Pastoring Standing Still

by Mike Chong Perkinson

Pastoring is such an odd profession. There is so much about it that resembles the business world and so much about it that does not. We have a semblance to the machinery of leadership and organizational prowess as any business and yet, we lead nothing like it.

Our world involves leadership dynamics, forming and maintaining the leadership engine, developing farm systems for new and upcoming leaders, navigating the organization, and so on. However ours is not simply a leadership of systems or product creation, management or sales. The world of pastoral leadership is a spiritual enterprise that affords us the privilege to lead and shepherd God’s most precious creation – people. In this organization, we are not the senior partner, but the junior partner. God is the senior partner and since it is His company; He gets to call the shots (John 5:19).

Having said that, let’s talk a bit about something I have always known but not always practiced. I have always believed that God speaks to His people (I Kings 19:12; Amos 3:7; Acts 16:9). The most frequent ways seem to be impressions in our spirit, the “still small voice”, through His Word, through others, dreams and visions, and of course, the occasional audible voice. This article is not on how He speaks but assumes that He does. Particularly when it comes to developing His people and navigating His Church into the fullness of living and representing His Kingdom life on earth.

What I have been realizing is how often my pastoring and leadership have been based on my tradition or my understanding of leadership principles. You know, stuff like when there is momentum in the organization you don’t want to stop it and so do all you can to facilitate it. Makes perfect sense and is absolutely logical. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the logic of our traditions and leadership logistics and execution. I am not contending for an irrational leadership and then calling that spiritual, but asking the question, how does one lead in a spiritual manner? The answer that I’ve come up with is the title of this article, “Pastoring Standing Still.”

It is clear that God asks us to do things He will not do and reserves for Himself things that He will do that we cannot do (I Corinthians 3:6). Somewhere in the midst of this is the key to pastoring standing still. Let me try and explain.

Jesus uses the “wind” metaphor as language for the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). I have struggled most of my ministry life trying to discern; what is apparently the knowable “will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). You know, trying to decide if you should buy that building now, lease this property or the other one, start this ministry or stop that one, plant the church now or wait, support which country in missions, preach what series or text, do what outreach project, bring on which staff member, etc. The decisions we face are many and deeply challenging.

Scripture doesn’t always help as it makes clear that God’s thoughts and ways are not like ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). We find in Scripture countless examples of what appears to be counter-intuitive leadership; a leadership, that some would call, supra-rational. Supra in the sense that is just beyond our understanding, but not irrational per se. It is rational in the spiritual domain but not necessarily in ours. It is rational from the vantage point of God who can see all things and as we learn after the fact, His decisions are brilliant and include so much more life than we ever anticipated. It is not logical in the way we understand logic and once we see the whole picture our hearts melt in humble awe. That is precisely our problem. We do not see the whole picture.

Our training as helped us look for what is next and proper for our traditions and what is the next step in the leadership matrix. We look for those obvious cues and rightfully so. But is that all there is to spiritual leadership? I think not.

In order for us to become sensitized to the Spirit’s leading in our lives, we must allow ourselves to stop and pause, to reflect and meditate, to listen; to open the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18) so that we might be spiritually enlightened; to calm ourselves so that we might be able to feel the wind blow and sense the direction of the Spirit.

After pastoring for nearly 30 years, I have come to truly know some things I already knew. I know that I am a son first and not a servant/pastor. I know that I am supposed to follow the leading of the Spirit. I know ministry is a spiritual enterprise. I know that spiritual transformation cannot take place without the work of the Holy Spirit. And yet, I have spent less time in prayer as a son and more as a pastor trying to get a sermon or a tip on what to do next. Instead of meditation and reflecting on my relationship with God and what He is doing in my life and ministry, I have opted to study leadership theory or systems or simply have gone out and done something in the name of the Almighty to satisfy my restless and uneasy heart. I have quieted my soul for the process and not the Person of Christ and as result, have missed the beauty and peace of being in relationship with the God of the Universe.

I say all of this to simply say, slow down. Spend time with God as a son/daughter, quiet yourself and meditate on what He is doing in your life and ministry. Reflect on your day with the Holy Spirit and led Him guide you through it and learn from the happenings in your life, training the “eyes of your heart” to see with understanding. Don’t act unless you sense that “still, small voice” releasing you.

All I know is that since I have committed to pastoring standing still, I have discovered that my ministry is less burdensome. I have more joy and life. Not to mention that things happen with greater ease and less work, leaving everyone amazed at God and not me.

I leave you with these questions:

1. How long has it been since you have heard God speak to you about you? If it is a long time, why do you think that is the case?
2. What do you sense in your spirit/heart that God is saying to you about your relationship with Him? Your family? Your leadership?
3. When you sense you are suppose to pause or act, what keeps you from doing it?
4. How is that we, as spiritual leaders, struggle to hear the voice of God and yet, expect our people to do it? What will you do differently to ensure that you will hear the voice of your Father and only do what you see the Father doing?
5. If God has spoken to you today, how will you now respond to that?

Walking in the Flow

by Tom Johnston

What moves you? I mean, really moves you? Not just emotively, but motivationally – what moves you to action? Is it a situation – a positive or negative experience, or perhaps circumstances – those that are pleasant, or those that are uncomfortable and challenging? Is it personal need, a sense of mission, a desire to please, an aspiration to show love? Is it a feeling, a way of thinking, a perspective; is it hope, or fear, or anger, or joy, or lust, or greed, or ambition? Could it be a desire to bring change, a just cause, a passion to see people helped and served; a wish for people to know the truth – as you see it; a passion for souls “won to Christ?” It is something you choose, or simply a “knee-jerk” reaction to some external stimulus in your life, good or bad? What is it; what drives you? It may be one of these things, or something similar. The point is, something does motivate you, and something does move you. The question is: what is the ultimate source of that motivation; that drive, that passion?

When you look at the list above, you view it through a framework within your thinking and emotions which reflects your moral values and ethical beliefs. This framework is developed through experience and learning, what you have been taught and what you have encountered in life; through your upbringing, family life, the country and locality you were born into, as well as your place within the socio-economic and ethnic status of your culture. Of the list above, you may see some as almost angelic in virtue or demonic in expression; and you would be right, to a point. What drives us proceeds from within – for good or for ill, from our own heart. Because of this we are admonished in Proverbs 4:23 to:

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Jesus highlights this in Luke 6:45:

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

The rabbis of His day thought of the “good intention” and the “evil intention” of the human heart, and the struggle was to master the evil intention and thereby give rise to the good. We see this in the story with Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:6-7:

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Unlike Taoism (Daoism), which seeks to hold these forces in the Yin-Yang balance, the Hebraic rabbi sought to teach his disciples to overcome the “evil intention.” The problem is – we can’t do either. We cannot achieve the balance the Taoist would desire, nor can we ourselves master the “evil intention” of sin as described by the rabbis. Cain couldn’t do it, David couldn’t do it and we can’t do it. Yet, the desire to do good is there because we are made in the Imago Dei, but that image is marred by sin. So, from this we can see that all human motivation in and of itself is, to some degree, corrupted. It is the self-oriented nature of the fallen human condition that taints the purest desire, with the self being both the source and the object of the motivation – what I do, I do because of me, and I do for me. After all, it really is all about me! Beyond the rare selfless heroism, we are bound to the problem of the self. What I do, I most often do for the sake of self, very often even loving and serving myself so as to be loved and accepted by others. Many are driven to preach the Gospel not out of compassion, but out of a need to be superior, to be right. Many want their ministry to prosper not for the satisfaction of Christ’s travail (Isaiah 53:11), but for their own need for success. Many even seek to serve God through “soul winning,” hoping in actuality to win the love and approval of their heavenly Father.

