The Way

The Heart of Christmas II - Reclaiming Christmas

2011-12-13T10:26:00.001-06:00

Once again we find ourselves on the brink of yet another Christmas holiday, hijacked by commercialism and selfishness. Beside all of the "you need" commercials and the "I want" gift lists we are also bombarded by the encouragement to give to those less fortunate so that they, too, might "have Christmas". How did this occasion get turned from a celebration of the birth of Christ, Immanuel - God with us - into a mad, hectic, depressing season of all things not Christ?

Is it at all possible to reclaim Christmas for Christ, or should we release the church's claim on the holiday, relinquishing control over to the department stores and charities to continue the "traditions" on down the path they have been going for the past century? Then, the church can begin to celebrate a new "holy day" which is purely a remembrance of the day God visited earth in the form of a baby in a manger in a little town called Bethlehem. We can remember, on this day, when the angels sang in a mighty chorus, "Glory to God in the Highest - Peace on earth & goodwill towards men". Rather than giving gifts to others and desiring more gifts for ourselves we could acknowledge the incomparable gift that God gave to each of us in His Son. Perhaps we could all come together with one mind and one heart - the heart of God Himself, and celebrate His worth and His magnificance - and share THIS with those who have not heard this good news.

And perhaps this could be a celebration that lasts more than one day - December 25th. This should be a Holy-Day that lasts from January 1 to, say December 31. I realize this is hardly enough time to properly honor Him who gave us His ALL, but we need to start somewhere. I also realize this would overlap other holiday celebrations, but we can think of it as a marinade that would flavor all the things we do during the celebration season.

And we should call this Holy-Day "Christ-Is", because Christ is the reason for this season I describe to you now. Another idea for a name for this Holy-Day is "Today".

So, join with me in pursuing this new Holy-Day, founded this day in 2011. The only gifts you need to give are to the One whom we celebrate - and all He wants is your all to be added to His All so that He might have a bride and His Father might have a house built from living stones here on this earth. THIS is the heart of what Christmas was intended to be before it became all about us.

THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS

Watching all the lights,
Something’s just not right
Where’s the Christmas cheer?
I long just to feel
Some thing that is real
At this time of year.

Oh, Lord please open my eyes
In a Season for You
To show me Your heart’s desire
Lord, take my wants and my needs
As I give them to You
And put Your love in my heart.

I’m coming back to the heart of Christmas
And it’s all about You,
It’s all about You, Jesus.
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You, Jesus.

Jesus, Lord of all
Born on Christmas day
You became like me.
To show me the Way
Your life was a gift
From God up above.

Oh, Lord please open my eyes
In a Season for You
To show me Your heart’s desire
Lord, take my wants and my needs
As I give them to You
And put Your love in my heart.

I’m coming back to the heart of Christmas
And it’s all about You,
It’s all about You, Jesus.
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You, Jesus.

Lyrics by Mark & Janine Burnett (2002)
(Based upon lyrics and music by Matt Redman)

Finding Jesus in a Watermelon

2011-08-04T15:35:00.000-05:00

After reading the title, I can imagine the thoughts coursing through your minds... the image of Jesus on a burned tortilla, an old piece of tree bark, a corn chip that people flock to expecting to receive some kind of miracle. Well, before we chase that rabbit any further down that road, let me say - "That's NOT what I'm referring to."

Last Sunday while meeting with my church family God started unfolding this illustration in my head so I thought it best to write it down (you can be the judge of whether it was best!). Trying to find a graphic representation of the body of Christ in nature, God lead me to the watermelon. There are other fruits or vegetables that would work, but the thought of a "Living Water" melon fancies me, so...

Where to start? OK, let us look at the melon as a whole. Inside the melon there is the meat (red, yellow or orange) and the seeds. Surrounding the good part is a protective covering, or the rind, that keeps the good part good until it is cut open for consuming - keeps the dirt and the parasites out to preserve the purity of the fruit. Looking at the seeds, we find some mature and some still developing, but attached to all of them is something that looks like an umbilical cord that "daisy-chains" them together and feeds nutrients into the seeds, placing the DNA of the watermelon into each of them, so that when removed from the fruit and placed in the ground they can die and then burst open and a new watermelon plant springs forth to create more watermelons just like the original from the DNA blueprint inside of it. Each new melon that grows on that vine looks and tastes just like the fruit it came from and within the protective covering of each a new miracle occurs - more seeds are being formed that contain the same DNA as the melon they are in that it received from the melon it's seed came from and so on and so on. That part is basic botany.

So, where is Jesus and the church in this? Follow along with me on this. I think we see Jesus in the meat - the good part. He is the "living water" that satisfies our thirst, He is the sweetest part about any Christian’s existence. He is colorful or beautiful as He surrounds the seeds in which He is imparting His DNA through His Spirit that connects each seed to each other in Him. Now, the seeds are the Christians - the real ones. A Christian is one who is "connected", or rooted in Christ, receiving their life sustenance from Him and Him alone. The DNA of God Himself, that He placed within Mary at the immaculate conception to form the person of Jesus of Nazareth, that was passed on to Jesus in the flesh is fed into each Christian via the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which will in eternity be matured to make us like Him. We are then "daisy-chained" to other believers via the Spirit to form the church. We, the seeds or Christians are "in Christ" and are covered and protected by God the Father, the all encompassing "rind" that holds us all together and keeps the dirt and parasites out so that we might develop into a healthy, mature fruit that will one day reproduce divine offspring.

I know. Kind of a fruity analogy, but it fits and if it should help someone get a grasp on exactly what the church is, how the Spirit connects all Christians who are, in fact, "in Christ" and how, the church in Christ is a refreshing, sweet, good thing then maybe you might allow me this illustration for now.

(If you don't know what a watermelon is or looks like, try google.com.)

Organic VS Organic Start

2011-07-17T14:22:00.001-05:00

Having just experienced Threshold 2011 here in Orlando, I have come to the realization that what we have been doing in our local body is not really Organic Church - yet. Having been meeting together for the past 9 months now, what we have been doing is building community within the body - relationships, trust, fellowship and all that entails - including some ministry. We are a long ways from achieving what we need to become still, however.

