The Drive For Exclusive Biblically Correct Doctrine Divides

Why I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part II

….. because my institutional church values their traditions, their view of Biblically correct doctrine, and their desire for a professional hierarchal view of leadership over change, challenges to one’s theology, and having to give up control.

                  In John 17 Jesus prays that the Church will be one, but over two thousand years that prayer seems to not be answered yet. Sectarianism has brought division in the Body of Christ, the Church, as there are hundreds of different splintered groups; all claiming to have the correct Biblical perspective and correct doctrine.

                  The Gospel was a simple message at the beginning of the first century, as the twelve apostles taught the same principles with simplistic clarity. The gospels also warned of false teachers, and since that time every sectarian group thinks they teach the truth while the others are in doctrinal error somehow, being the false teachers.

                  If there is ever a time the Apostles’ teaching is needed to restore doctrinal unity, it is today, but that teaching, although simplistic, would challenge the majority of the theology of most church sects today. They wouldn’t want their theology challenged, would be offended that others have challenged their theology, and would immediately become defensive.

                  The church has been deeply entrenched in a hierarchal form of professional leadership since Rome made it their official religion. What started as leadership based on relationships turned into a hierarchal structure lead by bishops and eventually a pope. A professional priesthood/ clergy would be formed separating it from the laity, an unbreached chasm that still remains.

                  The five fold would equip, train, birth, nurture, and release common believers in their evangelistic, shepherding, teaching, prophetic, and apostolic passions that would empower the laity for service rather than the professional clergy, thus threatening the control currently held by the clergy over the laity.

                  If my church did not want its doctrines, creeds, tenants of faith, and theology challenged and wanted to maintain its control through a professional hierarchal leadership structure, it probably would not embrace the five fold mentality of equipping and empowering the saints for the works of service. It would not be open to relinquish the offices and positions it has established to maintain control. It would accuse this five fold paradigm that I propose as heretical. They’ve done it throughout history. Unless the Holy Spirit is allowed to work among them to nurture a culture of unity, they will do it again.

Why I Would Want The Five Fold In My Church

Reasons To Embrace This Incredible Journey

I believe part of this metamorphosis, the change of physical institutional structures of the church, will come through the truth and understanding of the purpose of the five different passions, drives, and points of view found in Ephesians 4 (the evangelist, shepherd, teacher, prophet, & apostle). It’s purpose is to “equip” the “saints”, not staff, for the works of “service”. The “priesthood of believers”, the Church, is about to learn how to not only serve their God but serve each other. They will be willing to lay down their lives for their God and for each other. “Service” will be their motive, their passion, their desire, and they will use their personal passion to serve the body of Christ and edify their Lord and Savior, Jesus, whose fruits will be unity.

There will be a new accountability to each other in this new paradigm, not based on a hierarchal structure of dominant leadership, but based on horizontal leadership of walking beside the brethren in service; leading them by being in front of them, covering their back when behind them, and serving when walking beside them. This paradigm will demand intimate relationships of trust through service to be established among the brethren. Instead of being accountable to a hierarchal structure or titles and positions, the accountability will come through relationships and the willingness to “lay down your life for your brethren” and serving them.

So “Why Would I Want The Five Fold In My Church?”

….. because it makes the priesthood of believers, the laity, us, accountable.

….. because it releases believers in Jesus to serve others through their passions, giftings, drives, and points of view.

….. because it replaces enabled apathy with Holy Spirit led activity for believers in Jesus.

….. because it prepares the body, a priesthood of believers, the Church, to serve.

….. because it makes believers in Jesus accountable to one another through service.

….. because instead of enablement and inactivity, it promotes equipping and releasing of believers in Jesus to actively pursue service.

….. because it requires sacrificial service, the laying down of your life, for others.

….. because it equips the local body to serve the local community through Jesus.

….. because every believer is special, gifted, and equipped through Jesus to do the Great Commission, the Golden Rule, and to love one another.

….. because it forces every believer, me, and the entire priesthood of believers, us, the church, to ask the question, “Do I totally trust the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and can I trust my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord?”

….. because it requires us to be our brother’s keeper through service and love.

….. because home grown leaders are birthed, nurtured, taught, equipped, and released by the local church, the priesthood of believers, to serve their local community.

….. because we can not afford NOT to embrace the five fold and its benefits.

Why I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church

Reasons To Reject This Incredible Journey

I believe part of this metamorphosis, the change of physical institutional structures of the church, will come through the truth and understanding of the purpose of the five different passions, drives, and points of view found in Ephesians 4 (the evangelist, shepherd, teacher, prophet, & apostle). It’s purpose is to “equip” the “saints”, not staff, for the works of “service”. The “priesthood of believers”, the Church, is about to learn how to not only serve their God but serve each other. They will be willing to lay down their lives for their God and for each other. “Service” will be their motive, their passion, their desire, and they will use their personal passion to serve the body of Christ and edify their Lord and Savior, Jesus, whose fruits will be unity.

There will be a new accountability to each other in this new paradigm, not based on a hierarchal structure of dominant leadership, but based on horizontal leadership of walking beside the brethren in service; leading them by being in front of them, covering their back when behind them, and serving when walking beside them. This paradigm will demand intimate relationships of trust through service to be established among the brethren. Instead of being accountable to a hierarchal structure or titles and positions, the accountability will come through relationships and the willingness to “lay down your life for your brethren” and serving them.

So “Why Shouldn’t I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church?”

….. because my institutional church values their traditions, their view of Biblically correct doctrine, and their desire for a professional hierarchal view of leadership over change, challenges to one’s theology, and having to give up control.

….. because the senior pastor heads our ship and his staff is onboard; the priesthood of believers, the laity, the saints are not “trained” professionally to lead.

….. because the five fold are positions and titles within the church, thus “leaders” exhibit these gifts, not the everyday priesthood of believers, the laity.

….. because our pastor reads scripture to us, prays for us, and instructs us through his sermon when in his pulpit on Sundays; the laity, or priesthood of believers, is intellectually incapable of properly doing that themselves, I guess.

….. because our senior pastor gives evangelistic messages in his sermon, he is an evangelist. Our Pastor is a pastor, duh, of course, thus the title! His sermons prove he is a teacher. His spiritual discernment and desire to draw near to God for us demonstrates that he is a prophetic priest, and his oversight of our church as a whole makes him apostolic.  If he is doing it all, no wonder the priesthood of believers is apathetic when enabled, and has the attitude, “that is what we pay him to do, and he does it well.”

….. because you will have a free-for-all if everyone runs the church. The church is not a democracy but a theocracy, a hierarchal structure, so a senior pastor is needed (hired) to run all meetings, head all programs, and lead in an orderly fashion. Order through control prevents chaos.

….. because the purpose of the five fold is to “equip the saints” for what? Oh, “works of service”! Oh, janitorial and secretarial work or lawn care or building maintenance! But wait! To develop them into evangelists, shepherds, teachers, prophets, and apostles? Inconceivable! That would require laity to become active, not passive or lethargic. That would require them to become active, not in church programs, but in service to one another.

Revival and the 21st Century Church

Options: Traditions or Change

I haven’t written a blog entry in almost a half a year, but I am back. I have been working on editing manuscripts, including over 500 blog entries into book form  (over 800 pages worth!), and I have reread every blog entry that I have written. I truly thank the Lord for some amazing insights.

I have realized that if a church truly wants revival it will have to be willing to embrace drastic change, and historically the institutional church has only embraced gradual change. Traditions have ruled the day. There is a sense of safety in doing things the traditional way, for traditions don’t make waves. They don’t flow; they are established.

If what I am sensing is truth, that the church is entering a cocoon stage in its development, drastic change will be a requirement. The necessity of changing the church’s very structure is at the core of this metamorphosis. The caterpillar structure of the current church with is squishy body, its multi-legged segments, and its ravishing eating habits to sustain constant growth will have to yield to a hard shelled, three segmented structure with wings whose purpose is to soar into the heavens. These are two totally different structures; same creature, but new look and purpose!

The churches who are willing to face this metamorphic state will find themselves surrounded by conflicts that demands change. Every program they have will be challenged; every thing they have done will be questioned by the standard of “relationships”. How does this standard or program enhance the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and their relationship to mankind, us? Can I trust the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ? How does this standard or program enhance the relationship between man with his brother in this priesthood of believers that is known as the Church, us?  Am I truly my brothers’ keeper; if so, am I willing to “lay down my life for the brethren”? Can I trust my brother or sister in Jesus Christ? Those are the basic, challenging questions that will be asked.