This is the problem Paul talks about in his Letter to the Romans, in chapters 6 through 8, the death of the self in favor of the life of Christ living in us and flowing through us, being the only solution. We can’t overcome the evil intention of the fallen nature, but we can die to it. We can live, not just in the “good intention,” but rather in the goodness of the person of Christ. Regrettably, we often view these chapters from a theological or theoretical perspective, rather than a practical one.

So what does it look like to actually live out this goodness of Christ through self-death? Sounds rather bleak, doesn’t it, dying to self and all? Is it all a road of pain and suffering? There is some of that, yes, self-mortification of the flesh is not comfy, not “warm and fuzzy.” But the key is found to all of this is in this passage in Romans 8:12-15:

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The key is simply living life in the flow of the Spirit, and allowing all motivation to proceed from that. No longer am I living, but it is Christ who is living within me, and through me (Galatians 2:20). I no longer have to master the evil intention or try to exude goodness, two things I can’t do anyway, I just have to choose Christ over myself in all things. I no longer must master evil or good, I must be mastered by the One who is good incarnate. For many this sounds too metaphysical or ethereal, but it is actually quite practical. While the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each disciple of Christ is a profound mystery, the daily walk of yieldedness is a simple function of relationship: the more time I spend with the Person of Christ; the more time I spend in meditating on His Scriptures; the more time I spend with Him in reflection and prayer; the more sensitive I become to His moving. So, then, as I walk through my day, I am walking in His flow, my heart and desires yielded to His.

While this time investment sounds extreme, it is more about consistency and constancy than the actual hours allotted in spiritual pursuit. If I have time with Him and His word consistently on a daily basis, and if I build into my day the means of being aware of Him continually, I will be able to draw upon His presence, His heart, His mind, His will and His desires, putting mine aside. The real death I must embrace is not just to my fleshly desires, but a death that allows me to prioritize God in my personal schedule! Again, Paul speaks to us about this as well in Colossians 4:2:

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

We can walk through our daily life in a God-aware posture, always seeking communion with His spirit, having an attitude of awareness or watchfulness for what the Father is doing (John 5:19). Whatever we encounter, whomever we encounter, we do so in thankfulness, responding through the Spirit, in the Spirit to everything and everyone, realizing in everything the will of the Spirit, as it says in Romans 8:28, in Paul’s culmination of His dialog about the flesh/Spirit struggle:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

This should then be our goal as disciples of Jesus Christ, to walk in His Spirit daily to flow with Him in what He is doing, to be motivated by that which motivates Him and nothing else, dead to the self, but fully alive in Christ. All this is simply attained, to an ever greater degree through our relationship with Him. May this be so for you, and may you walk in the flow of the Holy Spirit daily, moved by His heart, sensitized to His directing breezes, living a life overflowing with the abundance of the Person of Jesus Christ.

The Keys to Church Growth: Trust & Obey

by Mike Chong Perkinson

The longer I have walked with Christ and partnered with the Father in His Kingdom enterprise, I have come to realize that the fundamental issue of my life has been housed in an inability to trust. I have discovered that it is easy to believe God. It is an entirely different matter to wait on Him. If I trust Him then I can wait on Him, even when it appears He is not doing anything.

This inability to trust has influenced my life at the very core of its being, expressing itself most clearly in a command and control persona that resulted in a lot of activity (more than necessary), stress, pressure and oftentimes, wasted energy. This life of command and control can be explicated more clearly in the graph below.

Relief (Soul feels the pleasure of control) >
Immediate Results (Pathway is now confirmed – it works, therefore it is God) >
Ache in the Soul/Boredom (Something still missing, success not enough) >
Pressure to fix the ache of the soul >
Results in increasing stress >
Discouragement & Despair (Ending point for some)>
Demand & Control (Isaiah 50:10-11; Jeremiah 2:13)

As you see, the life of command and control is lived in the authority of the self and not in the power of the resurrected Christ. For many years, I have lived in that mode, justifying it and baptizing it with Scripture. The basic ideology of a command and control leadership style is about the objective and the methodology or system employed to achieve it. Leaders who live in this world de-humanize their leadership teams and staff, providing on-going scarring of their hearts, speaking love while modeling performance and results as the basis of acceptance (you are valuable as long as you contribute). Everything we preach against somehow finds its way into our practice, undermining the very gospel we are trying to convey. How did this happen?

Without trying to answer the question categorically for everyone, let me tell you how it happened for me. The old hymn says, “trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey” (Word by John H. Sammis, 1997). Trust and obey, I have come to believe is the key response to the love of our Father expressed most poignantly in the Son at Calvary. We not only trust and obey for our salvation but for everything we do in our Father’s Kingdom, including how we lead His church.

An example of opting out of the life of trust and obey is found in 2 Samuel 6:1-8, when David is returning the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. He opts to carry it via a cart instead of how it was commanded in the Law which specified that it be carried by Levites who would bear it on their shoulders by means of poles passed through gold rings attached to the ark (Exodus 25:14). Even the Levites could not touch the ark or look in it. This violation of a command led to the death of Uzza.

If you’ll let me place a little modern logic to the mind of David, his rationale for carrying the Ark on a cart was based in convenience and speed. After all, you don’t need 4 people to do it, the pace can be faster and energy preserved. How do we move from doing what we know God has asked of us, to doing what is expedient and convenient? The tragedy of our choice is that it often paves the way for death to be more dominant in our ministries than life. Ironically, more people burn out, die spiritually and lose their passion for Christ – including those of us who lead it – when we opt for this life of convenience, immediacy, results and success.

Years ago, God spoke to my heart a powerful phrase that still reverberates in my soul. He said, “This is a sacred trust, never treat it as common.” This powerful exhortation had to do with His Kingdom and my small part in it, shepherding His church (a local expression of it) for His pleasure and purpose with a methodology of equip and release rather than command and control.