When God first called me on this journey, I had little idea what all He was actually calling me to - after this weekend that has all changed. Having spent time with existing, rooted bodies I see what we have missed - God's Eternal Purpose. Last night (Saturday) Alan Levine spoke on Saul's Damascus road experience with Jesus. As many times as I have read this, been taught this and even taught this to others, never before has God allowed me to see myself as Saul. Allow me to explain.

I, like Saul, grew up in a "religious" family. We went to church ALL the time, we all had our own bibles, were well versed in how to use those bibles (We beat the high school kids in bible drill when we were in junior high). I knew the bible stories forward and backwards, have served as a youth minister, music minister, worship leader, deacon, elder, am a licensed minister, sang in the choir, served on numerous committees, been on mission trips to three separate continents outside the US - in short I was a "religious leader" with a set of references that would impress any of my grade school Sunday school teachers. At about this time last year, God made it clear to me that I was supposed to step out of the religious culture I had been a part of for the past 44 years and step into this great unknown which is not simple to explain. My religious peers at that time, I am certain thought I had stepped off of the deep end and some even tried to talk me out of it (obviously unsuccessfully). For the past year we have meet, in our home, having bible studies, having "meetings" where we were supposed to be talking about God, although sometimes never quite got around to Him. Many in our group still look to me as their leader, in spite of how often I tell them I am not. With this background and these present circumstances, it is hard keeping your feet on the ground.

I had taken up the banner for the demise of the institutional church, wanting to see all the captives set free and had begun a campaign (in our small group) to discredit the institution. I came to Threshold 2011 even with some thought in the back of my mind, that I might "learn" how to more effectively liberate those trapped in the institution.

But, that's not what happened...

On Saturday nite, this small, unassuming man of Jewish decent gets up to speak. He begins to share the story of Saul of Tarsus in a first person narrative. He listed his own pedigree, much as I have done in the previous paragraphs, and then described his own rage as a young man named Stephen stood up to the religious leaders of the day opposing their teachings and naming the Nazarene named Jesus as the Messiah. He told of his rage as he had Stephen hauled outside the city walls and had him stoned to death and then how he sought out permission to do the same in Damascus. On his way there he told of how this "second sun" appeared in the sky and literally knocked him off of his horse. He then told how Jesus appeared to him and called him be His witness and apostle and burned his pedigree with the same blinding flash that took his eyesight temporarily.

All of a sudden - BAM! I found myself thrown from my high horse and knocked to the ground by the Son. All I thought that I knew, even those things I have learned in the past two years became shadows in this blinding light before me. Jesus spoke to me (not audibly, but rather through His Spirit) and told me that He has not called me for the destruction of earthly institutions, but rather for the building up of a spiritual house/body/bride. I am Saul. God HAS called me to His work. Not to be a leader, but a servant and possibly a guide. Yet, how can I guide others to where I have not been myself? I can't.

I have and am requesting prayers from my brothers and peers whom I have aligned myself with this weekend - some who have been on this journey for years and others who are, like myself, just starting out. We all must step back and gain a clear vision of the call of God on our lives and see clearly God's Eternal Purpose for His church. If we miss this, we might as well quit now, because in reality - nothing else matters.

In Paul's own words in Philippians 3: "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Having said all that, I know now what we are doing in our local body is not "organic" church, but rather an organic church start. We are on our way to becoming organic even though we have not laid hold of it yet. I know now that pulling ourselves out of the institutional church and meeting in a home does not make us "organic". This distinction will be made in our hearts - not in our name. My heart is, now more than ever, to experience organic church life as God intended it be. Having talked with many who have and are experiencing this life just encourages me all the more. For Janine and I, there is no other option acceptable any longer.

May God knock all who read this off of their horse in such a way that YOU will pursue God to discover how you fit into His Eternal Purpose!

Book Review: "Revise Us Again" by Frank Viola

2011-06-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

Yet again, Frank has nailed down multiple truths that God, in His infinite wisdom, has been revealing – apparently not just to me. “Revise Us Again” presents ten areas of our spiritual walk that ALL of us need to examine (2 Corinthians 13:5). As I read through this book, I found myself time and time again saying, “AMEN AND AMEN”. Frank does not take up sides with any denomination or doctrine, but rather holds these to the standard of scripture to reveal how far off we have drifted from God’s original design. In this book Frank asks the hard questions many today are asking and gives sound, scriptural direction to help find the true answers. Frank questions some modern day accepted “Christian” practices and thought processes and shows us through contextual scripture how we have totally missed what God’s original intent was. For example, in Chapter 5, “What’s Wrong With Our Gospel?”, Frank sums up perfectly, I think, where the modern church left the road when he says, “…the goal of the gospel is not to get you out of hell and into heaven, but to get God out of heaven and into you so that He may be displayed visibly and glorified in His creation.”

If you find yourself questioning why today’s Christian life does not resemble the Christian life you read about in scripture, “Revise Us Again” will make a perfect starting point to begin a journey of revelation God is bringing a remnant to. This book is as insightful as “Reimagining Church” and “From Eternity to Here”. If you are not afraid to let God out of the box of religion then you will read this book!

Life is a Stage...

2011-06-24T15:25:00.000-05:00

My first go round on college I was a Theater Major. I loved the stage - being on it, behind it and directing, as well. There was something about using the talents I had to impress other people that gave me a sense of accomplishment. I loved the "great job!" and the "you were good in that" compliments because they were things I did not receive growing up. Acting was something I was good at and I knew it.

After college (round 1) was over, life and responsibility began with the arrival of our daughter, Eleighsha. Since the theater was no longer accessable to me, I chose a new "stage" to perform upon. My new stage was now what I recognized at the time as "church". Part of theater is music and I love music. So I played the part of a "music minister" or a "worship leader" (whatever the appropriate term was depending on where I was at). I could sing and get those "great job" and "I was blessed by that" compliments and even convinced myself I was involved in 'ministry' by performing every week. Sadly, by the world's standards - I was.

In August of 1988 God brought me to that place where I realized that this was not my stage, but rather God's. He wrote the script, built the set and chose each player for their respective parts. Now, he had chosen me. In submission to His calling, I surrendered my pen and scripting notebook and mad a concious decision to play the part He had assigned me. As anyone who had directed any amount of theater can tell you, it is difficult to "follow cues" from another director (because you KNOW better than they do, of course!) and more often that I would care to confess, God has had to pull me off-stage to remind me that this whole thing is HIS story and He knows best how it should be played out.