Under the old caterpillar mentality of doing church, the Church cannot fly. It’s multi-legged, multi-bodied structure of splintered, divided factions, and its ravish appetite for constant church growth have often hindered its vertical relationship with the Godhead. It has not been able to bring an united, corporate atmosphere of worship or fulfilled John 17’s vision of church unity with the Godhead. Every segment feels it has the inside scoop with the Father through their church doctrine and beliefs, and the other segments of the body don’t, thus bringing division.

Under the butterfly mentality, the Church will be “equipped” to fly because it will “equip” the “saints”, the priesthood of believers, for the works of service. Everything that they do will be seen as an act of worship to the Godhead. Everything that they do will be an act of service to each other; all at the price of being willing to lay down their lives for their God and their fellow brothers and sisters, exactly what Jesus did on the Cross! The Cross is still the central component of the message of the gospel.

Every church revival that I have studied about or have personally experienced has been a messy affair as man has been challenged with new ways of doing things, new mindsets, a new awareness for the need of worship, a new burden to truly be one’s brother’s keeper, and a hunger for healthy relationships with the Godhead and the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers, that only comes through brokenness, repentance, and healing through Jesus Christ. Churches who don’t want the mess or the challenges will safely continue to crawl into its security and safety that tradition and being an institution can give. We are faced with only two options: tradition or change!

Question: How Did The Early Church Come To An Agreement?

The Act of “Consensus” – Part I

The early church followed what form of government?

Certainly not a democracy, for there were no viable democracies in the first century. The church did not vote on matters with the majority ruling the day.

Certainly not a monarchy, even though Jesus is referred to as King of King. Jesus taught that his kingdom leadership was built on service, not “lording over” others like the gentiles do. His kingdom would be composed of a royal priesthood; a kingdom that would recognize Him as both King and High Priest, but his believers would be a linear, relational priesthood of peer equals in Jesus Christ. There would be no hierarchy or distinctions among them as in secular institutions.

Certainly not a dictatorship, for the Roman Caesars vividly displayed the ruthlessness of such a structure. The “laying down of one’s life” rather than the taking of another’s life seemed to be rule of thumb in Jesus’s kingdom.  “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (I John 3:16) In fact the gospel takes it farther, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Laying down your life not for just your own, but also outsiders is a pillar of the Christian faith.

If the Church was birthed in a Middle East, Westernized world of kings, Caesars, ruthless dictators, why did they not just make Peter the Pope and the Apostles the Ruling Council of Lead Elders to micromanage this new organization. The answer is simple. The church is not an organization. It is a living organism. Man directed it towards becoming an organization and later an institution. It does not have to follow Robert’s Rules of Order, just Jesus’ unconditional love by worshiping the Father and laying down your life for your brothers and sisters in Jesus.

If not an organization, then how did they govern themselves as an organism?  Another simple answer: through consensus in the Holy Spirit. They learned to listen and be obedient to the Holy Spirit. When he speaks, he speaks in one voice, the voice of God, that brings unity. He reveals only what Jesus wants, and Jesus reveals the heart of His Father. The three speak as one in unity.

When the Holy Spirit spoke, the Church did not debate about what He said, they just obediently followed it. They did not write position papers, or create dogma, or write doctrinal statements, etc., they just were obedient and followed it. God could speak through any believer, and often through several, yet his Word, his message, was always the same, bringing unity and clarity. All were in agreement, “in one accord”, in consensus. No debate, no dialogue, no critiquing, no criticizing, no theologizing, only faithful obedience! All moved ahead in the same direction because they had consensus on every matter when the Lord spoke to them.

Let’s look over the next few blogs on how this consensus worked, how effective it really was, and how the church has wondered away from that model into the hierarchal models it practices today. Finally let’s examine how we can “revive” the spirit of consensus back into the Church.

A Question: Who Can You Trust

The Lack of Trusting in Today’s Christianity

Why is it so hard for Christians to trust?  Particularly one another? At least here in the United States?

It is hard for many Christians to trust the Holy Spirit because they feel the Holy Spirit may do something rash, radical, different, obnoxious, and maybe even embarrass them! They want to keep the Holy Spirit “under control” at an arm’s distance rather than trust the Holy Spirit to be “in control”.   Because of this lack of trust, most church services have become “safe” places, with predictable, well orchestrated, micromanaged, planned programs.

It seems to be very difficult for professional Christian leaders to also trust those in their congregation, the laity. They equate themselves as “shepherds to be trusted”, but the laity as “dumb sheep,” untrustworthy.

The demise of Mars Hill Church in Northwestern United States under the leadership of Mark Discoll was caused by a “toxic atmosphere” of leadership mistrust. Leading elders would lose trust in their younger, lower positioned elders who might question them, then literally “throw them under the bus”, dismissing them for lack of submission to their leadership. The laity, on the other hand, had absolutely no voice; the only thing they were asked to do is financially give to support their “trusted lead elders” who made fabulous salaries and to volunteer to help keep church programs running smoothly.  The elders of these satellite churches, now newly formed independent churches, have chosen to continued to follow their exclusive “elder led; congregational informed” model of leadership.  The laity still has no voice, unless it is through their wallet.

Christians are known for not trusting other Christians outside their own religious “camps”. Everyone outside their tunneled scope of theology is wrong; only they are right. Every sect warns about “false teachers” and “wolves in sheep’s clothes” that are among believers in the body of Christ who believe differently than they do. They claim exclusive “Biblical truth”, as if no other Christians follow the Bible correctly. Judgment and “correct doctrine” triumphs over grace and mercy, and Pharisees again arise as they did in Jesus’ day. Jesus still cries, “Woe you scribes and Pharisees” to the religious order of our day!

Ephesians 4 says we are to “equip the saints (not the staff) for works of service.” If we truly follow this scripture, we are to not only “equip” the saints for service, but then must “trust” them by “releasing” them to be led by the Holy Spirit.

The United Methodist Church offered a Lay Speakers class to teach laity how to prepare and deliver sermons, so they could fill pulpits when clergy was on vacation or ill. Only a handful ever got to “preach” because most clergy would not “trust” the “none seminary trained” laity in their pulpit for fear of false teaching or dogma contrary to sound United Methodist teaching.

Ironically, this lack of trust has now “enabled” Christians to remain passive, for nothing is required of them but financial giving. Some churches still give mini-sermons before every offering because they fail to trust their tithers to follow through each week.

The lyrics to an old hymn was “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Today’s Christian leadership demands “obedience” from its laity, but still questions if they can “trust” them.

The Principle Of “Reigning With”, Not “Ruling Over”

Prepositions Define Leadership Style & Relationships

God established a Priesthood so that He would have men “draw near TO him.” God’s design was never to have a “distant” relationship WITH mankind, but an intimate, close relationship. God had walked IN the garden WITH Adam and Eve; they all communicated as close friends. Sin separated man FROM his God; distant relationships came THROUGH sin.

Relationships were mutual BEFORE the fall; Adam and Eve did everything IN one accord, together, IN unity WITH God. Sin brought distance IN Adam’s relationship WITH Eve, and as part OF the curse the male would dominate or “rule OVER” the woman who would cling TO him. This intimate mutual relationship OF equal peers could only be restored THROUGH the shed blood OF Jesus Christ ON the Cross, as an atonement for the sins OF mankind. Now, IN Jesus, a mutual relationship as equal peers to be united as one was restored not only TO the institution OF marriage but also TO the Church as a whole. God’s design was never to have a “distant” relationship WITH mankind, but an intimate, close relationship.

Jesus told his disciples that the gentiles “rule OVER” one another, but that is not the way IN the kingdom OF God. God’s people “reign WITH” one another by being “BESIDE” one another IN a linear relationship OF equality. Even though Jesus had to return TO the Father IN heaven to intercede FOR His believers, He promised that he would not abandon them as orphans. He does not believe IN distant relationships. Instead they He made them “children OF God”, and their physical bodies would become the “temples OF the Holy Spirit.” God’s personal Holy Spirit would not be “ABOVE” them in the far distance, nor descending as a dove had upon Jesus when he was baptized, but would be “IN” them. How intimate is that?  All mankind has to do is allow the Holy Spirit “IN” their lives, and He chooses to dwell or live there forever! How awesome is that?

Unfortunately when we diminish relationship, we establish religion. As “God’s people” became known as “The Children OF Disobedience” IN the dessert, a religious institution replaced those relationships WITH an Old Testament Priesthood headed by a High Priest, a man, who oversaw animal sacrifices and a Levitical priesthood. By the time Jesus appeared the Ark OF the Covenant, God’s Presence, was missing IN a Temple that had replaced the Tabernacle. God wanted to reestablish relationships, to again “draw men near” him, thus he faced the Cross, death, that led TO his resurrection. God had already established a “Priesthood of Believers” according TO the order of Melchizadek who was without genealogy, tradition, and IN the likeness of Jesus Christ. Fallen relationships had been restored THROUGH Jesus.

