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.

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.

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.

Thanksgiving 2010

I am thankful to be learning the ways of the Spirit of Christ

Facing life standing on the Revelation of Jesus Christ,

All in all He is enough.

Imagining the wonders of God,

Thanksgiving and supplication in all requests of Him,

Hope is a continual state.

Facing inward to the In-Dwelling Holy Spirit,

Always at rest in the power of heaven's love

Intent on becoming the fullness of His purpose for me,

Trusting in all tribulations that His goodness is supreme,

Hindrances of the soul's burden cast on Him -- I embrace spirit

Facing upward into the grace of the Father,

Altogether the Family of God holds onto one another,

Independence of will to choose His righteous leading,

Turning away fears in confidence that He holds my family and me,

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Continuing Confessions, Part 2

I sometimes have doubt. Not about God, about me. That is the honest thing to say. When I wrote the previous post, I wrote in first person about fears I guess occur among those in American Christianity. I actually don't think about death too much. I do think about growing older, which approaches thinking about death I suppose. I do try to keep my cholesterol down! Leave the meat off the sandwich, but place a reasonable amount of cheese, please. Pepper jack.

I have determined doubts are totally a function of identifying with my old nature instead of the Risen Christ, alive in me by an act of grace on His part. My natural man is given to anxiety. There were once days and now occasional moments when anxiety over my Christian experience or even just having the money to accomplish something in particular is pushing into my heart. I am not concerned about this. I recognize it as part of the territory of being a fallen creature saved by grace and brought into new life in the spirit.

The struggle in Romans 7, eh? There are the times in my life--still--when I feel like the old me instead of the new me. Act like it, too, if I'm not diligent to submit myself to God even more fully in those moments. Plainly stated, there are times when I feel mean-spirited, down-cast, anxious, impatient, discourteous, a seeker of pleasure, wanting my own way, willing to lash out, and have done so if I've become angry enough to cast self-control aside willingly.

Of course, there are degrees to all of this and many folks would compare me to others or themselves and say that doesn't sound like the David I know. Well, we know comparsions among ourselves are not wise. These who would think I am not like I have described above don't know my thoughts or the jerks my heart goes through. I am all too aware that Jesus said something to the effect that there is no difference between an action and a desire. He was speaking of lust, I know. From my life experience, the principle really applies to all of our desires. If I embrace a feeling, identify with it, call it me and watch it bounce around in my heart, imagining logical actions that would feel satisfying to my old nature to live out, is there any difference? Isn't the desire to be sarcastic to someone I judge to be stupid the same as doing so? That judging someone to be insipid or insidious or whatever is a fairly large log in my eye.

Or so it is in the Wild Wood.

A Confession: Part 1 of a new blog series that doesn't really have a name.

What if I do not have my name written in the Lamb’s book of life? Only God knows, of course, as Jesus delivers both the statement, “Well done good and faithful servant; enter into My rest,” and its opposite when He says, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.”

“OMG….NO!!!” I shout as I receive the blunt word.

He need not even speak, “Yes.” There will be no reconsideration once the words are out of His mouth. There doesn’t need to be. He knows my faith wasn't faith at all. He speaks His judgment; it was so of me and now revealed. Thus I am sent into an eternal future.

Fears gripping my gospel hostage are of death and of life.

The gospel I tell myself exists allows me to be coddled by an assurrance my sin can be no other way, and God loves me in my sin. Of course, grace alone saves, and it does so covering all of sin. Yet this self-made gospel skirts the issue of a transformation unto holiness by focusing on positive and beautiful platitudes. I mold the gospel into something like a living room prepared for a Better Homes and Gardens cover photograph: immaculate in the beautiful composition of textures, colors and interesting focus pieces, but in which I do not actually live.

I am afraid of dying, and instead of realizing in the fullness of Christ in my heart that He dispels all fear of the body’s passing, I pursue worldly dreams of fulfillment so that the moment of death comes without regrets of I have not “lived” life.

I am afraid of dying impoverished.

I am afraid of dying ashamed of my accomplishments.

I am afraid of dying and never having connected honestly and deeply with others.

I am a afraid of emotional pain and avoid it, but ironically once I am on death’s door there is no changing all the bad decisions of self-comfort with which I chose to live.

Where is the faith in Jesus which fills all in all so that the world is nothing but an alien land through which I pass with my only reason to be as giving heavenly succor to others?

Which shifts me, obviously, to the decisions I make in life.

I am afraid of living…

Because I am afraid of loving.