So, for 23 years now I have been in a learning role, kind of like an under-study. God has been revealing to me things I never saw in my prior 21 years of stage presence. One of these things that has convicted me of late is our approach to ministry. For years I have struggled to achieve what I thought God wanted me to do as far as reaching out to those in need and extending a helping hand of some sort. However, it never looked quite like I expected it would look. I wanted people to see my good works and glorify my Father in heaven, as scripture says. But , they never seemed to respond that way. More often than not, it was me or the group I was with who got the kuddos. 23 years ago this would have been great - but not today.

In the last couple of weeks, God has begun to reveal to me that He doesn't want or expect me to "perform good works", but rather to make myself available for Him to work through me and then just "get out of His way" so that He might do those things that will draw all men to Himself. Any and every thing that I do in my flesh will perish with this age, but those things that God does through me (and you) will last for eternity. Actions are outward efforts on our part to dupilcate what God wants to do from the inside. But, actions are just an act. Ministry happens when God, working through His children, reaches out and does what needs to be done in order to bring honor to His name THROUGH the available vessels that we have crucified to self. So, in reality, ministry is not something we do, but rather something that God does through us.

Time To Be Revolutionary

2011-03-29T07:55:00.000-05:00

Earlier, I posted on Facebook a link to an article written by a brother who, I believe has nailed the source of apathy in the western church. (that article can be read here: A Stunning Body- (A Vision of Jesus Christ part II) « illuminate wp.me) There are two parts to this blog, so make certain you read both parts. A brother that I had attended the IC with responded back after reading the article:It's not revolutionary if you already are living it - unfortunately most people are not. The whole concept of we, the church, being the physical body of Jesus here and now in this world with the priviledge and responsibility of representin...g Him in this present age has been all but omitted from modern religious teaching. This same religious system has created a generation of spiritual spectators rather than participants who come to weekly services prepared to do nothing more than receive what is put out for them. They bring nothing to encourage or lift up others, nor are they even expected to.

"I would have to agree with another brother who said there is nothing revolutionary about what is said in this article except the part about the institutional church which I disagree with in part. Having read alot of Madame Guyon, Watchman Née, St. John of the Cross early in my fellowship with Christ is what has helped me tremendously."

When a person is born again, they are endowed with spiritual gifts specific to that person. These gifts are not to be suppressed, but rather used to lift up and edify others in corporate meetings of the body (Hebrews 10:24-25). We were not designed to be spare parts in the body of Christ, but each one intricately interwoven into this body to be active and growing, contributing to the overall health of the community. You cannot do that in the position of a spectator - nor will you be inclined to be.

My brother responded to this with:

"I would disagree with the part where you talk about spectators. I would agree there are an abundance of those that do just "sit" there and are content with that, but there are those that don't. Who of which are involved in others lives and so fulfilling there calling as a member of the body and all this while attending an 'iC'."

Of course there are those who will participate - to whatever extent the order of service will allow - did not mean to insinuate otherwise. But that order of service and the hierarchy that controls that limits the interaction significantly.... And if Joe Flatt, who can't carry a tune in a bucket, felt led by the Spirit to stand up in the middle of the service and offer up a song of thanksgiving to God and acted on that leading, he would be - more often than not - led out of the meeting until he could control himself and stay within the program.
I have poured over the New Testament for the past 18 months looking for any validation to the modern, western religious version of the church. It is not in there. No pastors, no worship leaders, no youth ministers, no hierarchy - at all. ... Just brothers and sisters coming together as community, meeting the needs of those in their families and communities, supporting mission efforts and living lives that honor God. It worked great for over three hundred years until the Roman government got involved and organized religion. Can God use organized, institutionalized religion? Yes. God used the pharisees and sadducees to accomplish His plan two thousand years ago. Just because a system has been in place for 1700 years does not mean it is right. That does not mean that everyone trapped in this system is evil or wrong - it's just all they know until someone comes along and has the nerve to "tell the emporer he is walking around naked in public". Going against 1700 years of tradition is not a popular thing to do - but if you do your research - look hard into God's word and study the historical facts - you'll find it is the right thing to do. Jesus did it. Peter did it. Paul did it. I'd say I'm in pretty good company. And, I'm not alone.
Yes, there are sincere, devoted followers of Christ amidst the throngs of people who are merely believers in God, but have yet to fall in love with Him. Some of these followers are doing all they know how to, within the confines of the institutional church to serve Him. Others are trapped within the system, blindly following leadership who stand to lose everything if the church returns to meeting as they did in the first three hundred years of existence. These leaders, may have the best intentions at heart and even believe they are serving God by supressing the involvement of the flock. I'm sure the pharisees felt the same way. It's time to stop and listen to what God has to say in HIS word and follow th e Spirit, rather than a man or denomination. It's time to re-introduce Jesus to the world as the Bridegroom who is coming for His pure bride - holy and just and intolerant of sin. It's time to be that which God designed us to be from before the foundation of time and start to fulfill His eternal purpose.

2011-03-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

II Timothy 3:1-5 speaks of a time, which I believe we now live in, when men will have fallen away from the Truth and hold to a "form" of godliness where the true power of God is denied. Could this be any more accurate? The church today has become a spiritual paraplegic because nerve impulses from the head (Christ) have been severed from the body. The hand will not receive profitable information from the foot that will allow the body to lead a fruitful life. Only when the body gets in sync with the head once again will it be able to function the way it was designed to. The western church is failing in accomplishing God's eternal purpose set forth from the foundation of time.

Many of the characteristics set forth in II Timothy 3 describing the world today have crept into the church, causing great damage to the body – like a cancer destroys the physical body. Several years ago, I watched my father die from a cancer which reduced him from a very healthy 6’7”, 250 lb. man to a withered 90 lb. lifeless frame. This spiritual cancer within the church has withered away the body and the church is ailing today, not far from death. We need to ask God to heal the body spiritually, just as we have witnessed Him heal physically. My God can heal, He can restore, He can cleanse, He can make right the things that are wrong. II Chronicles 7:14 says: “…and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” As I pray, YOU pray as well. Pray that God will change our hearts and restore the church.

