subversive1

When Judgment Comes

2012-01-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

When God finally judges this nation, it will not be for the sins of the homosexual community, nor will it be for the women who have had abortions.

When God finally judges America it will be because those who call themselves Christian have been too proud to cry out for mercy on behalf of the poor, the exploited and the oppressed.

How can I say this? Because God says it.

"If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Who are God's people? We are. Who are those who are called by His name? Christians. Who must humble themselves and pray and seek the face of God? Us. Not "those sinners" over there. You and me.
Who must turn from their wicked ways? We must.

Looking through the Scriptures I see a disturbing correlation between God's judgment and the way His people treat the poor.

For example, in the Old Testament God says:

"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were proud and did detestable things in my sight. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen." - Ezekiel 16:49-52

And in the New Testament Jesus says:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, youwho are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ForI was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave menothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I neededclothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did notlook after me.’

They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry orthirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not helpyou?’

He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not dofor one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go awayto eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” - Matthew 25:41-46

So, it seems to matter to God how we treat the poor.

He's also not very happy about when we withhold fair wages from our workers, or when we exploit people to get rich.

In the Old Testament God says:

“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick totestify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraudlaborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprivethe foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORDAlmighty." - Malachi 3:4-6

And in the New Testament the Apostle James says,

"Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed yourfields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached theears of the Lord Almighty." - James 5:3-5

America has built her success and her wealth in this day and age largely by exploiting the resources of other nations. Our corporations send in economic hit men to coerce third world leaders - either by bribery or through threats - to allow them to exploit their people and their land. If those leaders comply then our corporations get rich at the expense of those living in that nation. If those leaders resist they are assassinated or overthrown with the assistance of these economic hit men.

John Perkins, who used to be one of these hit men before he repented, explains it in vivid detail in the documentary "The End of Poverty?" and you can listen to him yourself at this link HERE>

Our nation presents itself to the world as a Christian Nation. Whether or not this is true - and I'm one of those who would argue that we are not now, nor have we ever been a Christian Nation - it is irrelevant to the fact that we are seen as a nation of Christians. So, for a nation that identifies herself with Christ to exploit the poor in the Name of Jesus we should repent. For a nation that has amassed for herself great wealth while turning a blind eye to the workers at Foxconn who are abused and mistreated we should repent. For a nation that threatens the poorest nations of this world in order to steal their resources and impoverish them further we should fall on our knees and beg for God's mercy.

For judgment will surely come to this nation. Of that I have no doubt. It is not a question of "if" but of "when". Therefore, how should we - those who are called by His Name - respond? We should humble ourselves and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways and beg for God's mercy to fall on us and on our wicked, arrogant, overfed and unconcerned nation.

Like the Church in Laodicea, America is so confident of her great wealth and yet God looks at us and says that we are naked and blind and poor. If we will turn to Him, He will forgive us and heal our land.

When judgement comes, it will not be because of the homosexuals, or the abortionists, but it will come because God's people were not willing to confess the sins of their nation and humble themselves to ask God for mercy.

-kg

TOUCHING BASE

2012-01-24T21:35:00.001-08:00

You wouldn't know it from reading this blog, but I've beenfuriously busy the last few weeks. That's sort of why I've not had any time topost any new articles here.

After the Pacifist Fight Club a few weeks ago, I startedfeeling convicted by God to do something I've never done before. In fact, it'ssomething I can't even talk about here yet. Maybe some day. But for now I'vebeen frantically working to assemble the necessary elements for this littleproject and it's taken up a lot of my time.

I've also been encouraged by a dear friend (Bill Navarro) toenter the world of ebooks. So lately I've been working on collecting variousarticles, and series of articles into different ebooks. Here's what I'mplanning to publish in the next few months over on Amazon for the Kindle.

Ebooks Phase One - These will probably sell for about $1.99each.

*THE POWER OF WEAKNESS (This is the book-in-progress I'vehad on the back burner for a long, long, time now)

*HOW TO START A MINISTRY TO THE POOR IN YOUR COMMUNITY

*TIPS FOR PLANTING A HOUSE CHURCH (Unlike my most recentbook, "This Is My Body", this book will be more practical and"How-To" and will include myrecent series of articles “What’s Wrong with Organic Church?” and “The Pitfallsof Organic Church”, plus other articles that address "What about thechildren?", "Pastoral Authority", "Hierarchy in theBody", etc.)

*THE BEST OF THE [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] - DevotionalThoughts for Radical Christians (This will be a mega-collection of my bestarticles from the e-newsletter, plus a few from the main blog archives).

*10 MYTHS CHRISTIANS BELIEVE (This will address topics likeTithing, Hell, Pastoral Salaries, Spiritual Covering, the Return of Christ, Whydoes God allow suffering? Women in leadership, etc.)

*CONSUMPTION, EXPRESS & IDENTITY (This will compilemy series of articles on Christians, Culture and Consumerism).

*TRUST: The Key To Everything

*SPECIAL EDITION OF [SUBVERSIVE INTERVIEWS] (The Kindleversion will feature the same content as the original edition, plus myinterviews with Shane Claiborne, Thomas Crisp and Porter Speakman, Jr.).

*JESUS: THE PRINCE OF PEACE (series of articles)

*OUR IDEA VS GOD’S IDEA

BARGAIN EBOOK SERIES (These ebooks will be offered for .99 cents or Free)

*9 Marks of a Healthy House Church

*7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Pastors

*5 WORDS NO CHRISTIAN SHOULD EVER USE AGAIN

*7 MISTAKES EVERY CHURCH SHOULD AVOID

*4 UN-BIBLICAL MODELS OF CHURCH

*6 THINGS YOU NEED TO START A TRADITIONAL CHURCH

Ebooks in the Planning Stages include:

*THE ROBERT HIGGINS STORY (This will be hard to write)

*SCI-FI LULLABIES (a collection of my various sciencefiction short stories, scripts and short fiction).

*WINTERMOON AND COFFEESTAIN (a collection of my best poetryand lyrics)

*MY YOKE IS EASY (Uncomplicating the Gospel)

*THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM (Simplifying Jesus) or “Jesus forthe Common Man”

Free Stuff

These ebooks will most likely be offered for free:

*NUT IN THE SHELL Articles (A collection of my old comicbook culture articles, plus my large interview "Manga Nation" whichwas used as college course material)

*SALES AND MARKETING TIPS FOR TODAY’S SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS(A brain dump of my basic marketing and social media knowledge from my day job)

So...there's a lot to occupy my time at the moment. I'mhoping to release "The Power of Weakness" very soon.

-kg

More of Jesus

2012-01-18T13:08:00.000-08:00

Something inexpressible happened last Sunday. I can't quite put my finger on any one thing that set this into motion, but without a doubt Jesus moved during our regular church gathering in a significant way.

All I know is that every song we sang, every scripture that was read, every quote that was shared, every prayer that was offered, burned in my heart like a tangible flame. My soul began to crave more of God. My spirit began to gasp within me for more of His presence. My heart began to ache with a hunger that only Jesus could satisfy.

I wasn't the only person in the room who sensed this move of the Spirit. Others also began to notice and to respond to God's movement among us. From the beginning our time together started off on a different beat. Instead of starting with songs of worship we started with scripture as a few of us felt lead to read and share what God was speaking to them about His mercy and goodness. Throughout our singing the songs all reminded us of God's presence and His love.

But what happened to us on Sunday was about more than a series of actions. Rather than something we could duplicate ourselves in our next gathering, the experience we shared was nothing other than the sovereign outpouring of God's Spirit on His people.

Speaking for myself, I've been sensing God's calling to seek Him more these last few months. I've started fasting from things that distract me most from hearing His voice, and I've tried to pray more often. But to be perfectly honest I've not been seeking God for hours at a time. Here and there throughout my day I've taken time to stop and listen, but it's not as if I've been spending hours in prayer or reading large chunks of scripture.

To be fair, I've been seeking the Lord a little bit more than normal, but it's nothing that I would even be tempted to brag about. In other words, I've been seeking him an inch and God has been responding to me with miles and miles of grace.

Many of us on Sunday could only stand around afterwards in silence and try to reflect on what God had done in our midst. It was beautiful. It was unexpected. It was powerful. And it was something we hope God will do in us again as we gather to set Him on the throne of our hearts, and our lives, and our church family.

Near the end of our time together I felt God wanted us to stand up and hold hands around the communion table. We prayed and asked Jesus to be our head. We remembered that he was broken for us and that although we are individual parts of His Body, we come together in Christ and take hold of Him as our Head. We remembered that although the bread is one, we each break off a piece of His Body and take it with us as we go out - and bring Him back with us as we come together again.

We wept. We rejoiced. We sang.

My wife Wendy suggested we listen to a worship song which says, "We will stand back and let you move. Stand back and let you move. Stand back and see what you will do." And that's just what we did that day. We laid everything down at His feet - our expectations, our distractions, our fears, our desires, our control - and we waited for Jesus to move. And He did. Wow. He really did.

I suppose what we learn from this is that God is so much more interested in drawing near to us than we are in drawing near to Him. He is much more interested in meeting with us than we are in listening for Him to speak. He wants so much more to touch us than we can ever know.

If we will just move an inch in His direction, He will move a mile.
If we will only begin to search for Him, He will reveal Himself to us.
If we will only ask Him to increase our hunger for Jesus, He will do it.

It's a wonderful thing to be touched by the living God. It's beautiful to let Him have His way.

My prayer is that we can all continue to seek Him this way and to know His loving leadership each time to come together in His name.

-kg

Thirsty For Greater Thirst

2012-01-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

There’s a great line from an old Steve Taylor song that says, “Don’t you know by now why the chosen are few? It’s harder to believe than not to.”

As I’ve been re-reading A.W. Tozer’s classic book, “The Pursuit of God” these last few weeks I’ve been challenged to go deeper in my walk with God. Maybe “challenged” isn’t the right word. It’s more like being enticed by the Holy Spirit to explore the boundless magnificence of Jesus. And as I’ve been slowly pulled into this ever-growing vortex of God’s irresistible love, I’ve started to notice something strange; It’s harder than I would have ever imagined to keep Jesus at the center of my heart.

This truth sobers me, and confounds me all at the same time. I’m sobered by this realization because it makes me realize that up until now I’ve probably not been living my life with Jesus at the center. I thought that I was. In good faith, I’ve tried up to this point to follow Jesus and to listen for His voice and to obey. But, perhaps this is simply a season where God is turning up the volume a bit more. I’m not sure. I just know that there is more of Jesus to know than I have known so far, and I know that I want to know Him better.

I’m confounded by the difficulty of keeping Jesus at the center of my heart because it shouldn’t be anything new for me. Why is it so much harder now than it used to be? Have I allowed other things to creep into my heart and take hold? If so, how do I overcome this grip and restore Jesus to His rightful place?

Fasting seems to be in order here, because it allows me to cut off the source of worldly distractions and, at the same time, to open up my bandwidth to dial in more of the Master’s voice to my internal receiver.

Right now there are several stray thoughts and feelings that are floating around my heart like wisps of willow on the breeze. One thing I’m aware of is that it’s entirely possible for me to get lost in all the glorious beauty of Jesus. I want to get lost in Him. I realize that the veil around my heart that separates me from Him is paper thin. If anything, this is both exhilarating and terrifying. The Holy One is just inches away from me. I could take one step and be near Him. In fact, if I draw nearer to Him, He will most certainly draw nearer to me. We are closing in on one another like binary stars locked in a terminal orbit. It is inevitable that He and I will become one in spirit and purpose. My heart beats a little faster at the thought of breathing His breath, at the idea of thinking His thoughts, of hearing His whispering voice in my ear.

So, why is it difficult for me to keep this ever-approaching Jesus at the center of my heart? Why would I ever need to fight to keep someone so glorious and exquisite in my mind at all times? This is my conundrum. I am becoming aware of something inside of me that resists His will. Something outside of my control that constantly attempts to eclipse the beautiful light of His face. What is this? How do I stop it? Why is it there?

In the most simple terms, this thing is me. It’s the part of me that has yet to submit to His will. It’s the dark creature of sin that runs wild in the overgrown forest of my soul. The monster is me. The distraction is me. I want to look away. I don’t want to see that face, but it’s too late. I’ve already seen it before and I know it too well. It’s the same as the one in my mirror each morning.

So, what can I do? All that remains is to continue my journey towards His light. In Him I know that this dark flesh cannot thrive. The nearer I come to Jesus, the weaker this beast becomes. This is why it fights me. This is why it begs me to look away from my Lord. It wants desperately to live. So, it reminds me of all the candy-coated pleasures of this fleshly existence. It sings, it dances, it shouts, it pleads with me to slow down, or to stop and rest on my journey towards God. “What’s the hurry?” it says. But, I cannot let it distract me from my Lord. I must keep pressing onward. It burns. It bleeds. It struggles. But even as it fights me, I know it is condemned to lose. The hammer is already in His hands. The nails are already being pressed into my flesh. Together, my Lord and I will crucify this thing. We will endure this brief torture for the joy set before us when it is gone and nothing else could ever stand between our hearts.

God alone has the power to drive those nails. My part is only to confess my desire to desire Him more. I can only ask Him to give me the faith to want more faith so that I may become thirsty enough to cry out for more thirst for Him and His righteousness.

-kg

**

"Let us remember: when we talk of the rending of the veil we are speaking in a figure, and the thought of it is poetical, almost pleasant; but in actuality there is nothing pleasant about it. In human experience that veil is made of living spiritual tissue; it is composed of the sentient, quivering stuff of which our whole beings consist, and to touch it is to touch us where we feel pain. To tear it away is to injure us, to hurt us and make us bleed. To say otherwise is to make the cross no cross and death no death at all." -A. W. Tozer; The Pursuit of God.

What's New?

2012-01-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

This is our opportunity to start again. We have a new day in which to take a different path. We have a new month in which to explore new possibilities. We have a new year ahead of us to exchange our old patterns and habits for better ones.

I am eager for something new. My hope is aroused at the thought of this unwritten page before me. What will tomorrow bring?

But the answer to this question lies in the moment. What becomes of my life at the end of this year will be determined by what I do - or do not do - today. Right now I hold the seed that will bear tomorrow's fruit.

Thankfully, God is all about new beginnings. His mercies are new every morning. He longs to take the old and make it new. He has made a new covenant with the Earth. He has given us a new heart and a new spirit. He has put a new song in our hearts. He promises to create a new heaven and a new earth.

God loves to forget the past and to start over again. This is what Grace is all about. He forgets our failures. He looks forward to what we might become one day if we will place all our hopes in Him. He is eager for us to step into the new promises, and those promises are for right now. Today.

My thoughts lately have been on seeking His face more. I've been hearing Him call out to me to pursue Him more; to listen for His voice more; to put Him first in all things.