As much as I have known this, I have struggled with it – what I know and what I do have not always been the same. Years ago, when I came to Christ and entered ministry I knew it was about loving God and loving people and making disciples. Somewhere in the simplicity of my faith, I opted for expediency, results and success – using people to achieve my vision (or as I use to say, “God’s vision”). While I contended for those who did not know Jesus and sought to love them and include them at my Father’s table, I minimized those around me as I dictated what they should do to achieve the vision, loved them well when they performed and replaced them when they didn’t, preached about love and family but modeled perform or lose your spot. While I opted for the convenience of carrying the Ark on a cart, I still could hear the voice of my Father speaking to my heart. I simply ignored it or paid more attention to the voice of convenience, results and success.

I am a classic “Type A” personality and so, waiting has never been easy for me. My idea of patience is a 30 second wait – microwaves even irritate me. When it comes to God, who seems to move at “Three Miles an Hour”, I have found myself opting for convenience and immediacy, rather than “trust and obey”.

When we adopted our second daughter, we were so amazed at God’s kindness to us. Ephesians 3:20 seemed to be happening as God was simply blowing our minds. However, during the second week of the adoption the birth mother changed her mind. It was a time of tremendous heartache for us as we were well aware that we were about to lose our daughter. We prayed and trusted God, with no other options but prayer and waiting on Him (rather good options, I think). The following Sunday my wife went to the altar and laid our little girl on it (I joined her) and thanked God that we were able to be parents of a newborn baby for 2 weeks. With our baby girl in her arms fully extended to God, we said thank you to God and wept. We let our baby go into the hands of our loving Father (waiting on God which is to look to God, Isaiah 40:28-31). Well, God took our daughter and gave her right back to us and we have enjoyed this sacred trust and will never treat it as common. What I have learned is that when you wait or look to God (Isaiah 40:28-31) the results are far greater, the death happens inside of us and the life and health of those around us is vibrant, alive and maturing.

Dear leader, as you contend for our God, be mindful of His voice. You know, the one that reminds you to love your spouse and speak kindly and tenderly to her; the voice that prompts you to show affection and verbalize it to your children; the voice that encourages you to appreciate your staff and leadership team with words and acts of kindness; the voice that asks you to give up your fear; the voice that tells you are a beloved son/daughter before you are a servant or a steward. Whatever you do, be sure to carry the Ark the way it is supposed to be carried – “trust and obey for there is no other way.”

More Than Mechanics

by Tom Johnston

In the classic 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, the young girl Dorothy is transported to the Land of Oz, and in her journey to return home to Kansas, she seeks out the Wizard of Oz, purported to be the wisest man in the land, to aid her in her quest. Through all of her adventures, she and her friends (the Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion) finally encounter the Wizard, who is not all that he at first seems to be.

First appearing as a giant, fearful apparition, the Wizard is exposed as just a man who is operating the “smoke and mirrors show” of his avatar from machinery hid behind a curtain. Amazingly enough, once he is exposed, the travelers gain the benefit of his very real, and gentle, wisdom. While the Wizard messed up and is eventually unable to facilitate Dorothy’s return, he is able to help the others discover that the things which they seek are already in their possession.

For too many of us who are pastors, we have been trained to be the men and women “behind the curtain,” pulling the levers of the church machinery, keeping everything (apparently) running smoothly, creating a larger-than-life presentation each Sunday morning. We wow the crowds with our sermons, video clips and worship experiences while staying safely behind the “curtain,” holding people at a distance, all the while saying “ignore that man behind the curtain!” With exposure comes vulnerability, and the regular folks from Kansas might find that Pastor Oz is not quite as huge as the twenty foot projection screen makes him out to be. So, we focus on being “church mechanics,” operating and maintaining the machine of ministry, a safe recluse accessible to all through their avatar, but available to none as a real person.

But it is that kind of encounter, the encounter with the “real Oz,” that allows for those “regular folks” to access the gentle wisdom of Jesus resident in each of His shepherds through the Scripture and the Spirit. And what we help them discover is that what they seek they already possess in Christ. Too often we try to give them what we think they want – the big show with all its apparitions or pomp or laser-light shows, yet in doing so we most often fail to give them what they really need.

It is much safer for us to touch them lightly through our public avatar than to touch them deeply through our personal presence. Indeed, the avatar allows us to present, like the Wizard, a perspective of who I am without revealing the true me – the “spiritual giant,” the “Sermonator,” the faux-vulnerable servant of God who is close to no one. (Social networking sites allow us to do the same – I can show you the “me” I want you to see and never allow you close enough to see the real “me.”)

Now, you can’t have deep relationships with everyone in your congregation, especially if you have a large church. No one can handle that many relationships, and it is foolishness to try. But you can be open and go deep with your staff and leadership team, modeling vulnerability, giving them access to the wisdom of Christ in you, setting a standard for the culture and ministry of your church community. What you do with them, they will do with others. What you give to them from Jesus, they will give to others. Pretty soon, the light show will seem dim due to the brightness of the Son in your midst. You’ll find the levers you used to pull don’t flip the spiritual switch for people anymore, as they have found the real Jesus in you and your leaders – once you stepped out from behind the curtain.

We are more than mechanics operating and maintaining the machinery of church. We are not professional performers, staging a larger-than-life drama. We are the “regular folk,” the men and women of God, called to live a way of life together with others, with all of our flaws and vulnerabilities – all our human frailty – making disciples with His gentle wisdom.

So, come out from behind the curtain, and join the rest of us. The first steps might be a bit scary, but the rest of the journey is a blessing – both for you and for those you minister to.

My Father

by Mike Chong Perkinson

We live in a confused, somewhat dark and oppressive time. The apparent corners of our foundation have been seriously challenged in the past 18 months. Our equity has been severely diminished (for many completely gone), for many their homes have been foreclosed upon, for countless millions jobs have gone by the wayside, and our retirement plans have been blown away by the winds of economic decline.

On top of that, we are still dealing with the effects of the earthquake of postmodernity, leaving us in a quandary of how to think, perceive and function in our lives as pastors and leaders of the church. The theological landscape is still a confused mess. The arguments for and against postmodernity have already filled enough pages of a myriad of books and articles; another one by the Praxis guys is not necessary. However, I am concerned that the times we live in have only led to further confusion about who we are in Christ and how we are to live as His community. Unlike the men of Issachar, who had understanding about the times (I Chronicles 12:32); we find ourselves more sophisticated than ever, technologically savvy and stellar in creating ambience for our gatherings and yet, without any clearer sense of who we are as sons and daughters of the Most High and how we are to love and live together as a community.

Oh sure, we have continued to do what the church is so proficient at, polarizing between so-called ideologies which are still theological and methodological processes that are all too often, devoid of developing the 3 relationships: Relationship with God, relationship with self and relationship with others. The polarization between the house church movement and the traditional/temple church is a reaction to something that is missing in our current church practices by and large. Even with the challenge of postmodernity, we still tend to look to something (a methodology – a new wineskin) rather than looking to someone (the Father and His people). All this tells us is that the “how” of doing church is still the issue.

How do we overcome this dilemma and live and love as Jesus did? Well, let’s turn to Jesus to see if He can help us.