Religious “institutions” have built pyramidal organizational structures WITH a man AT the top. I don’t care if it is the High Priest, the Roman Catholic Pope, or the Protestant local Pastor who lord “OVER” their flock or group. The foundation OF the clergy/laity schism is built ON this pyramid of church power and politics of who will rule “OVER” the church. OVER the centuries the clergy have made sure power has become entrenched WITH them while the laity are to be only followers.

This is not how the kingdom of God works. Leadership “WITHIN” the Church is defined by who is “BESIDE” you, “NEXT TO” you, “WITH” you, not who is “OVER” you. When Jesus was ON earth, He never lorded “OVER” anyone. He did not establish a pyramid structure where he was “ABOVE” his disciples but always walked “WITH” them, “BESIDE” them while teaching them AS a peer, a man, a teacher teaching only what the “Father” was telling him. In fact, the last thing he taught his disciples before going TO the Garden OF Gethsemane and the Cross was how not to be “ABOVE” them, but stooped down “BELOW” them and washed their feet. He was preparing them to learn the principle OF how to “lay DOWN your life FOR your brethren” by literally “laying DOWN his life FOR them.” When you lay something DOWN, it is “BENEATH” you, not “above” you.

The Church needs to learn to lay “DOWN” their lives FOR one another; Christian husbands need to learn how to lay “DOWN” their lives for their wives, not lording “OVER” them. They are your equal peers, your Eve’s, restored TO oneness “WITH” you so that you can be IN agreement IN all things! They are not to be controlled but served! You are to present them TO yourself “without spot or wrinkle”, pure, holy, blameless, as a restored equal IN Jesus!  Leadership needs to not be “ABOVE” those they are to serve, but be AT their level: “AHEAD” of them to lead, “BEHIND” them to cover their backs, and “BESIDE” them IN their personal journeys, and they need to begin to “equip the saints”, not the staff, for the “works OF service”, teaching them to serve one another THROUGH personal examples!

As believers IN Jesus, God is “WITH” us, not distantly “ABOVE” us, out OF our reach, but actually “IN” us; His Holy Spirit choosing to “IN”dwell us! The church needs to rethink and restructure its leadership models. Institutional hierarchy models are not scriptural, not the plan of the kingdom of God, and not relational as equal peers IN Jesus Christ. If the Church wants true revival, radical changes will have to occur IN its mindsets, IN its methods, and how it handles relationships, especially between leadership and the rest OF the body of Christ.  Leadership MUST begin to get off its pedestal “above” its congregation, and not only mingle, but be equal peers WITH them THROUGH service.

How To Move Away From Church Politics Pt.2

The Holy Spirit: A Problem Solver

In the last blog, we saw that our mindset toward leadership must change if we are to move away from politics when in church meetings. We need to moved toward being a “servant” instead of trying to be “savior”, having the buck stop with us at the top of the pyramid of hierarchal power. Leadership must be linear, beside one another, laying down one’s life for one another through service and being served. We will only begin to move away from church politics if we instill these principles.

Church business meeting’s agendas often address current “hot potatoes”, topics that have become controversial in the church. It seems like most local church leadership meetings that I have been part of are centered around “putting out the fires” of controversy that seem to lift their heads. You spend more time on “fire prevention” and “fire fighting” than on anything else, and it drains you.

To understand how the five fold can be an effective “problem solver” model you have to understand the role, the passions, the gifting, and the points of view of each of the five fold present so you know their strengths and weaknesses:

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward Evangelism: The evangelistic spirit is all about birth and rebirth. It takes what is lost and gets it found! It draws people to Jesus as the only answer. It demands repentance from the old; the embracing of the new. Once that process happens, it moves on to another lost cause/or person to be found. Evangelists can recognize what is “wrong,” leading people to Jesus to make it “right”. Often the evangelistic spirit can identify the problem, define it in its simplest form (sin), and present it to the group. Now they know what they are facing. The evangelist is usually not good at problem solving, but knows how to lead people to Jesus who is the problem solver. When the group focuses on Jesus, it releases the evangelist to move on. Once a group comes to a consensus, the evangelist is an excellent source then to “proclaim the new”, give “birth” to the solution, begin the process of birthing results to solve the problem. In conclusion: the spirit of evangelism is good at identifying the problem, defining it, moving others toward Jesus for the solution as their “Savior”, then releasing it to the others. Upon their consensus, jumping back into the picture, they love to birth and proclaim.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward Shepherding: The shepherding spirit is all about caring, nurturing, developing, grooming, and growing others into the image of Jesus Christ.  The shepherd will want to solve the problem from a caring, nurturing point of view. They know the solution may not be instantaneous, though it could be, but probably a process of day-to-day learning experience of adjustments and changes. Walking beside or through the solution is mandatory for the shepherd who walks with his/her sheep and knows their voice, habits, life style, wants, etc. He gives practical applications to the steps needed to solve the problem. Nurturing properly is important to him. A shepherd is a very practical, disciplined person who takes one step at a time. Shepherds are usually not in a hurry, but patient, moving in harmony with their herd. In problem solving, they see that the process leads to the solution desired as a series of steps, a walk, a journey toward a destination. They are instruments of grace, taking their lambs out of thickets, lifting ewes out of ditches, fighting of predators who thrive on problems caused by dumb sheep. They extend mercy even in the harshest of times. Their attitudes extend hope in hopeless situations, and love to the unlovely. They are the practicality of the problem solving process.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward Teaching: The teaching spirit is all about having everyone “experience” the solution, actually changing mindsets, attitudes, and patterns by “living it out”, not just intellectually knowing it.  “Knowing about” forgiveness is far different that “experiencing” forgiveness or “extending” forgiveness to others. We are to not only be “hearers of the Word, but doers,” so the teacher is there to make sure the linear “walking out” the solution will be Biblically based but practical in life.  Jesus had to allow Peter to sink first before allowing him to walk on water to teach the Biblical principle of “faith”. I’ve learned there are two kinds of students in life: “obedient” ones who do what they are told without questioning and the “stove touchers” who have to “experience” touching the stove to know “why” and are willing to endure the pain to learn that truth. In the end they both learned not to touch hot stoves, but the teacher has to know how to lead both groups toward the lesson to be learned. In problem solving, the teacher often is the person defining the steps and methods how to solve the problem for those who blindly accept the solutions and those who will buck it to find out “why” before resigning to the solution.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward the Prophetic: The prophetic spirit is all about relationships. Prophets want intimate relationships, usually between man and god. They want others to learn to seek the Father, get into the Presence of Jesus, listen to the Holy Spirit, and intimately enter into worship with all three. In problem solving within the church it is so important to understand “the mind of Christ” by revelation through the Holy Spirit to get a solution. The woman at the well is a good example, where Jesus “understands” her background by revealing it to her before addressing the real problem, her relationship with God. Peter had to understand “the mind of Christ’ by having the revelation of the sheet with unclean animals being acceptable before going to the House of Cornelius. This ability to know “God’s will”, his “revelation” on the problem is crucial in finding “His” solution.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward the Apostolic: The apostolic spirit is all about discernment and networking. The apostle is not the C.E.O, the Big Cheese, the Head Honcho, only a person who gets “revelation” of seeing the big picture in its entirety. He is known for discernment and knowledge. He “hears” the evangelistic voice, the shepherding call, the teacher’s objectives, the prophet’s discernment, and pulls them all together. He not only sees the problem clearly, but sees the revelation of the answer in its entirety and knows how to network the others into bringing a proper, godly solution that will bear great spiritual fruit. Unlike a C.E.O., he does not take the credit nor leads the drive toward its solution, but humbly gives the credit to the entire group, calling each in his or her own way to use their gifting toward the solution.

Now we have seen what is in our group, we can move forward toward a solution.

The Five Fold Option?

Part IV: Possible Linear Pattern To Evaluate!

If we are demolishing old structures and looking for new, what possibilities are there? One may be the five fold model under the following pretenses:

• The five fold is not offices or positions but passions, desires, and points of view that drive a believer in a certain direction.      
• The five fold is not part of a hierarchal system of professionals with titles over nonprofessional believers.
• The five fold is evidenced by what one does, what motivates that person, what drives them, not who they are or what position they hold.      
• The five fold is a linear process of believers walking beside other believers in their Emmaus walk of faith together, not hovering “over” someone.
• Since each of the five fold separately has divided the Church so far in history, each must learn to serve each other and submit to one another, being willing to “lay down their lives for their brethren” in order for it to work.

