The Paradox of Pluralistic Singularity In The Church

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 6

[In a previous blog I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 6 in the series: Plurality will replace individualism.  The New Testament emphasizes “the priesthood of believers”.  No where does it edify the individual priest (except Jesus as our High Priest). In America, we emphasis the Bill of Rights, the rights of each individual, but that is not the case in the Bible.  In the kingdom of God we have no “rights”. We under the loyal service, the Lordship, of our King and High Priest, Jesus Christ, thus a member of a “royal priesthood”.  Instead we live under the “grace” and “mercy” of our Lord Jesus Christ, always “serving” others.  The Great Commission is always outward, not inward.  Change is coming in the way the Church understands the doctrine of “the priesthood of believers”.]

The gospel is full of what seems to be paradoxes that turn out to be truths.  For example the Bible speaks of plurality often as a singular form. The Godhead is plural (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), yet it is singular (“There is only one God.”). We talk of the Trinity as the three in one, the singularity of one with a tri-faceted nature. The Church, the Priesthood of Believers, is another example, for the New Testament speaks of it as a single entity, yet it is made up of plurality: peoples of many cultures, races, nationalities, and labels who are extremely different but all believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, Lord, and High Priest.  The Church, referred to singularly, is composed of plurality, a multi-faceted nature.

In the Old Testament, the priesthood was established so man could “draw near” to the God that he had alienated due to sin and present sacrifices to atone for his sins.  In the New Testament, because of what Jesus did on the Cross as an atonement for all sin, any man can now “draw near” to God just by asking Jesus into his heart. Scripture says, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”  Since God’s Spirit, His Holy Spirit, can dwell in our bodies, our temples, that qualifies us to be Priests unto the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ once we have made this step of faith.  All these priests combined, in plurality, make up the Priesthood of Believers, or the Church, singular.  Nowhere in the New Testament does it refer to priest in the singular sense, other than Jesus being our High Priest, but it refers to priests, the Church, as the Priesthood of Believers, in the singular.  Many are One = the Church.  That is why the “priestly prayer” of John 16 is so important, because Jesus recognizes the power of many only if they are ONE! That is why he prays for their unity.  The singular Godhead functions in plurality, so the singular Church can also function in plurality.

So how can something as diverse as the Body of Christ, the Church, the Priesthood of Believers, function as ONE? Simple:

1) The Church has to recognize the plurality of the Trinity: the Godhead of the Father, the atoning sacrificial Lamb of obedience and service of the Son, Jesus, and the releasing of the Holy Spirit upon all believers after Jesus’ ascension back to his Father.  The Church has to recognize the role of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ in their midst today, why he is here, and what he is doing.  They have to learn to listen to his voice, and most importantly, be obedient to what the Holy Spirit directs them to do. The voice of the Holy Spirit is the voice of Jesus Christ, the High Priest, to his people, the Priesthood of Believers, the Church.

2) The Church has to recognize the plurality of its own make up, the diversity within the Body of Christ as equals, one, functioning as one.  Ephesians 4:7 says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.”  The people of God, the Believers of Jesus Christ, the Church, is very diverse because its people have many giftings, many talents, many passions, many visions, many voices, and many points of view, yet they are to speak with one voice: JESUS.  Everything they say and do should point to JESUS even though it may be in different ways, different dialects.  The Church has a plurality of messengers and styles of presentations, but only one singular message: JESUS.

3) The Church has to not only recognize its diversity but accept it as its strength. It needs to clean up its message, thus the need for apostles, even today, and establish apostolic teaching that will unite the church not divide it by doctrine and theology, so the Church can speak with one voice: JESUS. The voice may sound slightly different due to the accents of diversity, but the united message will always be the same: JESUS.

4)  After accepting all this diversity,  this plurality, the Church has to learn to “equip the saints”, these diverse creatures, for “the work of service” to proclaim one singular message: JESUS.  The Church has to be willing to “release” these saints to do the work.  But logistically, from an institutional standpoint, how do you do that? SIMPLE: by allowing Jesus to be the High Priest of His Priesthood of Believers and speak through His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, to his priests who must be obedient to what they have been told by Him. Only then will the plurality of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Body of Christ, the Church speak as a single voice with one message: JESUS!

How Prepared Is The Church?

 10 Ways The Church Might Change:

Point 5 – Part 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 5 in the series: Church offices will be replaced by leadership built on relationships, not position.  Because of what one does, will one be respected or rejected. This will not be based on works, but on grace, mercy, and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Leadership will be established by those who are willing to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to that voice.]

I believe that revival in the 21^st Century Church will demand leadership built on relationship among the local brethren. That was also the pattern of the 1^st Century Church.  Paul, listening to the direction of the Holy Spirit, was lead to a city to evangelize or proclaim the gospel or “Good News” of redemption of Jesus Christ to a dying and degenerate world.  With new converts, Paul then led them through teaching and personal modeling in this new Christian lifestyle of “holiness”, “righteousness”, and walking in faith, grace, mercy, and acceptance that was foreign to their old ways of life and surrounding culture.  As they grew in this faith journey with Jesus led by the Holy Spirit, Paul then trained and equipped them for leadership, so when he left their area, they could stand on their own and grow in faith and in numbers.  He never controlled them, only equipped, trained, and encouraged them in their growing faith, in their studying of the Word of God which where Old Testament Scriptures, and relying on the Holy Spirit to interpret those in light of this new Christian culture for Jews and gentiles.

Can you image how grateful the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Galatians were to their inbreed leadership who were trained and equipped by Paul and other visiting apostles like Barnabas, Apollos, and Timothy for leading them into the knowledge of the salvation of their souls through the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross and the power of his resurrection, for developing, training, and equipping them to walk a life worthy of Christ Jesus, and release them into the gifting of the Holy Spirit for their personal growth and the edification of the entire body of believers? 

I know that my wife and I have been spiritual parents to three sets of youth throughout our lives.  They still call us Mamma B & Poppa B, but it gives us great pleasure to see their spiritual growth now that they are adults.  They have deep respect for us, and that respect is reciprocal as they continue to grow in Christ.  As spiritual parents, it is hard to describe the satisfaction of seeing the fruit of your investment. I can understand Paul’s letters to those he has trained and equipped as he sees them grow in their leadership skills.

When there is a revival, there is immediate growth, and often the need for leadership is great.  The proper training and equipping of the saints prior to a revival is a necessity, for once revival starts, there is no time for training because so much happens so quickly.  When the cause of evangelism begins to produce new babes in the Lord, those with leadership skills in properly nurturing and care, pastoral skills, are needed to develop and walk out this faith journey with these new converts.  As they grow, they needed grounded in the Word, thus the need for leaders with teaching skills. They need direction, guidance, and to learn to know the voice of the Holy Spirit and how to be obedient on their own, thus the need for a prophet.  Finally, there is a need for someone to pull it all together, to bring together the efforts of the evangelist, pastor, teacher, and prophet for the purpose of spiritual growth and unity in the body of Christ, thus the apostle. 

In a day where many are leaving the professional ministry due to burnout, the Church needs to reevaluate how it trains leaders and for what purpose if they truly want to see and be a part of revival.  The laity, the saints, need to be drawn out of their passive modes that we have enabled with, and train them for the works of service.  Then the Church will be ready for revival.

I truly believe that the Church as a whole has not yet seen revival because it is not ready for it. “Prepare ye the way” is a strong Biblical theme throughout the Bible.  The way is “prepared” before the major event occurs.  John, the Baptist, was the forerunner of the Messiah, “preparing the way”. The Church, the Bride of Christ, is to be without “spot and wrinkle” in preparation for the Groom’s, Jesus’, return.  I believe the Church is in a season of “preparation”, so that will require change.  Change in the way we train leadership; change in the way we worship together; change in our leadership structure; change in how we do “body” ministry; and change in our attitudes toward Christian brethren who do not practice their faith exactly the same way we do.

What is the Church going to do during this transitional time of preparation?  Are they going to continue their current attitude of doing nothing while clinging to past traditions, or are they going to embrace change no matter how radical it may look.

When, not it, world-wide revival hits, the Church needs to have prepared evangelists, pastors, teachers, prophets, and apostles by equipping them and releasing them to serve.  It is a monumental task, but world-wide revival is a monumental event. It is the event that will unify the church while removing its “spots and wrinkles” in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the ultimate world-wide revival.

The Christian Dilemma: Relationships Versus Religion

 10 Ways The Church Might Change:

Point 5 – Part I

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 5 in the series: Church offices will be replaced by leadership built on relationships, not position.  Because of what one does, will one be respected or rejected. This will not be based on works, but on grace, mercy, and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Leadership will be established by those who are willing to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to that voice.]

“The Word of the Lord”, the voice, is greater than the messenger.  “The Word of the Lord” can be written, as in the Bible, or spoken, as in a sermon, a testimony, or a prophetic utterance.  The message is always more important than the messenger. Ask John the Baptist who is “least in the kingdom of God” according to scripture, yet he was the messenger of a profound message ushering in the Messiah, the Priestly King, the Son of God.  The same is with relationship in relation to leadership in the kingdom of God. The relationship is more important than any office or position.

Even though Jesus built relationships with each of his twelve disciples, they had trouble at first understanding this principle, for they wanted to know who would be positioned on Jesus’ left and right when establishing rank in the kingdom of God.  Positioning of rank is secondary in comparison to the relationship one has with the person.  Your relationship to Jesus Christ is always more important than any position you hold in his kingdom or in church, yet we have twisted that principle when it comes to church leadership.  In our current church structure position and influence based on profession and offices trump relationships. Church “boards” are often composed of people with job positions and titles: ie. elders, deacons, pastors, pastoral staff, etc.  Often “boards” do not function out of relationships as brethren in Christ, but out of politics by position.  Church politics supersede the washing of one another’s feet when it comes to church business meetings. Like the Jewish Sanhedrin of old, they often become instruments of passing judgment rather than extending grace. I know; I have attended and been part of them on both the passing and the receiving of judgment!