Jesus frequently used the personal and intimate designation of God as “My Father”. Unlike so many in our day and age, Jesus defined Himself in relationship with His Father. We tend to define ourselves by our theological persuasions, our methodological prowess, our roles, our mission, etc. If you took away your ministry, your role, your mission, would have anything left that could be called the self? I realize that human beings have “to do” something in order to be human – our humanity is expressed in and through our doing. This is not my question or issue. Maybe the better question is, if you gave away the Gift of Presence – the Gift of Self to another, what would that look like without your role or missional function? What does it mean, in your life, to incarnate the Gospel in the lives of others?

Jesus often says, “My Father” - this is the key and source of His life and ministry. He is in relationship with the Father. He is not submitted first to a mission, a cause, a methodology, but to His Father. It is this relationship that releases Him to the mission, the Father’s cause and the methodology by which He will do it.

It is also of interest that the Father’s validation of Jesus, at His baptism, was on who the Son is, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). I find it striking that the Father defines Jesus by His relationship to Himself and not by what Jesus came to do.

This relationship defines who Jesus is, what He will do and how He will do it. In the same way, our relationship with the Father allows us to discover who we are in Christ and how He has made us for His Kingdom pleasure and purpose. It is only then that we truly are able to do only what we see the Father doing. Maybe it actually frees us to see what the Father is doing since we are no longer looking at our theological paradigms or methodological processes first, but sensing the direction of the Father’s leading and where He is already at work.

Navigating this confusing time or any confusing time is best done by looking to our relationship with our Father. After all, isn’t that how Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father”?

I say all that to simply ask, are you growing in your love for God and for His people? Do you find your heart moved by the tender mercies of God, overcome by His love and unable to stop the love of Christ from flowing from your life towards others? Do you find your devotions extend to the whole day rather than just 15-30 minutes? Have you discovered your love for family is deepening and your presence with your spouse is more pronounced? In the midst of this economic decline, have you noticed more peace and hope than ever before, even though all that seems to bring it is passing away? How can that be? Maybe, that is the question the world should be asking us who live such a reality.

The revolution that Tom and I believe our Father is birthing is not one that is based in a new ideology or a cause or methodology, but in a relationship with God. It is only those who walk in such simplicity that will be able to navigate this tumultuous time with grace and success, as they do what they see their Father doing.

And so, what are you defined by? What defines you is what you will give away.

Church Without The Props

by Tom Johnston

So, how did Jesus minister the Gospel to the 5,000 without the appropriate background music? I mean, come on, how did He set the mood for the moving of the Spirit on people hearts and minds without a worship leader and team backing Him up? Everyone knows that you need a serious kickin’ sound system to do live events outdoors! It’s surprising that people would come such a meeting without proper seating, or donkey parking, or childcare. I wonder what the disciples did for Children’s Church? How was He able to do leadership meetings with His disciples without PowerPoint? How was He able to build community with them without e-mail, Facebook or Twitter? How did Jesus do church without all the props?

I think the key to why His ministry was so effective can be found in this passage from John 6:66-69:

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus had life, the life of the Father in Him, and that life was that which drew people to Him. Jesus didn’t need the props because He had content – eternal life from the Father. And not eternal life as a concept, or a future destination, but as a vital current reality. People experienced the life of the eternal Father when they encountered Jesus. Peter’s statement related the fact that they had been so impacted by this life that they could not leave Jesus. If Christ was so impacting us today – and others through us, we would see the churches full to overflowing. So, the question becomes, why do we need the props to “do church?”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think we should use all the technology, etc. in our ministry environments. There are many practical things we need to put in place to facilitate ministry well, and all ministry should be done with excellence. But very often we prop our ministry up on the props, because we don’t have the vital life of Jesus flowing in us or our churches. Ouch. I know, it hurts to embrace that, like a crown of thorns, or nails in the hands, or a spear in the side. But we have to embrace this truth – it is part of our going to the Cross, part of our dying daily, part of our sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

We often use the analogy of Starbucks coffee in a paper cup – we go to Starbucks for the good coffee (and pay way too much) and not the paper cup. The cup is essential, but is not what we spend the ridiculous amount of money. It’s the content. The life of the Father brought to us by the Holy Spirit through Jesus the Son is the content we need. As we like to say, we need some serious Jesus on tap, because you can’t give away what you don’t already have.

So, what are you doing to add the content of the life of Christ to your life? How are you going deep with Jesus, personally? How are you going to add His life to your Church? Are you relying on the props to get you through, both personally and as a church?

Recently, I learned of a local Episcopal church here in New England which had one of the walls collapse of its stone building – it fell on the pastor’s car. The building inspector condemned the ancient stone building – they can never use it again. Believe it or not, the congregation was revitalized by the challenge of being flexible for worship, sharing space with other churches, being in temporary digs. They lost one of their props, but found the dynamic life of Christ. Amazing. What would you and your congregation do in a similar situation? What would happen if you lost some of the props supporting your ministry? Maybe it’s time to kick out some of the props and see if the life of Christ alone will support your ministry. Let’s see if they are coming because of His life, or the convenient donkey parking.

May your life and ministry have the true life of Jesus in abundance and may it be more than just a propped up house of cards.

The Time Has Come

by Mike Chong Perkinson

We live in the midst of a post-modern world that has become suspicious with the propositional world of truth and facts. The declarations of science have only made the average individual more apprehensive about what can be known and who can know it. Truth has become personal, “what is true for you is not necessarily for me”; largely due to a world of overstatements that were not backed up by reality. Our world is less interested in whether or not something is factually true, but rather if something is real. This does not deny the interplay of truth with facts, but speaks to the “something more” that lies deep within the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

The Western Church (referred to as WC) has only facilitated this demise as we have bought into a secular worldview that has taught the sequence of fact, faith and feeling. In essence, feelings don’t matter and can’t be trusted. We are basically Vulcans (like Spock on Star Trek -Vulcans are individuals that have removed all emotion because of the near extinction of the Vulcan society due to emotions). We live in a cerebral world of propositions and systems of thought that guide our daily lives. The world is then not about love, righteousness or beauty, but about being right, clear and logical. The emphasis is on supporting, building and nurturing the proposition and the operating system and not on nurturing human beings (Philippians 1:25) and our operating system, the heart.

As a result the WC has operated in a paradigm that focuses more on the “how” than it does the ultimate destination or the “why”. It would be like two families arguing over which vehicle to take on a trip. One family wants to take the RV and the other wants to take the SUV. In their argument they lose sight of the purpose and destination and focus only on the reasons their vehicle of choice is superior and more necessary. The point of the trip, family fun and togetherness is lost in the heated exchange and both families will not budge.

RV – Argument for: More room, can rest better and relax while we drive, can interact better as families.

SUV – Argument for: Roomy enough, better gas mileage, easier to drive, less likely to get into an accident, easier to park.