Each of the five fold:

• Is a peer to the others, an equal in the faith, that is driven by a passion, desire and point of view.     
• Needs the other four, for one’s gifting, or strength, augments the other’s weaknesses.
• Needs the other four to become balanced in ministry and approach.     
• Walks beside one another serving, not ruling. (Jesus modeled this when on earth as a man.)     
• Is relational to the others either birthing, nurturing, teaching, developing, or networking through service     

Every local church, body of believers:

• Needs an evangelist to birth new converts, birth new projects, be the midwife to what the Holy Spirit is doing    
• Needs an shepherd to nurture, care and develop the sheep in practical day to day faith.      
• Needs an prophet to bring spiritual life to a church, draw others into worship, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit through obedience.       
• Needs a teacher to keep everyone grounded in the Word, the Bible through apostolic teaching rather than religious dogma      
• Needs an apostle to network people serving people from their strengths and callings      
• Needs the five fold to bring birth, develop maturity, and cultivate unity.     

The five fold is a linear model worth evaluating to see if the Holy Spirit can be released among God’s people in the spirit of service.

Demolition Or Historical Preservation?

Part III: Demolition… Ka-Boom! There She Falls!

Isaiah 57:14-27:  It shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.” For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. “For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of those whom I have made because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry, and he went on turning away, in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners, creating the praise of his lips. “Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him. “But the wicked are like the tossing sea for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud.  There is no peace,” says God, “for the wicked.”

I love historic sections of cities, the “old section” of town that is rich in heritage and history. What happens though when it turns into the “slum” of the city. Slumlords become tenant renters never fixing up their place, trash is strewn throughout the streets, crime, prostitution, and drug selling is found around every corner. At this time the section of the city gasps for life, shakes in fear, and loses hope. Soon “death” hovers over the streets instead of “life”. Something needs to be done when so much “life is lost”!  This is the time for renewal; cities call it urban renewal; churches call it revival.

Revival demands change: individual changed lives as well as structural institutional changes. If we keep the same institutions, we get the same results, and the slum mentality will remain in a new environment until it eats away at any progress that was made. Often total demolition is a necessity before renewal can be birthed or maintained.

Isaiah pointed out that to “build up, build up,” first “ remove every obstacle out of the way of My people,” needed to happen. Demolition to religious structures had to be done before renewal was to begin. The Tabernacle had to give way to a Temple when the nation Israel was established. The Temple eventually had to be destroyed, never to be rebuilt, when Christianity was birthed because Christianity professed that the believers’ bodies were the temples of the Holy Spirit, not physical structures. Old structures had to give way to new ones. The previous “Books of God” were now called “the Old Testament” giving way to the new “Books of God” called “the New Testament”. Old influenced the new, but a time came for the old to be old, gone, done away with, “Ka-boom”! It was replaced by something new, something better! That is how God has worked historically as recorded in the Bible, and will continue to do so!

I have written blogs in the past on excerpts of a manuscript I have written called “Metamorphosis” where I believe the Church is going from their current caterpillar stage into a cocoon stage that will “restructure” what a caterpillar looks like. In fact what comes out of that caterpillar will not look like a caterpillar at all; it will be a butterfly, a completely new structure. The old will be gone; behold the new!

What will this new structure look like? Well that is what almost 500 of these blogs have been written about.  I believe we will have a new structure build around the five fold as passions, beliefs, and points of views of average, normal believers in Jesus Christ who have linear relationships with each other of “laying down their lives for their brethren.” This sacrificial love will transform the way we do Church in function, worship, and personal relationships. It will be revolutionary in our thinking, because it will be a new structure. Old hierarchal clergy/laity structures will fall as well as institutional, organizational mindsets based on those structures.

If everything we do becomes relational, either vertically with the way we worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, or horizontally, the way we accept one another, it will force us to rethink how we do Church, what is the Church, and demolish old mindset while openly receiving new ones, new revelations as the Holy Spirit reveals.

“Ka-boom”! Another structure falls, another organization, but in its place a butterfly, an organism suitable for flight into the heavenlies, replaces it, a better structure, a better form, a re-form, a newness: revival!

Organizational Structures

Part II: Understanding Organizational Structures: Pyramidal Versus Linear

We have asked the question, “How can we keep from becoming an organization, an administrative and functional structure, and remain an organism, “a living thing, a living being, an individual?” In order to answer this question we have to look at understanding organizational structures.  In America, the hot bed of world capitalism, we worship the “Business Model” of Corporate America with C.E.O.’s, Boards, Stock Holders, and Workers. This mentality has also infiltrated the American Church.

Christian church leadership America primarily follows the C.E.O. model of a Senior Pastor heading a staff of associate pastors, staff, and personnel being monitored by a Church Board. All positions, paid or voluntary, have titles, job descriptions, and professional expectations. The Stock Holders are their parishioners whose “tithe” finances the institution. They are told they are investing in the “kingdom of God”, when most of their investment goes to building and grounds maintenance, professional staff salaries and benefit packages, and paying for programs to bring nonchurch people into their building or enrich or entertain their constituents. Benevolence and missions, the origin of this organization, is now lost in the miniscule regions of the over all budget, as most finances goes to maintenance of the system.

We who have been part of this system all our lives feel it is normal, acceptable, never questioning it, and believing that supporting it is “God’s will”, but what about new believers or even nonbelievers? How do they see it? A fact is that the church has been losing membership over the last couple of decades, and are losing the “young” that are to be the anchors of the church of this century. What will it take to attract the “young” adults back into the “life” of the Church? By returning to the “organism”! The question is how?

We, the Church, need to look through their eyes. When I was young, I wanted to believe I was “anti-establishment”, opting for relationships over religion and systematic organizations. Now older, I catch myself defending my “religion” and the organizations that support my lifestyle while hearing the “young” still crying out for “relationships”. Today’s 20-30’s have been labled “flat-worlders”, believing in linear relationships as being “friends” on Facebook, supplemental “likes” as accepting comments and websites, and networking with others, all relationship on a linear, horizontal plane. They look at hierarchal structures as “speed bumps” (See earlier blog). Social Networking has given them a voice of peer acceptance and equality, but hierarchal structures and leadership have stifled that voice, minimizing their importance and losing the feeling that they are neither “accepted” nor “equal” to anyone, thus they don’t come to church, primarily because of the structure.

So the structure must change from a hierarchal one to a linear, horizontal, accepting one of peer equality as believers of Jesus Christ, a priesthood of equal peers, without titles or positions of stature.  It is what we do, not who we are, nor what title we wear that gives us validity.  It is the “laying down of our lives” to one another that says everything, so titles and offices become irrelevant to our actions and attitudes.

Changing our “religious” mindsets to “relational” mindsets will not be easy, for it will demand structural changes to our established organizational thinkings laid down for centuries. The over emphasis of organization brought the “Dark Ages” for hundreds of years; the emphasis of returning to becoming an organism will bring “Reformation”, or revival. Reformation will not just include “re-forming” our structures, but disposing many of them so the Church can remain fluid in following the Holy Spirit as it had to do during its birthing process. Relying on the Holy Spirit and being obedient to him will trump established church tradition or the Church will forever be fragmented, which is not the will of the Father. Jesus prayed, “Father, make us one,” and to do that drastic change will have to evolved.

How do we have this change evolve? By tearing down the old, and believing in ICorinthians 15 that in “Christ Jesus all things are new!” It is hard for even me to accept, but urban renewal begins with the demolition of old structures, in spite of the local historical federation wanting to keep everything as it was when first established, before new can be build.

Five-Fold Recipe

Ingredients for Five-Fold Revival

If the Holy Spirit is “cooking” up the next revival, what would be the ingredients needed for such an adventure? Here may be a few suggestions that I would have.  None of these are new. They have been addressed in previously written blogs, but together they could become a powerful pastry!

- A Recognition That The Holy Spirit Is In Control – Without the Holy Spirit, there is no revival, yet so often we, the established church, try to dictate the dosage allowed. Often we want enough of the Holy Spirit to bring revival but keep it clean, neat, and orderly, but not enough to lose control, but without allowing the Holy Spirit total freedom, there will be no true revival.

- A Dose of the Doctrine of the Priesthood of Believers – Revival begins at the grass roots level with the masses, the believers in Jesus, the Church. I Peter 2:9-10 states, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” When God’s people and their voices get marginalized, revival validates their voice, their position in Christ, and takes them out of their darkened state into enlightenment.  Peer acceptance and equality are standard ingredients for revival.