Christian Groups: Human and Supernatural

Is God's intent to foster a group of people prepared to enter into His intimacy for eternity or is it to establish a personal relationship with individuals?

Though you will hear both ideas in most groups, around here below the Mason-Dixon line there is a definite framework in which the words "Gospel of Jesus Christ" will be heard. That framework is that God's intent is salvation of the individual and intimacy with God for eternity is the reward for those who are so saved.

This theological framework is marketed (unfortunately not used metaphorically) by the tag line, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." So begins the gospel pitch to a me-oriented population. The gospel of Jesus Christ has become a passionate, evangelical hawking of salvation which warps the perspective by which God is known and the manner in which He is sought.

The irony is that all the words used are literally true and therefore continually draw new converts into the status-quo matrix of large organizations collecting vast sums of money, dollars often used for very real good works in addition to uses less noble. So why am I against this? Well, I'm not, if I can be allowed to split a hair or two.

Being against something and examining the same object under a critical-thinking lens are not necessarily the same thing. Nothing in my heart desires to see denominations deconstructed or ecumenically fused. The status-quo is there for a reason and supports many good people and good initiatives.

Yet, neither can I remain silent as I think I see something through which Christians might find themselves more deeply satisfied individually and, therefore, equipped more fully to seek the superlative spiritual life described in the Bible.

The solution to unfulfilling group-think, a condition which has the potential to become cumbersome and even rob adherents of spiritual life, is to seek a simple existence together as family in God and before Him.

Ephesians 4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming ; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together *by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

I contend that systematic theologies, named theologies, regional theologies, et cetera and et al, fail the simple truths in the Bible by masking them and reducing the clarity with which the Bible speaks. A group of believers who will purpose to build itself in love through submission to the spiritual headship of Jesus will learn to please God together. Individual needs will be met as the whole is prepared to spend eternity with God. It is more complicated than rocket science, perhaps, as it involves humans and not mathematical formulas; nonetheless, the Christian walk together in a group is uniquely sublime in its simplicity and profundity. Why do we bother over making it unnecessarily comlex?

My Opinion and the Truth

My stated opinion in the last post likely caused discomfort for some readers, as it may have seemed I had taken a tack of attack. I appreciate that and today would like to qualify my position.

First, with a quote from postmodern redneck's comment to the last post:

"Always keep a distinction in your mind between the actual words of Scripture, and the interpretations you and others put on them. Almost all the fighting is over interpretations; and unlike Scripture, interpretations are not divinely inspired and are not guaranteed to be inerrant."

Second, it's a given churches are "divided" groups just from the regional function of meeting with those in some sort of proximity to one another. Is there something wrong with that? Uh, no.

Aside: I was once in a discussion with a pastor who invited me to attend his church. Since the location of that building and hence the meeting to which he invited me was over twenty miles from my house, I declined over the practicality of his suggestion. He countered with one family in his flock drove a hundred miles round-trip to attend and there was a veiled reference to no price is too great for commitment to the Truth. That begs the question of the line between commitment and extremism, but I can't allow myself to become side-tracked!

Which brings up, perhaps, the defining question of why we have denominations (and non-denominational groups who have the flavor of denominations), and what is wrong with people meeting with others of like mind?

Whose truth?

I do not suggest, as a Campbellite of yore might, that I know how to foster the restored church of the New Testament. That is an example of the kind of red herring many of the rationales are which form the basis of particular-group theologies. That is, in attempting to create a pure society of Christians or a sanctified culture which honors the holiness of God, groups of Christians will sometimes put an over emphasis on some interpretation of Scripture and thus fail God's fullest will.

That I even write the words "God's fullest will" is an example of how things might go wrong. Me stating that God's fullest will is anything in particular reduces God to fitting in a box I have created in my rationale intended to qualify meanings I see in the Bible.

There is much tension in attempting to articulate Truth!

Maybe apostasy is the result of shrinking from that tension in denial of what is needed. If that be true, then this discussion is necessary. Ultimately the real problems which are faced by Christian meetings known as church are articulated clearly in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation and other specifics in Scripture. A topic like this serves an evil end if pursued to the point of polarizing brethren around defense and offense of any man-developed truth, the exact emotional dynamic I decry in the last post. Conversely however, is there not a positive outcome in examining what about our groups fosters lukewarmness and other abandonments of our first love, Jesus?

Next up, my take on the solution to the problems of group-think in the church.

Affected or Affectionate

For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:8

I get a kick out of being startled by the Word of God.

