The Fellowship of the Cross

by Mike Chong Perkinson
February 2007


The biblical idea of koinonia is wonderfully illustrated in the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, “The Fellowship of the Ring.” In one scene the Council of Elrond gathers to discuss their plight with the ring, they come to the conclusion that they must take the ring back to Mount Doom where the ring can be unmade and its power broken. Heated debate quickly breaks out (where mission lacks, confusion reigns) on the danger of the mission and its impossibility when Frodo steps up and says “I’ll take the ring, although I do not know the way.” At this point real koinonia takes place as various members step up and partner in the mission as they offer their lives, talent and skill (ax, bow, sword). True koinonia is a partnership “in” the mission. It is here that the “Fellowship of the Ring” is formed – nine companions on a quest.

In the much the same way, we are the “Fellowship of the Cross”. A fellowship that has come together around the mission of Jesus centered in the grace and power of the Cross that has released us to a mission that continues to break the power of darkness in our world. We are committed to each other because of the mission. We have a “relationship with a reason” and that reason is the mission of loving God, loving others, and making disciples.

The Bible makes it quite clear that the early church was together (at least at Pentecost), living out the reality of the “Fellowship of the Cross.” Acts 1:14 tells us that “They all met continually for prayer.” Luke tells us that the early church shared all things in common (Acts 2:43-47). Even Peter’s inaugural sermon that gave birth to the church was not a solitary act. Luke adds a rather stunning fact that “Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles” (Acts 2:14). It would appear the early church understood “relationship with a reason.”

What we at times have forgotten is that the Church is in a war. Frodo knew he was in a battle. “Fate has chosen him. A Fellowship will protect him. Evil will hunt him.” (from the Lord of the Rings trailer). The Church in the West often finds itself in a war that is more with each other than the forces of darkness. Scripture makes it clear that we are in a war.

Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels…But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time. (Revelation 12:7, 12, NLT)

What Hell seeks to do is to weaken and destroy the fellowship by dividing it. The fellowship is meant to stand in such a way that it can be on mission while taking care of its members. This division is best accomplished when Hell takes the fellowship and moves them from standing together for the mission to turning from the mission to tear each other down. The fellowship is meant to be like a group of people that stand in a circle and holding hands – while facing outwards. We are to cover the backs of our brothers and sisters as we fight our spiritual battle, staying connected, always looking to receive the next person into our community. In this way whatever is coming to attack us will be picked up and stopped by our faithful brother who defends us with his life (a great picture of koinonia), while our eyes are facing outward to the mission. What Hell loves to do and can only do is turn the soldiers on each other. Since Satan has no power against the Church, all he can do is play on our insecurities, fears, and suspicions of one another, lying to each believer about the motives and intentions of the others. What takes place then is the soldier turns inward, no longer covering the other soldiers, and begins to make war with his own brothers and sisters. Each does the same and the army is incapacitated. Hell does all it can to move us away from the mission and being the “Fellowship of the Cross.”

We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive. - Anonymous

I’d like to leave you with a few questions that might move us all to live out the reality of being the Fellowship of the Cross. Like the Council of Elrond, may we each offer our lives, our gifts, our talents for this incredible mission – companions who are the Fellowship of the Cross.

Who Is Willing? Who Will Go?

• Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8, NLT)

How Do I Start?

• Share the Jesus that you know (Revelation 12:11), tell people about the Jesus that saved you and continues to save you
• You may not know the answers of life but you know the answer to life. Share the answer you know.

Where Do I Start?

• Jerusalem: Start at home and with the people closest to you
• Judea/Samaria: People near but different from me
• Ends of the earth: Everybody else!

How Do We Do this?

• Together
• Be a light (Matthew 5:14-16), simply let your light shine
• Your light shines best when you live right and your life will testify to Christ (I Peter 2:12; Micah 6:8)
• Live a life of love (John 13:34-35; I Timothy 1:5; I Corinthians 13:4-8)

When Do We Do this?

• NOW! TODAY!
• “Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12, NLT)

Tell me what you think. Let’s talk about it.

The Unity of the Cup

by Tom Johnston
February 2007

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1- 6, ESV)

Communion. The Eucharist. The Lord’s Supper. By whatever name you call it, this celebration of remembrance is built around the symbols of the body and blood of our Lord and Christ, pointing to His atoning death for our sins. Whatever you call this holy moment of realization and reflection, however you practice it, this “cup of Christ,” this meal of sacrifice binds all Christians together. We are not so different after all. We are all in need of grace and forgiveness, and we all find it in the same place – the person of Christ.