Foundational Thoughts

2011-02-16T11:05:00.000-06:00

I just read a review of a book entitled "A Heretic's Guide to Eternity". Normally, I won't comment on a book without reading it first, so my comments here are actually on the review itself - which may or may not reflect what the original author intended.

The reviewer quotes the author as writing:

"His [Jesus] message eradicated the need for religion. It may come as a surprise, but Jesus has never been in the religion business." I could not agree more. "Nowhere does Jesus call His followers to start a religion. Jesus' invitation to His first disciples was to follow Him." Again - I agree wholeheartedly.

What I saw that disturbed me was:
"A core of this is the rejection of the belief in the inherent sinfulness of humankind, calling for the suffering and death on the cross of God's Son, Jesus." If it was unnecessary for Jesus to suffer and die the death He did on the cross, then God is a sadist - and He is not. This 'new age' thinking that no one needs saving, that God would not send anyone to hell, goes totally against scripture. Scripture is clear that God is holy and will punish the unrepentant, Satan and his fallen angels in a very real place called hell. Yes, God loves everyone, and again, as scripture states, He desires ALL to come to repentance and that Christ died for ALL. But our sinfulness demands a blood payment and Jesus became that payment on the cross. One only need look into the mirror to see that we are ALL inherently sinful and self-centered. To argue this point is - well - proving the point it argues.

"Instead, the authors believe humankind is loved by God from conception and never needs saving from the wrath that would send them to hell. Instead, the real journey of the spiritual traveler is to continually move toward the understanding and experience of that surrounding and saturating Grace that has always been present, though we are often unaware of its existence." YES, humankind is loved by God from BEFORE conception, but our need for saving (or salvation) is by far greater than our need for oxygen. God's wrath, I believe, does not send the unrepentant to hell, but rather allows them to go there - by their own choice in life - to remain unrepentant.

I don't know that I will ever read this book in it's entirety. I have seen groups rising up, even locally, that promote this way of thinking that goes against all scripture - that by which I must weigh everything. But, do not take my word for it - take God's. Get into His word and see the truth for yourself. This truth is foundational to my faith and this thing I will defend with all that I am.

Moses, Egypt, Me & the IC

2011-02-15T09:30:00.010-06:00

In looking back through the Old testament, I pause at the story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of bondage to the Promised Land and cannot help but draw parallels to my life in modern day.

Not to suggest that I, in any way, am even on the same level as Moses....

Moses was born a Hebrew. He was, however, raised as an Egyptian. Even thought his birth mother was his personal nurse in the house of Pharaoh, he no doubt was aware of his Hebrew heritage while growing up. But rather than be subjected to the hard life of a slave, he had the priviledge, because of his relationship with and the favor of Pharaoh's daughter, of being raised as the grandson of Pharaoh in the royal palace with all the trappings that came with that. Growing up, the future Pharaoh was his brother. He enjoyed all Egypt had to offer - while his own people (the Hebrews) and his own family - brother and sister - were forced to labor to support his lifestyle.

At some point, when waching an egyptian slave master whip a Hebrew man, Moses, stirred by guilt, perhaps, came to the Hebrew's defense, striking the Egyptian and killing him - probably accidentally. Later, when trying to stop two Hebrew men from fighting, one of them popped off, "So are you going to kill us like you did the egyptian?" Fearful that his Egyptian family would not understand his taking the life of an egyptian in defense of a Hebrew, he fled to the wilderness in a move of self-preservation.

It was during his stay in the wilderness (some 40 years later) that Moses encountered God. It was not a casual, "Hi, how ya doin'" meeting, but rather a full blown in the actual presence of the creator of the universe meeting - the kind that brings your face to the ground because you know you're not worthy to be here. At this meeting God directs Moses to lead His children, the Hebrews, out of bondage and into the Promised Land that God had promised Abraham 500 or so years before. Although he felt totally inadequate for the job, Moses finally accepted the calling and set out for Egypt to deliver the good news to the Hebrews - "God has heard your cries and is now ready to deliver you out of bondage into a glorious freedom so that you might worship Him!" somehow, I don't think Moses was quite ready for the reception he was about to receive - from the Hebrews.

Most everyone knows how the story plays out, so I won't go into great detail here. What I want for us to see is the heart of Moses. Moses was a messenger. Moses had developed "allegiances" to all of the parties involved. He was called by God to deliver His message and deal out His judgement on the egyptians. He was the Hebrew's "lost son" who was returning home to be God's instrument to set His people free. He was also the "lost son" of Egypt - retuning to tell them that His God was about to wreak untold havoc on their political, social and economic system as judgement against them - these egyptians who raised him as their own. No doubt he had many friends and step-family members he still cared about in Egypt.

The truth I want us to see is this: Moses did not return to Egypt specifically to destroy the Egyptian culture (political, social and economic systems). Although that was surely a result of the judgement God poored out, that was not Moses' calling. His calling was to lead the children of Israel out of bondage into freedom. What was the message God had Moses give Pharaoh? "Let My people go that they might go into the wilderness and worship Me." Wow.

I feel this as my calling.

God placed a calling on me to come out of the bondage I was under in the institutional church. He brought me into the freedom that was originally intended to be experienced by His children in corporate worship and body life. No longer a spectator nor the leader, but rather an equal with all God's people in the priesthood. Having experienced this freedom and knowing that bondage to anything is bad, God has also called me to reach out to others in bondage and let them know there is more to body life that attending meetings and giving money. So much more. My calling is NOT to destroy the institutional church system. My calling is to help people see it for what it is - bondage. My heart is for my fellow followers of Christ, to see them set free. There are so many followers of Jesus out there who know there must be more to body life than what the IC (institutional church) offers that are praying for God to come and deliver them (I know this to be true for I was one of those followers).

There are brothers and sisters out there who's calling is to aggressively expose the IC for the imposter it is, masquerading as the bride of Christ. My calling is rather to show followers and non-followers alike what the body is supposed to look like (according to scripture) so that they will recognize the counterfeit when they see it. Not to say that the aggressive manner is wrong - that is just not the manner in which God has called me to answer His call.