Recently Philippians chapter one jumped into my attention space. I began returning to the selection fairly regularly to digest again and listen to the Spirit. This morning, I noticed the verse above and checked the meaning in the Greek of affection.

The kick was in the gut--literally as the word means bowels. Well, that's the first definition. The third statement describing connotations of the one meaning is a heart in which mercy dwells.

I tend to think of affection as a physical manifestation of tender feelings. This is, of course, the show of affection. Yet, the word as used indicates to me an acknowledgement by Paul that his affective domain, the realm of his emotional being, is tender and full of mercy toward the Philippians, and that he ascribes this state to Jesus. He is not saying he can't wait to be hugging on them, though if with them most likely would express what he feels in that way.

Further, since (according to Strong) the Hebrews regarded the bowels as the seat of the more tender emotions of kindness and mercy, I was struck by the very limited way I have understood affection. I have defined affection as an act. Paul here uses the word to state the condition of his inner-being.

It causes me to question: When will our devotion to Christ, our abiding in Him become so real to us that we are released within to the freedom and authority of a gut level sense of mercy toward one another within the Body of Christ? When will we abandon ourselves to one another emotionally far beyond the affected, obligatory cultural construct of showing physically something we believe ideally perhaps, but do not fully emotionally embrace because of fear or pride?

We modern Christians live in a world where the headlines about predatory priests are but one of the fearsome depravities with which humanity is afflicted. Have we let the world around us hollow our guts of the tenderness which is Christ's mercy? If there were more affection, more depth of the feeling of it within our God-families, would some who have been of the faith but fallen into depravity been equipped by the emotional sustenance flowing from those with whom she or he walked, such that the lure of lust could not have masqueraded as a desirable end?

Obedience? (adapted from a letter I recently wrote to my children)

What is the nature of the term obedience in a Christian context? Many, including me, have held to various forms of legalism to achieve the beauty of obedience--embracing futility with fervor, certainly, and as certainly a residing in death. Andrew and George spar somewhat in the previous post over the issue, as we know Christians throughout time have done and continue to do.

Consider the two great commandments: love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; love your neighbor as yourself. These two statements are a great organizer of a believer's thoughts and actions. Lining things up with these two daily, life works fairly simply. If we focus on the active verb "love" the Bible has more to say. 1 Corinthians 13 comes to mind, of course. Here, if we are having trouble sorting out whether or not what we feel is love, we have a guide sure and true. Sometimes what I feel as "love" is really my selfishness feeling sentimental. However, I might insist my action proves my obedience to God even as my “love” serves my own selfish ends. The challenge becomes to learn obedience to one's conscience, the sensitivity of which is developed both according to the Truth in the scriptures and through actively living in the Spirit.

My regular readers, friends and family know I am all about moving Christian experience from a legalistic application of the scripture to the revealed Truth of Jesus in-dwelling the believer. The scriptures point the believer to an experience of being united with the Holy Spirit. Anything less is just sentimentality or manipulation of words. Yet, as I have listened to others speak of the active guide of the Holy Spirit, I have found people saying things that undermine the trustworthiness of the Bible as a revelation of God. I recognize how the Bible has been used to harm as some push its meanings to parameters that are not in line with the revealed Truth of the Spirit of Jesus within. That is a problem, but a pendulum swing away from reliance on the written Word is not the answer believers need. However, on the opposite end of this spectrum, to rely on the Word alone can sometimes create an idol of the self who is one that “keeps the whole word of truth.” The self becomes qualified for adoration by its own “spiritual” achievement.

The paradoxes we face!!

The reality is that we walk a walk with a living God; God actively loves humanity and in-dwells the believer. However, the understanding to begin and maintain this walk is most often supported by the written Word. Thus we enter and live trusting the in-dwelling Presence we connect with through our conscience. Christianity isn't understanding the Bible alone or understanding living from within one's heart alone. These dispositions are in harmony with one another not in opposition. (Since the Creation speaks of Him, I don't think we can discount coming to know Him without the Word. Who are we to limit God speaking of and revealing Himself? Even so, such an experience of revelation is limited if it never comes to involve the revelation of the Scripture.)

Can one live the Christian life fully with the two Great commandments alone and trusting the Holy Spirit within? I think “yes” and “no.” God exists in such singularity of eternity that within the human understanding we must always grasp at knowing Him by holding onto tension created within paradox. This is one example of paradox. The whole of God’s intent might be summarized as the Two Great Commandments. The fullness of its meaning is grasped by embracing with faith the reality of the in-dwelling Christ.