- Diversity in the Body, the Church, is a Mandatory Ingredient - Galatians 3 verse 26 states, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ", and verse 28 concludes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free man, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Although there is great diversity in the Body of Christ, the Church, there is equality and acceptance as peers, as priests in a united priesthood. The Body of Christ transcends nationalities, races, denominations, and political points of view. The Great Commission calls the Church to be comprehensive on a world wide scale, and with today’s world-wide-web of internet activity, the church needs to look at a new set of ingredients that will “raise” the bar of evangelism, nurture, teaching, prophetic insight, and apostolic over sight to a world wide level of influence.

- Leveling The Playing Field – Today’s younger generation looks at the world from a “flat world” mentality, of peer relationships and acceptance rather than hierarchal structures of leadership. They look for leadership to be walking beside them, rather than being over them in dictatorial fashion. The Church needs to examine its hierarchal structures of leadership, modify, adjust, and sometimes even scrap the old for a more linear relationship built model based on service and sacrifice.

- A Large Dosage Of New Mindsets – If we are to embrace this next generation, their broadening world view, their peer acceptance, and their yearning for linear, meaningful relationships built on trust, respect, and acceptance, then we, the Church, must embrace new mindsets on how we do church, what it means to be the Church, and how the Church is to function among its diverse members to develop individual Christian maturity in the image of Jesus producing group unity. This is why the five fold would be the best ingredient possible to attain those goals according to Ephesians 4.

- Cook Slowly, Simmer, Heat Thoroughly – When “the heat is on” revival flourishes. Persecution and martyrdom were the ingredients that brought expansion to the 1^st Century Church. What “heat” will need to be produced to bring a “world wide” revival that transcends countries, nations, and continents. What will the Church have to experience globally to bring it to its knees, in humble recognition and obedience to a sovereign, merciful God who created this world, and whose kingdom is to reign over it? The Church in the past has looked at “revival” as a time of blessing, but this time it will come at a price: the “laying down your life for your brethren” (I John 3:16) which will bring unity, not division, preparing the Bride of Christ, the Church, for the Groom’s, Jesus’ return to a Church without spot or wrinkle. Setting the oven the right temperature always is a prerequisite for properly baked goods. You don’t want to under-bake it nor burn it, and the same is true for revival.

There you have it: some of the ingredients needed for the next revival. Come Holy Spirit, supply the ingredients, mix the diversity into one united batter, then heat precisely to have it raise it into a beautiful baked work of art. Holy Spirit, bring revival!

Preparing And Equipping Toward Maturity

What Does “Equipping The Saints” Mean? – Part IX

It is basic to human nature to want to feel needed, to fulfill a purpose, to feel appreciated, to hear someone say, “What would we do without you?”  Unfortunately we often enable people in order to get the gratitude we think we deserve. What kind of parent would we be if our twenty-eight year old son still thanked us for doing their wash, feeding him, financially supporting him while he plays computer games all day, drive him everywhere, and are a part of every decisions he makes, but he shows his gratitude by saying, “What would I do without you?”  We would be considered a failure as a parent. The adult child is nowhere close to becoming independent because he has learned that you will enable him every step of the way.

Most church’s attempt at spiritually parenting is usually a disaster, for we enable those who come into our door. We greet them, pamper them, preach to them, pray for them, tell them what to do, when to financially give, when to stand, when to sit, when to be social, and when quietness is reverence.  We teach submission to authority to the point that authority tells one everything they should or should not do, never allowing them to figure it out themselves or let their conscious be their compass. When that authority or leadership leaves, everyone gasps, “What are we going to do without you?” while beginning to look for a replacement.

Enabling and equipping are opposites. When we equip people, we are preparing them to stand alone, no longer needing our assistance and care, and actually propelling them to accomplish feats beyond our capabilities. Enabling enslaves the person, keeping them in a position of control, continuing to draw them toward dependency. Jesus never enabled. He prepared and equipped his disciples to be able to stand alone once he left earth to return to his rightful place beside his Father in heaven. He built their faith on the Word of God while releasing the Holy Spirit to “teach them all things”.  In fact, he said that they would do “greater things” than he did during his earthly stay.

Apostle Paul would kick into the evangelistic mode when entering a new town or city. When new followers accepted Christ he kicked into the shepherding/pastoral mode and began to nurture them in the faith, using his teaching skills to make the written Word relevant while prophetically living it. He would see over what the Holy Spirit was doing amongst the whole group before leaving.  When he left, he left a fully sufficient, independent church of believers standing on their own faith. They did not have to have Paul around any more. They freed him to move on to his next evangelistic project. He had prepared them and equipped them.

Paul, and older brother in the faith, also prepared and equipped others younger in the faith in becoming apostles, future leaders. He and Barnabas journeyed together, but eventually Paul took young Mark under his care. Even though their relationship was rocky on his first missionary journey because of Mark’s immaturity, Paul eventually praises Mark, supports Mark, encourages Mark to continue in leadership, and the rest is history.  Preparing and equipping means walking beside a brother or sister in the Lord in their journey, not preaching at them or having them read numerous books on the topic.  As we have scene Paul used this principle and so did Jesus who walked with the 12 disciples.  It is not an academic exercise but a physical and spiritual one. It is the walking out, and working out, of one’s faith walk together. It is a daily walk, an intimate walk, a relational walk that prepares, builds, and equips others.

A key component after preparation and equipping is releasing.  Paul had to release each new church to stand on its own. He equipped them with the Word, the Holy Spirit, with spiritual gifts, with community, and the tools needed for leadership; now they had to stand alone.  All that preparation and equipping would be useless if he had not released them.

We as a Church need to rethink what preparing, equipping, and releasing means in our relationships of discipling and nurturing our brothers and sisters in their spiritual growth. As parents we celebrate when our sibling graduates from high school or college, gets married, and becomes a parent, all steps in growing up and becoming independent from our parental care.  The empty nest syndrome is the realization that our sibling has left the nest, our home, and established their own, gotten married or become independent, and may become parents themselves now supporting their own siblings. Most churches I know do not experience an empty nest syndrome as they have prepared and equipped their own laity, their own believers in Jesus, to become independent enough to go out and start their own church, their own ministry, their own acts of service producing growth. They do not reproduce others to replay themselves!

As we learn about the passions of our fellow believers in Jesus, we need to encourage them to grow in their passion, to develop relationships of equality with others who have different passions than their own, to learn to support one another by laying down their lives for one another, to prepare them by encouraging self reflection, developing a private discipline devotional time of Bible study and prayer, giving them an outlet to share what they have seen and heard during these times. We need to equip them with the Word, the Bible, teach them the literal Word of God, the Logos Word, and how to live it, the Rhema Word, and surround them with community, the Church. Then we may see a change, a transformation, from dead-beat Christians, enabled Christians to active, living, growing, nurturing, and supporting Christians. If we see those changes, we have prepared and equipped successfully.

Equipping The Saints Soccer Analogy

What Does “Equipping The Saints” Mean? – Part VIII

In Elizabethtown College Soccer History it has been eulogized as “The Game”!  The year before Elizabethtown College battled Hartwick College for the Division III NCAA National Soccer Championship to a nil-nil tie after six overtime periods. To prevent another tie when they met for a rematch for the National Division III title again, they started the game an hour early, just incase history would repeat itself.  It did! When regulation play ended, neither team had put the ball into the goal for the second straight year. In the fifth overtime period, during an offensive attack by Hartwick the Etown goalie was drawn out from his net and a Hartwick attacker fired a thunderous shot taking the breath out of every Etown fan. A sigh of relief was replaced by thunderous exaltation when big Dale Beiber, the son of an African missionary, placed his enormous thigh in front of the ball, knocking it down, and then kicking it down the field to safety.

After playing 90 minutes of regulation play, and 5 ten-minute overtime periods, every player, exhausted, was running on pure adrenaline. Each team was looking for the “break” that would tip the scale. That came when Sandy Kilo, the shortest player on the field, drew the Hartwick goalie out of his goal on a break away, and lobbed the ball gently over his head into the goal! Elizabethtown won 1-0! A front page pictorial of their victory lap on the Etownian, the official weekly Elizabethtown College paper, recorded history.

Why did Etown win? They were in phenomenal physical shape which provided the stamina needed and one-third of the student body weathered the 7 hour trip to create a “home game” atmosphere . Months earlier, before the student body arrived for the fall semester, the team had extensive two-time a day practices and drills. I recall one soccer player’s return from the late afternoon practice, where he took off his soccer spikes and collapsed on the hard stone porch, falling a sleep there in spite of the student traffic throughout the evening. Those exhaustive practices prepared the team for the stamina needed later.  I also was part of the masses who crammed into any vehicle heading towards New England for the game and the long, joyous, return home before the team bus arrived for a victory celebration like the College had never experienced before.