The families can’t agree on the mode of transportation, the “how” and so by taking separate vehicles are no longer able to vacation together. How unfortunate. How silly. How church-like. It is so easy as the church to get sidetracked and spend more time disagreeing over the “how” rather than focusing on the direction (a “how” the Bible does not address). You know - when your political party determines your theology, when you base your Biblical views more on the Constitution than Scripture, when you turned Christianity into creeds and doctrines at the expense of a relationship with God, when love becomes a tool to evangelize instead of a way of life, when our denominational preference supersedes Scripture; when this happens we become "religianity" rather than being simple followers of Christ.

The WC gets lost in its creedal wars, fighting with a heart that is far from the heart of love that Jesus told us would define as His disciples.

The WC has then created a process where we…

Educate to Principle > Equip to Principle > Evangelize because of principle for the principle.

The WC seeks to admonish and address issues in life so that people will adhere to the principles and systems that have created and need to be supported. The contention of many in the WC is to protect and to preserve their system or way of thinking more than preserve and nurture others in the love, grace and freedom of Christ.

The OC (Organic Church)

On the other hand, the OC (Organic means life on life) seeks to help facilitate a relationship with the Person of Christ by incarnating His presence (Gift of Presence) and living in the reality of the “Irreducible Core” (loving God, loving others as you love yourself and as you live life, make disciples). Systems are utilized in the OC as well. However the systems are not served but serve the life that is forming. These systems are adaptable and flexible and only exist to support and release life - not constrain it.

The OC process then would look something like…

Encounter a Person > Equip to and for life > Edify other persons

The WC is about strict adherence and behaviors while the OC is about 3 relationships (God, self and others). More simply, love affirms which frees people to become the person God intended them to be (Ephesians 2:10, NLT “masterpiece”) – releases us to have a relationship with a person not a proposition. Just a side note, propositions are much easier to control – a person, particularly Christ, is not.

All of that to say, forgiveness leads to freedom and freedom leads to fruitfulness. Understanding the proposition of forgiveness is vital but experiencing it in relationship with the living God of the universe is another matter. Love frees and is the basis of the new revolution.

If you have found yourself weeping over this generation, interceding on behalf of lost people, praying that God would forgive them for they know not what they do, finding ways to facilitate reconciliation in all matters of life, and growing in the Fruit of the Spirit; then you are being prepared for what is to come.

The closing two verses of the Book of Acts help us understand what this all means. Paul had been living in house arrest for 2 years, paying his own expenses, as well as having a soldier guard him (Acts 28:16). In spite of the obstacles, Luke closes the account with these powerful words, “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance”. When we live for ourselves there are always hindrances. When we live for Christ, there are only opportunities.

The revolution is full of opportunities. May God’s people submit to the King, be overtaken by love, and find the world ready and primed to receive our Messiah! To the resolved and broken, the time is now. The revolution has begun!

De-coupling From Culture, Engaging People

by Tom Johnston

Since Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, followed and reinforced by Theodosius I and his Code in 380 AD which established Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire, the Christian faith has held special cultural privilege in Western society. Indeed, as the West developed, the Church has played a foundational role in the formation of its civilization. The Church has been the center pole of that society, and consequently the American nation as well. Here in New England where I live, during the Colonial Era, before a village or town could receive a charter from the King, a church building HAD to be constructed. Mr. Jefferson’s letter regarding his thoughts on the separation of Church and state had not yet been penned – the Church was seen to be essential to the community, the society, the culture. (Kings ruled by Divine Right – and none wanted to offend God!) Christendom, the aligning of Church and State, became the dominant cultural driver in Western societies. How far we have moved from that reality, with the secularism that came with Modernity replacing the influence of the Church. This has been both good and bad. Bad in the sense of a general decline in those professing Christ as a percentage of the population, bad in the sense that the positive influence of the Church in ethics (politics, business, science) has declined as well. But perhaps it is good as well. Perhaps it is an opportunity.

Today the Church in the West struggles to find its place in the very civilization it helped to found. Europe has become profoundly post-Christian, some even say pagan. Years of culture wars in the United States has not gained any purchase in the downhill slide of faith in our country. By way of example, the recent American Religious Identification Survey indicates 29% of the people living in my state (New Hampshire) have no religious identity. Not Christian, not Jewish, not Muslim, not Buddhist - not anything. This is up 20% in the past 18 years. Yet the Church of Jesus Christ continues to grow everywhere in the world outside the West. The Church of the West is in trouble, the Church of the Bible is not.

In response, many pastors and Christian leaders are on a quest for an elusive thing – cultural relevance. Many see such relevance as the key to communicating the Gospel effectively to generations which have yet to be truly impacted by its message. And while we would applaud their missional concern and their desire to once again impact the society for Christ, we are not sure that cultural relevance is what we should be aiming for. An honest appraisal of the Gospel as compared to some of our Western cultural norms shows some dramatic divergence. For the Christian disciple, the way up is down, the way to gain your life is to lose it, the way to lead is to serve. Seems a little different than the current version of the American Dream, as we see a combination of personal and corporate greed wreck the economy as companies sold things to people who were lusting for what they could not afford. Not exactly Matthew 6:33.

No, Christianity is counter-cultural to the West, as the Gospel speaks prophetically against much of the self-absorbed nature of our society. It is counter-intuitive, as it does not support the current morals and values of the West, seemingly wrong to those steeped in the materialistic, hedonistic lifestyle at the core of our civilization. To make the point simply, the recent “economic crisis” happened in part because people stopped buying stuff. Times got tough, people got smart, savings went up, personal debt went down (first time since WWII) – and this was bad for the economy. So the government had to spend for us, and for our kids and grandkids. But that’s another article.

So, what then about culture? The Church exists within culture, incarnates within culture and communicates the Gospel within culture. A proper “cultural exegesis” is required for a local church to effectively minister in any given environment. So, culture cannot be escaped, but the issue is not cultural relevance, because the Gospel is not relevant to culture. It’s relevant to people.

For 2000 years, in many different parts of the world, in many different cultures, the Gospel of the Kingdom and its message of salvation have impacted billions of people – and changed and shaped cultures – through the people who have been transformed by Christ. The individuals, couples and families who have entered into the new birth and then been used by God to bring change to the culture. They have been so affected because the Gospel speaks to the core human needs of significance, transcendence and belonging. The needs of people. People’s hearts must change before they can change their culture. In effect, true Christianity is a counter-cultural, revolutionary in-breaking of the Kingdom of God into the lives and affairs of men. The Kingdom advances one heart at a time. The hearts of people. This spiritual revolution initiated by Christ is not propagated by institutions on organizations – but by His people. It is shared person to person, life to life. It is an organic reality that transcends culture. In fact, every culture at some point must bow its knee to Jesus. We don’t need to dominate culture nor morph ourselves to mate with it – we need to be salt and light within it, ministering the love and life of Jesus to people.