I know that there is more of Christ to know than I have ever known before. I have yet to scratch the surface of His majesty. I have scarcely begun to explore His vast and limitless heart. There is more of Him to know than I know. But He invites me to search. He is calling me to seek Him first. He has promised me that if I will seek Him, I will find more of Him than I can fathom.

This calling on my heart does not come without a price. It will mean letting go of some things that do not matter, and some things which should not matter but sadly have become more important to me than they should. I must release my grip on those empty, broken things. But, the joy that I will find in Him is worth the loss of such worthless things. For every small thing I drop into the dirt, He will fill me with exponentially more joy and peace. This is a worthwhile exchange.

What I must lose most of all is myself. My pride. My status. My position. My ego. My dreams. My plans. My fame. All of these must go so that I might make room for more of Jesus in my heart.

But this process begins right now. Today I have to seek Him. Today I have to let go. This is my tomorrow, right now. And it's all brand new.

-kg

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 11:19

"He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” - Revelation 21:5

2011: The Year in Review and a look ahead at 2012

2011-12-25T21:26:00.001-08:00

This was a very productive year for me. I (finally) published my book, "This Is My Body:Ekklesia as God Intended" after three long years of writing - and re-writing. So, to say I'm proud of this accomplishment is an understatement. Not only did I receive an endorsment (and a foreword) from my friend Jon Zens, but also from New Testament scholars like Dr. Scott Barthcy (UCLA), and popular bloggers (Alan Knox, Will Rochow), and friends (Kent Williamson, Arnie Adkison, Crissy Brooks). I also managed to score four radio interviews to promote the book with Derek Gilbert (A View from the Bunker), Bruce Collins, and Active Christian Media - a first for me.

In addition to all this, I was also able to offer an actual e-book version of my book, thanks to the kindness of Jon Philpott who not only created the e-book, he also set up a landing page where people could download it, and he offered free tech support for anyone who needed help making it work on their Kindle, Nook, iPad or other e-book reader.

I also published a collection of my interviews over the last few years under the title [Subversive Interviews]. This collection includes my conversations with author Walter Kirn (Up In The Air, Thumbsucker), Dallas Willard, Todd Hunter, John Fischer, Matt Redman, Jim Wallis, Dr. Scott Bartchy, Dr. G.K. Beale and others.

This year I also used my newly obtained passport to travel down to Ensenada, Mexico to speak to students about the Gospel of the Kingdom and what it means to follow Jesus, daily.

At my work I won a Silver Davey Award for my copywriting and concepting on the 2011 "Spot On" Marketing Symposium video, and I wrote a series of articles for the Sales and Marketing column in Channel Advisor Magazine, some of which were re-published in another trade magazine.

My blog won first place in the "Christ at the Checkpoint" blogging contest, which means I'll soon be the proud owner of a new iPod Touch. So, maybe my posts here can be written and posted via WiFi now. We'll see.

On Twitter I finally passed the 1,000 followers milestone, in spite of being myself. Go figure.

This year, Ken Eastburn (The Well House Church Network) and I also partnered together to host monthly Organic Church Forums at Fuller Seminary in Irvine. This allowed us to invite people like Steve Gregg, David Ruis, Bob Sears, Paul and Lori Byerly, and others to share about New Testament ekklesia, caring for the poor, and what it means to follow Jesus together.

We also got to partner with Ron Wilbur (Saddleback Church) to plant a new organic church at the motel in Santa Ana.

Our house church family got to baptize a few people, help buy groceries for people in need, and learn to love one another more.

On the personal front, I was blessed to spend another amazing year with my lovely and inspiring wife, Wendy, who keeps me grounded and out of trouble (most of the time). I also got to disciple my boys, Dylan and David on how to love God and serve others and live our faith every day of our lives. I've only got a handful of years left to do this so I treasure these opportunities.

Our family also got to visit Washington, DC together and see some amazing things like the Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian, the Air and Space Museum, Ford's Theater, and of course all the monuments.

This was also the year that I got to learn more about what God is doing at Isaiah House in Santa Ana, and to partner more with John and Marti Fischer, Thomas Crisp, Chase Andre and Dwight Smith.

WHAT'S NEW FOR 2012?

It's hard to say what's on the horizon for the new year. I've been playing with a few ideas, like starting a bible study on the book of Hebrews in our house church family, or possibly starting a bible study at my work on the Gospel of John, or Matthew.

I've also got the PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB event coming early in January with Thomas Crisp, Shane Crash, Brandt Russo, Crissy Brooks, Wendy Tarr, Thomas Nixon, and myself. Can't wait for this, actually.

I've also planned a few new publishing ventures such as:

*[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] - A "best of" collection of my articles from the now-defunct weekly e-newsletter that ran for about three years.

*THE POWER OF WEAKNESS - This book has been on the back burner a long, long time. Maybe next year it will finally see the light of day.

*THIS IS MY BODY (Hardback edition) - Lulu offers a hardback option and with the e-book version recently topping 3,000 downloads, I thought it might be a good idea to offer a special hardback version. We'll see.

NEW BOOK PROJECT

In addition to the books above, I've been in the process of researching my next book. So far the working title is "WAR IS NOT CHRISTIAN" but that could change. The book will probably deal mainly with how the American Church needs to separate her faith from her politics and also how being a follower of Christ should mean we're non-violent. The Pacifist Fight Club event will certainly bleed into this book project, I'm sure.

Beyond all this, who can say? I would love to do more teaching and public speaking. I'd love to write more articles on faith and culture. I'd love to see more people come to faith in Christ through our house church family and our work at the motel. I'd love to see my sons grow in their faith.

Above all, I'd love to go deeper in my daily walk with Christ.

Here's to another great year.

Peace,

Keith

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

2011-12-20T10:58:00.001-08:00

“Have you asked Jesus into your life?”

Most of us who consider ourselves Christians would probably refer to the day we asked Jesus into our lives as the beginning of our journey with Christ. However, if you look throughout the New Testament you won’t find anyone ever doing such a thing.

The Gospel most of us heard was that we need to pray a prayer so that when we die we can go to Heaven. That’s also not part of the actual Gospel that Jesus or the Disciples preached.

Instead what we find is Jesus inviting us to come into His life. He says that our lives need to be surrendered, given up, let go so that we can embrace His life.

In fact, every time Jesus refers to our life he does so to emphasize how we should lay it down or die to ourselves. He never asks us to let him into our empty, broken, screwed up lives. He just asks us to realize that it’s not worth holding on to so we can see that real, true life is found only in Him.

Just look at what Jesus says about the difference between our life and His Life:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” - Matthew 16:25

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26

“I am the bread of life.” – John 6:48

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” – John 6:51

“But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – John 20:31

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” – John 5:39-40

“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” – John 5:21

And the Apostle John says this about Jesus: “In him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men.” – John 1:4

So, according to Jesus, what we should do is to abandon our life – our whole life – and come into the real, true, eternal life that He offers us right here and now.

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” – John 7:37

Have you asked Jesus to let you into His life? There’s a huge difference between Jesus tagging along with you while you live your life and letting go of your life to fully embrace the astounding, incredible life of Jesus, the Messiah.

Remember: God is not your co-pilot. He’s either the pilot or you’re on the wrong plane.

-kg

Join Us For Pacifist Fight Club in January

2011-12-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

I'd like to invite you to join me and several friends for Pacifist Fight Club on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 at Fuller Seminary in Irvine, CA.

This will be a day long event to explore issues like poverty, social justice, non-violence, and other important topics.

Our format will be dialog and discussion, not talking heads and taking notes. We invite you to come and learn and to share your perspectives with others.

Admission is free, but we do ask that you bring your own lunch or make plans to grab something nearby during our lunch break.

Our Fighters are:
Crissy Brooks
Brandt Russo
Shane Crash
Thomas Crisp
Chase Andre
Wendy Tarr
Thomas Nixon
and you!

Find out more info at
http://www.PacifistFightClub.com

Please make plans to be there. I look forward to this important conversation on topics that matter to the Body of Christ.

-kg

A LETTER FROM INDIA

2011-12-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

For just over a year or so I've been corresponding with a brother in Christ who lives in India. His name is Vilbert Vallance. With his permission I wanted to share his most recent email with all of you. Please keep him in your prayers as he serves our Lord Jesus in India.
-kg
**

My dear brother Keith,

Greetings in His name. These days are busy. I just reached back to Raichur after visiting about 6 villages. The reason I took this trip is, in India's towns and villages, right in front of the churches and mosques, even outside temples usually on Sundays in front of church, on Fridays in front of masques, and other days in from of hindu temple, we see beggars and lepers sit begging for alms.

well, many give to them after church, or after the friday prayers. I was trying to challenge the pastors, "how about making this Christmas different?" I told them after the Christmas service please invite these beggars, lepers INTO THE CHURCH to sing few songs, and pray for them and give them either money or clothing. This will make them happy and increase their dignity, and ultimately, after all, they too are made in the image of God. Let the lepers sit inside, the church, let the beggars enter into the church, etc.

Well I dont know if they will do it, however I challenged them to do. Please pray. This is the burden the Lord has placed in my heart to show our love to people who are deprived of their basic needs. Please do pray.

Well, brother Keith, I am a very small person. I do not wish to form an organization I just want to do what the Lord puts in me the most. We as family have decided to invite beggars into our home and share the love of Christ. On the Christmas afternoon we plan to have a Christmas with cousin's lunch, this is mainly for Muslim friends. Please continue to pray for us. Thank you so much for your love. Iam in the internet centre, people are wating for me to complete typing.

Thank you so much for your love.
We love you with the love Jesus

In Christ,
vilbert

**

CONCENTRIC CIRCLES OF LOVE

2011-12-13T17:04:00.000-08:00

We talk a lot in the house church movement about "Being the Church" versus "Going to Church" but what does that really mean? What does it look like in practical terms to "be the Church"?

I can only speak for myself and share what we've experienced in our own house church family regardign this idea. A few years ago, when my wife Wendy and I started a house church out of our home called "The Mission," part of our rationale for that name was to serve as a reminder to all of us that, as followers of Christ, we are all missionaries. This means that we all have a mission field. Yours may look different from mine, but being a follower of Christ means living out our own individual mission or calling.

For some of us our mission field might be our Fifth grade class that we teach every day. For others it may be the homeless in our community. For still another it might be a handful of young people we're taking the time to tutor after school, or it may simply be our neighbors across street.

The important thing is to realize that we have a mission and to help encourage one another to live out our calling to have an impact for Christ in that mission field.

One illustration that we've developed to help us understand how to live this out in our daily lives is something called "Concentric Circles of Love". Here's how it works:

Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He said the second greatest command "is like the first" - to love our neighbor as ourselves.

What did he mean, "the second (loving others) is like the first?" I think the New Testament is pretty clear that how we love God is reflected in the way we treat others.

"If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother."(1 John 4:20-21)

"And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’" - Matt 25:40

So, the way we love others reflects our love for God, and vice versa. This is where the concentric circles come in.

If we ever really hope to obey Jesus in this area of loving God and loving others we have to start with loving God. Why? Because the love we need to share with others isn't our own brand of love. It's the "agape" love of God that isn't selfish or arrogant. That kind of love isn't in us by nature. We can only receive it from God.

So, at the center of our circle we need to spend time learning how to love God. But that's only the beginning. The next circle is our immediate family; our spouse, our children, our parents, our brothers and sisters. If we can't love those people with the love of Christ we have no hope of loving total strangers.

The next circle is the Church family. I believe that Jesus commanded us to love one another because He knew how hard this would really be. Love isn't easy. Especially if we follow Jesus and love others sacrificially - putting their needs ahead of our own.

Next we need to practice loving our neighbors, our co-workers - the people God has put us in community with on a regular basis. This is our mission field. We need to cultivate the love we receive from God in the inner circle, share that love with our family and church, and allow it to drive us (or "compel us") to serve our co-workers and neighbors in Jesus' name.

On the outside circles we need to share the love of Christ with the poor, the homeless, the outcast and the lost. And, our ultimate goal is to bring those on the outer circles deeper inside the circle. This means we want the outcast and the stranger to be welcomed into the community of faith, into the warmth of our homes, and into the love of Christ.

Beyond learning how to love God and love others we also need to practice receiving the love of God and receiving love from others. Love is not a one way street.

I think this can be one of the most challenging aspects of "being church" together. Washing the feet of another person is always easier than being the one who is having their feet washed. It involves humility and transparency.

Keep in mind that all of us should happen holistically. It's not a "step one, step two" process. In other words, if we wait until we get really good at the first or the second circle, we'll never move on to the other circles.

The truth is, we're all constantly learning how to love God and love others in our lives at the same time. The important thing is not to neglect one over the other, and to always remember that everything flows from that center circle who is our Lord, Jesus Christ.

This illustration is only part of what it means to "Be the Church" but it's a great place to start.

-kg

ANTITHESIS: JESUS AND JONAH

2011-12-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

Jesus makes an interesting comment in the Gospel of Matthew when the Pharisees and the Sadducees demand a sign from him to prove he is the Messiah.

"An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed." (Matthew 16:4 ESV)

Now, of course, we know that what Jesus meant by "the sign of Jonah" was that he would spend three days in the tomb and raise from the dead, just as Jonah was three days in the belly of the great fish. But, Jesus doesn't explain this to them here. He just makes the statement and then "he left them and departed".

I started to wonder what they may have understood him to mean by "the sign of Jonah" since it could mean anything. As I began to speculate on how they might have received the words of Jesus here I realized something fascinating about Jonah and Jesus - They are absolute opposites.

Jonah was a reluctant prophet. Jesus willingly left the splendor of heaven and humbled himself to become one of us - even submitting himself to death upon the cross. (see Philippians 2:5-11)

Jonah was sent to a pagan land. Jesus was sent to the House of Israel. (See Matthew 15:24)

Jonah was sent to proclaim a message of judgment and doom. Jesus was sent to deliver "Good News" of blessing that the Kingdom of God was coming to Earth. (See Luke 4:18)

Jonah's message was received with repentance which resulted in mercy. Jesus' message was received with opposition that resulted in his crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70. (See Luke 19:41-44; Matthew 24:1-28)

So, Jesus and Jonah couldn't be more different. They were sent to different people with different messages that were received in divergent ways with radically different results. Sort of like when you press a signet ring into soft clay or wax and the impression left behind reflects the empty spaces of the original.

It kind of makes me wonder if the "Sign of Jonah" isn't about more than just the resurrection of Christ. Maybe Jesus left this illustration unexplained so that those he left behind could meditate on Jonah and perhaps see Jesus in the negative space.

-kg

GO AND BUY A SWORD?

2011-11-29T06:11:00.000-08:00

In the dialog between Christians about whether or not following Jesus entails embracing a non-violent lifestyle, there are certain verses in the New Testament that have to be addressed.

