a bad influence. Yet, if Jesus is not the source of righteousness but merely one man's voice about Jesus, has something vitally important in the spirit of the group been sacrificed?
In part three, we will examine the remaining codes I highlighted in the original post.
Examining the Code statements of the group in the previous post, and consider each separately against the scriptures.
1. We Are Known for What We Are For – We will speak vision and life over our people. We will lift up the salvation of Jesus rather than using our platform to condemn.
Nothing to take issue with here. Most of us Christians would agree and say something similar. It also appears fully in line with the revelation of Jesus.
Luke 9:54-56A
When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."
2. We Are Ruth's Chris, Not Golden Corral – Simplicity enables excellence. We place a disproportionate value on creating a worship experience that boldly celebrates Jesus and attracts people far from God.
Likewise, most Christians would agree with attracting others by lifting up Jesus.
John 12:28-32
"Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven : "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered ; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. "Now judgment is upon this world ; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
3. We Are United Under the Visionary – "church name" is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will aggressively defend our unity and his vision.
Here, I would sound an alarm.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Oh, the dangers of lifting up the vision of one human as the vision of God for others! I am certain Pastor Steve is a fine guy, but he is just a man. The anointing is on Jesus--Christ means anointed--and as He dwells in the believer, so the anointing of God is on the believer. The anointing of God pours itself out on the righteousness of Jesus, and is therefore on each of us. To place maintaining unity on the "vision" of one man sounds good as long as it works--meaning the man is able to continue unify people around his continuing efforts. However, it begs the question of whether or not these people are unified in spirit, and in particular, are they unified in the Spirit of Christ? What unity do Christians find by declaring unity in spirit with a singular person?
Quite simply, the code as written is not in line with Ephesians 4 above. The revelation of the Word of God tells us to be unified in the Spirit of Christ not the leader's vision.
Most likely, the answer given by those who would recognize the above recorded code or something similar from their church is that the word choice is just semantics. Since Pastor Steve lifts up Jesus and is their leader, they are unified around Jesus.
I would contend there is a spiritual function associated with wording of the code that undercuts reliance on the Spirit of Christ. The power of group-think is hard to recognize inside of the group, but it is nonetheless real. Worded as is, what happens if one disagrees with anything Pastor Steve says? We are all subject to subjective emotional forces in the soul. We often adhere to a group's unwritten codes as a means of self-protection and self-justification. In a group that reinforces moral living, this force is not regarded as a bad influence. Yet, if Jesus is not the source of righteousness but merely one man's voice about Jesus, has something vitally important in the spirit of the group been sacrificed?
In part three, we will examine the remaining codes I highlighted in the original post.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Would You Move a Special Needs Child to a Separate Room from Other Worshippers?
A friend shared a You-Tube video on Facebook. The video told the story of a woman's experience with her special needs child and a local church this past spring at the service to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.
The child, I'm guessing the age at about 10, has cerebral palsy on the more severe side. During the worship, the child became enthralled with the music and expressed his pleasure loudly. Ushers quickly appeared and escorted mother and son to an over flow room for the remainder of the morning's service.
The charms of our modern world surely reveal our tainted logic, eh?
I guess my initial reaction was strong and negative.
Wanting to understand why such a strong element of controlling the atmosphere in the worship experience is maintained, I visited the church website and found they have a twelve point "Code", separate from their belief statement. The Code outlines their position on many facets of church life and policy which are faced by groups of organized Christians across the US.
Here are several I copied for consideration:
We Are Ruth's Chris, Not Golden Corral – Simplicity enables excellence. We place a disproportionate value on creating a worship experience that boldly celebrates Jesus and attracts people far from God.
We Are United Under the Visionary – "church name" is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will aggressively defend our unity and his vision.
We Are All About the Numbers – Tracking metrics measures effectiveness. We unapologetically set goals and measure progress through all available quantitative means.
We Are Known for What We Are For – We will speak vision and life over our people. We will lift up the salvation of Jesus rather than using our platform to condemn.
We Need Your Seat – We will not cater to personal preference in our mission to reach this city. We are more concerned with the people we are trying to reach than the people we are trying to keep.