Elizabethtown had been better “equipped” for the game.  They had invested their time in physical conditioning, had worked hours upon hours on their soccer skills, had worked hard on developing a “team” concept, and had built a radical fan base that would travel anywhere to support them. They were prepared; they were equipped.

We, the Church, can learn from their experience.  We should be “equipping the saints for works of service.”  “Prepare ye the way!” is the cry heard throughout the Bible.  Preparation always precedes ministry. Jesus prepared his disciples for when he would leave the earth: he prepared them for apostleship; he prepared them to be the foundation of this new movement, the Church.  He not only prepared them, he equipped them with the Holy Spirit to “teach them all things”; he equipped them through the Word; he equipped them by teaching them the principle of laying down your life for your brethren (IJohn 3:16) so that they would establish community, a community that would survive even the most brutal persecution possible.  Preparing and equipping were essential principles needed in birthing and establishing the Church.  They are still needed today in the maintaining of the Body of Christ, the Church.

Any good building needs a foundation and needs the proper equipment to build that foundation. God knows what foundation the Church needed and equipped the Church with evangelists, shepherds, teachers, prophets, and apostles.  I personally believe that evangelists, shepherds, teachers, prophets, and apostles are still currently in most churches, but we need to equip them for service, then release them to do the calling they have been prepared and equipped for.  The more we prepare them, the higher we raise the bar for success, the more effective the Church will become.  Instead of dead-beat Christians who are enabled by a professional staff, we need to develop a new mindset of how to prepare them, equip them, and release them for works of service.

Life sometimes seems as exhaustive as a six overtime period soccer match, a tug of war, back and forth free-for-all that we can only win if we have been properly prepared and equipped. Like the terrific fan support, the Church needs to rally around each other as a community of faith, of believers, as priests unto the Holy Spirit, who are willing to “lay down our lives” for one another.  When that occurs, the Church will be ready to obtain that definitive score that will win the match, or “The Game” of “life”.

Store House Tithing: A Lost Art In Christendom Today

Preparing A Church For Rough Times

In the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, Chapter 41 portrays the powerful narrative of how Joseph goes from imprisonment to be second only to Pharaoh in power. He interprets Pharaoh’s dream of 7 years of abundance and 7 years of famine. Pharaoh places him in charge of “store housing” 1/5 of Egypt’s grain during the years of plenty to be distributed during the years of famine. By the time the famine subsides, the Egyptians have sold their souls for grain, and Pharaoh owns all of Egypt and begins building a great empire built on tyrannical control.

By the time we get to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, Chapter 3 God asks, “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask me ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”  Israel is being challenged to use the very principle that God had Joseph use in Egypt. I call it store house economics: creating a store house in times of wealth to be drained during times of need.

Watchman Nee was a Bible teacher and leader of the church in China before the Communist take over. I enjoy his teachings in the context that he is preparing a Church for persecution.  What Nee teaches would be monumental in the Church’s survival under extremely harsh persecution.

Many Christian church leaders want you to read his “Normal Christian Life” book because it is about submission to authority which they want their people to dutifully do, but very few recommend his book “The Normal Christian Church Life” which is about apostles, elders, the basis of union and division, and store house tithing, topics that are not propagated by most American churches, particularly financially. 

I do not personally know of a Christian church that practices store house economics here in America. During times of plenty we have built monumental cathedrals called mega-churches, increase professional staffing, invested in theatrical lighting, sound, and technological advances to create a highly professional worship service.  During times of plenty we have created marvelous monuments of awe, but when the size of the congregation dwindles, the economic hard times arrive, budget cuts are the buzz word, and our edifices are mere replicas of former years, the cry of need arises, but there is no funding for the now drastic programs needed for survival. We failed to heed the call of store house economics. During the time of prosperity we have heard the mantra over and over again of “give, give, give” financially from your blessings, and as downward economic times hit that of “give sacrificially”, yet there is no store house from which to draw in time of need. The fat of America’s churches has been squandered, and during the recent economic downturn their colors have shown. Churches have faced budget cuts, downsizing of staff and personnel, aging buildings, yet try to maintain pre-lean year budgets.

We have invested in our buildings and properties, in taking care of our professional leaders financially, and in developing our staffs, but have we invested in our people, those who attend our churches?  Have we effectively taught them discipleship to stand on their own faith, read the Word on their own, listen to the still voice of the Holy Spirit on their own and corporately, then act obediently to what they have seen and heard? Have we equipped the “saints” for the work of service (Eph. 4) or have we financed a professional staff to do that work for us?  If the professional staff is eliminated due to economic strains, can the common committed brethren stand on their own?  If the church doors would be closed, where would they go to congregate, to pray, to get teaching, to corporately hear from God and worship?

A church that invests in its people will survive any economic downturn, persecution, famine, or time of difficulty. God says, “test me” in Malachi to see if store house economics works! He promises only blessings if the Church practices it!  If economic recovery returns to America, will the church's wasteful spending and grandiose projects come back, or will it have learned to make “store houses” for the next economic down turn, the next time for need!

During down times, we naturally look to the Lord to provide our needs; we got to naturally look to the Lord in good times to provide from our excesses and store it for times of need. For America and most of the Westernized world, that is a totally radical mindset, but a mindset we MUST embrace if we are to be good stewards of God’s kingdom.

Who/What Is Your Church Investing In?

Should Church Budgets Reflect Christian Development Or Staff Needs?

This past Sunday, the church that I attend had a “Family Talk” instead of the sermon which basically was a dissertation from the pastor with a few supportive comments from the three elders that now comprise the church’s board.  There was no input from the family sitting in the pews, no feedback, no questions, just a one way dialogue. The presentation showed the direction leadership would like to the congregation to take in the next year by outlining the budget items that would reflect their direction, and a plea for those in the pew to finance those endeavors through generous financial contributions this year.  90% of the budget was nontouchable, already designated areas of commitment, whose details were not disclosed at the meeting. New initiatives comprised 10% of the budget.  Only 2% of the budget was designated for “Equipping” or training the saints, the pew sitters, toward Christian and leadership development.  More money was designated for developing relationships with New Frontiers networking, for developing Life Groups by training leadership through an 18 month course commitment on counseling to have them certified, for establishing “programs” to draw people to the church, and for deferral of payroll cuts than were designated for “equipping” or developing the saints, the common believer, the pew sitter!

I don’t think their budget is much different than most of today’s Christian Church budgets for buildings and grounds, mortgage payments, payroll commitments, staff professional development and needs, and maintenance supplies comprise a greater load of the budget with other commitments like missions, administrative pledges to overseeing organizations, and benevolence funds.  Very seldom is there a major commitment financially for “laity development”.

I thought a major mission of the church was to “develop disciples”, to develop the saints? Fully funding Pastor(s) and staff to Christian Leadership Growth Conferences is the norm, but financially funding the development of the saints toward Christian discipleship has been neglected by the local church.

So what are we developing the saints to become?  Future professional clergy? Future staff? Future Leaders (of what?)? If we developed them to be evangelists would we allow them to give “evangelistic messages” ie. sermons or personal testimonies during Sunday Worship Services, or develop their own outreach programs? If we developed them to be pastors/shepherds, would we allow them to mentor other Christians without being under the micromanaging microscope of the pastor and staff?  If we developed them to be teachers of the Word, the Bible, would we allow them to actually preach from the pulpit? What would they be allowed to teach? How do we overcome this fear that their teaching would be heretical, off base, unprofessional? If we developed them to be prophets, what outlet would we give them to prophecy, to flow in the Spirit in freedom? Of course, we would never allow them to develop apostolic skills, for the professional pastoral staff and senior pastor feels that is their exclusive role, not laity’s! A nonskilled, nontrained, nonprofessional seeing over the work of an entire church would be unthinkable!

Most Christian church’s produce “enablers”, for the professional staff does everything for them: prays for them, preaches to them, teaches them, does visitations for them, extend hospitality through the church’s coffee bar to them, provides “programs” for them so they can meet socially, tells them in a service when to sit, when to stand, when to sing, when to pray, when to greet one another, and when to give financially while announcing all the church events because they believe their flock is to ignorant to read or understand the printed bulletin they gave them to read.  We don’t develop disciples of Christ, nor leaders if all we do is enable them; and then we get frustrated when they don’t do anything or respond to a preordained programs.

We, Christians churches, must begin to “invest” in the people who are “financially investing” in their “professional staff” to do all things for them!  Pew sitters, the saints, must begin to do more than just “pay the bills”!  But how?