Perhaps it is that God in His sovereign plan is allowing the Church in the West to lose its cultural influence so as to de-couple us from it, so that we can minister to the people within it. We could leave the Culture War behind (we lost anyway) and engage in a war of love and service to people. No longer being the center pole of Western civilization, we can’t expect people to come to us, we must go to them, going with a heart of love embodied in sharing God’s truth, compassion and justice.

So, abandon your quest to hit the moving target of cultural relevance, and go find people to love on, in Jesus name. When He transforms enough of us, He can transform our society. Go engage some people.

Jesus Christ: Revolutionary, Liberator

by Tom Johnston

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” – Jesus Christ, Luke 4:18-21 ESV

It often surprises many people that Jesus is not just some mild-mannered teacher of moral values, but rather a spiritual revolutionary, the Anointed One chosen of God as the ultimate Liberator of humankind. That’s O.K., because it surprised the folks in Nazareth, too. Jesus, in his own words, declares Himself and His intention to upset the apple cart. He was not just another run-of-the-mill upstart young Rabbi just come in from one of those desert epiphanies. No, He was the Invader from Heaven, breaking in from the outside, intent on setting some things straight. In this declaration, He is throwing down the gauntlet in the face of the Adversary, declaring the coming of the Kingdom rule of God.

Seven Marks of A Revolutionary

It was not all that long ago in the span of history that America fought what has been termed the “Revolutionary War” against what was called “tyranny” and “oppression.” Jesus came to fight a much more significant war on a much grander scale – all the cosmos and the humanity it contained was the prize for which He waged war – not a war of this fallen world (cosmos = created order, see John 18:33-40), but a spiritual war which spanned the dimensions of reality (Philippians 2:8-11). Yet in this, Jesus finds Himself in the company of many members of humanity, perhaps the Founding Fathers of America included, who were radicals, revolutionaries bent on liberating people from oppression. Let’s look at some of the marks of such people:

1. He claimed Divine empowerment. He was not the first revolutionary, or the last, to claim such, but He was the only One who could do so in absolute, undeniable truth

2. He felt that He was specially chosen for His task. Many leaders throughout history have proclaimed the same, but none with the effect on humanity, or on human temporal and eternal history, like Him

3. He had a special focus on the poor – those who were spiritually impoverished as well as the economically disadvantaged and destitute

4. He led the largest jail-break in the history of creation, busting into the worst concentration camp ever to lead the captives to freedom (Ephesians 4:8-10). And to this day He continues to free men and women, boys and girls from the bonds of death and hell (1 Corinthians 15)

5. He brought a new way of seeing things, a new take on reality, that was not of the status quo. This challenged the religious leaders of the day – in fact it scared the gehenna out of them

6. He came to over-turn the tables of injustice, racial hatred and oppression – the oppression of humanity by the Adversary and the oppression of humanity by humans

7. He, with all authority, declared all the debt owed to the true King of the Universe was to be paid in full – and then He Himself paid it on the Cross

Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. But He is also the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. And He is not a tame lion. Nor is He a circus lion, who can be taught to do tricks. He is a victorious warrior who defeats His enemies with a word and has a “take no prisoners” policy – because the liberation of the prisoners is why He fights. He is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, and is over all dominions, principalities and powers, in the form of both human and spiritual governments. He cannot be overthrown, ousted in a coup d’état, or subverted through a counter-insurgency – and the increase of His government shall know no end. He is utterly undefeatable. He is not a messianic politician, but THE Messiah. He is the ultimate Revolutionary because He is good, unstained by fallen-ness, untainted by personal agenda. His methods – hanging out with all the “wrong people,” having relationship with the “usual suspects,” are completely righteousness, because He is the embodiment of both love and justice. He does not wage war in the flesh or by the means of this world, but by service, self-sacrifice and speaking the Truth to us in love. And we are His revolutionary Army of Liberation.

Come Again?

That’s right. The Church. The Body of Christ. You – Spiritual Warrior of Love, Freedom and Hope. What? Not quite the image you had of yourself, or of the Church in the West? Could it be because the Church, born in the image of its Creator, having both lion and lamb characteristics, has forgotten its spiritual lion-hood? Is it perhaps because our self-perception is that we are grasshoppers in the eyes of the giants in the land? Is it because we think our culture too hard, too cold, too wealthy, too satiated, too disinterested – in other words too tough – for Jesus to conquer? Is it because we have bought a defeatist and escapist theology that says it’s all downhill from here – and we all beam out just before it hits bottom, so hey, why bother anyway? Maybe it is a combination of these factors, and more.

Or maybe, it’s just because we’ve forgotten who we are in Christ. Or perhaps we have never really known. You are what you eat – and we have been fed an incomplete diet in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian. But not all of us have drank the watered-down kool-aid of spiritual passivity. There are lions in our midst – we know you are out there! It is time to believe in the call of God on your life as a liberator, to trust His Spirit working in you to revolutionize your heart with His love, so that He might revolutionize your home, your neighborhood, your church for His kingdom. The time has come for you to take a stand for the Liberation Front of Heaven and embrace the fullness of Christ in you – embrace the Lion. It’s time for you to stand up, stand out and wage the war of love. It is a time to take risks, to love with reckless abandon the lost, the hurting, the broken – the “wrong people,” the “usual suspects,” to champion again the cause of the poor – the spiritual poor and those poor in the things of this life (Jesus wasn’t kidding about the sheep and the goats thing in Matthew 25). It’s time to work to set the spiritual captives free – and to work to free those held captive by poverty, alcoholism, addictions, fear, hopelessness, and social injustices of every kind. It is time to see the new reality of God’s Kingdom life as real, and not a storybook fairly tale of something that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away – or as something we wait passively for the Rapture Bus to swing by our stop and take us to the great-by-and-by. Yes, it’s time to even stand up to governments that oppress people through economic and political means. Where are the advocates in the Church for the Darfurs, the Sudans, the Rwandas? Yes, we know you are there, but you are distressingly too few.

And why should we concern ourselves with such things? After all, we each have our own stuff to deal with, right? The first reason is simply because it completes the work of Christ, pulling into this reality and into the lives of people the acceptable year of the Lord’s favor - the blessings of His Kingdom reign and rule. His Kingdom enriches, frees, illuminates and unshackles – and that reality needs to be demonstrated in and through, His Church. The second reason is just as simple – He has already begun doing these things for you. How could you but allow Him to do the same thing through you for others:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” - John 20:21-22 ESV

So, go, you who are the Spirit Breathed-Upon, sent in the same way the Father sent Him: Empowered. Chosen. To the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed – in the spiritual and the natural – and declare and demonstrate the blessings of His Kingdom rule and reign. Remember, this is your God:

The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing – Zephaniah 3:17 RSV

Go, be a revolutionary, a liberator, like Jesus.