Halloween and the Church

2010-10-25T10:21:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again, and I feel compelled this year to address a serious problem with Halloween - the church. I know, most folks would clamour to condemn the pagan ritualistic celebration of All Hallows Eve - the witches, vampires, werewolves, zombies and any other assortment of 'monsters'. While the cultural obsession with such things is disturbing, yet more disturbing is the traditional church's contribution to the un-holy day - the Hell House. Running a group of teenagers through a morbid scene of the untimely death of a peer and their impending sentencing to hell because of their failure to 'give their heart to Jesus'. Faced with the choices of going to hell or getting their life in order, many impressionable teen choose the latter - I mean, who wants to go to hell? So, what is the problem with this? However well intentioned, the church is guilty of giving our young people a false sense of salvation. Playing on the emotional instability of many young people, we send a false message that simply not wanting to go to hell will get you into heaven. All too often (not always, but more often than not) we fail to mention confession, repentance and the Lordship of Christ. It's just "believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross to pay the price for your sin and that He was raised on the third day and BOOM! - you are saved". They repeat a prayer to this effect when really what they are thinking after going through this bloody drama is, "God, I don't want to die and go to hell. Please save me from hell!". Effectively, the church is trying to 'scare the hell' out of them instead of sharing the truth with them - as Jesus said, "Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdome of God". To be born again, we must first die to self - selfish desires, ambitions and motivations. In order to do this we have to agree with God that these things are sin and turn from them - or die to them. We then must respond to Jesus, acknowledging the love He showed when He paid the price for our sin and run to embrace Him, receiving all that He has for us - choosing at that moment to live for Him - letting Him live through us. Like John said, "He who has the Son has life - he who does not have the Son, does not have life". If all these kids are getting out of Hell House is that they don't want to go to hell, then they didn't get the Son. If they didn't get the Son, then they have not been born again. If they have not been born again, then they cannot enter the kingdom of God. And all this because we lied to them and told them if they prayed this prayer, they would not go to hell.

Sadly, the same thing happens in the pulpits of America every Sunday morning. It is just done without the bloody, mangled car and vivid imagery of a fiery hell. We have watered down the gospel, lowering the bar, so to speak, to make it easier for people to 'get into heaven' to make the membership roll numbers look better. Friends, the bar has been set at Calvary and cannot be lowered. If they are running away from hell and not running to Jesus, then we have miscommunicated the gospel.

All that said, yes, I realize there are some true salvation experiences that come from these Hell Houses. But how many countless more young people are leaving these places thinking they have eternal security jsut because they ahve done nothing more than what Satan, himself does? Satan believes that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross to pay the price for your sin and that He was raised on the third day - he was there when all this happened. He believes all the facts, but he does not have the Son - he has rejected the Son to live out the remainder of his existance in rebellion to the authority of Christ. See the difference? Churches today are filled with the past generations of those who made a decision to not go to hell, but never made a decision to live for Jesus. So, we have large groups of people calling themselves the body of Christ who are in fact still living for themselves with no concern for the lost condition of others because they are still in a lost condition themselves. They may be good at telling you how to become a member of a church organization, but they cannot introduce you to Jesus because they have never met Him themselves.

It is that time of year again, and I feel compelled to implore you, first of all to examine yourselves - "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test." (2 Corintians 13:5) Look back to your 'salvation experience' and ask yourself, "was I running from hell or running to Jesus?" Weigh heavy the words I have written here for they are the litmus test of salvation. If you were not running to Jesus then I have good news - you can make that right today. Secondly, we have to stop trying to scare the hell out of the lost and start loving Jesus into them. Give them the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth - so help us God! When we share the love of Christ, we glorify God. After all, isn't that what the church is all about? Come on, let's run to Jesus!

Frank Viola and George Barna: Round Two

2010-10-21T22:53:00.000-05:00

Frank Viola and George Barna: Round Two

The End and the Beginning

2010-09-28T11:05:00.003-05:00

Well, it is approaching fast. What? The end - and the beginning. This coming Sunday (October 3rd, 2010) will mark our last Lord's day in the institutional church. On October 17, 2010 we will begin our journey on The Way, to my knowledge, the first organic church meeting in Terrell, TX. As of now, we have at least two other families who will be joining us on this journey. My heart is to grab up all of our friends and beg them to join us, but because I do NOT want to cause any division in the church body we are leaving, we are not trying to proselytize any. If any desire to follow, we will counsel with them about their decision to make certain their desire to join us is a calling from God, not running from their current situation.

So, what is different about The Way compared to the traditional church? Well, everything, nearly. We are not a cult - we worship the Lord Jesus Christ, son of Yaweh God and are indwelt by His Holy Spirit. We do not have a paid pastor position, as our meetings are participatory and every member is allowed and encouraged to contribute freely and spontaniously in the meetings from their spiritual gifts. We do not have a "church building", as we serve a God who dwells in a temple made by His hands, not one we put ourselves into debt to impress the surrounding community by building. We will meet in homes of our members (who are not voted-in, but born-in when they are born-again.) and will not be restricted to one to two hour services once or twice a week. We will have a set startup time, but will go until the Spirit says we are done - be it 20 minutes or 8 hours. We will work hard to build community and family relationships among the members and will focus on becoming living, breathing disciples of Jesus. We will take meals together regularly, fellowship with each other and really get to know one another - the good, the bad and the not-so-pretty. And we will love each other in a manner that will make the lost community around us want to be a part of that special thing that is growing in our midst.

I have been asked why I can't do this within the confines and under the authority of the traditional church - why break away and start something new? My answer is in the way of a parallel:

Yesterday, we took my wife's car, a 2007 Dodge Charger, and traded it in for a 2010 Challenger. The Charger was a lease and still looked immaculate, aside from a few minor scuffs and stains. We could have purchased the Charger for a lot less than what we would have had to pay for the same car on a dealer's lot. The only problem was this car started using A LOT of oil - about a quart every two weeks. Although it still ran great, looked great and was priced great - internally it is destined to fail mechanically because something in the motor is just not right. The car's ability to drive is inevitably goin gto fail. So, rather than buy the car and even have the engine replaced with a new, better one, we chose to trade and get the more streamlined model that catches the eye of most who see it (as far as we know it is the only one with this color scheme and wheels in Terrell). While the Challenger is brand new, is is patterned after the early model (1970 - 1972 models) and has the look and feel of the original with the punch of current technology.