I believe the 21^st Century Church will be confronted by the Holy Spirit on how it conducts it’s “business”. American churches often follow American business models when conducting church budget operating out of projected budgets rather than having “storehouses” (Malachi 3:10). Almost every local church seems to always be begging for money to meet its budget rather than operating fiscally from a “storehouse” mentality. Joseph’s recorded wisdom of storing 7 years of plenty for seven years of famine not only saved the Egyptian empire but made it great and powerful. A large part of many church budgets go toward financing staff and building maintenance. Benevolence and missions has remained only a small percentage of most church budgets.  Often we have treated benevolence and missions as a tithing, only 10% of the budget for things outside our institutional needs.  The way a church conducts its business tell a lot about its ministry.

Twice I have been part of a small home church where almost all of our tithing went to benevolences and missions since we had no staff nor building.  We bought “underwear” as Christmas gifts for the needy families in our group.  Because we had “relationships” with them on an everyday basis, we knew their needs, not only spiritually but physically.  “Relationships” were central to all we did or accomplished since we had not become an “organization” or an “institution” with “institutional needs”. 

I grew up at New Fairview Church of the Brethren where the “free ministry” of seven uncompensated “elders” with lifetime commitments lead their congregation. Their commitment not based on monetary pay has allowed their congregation to give large portions of their finances to benevolent needs and missions, and I have never heard of their leadership ever being in need. The only difference between their leadership and those professional “pastors” in their denomination is pay and benefits.  Another difference is in respect.  New Fairview people respect their leaders because they have committed their lives and ministry to them physically and spiritually for life.  There is consistency in leadership because it is home grown, built on relationships, with a lifetime commitment.  They do not have a “professional” change in leadership every five to ten years. Their change comes upon the death of older elders, and a “calling” of new leadership from amongst their ranks.

In the next blog we will continue to look at this theme in light of the 21^st Century Church

The Need For The Apostolic To Provide True Revival!

10 Ways The Church Might Change:

Point 4 – Part 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 4 in the series: Relationships will replace religion. Religious programs, westernized theology, and methodology will be challenged, torn down and replaced by the global movement of the Holy Spirit bringing unity, not division. Denominations and religious sects will vanish, being replaced through relationships with the Holy Spirit and between brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Apostolic will return ushering unity in theology, purpose, direction, and doctrine.  Truly there has been and is only ONE Church, the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers in Jesus Christ.]

I believe that the “apostolic” is the ability to “see over what the Holy Spirit is already doing!”  It is seeing “the big picture” of the Church as a whole.  It is not the apostle that is bringing the “big picture” together, for he does not “oversee” by controlling it; he just has the privilege of “seeing over” what is already happening by the Leading of the Holy Spirit before his eyes and helping to facilitate that picture through releasing others in the Body of Christ towards its fulfillment.  Any believer in Jesus Christ can be apostolic in vision, passion, and point of view if their heart’s cry is the Church as a whole, as a body, as a total functioning entity. 

The 21^st Century Christian with an apostolic leaning will have to be above the fray of sectarian divisions within the body of Christ over doctrine, theology, and traditions.  Saul, later named Paul, who was a Pharisee of Pharisees, a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Religion’s governing body, who debated against the Sadducees, another Jewish sect, had to be reprogrammed, rewired, re-theologized by the Holy Spirit upon his conversion to Christianity in order to have the proper apostolic vision that he would need to take the gospel to the gentiles. Those 21^st Century Christians with an apostolic view, passion, and point of view are currently under the same scrutiny that Saul/Paul faced in his time.

Although this infant first century Church looked upon itself almost as another Jewish sect with Jesus not only as its leading rabbi but Messiah, it took Paul challenging them with apostolic insight at the Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15) for them to recognize the error in their theology toward gentiles, repenting, and not only accepting gentiles but writing letters of encouragement towards their progress.  “Circumcision” was the issue debated in the first century Church, not just tolerance, but “acceptance” of gentiles (people unlike themselves) was the key to the Church’s massive growth after their decision.  The Church has gone from a Jewish sect to basically a major gentile religion.  Today the church must not be just tolerant of other Christian sects, but “accepting” of them as brethren if the 21^st Century Church is to move forward in unity, power, and purpose.  That message of “unconditional acceptance” among brethren is an apostolic theme for today! In fact the 21^st Century apostle takes it further: I John 3:16: You know love by this that you lay down your life for your brethren.  The 21^st Century apostolic teaching will be about “laying down your life for your brethren” just as Jesus did for us on the Cross.

So part of the World-Wide-Revival of the Church in the 21^st Century will be the restoration of the apostolic passion, vision, and point of view, re-establishing apostolic doctrine to bring unity in the Body of Christ, the Church, to fulfill Jesus’ own Priestly Prayer of John 16 before he was to return to his Father in heaven.  “Seeing” the workings of the Holy Spirit toward that fulfillment will be the joy of the 21^st Century Christians with an apostolic calling on his/her lives.

The Christian Dilemma: Relationships Versus Religion

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 4 – Part I

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 4 in the series: Relationships will replace religion. Religious programs, westernized theology, and methodology will be challenged, torn down and replaced by the global movement of the Holy Spirit bringing unity, not division. Denominations and religious sects will vanish, being replaced through relationships with the Holy Spirit and between brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Apostolic will return ushering unity in theology, purpose, direction, and doctrine.  Truly there has been and is only ONE Church, the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers in Jesus Christ.]

The Facebook generation is all about relationships. My generation, the Mr. Roger’s generation sang “Won’t you be my neighbor” with a regional, community, neighborly view of the world. The Facebook generation asks, “Won’t you be my friend” with a world-wide linear view of the world.  Being “part” of something and being accepted is very important to this generation.  Relationships are of the essence.  When in your twenties, relationships are key to one’s social life, for one faces friendships, break ups, relational commitments that are short term and long term, and acceptance and rejection at all different social levels.  Everyone wants to be a part of something and accepted by someone.

So if relationships are the key to understanding this generation, then the church needs to look away from things that appear to them only as being religious and begin to establish relationships instead. Today’s 20-30 year old really doesn’t care if a church is pre-tribulation, post-trib, or mid-trib in its eschatology, or if it is Calvinistic or Armenian in its orthodoxy. They can’t tell you the differences that make Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Fundamental, Eastern Orthodox, or Roman Catholic unique and separate in theology and make up.  In fact, they don’t care, because it is all religion to them, yet the church still spends much of its energy and assets in redefining their labels, heritages, and traditions.  When is the church going to realize that it is all religion? No one wants to get involved in the inner bickerings of religious sects, but one has to if drawn into local church settings.  What people want is relationships over religious activities.

Looking back over my 50 years as a Christian, religious activities have come and gone.  The events are only remembered if recorded as part of a local church’s history. On the other hand Christian relationships established over the years still remain. That says something about relationships.

The internet and the world-wide-web have forced us to look again at relationships and church.  Through internet web sites you can get all the religion you want: church web sites of services, programs, and times, blogs and opinions about theology, access to church libraries even with ancient manuscripts, videos and podcasts of sermons, even Christian chat rooms for fellowship, but the internet now also offers advancement in technical communication skills through emails, twittering, texting, emailing, Skyping, FaceTiming, Google +’ing, etc.  Relationships from the past are easily restored. I now play “Words With Friends”, alias Scrabble in old term technology, with old college friends, retirees, friends living hundreds of miles away, and even relatives.  I don’t have to have them “over to my house” to play “board games”; I can do it on my computer, Kindle, Ipad, or smart phone while watching TV, talking to my wife, and struggling with a conventional crossword puzzle while sitting in my lazyboy chair in my own livingroom.

The way high-tech America does relationships is being redefined. It is hard for me to imagine, but even if someone comes “over to my house”, they sit on different chairs “texting” one another while in the same room! Looking face to face in someone’s eyes is not a pre-requisite that you have their attention. 

So if the Church wants to reach the “world” for Jesus, it will have to re-examine how it is going to communicate with that world to be effective.  Global Revival will be communicated in a different format than my grandparents could even imagine when listening to radio preachers or watching a Billy Graham Crusade on their television.  The internet only relays data, information, electronically across the world.  The Holy Spirit can do more drawing like minded, kindred spirits, toward one another. That’s true fellowship, true relationships. 

The way Christians “relate” to one another is the key to revival. My earlier blogs about I John 3:16 and the relationship of “laying down your life for your brethren” addresses this issue. Christians must also figure out how to “relate” to non-Christians so they do not come across as “religious” but “relational” by providing grace, mercy, and unconditional love to those they communicate with.

Bottom Line: Church – We got to dump all our religious garbage that the world really doesn’t care about, nor find appealing, nor want in their lives, and start building relationships. We talk about having a “personal relationship” with Jesus, but what kind of “personal relationships” do we have with other Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters.  The answer to that question will show us where we are in being willing to be part of a global revival.

The Next Great Revival: Massive And Messy but Powerful

10 Ways The Church Might Change:

Point 3 – Part 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 3 in the series: Prophetically the Bible depicts the Spirit of the Lord as having many eyes looking in all directions, like being different creatures with different functions pulling in different directions, yet in unity as one being. His Spirit is not stagnant, but always moving. In other words it is fluid. Just as water covers the earth in all directions, the Holy Spirit covers the earth globally, and it is fluid, moving in ebbs and tides.  Satan is losing his domain, because every time he wins a battle and thinks he has gain territory, the Holy Spirit flows back in from all directions to retakes the land. This domination by the Holy Spirit is again God’s plan to prepare the earth for the return of the Lord.]

When I made Jesus my Lord and was open to receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the first thing I discovered was the reality of the spirit world.  The spirit world does exist and is very real.  In third world countries when the gospel is presented, it raises up a battle between good and evil.  Local religions who have tried to appease the demons of dark are confront with the light of the gospel, and “darkness can not comprehend light”. That is why revivals are often looked upon as being messy, because in the spirit world things are being stirred up.