For example, whenever non-violent Christians quote Jesus saying, “Put your sword back in its place…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26: 52), there are pro-war Christians who will respond by saying, “(Jesus) said to them, ‘But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.’” (Luke 22:36)

In other words, some Christians believe that Jesus fully endorsed owning and using weapons for self-defense (or for use in war), and other Christians believe that Jesus categorically prohibited His followers from using violence. What’s the real story?

Well, those verses where Jesus forbid violence are numerous and they are not difficult to understand. In addition to the one quoted above, we also hear Jesus declare that we should love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, turn the other cheek, and forgive those who seek to harm us. These are not figurative passages and taken together they paint (in my mind at least) a pretty straightforward picture of Jesus’ expectation that his disciples would not do violence.

In addition to Jesus’ commands we also have His example of forgiving those who crucified him, healing the ear of the soldier who came to arrest him in the Garden, restraining the Legions of angel soldiers at his command, and telling Pontius Pilate that his Kingdom was not of this Earth, and if it was his disciples would fight, begging the question, "If His disciples do fight then are they not part of Christ’s Kingdom"? (see John 18:36)

But this one verse where Jesus tells his disciples to go out and buy a sword is right there in the Bible, isn’t it? What’s it there for? If Jesus didn’t intend for us to own or use swords then why did he say this? Especially if, later on, he was going to contradict himself and rebuke Peter for using the sword he told him to go out and buy?

Well, here’s what I think is going on. First of all we need to look closely at this passage in Luke. Notice that right after Jesus tells his disciples to buy a sword he goes on to say, "For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, 'It is enough.'" (Luke 22:36-38 ESV)

Right away we can see that Jesus’ statement about the swords is directly related to prophecy ("...this Scripture must be fulfilled in me") and what is the prophecy that must be fulfilled? The one in Isaiah that says, "And he was numbered with the transgressors".

Was the statement about buying a sword about self-defense? Probably not. Why? Because first of all, two swords are not "enough" to defend 13 guys against a legion of Roman soldiers. Also, because when Peter uses his sword in self-defense (or to protect Jesus from the soldiers) he is harshly rebuked with the verse we’ve already looked at, "Put it away! Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword."

Clearly, Jesus is not a fan of self-defense here. At least, not according to the overall context in this passage. However, he does tell the disciples that he wants them to have those two swords with them so that the prophecy about the Messiah being numbered with the transgressors may be fulfilled in Him. That’s why two swords are "enough" for Jesus; to fulfill the scriptures, not to endorse war or physical violence.

Are we sure that Jesus only meant this in light of fulfilling the prophecies about Himself? Yes. How? Because after Peter cuts off the soldiers ear, listen to what Jesus has to say, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:53-54)

See? Jesus tells them to get a few swords so that the prophecy in Isaiah will be fulfilled. Then, once it’s fulfilled in the Garden he makes a point of saying that this is what he had in mind in the first place. So, it’s all about fulfilling the prophecies, not a statement from Jesus endorsing violence.

As sincere followers of Jesus we must take into account all the many other teachings of Jesus regarding turning the other cheek, loving our enemies, and not resisting an evil man. We must also be careful to interpret the Old Testament scriptures in light of Jesus, not the other way around (i.e. – trying to fit Jesus into the Old Testament context).

Jesus came to fulfill the Old Covenant, and He accomplished this in full. The Old Covenant is obsolete. (see Hebrews 8:13) We don’t need to refer back to it again when it comes to guiding our daily lives. We have Christ. We have the Living Word of God who has come to make His home in us. Jesus gave us a New Covenant and He lived a better example for us to follow.

"Jesus said, 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.'" (Luke 6.27-28)

-kg

INTERVIEW: PORTER SPEAKMAN, JR.

2011-11-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I saw the documentary, "With God On Our Side" for the first time and I've never been the same since.

The Director of the film, Porter Speakman, Jr. was kind enough to spend about half an hour with me on the phone to talk more about this important film.

KEITH: Forgive me for saying so, but the quality of your documentary caught me off guard. By that I mean that it was so well done that I didn’t expect it to be something made by Christians and for a Christian audience.

PORTER: Thanks. It was made by Christians and our target audience was the Church.

KEITH: So, what sort of reaction has the film received so far?

PORTER: The feedback overall has been positive. I think the phrase we’ve heard most often is ‘I had no idea’ so I think there’s a certain perspective on the events that are happening between Israel and Palestine that we hear all the time, but we don’t hear the other side. Of course, there has been pushback from various Christian Zionists groups and others who actually don’t want this story to be heard. But, aside from that the feedback has been very good.

KEITH: It was quite a huge score to land someone like John Hagee for this film. I’m wondering if he had any idea where you were going with this documentary when he agreed to appear?

PORTER: Well, I haven’t heard anything directly from pastor Hagee about the documentary. When we set up the interview we told him we were doing a film about the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories and what the Christian response should be. So, we kept our questions very basic because we just wanted to hear from him and other Christian Zionists to get their point of view. Rather than us telling the audience what that position is we decided to let them speak for themselves.

KEITH: I totally agree. Actually, it’s one of the things I really appreciate about the film. I feel that your documentary was very balanced and no one side was misrepresented in any way. Kudos to you for providing an open forum for both Hagee and other Zionists in the film to speak their minds without prejudice.

PORTER: Thank you. We were very careful about that. We wanted to make sure that not only were their opinions and perspectives heard, but that we kept their comments in the context of our subject matter. So, for example, if we’re talking about the Palestinian Settlements and we get a response from John Hagee, that response had to do with the Settlements.

KEITH: Can you provide any sort of a background on yourself personally? Did you have any sort of past experience with Christian Zionism that made you feel like you needed to make a film about the topic?

PORTER: The film itself is pretty much my story and my journey. I think a lot of people who grow up in an Evangelical home, if you ask them about Israel and the End Times would pretty much give you the manifesto for Christian Zionism. But at the same time, they would have no idea what a Christian Zionist actually is. The theology is just kind of ingrained in us. I mean, we all are told we’re supposed to support Israel, the Palestinians are trying to take the land that belongs to the Jews, etcetera, and then you put all your theological framework and grab scriptures to support those ideas. So, I grew up like that. But then my wife and I got to spend some time in Israel doing a Bible Study Course and very quickly all the stereotypes and ideas that I had were quickly challenged.

The main thing was that Palestinians as a people weren’t who I thought they were. Then, also seeing the situation for ourselves, firsthand, really changed our ideas. At the time we were over there in Israel, during the second Infitada, we saw the checkpoints, we experienced the curfews, and seeing the wall being built, all of that changed us. Then we saw the Christian justification for many of these injustices and that began to really disturb me. It challenged me to think critically and to examine my theology more.

So, I set out to make the documentary for a couple of reasons; one to express a perspective that isn’t heard very often by Christians in the West, and secondly to demonstrate that we have to be very careful about the way that we handle scripture and interpret certain things when it really has a negative impact on people. I really don’t think we understand the implications of some of our unfounded beliefs on people groups – namely Muslims and Palestinians.

KEITH: I agree. It’s been a slow process for me. Like you, I had always heard growing up – from the pulpit and from my parents and from Christian mentors – that it just wasn’t up for debate that America (and the Church) must bless Israel because there’s this verse where God says to Abraham “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you”. Therefore, this means that we as a nation, and we as Christians, must bless Israel the nation or we won’t be blessed of God. So, as a young Christian no one ever questions any of that. ‘Well of course,” we say. Of course we’re going to bless Israel and we move on with our lives without really questioning where that may take us, or really what that verse even means – and if it even means what we’re told that it means.

PORTER: Exactly. And I think that’s the separation, even when you’re talking about people who want to love and bless the Jewish people. Most of the time they’re overlooking the actual people themselves and they’re looking to a political situation – secular Jewish nation state. So, we’re supposed to bless people but our support for this State can have implications which are negative for the Jewish people.

Even with the verse in Genesis 12:3 that you mentioned, and we talk about this in the film, this verse is God speaking to Abraham. It is not a mandate that we have to then always support the geo-politically, ethically pure State of Israel.

KEITH: After watching your documentary I went back and re-read those scriptures again and it just seemed very much like – taking it at face value – that this promise isn’t something that God seems to have intended to be for every generation to come after Abraham. It really seems like God is simply saying to Abraham that, as I send you out into these foreign lands, those who receive you I will bless and those who make trouble for you along the way I will deal with. That’s it. Nothing about every person from now until the end of time supporting everything that any Jewish person ever does or else they’ll be cursed. It’s just not in there.

Thinking about all of this in the existing situation we have today in Israel – and I don’t if you specifically intended to wrap this into your film or not – but in America today there is this very dominant theology called Dispensationalism that pulls the story of Israel into this version of the End Times and really, really confuses the issue for a lot of Christians. So, if you’re a Dispensationalist you’re probably a Christian Zionist because there are certain things you’d believe about Israel – like that the Jewish Temple needs to be rebuilt and the daily sacrifice needs to be reinstated so that the Anti-Christ can show up and put an end to that and make a treaty with Israel for seven years and then set up the Abomination of Desolation and all of that, which is really just a major misunderstanding of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel and the teachings of Jesus from the Olivet Discourse. But, if you accept that whole Dispensational story (and I know many who do even though they can’t even spell ‘Dispensationalism’), then you have a de-facto acceptance of Christian Zionism – and it’s all based on erroneous theology and bad teaching which only showed up on the Christian scene in the last 500 years.

PORTER: Dispensationalism is the foundation for Christian Zionism, and I agree with you that if you’re accepting of one then you’re most likely the other. Now, I do also have friends who would call themselves Christian Zionists and would reject Dispensationalism as well. So, it’s not always the same thing. Sometimes it’s a Messianic Christian congregation and similar groups.

All it takes is an earthquake here and a hurricane there and what’s going on with the Palestinians applying for Statehood at the U.N., and you see the Christian Zionists websites and e-mails and articles saying “Here we go”! So, they relate any current events to End Times prophecy and stick a Bible verse with it and it’s been going on for over 200 years now.

KEITH: I was talking last night to a friend of mine who’s a journalist. In fact, he’s the same guy who initially screened your film for me. Anyway, we were talking about how if you say someone is a Palestinian here in America there’s an immediate mental picture of a guy with a turban covering his face and a rocket launcher slung over his shoulder and he’s a member of Hamas or Hezbollah. Basically, “Palestinian” means “Terrorist” to us, so to have that idea broken is wonderful. It’s one of the amazing things about your film, Porter. The idea that someone can be a Palestinian and at the same time be my brother or sister in Christ is phenomenal. Not just because it’s likely to be true, but also because no one else is painting that picture for us.

Those who watch your film will no doubt come away from this documentary saying to themselves – as I did – “Oh my goodness. I have brothers and sisters in Palestine who are being oppressed by the state of Israel and they’re suffering horribly on a daily basis.” My family is Christ is under the thumb of a secular Jewish nation. I mean, the one question I asked myself after watching “With God on Our Side” was, “What is the fundamental difference between a secular Jewish Israel and the Pharisees of Jesus day?” They both reject Jesus as the Messiah, and they both persecute Christians and the Church in Palestine. Yet Christians in America are told that they are bound by the Scriptures to support this secular government as it oppresses an entire people group. That just seems so screwed up to me.

PORTER: Yeah. The thing is most of us just don’t know about any of that or the effects of the occupation. That’s really why we felt like this film had to be made. What I saw again and again on this whole subject of Israel and Palestine is that once they saw it, once they understood what was really going on, their paradigm was blown. Again, most of them respond by saying, “I just didn’t know.” That’s one of the things I wanted to do with the film. I wanted to get these stories out. Not just the current events and the political realities but more about how all of these things are affecting real people on the ground in Palestine. I believe personally that a majority of American Christians, when they can see the true situation, they will begin to change the way they engage it.

KEITH: I agree. I mean, I hope so, anyway. I wanted to say that one of the most impactful scenes in your film is when the Palestinian Christian pastor, Salim Munayer, recalls being shunned by fellow Christians in America once he tells them that he’s from Israel but he’s not a Jew. That really grieved me. I just wanted so badly to apologize to this brother for such horrible treatment from the Church here in America.

I looked up his website afterwards and re-published some of his writing on my blog to share his heart with people here in the States.

So, let me ask you, Porter, what practically can we do to support our Christian brothers and sisters in Palestine today?

PORTER: There’s a couple of different ways. The first is to be a voice for them. Speak up for their suffering. Most Christians in Palestine feel that they just don’t have a voice. No one is telling their story. Not only is their story not being told, it’s not allowed to be told. So, we need to educate ourselves first of all, about what’s going on and to be more aware, and then sharing their stories with others in our church or on our blog. There are a few organizations where people can get involved listed over on our website at www.WithGodOnOurSide.com.

Next I’d recommend people to actually go visit Palestine, visit Bethlehem and meet Palestinian Christians yourself. Listen to their stories. Tell their stories to others. Ask them how you can partner with them. Of course, you may have to fight to get your tour to go into Bethlehem and into the Palestinian territories because they’ll tell you that it’s too dangerous, but that’s just propaganda really to keep you on the accepted Jewish tourism trail. Make your way into Bethlehem and spend time there.

KEITH: I think those are excellent suggestions. The upcoming event at the Bethlehem Bible College called “Christ at the Checkpoint” looks amazing. I wish I could attend.

PORTER: That’s the kind of conference where people can not only see the situation for themselves but meet Palestinian Christians in person. There will be Messianic Jews and American Theologians and Palestinian Christians all coming together to discuss these issues. But our overall goal is to find better ways to build bridges and connections to the Palestinian Church.

KEITH: I think that’s wonderful, Porter. Let me ask you if you’ve had anyone radically change their views after seeing the film?

PORTER: Maybe not radical changes, but most people who come to the screening and see the film are blown away to hear this unheard perspective. But rather than just base your entire theology on our little film we encourage people to let this be the beginning of the learning process.

We’ve had people come up afterwards and say that they’re still Christian Zionists, but they want to help find a more peaceful approach to the occupation. So, I believe that most Christian Zionists have pure motives and they believe they’re following the Word of God, and many (after watching the film) are realizing that you bless the Jewish people without it being at the expense of others. If nothing else their beliefs are challenged.

KEITH: I do think it’s possible to watch the film without renouncing your Zionism and still realize that there is a more Christ-like way to bless the Jewish people in the nation of Israel without oppressing our brothers and sisters in Palestine.

PORTER: The Old Testament is full of that sort of thing. God constantly addressed ideas of justice with the Jews all the time. Even the King of Israel couldn’t oppress non-Jews without incurring God’s wrath. Today we want to give Israel carte blanche and allow them to do whatever they want without ever questioning what is being done, and frankly that’s not being a very good friend to Israel.

KEITH: No it’s not.

PORTER: We need to love them enough to say that what they’re doing is wrong and try to help them find better responses.

KEITH: In Psalms 50 God calls the Jews “my Holy Ones” and later he says to the same people, “you wicked” because they cast God’s words aside. So, “chosen ones” or not, the whole point of being blessed of God is to bless all the Nations. Even as Jesus pointed out, there were many lepers in Israel but the prophets were sent to the pagans.