So “yes” this is enough. It is the complete gospel: God has redeemed man who has become a holder, an ark, of the Divine Being. In this place, our personal responsibility becomes to love God and others.

Paradoxically, it is a “no” this is not enough for fully living the Christian life: There are two reasons. First, we are subjective creatures. Humans think according to what they believe in the depths of the heart. This thinking is self-referential. We reflect on what we believe to determine our decisions--thus our belief system which is skewed with error leads our decisions. Also, we will act instantly without true decision-making from an inner place where we do not even recognize we are guided by self and not outside-of-self insights. How does one learn to sort out a direction from God against these feeling-generating beliefs that are ours subjectively? Case in point, how do we know our feelings of love are the pure love of God and not our selfishness to love our own way? This requires taking the command to love and analyzing it, learning it according to other teachings in the Bible which reveal the nature of the word love.

Second, we need other people to hear what we say and think, to watch how we act and react and give us honest feedback. That is, we cannot simply take the two Great Commandments and think we are thus equipped to live life fully unto the Lord Jesus. We must enter into real relationships where love is practiced to fully understand love. We need others to experience our love and respond. How do we know we need fellowship? From the written Word and from within our hearts in union with Jesus. How do we get the courage to risk love? From the written Word and from within our hearts in union with Jesus.

The conclusion I draw for myself is...The Bible reveals Truth, Jesus, and can be trusted in what it says in guiding us into the living, active relationship with the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. The Bible reveals the insights we need to fully dwell with God, neither squandering nor exaggerating the meanings of life or love according to our subjectivity. Living in the Spirit and considering the Word cannot be separated functionally.

As a young believer I searched the scriptures to understand Jesus. As an older Christian, I rest in Jesus to reveal more Truth to me through the scripture and my daily life among others.

A Common Exchange over Change

The black-white segregated world I knew as kid, the one that closed the local swimming pool rather than integrate in submission to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, is radically changed. Radical does not mean swift. It has taken forty-five years.

In a sultry, stifling Atlanta, Georgia summer of '64 , I sulked over the prejudices of my parents and the community at large keeping me from swapping a quarter for an afternoon in that pool. All summers in the deep South I remember stifled in more ways than the experience of the oppressive humidity. Alas, the only places to escape the heat waving off car hoods and pavement was browsing comic books off the rack in the air-conditioned drug store or the city pool. Mr. McCurdy, the pharmacist, would only allow a nine year old to peruse the comics for a brief time without a glare and the pool, filled with that glorious crystal water, lay locked behind an eight foot high, chain-link fence. Mr. McCurdy did allow blacks to enter the drug store for their prescriptions through the back door. In that time defined by one hundred hating years between blacks and whites where the oppression of people was never escaped, what I witnessed four days ago would have been unthinkable even in a comic book fantasy.

We stopped for a break and fill-up at the cheapest station on our I-40 journey through eastern North Carolina. After paying at the pump, I entered the convenience mart for coffee. My daughter wanted some, as well. I shared the floor space before the multiple carafes and cappuccino machine with an American women of coffee-tone skin, about fifteen years my senior. She and I did the polite reach-around-one-another-while-honoring-personal-space dance, as she needed sugar from near the same spot I filled my daughter's cup with French vanilla; then we both needed lids at the same time.

Moments later, I stood behind her in the check-out line. The cashier of European descent might have been described as flesh-toned forty-five years ago, as if the woman in front of me purchasing coffee were not covered in flesh. The cashier announced the total owed for two coffees by the matron in front of me, who proceeded to count out the amount in change. A bare few moments passed, not enough mind you, to need a human breaking an awkward silence but enough to hold a comment.

"I like the Christmas mouse on your shirt," offered the cashier. (Yes, it is the middle of February, but you know those matrons can spit in the wind and wear purple.) My check-out line companion nodded acknowledgment of the compliment but finished counting. She looked the cashier in the eye while passing the handful of change, who answered while taking the change with an unusual, "Thank you." What made those last words unusual was the warmth I thought I detected.

Verifying the emotional level I sensed from the cashier, the matron replied genuinely, "You have a blessed day."

I stepped up to the counter feeling that moment, feeling the honesty and the nature of it. I recognized something in the spirit of the moment totally alien to what I knew about exchanges between people of varied colors in 1964. The cognitive words I spoke to the cashier became only a vehicle for a deeper bit of human involvement. I wanted to add to the spirit in which she had addressed the lady wearing a Christmas mouse, and whom then responded in kind to an opening which intended more than civility.