Before I made Jesus the Lord of my life, I thought of the demonic as almost mythical, figurative, metaphorical, etc., but after my decision I witnessed the manifestation of the powers of darkness but the triumph of the powers of light over them.  It amazed me how blind most of us as Christians are to the reality of the spirit world.  When we are not under allegiance to King Jesus, we are no threat to satan, the enemy, but once we swear that allegiance all “hell breaks lose” and “all heaven” is at our disposal.  The conflict intensifies!

Today there is such a complacency about the Holy Spirit in our churches.  We talk about Him, recognize Him, and have our theology about Him, but see little of His powers manifested. Why?  If the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus Christ today, which He is, I propose that we need to recognize His Kingship and our lordship towards Him and begin to listen and be obedient to Him. When Jesus in the flesh ascended to His Father in heaven, He promised to send His Holy Spirit so that we would not be as orphans. He has kept His promise.  We need to live in that promise.

We need to see spiritual power manifested back into our churches and its gatherings. We need to witness actual physical and mental healings and deliverances.  We need to sense the Holy Spirit’s presence in all of our gatherings that brings brokenness, repentance, healing, deliverance, and renewal.  We need to witness the “awesomeness” of a “holy” and “righteous” God in our midst. We need gatherings where we are “changed” every time we come together.  We need to witness changed lives, healed families, and mended relationships every time we gather under the banner of Jesus Christ.  When we, as obedient servants, allow the Holy Spirit to edify King Jesus, the way we “do church” will be redefined, that is why the organize church is leery about revival. Revivals are messy because you are messing with the spiritual world.  Remain complacent, and everything stays in order, and you are no threat to satan because you are powerless.  When you recognize Jesus as your Savior and Lord, be obedient to his Lordship and listen to His Holy Spirit; you will shake up what was natural and in order with the supernatural because with it is power from on high!

The earth has been satan’s throne since the fall of mankind.  History has recorded the conquering of his domain with the turning point being the Cross!  The beginning of the end came when Jesus died on that Cross; the supernatural vertical plane of God and his relationship to man “Cross”ing, intersecting the horizontal plane of man’s history.  Since that time the Christian faith has moved forward across the known world in an effort to fulfill the Great Commission.

I believe the next great revival will be global, the final thrust by the Holy Spirit coming from all directions to claim the world for the kingdom of light in an effort to make His Bride, The Church, ready for His Second Coming.  This revival will be massive and messy, because it will be stirring up forces of darkness that have ruled the world since the fall of mankind. These forces will fall under the presence of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.  This will produce challenging times, but exciting times, for the kingdom of God will be moving forward in power and strength no longer remaining in stagnation or complacency.

Church, are we ready and open for such a movement?  If so, Holy Spirit come and move us forward under the direction of King Jesus and His Holy Spirit!  If not, Holy Spirit come and bring conviction upon us, and a repentance or turning of our hearts towards Jesus as not only our Savior but Lord.  Holy Spirit come; do your thing, even if it is massive and messy!

Are Revivals Local, Regional, National, Or World Wide?

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 3

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 3 in the series: Prophetically the Bible depicts the Spirit of the Lord as having many eyes looking in all directions, like being different creatures with different functions pulling in different directions, yet in unity as one being. His Spirit is not stagnant, but always moving. In other words it is fluid. Just as water covers the earth in all directions, the Holy Spirit covers the earth globally, and it is fluid, moving in ebbs and tides.  Satan is losing his domain, because every time he wins a battle and thinks he has gain territory, the Holy Spirit flows back in from all directions to retakes the land. This domination by the Holy Spirit is again God’s plan to prepare the earth for the return of the Lord.]

Personally, in the 1970’s I had been a Christian for a decade, a college graduate, and active in overseeing my local church’s Youth Activities.  I featured fantastic evangelistic programs, but became frustrated in not seeing the fruit of my endeavors, thus I began a spiritual search.  I knew of Jesus as my Savior, but on Memorial Day 1974, at the Mennonite’s First Conference On The Holy Spirit at the Landisville Camp Meeting Grounds I discovered Jesus as Lord, and what a change that has made in my life.  I also discovered the power of the Holy Spirit to bring “life” into my Christian walk. The Logos Word, the written Word, the Bible became alive as a vibrant Rhema Word, or living Word, where I began to walk out the Christian walk in a new way with greater faith and power. 

Revival always features the releasing of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ!  When the Spirit moves, change naturally occurs for the Holy Spirit brings conviction, holiness, righteousness, healings, wholeness, and more.  The key to the Spirit’s release, for me, was the recognition Jesus as Lord.  Jesus is in control of my life, not myself.  I no longer tell Him what to do, but have learned to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and then be “obedient” to it.  In the Medieval world the servant is always subject through loyalty and obedience to his master or Lord.  The servant never questions his Lord, only follows and obeys.  Being an American whose freedoms are built on the Bill of Rights, this was an alien concept for me to first learn.  But it is essential to know that for revival to be birthed.

There have been recorded revivals throughout history such as The Wesleyan Revivals in England that came to America in the form of Camp Meetings, the Pentecostal revivals birthed out of Azusu St. in San Francisco that have spread world wide, the Latter Rains Revivals, and the Jesus Movement throughout America in the second half of the last century. These revivals have usually been regional or national, but the Charismatic Movement of the last half of the last century touched the Church world-wide.  Advancement in technology also coincides with revival.  Guttenberg’s Printing Press ushered in the Great Awakening and the Reformation as people could now read the Bible for themselves.  With the revivals of the last century have come television, radio, and massive Evangelistic Services in huge sports venues where the gospel could now be preached to large audiences, even to a world-wide audience.

Today, local churches pray for revival to hit or fall upon their local congregation in their building.  There have been reports of local revivals they have called “Blessings” like the Toronto Blessing next to the Toronto Airport or the Smithton “Blessing/Revival” in Missouri, but usually true revival happens on a much larger scale.

With today’s technology being the world-wide-web, the church has been faced to look differently at the world by the way they can now communicate.  Missionaries are no longer isolated. Research can be done online rather than attending seminaries with their exclusive libraries. I believe with this technology, the next major revival will have to be world-wide.  How that occurs is still a mystery to me, but not to God whom “all things are possible”.

One of the key components to world-wide revival is the recognition of the importance of the Holy Spirit who orchestrates the revival. Church government, church leadership, church orientation, nor church tradition dictates revival; only the Holy Spirit does.  As several previous blogs have pointed out, the question becomes, “Can you trust the Holy Spirit?”  The Church historically looks at revival as wild, beyond the bounds of institutional norms, and unpredictable.  The Church loves control, norms, and predictability. To release them can be scary, but if the Church cannot trust the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who can it trust?

Bottom Line: When revival comes, will the Church be willing to release its control to the Holy Spirit? How will it embrace the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, as He manifests himself in new ways? Will it embrace change?  Is it willing to allow structural change to the way it “does church”? Will it be willing to break down the barriers that have divided it?  Will it accept that the “greater” Church is more important than just one’s local congregation or sect?  If the Church is throughout the world, and if the Great Commission is to go to all ends of the world with the gospel, and if the Church is to be prepared for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, then the next major revival MUST be world-wide. Lord, bring it! Holy Spirit come and lead!

The Two Diagonal Planes of the Cross – Part II?

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 2 in the series: The Church has worked hard on its vertical relationship with God through worship and praise (John 3:16).  Now it will be forced to work on the horizontal relationship of brother/sister to brother/sister in redefining how the family of God functions (IJohn 3:16). Where those two planes intersect is at the center of the Cross, thus reinforcing that the Cross is the center of the Christian experience. There is where the Church will find the Presence of God!]

In the last blog, I explained the two diagonal planes of the Cross: vertical being man’s relationship with his God and horizontal being man’s relationship to man.  Both were broken by sin, but restored by the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross.  He hung against these intersecting points, playing the price for sin and reconciling or restoring man’s relationship with his God and with man. In this blog, I would like to examine the horizontal plane, and what it would take to restore man’s relationship with man in Christianity and in the Church as a whole.

I John 3:16 states: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” I know that United States Marines have been taught this principle, and it is the backbone of unity in their military unit to the point they won’t even allow a dead body to remain on the battlefield to be marred by the enemy. The enforcement of that principle is central to that secular military force, but in Christianity and in the Church I find that principle to be a paradox, for Christians are known for shooting, criticizing, and shunning their wounded, not laying down their lives for them.  I must admit, as a Christian of 50 years, I have more fingers on my right hand than I have Christians who I know who would be willing to lay down their lives for me, not criticize me, but accept me with “unconditional love” in spite my short comings even though I am a Christian. 

How can this healing, this breach of fellowship and acceptance among believers, brethren, in Jesus Christ ever become a reality, for it must become a reality as a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when his Bride, the Church, will be without spot and wrinkle.  This is the essence, I believe, of the next true global revival that will be established on this earth.  Here are some things that must be done:

I remember when the American Church in the last century faced its racial prejudices when I was at a national Men’s Prayer Rally called “Standing In The Gap” sponsored by Promise Keepers that filled up the Mall from the Capitol Building to the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.  Whites were asking their native American Indian brethren and Black brethren whom they mistreated through slavery or slaughter for forgiveness. It was a beginning, but now the Church needs to begin:

- to embrace one another as brethren, in the same family, the family of God, the Church, not by denominational sectarian labels that divide and emphasize our differences rather than what we have in common: Jesus!  Inbred fighting and bickering is a cancer, a sickness, a disease the Church must rid itself of. The Church knows the true meaning of “RECONCILIATION” in theory, in intellect, but finds it had to practice it in practicality among its brethren. “Let’s not just be hearers of the word, BUT DOERS.” Let’s practice reconciliation among ourselves.