PORTER: Yes, it’s not just that Christ was the Messiah, but that he was the Messiah for all nations and not just for the Jewish people.

KEITH: Let me ask you some practical things. How can people see your film right now? Are you looking to get this on Hulu or Netflix or Redbox eventually? Is it only available through your website or through Amazon? Any upcoming screenings?

PORTER: We’re trying to get on Netflix but as an independent filmmaker it’s really difficult. The movie is available on the iTunes store and there’s also an iPad application with a study guide as well as the film. We’re also working on an online viewing option down the line as well so people can look out for that coming up, as well as Amazon and the website for DVD sales.

We don’t have any screenings planned but if anyone would like to host one at their church or seminary with a Q&A afterwards we’re always open to that and people can contact us on our website to request that.

KEITH: I really want to do anything I can to help spread the word, Porter. It’s an important film and Christians in America need to see this documentary and repent.

PORTER: I appreciate that, Keith. If your readers want to find us on Facebook or Twitter and follow us to learn more that would also be wonderful.

KEITH: Are you very much involved with promoting the film, but are you thinking about any sort of follow up to this film?

PORTER: Right now I’m working on short documentaries to further explore the stories of what’s happening over there. Right now those short films and the upcoming “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference are my main focus. Plus, we also help set up tours for Church groups in America to visit Palestine.

KEITH: There’s a brother in our house church family who has been very instrumental in making friends with Muslim students where he teaches college locally. He’s even brought some to visit our church and we’ve had an amazing opportunity to put a face to the stereotypes and we’ve found that many of them are very open to learning more about Jesus.

PORTER: Awareness is the biggest thing. Keeping Jesus in the center is so important and finding ways to love others without excluding people groups.

KEITH: I’d be very interested in meeting more Palestinian Christians and finding ways to encourage them, because so many Christians in America are not only ignoring their suffering, but we’re actively supporting the government that is trying to snuff them out.

PORTER: So much of the pain and rejection in the Muslim community comes from this as well. They see this and they think that this is how Jesus is. So as followers of Jesus we have to demonstrate that we see their suffering and their persecution and we need to say that we do not agree with using the Bible and using Jesus to justify this kind of injustice.

KEITH: Let me ask you how Christians on the ground there in Palestine are responding to the oppression. It seems like this situation is ripe for a non-violent response, much like what Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. did to address similar injustices in their day.

PORTER: Actually the non-violent Christian response is quite strong there and we just don’t hear about that over here. There are many Ghandi’s and MLK’s over there protesting non-violently every week. In fact, the Israeli government doesn’t know how to handle that. I agree, it’s the perfect opportunity to respond in this way, and there are even many Jews who are standing with the Palestinians and participating in these non-violent protests for peace and trying to help get their stories out.

KEITH: That’s very exciting to me. Maybe down the road you can help me get in touch with some of those people, Porter. I’d really like to help tell those stories too.

PORTER: Thanks for your support, Keith and helping us to get the word out.

**
Note: Those interested in learning more about Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 can go
HERE

Learn more about the film at www.WithGodOnOurSide.com

*This blog is part of an online contest promoting the event "Christ at the Checkpoint 2012".

LIFEHOUSE: FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS

2011-11-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

My friends Noel and Julie Cruz started a ministry feeding the homeless in Orange County about a year ago. The OC Register ran a story about them today. Let me warn you, these people are remarkable. You won't believe the things they're doing and have done. Prepare to be challenged and humbled.

Here's an excerpt:

Their outreach began more than three years ago when Noel Cruz decided to help a young couple as they gave out peanut butter sandwiches and water to the homeless in downtown Los Angeles.

Wary of street people, Julie Cruz didn't join him. But on the next trip, she pushed aside her fear and went along with Noel, her sweetheart since their high school days in the 1970s.

Together, they found a calling.

Turning their attention to Orange County, they started driving from park to park where homeless congregate. They gave sandwiches and fruit and snacks in bags packed by friends and family.

Before anchoring their soup kitchen at the riverside park near the Honda Center, the Cruzes spent a week living out of their Ford Explorer. They ate in local soup kitchens and slept behind a Taco Bell – all in a hope to better understand the people they'd be helping.

Julie even spent time begging for change near a freeway. Most drivers avoided eye contact, she says, but others showed compassion. A couple with a baby gathered up loose change and gave it to her; a man in a BMW flicked a $20 bill as he drove past.

She gave the $27 she begged to a homeless couple she knew.

Of greater value, she says, is what she learned about hunger: "We'd have one meal and the next thing I thought of was where are we going to get that next meal?"
On Sundays, at the river, the Cruzes answer that question for up to 150 homeless people.

"Sometimes, if this wasn't here, we weren't going to eat," says Jerry Nowakovski, 49, who has survived the past year on unemployment. He and his girlfriend ride their bikes over from a tiny rehearsal studio they call home.

"They give us a home-cooked meal," he says from beneath a battered Fedora pulled down against the rain. "We're grateful, that's for sure."

Julie and Noel Cruz in turn thank those in the community who help them help the homeless.

Their garage is stocked with food and supplies picked up from donors such as Second Harvest Food Bank. They get contributions every week from Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Ana, Brea High School, and a local Albertsons.

"We could not do this if not for this amazing network of friends and people who we didn't even know before this," says Julie Cruz.

In August, Julie Cruz was laid off, and she now devotes her full time attention to their nonprofit, LifeHouse of Orange County.

"It's so amazing to us," she says. "There are so many stories on both sides of the table

Read the full article
HERE

ALL THEY NEED IS A MIRACLE

2011-11-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I received a call from Ken Eastburn's wife, Ally. The Eastburn's started the Well, a local (and now global) network of house churches here in Orange County. Since I frequently meet with Ken, this call from his wife was unusual, but soon I learned why she wanted to talk to me.

Turns out that Ally met a woman from Romania named Maria in the parking lot of a grocery store in Anaheim. Maria was begging for money and food for her children. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised to learn that Ally didn't just give the woman money and go on with her day. Instead, she went with the woman to her apartment nearby and met her 3 children and her husband.

Once Ally met the family she was allowed to look over their legal documents, and even opened up their refrigerator and cabinets. They had nothing in the house. The cupboards were bare. They had a futon in the living room to sleep and sit on. One table with no chairs near the kitchen and nothing else. No food. No clothes. No toothbrush. Nothing.

From what Ally was able to understand, Maria and her husband fled Romania and are trying to get asylum here in the States. Until things get worked out they are begging since he cannot work and speaks little english. Maria speaks only a little more than her husband.

Last night I took my two sons and we brought them more food, sleeping bags, toothpaste, a few clothes and a can opener.

I got to meet their children, Maria Denisa who is 3 years old; Dennis who is 6yrs old; and a baby boy who is only 3 months old.

They had one diaper (size 1) in the house.

Over and over again Maria would start to cry as she begged for help with their rent. She wrote in the air with her finger, "One. Zero. Four. Five. On December 4." That's $1,045 due December 4th.

After dropping off all the food and showing her what we had brought for them, Maria showed me all that Ally had given them, too. She pointed to the fruit on the counter, "Ally" and the Turkey in the freezer, "Ally", and the milk in the refrigerator, "Ally," she said over and over.

I asked her if we could pray for her and she enthusiastically agreed, calling her little children to gather around us. We held hands and I lead us in a prayer for provision and for peace and for wisdom.

As we were leaving, Maria took my hand and kissed it. I started to pull it away, "No, no," I said. But she was crying so much and I think it was important for her to say "thank you" this way. So, I didn't stop her. "It's going to be ok," I said. But, of course, I don't know that for sure. I can only say this in faith and pray that God will work everything out for them in time.

Between the groceries that Ally took them and what we brought them they are alright for food this week, and possibly next week, but they obviously need a lot more help.

A family in our house church gave $500 as soon as they heard about Maria's family. So, we do have some money that we can use to help them out, but if their rent is $1,045 we're not even halfway there yet. Even if we do pay their rent, what then? They still can't speak English. He can't work. We can barely communicate with them. This is bigger than any of us.

I supposse the biggest challenge is that we cannot communicate with them. Luckily, I have a co-worker who speaks Romanian and another friend who is willing to come with me to visit them who is also from Romania. Hopefully we can visit them again this weekend and find out more about their story.

We're also hoping to get them connected with a Romanian church nearby who can help them as well.

Last night I couldn't sleep and I got up to pray for Maria and this family. "All they need is a Miracle, Lord," I said. "Please, God, give them the miracle they need."

Your prayers for Maria and her family are very welcome. Prayers also for Ally and for us as we do our best to understand the real back story here and to discern how best to really help them in the long term.

Blessings,
Keith

PS- Peter Thomson was found in Riverside yesterday. He's alive and well. Please continue to pray for him as we try to help him with depression and other things.

HAVE YOU SEEN PETER THOMSON?

2011-11-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

I'm putting the word out to help my co-worker find a lost friend. His name is Peter Thomson, he's in his mid-thirties and he's from New Zealand. Up until about a week ago he lived in Anaheim with some friends and then he just left. His wallet, his phone and his car are still there, but he's gone.

A missing person's report has been filed, but we're hoping that someone has seen or talked to Peter recently.

He may be at a local shelter in Orange County, or staying at a motel nearby, or under a bridge somewhere. We don't know.

If you know anything, please send an email to elysiansky@hotmail.com.

Please also keep Peter in your prayers. People love him and care about him and want to know he's ok.

Thanks,
Keith

IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE

2011-11-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

"In My Father’s house are many rooms (dwelling places); if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."(John 14:2-3)

Most of my life I've understood this verse as being about Heaven. But recently someone pointed out to me that the phrase "my Father's house" is used by Jesus exclusively throughout the other Gospels to refer to the Temple.

For example, early on in Luke when Jesus is separated from his parents for three days they find him teaching in the Temple. When they finally find him Jesus says, "Didn't you know I would be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:48-50)

Also, when Jesus clears the Temple of those who sell doves he declares, "stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” (John 2:15-17)

This makes a lot of sense in context as well if we look at what Jesus is speaking to His disciples about in this section of the Gospel of John. We find it's all about what's going to happen next, how to prepare for the coming persecution, etc.

If Jesus is speaking about the Temple here, and not about Heaven, then we need to try to re-read this section with new eyes.

Here's what I think Jesus is teaching His disciples here:

"In My Father’s house are many rooms (dwelling places)" - Here Jesus is stating that in the Temple (which is now the Church) there is room for many people. Throughout the New Testament the Apostles talk about "dwelling places" where we (the people of God) find rest in our Lord and Savior. For instance:

"If anyone has my words and obeys me...we will come and make our house (dwelling place) with them." - John 14:23

The same word Jesus uses here for "house" He also uses in the passage about the "many dwelling places" in His "Father's house."

"Christ is the Lord over his own house, whose house we are if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end." - Hebrews 3:6

So, the idea that we, the Church, are now God's "dwelling place" is all through the New Testament.

Let's continue to look at the rest of the passage:

"if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you."

Here, I believe, Jesus is telling His disciples that He needs to go - to get out of the way - in order to make room for them (the Church) to grow as He has promised.

"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Jesus says that if He goes away, it will make room (prepare a place) for the disciples. He also says that where He is they will be also. Where is He going? To be with the Father. And as we've already seen, Jesus promised that "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode (dwelling) with him." (John 14:23)

Where does God dwell? In us - His Church. His Temple. His Father's House. The household of God is the Church.

"I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth." - (1 Timothy 3:15)

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household." - (Ephesians 2:18-20)

"You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - (1 Peter 2:4-6)

This promise of Jesus to go away in order to prepare a place for the Temple to expand into the "many rooms" or "dwelling places" was fulfilled at Pentecost when Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and thousands followed Christ in that day. And this promise is still ongoing today.

So, it may be that Jesus isn't promising us "mansions in Heaven" after all. In fact, most of the scriptures indicate that our eternal destination is to live here, on a New Earth, and reign with Christ forever.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." - (Revelation 21:1-3)

I'm curious to hear what others think about this passage in John and whether or not you agree that Jesus is speaking about the Temple (His Church) when He speaks about His "Father's House" in John 14.

-kg

45 Years Ago Today

2011-11-09T05:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, 45 years ago today, the fabric of space and time pulled back to reveal this fragile and yet strangely troubled soul.

It was a day of wonder and tears.

Cigarettes were burned. Laughter echoed down the hallway. A mother's heart slid into gear.

The angel's sighed, and one of them farted, but no one knew which one it was so they pretended not to hear.

It was a day of love so great it hurt to breathe.

Glad to be here, my friends.

Hope to be here a bit longer before I join the flatulent angels.

Wubba,

Keith

WHAT GREATER THINGS?

2011-11-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father."
(John 14:12 ESV)

What does Jesus mean to say here? Maybe you’ve heard someone teach that this verse proves that every believer should be healing the sick, doing miracles on a daily basis and generally out-Jesusing-Jesus on a daily basis. If you haven’t heard this verse used to teach this, you should probably prepare yourself for the inevitability.

Before I get into the scholarship of this verse, let me first go straight to the common sense response to this argument. If Jesus intends to teach here that every believer will "do greater things" than He did (meaning bigger miracles), then either Jesus is a liar, or the Church failed from the very beginning to accomplish this. Of course a third option is that Jesus didn’t mean this at all, but we’ll examine that option in a moment.

For the sake of argument, let’s say that Jesus did mean that He expected His disciples to do greater miracles than He did if they had faith in Him. If that is what He meant, then why don’t we see Peter feeding the One Million? Why don’t we see Paul running across the water? Why don’t we read about James or John flying through the air like Neo? These miracles would be "greater" than the miracles performed by Jesus, but we don’t see any of the early Christians doing greater, bigger, more fantastic miracles than Jesus did. Yes, we do see Paul and Peter healing people on occasion. We do see them casting out demons. We do even see a teleportation through space when Philip disappears after baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch, but that's a singular event. Besides, Philip didn’t do that. It was God who transported Him away as the man was coming up out of the water. No one was more surprised by this than Philip, I would imagine.

So, if we don’t see a steady progression of "greater" miracles than Jesus did being performed by the early Christians as normative, we must conclude that either the Apostles didn’t believe in (or "have faith in") Jesus, or that Jesus was mistaken about this ability of disciples to do more powerful miracles than He did. Or – and I think this is what’s really going on – Jesus wasn’t talking about miracles at all.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
The word Jesus uses here for "works" is ergon in the Greek and it is not the same word used for miracles or signs in the Gospel of John. In fact, throughout this Gospel, John does speak of the miracles Jesus does as being "signs" that point to His identity as Messiah. The "works" (ergon) of Jesus include his miracles, but also his teaching, his preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, his compassion for the poor, and his general ministry among the people. Therefore, "signs" are specifically (and only) the working of miracles while "works" is a blending of practical service, teaching, preaching, and working of miracles.