We Act in Audacious Faith -- In order to dominate a city with the gospel of Jesus, we can’t think small. We will set impossible goals, take bold steps of faith and watch God move.
What do you think about the happening in the Wild Wood?
The child, I'm guessing the age at about 10, has cerebral palsy on the more severe side. During the worship, the child became enthralled with the music and expressed his pleasure loudly. Ushers quickly appeared and escorted mother and son to an over flow room for the remainder of the morning's service.
The charms of our modern world surely reveal our tainted logic, eh?
I guess my initial reaction was strong and negative.
Wanting to understand why such a strong element of controlling the atmosphere in the worship experience is maintained, I visited the church website and found they have a twelve point "Code", separate from their belief statement. The Code outlines their position on many facets of church life and policy which are faced by groups of organized Christians across the US.
Here are several I copied for consideration:
We Are Ruth's Chris, Not Golden Corral – Simplicity enables excellence. We place a disproportionate value on creating a worship experience that boldly celebrates Jesus and attracts people far from God.
We Are United Under the Visionary – "church name" is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will aggressively defend our unity and his vision.
We Are All About the Numbers – Tracking metrics measures effectiveness. We unapologetically set goals and measure progress through all available quantitative means.
We Are Known for What We Are For – We will speak vision and life over our people. We will lift up the salvation of Jesus rather than using our platform to condemn.
We Need Your Seat – We will not cater to personal preference in our mission to reach this city. We are more concerned with the people we are trying to reach than the people we are trying to keep.
We Act in Audacious Faith -- In order to dominate a city with the gospel of Jesus, we can’t think small. We will set impossible goals, take bold steps of faith and watch God move.
What do you think about the happening in the Wild Wood?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Doing Religion as a Crutch or Being in Him
God is The compelling motivator of loving actions. However actions separated from His Presence are not the evidence that we love God. It is difficult to separate what we feel from and for God and the actions which will follow, yet we must guard against doing the actions alone.
"Being" in the Holy Spirit is the fullness of spiritual life as compared to "doing" for God which becomes a role to play through one's life. Faith must embrace His perfect love as the basis to cast out fear, pride and lust from the heart. The will must exert itself to release one's self of emotional attachments to the material world. Notice I did not say to people. I am not suggesting a life of solitary asceticism. Owning property does not have to be loving and living for the property. See Colossians chapter 2.
An act of the will to turn from the material realm and embrace the Holy Spirit is a more holy decision than tithing 90% or pew sitting every time the bell rings or spending time with another human, while not actually engaged in loving him or her, just to have "given" something of one's self.
The result is a spiritual reality of finding ourselves within His Presence and knowing where He leads in finding daily our significance as a priest to God.
I have a sincere trust in the view that the voice of many brings into focus the fullest possible meaning of the Scripture and a greater understanding of God than the solitary view will support.
Please feel free to engage in a conversation and express your view.
"Being" in the Holy Spirit is the fullness of spiritual life as compared to "doing" for God which becomes a role to play through one's life. Faith must embrace His perfect love as the basis to cast out fear, pride and lust from the heart. The will must exert itself to release one's self of emotional attachments to the material world. Notice I did not say to people. I am not suggesting a life of solitary asceticism. Owning property does not have to be loving and living for the property. See Colossians chapter 2.
An act of the will to turn from the material realm and embrace the Holy Spirit is a more holy decision than tithing 90% or pew sitting every time the bell rings or spending time with another human, while not actually engaged in loving him or her, just to have "given" something of one's self.
The result is a spiritual reality of finding ourselves within His Presence and knowing where He leads in finding daily our significance as a priest to God.
I have a sincere trust in the view that the voice of many brings into focus the fullest possible meaning of the Scripture and a greater understanding of God than the solitary view will support.
Please feel free to engage in a conversation and express your view.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Musing # 438,472
John 4
21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know ; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know ; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Who Gets Honor
16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves (one devoted to another to the disregard of his own interests) of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2: 16,17
So do we honor the Muslim, too? The Hindu and Communist? Even a Democrat!?
So do we honor the Muslim, too? The Hindu and Communist? Even a Democrat!?
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