Professional Development is designed to develop the professional in what he does in his profession!  Getting a college degree, a proper certification, an academic title directly influences one salary and leadership position. That is for the professional staff, but what do those in the congregation have to do to earn positions of favorability, positions of freedom to serve, positions to minister in freedom?

I know of no church staff that tries to equip the saints to do what they do, thus putting themselves out of a job! Instead of focusing in “equipping” or “preparing” the saints for service, the professional staff gets caught up in doing it themselves, for they are better trained, better equipped, and more highly educated to do the task than their counterparts in the pew.  What message is the church sending when they want their parishioners to financially support their budget to pay their salaries, their expenses, their benefits, their professional development, yet the budget holds little to financially support the laity’s own personal development in their faith, their journey, their spiritual growth?

Check your church budget. What does it reveal? What or who are you investing in? Are the saints lost in your budget? Oh, I forgot, they aren’t lost; they just have to finance is sacrificially through their tithes and offerings, usually under the premise of feeling guilty through funding drives and pleas every Sunday before the offering.

Where you put your money exposes your heart, your treasures, your priorities, and your goals and dreams. Church budgets reveal the heart and treasure of the church.  Unfortunately, we should be shocked at what they reveal, and begin to rethink how we should readjust our priorities in them.

Have Evangelical Christians Lost Their Political Voice? Have They Been Muted?

Have Evangelicals Been Flushed Out Of the National Election? 

It is almost hard for me to believe that four decades ago America was in turmoil: the Kennedy’s & Martin Luther King were assassinated, the Viet Nam War was dividing our country, the Civil Rights, Peace, and ecology movements flourished; American cities witness rioting, looting, burning; the drug and sexual revolution came to the forefront; the Hippie movement, Woodstock, and free love were the norm; gays came our of the closet and marched, women burned their bras and demanded equal right; aids became the new medical epidemic, and abortion became the political hot bed for debate for decades. It seemed the fabric of America was being totally frayed. In the midst of all the political turmoil, the Church became alive: the Jesus Movement, Billy Graham Crusades packing out sports arenas around the world, the influx of televangelists, Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts & Pat Robertson, and the Charismatic Movement.  Yet the Church became divided between fighting for social justice through the civil rights campaign, the emphasis of the Democratic Party, and establishing the Religious Right through the rise of the Moral Majority in the Republican Party.

The spirit of this era and the political and religious conflicts of that time were captured in the second verse of a song, This Little Child, written and sung by Scott Wesley Brown:

Many years have come and gone, yet this world remains the same.

Empires have be built and fallen, only time has made a change.

Nation against nation, brother against brother,

Men so filled with hatred, killing one another,

And over half the world is starving, while our banner of decency is torn,

Debating over disarmament, killing children before they’re born.

And fools who march to win the right to justify their sin,

Oh, ev’ry nation that has fallen, has fallen from within.

Yet in the midst of this darkness, there is a hope, a light, that burns.

This little child, the King of kings, someday will return.

Today we are still fighting wars, fighting world poverty, debating disarmament even though we still have the capacity to destroy the whole world through a nuclear war.  The gay community is not only coming out of the closet marching, but now have found favor and acceptance at the Democratic Convention that it has never experienced before. America’s moral fibers are still being tested.

It is amazing, politically, what the promises and the winds of prosperity will do to a people. Germany followed the radical leader Hitler for the promise of prosperity, and he delivered while the Lutheran church fell silent.  Clinton’s Lewinsky scandal brought a vote of impeachment that fell one vote short because Clinton convinced America that they needed him because he had promised and delivered prosperity in spite of the church’s cry of immorality. Today, the rise of acceptance of gay rights has equaled the decline of an anti-abortion overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Social issues have been lost in the debate over the economy and the promises of prosperity while the church politically has been quieted and politically flushed out.

As America’s Presidential Election approaches, will the Church passively sit by? The Religious Right that has backed the Conservative branch of the Republican Party has been silenced, lost its luster to the Tea Party, and has been diverted to fight big government rather than defend their stand on social mores.  Social injustice has again raised its head in the Democratic Party political arena, but without the influence of the Christian church’s influence. All the “morally right” standards advocated by the Religious Right can fall under the squeaky clean banner of a Mormon leader diminishing the political influence of the Evangelical Christian church. All the causes to fight against current social injustices look like the right thing to do, but the word “God” just so happen to disappear from the Democratic platform. In all of this, where is the American Christian Church’s voice in the current political process? Has it been diminished even muted?

The political Religious Right and their conservative cohorts have cultured a disrespect toward the office of President when they don’t get their way nor have their leader in office, and have literally demonized the man currently holding that office who still acknowledges the Christian faith and is not directly opposing it as a political enemy. Their strategy has backfired.  Their inbred hatred of Obama has forced them to back a candidate who is considered a member of a religious sect, the Mormon church, who evangelicals look upon as a heretical cult.  They have bred an environment where his moral standard and codes are politically correct. If they can’t fight his religious theology, they have no grounds for disapproval of his candidacy. They sit silent!

Where does the Evangelical Christian church stand in this current political climate? Not very influential! I wonder why? Hmmmm.  What will the Evangelical Christian church do in the months leading up to the election?  Will it be an influence or will it remain a non-entity? Or maybe, just maybe, like forty years ago, the climate of the country is ready for the Church to experience a revival, not politically, but spiritually?

An American Church Trend: Religion Is No Longer Politically “Cool”

What Is The Church’s Current Influence On The American Political Scene?

In my blogs I never have addressed the topic of Church and politics until today, for I see a trend occurring that is setting the ground work for revival.  Church + politics = religion.  It has played out in Jewish history, and it is being played out today in Christian congregations through out America in local, regional, and denominational church politics, and it is now being playing out on the national political stage during this Presidential Election year. Even the secular world is trying to divide and separate the two, for they question their impact when together!

“Hi, I am Jimmy Carter, and I am running for President,” boasted an unknown governor from Georgia in the 1970’s that caught the eye of America.  He came under fire but to the forefront of the American political scene when he admitted he was “born again”, and all of a sudden being “Born Again” became cool.  Billy Graham’s career was established on the phrase, “You must be born again,” and his political influence reached several White Houses and Presidents.  Politics and religion have always been debatable topics, and the two only intersect when they can win votes.  “Who will run America if John F. Kennedy becomes President, the Pope?” was a political question of his Roman Catholic heritage in the ‘70’s.  “Should a divorcee be allowed to run for the Presidency” was an issue Reagan faced in the ‘80’s. “Should American overlook immorality in the White House?” fueled the debate during the Clinton Presidency.

Being raised in an evangelical Christian environment all my life, I heard pastor after pastor, decade after decade, give sermons debating if Christians should be involved in politics and the power of prayer for our political leaders. I remember the rise of Jerry Farewell and the Moral Majority in an effort to get Evangelical Christians to run for office and the attempt by Pat Robertson to run for the Presidency.  By the time we entered the twenty-first century, I thought God was a registered Republican.

Presidential elections usually expose changing trends in American Society, and after this summer’s political conventions I have noticed one alarming trend: Religious Preferences Are No Longer Politically “Cool” in the current political arena.  I was taught that Christians should run for political offices to change the culture in Washington.  Although I cannot tell what churches they attended, if they did at all, I assumed Reagan and the Bushes were Christian Church attenders, and looked with distain at Clinton for his immoral sexual conduct that caused him to fall one vote short of being impeached!  Only the greed of the average American during the time of a rising economy saved his neck as he convinced America that they needed him to maintain prosperity. Even he knew it was politically correct to go to a well-known ordained Christian minister for marriage counseling.

This summer we have two “good”, “moral”, “family-centered” men who come across as “really nice guys” running for President: the current President who is not looked upon as a church attender and disdained by much of the evangelical community as being too liberal with a Muslim background and his opponent, a Mormon.  At the Republican Convention a well known radio spokesman, ex-governor, and previous Presidential Candidate who was supposedly speaking the for Evangelical Branch of the Republican Party said, “I don’t care what church a candidate goes to; I care about what candidate goes to the White House.”  Evangelical Christians teach that Mormonism, the Church of Latter Day Saints, is a Christian Cult and oppose their teachings as heretical, yet in the world of American politics, those influential Evangelical Christian voices are being silenced, tamed, or compromise in order to win a general election.  The Democrats jumped at their Convention after removing any reference of “God” or that “Jerusalem is the recognize Capital of Israel” from their party’s platform, only to reinstate it to be politically correct and not offend potential voters. 