So, Jesus begins by saying that those who "believe" in Him as Messiah (those who place their life into His hands and trust Him completely) will first of all "do the works" that He has been doing. Namely, they will preach the Gospel, they will care for the sick, they will feed the poor, they will serve one another, etc. The gist is that Jesus expects His disciples to follow His example of service and compassion to others. Next, Jesus says that "because I am going to the Father" these works will be "greater".

For example, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised falls on the Disciples, When Peter stands up to preach (something that Jesus did when He was here on Earth) the result was exponentially greater than any other sermon or teaching Jesus ever gave. Over 3,000 people respond, repent, are baptized and begin to follow Jesus that day. This was only the beginning.

In fact, it’s why we have the "Acts of the Apostles" in the scriptures at all – to demonstrate the "greater works" done by the Apostles and the early Christians. Note that these "acts" or "works" are both miraculous and practical. People who were strangers only days earlier are now so filled with love for one another through the Holy Spirit that they are selling property and sharing it with one another. People who are sick are being healed, but those who are destitute are embraced and welcomed into the family of God as well. These are all "greater works".

DO ALL WORK MIRACLES?
When it comes to these "signs and wonders" like healing the sick and raising the dead, I’d like to ask an important question: "Did every single believer and follower of Jesus work miracles like this, or was it only the Apostles?"

Why is this an important question? Because if everyone worked these miracles then maybe Jesus’ statement above really does suggest that all of us should be healing people with our shadows and raising the dead on our lunch breaks. If we’re not living up to our calling as followers of Jesus because we misunderstand this verse, then we need to repent and start living more by faith. However, if the scriptures suggest otherwise, then we also stop using this verse to make people feel like failures for not working greater miracles than Jesus every week.

What does the New Testament say about the working of miracles?

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul is defending his Apostleship to the saints in Corinth. A few self-appointed "Super Apostles" have been slandering Paul’s name in the region and Paul must stand up for his calling as an Apostle to the Church. In verse 12 he says,

"The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works."

Keep in mind that Paul wants to demonstrate to these Corinthians that he is not simply a follower of Jesus, but something more. He is an Apostle of Jesus Christ to the Church. In order to prove to them that he is not an ordinary disciple, he points to three things, "signs and wonders and mighty works".

Now, if every single believer who followed Jesus was capable of healing the sick, raising the dead, and performing "mighty works" like this, then what good would it do for Paul to say, "I can do the same miracles that all of you are doing on a daily basis"? What would that prove to them except that he was a follower of Christ, just as they all were? Obviously, when Paul appeals to these "signs and wonders and mighty works" that he performed among them he is reminding them that these are the "signs of a true apostle" and not signs that he is a Christian.

Therefore, the Apostles were the ones in the New Testament who were filled with the Spirit of God and empowered to do these miraculous signs of healing and raising the dead, not every day ordinary believers. Otherwise, Paul’s appeal to these signs and wonders would mean absolutely nothing to the believers in Corinth as evidence of Paul’s Apostleship.

Now, we do see evidence that Elders in the Body of Christ were empowered by the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick and heal them on occasion:

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." (James 5:14)

However, not every believer who was prayed for was automatically healed. How do we know this? Because Paul exhorts Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach problems, and because Paul himself suffered a “thorn in the flesh” that God refused to take away from him. Sometimes people were healed in the early church, and sometimes they were not- even when an Apostle prayed for them to be healed. Stephen was stoned to death and no one raised him back to life again. Nor were other saints raised to life again. Clearly, miracles like Jesus performed were infrequent and only widely practiced by the Apostles as signs of their being sent by Jesus to serve the Church. Not every believer worked these kinds of miracles, and not every Apostle successfully worked miracles without fail.

WHAT JESUS SAID
The passage in the Gospel of John where Jesus says that those who have faith in, or "believe in", Him will do the works He has been doing, and will do even greater things than these because the Holy Spirit will come upon them in power, is not a verse about every Christian wielding the anointing of an Apostle. It is not a verse intended to condemn us for not walking on water or healing every sick person we pray for. It is simply a statement about how those who follow Jesus will do the works that He did – to teach, preach, serve, and love as He did – and that by the power of the Holy Spirit we will bear much more fruit than Jesus did in His ministry – although to be fair, all fruit and life in the Church is from Him anyway, so it’s all still the ongoing ministry of Christ in the world today through His Body, the Church.

The verse here in John's Gospel is about discipleship to Christ and obedience to Him. This has nothing to do with miracles. It has to do with an apprenticeship to Jesus, as evidenced in the verses just below this one where Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)

Here's a parallel concept to make it clear: A professional Indy 500 Race Car driver tells you, "If you do what I teach you, and learn what I have to show you, you'll be a better race car driver than I am one day."

Now, you wouldn't expect to just immediately jump in the Indy Car and qualify for the race would you? No, you'd spend the next few years learning from this guy about how to be the best race car driver you could possibly be. It wouldn't happen by magic or by osmosis but because you had faith in this driver and you actually did everything he told you to do.

That's my perspective on what Jesus means in this verse. We become disciples and followers of Jesus by daily serving others in obedience to His example. As we continue in obedience, we will become empowered to bear greater fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Should you expect to do even greater works than Jesus did if you never even attempted to do the basic things that he did while he was here on Earth? That's like someone who doesn't even have a learner's permit or a driver's license thinking they can grab the keys to that Indy Car and end up in the winner’s circle.

Start by doing the works that Jesus did: teach, preach the Gospel, care for the poor, serve others in love, etc. As you obey the Lord by following His example of love, He will fill you with His Holy Spirit and empower you to do even greater things than this.

-kg

Thoughts on the Third World Fast

2011-11-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I spent three days eating only rice and lentils for every meal, with no snacks in between. The purpose of this Third World Fast was to help me identify with people around the world who largely survive on just rice or beans for survival. I also hoped to gain a deeper appreciation for how blessed I am to be surrounded by such an abundance of food on a daily basis.

I have to say that this was harder for me than not eating anything at all. Usually when I fast from food I drink lots of water and maybe juice to keep my energy up. In this case I was able to eat but only at mealtimes and when I did eat it was only a single serving of very bland rice or lentils.

One thing I realized was how much I eat for the sheer pleasure of eating. I love the flavors, the textures, the aromas, and the variety of foods I enjoy on a regular basis. Rather than eating for sustenance, I eat mainly to enjoy the experience. This Third World Fast took all of that pleasure away.

I found myself getting very hungry right before it was time to eat again. My mouth would begin to water for food, but not for the taste of it, only for the experience of having my stomach filled so that I would not feel hunger again until the next meal time.

One brother who wrote to me this week to share his Third World Fast experience agreed:

“I must say I have fasted before eating no food, but I think this was even more difficult. By dinner last night I was ready to skip eating altogether rather than facing the rice and beans again! I am not and never will be a fan of rice anyhow so that made it doubly challenging. As I forced myself to eat last night I was thinking about the blessings of variety in America and how even though we are going through economic hard times, many of us have yet to know true suffering and sacrifice.

Also the fast has made for some intriguing and engaging conversation with my soon to be 7-year-old daughter. She did not participate in the fast, but she sure was curious about what her mother and father were doing. I was very proud that she got past the "yucky beans" to really understand what was going on.

Thank you very much for sharing this experience with my family. Tonight as I eat whatever I want, I will be all the more thankful to my Father for providing me with a truly amazing bounty.”

After breaking my fast I found myself feeling more thankful for my food, and not just food but everything else in my life. My prayers lately are filled with thanksgiving to God for my wife, my sons, my job, my church family, my house, my cars, my friends, and more. I am so blessed.

The Friday before I started my Third World Fast our company fed our entire marketing department breakfast. We were served eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, pancakes, fruit, and coffee. Of course, there was so much food that many had seconds or thirds, and afterwards they still had food left over which ended up being tossed into the garbage.

That same day I emailed my friend Vilbert who lives in India to share all of this with him and he surprised me by explaining that he had never heard of, nor tasted, waffles, pancakes, sausage or bacon. He confirmed that his family eats rice for every meal, with curried vegetables and maybe twice a month they would eat chicken, although most could only eat chicken once per month. This reminded me of how my friend Robert Higgins, who died last year from bone cancer, had told me he had never tasted lobster in his life. All of these realizations jolt me into an awareness of my own extravagance. I am so rich. I am so blessed.

So, with all of this in mind I spent three days eating only rice and lentils and praying for God to change my heart and open my eyes.

This 3 day fast was very hard for me, I must admit. I've become so used to having access to such an endless variety of foods and snacks and candy that to eat only rice became a struggle, but one that I’m glad I endured in order to understand more viscerally how people around the world survive each day.

I am so blessed, and if you are reading this in America, chances are that you are too. Food is not so much an issue for you and I. We can find it easily. Even the homeless and those living in poverty in America can usually find free or low-cost sources for food without much trouble. But for most of our planet this is not the case. Most people eat once a day if they’re lucky, and when they do it’s usually rice or beans.

I’m not sure when I’ll do this experiment again, but I’m glad I’ve had this opportunity to share in the sufferings of so many around the world. Of course, I have the privilege of choosing to eat this way whenever I like. Most people do not have this luxury.

If your'e interested in learning more about what people eat around the world, take a look at this fascinating slideshow comparison of what different families eat on a weekly basis in different nations.
HERE

-kg

P.S. – If you did this 3 day, Third World Fast with me I’d love to share your story with everyone here, too. Either write your experiences in the comments below or send me a direct email to let me know what God taught you through all of this.

THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD

2011-10-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

"Then He (Jesus) began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at harvest time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.

Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.” – Mark 12:1-9

In the Gospel of Luke we have this added insight at the end of this parable:

“And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people-for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.” – Luke 20:19

Unlike most of the parables of Jesus, this one is fairly straightforward. The house of Israel is the vineyard. How do we know this? Because of what we see in Isaiah:

"For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.” - Isaiah 5:7

The man in the parable who planted the vineyard is God, the Father. The servants and messengers of the owner of the vineyard are the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, etc.). The son of the owner is Jesus, and the vinedressers are the priests and the scribes of the Jewish faith (as seen in Luke 20:19 above).

So, essentially, Jesus says that God planted the house of Israel as a beautiful vineyard. Those to whom He entrusted the vineyard (the House of Israel) were dishonest, selfish and disobedient to the Father. Many of the prophets that God sent to them (the Jews) were persecuted, rejected and put to death. As a last resort the Father sent His Son (Jesus) and these disobedient people killed him as well. What is the Father’s response to this? “He will give the vineyard (the house of Israel) to others.” (Mark 12:9)

So, if Jesus says that the Father took the "House of Israel" away from the Jews and gave it to others, who is He talking about? To whom did God give the House of Israel to? The Church.

As Paul affirms:

“This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” - Romans 9:8

“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter." - Romans 2:28-29

"Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring [seed]. It does not say, “And to offsprings [seeds],” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring [seed],” who is Christ." - Galatians 3:16

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” – Galatians 3:29

What does Jesus think about the claim of racial Jews to the title of “Israel” or the “Seed of Abraham”? In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus discusses this very point with the Pharisees who claimed to be the offspring (or seed) of Abrahm. Here is what Jesus says in response to their claim:

"I know that you are offspring [seed] of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children [seed], you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did." - John 8:37-40

As followers of Christ, we are now the true Israel of God. We have a new covenant with Him that He will be our God and we will be His people and He will write His laws upon our hearts. (See Hebrews 8) The old covenant is history. It has been fulfilled in Christ.

"But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another." – Hebrews 8:6-7

"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear."- Hebrews 8:13

As Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17)

So, did Jesus fulfill the Law? Yes, he most certainly did. He accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do. (see John 17:4 and 19:30) This is why the old covenant is over and done. "It is finished!" and now we have a new covenant, a better one:

"This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant." – Hebrews 7:22

The purpose of Jesus' parable of the vineyard is to teach that Israel is now taken away from racial Jews and is now given to anyone who receives the Son of God as Lord and Messiah.

Mediate on what it means to now be called the children of God, because that is what you are (see 1 John 3:1).

You and I are the new Temple, the Living Sacrifice, the Holy Priesthood and the Israel of God.

We who were once not a people are now the people of God (1 Peter 2:10). Glory to His Name!
-kg

Join Me: A Three Day, Third World Fast

2011-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm spoiled. In the United States most of us enjoy three meals a day, and snacks in between, and never give a thought to how this alone sets us apart from nearly every other person on the planet.

For example, if I eat chicken for lunch I don't want it for dinner, and if I eat scrambled eggs for breakfast I sure don't want that for lunch and dinner too.

But for most of the planet, this is reality. If they have three meals a day at all, (the lucky ones are happy to eat once per day), it’s usually the same thing; rice or beans.

Imagine eating rice for breakfast, rice for lunch, and then rice again for dinner. Now imagine eating that way for a week, or a month, or a year. Try your entire life.

In order to experience a taste of this for myself, I’ve decided to spend just three days eating nothing but rice and lentils for each and every meal. Here’s what I hope to accomplish:
*First, to experience a bit of solidarity with my brothers and sisters around the world who survive on one simple food source each and every day.
*Second, to strengthen my appreciation for how rich I really am to enjoy such an endless variety of food while others depend on so little.
*Third, to fast from my extravagance and spend time in prayer for those around the world, and even here in America, who cannot afford to take food for granted the way I do.

Want to join me? I’ll start on Monday morning of this coming week (October 31st) eating only rice or lentils (for protein) for every meal through my dinner on the evening of November 2nd. I will not snack on treats or chips at work or at home between meals. I will only drink water or coffee (can’t quite quit that one yet), and I will spend time in prayer for those who are suffering for food around the world and in my own community. (I'll also take vitamins during these 3 days).

If you do join me, I’d love to hear your experiences before, during and afterwards. Please share what God teaches you in this experience of solidarity with the poor.

If those dates don't work for you for whatever reason, please consider taking another group of days and trying this.

Peace,
Keith

**
God's Idea of Fasting:
"Is such the fast that I choose, only a day for a person to humble himself?
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’"
(Isaiah 58:5-9 ESV)

Thomas Crisp: Jesus and Affluence (the PDF article)

2011-10-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to download and read the PDF version of the article by Thomas Crisp entitled, JESUS & AFFLUENCE, the link is
HERE

Fun at the Motel Today

2011-10-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today we had a great time hosting a carnival for the kids at the motel in Santa Ana. Plus we got to share a lot of free groceries with everyone, too.

What if we could multiply this by four or five?

In partnership with the Catholic Workers of Orange County, we might be able to do just that.

They've offered to increase our food drops each month if we can find other house churches willing to duplicate what we do in this motel in other low income housing communities in their area.

So far we've got one other confirmed house church group willing to join us and pick up their free food drops every week. We've got a few others still praying about it.

Hope we can find others willing to do this at other motels or low-income apartments in Orange County soon. I'll be sure to let everyone know what happens.