Binding and Loosing: Language of a Revolutionary

by Mike Chong Perkinson

Jesus told Peter, after he made the great confession that “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)

Jesus seems to be giving Peter the keys of authority that will invade the dimensions of planet Earth. What did Jesus mean? What is the authority that has been granted to Peter? Are we able to simply bind and lose whatever we desire? Can we simply decide to start a spiritual revolution and loose it on earth? From a quick literal reading it would appear such is the case.

Whatever camp you find yourself in determines your interpretive possibilities. For the conservative Evangelical the power of binding and loosing can only be based in the written Word of God. For the Pentecostal, the power of binding and loosing is based in the authority of Jesus granted in the presence of the Holy Spirit who empowers every believer to live out this authority. For the Catholic, this power has been given through a long succession of Popes, beginning with Peter, that speak as the living words of authority, preserving the tradition and life of the Church.

Ok, enough of the exegetical possibilities. What in the world did the text mean? And how does it apply to a revolutionary?

I find it fascinating that the once the words have been spoken by Jesus, He immediately instructs the disciples to tell no that He is the Christ and explains how He will go to Jerusalem and die and on the third day be raised from the dead.

What intrigues me further about this text is Peter’s response to Jesus going to Jerusalem and dying. The first thing that Peter tries to bind is Jesus, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (Matthew 16:22)

Jesus swiftly rebukes him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23)

I wonder how much of an issue this really is. We, well meaning sons and daughters of Adam, in our attempt to move out in the authority of Jesus, often end up binding and loosing the wrong things. How Hell must laugh.

Another text adds to our understanding, which reads, “Why could we not cast it out?” And He said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” (Mark 9:28-29,)

In the account, the disciples were not able to cast out the demon (Mark 9:18) and were perplexed as the text indicates. The disciples had to learn that their previous success in expelling demons (Mark 6:7) provided no guarantee of continued power. Rather the power of God must be asked for on each occasion in radical reliance upon the Spirit of God. This power must be asked for afresh in prayer. Our reliance is not on a principle but a person that we commune with daily. As Jesus said, the Son only does what He sees the Father doing (John 5:19).

To trust God’s power in the sense that we have it in our control and at our disposal is tantamount to unbelief; for it is really to trust in ourselves instead of in God. Faith is a radical reliance upon the Person of Christ not just the propositions about Him. I can control a proposition or principle and implement it as I see fit. I can’t control Christ and use Him as I see fit. Faith in Christ requires a relationship, trust, on-going dialogue (prayer), and a daily surrender to His heart and will for my life.

And what does this have to do with a revolutionary? Simply this, we believe God is in the midst of something profound in our land. A spiritual wave of hope and life is swelling in the distant horizon and the saints are finding themselves stirred within to ride this wave of life and societal transformation that will release the healing and saving power of the Kingdom. It is within this framework of the in-breaking of His Kingdom that we have the power to bind and loose.

So how do we bind and loose and facilitate this revolution? The first key in a spiritual awakening or revolution is not so much what we choose to do in the name of Jesus but our surrender to the Ultimate Revolutionary, our obedience to His voice in our daily lives, our willingness to live within the confines of His Kingdom authority; and our passionate aim to see His Kingdom extended so that all might come to know the restoration of life His Kingdom brings (this is about salvation of souls but includes so much more).

And so, it is not so much about what we bind our loose or the power that has been granted us to exercise demons and remove the darkness in our land. His authority has been released in us (Matthew 28:18-20), that is not the issue. The issue is our on-going dialogue (prayer) with the Ultimate Revolutionary so that we move when He moves and we bind what He has bound and we loose what He has loosed.

The prophet Micah encapsulates this for us as he declares, “He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head.” (2:13) The King has come. His Kingdom is here. The revolution has begun. May we have ears to hear what He is saying and eyes to see what He is doing!

Deformed Reform

by Mike Chong Perkinson

I have often wondered why it is that people struggle to get along with each other. Husbands find it difficult to understand their wives; wives, at times, feel like they are married to an alien that doesn’t comprehend the feminine heart; siblings fight and contend for parental affection; and those in the Kingdom of God, the Church, war with one another over right doctrine and preferred practice. Like the Zealots of old, our reformation tactics, even if well intended, are not about bettering humanity and the Kingdom of God but some form of nationalism that interjects its religious superiority and prejudice over others. After all, the best human organizations can do is to create structures that dominate and oppress – dehumanizing individuals as it turns them into human doings, functionaries within the oppressive matrix that serves the powerful and the few.

The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, is not about a power that restricts, dehumanizes, oppresses or dominates. Rather, the Kingdom of God is about the freedom (Luke 4:18-19) that Christ ushered in that results in a power of service that frees others from the bondage of the oppressive demonic matrix. The power of the new society that Jesus came to create is not one that needs to be served, creating fear in the lives of its constituency. Rather, Jesus came to bring about a Kingdom that will serve others even if by dying for them.

All this to say, the best religious structures can do is give rise to oppressive and restrictive measures that continue to live along the lines of the satanic matrix that continues to dehumanize and devalue the pinnacle of creation (humanity). As polished and right as our doctrine might be the machinery of religion still serves the few, drawing the many to support it, while the many serve the machine and lose their humanity. Maybe this has something to do with why so many are disillusioned with organized religion. It would appear that our overall efforts at reform simply deform the creation more and more.

On a more positive note, have you ever noticed that humanity is often at its best in the midst of catastrophe? When a hurricane or some natural disaster or terrorist attack strikes one of our cities, we see humanity step up in a way that normally does not take place in our day to day routines. Fireman, police officers and the like sacrifice their lives to help those caught in the throes of death’s grip. The heroic efforts of those during 9/11 are forever etched upon the minds of us all.

Why is it that during such difficult times people act more human than at any other? I submit to you that the reason is the playing field has been leveled. We are no longer doctors, lawyers, CEO’s, but simply human beings. It doesn’t matter if the person trapped in the building is a house wife, a CEO, degreed or non-degreed, all that matters is one of the human family is hurting and someone needs to help them. For a moment we get a taste of humanity at its best, as it loves sacrifices and re-humanizes the other. For a brief moment, the country is one and we are all just human beings contending for the humanness of each other. The problem, as we all know, is that we can’t maintain this.

Jesus comes to bring about a true reformation of heart that re-humanizes us through the power of the Cross. He came to level the playing field. He became human so that we might return to being human. He became a Man so that we could see how the Father (the Trinity) is and how the God-head relates to itself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He brought about a Kingdom that is based in 3 relationships: Loving God and loving others as you love yourself. More simply, relationship with God restores our relationship with the self, healing our brokenness, which then allows us to have relationship with others. The purest form of a level playing field is the power of the Church to serve and re-humanize the other. In other words, loving people is the primary characteristic that verifies we are disciples of Christ.

A man went to Rabbi Shammai and made a request, “I will believe in the God of Israel and abandon idolatry on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while standing on one foot.” Shammai was rather irritated by this request and was holding a builder’s cubit measure rod in his hand that he quickly used to whack the would-be convert with, driving him away for asking such a ridiculous question.