I think you can connect the dots here and see where I am going with this. The traditional church "model" looks good, for the most part on the outside - it seems to run good most of the time - and can be had on just about every corner in every community in the USA. But, internally, it is built on a flawed system that takes away the priesthood of the believer (the common believer that fills the pews) and places body ministry on the backs and in the hands of a select few, which is totally unscriptural and ineffective. It has created a generation of spiritual zombies and even more misguided souls who believe they have salvation simply by believing the stories - the facts - about God. Church building are filled with strangers for two or three hours a week who's interaction with others can be summed up as "polite acknowledgements". It is no longer enough for me and my family. We yearn for the earlier model that had the spiritual muscle to change lives and positively affect the Kingdom. We want that stream-lined model that will catch the eyes of the unrepentant and cause them to look deeper to see what could have caused such a life-changing joy in our lives and want that same change for themselves and thier families. Putting a new engine in the old model would be alot like putting new wine in old wineskins - it could not hold up to the task you ask of it - because it wasn't designed to do so.

God is placing us as new wine in a new wineskin. It is all new and we are totally dependent on Him to guide, direct and bless.

Control Freak VS Servant Heart

2010-09-20T10:40:00.007-05:00

Recently, I was informed that I had been labeled a "control freak", and that when I could not be in control of things at a church that I would move on to another church where I could "take over" and run things - and that I had been doing this for years. It is amazing the things people will make up or even repeat without even trying to discern the truth.

When we set out on this journey to place ourselves wholly in God's will, I knew there would be satanic attacks. In this sense, Satan is always predictable and seldom disappoints. He will rarely attack after you have hit one of those spiritual peaks where God has shown you something amazing, but will almost always throw a constant barrage of blows when you are on your way up to one of those peaks. Mark my words, set your eyes on Jesus and determine in your heart to do those things that will honor Him, then sit back and wait... As sure as the mouse will go for the cheese on the mouse trap, so Satan will show up to try and trip you up to make you miss what God has for you. It is like a road sign that tells you that you are certainly on the right path. If Satan is not attacking you, perhaps you should check the path you are on. Satan ALWAYS sets his path in opposition of God's children set about doing His will. If you are not hitting that demonic opposition, Satan does not see you as a threat - possibly because you are either not moving towards God or you are moving in a direction away from God.

Anyway... Back to my thought. In the past 10 years, I have had "membership" with three institutions. The first we left, not because we could not "run things", but because we felt no sense of community. I was active as a scriptural, biblically based servant minister (deacon), which was a position of no certain authority, outside of hosting a deacon family fellowship meeting once a month in our home. I had no more voice in the business or politics in the church than any other member - and I was perfectly OK with this. My family just did not feel the sense of community there that we read about in the New Testament - so we left looking for that. We did not leave mad or angry - just needing that sense of community.

We found ourselves at another institution where community was there and I was "recruited" to lead worship. During our time at this place, God blessed us with many new friends and allowed us to witness many miracles that today have often been relegated only to New Testament times. While God blessed us during our time here, He began closing the doors of the institution itself, moving the majority of membership away to other institutions as the leader of the church had begun to preach sermons downloaded off of the Internet, word for word, every week. (I began taking notes of key phrases he used in his messages and googling them when I got home, only to find the entire message on a website.) Once the community had moved away, we began a search for where God would have us go.

Which brings me to where we are now. After months of searching, we visited this small congregation just outside of our town. From the moment we walked into the doors, we felt the community, the love of Christ fleshed out through His people. We knew this was where God wanted us - to be the final leg in this journey He was soon to reveal to us. Here we experienced ministry with the body, missional work (local and global), and real fellowship. I was drawn in, again, as a servant leader (deacon) and was also asked to serve (after a couple of years) as an interim worship leader, until a replacement was found. I did not ask for these positions, but was happy to be able to serve in these capacities as the Lord allowed. When our pastor left, I was elected as part of a three man pulpit committee and served as a Wednesday nite Bible study teacher. I was approached by members of the church about taking on the position of pastor myself. Now, had I been a control freak, as some have suggested, I would have jumped at this opportunity to take over the reigns of this local body. However, since this was not the case, and I knew this was not God's calling on my life, I dismissed this opportunity as not being God's will for me and my family. As Forest Gump would say, "And that's all I got to say about that."

I have (and have not had in the past) no desire to "run things" in the church. I do have a burden to see that things are done properly and scripturally, which is not the same thing as wanting to be in control. Christ is the head of the Church and as such, should be the ultimate and only authority - I know that I am unable, unfit and unqualified to do His job and hence, have no desire to attempt to do so. God has given me a heart for His people - and those He wishes to become His people. He has given me a heart to build community within His body. He has given me an unimaginable desire to see His name honored and lifted up. It is this desire that dictates my actions, words and thoughts.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

This verse has never been more real and alive than it is now in my life. This life is not about me. It's not about you. It is all about Jesus. If you see anything good in me, that is Jesus. If you hear any truth come from my mouth - that is Jesus. My heart is to serve Him. His heart was to demonstrate to us that servant attitude which must be fleshed out in our lives in order for a lost world to see Him.

What is "The Church"?

2010-08-27T08:41:00.003-05:00

This week I was challenged to explore the question, "what is the Church?". So I have, and I thought I would share here, for the record, what I found.

The word “church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” Nowhere in the Bible is the place where Christians meet referred to as a "church." This word appears around 75 times in the English Bibles, depending on the translation (around 110 times if you include the plural). Never does ekklesia refer to a building in which people gathered, for worship or for any other purpose. This tells us that the Church is not a place we go, but rather a group of specific people. In Romans 16:5, Paul says to "greet the church that is in their house". He refers to the people meeting in the house, not the building housing the people. I don't think there would be any intelligent argument to this fact in most religious circles today.

Now, to be more specific: this people are those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit upon repentance from their sin and conversion to the lordship of Jesus in their lives. This people called the "Church" in scripture are the body of Christ, of which He is the head. Looking at Ephesions 1:22-23, Paul says, "And God placed all things under His (Jesus) feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way." The New Testament Church is a body of believers who have been called out from the world by God to live as His people under the authority of Jesus Christ. I find in scripture that there are two aspects of the Church manifest in the world - the universal Church and the local church. Let me look closer at the two.