Thanks for your prayers.
-kg

Part 4 - THOMAS CRISP: Jesus and Affluenza

2011-10-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

In this final section of the interview, Thomas and I talk about the Protestant confusion of the Gospel of the Atonement versus actually following Jesus daily.
**

KEITH: The whole thing with the Isaiah House is really a blessing. I love what you and Chase and AJ and others are doing to just spend time with the people there on Sunday mornings to share breakfast and listen to them and befriend them. It's so beautiful. If I could split myself in two I'd be there every Sunday right along with all of you.

I really loved hanging out with you guys last Sunday and one thing that really hit me as we were all together and sharing what God was doing there was, you know, I think these Catholic's really love Jesus.
(laughs)

As a really good protestant for all my life I have to say, wow, I think the Catholic's get it in a way that a lot of my protestant friends don't get it.

Especially these young people. I mean, these Catholic kids are young and they really understand what it means to follow Jesus.

THOMAS: Yeah, it's like somehow the Catholics missed out on all the...I mean, the way I think about it may be simplistic, but I think what has really wreaked havoc in the lives of Evangelicals is having reduced the entirety of the Gospel into the theory of the Atonement.

KEITH: Yep. That's it!

THOMAS: ....believing the right things about the Atonement.

KEITH: Yes. You understand this Atonement transaction. You do this. God does that. You get eternal life in exchange for believing in Jesus and your status changes from lost to found...

THOMAS: And that's it!

KEITH: Yes. That's all.

THOMAS: It's Bar Code Christianity.

KEITH: When I interviewed Dallas Willard he called it Vampire Christianity. Because people only want enough of Jesus' blood to get saved but they have no intention of actually following Jesus or putting His words into practice. They don't want to be humble like Jesus. They don't intend to suffer like Jesus. They don't want to hang out with the poor or the outcast like Jesus. They only want His blood to get saved so they can go ahead with their life without Him.

THOMAS: You what it's like? It's like the Mystery Religions of the early Roman era, where you have an initiatory rite which secures your access to the afterlife, and in most cases it involved blood, but that's it. There's no community involvement or particular ethical demands placed on you. It's just this one time event which secures your position in the afterlife. For a lot of Evangelicals we've turned the Gospel into a kind of Mystery Religion.

KEITH: You know, here's what's so weird about that to me, and I've participated in all that for most of my life so I think I understand it, but if you divorced yourself completely from everything you know about...let's say we're not even talking about Christianity, let's say we're going to come up with our own religion. In this religion it's all about one-time, you just have to sign this piece of paper, say that you agree with these five truths, and then we're going to certify that you're going to be safe and secure from anything bad after you die, and that's the whole thing. That's it. That's the beginning and the end of our religion. My question is, "How would you sustain that?"

It just seems like once you get them to sign on the dotted line you'll eventually run out of people to sign up for your little club and then why would anyone continue to send you money, be a part of your group, come to your meetings...I mean, why? Do I have to go? No? Then why would anyone continue to be a part of that or give money to that or buy your products with your brand on it, or anything? I don't get it. If our symbol is a triangle and we make triangle t-shirts and lunch boxes. Why would people buy our stuff with our logo on it to show they were a member of a club they joined 20 years ago? It just seems like if you designed something from the beginning to operate like that it would not work.

If you really, really thought that this is all that Christianity is about, why would you continue to participate in that? I mean, obviously Christianity IS more than that, but we're reduced it to pretty much just this kind of foolishness.

THOMAS: Well, that's the thing. Given this as a view of the Gospel, if you start reading the actual Gospels you start to see that the two don't fit together. You'd have to force it into a really unnatural mold to get Jesus to say anything like what we have today.

KEITH: That's the big disconnect, I think. You have to get around it by saying the the Sermon on the Mount and everything that Jesus said about the poor and the Kingdom and all of that is about the Kingdom that he intended to bring but the Jews rejected Him so it's for a future Kingdom and it's not for today. So, we put a pause button on all that Jesus said and then maybe when Jesus comes back again we can have all of that at the end of time. You basically make everything that Jesus said a real waste of our time if none of it was for us right now.

THOMAS: Yeah, so think about how bizarre that is. So, what we end up with then, is this historic movement that claims Jesus as our Master and we have no interest whatsoever in doing any of those things He said to do. None of that applies?

KEITH: Yeah, can you imagine meeting a Jew who didn't know or follow Moses? Or a Muslim who didn't really follow Mohammed? How can we say we're followers of Jesus if we're not actually following Him?

THOMAS: It's especially startling when you look at how Jesus says, "If you don't do the things I'm saying, you're not my disciples."

KEITH: Jesus says this over and over again in the Gospels. In John there are like two whole chapters, like 13 and 14 I think. He says it every possible way too so we don't misunderstand him. "If you love me you'll obey me." "The one who loves me obeys me but the one who does not love me does not obey me."

I've actually had debates with people over and over who deny that Jesus means what He's saying so plainly.

That's the whole point of the wise man who built his house upon the rock. Jesus says, "Let me tell what the person is like who hears my words and puts them into practice" - that's the wise man, and the foolish man is the one who hears Jesus and does not put it into practice.

THOMAS: And the passage just before that Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of God, only the one who does the will of my Father."

KEITH: Obviously there are preachers and teachers who have this over-the-top version of Grace, where it's all about 'You can do nothing at all to earn your salvation" and that translates to, "Don't ever do anything at all." In fact, if you did do something you run the risk of trying to earn your salvation and you may negate God's salvation by Grace.

THOMAS: Oh, yeah.

KEITH: Instead of going to Ephesians where Paul says that "we are saved by Grace to do good works," and taking everything in context, we stop at the saved by Grace part and ignore the "to do good works" part.

THOMAS: I think people like N.T. Wright and James Dunn are correct when they point out that when Paul talks against works or legalism he's not talking about caring for the poor or anything like that. He's speaking against doing works related to keeping the Jewish Covenant like Fasting, Circumcision, Temple observance. Paul was saying that those things - the traditional, cultic marks, dietary laws, Sabbath observance, those things necessary for membership in the Old Covenant community - those are the works we should cease to do. Now, under the new covenant we are made righteous by faith in Christ and our salvation is by Grace. So, works of the Law aren't necessary anymore. Paul would have said, "Of course, if you're a follower of Jesus you will do works of righteousness."

KEITH: Of course. Paul does affirm that. One of my favorite is in Galatians where Paul meets with Peter and James and John and they agree that he should go to the Gentiles and they will go to the Jews. It's in Chapter 4, where Paul says, "They only asked one thing, one thing they required, that we would remember the poor." And then the very next verse Paul says, "That was the one thing I was eager to do." So, for Paul, of course we're going to care for the poor.

The one thing Peter, James and John required was caring for the poor, and that was the one thing that Paul himself was eager to do. In other words, if we agree on anything we agree on this; We should care for the poor. It was unanimous. So, Paul would never say that caring for the poor was legalism or works.

I always say "Swimming won't make you a fish, but if you're a fish you will swim." So, we're certainly saved by Grace but once we're saved we will obey Jesus and show the kind of love that He commands us to.

THOMAS: It's also the Spirit of God. There's some kind of movement of faith. I'm not sure how it happens, but somehow the Spirit starts urging us deeper and deeper, filling us more with love. Pretty soon we can't help but want to do things like care for the poor and serve others.

KEITH: I agree. Then that becomes what marks us. Jesus said that this is how they would know that we were His disciples, that we love one another. It's also what Jesus is saying in Matthew 25. "I know you love me because you showed love in tangible ways to all these different people in all these different contexts." Not because you thought that if you did that you'd be saved. That's why they say, "When did we visit you in prison?" "When did we feed you?" The followers of Christ couldn't help but to demonstrate love to the people around them who needed mercy.

THOMAS: I like the metaphor that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It starts small and you look away for a few days and then, whoosh, it's grown out of control. That's who the Kingdom is. The Kingdom gets hold of a group of people trying to follow Jesus and it just starts growing up in their midst and drawing them in directions they never would've guessed.

KEITH: I love that too. It's like this weed that just grows and grows. You won't be able to stop it.

THOMAS: I also like that Jesus says that it will be a home for the fowls of the air. Not the doves or the songbirds.

KEITH: Yeah, the crows and the vultures.

THOMAS: What a perfect metaphor for the Kingdom. The low are at home there.

KEITH: I love digging into all those nuances. I used to think that Jesus was saying the Kingdom started small and grew into a beautiful tree. But really, the mustard seed is a weed and people used to work constantly to dig it out of their gardens and they didn't see it as a beautiful tree but as a pest. And the part about the fowls of the air making nests in it. I mean, THAT'S the Kingdom of God? Really?

THOMAS: I think a lot of parables are like that. The prodigal son is a great example of one that we think is so beautiful but to their culture it was shameful. First the father shames himself by lifting up his robes, and then he shames himself by running to his son. Those were shameful things in that culture. So, Jesus is saying that God is doing something shameful which would've seemed strange to those people.

KEITH: Yeah, I think that Jesus was much more of a head-scratcher than we think. His parable about the Good Shepherd is like that too. People in that day would've called that the Parable of the Stupid Shepherd because he left thousands of dollars in livestock unprotected to go get one stupid lamb. Those 99 would easily have given birth to twenty more in a few months to replace that one lamb. No "good shepherd" would ever do what Jesus described.

The most obvious example, of course, is where he says that people must drink his blood and eat his flesh and most of the people abandon him. In fact, the Twelve are so bewildered that Peter can only say, "Where else can we go? You have the words of life."

THOMAS: Amen.

[END OF INTERVIEW]

PART 3 - THOMAS CRISP INTERVIEW

2011-10-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

In this section Thomas and I get very personal and practical and discuss the differences between sharing and giving.
**
KEITH: In Western culture we think it's about giving more. We think of writing checks but I think it’s really more about what we'd call sharing that Jesus is wants. It's not just giving money apart from relationship with those who are poor. Really, I think it's knowing their names and understanding their struggles and making them your own. Then it may still involve sharing money, but it goes beyond a percentage tithe and becomes more about meeting a specific need for a specific person. It's sharing not just giving. Because you could write a check and not really engage with another human being in a meaningful way. To me, it’s almost like the Widows’ Mite, where writing a check for $100 to an impersonal organization is less impactful than sharing $20 with the person right in front of me.

THOMAS: Maybe you and I disagree on this, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s a both/and that Jesus wants us to divest ourselves of our extra resources, in love. That matters. That’s important in it’s own right. But also, the Shalom thing is, in the Shalom community everyone is included in the relationship. There are no outcasts. People are drawn into relationship. So, if I’m going to seek that for my brother as well as I seek it for myself, I’m not just going to give them food or money, but I’m also going to draw them into relationship if they’re lonely, I’m going to draw them into my church community, and around my personal table for dinner.

It means – to pursue the idea of Shalom – I both give my money away, and that I have people around my dinner table. You can’t separate those things.

KEITH: I think I totally agree with you. I think I’m meaning to say, more in the sense of “this” or “that”. In other words, usually if I’m having a conversation with a Christian to whom these concepts are foreign. They have no concept that to follow Jesus is at minimum a tacit invitation to interact with and engage with and love the poor around them in their community. To those people, their first reaction is that they’ll just start giving to World Vision and then they’re done. They’re off the hook, so to speak. And I would say that according to Jesus they are not done. I would say that Jesus really does want us to know someone who is poor by name, and to open our homes to them, and to welcome them into our lives. To me, following Jesus in this way is not primarily about just writing checks. We can write checks, but it only begins there, it doesn’t end there.

I mean, it’s good to give to World Vision. Our family has been supporting a girl in the Phillipines for years now through Arms of Love and we love that. But I would say that this isn’t enough in itself to fully walk in obedience to Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as ourselves or to care for the poor, the orphan and the widow.

To me what we’re called to is so much deeper. I think Jesus intends to mess up our plans and our lives with this. If it’s convenient for us we’re not where He wants us to be. I think that if you start down this road that God is going to put people in front of you who are poor and He’s going to challenge you to love them in a very real, personal way. I can’t imagine anything different.

THOMAS: I totally agree by the way. When Jesus says, “If you throw a banquet don’t invite your friends but the poor”, He’s calling us into table fellowship. To the extent that we’re trying to follow Jesus and to do the works that He did, Jesus is going around laying hands on lepers. He’s entering into close personal contact and fellowship with folks who are hurting. Drawing people into the joy of table fellowship – who would not otherwise be welcome – to include them, and He calls us to do the same.

So, yeah, it’s about inclusion and relationship AND economic sharing. It’s all of that.

KEITH: Do you feel like in the process of writing this paper that you arrived at some conclusions? Are you still struggling with these concepts now?

THOMAS: No, I’m totally struggling with it. I’ve got all kinds of hypocrisy. (laughs)

KEITH: (laughs) Me, too.

THOMAS: Like, the thing is, I’ve got tons of extra stuff and things and material in my life that I need to let go of.

KEITH: Same here.

I love this quote by Basil that you included in your paper.

What is a miser? One who is not content with what is
needful. What is a thief? One who takes what belongs to
others. Why do you not consider yourself a miser and a
thief when you claim as your own what you received in
trust? If one who takes the clothing off another is called a
thief, why give any other name to one who can clothe the
naked and refused to do so? The bread that you withhold
belongs to the poor; the cape that you hide in your chest
belongs to the naked; the shoes rotting in your house
belong to those who must go unshod.

Wow.

I have all of those things. I have shoes that I’m not wearing. I have probably 15 different jackets I don’t wear and shirts that just hang in my closet all year long.

THOMAS: I know. Think about the Rich Fool in Luke 12 who says “I’ll build bigger barns to have more room to store extra grain so I can take life easy”

KEITH: And Jesus says, “You fool...”

THOMAS: But that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’ve got a retirement account. I’m doing the same thing.

KEITH: I guess I have you beat on that account because I have no retirement savings whatsoever. I’m the fool in the eyes of the world, I guess. I’m not investing at all in any way so I guess I’ll have to work until the day I die. Or maybe my kids will get rich and support me? Or maybe I’ll end up homeless myself.

I don’t know if that’s really wisdom per se, but that’s how my life has worked out.

THOMAS: Well, this is what I wrestle with. We’ve got the retirement accounts. We’ve got savings accounts for our kid’s college.

KEITH: So, the question is, “Is that wrong?” Aren’t you seeking the Shalom of your children to go to college and get an education like you did. That’s not a bad thing, is it? I know from the experience I’ve had in the workforce that if I didn’t have my Bachelor’s degree I wouldn’t be able to provide for my family the same way I do today. That college degree did open doors for me that might not otherwise be opened.

THOMAS: I don’t have any problem giving my kids a college education, I guess. That’s like teaching them a trade.

KEITH: Yeah, I think if you had the ability to help your kids with an education and you didn’t I think that would actually be wrong.