The other great Rabbi of the day, Hillel (both were contemporaries of Jesus) was next in line for this foolish man’s question. He asked Hillel and Hillel responded. “What you do not want someone to do to you, do not do to him or her. The rest of the Torah is commentary upon this principle. Now go and learn it!” This is the negative application of the Golden Rule taught by Jesus.

The heart of the Torah that Jesus came to restore is highlighted by Rabbi Hillel. The issue is in how we relate to each other. Another great Rabbi and Pharisee (Acts 23:6) said something along the same line: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

Dear Saint, Pastor, leader, may you find your heart overwhelmed by the love and mercy of our God that has resulted in your freedom that has released in you a heart to serve His Kingdom. May you resist the oppressive nature of the demonic matrix that seeks to overtake our churches and organizations while it dominates and oppresses people all in the name of Jesus. May you find your life more human, more alive as you and your family enjoy the liberating power of the Cross that sets us free from human domination. May the coming revolution not be about our personal prejudices, a nationalistic pride or self-serving theology. May Christ come and set me free from myself and free me to be myself for His pleasure and Kingdom so that others might be re-humanized in the love of the Cross.

One Lord, One Faith, Many Graces

by Tom Johnston

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. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Ephesians 4:4-7, ESV

So then, why all the sects, denominations, networks – all the different brands? Why is it that it seems that while God sees us all as one, we are working so hard to try to portray ourselves as different? Why do we feel the need to be unique as a church or denomination? Is sameness bad?

At the heart of this segment of Paul’s letter to the mighty church at Ephesus, the Apostle to the Gentiles is trying to help them see the wonderful nature of God: unity in diversity, and how that is expressed in His Church. God as trinity is One, yet diverse. Paul reminds them of this singular nature of God as a prelude to his discussion of diversity. He makes a clear point of there being only one body, only one Spirit, only one hope, only one Lord, only one faith, only one baptism – and only one God who is the Father of the one family, called the Church.

With all this unity and singularity, why then do we have so many brands? If we are meant to be interdependent, why so much expressed independence in the churches? With more than 3,000 denominations, networks, independent groups and non-denomination denominations today, we seemed to have missed the point of the “one body” et al. somewhere. What we experience is more division than diversity, more isolation than interdependence. Why?

In verse 7, Paul mentions that each member (diversity) of the one body (singularity) was given a grace empowerment for the building up the body of Christ, for bringing us to unity in faith and spiritual maturity. It seems such development equips us for growth in love, and makes us resistant to the shifts brought on by the “winds of doctrine.” Yet, amazingly enough, it this issue – doctrine – which seems to divide us the most. Not necessarily just on the big points: the Bible, the Person of Christ, etc. but on things, well, that seem to us to be less important, things not essential, not core to the Christian faith. Our doctrinal statements and our liturgies become reasons to depart from the unity of the faith, from the bond of peace. Indeed, they have been the cause for wars.

Where then, does the expression diversity come in? In the grace of Christ. The fundamental uniqueness of His grace working through the various streams of the Church and individual people provide us with a display of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23). The multiplicity of Christ’s grace expressed is what imparts us our uniqueness, all of which is meant to function and flow together in oneness – God is one – with one purpose – the building up of the one Body and the extension of the one Faith. At Praxis, we currently have the privilege and joy of serving pastors and denominational leaders from more than 20 denominations, as well as many independent churches and networks. Most of the time when we are together with these dear saints, we can’t tell them apart, because we can see in all of them the grace empowerment of Christ Jesus at work in them.

So, go ahead and hold onto your doctrinal proclivities and creedal statements – we want you to. But hold onto them loosely – and please don’t use them as a hammer on the rest of us – don’t let them divide us. What we need everyone to do is bring their grace to the table – that which Christ has invested in them. We need who He is in each of us. Just don’t go home and take your ball with you, because then we all lose out – and so does the world. We might differ in a few bullet points on our creeds, fliers and websites, but we still need the grace of Christ in each other. It’s the only way the West can be one again for Christ.

How To Not Stink At "Evangelism"

by Phil McFarland, member of the Praxis 24 Fellowship

Americans love shortcuts. We value expediency and hate waiting. Let’s face it; we are accustomed to getting what we want, in the shortest possible time. A mere twenty years ago, a single phrase universally described a bygone era: “Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.” As Christians, we’re not immune to impatience. In fact, I suggest we’re worse off. With God on our side, why should have to wait? With the full force of Scripture behind us, we’re genuinely confused why the majority of lost and misguided people surrounding us fail to recognize what we’ve discovered. We want to believe our Lord’s words, that the ‘fields are white for harvest’. Yet, Christ’s prayers in Gethsemane seem to often go unrealized. Why?

Over the course of the past year, through prayer and reflection, I’ve compiled a list of simple truths I believe are essential in order to communicate God’s love in today’s world. I’ve adopted a practice of rereading these occasionally to remind myself of the depth of relational investment required to effectively model Christ’s sacrificial love.

1. There’s no two ways around it; you really must love people; this means having other people’s best interests in mind and being genuinely (and solely) motivated from compassion. 'Witnessing' for any other reason is merely arguing about your beliefs.

2. Learn what's important to others first, then communicate God's love in a way that's meaningful to them, based on their values. They’ll never adopt your values before experiencing your love for them.

3. Unbelievers can't be expected to learn jargon; if genuine communication is going to occur, you must speak their language –fluently. Do you think “Christianese” is holy?

4. If you can't communicate your core, foundational beliefs in common, everyday language, then chances are, you really don't understand them to begin with.

5. Don’t wait to tell others about Christ. Live-out the change He’s making in your heart and describe to others what’s happening in your life when God presents the opportunity to do so.

6. Speaking to someone about Christ is far more personal than talking to them about their weight. If you don't know them (or care for them) enough for that discussion, than you probably need to lovingly invest more into their lives before trying to talk to them about their errors of belief and spiritual destiny.

7. Christians are far better at drawing distinctions between themselves and others around them than they are at recognizing the connections that already exist between them and those that God has placed in their lives.

8. Contrary to what you believe, most non-Christians have not rejected the God you serve. They've rejected a half-formed set of ideas, based on their godless experiences. If you don't believe that, ask them to describe the god they've rejected -and see how it little it compares to God's true character. If you still doubt this, ask yourself, “What would I believe about God if I had not met Jesus?”

9. Christians place a supremely high value on what they believe. Non-Christians truly aren't concerned about what you believe; they only care about how you treat them and others. If they see a significant difference in how you act, they may listen to what you have to say in relatively small, digestible chunks.

10. Don’t perpetuate the idea that people are loved more when they act right. That only reinforces the (wrong) belief that love is earned. Instead, merely love them. Unconditionally. In time, they may want to know why – live out 1 Peter 3:5. Then, connect them to Christ, our Cause and Source. At that point, a transformation of heart and values will occur. Their behavior will change in response to the birth of love, forgiveness, grace and appreciation in their lives.