So, why then schism and factions, sects and denominations? Are the simply different tribes and clans within one holy nation? Yes, and no. Are they different expressions of the Church, the multifaceted wisdom of God displayed in different forms to a diverse human global community? Yes, and no. Could it be that the diversity of movements and groups within the Christian faith are just sociological incarnations based on the point of time in history and culture when they emerged; or the personality or doctrinal beliefs of a particular church leader? Yes, and no.

On the positive side, when we look at the global Body of Christ, the Church with a capital “C,” (whether it is Roman, Byzantine, Melkite, one of the ethnic Orthodox varieties, Coptic, or one of the hundreds of Protest-tant flavors) we see the diversity in the Church as a wonderful, cultural, historical, ethnic revelation of Christ in His kingdom community. This is the “yes” aspect to the questions posed. But there is a “no,” too. And the “no” is killing us.

Late in the ministry of Jesus two of His twelve sought out prominence (Mark 10:35-45, Matthew 20:20-28). Expecting an earthly dominion in which they would participate, James and John were looking for significant positions in the new world order. Their mother got in on the act, too. Already part of His inner circle along with Peter, these two make their power play, looking to secure their influence in the kingdom to come. Jesus indicates they have no clue what they are asking, and asks if they can “drink the cup” He will drink. In other words, He was asking them if they could walk the path He would walk. Indicating yes, the brothers think that Jesus is testing their commitment to Him, their loyalty to the cause, which they immediately affirm. But they didn’t get it. With the wonderful gift of hindsight, we see from our vantage point what James and John missed. Jesus wasn’t questioning their loyalty. He was questioning their heart. Knowing the Cross was before Him – His ultimate service to humankind, Jesus calls them on their heart attitude: you want power so you can rule as lords, but I came to minister as a servant. The text goes on to point out how the attempt at political posturing hurt the community of the twelve, causing the others to become indignant.

This is the true cup of Christ which we must all drink: the cup of sacrificial servanthood. And this is where the “no” response to the questions above comes in. Much of the division in the body of Christ is not God-authored, but based in the same human need for power and position expressed by James and John. We let our desire for self outstrip our mandate to lovingly serve one another. We think we are right/have the fullest revelation/are the original item or the church as it was meant to be. Such posturing breaks our unity, and therefore, our effectiveness. Yet, we have the same Lord, are endued with the same Spirit, and called with the same calling by the same Father.

We must choose to drink the cup of Christ, the cup of sacrifice and service, if we are to truly be His Church. Putting politics and posturing aside we must choose to embrace those who also drink this same cup, setting aside the non-essential differences, and modeling to the world what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

So, the next time you participate in that holy moment of Communion/The Eucharist/The Lord’s Supper – whatever your tribe calls it – remember this: when you drink the cup of the New Covenant, you’re committing to be a living sacrifice – one who serves others sacrificially, walking in love and humility towards others, living in harmony and unity in the Spirit. What a model of Christ-likeness we would be!

Go ahead, drink the “cup of Christ,” and embrace His sacrificial life – not just in remembrance, but in action. If we all did, Jesus would change the world through us.

What are your thoughts?

The Sacred Trust - The "Knee-High" Battle

by Mike Chong Perkinson
January 2007

"This is a sacred trust - never treat it as common." This resounding thought was deeply engraved into my heart by the Spirit of God in 1997. This incredible moment of conviction began to pave the way for who I am today.

I have come to believe over the years that our over emphasis on the “wineskin” (model, technique, program, etc.) at the expense of the “wine” (content of Christ in our lives) or at least diluting it, has been costly for the Church in North America. Mind you, I am not suggesting that models, techniques, programs, etc. are bad. They are not.

I am reminded of Uzzah who attempted to steady the Ark of the Covenant from falling off the cart (2 Samuel 6:4-7) just after the oxen had stumbled. He did what any one of us would have done. I believe Uzzah like many of us are well intentioned when we seek to help God out in this enterprise called Church. Particularly when it would appear the Church is stumbling and needs a creative touch from us to stabilize it. It was Dr. Jack Hayford who said that we have church down so well that the Holy Spirit could depart from our services and we would not know it for three years.

The problem I face in ministry is not that I don't know what to do. My problem like so many leaders is that I do know what to do and like Uzzah can find myself touching the holy thing, helping God out when I don't need to. This article won’t resolve the issue of what we touch and what we do not, but will help facilitate an on going dialogue with each other and hopefully an ongoing dialogue with God.