The universal Church would be all those who have this personal relationship (not a personal knowledge of) with Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13 makes this clear when Paul tells us, "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." Everyone who calls upon Jesus as Lord and has put their faith in Him and His sacrifice on Calvary to pay the price for their sin is a part, or a member, of the body of Christ and has received the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as evidence of this decision.

The local Church, in mathmatical terms, is a "subset" of the universal Church. In Galations 1:1-2, Paul writes, "Paul, an apostle — not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead — and all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia..." Paul was not addressing a group of denominations, ie, the first Baptist Church of Galatia, the Methodist church, the Catholic church, First Assembly of God church, etc... He was writing to the smaller, local bodies of believers (as mentioned earlier in Romans 16:5) who met together in various houses. How do we know this? History tells us throughout the Roman persecution of Christianity that for a local body to own property would have been a death sentence on all attending there. Only after the emporer Constantine declared Chritianity "legal" and ended persecution (from the Romans, anyway) would it have been possible. The first record of a dedicated church building dates back to the mid third-century. Galations was written around 49 A.D. The local Church is the place where the members of the universal Church should fully apply the “body” principles of 1 Corinthians 12: encouraging, teaching and building one another up in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. A person becomes "a member" of the local and universal Church simply by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Now, what is the purpose of the Church? Again, I find a two-fold purpose: the first and primary would be to bring glory to it's Head, Jesus Christ. How do we do this? By fulfilling the second purpose, which is fulfilling God's plan for the earth. Again, I find a two-fold purpose, the first being to edify fellow members of the Church body and the second to be the evangelism of, or sharing the Gospel with non-believers for the purpose of bringing them to making a salvation decision. Acts chapter 2 gives a great description of how this looks.

"Now all the believers were together and had everything in common. So they sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. And every day they devoted themselves [to meeting] together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved." (44-47)

By building up each other, rather than just making sure selfish wants and needs were met, the lost community took notice of something amazingly different about this particular group of people. This opened the door to share the Gospel and as a result, people came to give their lives to Christ on a daily basis - which brings honor and glory to God.

This is what I find in scripture as to what the Church is.

The Way

2010-08-11T09:17:00.005-05:00

Reading through Acts in an in-depth study over the past year, God brought to my attention, yet again, the several references made to the church as "the Way". Until now, I failed to see the beautiful picture of Christ in this reference. In his writings, the author always capitalizes the reference "Way". In John 14:6, Jesus refers to himself as "the Way and the truth and the Life". To me this says the first church was a representation of Christ to the lost world. I believe this should still hold true today. The body of Christ should be a physical representation, or a reflection, if you will, of Jesus in the manner we live, love and linger. Linger??? (I added linger initially because I needed another word that started with "L".) I say, after thoughtful consideration, linger, because Jesus spent His time here on earth always looking to the cross and resurrection - making the most of the short amount of time that He had. He took 12 ordinary, common men (not educated theologians) and discipled them in a manner that they were able to easily duplicate with others after His ascension. He taught them that even though He was far greater than them, because of His love for them He became their servant - and instructed them to do the same for others. Although He had the authority and the right to condemn those in sin, He chose to encourage them to "sin no more" and offered forgiveness in exchange for repentance. Again, He made the most of the short time He was allotted by the Father to accomplish His mission.

Following His example, should we, as His church, not do the same? Shouldn't we make the most of the short amount of time we have here and live our lives in a manner that honors Christ and reflects, accurately, the life which He demonstrated for His followers? Of course, we should! It is to be and it will begin with me.

Deeper...

2010-08-10T10:45:00.003-05:00

The deeper I go into God's word, the more clear it becomes that God wants more from His church than a mere pittance of our lives. Going up to the "temple" once or twice a week and offering up our token hour and a half to two hours of sacrifice (of our time) is embarrassing. Even those who worship false gods, such as Buddah or Islam offer up far greater sacrifices of their time, some even their lives. How pathetic is it that those who claim to worship the one TRUE God do not even rival the devotion of those who worship dead men and graven images? God doesn't want our measley two hours a week - He wants our entire life. let me say that again - He wants our ENTIRE life, not just a portion of it. The love that God demonstrated at Calvary should be the same love we demonstrate on a daily basis - dying to self to serve others. Jesus fleshed this out for us to show us what it looks like. Why has this been ignored in the institution? Jesus defines who we are - He is the difference in those who call themselves by His name - at least, He should be. I have known for quite some time that, just as Jesus Himself said, "Not everyone who calls Me "Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven - only those who do the will of My Father in Heaven" (Matt 7:21 - paraphrase). I believe those who truly belong to Christ will rise up from the chaos of the institution and either make the move into a real, legitimate, intimate relationship with the Messiah or rise up within the institution to bring reform. Once a true believer has seen the truth in God's word regarding the church and it's design, purpose and function and compares that with what we have enshrined within the institution, how can they NOT come to the conclusion that something is very amiss?

Just as Jesus struggled with the Pharisees and Saducees over the gross mis-management of God's house in that day, (the one time in scripture that Jesus visably was angered to rage) we today must take a stand against what is masquerading as the church. I covet your prayers as I seek God's will on how to most effectively do this.

It's been a while...

2010-07-23T09:09:00.005-05:00

It's been almost a year since last I posted - and much has transpired in that time. I have spent the last 11 months pouring over scripture, the four Gospels and Acts to be specific. I have focused intently on the words and actions of Christ in context to really understand what His heart was as far as His followers and then the founding and inception of the first Church in Jerusalem - you know, the one Jesus He would build based on faith like unto that which Peter displayed when he proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. THAT Church. I believe I now have a greater understanding of why God did some of the things He did - mainly because they accomplished His purpose and not necessarily the desires of man.