-  to embrace one another beyond our hypocritical phony tolerance image of each other, but begin to extend GRACE, unmerited FAVOR, unconditional LOVE to other brethren of different doctrinal persuasion rather than fighting for one’s elite cause of self-righteousness as if our exclusive group is the only one that has the correct light and understanding of Christian truth and Biblical interpretation. Jesus supersedes denominational doctrine!

- to embrace the five fold in this generation, recognizing the need for the apostolic.  The apostle, in the New Testament Biblical sense “saw over” what the Holy Spirit was doing and recorded it in the Bible as the Acts of the Apostles book. They did not “oversee”, lord over, or control as worldly ruler do, but only “saw over” what the Holy Spirit was doing and were faithfully obedient to what they heard and saw.  That is what the Epistles is all about.  With the restoration of the apostolic will come apostolic teaching bringing unity of doctrine which also kept the Church together in the first century.

- to embrace the importance of “relationships” within the body of Christ, not positions.  The strength of a local body of Christ is built on their relationships.  The pulling together of resources, the equipping, training, and mentoring one another, and the releasing of one another to fulfill their destiny and calling in Jesus Christ is the fabric of that strength.

-  to recognize the trappings of American culture. Americans are too busy to reach out to others or get involved. We are too busy taking their kids to soccer, baseball, and football practice, ballet, dance, or gymnastics, school programs, church programs, and civic programs. Our children’s relationships are built around school friends and Facebook friends in an attempt to be popular. We have to teach our children to love the unlovely, build relationships that will last, not superficial popular ones, and how to build relationships properly. 

These are just a few ideas of how to start the I John 3:16 process of laying down our lives for the brethren.  In order to experience revival to this and following generations we must embrace these concepts if we are to be an effective twenty-first century Church.

The Two Diagonal Planes of the Cross – Part I?

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 2 in the series: The Church has worked hard on its vertical relationship with God through worship and praise (John 3:16).  Now it will be forced to work on the horizontal relationship of brother/sister to brother/sister in redefining how the family of God functions (IJohn 3:16). Where those two planes intersect is at the center of the Cross, thus reinforcing that the Cross is the center of the Christian experience. There is where the Church will find the Presence of God!]

The cross is an intersection of two perpendicular lines. In the Christian life, it represents relationships.  I grew up being told that man, Adam, had a fulfilled relationship with God until he sinned. That relationship, horizontal, was broken between he and his God, and soon the depravity of that broken relationship became evident between man and his with relationship with each other when Cain killed his brother Abel.  The relationship was restored when God sent his Son, Jesus to earth to be the sacrificial lamb to break the gulf of a broken relationship caused by sin.  That vertical relationship intersected the horizontal relationship, literally and physically, at the Cross where Jesus died (John 3:16).

Worship is the vertical relationship between God and man.  The Church has worked hard on this relationship over the last half a century, and today most church “worship” services, at least the musical segment, emphasizes their vertical relationship with God.  Styles of music may vary, but the direction of a believer’s adoration is universal.

Where I believe drastic change in the Church will occur is in the horizontal relationship between brothers and sisters in the Lord (I John 3:16).  The Church is known for it’s horizontal relationship as being fractured: denominations, divisions, and sects abound all under the Christian label, yet Jesus prayed for its very unity in John 16, a passage often called the Priestly Prayer.  If His prayer is to be answered and fulfilled, drastic change must occur if there is to be unity among the brethren.  How do we get past doctrinal differences, historical differences, and cultural differences?  Reputations like “Christians don’t heal the wounded among themselves; they just shoot them”, and “The most segregated time during the week in America is when the American churches meet on Sunday mornings,” must vanish.  If anyone should know “grace”, “mercy”, “unconditional love”, “loving the unlovely”, etc. it should be the Church!  The Church needs to practice those principles among themselves, and the results will be unity.

Unfortunately, the American church has placed much of its priorities and efforts into Sunday morning services.  The programs have become very professional with high quality singers and musicians, excellent orators, high tech theatrics with excellent lighting, sound, and projection. Unfortunately as they have worked hard on their theatrical presentations, the involvement among those in their theatrical seats and chairs that have replaced pews have diminished.  The attending participants are to “follow” the worship “leaders” as robots. They are told when to stand, when to sit, when to give financially, when to shake hands, when to leave, and when to fellowship. They are never asked to “generate” anything during the service except enthusiasm and financial support. Their singing is lost among the mix of the professional sound system.  It’s almost like they lost their voice, because some one, either the pastor or staff, always speaks for them, prays for them, or teaches them.  Things that encourage relationships are usually minimized or not present.  To reverse the trend would be difficult due to the lure of the lights, sound, and professionalism.

But Christianity is all about relationships: a whole and healthy relationship between God and once fallen man because of a personal relationship with a personal Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ; a reconciliation of broken relationships between man and fellow man, and a transformation of a person within themselves going from an old decrepit, sinful self to a new, healthy, whole person in Jesus Christ.

As a professional educator, I know the importance of relationships with my students.  Not to minimize the importance of curriculum, it is the relationships with teachers that students vividly remember: who they loved, who they feared, who they respected, and who they hated. I contribute much of the success that I had as an 8^th grade teacher for 40 years to the relationships I built with administrators, teachers, parents, and my students. 

As professionals in a Church staff, pastors and supporting staff must recognize the importance of relationships not only with those they serve, but relationships built among the laity with each other.  Not to minimize the role of a pastor, or staff, or sermons, or church curriculums, and all things professional, it is the strength of relationships of the common believers among themselves that produces a strong, vibrant, healthy church.  If a church doesn’t have these relationships properly built, all the staff ever gets done is what I call “crisis” counseling, which drains the staff, the laity, and the whole entire church of its enthusiasm, energy, drive, and effectiveness.  I’ve been involved with churches that live on the edge of each “crisis”, basically because there was little if any relationship among their people.

If the church wants to be more effective to this generation, a cause for change will be in relationships.

The Importance of “Church Environment”

An Alternate Environment From The World Can Make All The Difference.

I have been enjoying Charlie Rose’s “Series On The Brain” produced by the Public Broadcasting System. On it have been scientists, researchers, neurologists, philosophers, and artists, all looking at how the brain functions and its processes.  It has been fascinating seeing how the brain needs motor skills to interpret its thoughts, decoding skills to understanding sight, chemical reactions to send messages and the effect of when there is over stimulation or decreased stimulation, mood, emotion, creativity, logic, and reasoning.  In light of the theme of this blog page I ask, “If we are to have the “Mind of Jesus Christ”, how does that translate into the movements, sight, understanding, mood, emotions, creativity, logic and reasoning of the Body of Christ?

One scientist today spoke on the topic of Drug Addiction.  She looked at it from the prospective of the dopamine being released by the brain cells that cause connectivity between brain nerve cells.  She illustrated how cocaine causes excessive release of dopamine producing pleasure.  She then claimed that you can take away the drug, but the environment producing that pleasure comes into play, so if a person sees the person who use to provide the drug of pleasure, that will alone cause the brain to react to wanting the stimulus to bring pleasure again, thus the addiction.  So if you put a person back into the environment that produced the drug addiction, they will probably have a relapse.

I am very familiar with New Life For Girls and Teen Challenge Ministries that have reached out to women and men with addictions.  They have taken them off the streets of the asphalt jungle called inner-city where they acquired their addictions and moved them to a secluded retreat in the woods away from any city life. By giving them an alternative stimuli, an alternative lifestyle, they would eventually learn a different lifestyle and stimulus that would reduce their urge for their dependency and replace it with good stimuli.  Thus teaching them the word of God, the Bible, memorizing scripture, learning how to live by faith not feeling, and surrounding them with good wholesome godly fellowship around people of God to be role models, mentors, and someone to built healthy relationships with, their addiction could be broken, and they could live the rest of their lives productively.  The programs were not one month rehab centers to be released back into the society that engulfed them in their addiction, but one year programs of intense Bible study, Christian character development, and immersion into the body of Christ for fellowship.  Few returned to their old environment but moved on to healthier environments, further education, and additional growth.

The program reinforced to me the importance of relationships that produce positive environments. Church is all about relationships.  Without relationships, the church can only offer programs.  The government is always offering programs, but the church has more to offer: guidance through Bible study and memorization and practical daily application of the Word, the Bible, making it a Rhema or “living word”, direction as they teach one how to listen to the Holy Spirit and be obedient to Him, and people, fellowship through Christ centered relationships.  You can tell what a person is like and what they “are into” by who they hang around with.  The only way they are going to live godly principles is if they hang around people who follow those principles and practice them in their daily lives.  That is the power of “body ministry” in the Church.

Relationships are monumental in establishing a person’s life.  If a church can only offer moral guidelines through the Bible, it becomes literally “the Law”, and most people who fight addiction reject the laws that were written to govern their addition.  Not only does the person need professional counseling, but they need more which only a body of believers can offer: fellowship, relationships.  If a church can offer relationships, then there is a support system that not only brings proper guidance, but also is a role model in following those laws through grace, mercy and unconditional love, the actual living out the laws.  That is called holiness and righteousness in Christian circles, but not does not include religious practices. 

I love the book and film “The Cross And The Switchblade” about David Wilkerson and Nicky Cruise.  David went out of his easy comfort Christian life bounds by moving to New York City where he met gang leader Nicky Cruise who rejected everything day David did and said to him.  One of the key lines in the film was when Nicky wanted to stab and kill David, and David tells him that if he does that “every piece of me will still love you.” Nicky runs. Nicky finally accepts David’s “unconditional love”, and David Wilkerson begins Teen Challenge which still is a successful ministry today.

So my point: Scientists agree that environment is as import as genetics in the make up of a person.  Negative environment produces negative results.  The Church is an alternate to the world, thus it has to set up a positive environment that will impact the world positively.  I believe setting up positive relationships is the key to the success of the twenty-first century church.

Revival: Global or Regional?

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 1

[In a previous blog I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 1 in the series: 

Like the current technology explosion, the Holy Spirit, and the way the Church sees revival will no longer be looked upon as a local phenomenon (revival to hit my congregation) but globally.  The next Great Revival will be world wide in an effort to prepare the Bride, the Church, for the Groom, the Lord’s return.]