Jesus told us “God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them” (Matthew 5:3, NLT). Wow, what a verse and what a promise. If I live a lifestyle of need, then the Kingdom of Heaven is given to me.

Our progressive inability to reach our culture has thousands of pastors back to a place of recognizing our need for Him - an absolute desperation is beginning to arise motivated by many factors but the need is rising. Because of this need, pastors and leaders are returning to a dialogue with God (prayer) and His Word for what to do next. We are, in effect, not touching the Ark and letting it be, as we trust that God might stabilize it Himself. Now, if I read my Bible right it says that good things tend to happen when people seek God, look to His Word and lean on the Holy Spirit. These are the ingredients of revolution.

I am encouraged by our spiritual landscape in North America. There are pastors by the thousands asking questions about effectiveness, why we are not reaching our culture, and what is the Church (maybe this is the question).

A revolution, like the revolution that sparked Pentecost in the Book of Acts, can only begin when people are broken enough to obey and pray. Maybe this is the beginning of the revolution that we return to being sons and daughters of God before we are pastors and leaders.

May we, like the followers of Christ in the Book of Acts, wait on Jesus as we look to see what the Father is doing in our neighborhoods, cities, states, etc. May we find the revolution so captivating that our lives are lived around the reality of this Kingdom where we love God with all of our heart, love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and make disciples as we live life.

We have been given a sacred trust and no matter how relevant or cool our ministries might be we have one thing the world can never give. We have Jesus. May you live Jesus, and from this life may the revolution grow.

Here are some questions for you to ponder in your dialogue with God.

• In what ways do you struggle with helping God out? Helping stabilize the Ark if you will?
• How has God facilitated a sense of need and desperation in you this past year?
• How has dialogue with others and God increased this past year?
• What do you see the Father doing in your home? Church? City? State? Nation?
• What are you willing to endure to see this revolution come to pass?

Reformation Redux

by Tom Johnston
January 2007

When Martin Luther started a dialog in October of 1517 around his 95 talking points, he didn’t intend to start a revolution. But he did. The Protest-tant Reformation was arguably the most significant event in Christianity’s second millennium. And boy, did it change things – and not all for the good. With the battle cry of sola gratia, sola fida, sola Christos and sola scriptura the forces of revolution swept Western Europe. And everything changed. Looking back from our vantage point, many today think the spiritual revolutionaries of the 1500’s went too far, some think not far enough, while others consider the Reformation one step in a longer journey. To be sure, the impact has had an irreversible, lasting effect on the Church universal. It all started with one man who wanted to talk about the issues.

A thousand years earlier Patricius (St. Patrick), a Roman Briton, took the church beyond the culturally-Roman world, to the Celts who were considered to be barbaric pagans. The standard practice was to Romanize/civilize before you tried to Christianize. By going to the Celts, Patrick went beyond that practice. What Patrick did in going to the uncivilized was truly revolutionary in his day. Many consider Patrick and those who followed after him to be the first true missionaries in the West since biblical times, crossing the boundaries of culture and language with the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Celts were reached for Christ, and incredible spiritual communities were formed, both as an outcome and as a means of mission. It all started with one man who wanted to share the life he had found in Christ with other people.

Spiritual revolutions in the Church are often started without the intent to do so, like Luther. Sometime they are started by the intentional action of someone, like Patrick. Always there is a passion instilled in the revolutionary (whether they come to the revolution by accident or intention) by the Holy Spirit for something beyond the current reality. They have a vision for a better country (Hebrews 11:16), and hope to realize at least some of it in the Church of their generation.

When such spiritual revolutions emerge, they will not be ignored. They have a way of demanding attention, and they are dismissed only at one’s own peril. When confronted by such radical shifts like those brought on by Luther and Patrick, church leaders are required to respond. Try to stop it, you might be crushed by its momentum. Try to ignore it, it might pass you by, leaving you in the dust of history. Try to control it, you might find yourself loosing everything. Try to nurture it and mature it, you might find yourself partnering with God.

There is a revolution coming in the Western Church. In fact, it is here now. You can’t stop it – don’t even try. You can ignore it – and lose out big-time. And don’t fool yourself – you can’t control it. Find out how to partner with God in it, bringing this emerging move of God to maturity. Maybe like Luther you have found yourself in the revolution by accident. Maybe you are like Patrick, and you are called to foster the revolution intentionally. Whatever you do, find a way to surf this wave of the Spirit, giving your heart fully to the work of the Lord, because like Luther and Patrick, you want to play your part. The revolution starts with you – let Jesus refresh the wineskin of your heart.

“But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”

- Jesus, Luke 5:38