THOMAS: I’m actually fine with that. I’m even fine with saving for retirement, I guess, but that starts to get trickier. But there are other luxuries like, I’ve got a $65 smartphone plan.

KEITH: But there were people in the first century church who would be considered rich. I agree with you that Jesus’ command was to seek the Shalom of others, and in that context of the Kingdom to consider your wealth as a tool to influence people for the Kingdom and to use it for the good of others as you see the need. It seems that there is an allowance for maintaining some level of wealth but keeping it with an open hand so that as you encounter poverty you are free to share that with others.

THOMAS: Definitely.

KEITH: I don’t see any condemnation for those of us who haven’t just gone straight into voluntary poverty. There’s still a mandate for us to provide for our family and to take care of our children. But, striving to have a posture and a heart that says, “God if you ask me to give or to share what I have it’s yours.”

THOMAS: I think that’s right. But I don’t think you have to read Jesus’ teachings as being about that. I think that if you look really closely at what He says, He says things like, “Don’t store up treasure for yourself here on Earth.” So we think, “Oh, he wants me to give everything away.” But in the very next passage He says “Seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be provided for you.” What things? Food, clothing and shelter. So, I don’t think this is an ethic of indigence. This is not about literally giving it all way so that you have nothing because in the very next breath He’s saying that if you do this God’s make sure that you’ve got those things – all that stuff – to provide for your basic needs.

I think it’s actually an ethic of simplicity that Jesus calls us to. He saying we need to get rid of all the stuff that’s extra. Like in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the man dressed in fine linen and purple while the poor were suffering all around him.

KEITH: But, do you think that getting rid of it (the excess stuff) is something we should do this weekend, all at once? Or is it more of the process of getting rid of it as you go through your life and encounter people who need the excess stuff you have. Like, you meet a man who needs shoes and you have an extra pair so you share it.

Is it about pushing the button to eject all your worldly possessions or is it about daily trusting God to show you who you need to share your stuff with in relationship?

Wendy and I have talked a lot about this because it’s easy for me to give myself a guilt trip. Wendy always asks me, “Is there any specific thing that you feel like God asked you to do and you refused?” and if I can’t honestly say that I’ve been disobedient in some way then I have no cause to beat myself up. But if I can look and see that there were specific times when God did call me to go here and do this or let go of something or share something, then I am walking in obedience and I’m not withholding anything from God or from others. What do you think about that?

THOMAS: I guess what I think about that is, the whole thing has to be viewed through the lens of the Prodigal Son. The Father’s attitude towards us is not one of being angry because we haven’t given away enough stuff, it’s that He’s running toward us with loving arms, wanting to embrace us. So, I guess I think that He has a lot of patience with us and with the process, and recognizes that it’s going to be a process. I think He guides us deeper and deeper into this process, slowly rejoicing with us as we go.

But I also think that there is this radical call to sell our stuff and care for the poor. So, I guess I think that I wouldn’t be doing wrong if you caught the vision and you suddenly divested yourself of all your excess wealth and shared it with the suffering. It wouldn’t be that you’d done any wrong there. I think God would celebrate that action as well.

For the rest of us who are gradually working our way into this, and slowly easing into a more radical simplicity, I think He rejoices at that too.

But, I do suspect that for most of us it’s this process.

KEITH: For myself I see it more as a process and I feel as if God has a place He’s taking me. He’s teaching me things daily that He wants me to show me, about myself, and about His own heart for others. And He has been. If I look back on my whole life – even before I came to Him – I can see that He was working in my life. So, He’s still doing that today.

I can remember specifically when I was still in High School and praying to God, feeling a call to a more radical lifestyle of holiness and service, and I remember in that moment saying to God that I completely agreed with this vision. I completely wanted to end up in that place. I say “Yes” to that, God. That’s where I want to end up. That’s who I want you to make me into. That’s where I want to go with you. But, you know me and you have mercy for me and grace for me because you know that it will be slow. I can’t do that all by tomorrow. But by your grace that’s where I want to go with Jesus.

I take great comfort from scriptures that reveal that God remembers that we’re made of dust. He knows we’re weak. “I believe. Help my unbelief.”

THOMAS: Or the thief on the cross. Or Zaccheus. Both examples of God’s delight and response to people in process.

KEITH: That’s a comforting truth. It can be so…let’s say someone reads your article or reads this interview. It can be so challenging. I mean, it can just scare the crap out of you. A lot of people could have the reaction, “I can’t do this. This is too much.” In despair they could say, “I guess I’m just not a true follower of Jesus” and walk away from their faith.

What I want to say to encourage people who might be in that place is that all God is looking for is someone who is willing to be willing. He’s looking for someone who will say, “God, I love you and I hear what you’re saying about loving the poor, and in my wildest dreams I would love to have you make me into someone who is like Jesus. I would love to become someone who could let go of everything and anything you asked me to, but I can’t be that guy right now. I can’t make myself into that kind of person by my own strength.”

I think that if we’re willing to take one moment at a time, one day at a time, and take up our crosses daily and learn from Jesus how to die to ourselves and allow Him to show us how to love the way He loves and how to give the way He gives and how to forgive the way He forgives, He will do it. He is faithful when we are not.

I think that for anyone who says that, God will say, “Ok. I’ll take that. I can work with that.” A mustard seed’s worth of faith is enough.

THOMAS: Oh, I agree. I think it would be a mistake to take this batch of teachings from Jesus and come away with guilt and fear. God is a Father of tender compassion. He has lots of room for process, like you say. Secondly, this call to divest ourselves of excess resource is an invitation into the abundant life. This is the easy yoke. This is where our burdens are light.

KEITH: It's a treasure hidden in a field that you can't wait to sell everything to obtain.

THOMAS: It's an invitation into a joyous mode of life.

KEITH: Not an invitation to misery and poverty and disease and sickness and hunger. That's the side of it we fear. Jesus just wants to take me through so much suffering and pain. He just wants to pull my soul through a giant cheese grater and rip me to shreds. But that's not what He wants. He wants to show you that his way is true life. We give up our empty, selfish way of living to find true life in Christ.

THOMAS: I think this has not just spiritual application but material implication. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus says that those who have given up everything in this life to follow me - given up houses, and children, brothers, mothers, sisters, fathers, in this life - won't fail to receive ten times as much in this life and in the life to come.

He includes in that list not just family, but farms, interestingly. Property!

So, I think to sell one's possessions and follow Jesus and give all one's stuff to the poor is for the community, not just one person. I think whenever we do this we never do it alone. It's always in community.

As we step into this with others we're always being taken care of by those who are also following Jesus this way. It's a joyous life where all of us in community have enough.

We shouldn't feel guilty because God is a God of infinite patience and He's happy to walk us through the process. It's not a thing to fear, it's the way to true life and light burdens, and it's the way to joy where everyone has enough and everyone shares in the Shalom of God.

But this is very different from the American Dream.

KEITH: Yeah, and I think that's the huge collision. Really. I think that's the biggest stumbling block for Western Christians, especially if your idea of being a Christian is connected to the pursuit of happiness, owning a home, starting your own business, amassing wealth for yourself, etc.

They are actually totally opposite messages. One carries the message that you should gain more wealth, more property, more status, more respect in the community...

THOMAS: ...to be more independent.

KEITH: Exactly! I don't need community. I mean, the worst thing that could happen to me is that I might ever need to depend on someone else for anything like food or shelter. The American Dream is all about being self-sufficient.

The Gospel is about moving into relationship with the poor, it's about moving into community with other believers, it's about becoming less self important and less selfish and less independent, but more dependent upon God and others for life.

In the Western mind, Jesus is there to help me get that new car or grow my business or buy a bigger house. That's what Jesus, my co-pilot, will help me do.

THOMAS: If you think about the American Dream it's about increased status, increased wealth, increased independence. Following Jesus is about going in the absolute opposite direction on all three points.

[END OF PART 3]

PART 2 - THOMAS CRISP INTERVIEW

2011-10-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

Part 1 of our dialog ended with me asking Thomas an important question about what Jesus was asking us as His followers to give up and how far we should take this idea. Before we get around to discussing that, Thomas and I took a tangent first.**

KEITH: Before we get into that, I wanted to first touch on something that you and I talked about a few months ago about what happened in the early church. In Acts chapter two we see thousands of people who have not only taken Jesus as their promised Messiah, but they've embraced the idea of God's Kingdom as coming today and they're living in a community of true Shalom. So, people who didn't even know one another a few days ago are now loving each other enough to sell property and share it with these former strangers because they are now joyously citizens of a Kingdom community of Shalom on Earth.

Because of their full acceptance of Jesus and their understanding that the Kingdom of God was being established within their actual lives, they were able to fulfill the Great Commandments to Love God and Love One Another with complete integrity.

What's also fascinating about that is the idea that their response to the poor around them was to risk their own poverty and identify themselves with those who were suffering. Whereas in our culture we see ministry to the poor as finding ways to lift the poor up to identify with our wealth.

In contrast, we're not so quick to repent of our affluence in order to bless the poor. We're more interested in staying where we are economically and working to improve the standard of living of the poor in our community.

To go down, to humble ourselves in order to risk our own poverty so that the poor might have enough isn't very popular. We'd rather "eradicate poverty" and find a way to give every homeless person a job, a nice car, a cozy apartment, a big screen television, etc. That's our goal. Our compassion doesn't include letting go of our stuff. To be fair, I haven't embraced this myself.

THOMAS: It's not just economic. It's also social. When Jesus says, "when you have a banquet don't invite your rich friends and relatives because they could pay you back" Pay you back in what? It's not just that they might invite you to their house, it's that they raise your social status. Instead, Jesus says we are to invite the poor, the blind, the lame, and others who would only lower your social status.

KEITH: That's why you got kicked out of McDonalds.

THOMAS: (laughs) Yes!

KEITH: "No, you can't speak to the manager" (laughs)

THOMAS: Yes, that's the very first time I've ever experienced anything like that. (Thomas was recently kicked out of McDonald's by an employee for sitting and talking to his homeless friend over coffee just before this interview).

KEITH: You should rejoice over that, my friend.

THOMAS: I know. It occured to me, why am I so upset about this? I should be rejoicing. I'm acutally living the Gospel here!

KEITH: That's never happened to me. I'm jealous.

THOMAS: I was so indignant. It just shows you what's in my heart. I was just holding on to my social status there.

KEITH: Of course. You and I know that people wouldn't treat us that way.

THOMAS: I'm a Biola Professor for goodness sakes! I even said that to the manager.

KEITH: Don't you know who I am? You can't help but pull in your clout.

THOMAS: Yeah!

KEITH: You don't treat ME that way.

THOMAS: That's exactly it. But then it was crystal clear to me later that this is what I'm supposed to do - to give up social status in order to love the poor. So, yeah, I think what you're saying is exactly right. I think we're called to move in the direction of ecnomic simplicity and insecurity and give up our social status to love others.

KEITH: It's one thing if sometimes the homeless people at Isaiah House mistake you for a homeless person. Because those people are loved at Isaiah House. It's perfectly acceptable to be homeless there. Because that mistaken identity and that solidarity with them becomes a sign of your being welcomed in that place by those people. You're one of them. But if you're treated as a homeless person outside of that context it's very different. Suddenly our pride wells up and we feel the need to defend our honor or something.

THOMAS: It was really degrading. I've never been kicked out of a restaurant before.

KEITH: And a McDonald's of all things! It's not like a four star restaurant where you're not wearing a tie or using the wrong fork or something. It's McDonald's!

THOMAS: (laughs)

KEITH: I love it. (laughs)

Let's get back to the article and talk more about how far we take these implications. I mean, if I were a single college student, if I were Shane Claiborne or something, I think I might be more eager to say "screw it" and sell all my stuff, go stay over at the Salvation Army or sleep at the Civic Center or whatever. I mean, I think I would do that. I'm not sure. But, being that I'm not single, I'm married, I've got two teenage sons who depend on me. I don't want to drag my family into poverty. The reality of following Jesus into this kind of radical love and sharing is scary. It seems kind of impossible to be honest.

I know people who aren't married and they're still asking these questions. How close to poverty do I go before maybe I'm in sin because I'm not taking care of my own children? Do I seek the Shalom of others until I become a burden on the community myself?

THOMAS: The way that I read it is, the call to love your neighbor as yourself is a call to pursue the Shalom of your neighbor the way you seek it for yourself. Or, to put his Shalom on par with your own Shalom. But notice that's not a call to put the pursuit of your neighbor's Shalom above your own or your wife and kids. We're not called to starve so that others can know Shalom. Maybe sometimes that would be appropriate, to fast for a time to share with someone who had nothing, but that's not the norm.

KEITH: The early church did do that actually. Quite often a stranger would come into town after the weekly distribution of food and they would eagerly fast for the week in order to give their food to the person in need. That's astounding to me. Frankly because it would have never occured to me to do that.

THOMAS: Or for christians to go into plague-ridden towns to minister to the sick, knowing that they themselves would get the plague and die as well.

KEITH: Or that they could die.

THOMAS: Yes, I love reading about people walking out of a plague-ridden city to escape it as the Christians were walking into the city to offer mercy to those who were dieing.

So, there are special circumstances but that goes beyond the love command. The love command only asks us to put the Shalom of others on par with my own Shalom. It's mainly about pursuing needless luxury while there are people suffering in my community. I see the love command calling me to a point where I no longer put my Shalom above that of others. If I divest myself of my needless luxuries I will get to a point where I'm not putting my Shalom ahead of others and I am still able to feed my family.

How far do we take that? Jesus never tells us this. I don't think he was wanting us to treat these as precise rules. I think it's something like, "Keep on giving until giving more wouldn't be possible without losing joy." Where exactly is that line? I think there's no line, per se. It's a principle that every individual person must discover.

KEITH: So, it's about equally sharing the Shalom of the community. But, that's still farther than most of us are willing to go. It's still about coming waaayy down from what I'm comfortable with.

Just to play Devil's Advocate; that argument seems to be a softening of Jesus' command to sell everything, give it to the poor and follow Him. If Jesus' specific command was to get rid of our possessions so that we would have nothing in order to be His disciple, that's more radical isn't it?

I mean, for those first disciples when they heard Jesus say the things we've already looked at, they understood it to mean an actual liquidation of everything they owned in order to walk to the next town, sleep under a tree and eat whatever they could find. Jesus was homeless and his disciples, according to Peter, gave up all they had to follow Jesus. So, are we getting off easy by saying now that what Jesus wanted was only for some kind of equilibrium in the community where everyone is content with "enough"?

Is he only saying "Sell your excess and give to the poor"?

To me, the reason that Jesus didn't say to Nicodemus "Sell all that you have" is because that wasn't his problem. His problem was that he needed to become like a baby and be born again. So, to me, the reason that Jesus gives different answers to that question ("What must I do to gain eternal life?") is that he's keying in on that specific person's area of need. The Rich Young Ruler had a lot of money, and so Jesus saw that this was what he had to surrender to enter the Kingdom. Nicodemus needed to surrender his status in the society. Zacheus needed to repent of his greed.