I have been fortunate in seeing the effects of the Jesus Movement of the 1970’s that later became known as the Charismatic Movement.  I attended the East Coast out door Jesus and Creation Festivals for over three decades, attended a huge Holy Spirit led Conference in the late ‘80’s in New Orleans, caught the tail end of the Parksburg, PA experience at the Lower Octorera Presbyterian Church led by Jim Brown, and participated in the only joint Crusade in York, PA history in 1977 where over 350 local churches joined together for that event. 

My friend, Harry Rutt, use to tape and reproduce cassette tapes of hundred of speakers during that time at Jesus Rallies and Full Gospel Business meetings all up and down the East Coast.  “Prayer & Praise” Groups were informally meeting in private homes throughout the U.S. in the 1970’s.  Contemporary Christian music became the forerunner of what today is acceptable worship music in most Christian Churches.  Tongues and interpretation and the releasing of spiritual gifts were prevalent.

Most churches ignored, rejected, or opposed the movement, but you could not help but recognize something was happening to the Church; the Spirit was moving, and it was not only nationally, but globally.

Today many individual churches often pray for revival to come to them, but I have discovered that true revival usually occurs outside the established bounds we, the church, have set.  Revival is bigger than just me, or my congregation or even my denomination or label.  As we find ourselves immersed in the internet generation of the world wide web, we are beginning to understand a “world wide” mentality better as a Church.  Computers, smart phones, Skyping, Facebooking, emailing, texting, tweeting, and a whole myriad of technological communication wonders have brought the global mentality home. Missionaries no longer have to be isolated, but can be in touch with all areas of the world if there is WiFi connectivity. Church Youth Groups who have been disbanded by educational opportunities, career, families moving, and jobs now stay in “contact” through Facebook. I know that many of the hits on this web site come from other speaking nations from around the world.

I see the distinction of what once defined denominationalism being blurred. Most Christians today cannot tell you the difference between a Presbyterian, an United Methodist, a Lutheran, a Baptist, and Independent Bible Believing Fundamentalist, or a Pentecostal.  As church services have reflected cultural and age differentiations, church organs are out; guitar, drum, & keyboard are in! Hymnals are replaced by projected lyrics on huge screens.  Pulpits are replaced by full fledge theatrical stages with sets.  Church bulletins are replaced by emails, tweets, and textings.  In a small area near me there is a Nazarene Church, a Lutheran Church, an Assembly of God Church, and an Independent Church, and all of their “worship” services are generic in spite of their religious labels of distinction. You can’t tell the difference between them theologically nor historically by visiting their “worship service” on Saturday night or Sunday.

When, not if, revival comes, it will not be a local phenomenon at some local church that now has the “inside” touch by God over the other local churches nearby. It will affect us locally, but it will go beyond local, regional, national, and international lines. It will be global.  God is bigger than us! 

I remember people coming from all around the world to attend Jim Brown’s Saturday night Prayer and Praise service at his packed Presbyterian church, but today, the same could be done electronically through the wonders and possibilities of the world wide web and its technologies.  You do not have to come “into a church building” to hear testimonies of believers, nor sermons presented “from an inhouse pulpit”. You can get that on the internet.  The only thing the internet can not supply is in-person fellowship and relationships at a deeper level, thus the need for corporate family of God time locally.  I know of a local church that has high tech services with a professional sounding “band” to “lead worship” and a projection screen to give a full size projection of the pastor giving the sermon as if he is present when in actually he is being simulcast to five different locations at once. You can also hear his sermon on a local radio station, and probably can load down his sermons as podcasts from their web site.  You can get lost in the large crowd coming for the techno-service, or not even attend at all to “hear the sermon”. What is missing is the relationships.

In the book of Acts, believers “broke break together,” ate together, not texting while going through a drive-through fast food restaurant. They gave to those in need because they personally new the person in need. They did not have to look for a web site to “google” a cause they could donate to!  They laid hands on the sick, not researching online about the disease, then finding web sites of medical “services” provided on web pages.

When revival hits, it will effect relationships which we will discuss in an upcoming blog in this series; and it will be world wide, global, not just local.  The “whole Church” of Jesus Christ will be effected, not just our local church having the inside scoop on the Holy Spirit wanting “outsiders” to “come in”!

If the church wants change, they have to accept that it will be global!

Can The “Church” Face Change?

10 Ways The Church Might Change!

When birthed, the Church appeared as another Jewish Sect with a rabbi, Jesus, whose teachings they adored, but the winds of the Holy Spirit led the Pharisee of Pharisee, Saul, renamed Paul, to take the gospel to the gentiles, and today the Church is primarily a gentile religion and to the Jew a cult.  The Church was originally centered in the Middle East, then in Rome, but today is universal. It has been interpreted through Jewish eyes, Westernized eyes, and today through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. It started in Jerusalem, and like technology, it has gone world wide. The Church has faced change, and is about to do so again as it truly functions globally rather than regionally.

What might some of these changes look like? Here are some that I foresee:

Like the current technology explosion, the Holy Spirit, and the way the Church sees revival will no longer be looked upon as a local phenomenon (revival to hit my congregation) but globally.  The next Great Revival will be world wide in an effort to prepare the Bride, the Church, for the Groom, the Lord’s return.

The Church has worked hard on its vertical relationship with God through worship and praise (John 3:16).  Now it will be forced to work on the horizontal relationship of brother/sister to brother/sister in redefining how the family of God functions (IJohn 3:16). Where those two planes intersect is at the center of the Cross, thus reinforcing that the Cross is the center of the Christian experience. There is where the Church will find the Presence of God!

Prophetically the Bible depicts the Spirit of the Lord as having many eyes looking in all directions, like being different creatures with different functions pulling in different directions, yet in unity as one being. His Spirit is not stagnant, but always moving. In other words it is fluid. Just as water covers the earth in all directions, the Holy Spirit covers the earth globally, and it is fluid, moving in ebbs and tides.  Satan is losing his domain, because every time he wins a battle and thinks he has gain territory, the Holy Spirit flows back in from all directions to retakes the land. This domination by the Holy Spirit is again God’s plan to prepare the earth for the return of the Lord.

Relationships will replace religion. Religious programs, westernized theology, and methodology will be challenged, torn down and replaced by the global movement of the Holy Spirit bringing unity, not division. Denominations and religious sects will vanish, being replaced through relationships with the Holy Spirit and between brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Apostolic will return ushering unity in theology, purpose, direction, and doctrine.  Truly there has been and is only ONE Church, the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers in Jesus Christ.

Church offices will be replaced by leadership built on relationships, not position.  Because of what one does, will one be respected or rejected. This will not be based on works, but on grace, mercy, and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Leadership will be established by those who are willing to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to that voice.

Plurality will replace individualism.  The New Testament emphasizes “the priesthood of believers”.  No where does it edify the individual priest (except Jesus as our High Priest). In America, we emphasis the Bill of Rights, the rights of each individual, but that is not the case in the Bible.  In the kingdom of God we have no “rights”. We under the loyal service, the Lorship, of our King and High Priest, Jesus Christ, thus a member of a “royal priesthood”.  Instead we live under the “grace” and “mercy” of our Lord Jesus Christ, always “serving” others.  The Great Commission is always outward, not inward.  Change is coming in the way the Church understands the doctrine of “the priesthood of believers”.

“Laying Down One’s Life”, vertically in our relationship to God and horizontally in our relationship with each other, is central to the gospel. On the Cross, Jesus “laid down his life” for us!  On the Cross, we must “lay down our life” for God and for each other.  Without understanding this principle, we cannot function in plurality, nor as a priesthood, nor as an unified body. 

“To obey is better than sacrifice” the Bible says.  We need to learn and exercise “sacrifice” in our Christian lives and learn to exercise “obedience” to what the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the Bible, is saying to us as believers.  America’s churches today live in abundance, losing the essence of the principle of sacrifice. America’s churches need to learn “obedience”, not only to the written Word of God, the Logos, the Bible, but to the living Word of God, the Rhema, through the Holy Spirit.

Empowerment by the Holy Spirit will trump positions and offices.  The Holy Spirit fell on ALL, men, women, & children in the Upper Room on Pentecost in fulfillment of the book of Joel.  On that day the royal priesthood of believers was established and the Church, the body of Jesus Christ, was birthed. With revival comes empowerment by the Holy Spirit producing radical change in individual lives and corporate structures.  The only way the Church will see revival is through empowerment by the Holy Spirit.  The Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body, knew these Galileans, these disciples, were different. They were not educated but were empowered from on high. 

God has been reestablishing the evangelist, pastor, teacher, prophet, and apostle back into the Church. They are in the Church now!  This generation has to be open to allowing the Holy Spirit to bring them together through submission and releasing one another to operate in their passions, callings, and voices to bring unity to the body of Christ and being effective.

Change is in the future. The question is: How will the Church respond?  If they listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, exciting days are ahead. In the next 10 blogs we will look at these 10 points more in detail.

If Church Programs Were Shut Down, Their Professionals Diminished, What Would Remain That You Would Call “Church”

Re-examining What We Call Church

I remember years ago having the question posed to me that if you went to Church on Sunday and the doors would be chained, what would you do? Would your local church survive? How would you then do church?  I am haunted by coming back to that question, now years later, and realizing that church, for the most part in America, has become a “weekend program” (with multiple services Saturday night or Sunday mornings), run by a highly effective professional staff, with talented musicians and trained orators, and something “we come to”!  We, as Americans, have become very complacent allowing the professional staff to do everything for us: pray for us, preach to us, lead us in worship through singing or liturgy, and inform us through printed media, graphics, or oral of what programs will be offered throughout the week that we should attend.
But if the church doors were barred, the clergy arrested, removed, eliminated, who among those left among the laity would be qualified, trained, or equipped to preach the Word, the Bible?  Would prayer life flourish among the saints? Who would lead corporate prayer, or would it happen spontaneously through the leading of the Holy Spirit?  Has the laity been trained to listen to the Holy Spirit for themselves, so they can follow in unity and be obedient to what they have seen and heard?  Have we invested enough into the laity so that they would arise in leadership and responsibility?