The incident was brief, warm and common. In that moment I saw a hint of the supernatural. I suspect both women are Christians--not a risky presumption in the Bible-belt. Even if that is not so, the supernatural element is that humans who have proven their separation from God in countless ways, including the racial hatred in which my youth steeped, choose to move beyond social civilities and enter genuine care in the common exchanges of life.

Yes, racism exists to this day. The Dixie war flag is seen occasionally flying in front of private houses. Such anachronisms do not alter the social change I am glad to be experiencing.

I'm Curious

What are some of your best times of fellowship and why?

From Whence Comes His Voice?

In the comments of the last post, Greg names perhaps the largest concern people have on the topic of the "inner" leading of the spirit: Scripture must trump inner voices, otherwise we'll end up with more Jim Joneses and David Koreshes.

This is a fair and needed guideline to be sure, but it begs the question of how does one know the inner voice is the voice of God?

One of the exciting things that initially drew me into my charismatic experience was all these people telling stories where God said this or that, and it had dramatic consequences for good in their lives. This witness of God actively speaking direction to others appealed to me. I wanted that experience, as well.

I clearly remember the Jonestown Massacre being reported by Walter Cronkite. This event pre-dated my Christian conversion by only one year. I had no concern the group I was in was cultic, nor did I make any connection that a perspective of being able to actively hear the leading of a living God might be construed with following a false teacher.

However, I understand those concerns now. I came to realize I had adopted the use of the term "God said to me..." in recounting how I made decisions. Likewise did many people in our group. I also began to know within my heart, that sometimes I used those words too loosely. I determined that I and probably many of those in our group used the terminology because it was accepted, even expected, but the usage was not necessarily reality. Sometimes it was, I guess. God knows for sure. The "voice of God" I heard was usually nothing more than my own inclinations, desires, or needs; and I had learned hearing some of my own thoughts with a deep resonance and power. Imagine hearing some of your particular thoughts with a ring akin to the voice of James Earl Jones.

The marker verifying such was truly the Father usually included an elevated pulse rate or just a compelling sense of I must obey this. Think about how you physically relate to some act of worship that is particularly moving for you. Communion maybe, when you find yourself physically feeling a deep peace or deep regrets for sin as you seek forgiveness. Think of anytime an intellectual understanding of anything from the Bible's witness results in you being emotionally moved. This is so powerful your physical body reacts some way. That marked for me at the time that I was "in the spirit" and "hearing God."

Now, I rarely feel such things and I only hear James Earl Jones if I am watching a movie in which he is an actor or the voice over. (I really enjoy The Hunt for Red October, but that is another topic.)

First, I don't hear voices in the plural. I hear my thoughts. Thoughts may take on varied tones or levels of importance, but that is inconsequential in listening for God's direction, as it reflects my personality, the culture around me, etc. I have learned to strip away the mystery of is this thought from God or not? That was a conundrum I didn't enjoy one bit when I began to distrust my learned behavior of accounting for the direction of God as being one of my thoughts making my heart rush. So what is "listening to God" or being "in the spirit?"

I have determined His voice is my functioning conscience. I am rarely confused by and never disappointed answering the urges and inhibitions of that which I know is from God when my conscience speaks. Lining up these morally directive thoughts with Scripture is relatively easy. More than that, however, is the amazing results seeing God's hand move when I obey my conscience. What's more, as I have learned to trust my conscience as the voice of God, it has become ever more sensitive. And learning more is simply exciting, like those first days when I wanted the experience of actively hearing the Father in the now!

The Wild Wood, its many voices of wind and doctrine and its storms of hate and lust, is little trouble to navigate now that the inner light of God is alive and well within me.

A Viola Quote

Here's some food for thought. The following is quoting Frank Viola in Reimagining Church. pp 128-9:

"The indwelling life of Jesus Christ is the only requirement for the unity of the Spirit. And amazingly, we Christians can detect that shared Spirit whenever we meet one another. There's an instant sense of kinship that testifies that we have the same Father.

Certainly, those who have been born of the Spirit will live in a way that is consistent with this fact. Yet they may not be clear on many spiritual things. Their personality may conflict with ours. Their worship style may be distasteful to us. They may be immature and have struggles in areas that we've surpassed. They may be painfully eccentric. Their understanding of the Bible may be poverty stricken. They may make mistakes that they regret. And they just might hold to some false ideas. Yet the fact that Christ dwells in them obligates us to accept them as family members. Not only 'in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth'(1 John 2:18 NKJV)."