I know one name that you are not hearing from either Presidential candidate nor his party during this election: the name of JESUS!  You will hear the cry for social justice, women’s right, civil rights, and taking care of the poor from the Democrats, which are all good humanitarian causes, but you will not hear the name of JESUS associated with them.  The Republicans do not want a religious theological debate of “Is the Mormon Jesus the same as the Evangelical Jesus” dividing their party.  They have already experienced the dividing power of the Religious Right in their party. They at least acknowledge the fact that religion divides, not unites, something the Christian Church is still in denial about.

How did the American Church get from trying to be political influential in the White House to change America to now having a muffled if not mute voice in the upcoming Presidential Election?  Evangelicals have been groomed to believe, just as the Republicans do, the top-down theory.  If you influence the top, it will trickle down to the masses, so if the President gets “saved” those under him will follow his lead and we will have a righteous country.  Revival does not operate that way but just the opposite. Revival always begins at the grass roots level, with the masses, and eventually influences social change and political institutions above them. 

This current political climate is cleansing America of the false teaching the American Church has propagated these past several decades during my life that we need to save American by getting the President “saved”! That revival will begin if we clean up Washington. As the Church withdraws or is being flushed out in the current political arena, the citizens of America will again discover that they will need a “savior” who will not be “political”.  That political myth was alive and well in Jesus’ time as the Jews looked for a political savior and missed their true Messiah or Savior, JESUS, when he did come in their midst, and they are still looking for him today.  Will we, the Church, continue to be like our Jewish forefathers in looking for a political Messiah and continuing to do so, or will we recognize JESUS as the Messiah, our Savior?  When we do, revival will come!

The institutional church is losing its political influence in America, but the Church of Jesus Christ, (not of Ladder Day Saints), will arise in a spirit of revival to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ above all names until “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Revival is spiritual reality, never political imagery! There is a true spirit of revival, and it can be found in none other than Jesus Christ, our Savior, and Messiah.

How Is Your Church Bent?

Leadership Defined By Releasing Diversity

Often a local congregation’s “bent” or “uniqueness” that distinguishes it from the other local congregations, lies in the gifting of its leadership.  If its leadership is evangelistic, the local church is evangelistic.  If the leader ship is pastoral, nurturing, shepherding in emphasis, the local church is known as a caring church. If the leader is a theologian, the church is known for a pastor that “preaches the Word of God.”  If it nurtures the spiritual development of its congregants to hear the Holy Spirit for themselves, then it is known to be prophetic.  If it is has “strong, dominant” leadership, it may be known as apostolic. But can we find a church that emphasizes and develops all of these? Currently, I can’t, but I believe it is God’s will to have all these passions, voices, and points of view in a diverse local congregation, and that it would be healthy in the birth, development, training, and releasing of Christians as they mature through different levels of their Christian spiritual growth.

We know that the key to spiritual Christian growth lies in its leadership, but in the current church models, we lay everything at the feet of our professional pastor to be all things to all people, who are so diverse in their talents, so diverse in their learning styles, and being “children,” spiritually are often spoiled rotten! Often, the result is burn out! So, we usually define leadership with going with your strength, thus each individual church gains its identity as a evangelical church, a nurturing church, a strong teaching church, or a prophetic church through the strength of its pastor.  I propose that true five fold apostolic leadership is not about going with the strength of the leader, but he releasing the strengths of those around him, particularly those of different gifting, voices, passions, and points of view.  It is the administration, encouragement, equipping, and releasing of these people to reach their destiny, their passions for the common good of the entire church that is the key to true leadership of a five fold apostle.

So this defines a new paradigm shift in the way the church should look at leadership. Leadership in the five fold model is defined “by laying down your life for your brethren.”  It is not about you at all; it is about the other brethren.  It is selfless love, unconditional love.  The only way to bring unity in the body amongst all its diversity is to learn how to “lay down your life for your brethren,” particularly those who are different from yourself.  Often we think that leadership is making replicas of ourselves, but that is not the case with the five fold.  We do not reproduce ourselves, we release others to be themselves.

To achieve this leadership will have to learn the depths of “grace” and “mercy.”  Often leadership finds itself in judgmental positions, but James 2:13 proclaims “mercy triumphs over judgment,” so leadership will have to learn how to extend mercy to whom they are leading and that will be by laying down their lives for them rather than being “over” them.  When you are “laying down” you are never above anyone!  Only then will one understand what “the mercy seat” is all about when in the presence of the Lord.  You will also have to learn the true meaning of “grace”, unmerited favor, for you will have to extend grace, that unmerited favor, to your fellow brethren whom you are laying down your life’s for. 

The Need For Church Hopping

The Need For the Five Fold

If you took a poll of your current congregation, of those who are considered “new” who have come to your church over the past year, the past 12 months, you might discover why they are there.  Most “new” people today are not newly born Christians but Christians who are hopping from church to church. What has drawn them to your local congregation?  You need to also ask what has drawn those away from your local congregation over the year?  The results of why may surprise you.

I know of evangelical minded congregations that are mainly evangelistic in nature: offering an altar call at every service and often seeing people responding to that call.  If everyone who got “saved” remained in that church, it would instantly become a mega-church and remain that way because of its constant growth pattern.  Unfortunately, many who are spiritually born in that kind of church climate and atmosphere eventually leave because they think they have mature or grow beyond what that congregation offers.  Often they are hungry for growth.  As a toddler becomes school age, he wants to leave mom and go to school to be “a big boy or girl”.  Spiritually, that happens too in Christian growth.

That growth may cause one to seek further nurturing, in depth Bible study with teaching, a desire to listen to the small voice of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to it, a chance to be socially active in one’s community through food kitchens and clothing banks, to become advocates for those who have experienced social injustice, and so on…. The current congregation supplied what was needed for a time or season, but one’s spiritual growth spurt has urged one to move on in another direction, during another season, to experience

another step of faith in one’s faith journey.

Often these transition times are painful, for church is all about relationships.  I am a proponent of equipping the saints, but the hard part is releasing them to move on in their gifting, their calling, their destiny. It is hard to release a sheep to join another herd, and because of that when the sheep is pleating to be released we often send them out into the wilderness alone, bewildered, frustrated, and seemingly lost instead of helping them toward another flock, or congregation, where they can be fed and properly released when mature in the faith.

Unfortunately, rather than investing in equipping the saints and developing their Christian character, numbers have often been the barometer to measure a church’s success.  Last decade it was how many church members are on one’s roll that provided the data needed for supposed success.  Today, mega-churches are envied for their numbers as large auditoriums measure the success of a church.  The church needs to look beyond numbers, and look toward Christian development.

How do you judge success in Christian development? If your congregation is over 50 years old, over two generation of believers, how many members, average church people, have been developed and released as evangelists, shepherds, teachers, prophets, or apostles?  What is a mature Christian to be doing in order to be considered a “success” in the Christian world? Is he out winning the lost, nurturing the newborns, teaching those younger believers in the ways of the Kingdom and truths in the Bible, proclaiming the written word, the Bible as the Rhema word, the living word, listening to the small voice of the Holy Spirit for himself and being obedient to it, or seeing over the Christian development of his fellow believers, equipping, encouraging, and releasing them in their destiny, or is he still “coming” to church every Sunday to do “church” by sitting passively in the pew to listen to yet another sermon, shake hands with the saints, and tithe to financially support the local congregation’s institutional efforts. I am sorry, but the latter is what is filling up most churches on Sunday.

People naturally grow physically, mentally, psychologically, and if “born again,” spiritually.  That individual spiritual growth, if not fed by the local congregation, will produce restlessness in an individual to move on to another congregation that can fulfill that need to grow causing a person to leave their current congregation.  This restlessness may be destructive to relationships, and the church is all about relationships.  Most church hoppers have been “hurt” by some Christian somewhere.  Christian churches are often hospitals for the wounded: those not knowing Jesus who have been hurt by the world and need a spiritual healing and a spiritual life; and those who know Jesus and have been hurt by fellow Christians in their Christian walk.  I am not blaming local churches for this phenomenon, because children make mistakes when growing. They challenge authority. But Christian churches do not allow you to make mistakes, nor challenge authority.  Most churches really do not have “parenting skills” needed to nurture their “children” properly, so that they can release them as mature Christians when it is time to “leave home” and “be on their own”!  Most churches groom dependence, not independents.

Only when we, the church, get to the point that we take Christian growth seriously will we embrace the five fold, for in it there is a model for birth, for nurture and care, for grounding theologically, for development spiritually as a person, a believer in Jesus Christ, a building of trust in the Holy Spirit, and a protection through proper oversight and development.  I believe if we had true five fold churches, church hopping would become history, looked upon as a weird phenomenon that once happened in churches.  Why would you want to hop to another local body if your spiritual development was birthed, continued, and completed in your current local body? That is my vision of the five fold.