Christians in persecuted China witnessed their clergy being ridiculed, arrested, imprisoned for years, and often killed.  Bibles, literature, and hymnals were confiscated and burned.  In spite of all this, the Church has survived, remained strong, and even grew.  With no hymnals, they sing the hymns from memory. With no Bibles they quote memorized scripture accurately. With groups gathering being banned, they meet in secret, pray in unison, and fellowship when needed. If persecution hit the American Church, could we do the same? Many American Christians today have not even read through their entire Bible might as well memorized it.  I don’t know if they would know the words to what they are singing without a hymnal or projected or printed words. Most American Christians never heard of Strong’s Concordance nor Bartlett’s Commentary, nor how to put a sermon together.

As long as America is on top, status quo is acceptable, in fact copied by the rest of the world, but are we “equipping the saints” for when the shift of power changes.  History proves it will; the question is when. The American church has led the drive and financed missions for decades, but today the Church from the Orient is sending “missionaries” to America!  What is the American Church doing to prepare for the future?  Are they going to remain complacent, for the Church is not known for rapid or drastic change, or are they willing to listen to the winds of the Holy Spirit that are blowing the church’s course toward change?

If the doors closed, would Americans go to home churches as the Chinese did? The home church movement has been practiced in America; there would be some justification for its use due to tradition, or would the Holy Spirit do something new?  Where would Americans meet and not be noticed? At the Mall? In the centerfield section of Wriggly field as bleacher bums?  In the midst of an NFL stadium during a game? Would church be held through cyberspace, through Skype or Facetime or Google+?  Instead of an app for “Words With Friends” would there be one for “Worship With Friends”?  Who knows?

If doors were closed, and clergy disposed, could the laity survive?  Knowing the vigilance and persistence of God’s people, they would find a way; they would rise to the challenge.  The Holy Spirit is an innovative spirit because its creativity comes from its Creator!  I am not sure what “church” or even “going to church” would look like, but I guarantee you, by the leading of the Holy Spirit the Church would be alive and well and growing in numbers and spiritual power and strength while the traditional way of “doing” church would vanish or be extremely altered!

Personally, I Am Not Against Clergy; I Just Want To Challenge The Laity

But To Challenge The Laity, They Must Be Freed Of Dependency On The Clergy

Recently a personal friend of mine, a member of the professional clergy, ask me how long I would be clergy bashing.  It have had to step back and examine what I have been writing and their purpose.  I do not want to sound that I am against the clergy as persons, but I do challenge the authenticity of their existence Biblically from a “professional office” position. To me “pastor” is not a professional paid position of leadership, but one of the points of view or passions of the five fold mentioned in Ephesians 4 that is available for all believers in Jesus Christ.  I believe every believer in Jesus Christ can be an evangelist, or a pastor, or a teacher, or a prophet, or a prophet, or even a combination of those experiences. I am also a believer in plurality of leadership through these multiple giftings where believers are called to “lay down their lives for their brethren” (IJohn 3:16) in order for leadership to work effectively.  There is no hierarchal distinction of leadership where everyone is laying prostrate before each other in service!

Over the years some of my best friends have gone into the professional ministry; my best man in my wedding is a respected professional minister in the Lutheran Church circles.  Often you hear the term “called into the ministry” which I fully believe in.  What one faces as a professional Christian needs a response to a “calling” in order to survive.

Personally, I was part of a “calling” when in my early twenties I was invited to respond to an invitation to become a member of the “free ministry” at New Fairview Church of the Brethren where their leaders are chosen for life and receive no monetary compensation for their efforts.  This, historically, has been their practice since their inception, and generations later they have had home grown leadership.  When asked to respond to a “calling”, I prayed and fasted for a week and got a red light to the calling. I was honored by the recognition that a local body of believers was willing to stand behind me in leadership that would be for life, but God had other directions for my spiritual walk.

I believe in home grown leadership verses professional westernized theological training. Paul, an apostle, would come into a city, birth a church, develop the Christian character of those attending, and raise up local leadership, then leave to start a new work somewhere else.  He did not bring in the “Antioch boys” to replace him.  He did bring in outside sources like Barnabas, the encourager, to help “equip” and “train” the locals for when he would depart.  He even came back to visit them to check on their progress.  His letters are often written to those he trained, and often he mentions them by name. 

Jesus was the son of a carpenter whose trade I am sure he learned and Paul a tent maker.  Several of His disciples went back to their professions as fishermen after His death and resurrection. No where in the New Testament can I find where there was developed a differential between a professional and nonprofessional believers. “Equipping the saints” was the apostolic goal of the first century.  Rapid expansion could only come through the “equipping of the saints”, particularly preparing them for the upcoming persecution and martyrdom that they would face.

Burn out rate is high among today’s pastors, the professional clergy, because the laity expects them to be all things to all people which physically, psychologically, and emotionally they can’t. Because it is “part of their job”, most parishioners expect their pastor to be a teacher, a people person, a counselor, a prayer warrior, a church politician, an organizer, a motivator, a Biblical scholar, a person who they can call 24/7, an administrator, and so much more.  They expect their pastor to pray for them, read and interpret the Word for them, provide necessary fellowship by being their personal friend, and, unfortunately, most clergy try to comply which enables their parishioners to continue to be pew sitters, uninvolved, untrained, Biblically illiterate, lacksidaisical in their prayer life, and childish in their spiritual development.

Church leadership needs to train the saints; then release them “to do it”!  Jesus had to teach Peter to walk on water because he had to learn how to focus on Jesus and not the storm, believe in faith, and do the impossible.  It was equipping Peter for what lay ahead in his life, in his calling to be a “rock” in this new Church.  Jesus trained, equipped, developed, and released his disciples to do even “greater things” than He. Ought we not follow Jesus’ example.

So in conclusion, I want to encourage Church leadership to train others in their local congregations to replace them, to multiply. The difference between being a child and maturity is the difference between dependency and independence.  When children mature, they eventually leave home, earn their own living, marry, and have a family and career; in other words, become independent.  When Christian believers mature, do we release them to replace us or send them out like to serve others like the Great Commission challenges us to do?  Can I believe that there may be a local church or congregation that has no professional clergy, or pastor, leading them because they once had one, but he trained and lead everyone in this congregation to stand on their own with their God given talents and gifting.  He trained and “equipped” US to do the work of service, so he resigned his position and became just one of us, another family member, and we do everything he has taught us!  Is that dream to vast for me to believe?

Lesson From The Chinese “Church”

What Must The Church Do To "Prepare The Saints"?

I just finished reading God Is Red, a book about the Church in China. The author, claiming not to be a Christian but a Chinese Dissident, curiously interviews Christians because he believes they are on the fringe of Chinese society.  He is intrigued with the history of the Chinese Church: A missionary influx in the 1800’s that was thwarted by the Boxer Rebellion only to have a second wave of missionary activity in the first half of the twentieth century only to be thwarted by the Communist Chinese and their Culture Revolution.  Since the Communist take over in 1949, Christianity has basically been banned unless through their sanctioned governmental Church. In spite of all the intense persucutions, amazingly the free-cell home church movement is growing with leaps and bounds.

Throughout history secular governments have tried to align themselves with religious movements.  The Barons of Germany lined up behind Luther to oppose the Italian Catholic Church during the Great Reformation.  Henry VIII of England founded his own church, the Anglican Church or the Church of England, which still boasts the monarchy as its head.  Even in China the Chinese Catholic Church’s allegiance is to the masses and Communist party rather than to a “foreign” Pope in Italy. 

I have read several of Watchman Nee’s books for his teachings are unique to the Westernized religious world. He is actually preparing the Church in China for what is to come: persecution.  How do you prepare the Church for the time when its clergy system will be devastated by persecution and imprisonment?  How will the Church survive if its supposed leaders are diminished and almost eliminated to the point of extinction? In spite of not being able to send “foreign” missionaries into China and with the elimination of their clergy, the Church of China has not only survived, but grown not only in numbers but in spiritual power.  What prepared them for this?

Watchman Nee and other’s taught to “prepare the saints for the work of service”, even if that service was to be under a harsh atheistic Communist regime.  In spite of harsh penalties, the Church, God’s people, learned how to pray, how to exercise their faith, the importance of “gathering together” for corporate worship, and for “memorizing” the Bible for the day all Bible’s would be confiscated.  Because the saints had been prepared for the upcoming days of persecution, they survived.

I wonder if the Church in America would be ready for such persecution?  Would they survive? Most American Christians are enabled by their clergy who pray for them, read the scriptures to them, preach or interpret the Bible for them, and visit the sick for them, break communion for them, etc.  We expect our well paid professional leaders and staff to do it all for us.  We want to be entertained, have excellent music available, have scripture and song lyrics projected instead of memorizing them, have our children Biblically entertained and our youth enthusiastically energized.  We are instructed to have a private prayer life and a private daily Bible reading, but are banned from sharing it openly corporately, led and fed by peers.  I have seen the numbers of Christians who read through the Bible in a year or less diminish over the years, and memorization of scriptures is even scarcer.

So, I have asked often before in these blogs, but will ask again: What will it take to “prepare the saints for the work of service” here in America?  How do we birth, develop and release common ordinary believers in Jesus Christ to be evangelists to extend the gospel, to be pastoral to take care of the widows, the orphans, all of us in need, to be teachers of the Word not intellectually through Westernized theology, but through practical living and working out our salvation and walk through living the Word, to be prophetic to listen to the voice of God and be obedient to what they have seen and heard, and to be apostolic, being about to see the big picture of the church rather than the denominational sectarianism that divides the church in theology, scope, power, and unity? It is a monumental challenge, but a question to be taken seriously!