What are your thoughts along these lines?

The Soul is Guided by Spirit

The Spirit of the Lord is the answer to the soul's angst. He is the light that orders our emotions into strong and healthy places and our intellects with wisdom.

The division between soul and spirit is, in my understanding, that the soul is our personal state and spirit is what we take on in terms of direction, like a three masted schooner (soul) when the sails are filled by a prevailing wind (spirit).

Another metaphor: I can get into my car at night. I know how to drive it. It is in good working order. Turning the key, applying pressure to the gas pedal and steering are all available to me. I can engage the car in the darkness. I now must determine where the road is, where the turns are that achieve my destination, and I must avoid other vehicles along the way in addition to pursuing my goal. If I fail to turn on the headlights, my journey will be rough even dangerous. I will most likely get lost, if I manage to stay on the road and out of the way of others. This is me in my soul. Flip the switch to provide myself headlights, and the journey becomes successful.

Real life: A doctor's office and pharmacy mis-communicate. It is late afternoon and a prescription needed for a sick infant is unavailable for filling by closing time for the pharmacy. No other avenue of gaining the needed medicine is available. This means another night for the child at the vagaries of a painful condition that might have been easily remedied. Passing through this "street" of circumstances, do I drive darkly with my emotions filled with worry and my mind involved in preparing blistering complaint speeches for the doctor's office and pharmacy clerks by morning; or do I give myself to the work of caring for the child peacefully, giving praise to the Father for grace in the midst of this? Morning comes. Do I have angry speeches (the dark street) or pleasant and encouraging words (the lighted way) for the personnel I contact once business hours ensue?

Living by the spirit is living in a light that is not from within myself. The spirit which I experience is not really a part of my make-up within the soul. It is a spiritual functioning of the soul by an essence the Father has both designed and provided. Or so it seems to me in the Wild Wood.

Book Review: Reimagining Church

I knew the topic of the book before I picked it up to read. I expected to be informed, inspired, and affirmed. I am not disappointed after the reading.

Reimagining Church is readable, well organized, and thorough on the topic of the Body of Christ experiencing itself as an organic gathering in communion with the Holy Spirit. Divided into two parts, "Community Gatherings" and "Leadership and Accountability," Frank Viola discusses the spiritual and practical aspects of church as organism versus organization.

This morning I woke knowing among my projects for today was writing this review. Two words popped into my thinking as I reflected over my thoughts and inclinations from the reading of Reimagining Church: wholesome and holistic. Allow me to clarify those terms as applied here.

By wholesome I mean healthy and sound. The words of the book are beneficial for the spiritual health of a body of believers. Even those who strongly identify with an institutional church but recognize the validity of a small group gathering will profit from thinking through what Viola discusses in the chapters on the "Family of God" and "Church Unity." Those of us who no longer seek out fellowship in the IC also will find ourselves guided in healthy ways to a fuller understanding of the relational way our Father both initiated and supports the growth of koinonia among believers.

By holistic, I depart from the original coinage of the word in 1926 within psychology and choose it here more in line with a broader meaning currently of emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole. This is, in fact, the nature and thrust of the book: a discussion of the mystery of the Body of Christ as an entity built on communion between individuals who grow in a corporate communion with the Holy Spirit; in other words, the church as the dwelling place of God and vehicle whereby believers pass through this life as aliens on our way home. The discussion is supported by a plethora of scriptural references in fair hermeneutic interpretation, a breadth of quotes from Christians revealing a consensus of thought among brethren, and substantive documentation verifying the book is not merely conjecture.

I recommend the book for anyone who desires a greater depth of love between believers than is currently experienced but is unsure of how or where to search. The book is also highly recommended for those who have launched into a such a journey already but need a refining of purpose and direction. I have received just that by my time spent in the pages of Reimagining Church.

The Soul's Angst.

The soul is both meaning and end of the whole of our human experience without the Cross. Search art, literature, music, philosophy, politics, economics, the sciences and you can find those who never mention God. Yet, all these areas of humanity's collective soul will also reference God. Depending on the time period and the speaker, such references may be reverential, blasphemous, religious as in worshiping false gods or reflect agnosticism. To understand the collective human soul, one must simply analyze human expression in all its variations.