Man's desire is to be in control. Unfortunately, we are not qualified to effectively take on this role and do it in a manner that honors God. God is, however, well qualified and has a great deal of experience at being in control as He created all that is and holds all things together. Truth is, God did not create man to be in control, but rather to bring glory to Him. But, just as Satan managed to deceive 1/3 of the angels in heaven to rebel against God and deceived Adam and Eve into rebelling against God, he has also managed to deceive mankind that the church is an institutional organization that one must obtain membership into and be voted upon to gain "member status". I do not find this in scripture anywhere! How could the church have gotten so far off track? How have we, who call ourselves His children allowed this farce to propagate as long as it has? It is past time to give control of the church back to God and allow Him to reform, transform and make it uniform so that the Bride of Christ may present herself pure before Him when he returns for the Marriage Feast. It is time for the body to return to the commonism that created community in the first church which resulted in thousands upon thousands being added to the church - the body of Christ - on a daily basis.

Can the institution be reformed? I do not know. Jesus dealt with much the same situation in His day with the Jewish religion. It had disintegrated into a mere image of ehat God intended and become corrupt to the point that they plotted and carried out the assassination of their founder - Jesus. (I am pretty sure that was nowhere in the law of Moses!) The religious leaders saw their livelyhood threatened by the teachings of Jesus and went to extremes to make certain (they mistakenly thought) that the threat was neutralized. Will the institution of today see this movement to rebirth the church as the same threat? If so, what extremes will it go to to see this "threat" neutralized? For years I have waited for the persecution of the church to start from the government. What if the persecution we read about in the Word is not from the government but from organized religions that see "The Way" as a threat to the power and financial security of their system? Yes, there are governments out there on the other side of the world that are persecuting christians, inprisoning them and even taking their lives for their stand for Christ. And while this persecuted church may worship in secret merely to preserve their lives and those of their families, the governments would not be killing them if they were denouncing Jesus under pressure. They willingly go to their deaths holding to the name of Jesus. If given a choice between dying because I am an employee of ABC Company or quitting my job with ABC Company and having my life spared - what do you think I am going to do? My life is certainly more important than my position in the company - right? Exactly! I am going to bale, denouncing any affiliation with ABC Company so that my life would be spared. That position is not one i am willing to die for. OK, in the same light, will a member of a church institution under threat of certain death due to that affiliation be more likely to die for that affiliation or will they more likely than not renounce that membership in order to live? In that same light, would a bride sacrifice her life for that of her Husband that she truly loved? Absolutely! She would, of course, do this because her Husband set the example - He laid down His life to ensure the bride would be saved!

I think it is safe to say that it is relationships, not memberships, that bring people together and bind us in unity together. My hope, prayer and goal is to see the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ come together in the unity of this relationship, forged in the blood of Christ and become what God intended us to be.

There is a movement of the Spirit already among the true church. That Spirit lives in me and is moving me - and I cannot and will not fight this move. May God be honored in my life as we begin this journey.

2009-08-11T15:20:00.004-05:00

Let me begin by saying, "I am NOT down on church". Just the institution masquerading as the church in our world today. I am not just referring to the many denominations out there selling forgiveness for works, ordaining people to the ministry who are actively involved in a sinful lifestyle and those who blatantly disrespect the scripture by considering it as not being 100% inspired and infallible. I refer to the political agenda, not unlike that of the pharisees and saducees in the first century, that have turned the church, the living bride of Christ, in to a business, social club and spineless machine filled with self-centered egomaniacs and a self-serving membership who desire nothing more than for others to see "what a good christian person" they are. To be fair to the 5% that are not included in this group, there are some genuine christians out there seeking to find God's perfect will for their life and doing the best they can to live in a manner that honors and exhalts the name of Jesus. I cannot and will not believe that what we have in place today is what Jesus had in mind when He told Peter, "and upon this rock (the faith which Peter had in Jesus as the Christ) I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". If we are in the last days (and I believe we are), we are going to see a persecution come upon the true church that the religious political machine will escape unscathed. When this persecution comes, there will be no doubt as to who is genuine and who is playing the game.

In the Beginning...

2009-08-11T07:37:00.000-05:00

Yet another reason I get to sit in front of the computer for hours on end...

Thirty eight years ago, I walked down an aisle to become a member of a church because I wanted to eat crackers and drink a minute amount of grape juice once a quarter like the grownups did. Funny how no one even explained what I was signing up for to me. Looking back, I don't believe THEY really knew. Thirty years ago I walked the aisle yet again, not because I had "slipped" and become a bad person, but because a friend (a charismatic Methodist - I know - IRONIC!) introduced me to something not taught in my conservative baptist community - the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or the gift of tongues, in particular. Yet something else I wanted for me. For eleven more years I played a charade in the church institution, fooling everyone, myself included, that I was something that I was not. I

sang in the choir

taught Sunday School

led music in church

served as a youth minister

served on numerous church committees

witnessed to numerous people, leading them to the Lord

played the game well.

Then, on August 28, 1988 I fell to my knees before a sovereign God and finally turned over control of my life to HIM. This marker stone was inscribed with Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." No more games with God, trying to be "good" enough to win His favor. On this date, I became a legitimate child of God.

All this just to set a foundation for where I am going with this blog. I know who I am in Christ. I am a part of His bride, waiting His return or my departure to meet Him - whichever comes first. Although my actual marriage to the Lamb was just over 20 years ago, my "church" experience goes back 42 years when my father first started taking us every time the doors were opened. I have extensive church experience, from both sides of the pulpit. It is this vantage point that allows me to see that something is not right. Something - OK, a great deal of things, are not right within the institution called "the church" operating in this world and more specifically this country. I read clearly in God's word what the Church was founded to do, created to be and even how it achieved success in the early days of it's inception. I also read the Apostle Paul's dire warnings to steer clear of those who would pervert the church to make it self-serving and corrupt God's creation just as the sin of Adam and Eve corrupted the original creation. Somewhere along the line, someone did not listen and today we experience the result of a broken, monster church.

In this blog, I want to explore where we went wrong. Troubleshoot the church, if you will, by biblical standards - not the opinions of men. I am inviting others, more knowledgeable than myself, to offer their perspective on this issue. It is my hope, that in doing this, eyes will be opened (including mine) to the truth of what we have become, create dissatisfaction with this lesser, counterfeit creation we call church and offer up legitimate options as to what we can do as born again believers to, not fix the broken institution, but to rediscover God's original design for the church and begin to live within the context of the marriage agreement with the Lamb in a manner that pleases Him.