With power, influence, and wealth comes arrogance.  Are we so arrogant to think that we will always have “religious freedom”? Study history?  Are we so self-pious to think that we will never fall into apostasy, or even spiritual complacency at times? Study history?  When the American economy flounders and its stance as a world power wanes, what shape will the American Church be in?  We can’t ignore these questions.

We, the Church, need to face the question of how to “prepare the saints for the work of service” in the twenty-first century and beyond.  What must “we” do “now” in preparation for the uncertain future that lay ahead.  How do we prepare the average American Christian believer to increase his faith, learn how to hear God for himself, know how to pray effectively, learn how to lay hands on the sick and see healings, how to give benevolently, in fact sacrificially to others, etc. The challenge is there…; let’s meet it head on today! 

An Olympic Lesson: Who Wins The Awards?

Coach or Athlete; Clergy or Laity

At the Olympics, when the flags are raised, who is standing on the podium getting the medals? The athletes; not their coaches!  The athletes have to perform under enormous pressure. What they do provides the final results.  The preparation for what they do is the job of the coach.  An athlete is only as good as his coach. Gabby Douglas, the London All-Around Gold Medalist, moved across country for two years just to be trained by a certain coach to prepare her to become not only an Olympian, but a Champion.

My daughter had the honor of becoming a Division I gymnastics and earning a full ride to North Carolina State University where she became their All-around participant for four years.  Looking back, what got her there was not only her ability and determination, but the coaching she received.  Without that, she would not have been prepared for what she had to accomplish.

In the church world, the pastors are like the coaches.  The laity or parishioner’s personal Christian growth often is influenced by the leadership of the church they attend: good teaching, personal encouragement, prayer support, Christian character development, etc.  Poor leadership hampers their development.  As we have seen in my last blog, a church is as healthy as its investment in those it is developing.

Who is on the platform for all to see when attending a church service?  Who does the church put on display to convey its story or celebrate its victories: it’s coaches or its participants? Its coaches, its pastors!  Most Christians do not know how to evangelize, how to tell their personal story of their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, often because their church has not even give them the opportunity to tell it to their own family of God.  There are healings in churches, but usually the person who is healed is not afforded the opportunity to verbally share their story with their entire church family.  When there are victories in people’s lives through their faith in Jesus, they are not afforded the opportunity to share it.  I have been a Christian for over 50 years and a church attendee for even longer, but out of the thousands of church services I have attended, very few have had laity, the parishioners, the average Christian church attendee share their own personal stories, or to teach alias preach, or lead prayer.  Formal church services have allowed laity to read prepared liturgy but not share original thoughts, writings, or stories.

Don’t get me wrong, their pastor has been very instrumental in their Christian birth, development and growth, but we have show cased the pastor, the coach during public “celebrations” of the local church family’s services rather than the average believer. If the coaches, the pastors, are truly preparing, equipping, their sheep, the common everyday believers for the work of service, then they need to release them to do what they have been prepared to do.  Allow “church services” to be generated around what the Lord is doing among his people whom leadership prepared. Let them tell their stories, share their healings, and pray for others. 

As Christians, our gold medal is Jesus Christ. Everyone who receives Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord receives the gold medal of a personal relationship with Him for eternity.   There are no second or third places.  If we are to place anything on the awards podium it should not be the coach nor athlete, the pastor nor parishioner, but our gold medal, Jesus Christ for all to see.  Instead of a national anthem being played, worship by the people of God should be our anthem.  Church let’s show case our relationships with Jesus Christ during our open worship sessions for all the world to see! 

An Olympic Lesson: Investment Brings Results

Who Is The Kingdom Of God Investing In?

As I watch the current London Olympics unfolding, I see that the countries who are willing to finance their sports and invest in their athletes are on top of the leader board. In spite of what the Olympics would like to present as their image of world competition for all countries, those with great political power look at the Olympics as a way to show case their dominance and power, even in athletics.  “Winning the gold” is the only viable goal for them. Losing a swim meet by .01 of a second to earn a second is “losing”!  One of the images of this Olympics that will stick in my mind was an interview with a girl who lost by .01 and thought she failed her coach, her family, and her country.

A commercial for an upcoming television program for this fall had Shawn Johnson, an ex-gymnastic Olympian in a small group session where she is accused of being a “loser” because she has more silver medals than gold. She reminds them she is a “winner” because she won a gold medal. The group accuses her of being in denial! That is the American attitude going into the Olympics: world domination.

When Germany was a major power, their Olympic teams were powerful. In my lifetime the USA/Russian Cold War Battle was often fought on the medal leader board of the Olympics since there were no physical combat battlefields due to the fear of a nuclear war.  Eastern Block Germany tried to show its dominance over free Western Germany to the point that their women were growing mustaches and then rejected by drug testing in an effort to get the needed advantage to win gold. Today China, Russian, and the USA are still on top of the leader board politically and athletically.

The climax of the Opening Ceremonies for the London Olympics was the March of Nations, 204 strong!  Most of those nations have never won an Olympic Medal in their history nor are expected to win one, yet they still participate with pride!  They have no “Dream Teams” of “Fabulous Five” as the USA, but just being there competing is a dream come true for them.

There is a direct correlation between investment and results at these games.  Those countries willing to financially invest in their athlete’s training get results on the Medal Count.  I have to stop and ask the question: What investment is the Church placing in advancing the Kingdom of God and what have been the results? Who is the church investing in?  How much of your church budget goes into “Laity Development”, or Christian Development? What is the out come of that investment?  Ephesians 4 challenges the church to “equip the saints for the work of service”.  How much of your church budget goes toward “saint equipping”?  Most budgets are heavily weighted by staff salaries and benefits, building maintenance, administrative costs, benevolences, and missions, but only a small percentage goes toward “developing” or “equipping” the local “saints”, the pew sitters, the laity for the work of service, the life stream of the local church.

A current trend in America is to send their senior pastors and pastoral staff to “leadership” conferences.  It has become “professional development” opportunities like any other profession.  “Camp Meetings”, which were a ground swell of grass root believer participation, are almost ancient history now.  Unless one plans to get formal education at a Bible College or earn some college degree in religion in order to make the “ministry” their vocational profession, it is hard to find educational opportunities for just the laity to be used at the local level.

Equipping the saints to replace the professional clergy locally is not looked upon as a viable option today, but equipping the saints to become the professional clergy is acceptable.  What are we “equipping” the “saints” to actually do, I ask?  How are they fairing in the Olympic events of life?  Is the church “setting the standard”, raising the bar, shooting for “the gold medal”, or is the church allowing sports, nationalism, local culture, traditionalism, etc. to trump their efforts and effectiveness.  To the “world” is the Church beginning to look like a Third World Nation of insignificant power and resources compared to Islam, Hindu, Buddahism, atheism, and other Eastern Religions?  I see Islam’s current “investment” in their believers in the Middle East and the increase of its influence on the world stage, but what about the Church’s investment in their believers and its influence.  The Church’s Christian influence in the United States and Europe over the last half century is diminishing.  The other major religions of the world have been penetrating and influencing what has been considered Christian nations.

The Church will only regains its power, its influence, its energy for evangelism, pastoral care, having a teachable spirit, prophetic insight, and apostolic vision as it is willing to “equip”, “train”, and “develop” its believers, the saints.

The Olympics is about the nations of the world coming together in political peace to perform combative athletics to “win” gold, silver, or bronze.  The key to success, measured in preparation, investment, training, and support, produces the dividends wanted.  The Church needs to prepare, invest in, train, and support its laity, the saints if it wishes to “advance the kingdom of God” forward in peace, power, and influence to change the world.

Questions I Get From “Church” People About Mental Illness Continued:

I Know Nothing About Mental Illness; What Can I Do?

Several years ago during one of my wife’s crisis, I took a 3 month Leave of Absence from my work as a public school teacher plus the 3 months off in the summer to stay with my recovering wife.  It was a time of isolation, a time of frustration caused by seeking help but not getting any response, a time of getting angry at the system for its failures in supporting me, a time of retro and introspection. At the height of my frustration my cousin told me to send an email to everyone in my email directory inviting them to come to my house to be part of a meeting to be a support system for my wife and I.  Nine people responded.  Only one, other than myself, had any experience with the mental health system, but in the end all contributed.

My aunt who stayed with a ninety-year old lady on a daily basis volunteered to sit with my wife for an hour or two a week so I could go shopping or have some time off for myself. A local minister and his wife were excellent listeners, listening and comforting Deb through her recovery.  Another had medical contacts, advising me how to go through proper channels, etc.  One week all nine contributed in some form.

My point is that sometimes the most effective support system you can have is non-professional, non-clinical. The church is not a building, or an institution, or a program. “Church” is the gathering of god’s people! It can be anywhere, not just in a building.  In fact, outside its building is where it is most effective! If you have a church family who will support you in various ways, feel fortunate, and tap into that resource. The theme of these blogs is about the five fold, and the “pastoral” component is so effective to everyone, no matter if one faces mental illness or not.  Someone who “cares”, some one who is part of your daily life; some one who “helps” in practical everyday experiences; someone to encourage you, pray with you, give you a hug when needed. 

As I mentioned earlier, mental illness can drive one to isolation.  The best way to prevent an isolated life is by getting plugged into a small group that exemplifies the pastoral spirit of the five fold. Everyone needs care, nurturing, fellowshipping, the feeling of “belonging”, a feeling of “worth”, an avenue to reach out to others, and a support system.

I have a friend who has a son with Down-Syndrome. I use to wonder how he and his wife survived the daily demands and strains put upon themselves by what appeared to me as a handicapped son. After spending time with them, fellowshipping with them, going to their house and they to mine, I began to understand, as I too soon fell in love with their son.  He hugs, smiles, encourages, and lives life to the fullest the best way he can.  I never see him depressed.  He picks me up when I am down, hugs me when I need a physical touch, and always has a smile.  He ministers to me.  I now understand why they couldn’t live without him and how special he is.