On an individual level, our soul is shaped by nature and nurture in ways we may partially understand, but my observations are that most of us understand very little. We live an uneasy peace with our own soul. One thing I have noticed among Americans, the condition of the soul and discussions both from and about the soul's phenomena are often reduced to basic recounting of what it is we think motivates us. Our relationships are tied around labeling love of something outside of self and are thus built from an identified mutuality: "You love sardines!! I do, too!" Finding others who like what we like and joining together to share in that soulish experience would appear to be the chief end of humans. Sometimes, this mutuality takes on high-stakes consequences and appears to be of substantial importance, patriotism or its next of kin, nationalism, for example. In the course of history, I would guess there has rarely been a time when so many defined life simply as a function of the desires known within the soul and the corollary of building relationships on such.

From a secular perspective, life can be seen as centuries of development wherein humanity works first to gain security from and against nature, then to increase wealth and all the while experience love. I think the driving rationale is a mixing of the exercise of intellect for material ends and simultaneously seeking the longings of our hearts in the process. Art has long been the place where humanity is analyzed and articulated juxtaposed with the progress of man materially. Artistic expression expresses the state of the soul, both individually and communally, within the ever progressive cultural framework of intellectually achieving what the world has to offer of wealth, fame, and glory.

Consider the implications of the two following examples:

Dan Fogelberg wrote a song which was released on his 1985 album, High Country Snows, entitled "The Higher You Climb."

The higher you climb,
The more that you see.
The more that you see,
The less that you know.
The less that you know,
The more that you yearn.
The more that you yearn,
The higher you climb.

The farther you reach,
The more that you touch.
The more that you touch,
The fuller you feel.
The fuller you feel,
The less that you need.
The less that you need,
The farther you reach.

How succinctly he captures the human experience. In the first stanza, he describes our soul's yearning and the impossibility of ever being fully satisfied. This quest for satisfaction is a common human experience of the soul. The second stanza appears to answer the endless yearnings. When one's reach, reaches to others, therein lies the source of the only true satisfaction known in this life. Such connection and its fulfillment reduces our need and its yearning, which extends our reach. I interpret Fogelberg as intending his words express a nobility which may be found within said quest for satisfaction when one reaches out to others.

Emmilou Harris's "Deeper Well" from her 1995 album, Wrecking Ball, also explores the yearnings idea with an opposite metaphor, a search within the soul sought through personal life experiences.

the sun burned hot, it burned my eyes
burned so hot I thought I'd died
thought I'd died and gone to hell
lookin' for the water from a deeper well

I went to the river but the river was dry
I fell to my knees an I looked to the sky
I looked to the sky and the spring rain fell
I saw the water from a deeper well

well, lookin for the water from a deeper well
well, lookin for the water from a deeper well

I was ready for love I was ready for the money
ready for the blood and ready for the honey
ready for the winnin', ready for the bell
lookin' for the water from a deeper well

I found some love and I found some money
found that blood would drip from the honey
found I had a thirst that I could not quell
lookin'for the water from a deeper well

well, lookin for the water from a deeper well
well, lookin for the water from a deeper well

well I did it for kicks and I did it for faith
I did it for lust and I did it for hate
I did it for need and I did it for love
addiction stayed on tight like a glove
so I ran with the moon and I ran with the night
and the three of us were a terrible sight
nipple to the bottle, to the gun, to the cell
to the bottom of a hole of a deeper well

well lookin for the water from a deeper well
well lookin for the water from a deeper well

I rocked with the cradle and I rolled with the rage
I shook those walls and I rattled that cage
I took my trouble down a deadend trail
reachin' out a hand for a holier grail
hey there mama did you carry that load
did you tell your baby 'bout the bend in the road
'bout the rebel yell 'bout the one that fell

lookin' for the water from a deeper well
well, lookin for the water from a deeper well
well, lookin for the water from a deeper well

In the end, we must express a truth that is evident throughout the ages:

The human soul is filled with an unanswerable angst.

The quest to satisfy has been at the root of productivity, philanthropy, altruism, war, and crime. All that is good or bad has been explored. The answer is in the spirit known only through the second birth Jesus describes.

How Hard is Forgiveness?

The teaching illustration of two posts back was intended as the introduction to a discussion on response to sin within a group of believers. There appears to me a gap between the instruction in Scripture and our practice.

Consider Jesus' instruction to forgive 7 x 70. He has just taught the way to address a sinning brother (show him his fault in private; if he refuses to acknowledge his fault, take another with you on a second attempt; if he refuses to acknowledge his fault, take it before all gathered together) when Peter asks, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

How many of us keep track of another's sin 490 times then on violation 491 refuse to forgive? None of us. Isn't that the point of Jesus giving us the number?

Yet, how many of us after the first or second time we are offended think or feel something like, OK, I forgive him but I will not trust again. Or worse we enter into some degree of judgment against the other. Our feelings and related thoughts are the measure of the condition of our heart regardless of the religious spin we verbalize about ourselves. Mature faith will fully release within the heart all which is not a complete and renewed embrace of the other person. Everything!

I have watched myself and others harbor feelings other than love toward someone following some sin for which forgiveness has been requested and describe this state in "spiritual" terms such as, "He asked for forgiveness and I gave it. Now I'll wait and see whether or not he produces fruit that evidences true repentance." I could always find some "scriptural" reason for not fully trusting this person. At the very least, I would whine something to God about how hard His words were.Then one day God broke through into my hard heart: simply acknowledging how hard Jesus' instructions on the matter of forgiveness are without disciplining my internal emotional response is excuse-making. Worse, this state of non-compliance perpetuates my own spiritual immaturity.

And the "hardness" of God's expectation goes further! We should be able to move into the same release with the same brother/sister repeatedly. Up to 490 times? No, there are not limits. Love keeps no record of wrong.

"Impossible," you say? "Unrealistic!" "I am not there, yet," followed by a friendly but rueful chuckle.

You never will be! It must and will only be accomplished as we learn to rest in the in-dwelling Presence and exchange our way for His. Oh and to make this not be hard, God allows unlimited attempts to understand abiding in Him.

Judging Sin within a Body

No doubt, it will become a question in many a reader's mind what to do about 1 Corinthians chapter 5 in which Paul scolds the Corinthians for their lack of action against an immoral brother and then describes putting this one out of fellowship. He finishes the thought explaining that his instructions on not associating with "immoral" people did not mean the unenlightened masses of people who are without Jesus, but that he fully intended that those within the church be judged within the church.

How is Paul's action and subsequent explanation reconciled with other New Testament teaching on judgment?

In my view, this is not nearly as difficult as it appears on the surface. Like many other areas, however, in an attempt to practice this teaching within our modern context there are often muddying factors which leave a bad feeling in the soul over what is done "in the name of the Lord."

If the immoral brother had had the facts presented to him without condemnation, then he responded with conviction including confessed repentance that his behavior was abhorrent, would Paul have needed to address the issue? No, because the stain of the sin would have come under the blood covering of the Crucifixion. There is a hermeneutic harmony of Jesus' teaching about judging with right judgment in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus words about confronting a brother in Matthew 18 and Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians. There exists an authorized judgment by a group of believers which is exercised against immorality defiantly held by someone professing Christ. (Other judgments, i.e. not taking a brother to court in 1 Cor. 6, are also the domain of the group, but that is not part of this post.)

The "muddying" factors that cloud this action include refusal to so judge, the process of the decision when it is made and whether or not the ones making the decision are actually moving in self-righteousness. Some groups of believers never address the continuing practice of immorality without repentance. The opposite pole is a group which addresses the issue with a cold heart of legalism, thus enduring a judgmental spirit that Jesus taught so clearly against. I was in a church once that turned someone "over to Satan." In fact, I observed two separate instances when several people were so condemned. I believe these people were mistreated, and God's intent to protect the body from a leavening effect of sin was missed.

The failing? The leadership made the call and brought it before the congregation as a finalized decision. Looking at Paul's instruction extrapolated further in chapter 6 and considering Jesus' teaching in Matthew 18 against the occurrence of a refusal of someone to reconcile with the truth, it is a judgment by the whole family which is authorized and not an action of a few hierarchical leaders.

I think more often, much more often, a confrontation with sin results in repentance. The strict action of shunning is rarely required. The rub is we do not have the patience to forgive 7 x 70 and continue to love keeping no record of wrong. That will be the next topic. :^)

Good Judgment

I have pondered what to write next for days, but "judging with right judgment" is relatively easy and I need not be long-winded here.

Keep love for the other person the main focus. Draw from Jesus within and speak the truth in love. The truth being simply what you observe in the material world. Keep condemnation out of your heart.

Some relationships include judgment on a regular basis: parent/child; teacher/student; employer/employee; policeman/citizen...you get the idea. All of these relationships are fruitful when the judgment needed simply observes the facts and uses these appropriately toward an outcome which is natural in the context of the relationship. Replicating this believer to believer is a supernatural experience from which we cannot shrink away. What the world sees and judges us by, and thereby "judges" our God is our love one for another.

Simply put to judge (analyze, objectify, discern, critique, estimate, categorize) without condemnation is a hallmark of love.