The same is true with someone with mental illness in our midst, for even though they may have more demands than you normally think, they still have so much to give.  I have learned to love to hang around our local NAMI, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, office because of how the people there lift me up even when I am struggling.  Everyone has something to give; everyone can receive something from someone else. Everyone has the capacity to give, to love, to care.  That is the pastoral spirit.

If you want to share the compassion of Jesus, then reach out to the caregiver who has a loved one who is ill.  That caregiver is constantly giving, usually selflessly for the sake of their loved one.  If someone doesn’t take care of the caregiver, the caregiver will eventually burn out and have no care to give. Often, much attention is given to the one who is ill, not the caregiver. Caregivers need to be surrounded by pastoral care.

“How can I help when I don’t understand it?” you may ask. Just exemplifying the pastoral spirit by being there is a help. On the Statue of Liberty is engraved, “No Man Is An Island; No Man Stands Alone.” There is so much truth to that statement.  As immigrants enter the port of New York about to face a new life with severe challenges but great hope, what better opening statement of advice to give!  The “body of Christ” is a group of people. The Priesthood of Believers is a group of people. The Church is a group of people. The pastoral spirit is the glue that keeps it together.  It is a powerful spirit, a healing spirit, a supportive spirit, and a Holy Spirit.

Questions I Get From “Church” People About Mental Illness:

Questions About Morality, One’s Conscience, Righteousness, Grace & Mercy

-  (From a Pastor) Question: How do you deal with a person facing a mental disorder (schizophrenia, bipolar, psychotic, delusional, etc.) when they morally break the law, are unfaithful in marriage, treat others cruelly, are self centered, and can bring havoc and dissention to their families, etc.?  I am pastor of a flock, and have the moral obligation to address their misbehavior as my sheep if.  What do I do?

-  Response:  “Sanity” is acting within the “rational” boundaries we establish as our moral code. “Insanity” is acting beyond those boundaries believing they don’t exist.  You cannot “rationalize” with someone when they are mentally ill.  They do not believe they are ill because they believe their rationalizations are real and logical, making sense to them. Debating with them is ineffective. It makes sense to them if they are hyper-sexual to have a sexual affair outside their moral code of marriage because it is real to them and they are driven by this facet of their disease.  This does not make it morally right, in fact, just the opposite is true, but we need to understand where they are at those trying moments and get them help with their “disease”.  When mentally healthy, their moral code will come back. They will experience “guilt” and “remorse” for what they have done when ill.  Their conscience will work again!  When Jimmy Cricket is ill, he can not “give a little whistle”, but he can when he is healthy.  We need to help the person get healthy again rather than being judgmental and ostracizing them.  Rejection causes isolation, and isolation to a person who is mentally ill can bring tragic results for themselves and others.

- Question: But in the Bible it tells how you are to “give some over to satan” if they are immoral and unteachable.  In order to maintain a high standard of “righteousness”, isn’t ostracizing someone for the sake of the flock okay sometimes?

-  Response:  The church, historically, has looked at mental illness as “demonic” over the ages.  They believe that those fighting mental illness have already been given “over to satan” because of their actions.  How untrue that assumption is, for I know many Christians who love Jesus, have a deep faith in Him, yet still fight mental illness in their lives. In the Bible that Jesus healed the sick (physically) and cast out demons (mentally), but the Church has not come to grips how to do that in today’s society and culture.  According to Biblical accounts, people with seizures had demons; the demoniac who hid in the tombs and self-mutilated had legions of them, BUT Jesus healed them all. If the Church is the extension of Jesus today, I ask, “Where are the healings?”  The Puritanical church at Salem Massachusetts looked at women who were psychotic or schizophrenic as witches and burned them at the stake rather than offering them the healing they so desperately needed. I have personally seen a pastor try demonic deliverance on a person who was schizophrenic without success.  I have met people who have been supernaturally healed physically, but never have met one who was supernaturally healed mentally of a severe mental disorder. That does not mean that it has never happened, but in my experience I have not met one.  

“Righteous” means being in a “right relationship” with Jesus.  I personally know Christians who are in a “right” relationships with Jesus, who have made him not only the Savior of their life but also Lord, who worship and adore him, who experience a personal relationship with him when healthy.  When ill, depression has made them “doubt their salvation”, extreme darkness prevails, and no religious rationalization of “assurance” can persuade them differently.  Mania has made them super-spiritualize everything, and no Biblical dissertations or debate, Bible Studies, Christian counseling, or sermons can make a difference.  During mental illness, one can lose that intimacy with Jesus, and often the dark side rises, voices telling of destruction, of self-metallization, etc.  I know the scriptural passage of “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world”, but I do not know why darkness has such a powerful prominence at those moments over one’s faith in Jesus.

Question: So how is the Church to respond?  How are we as believers in Jesus to respond?

Answer:  I have learned more about “grace” and “mercy” through my journey facing my spouse’s mental illness than through all my years of Bible study as a Christian (over 50 years).  I know “grace” to be “unmerited favor” by God Almighty. Mental Illness and its stigma knows what “unmerited” means.  To be in God’s favor in the darkness of times is topics found in Psalms when David faced some of those same issues. I believe that someone facing mental illness understands “unmerited favor” more than we who are healthy.   “Mercy” is extended when you have no control over a situation. If a person has a gun to your head, and you are helplessly under their control, they have the power to take your life or restore it. You can only beg for “mercy”.  A person with a mental illness is at the “mercy” of their disease.  The gun is pointed at their head.  They have no control if it is going to go off into another psychotic, bipolar, or schizophrenic episode or if it is going to let them live a sane life.  If God’s Presence is at the “mercy seat”, then people fighting mental illness may have a better perspective of understanding the “Presence of God” by knowing his “mercy” than we, who are healthy, can understand.

How Is The Church To Respond To Isolation & Mental Illness?

On The Precipice Of The Abyss

What do you do when your world is spinning out of control, when you are fighting a maelstrom of voices, ideas, and frustrations yelling at you all the time, and when you are crying out for help?  Those who are supposedly there to help you ask, “Are you thinking of suicide, of hurting yourself, or physically hurting others?” 

You answer, “No, but my world is spinning, the confusion is great, the mental anguish unbearable. I can’t make it alone. I really need help!”

They reply, “I am sorry, but you do not qualify for our services, or help, at this time.  You are in no danger of hurting yourself or others, so go see your family doctor or psychiatrist when you are lucky enough to get an appointment (which may take days, even weeks). We are an acute facility, and the services you need are at a lower level than we provide.” [“Let someone else fix your problems; we won’t,” is the message you hear from their response.]

You find yourself on the “precipice of the abyss”, ready to fall in to more traumatic painful experiences because there is no help immediately available, so you go to your pastor, priest, or rabbi for help.  What does he have to offer?

The “Press” loves a new story, a new scoop, an eye-catching headline. Journalistic careers are defined at the expense of other people’s tragedies.  This week we experienced another shooting by an “isolated loner” at a movie theater in Colorado, the largest single shooting death in American history.  The past records one “isolated loner” who took the lives of Virginia Tech students, one who shot Congresswomen Gifford also in Colorado, as well as other recorded stories.  Often after the victims are buried and the story now becomes “old” in the eyes of the Press looking for a new, fresh scoop, we never hear of the tragic lives of the “isolated loners” who tottered on the “precipice of the abyss” before falling into insanity.  Often their despicable act was actually a cry for help to which no one responded until it was too late. How does our penal system address “isolated loners” placed into their care? Simply by placing them in more “isolation”, often not treating them with proper medication unless the “isolated loner” is lucky enough to get a court order.  How long are we going to allow the standard for help for the mentally ill to be “violence” and “tragedy”?  We know extreme mental illness can be dangerous and damaging if not treated properly, yet we play with fire and not give help until it is too late.

Could these tragedies be avoided? Probably yes! The worst possible environment for anyone severely struggling is “isolation”.  The Church is about community, people.  They are people struggling, people reaching out, people listening, people helping, etc. If you are lucky enough to be in a church built on relationships and care rather than programs, you can find an environment that prohibits you from being that “loner” in times of trouble and distress, that brings encouragement during depression, and some sanity during insane moments. People, not programs, make a difference.  People provide personal care, encouragement, empathy, communications, etc. while programs give only canned institutionalized solutions to complicated problems.

IJohn 3:16’s “laying down your life for your brethren” is the key ingredient in helping the “isolated loner” who feels that “no one cares” for him or her.  Helping them monitor medications, organizing their day, giving encouraging direction, supporting them mentally, emotionally, and even sometimes financially is part of this “laying down one’s life for his/her brethren”. 

I recently heard a brother-in-the-lord summarize the dilemma that the American Church faces: everyone being too busy. He stated, “A shut-in I know complained that no one visits her or her disabled husband, but I too have a family to supply, a business to run, a cabin in the mountain that needs mowing this week, activities to run my kids to, a small group through the church that meets in my home as well as attend other necessary church functions on Sunday and throughout the week. My wife would like for me to have a free night with her some night. Hey, lady, we all are busy, but I hear your need and wish that I could help.”

I have heard some in church leadership refer to their parishioners who are fighting mental illness as “high maintenance”, not as “high priority”.  If the church is to be effective, it has to “reach out” to those “isolated loners” and “pull them out” of their isolation through relationships and constant interaction.  The book of Acts is all about a church of “inter-ACT-ion”.  If we can’t rely on government interaction, or civic organizational interaction, or church interaction, then where is a loner to find the interaction that he or she needs to remain healthy? 

A personal hug, phone call, greeting, visit, email, tweet, voice message, instant message, etc. in a “social networking” age can be benefit in keeping one “connected”.  The church needs to raise the bar on those “connections” to be effective. The Church is us, the people, the believers, and we are called by the Great Commission to “go out”, even to the mentally ill, the “isolated loner”, the rejected, and the hurting.  The Church can make a difference; so let’s be “difference makers”!