That's how I've understood those verses. But, it seems like Jesus might be saying to every disciple "Sell your possessions, give to the poor, and follow me."

David Ruis pointed out to me once that we do see that there were wealthy people among the members of the early church. We see that some owned property, some owned businesses, and the fact that James has to rebuke the church for treating the rich among them with greater respect must mean that the rich and the poor were side by side.

So, is this a universal command for every disciple to embrace poverty? If it's not for everyone, if it's only for some people, then what are we even talking about it for? You can either do this or not do it.

THOMAS: The way I look at it, it IS a universal command not to store up treasure for ourselves here but to share what we have with the poor. I see that Jesus warns us not to be like the Rich Man from the Parable of Lazarus who surrounded himself with luxury while people were starving outside his house. I think sometimes there's Jewish hyperbole being employed when Jesus says, "Sell ALL that you have" to the Rich Young Ruler, but I think it's the same teaching Jesus gives on the Sermon on the Mount. It's consistent with his teaching to the disciples to give up all they have in order to become his disciples. I think the goal is to divest ourselves of needless wealth in order to share the community of Shalom with everyone - to the point that we would have to stop and ask ourselves if sharing this or that might be taking it too far.

The goal is not destitution. It's not so that we should become homeless. It's about radical simplicity. I think that's what Jesus calls us all to.

Then we have the question, "What does that look like?" and that's what we have to work out.

KEITH: There's always going to be a question of how far is too far and we could ask those questions of many other scriptures.

THOMAS: The key thing is not to store up treasures here and now but to store up our treasure in heaven. That's for everybody. We can't love both God and money. That is a universal teaching for every disciple.

KEITH: In other words - and I agree with you - if your intention is to be a disciple of Jesus you have to work these things out for yourself. You can't ignore it. You can't dismiss this. If you really want to put the words of Jesus into practice in your actual life you need to ask the question and you need to have an ongoing wrestle with these questions. You and God need to have peace over these challenging ideals. Are we being obedient to Jesus in this area?

THOMAS: I see it as a constant learning to divest oneself of wealth and status. It's a process. Like Zaccheus who says, "I'm going to give away half my possessions to anyone I've wronged" and Jesus says, "You got it!"

KEITH: And he only gave half of his stuff away!

THOMAS: It's a process. Yes.

KEITH: You and I have both had to make hard decisions about how to help people that God puts in front of you. How do we help them? What do we give up or give away to bring them into Shalom with God and in the community? I think God is active in this process. If we're willing to work it out and if we give God permission to give us the kind of heart that is willing to let go and to share whatever is needed, He will do that. He will change us in this process.

I think it's all part of our own personal sanctification. I think God is the one who will challenge us. We don't need to work up the courage to sell everything all at once. It's like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, if we could sell all that have and give it to the poor but we don't have love to go with it, it's pointless.

In other words, we could do the actions but have be an empty and worthless act in God's eyes. We have to motivated by love or there's no point.

THOMAS: I like the picture of Jesus leading us more and more in the ways of the Cross and leading us into self-giving love. We can love with our money and our possessions. If we give ourselves to Jesus then He will take us further down the road into relationships where we can let go of our possessions and embrace people who need love. Like you say, once we open ourselves to this He starts bringing things our way and challenging us to not store up treasures for ourselves but to give it away in love.

[END OF PART 2]

Interview: Thomas Crisp and the Sin of Affluenza

2011-10-13T22:36:00.001-07:00

My good friend Thomas Crisp is a professor of Philosophy at Biola University. We became friends because we share a similar passion for issues of justice and following Christ into community with the poor.

Recently, Thomas wrote an influential philosophy paper entitled "Jesus and Affluence" which I was fortunate enough to read. After considering the arguments in this paper, I asked Thomas if he would agree to an interview where we could discuss the paper in a more conversational manner and allow me to post the results on my blog. He graciously agreed to this and here is the first part of my hour and a half interview with Thomas.

The basic argument in his paper is based on a premise by philosopher Peter Singer which states that "If it is in your power to prevent something bad from happening, without sacrificing anything nearly as important, it is wrong not to do so."

Additionally, Singer goes on to support this concept with the following:

On your way to work, you pass a small pond. One day, you
notice that a small child has fallen in the pond and is
having trouble staying afloat. You look around and see that
you are the only one who can help. You can easily wade in
and save the child, but after a moment’s thought, you
realize that, if you do, you’ll ruin the rather expensive
shoes and slacks you’re wearing and be late for work. You
pass by and the child dies.

Quoting from the paper, Thomas concludes:

"Surely your conduct here is abominable. But why? Because, says Singer, it’s a fundamental principle of morality that, if it is in your
power to prevent something bad from happening without sacrificing anything nearly as important, it is wrong not to do so. Cases like the pond case make this principle plausible. Singer's conclusion is severe: if it's right, our prodigious spending on luxury and frill (fancy houses, boats, cars, clothes, dinners, vacations, etc.) is morally wrong."

"Singer proposes that his argument, though demanding in its
implications, fits nicely with some of our most respected ethical
traditions. For example, it fits nicely, he suggests, with Jesus’
teaching on wealth and poverty. Jesus, he proposes, is an ally of
his argument."

With this basic idea in mind, Thomas and I sat down to discuss these implications further.

KEITH: Briefly, talk a bit about your inspiration for this paper.

THOMAS: I’ve been wrestling with the Peter Singer argument for years now.

KEITH: In what way are you wrestling with it?

THOMAS: The implications are so demanding and so radical. I was kind of hesitant to follow the philosophical argument to where it may lead.

KEITH: Some people would say that your problem is that you’re taking philosophical concepts and actually attempting to put them into practice. They’re just philosophical arguments.

But, you’re like me in that respect. If the principle is true you need to let it guide your actions.

THOMAS: Exactly. That’s kind of how you and I got acquainted. I had this kind of epiphany – a kind of second conversion experience – where the Gospels presented themselves afresh to me as Jesus saying “If you want to follow me you have to love the vulnerable; you have to give yourself in love, and quit being like the rich man in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus who dressed himself in purple in fine linen every day while poor people lay starving at his doorstep."

KEITH: I love that in your article you point out something that I don’t think I’ve seen before, which is that in the parable when the Rich Man asks if Abraham can send Lazarus back to warn his brothers – that what he wants his brothers to be warned about is not to live the way he lived, (ignoring the poor). I think usually we assume that what the Rich Man wants his brothers to be warned about is not to reject Christ as Messiah, but that’s not even in the parable at all. The whole point seems to be, if you ignore the poor as the Rich Man did, you’ll end up on the wrong side of the judgment. So, the whole point of the parable is not to live as this man did; not to amass wealth for yourself and ignore those living in poverty around you. Frankly, until you pointed it out to me I didn’t see that this parable is a warning for us not to ignore the poor.

THOMAS: That’s right. That parable, and other teachings of Jesus, presented themselves to me afresh, in a powerful and life-changing way. So, as a result I dropped all of my scholarly projects and work and decided I needed to write and think about issues that matter. I couldn’t afford to waste my time with interesting puzzles anymore.

KEITH: What kind of projects were you working on at that time?

THOMAS: Issues of the philosophy of time and abstract metaphysical arguments about time and the nature of space. All very interesting, but it started to feel like fiddling while Rome was in flames. So, I wrote a letter to Nicholas Wolterstorff who is a really thoughtful Christian philosopher who writes on Justice and asked him, “Where is there need for a philosopher to help out on issues that matter for the vulnerable?” He said, “Well, there’s need all over the place. There’s hardly any Christian philosophers working on these topics so I recommend you find something that’s of interest to you and dig in.”

KEITH: See, that’s shocking to me. There are not a lot of Christian philosophers writing and thinking about Justice? I mean, I would understand if philosopher’s in general didn’t want to explore this area, but Christian philosophers – if they’re not wrestling with these practical issues of love and justice – then what are they wrestling with? These issues of “What does it mean to follow Christ and put His teachings into practice in the world today” seem to be the paramount issue that all Christians (philosophers or otherwise) should be concerned about. Are they also working on issues like time and space and reality?

THOMAS: Yeah. There’s been a flowering of Christian philosophy in the past 30 years or so, but it’s mostly been focused on metaphysics, epistemology and physics, and not so much on social ethics.

KEITH: So, are you thinking of going deeper in this new direction?

THOMAS: Oh yes. I had a book project that I had been working on for 3 years or so and I trashed it and cleared off most of my commitments to pursue the ethics of poverty and peace and violence. So, since I had been wrestling with the Singer argument forever I decided to focus my attention on this. Singer says that you shouldn’t be too scandalized by the radical conclusion of his argument because some of our most respected ethical thinkers have been saying the same thing for thousands of years. Jesus, for instance.

KEITH: He doesn’t develop that assertion?

THOMAS: He gives a couple of verses of Jesus and he quotes Aquinas on the issue, but that’s all. So, I thought I’d start with Singer’s argument and I wanted to see if he was right about Jesus being in agreement with his assertions. So, I decided to start with the Love command that Jesus gives us.

KEITH: One of the things I wanted to ask you to expand more on is the idea of the command to love God and to love others being tied to the Jewish concept of Shalom, which as you point out is more than simply "Peace".

THOMAS: The original context of the command to love your neighbor as yourself is taken from Leviticus 19 and it shows up after a series of specific commands like, 'be sure to leave extra on your fields after the harvest so the poor can glean from it' and 'don't trip a blind man or curse a deaf person', 'be sure to pay your laborers on time', 'rebuke your neighbor so as not to partake in his sin', and all kinds of commandments about how to treat one another well in the context of community. After this long list of such commands you finally get this "so love your neighbor as you love yourself' and Wolterstorff points out in his forthcoming book that the neighbor-love command there is meant to be a summary of all these other commands.

This got me to thinking, "Is there anything that these specific commands (leading up to the summary command) have in common?" What I see is that, to live in accord with these commands would be to engage in the Shalom community.

The Old Testament version of Shalom as you find it in the prophets, in the Law, in the Psalms, is as a community in which there is enough. There's enough food for everyone, there's enough safety from harm, there's enough justice for all, there's enough celebration where everyone is included and people care for each other.

KEITH: The idea is that everyone is included in everything the community enjoys; peace, safety, food, drink, clothing, shelter, etc.

THOMAS: Yes, everyone is included in these "enoughs".

KEITH: And the point of this is that if someone is not included in this then it is not truly Shalom. The community has no Shalom (peace) if certain people are not also being fed, or sheltered, or clothed, or welcome. So, those in the community who might have enough for themselves might say, "We have Shalom" but God would look at them and say, "You have no real Shalom because you're not including everyone and welcoming them into my peace."

THOMAS: Yes. In the true Shalom community, the poorest of the poor must be included in the "enough". The vulnerable, disabled neighbor is included in the "enough". There's only real Shalom (peace) when everyone is included in the community and shares in the "enough".

So, it looks like the list of commands in Leviticus 19 which are summarized by the love your neighbor as yourself command are intended to be a snapshot of what it looks like to live in a Shalom community. If you're living in a community of "enough" or Shalom you'll be leaving extra in your fields for the poor to glean, you'll be paying your workers on time, you'll be doing all of these things.

KEITH: You'll be honoring the lame, taking into consideration those who are blind and deaf in your community...

THOMAS: ...caring for the disabled, being honest in the courts, and ensuring that all in the community have enough food, shelter, safety, justice, and so forth. This is arrived at by obeying all these commands.

So, that made me think that the love that is being enjoyed and shared in this Shalom community is the love that seeks to include your neighbor in all of this, in the same way you are inclined to seek your own inclusion. We're naturally inclined to seek our own inclusion in this community of "enough" and we want our loved ones to be included as well, so we must also seek to include everyone in the community so that there can be true Shalom and everyone can enjoy the same love, peace, safety and justice.

That, then, made the Parable of the Good Samaritan collide in a new way for me. One of the interesting passages in the Old Testament where you see the notion of Shalom offered is in the book of Judges where there's the story of a sojourner who's making his way through the town and no one will take him in for the night. So, he's sitting in the town square and an old man comes to him and is shamed when he realizes that his community has not extended hospitality to this stranger. He quickly says, "Shalom to you!" and he takes him into his home and cares for all of his needs. He includes him in the peace of their community by showing him hospitality.

KEITH: Yes, it's not just saying "Peace to you!" and going on your way. Or as James says, "If you see a brother or sister poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and say only 'Go in peace (shalom) be warmed and filled' without giving them the food or shelter they need, what good is that?" (James 2:16). The actions must match the sentiment. We must bring them in.

THOMAS: Bring them in to the community of care, the community of enough.

So, it looks to me like the Parable of the Good Samaritan is alluding to this same passage in Judges. If you read that and then hear Jesus you immediately see that the Samaritan is including the man on the side of the road into the community of Shalom. Then Jesus says, "Go and do the same." Who are we supposed to love? Who is our neighbor? If the command to love our neighbor as ourself really is about Shalom, then the Parable of the Good Samaritan means that anyone you run across who is in need - or who is outside the community of enough or Shalom - needs to be brought into that community.

KEITH: I love what you pointed out about the Parable of the Good Samaritan, when Jesus says, "Go and do likewise" as the punchline of the story, you say, "We should imitate the behavior of the Samaritan...note though, the Samaritan in the story does not love his benefactor, he does not love only the member of his own community, he loves someone outside of his community." He's a Samaritan who is loving a Jew - someone outside of what would be considered "his community" and Jesus says, "Love like that."

The genius of this parable, to me, is that once you pick out all the nuances of what Jesus is doing in this story it takes on so many layers of meaning. Not only is the Jewish man the bad guy in this story, if you will, but because he's made the hated Samaritan the one showing Shalom, again to someone outside his own community, it's like an unspoken challenge that basically says, "Don't let the pagans, or the Samaritans outdo you in this Shalom." It's like he's saying, "Surely you can love even as much as an unbeliever can. Whatever this Samaritan did, as extravagant as it might seem, we can certainly, at minimum love as least as much as someone like that, can't we?"

As I was reading it again it seemed like such an in-your-face challenge.

THOMAS: That seems right. If it is a parable about Shalom and it's showing us who we need to include in this "enough" community, then when you look back at the Leviticus 19 passage it seems to have evolved out of this love command. The command is not just to share the Gospel, but to include people in the Shalom community where everyone has enough shelter, justice, and all the rest. Who am I to do this for? Anyone who is in need.

KEITH: I think it's a good point to make because I've been in conversations with people before who will say that going to this extreme of putting people in motel rooms or buying them food or letting them sleep on your couch, those steps are secondary and of lesser importance. What those people really need is the Gospel. So, if you really want to love them the way Jesus means it when he says, "Love your neighbor as yourself" then you'll tell them that they're going to burn in hell forever if they don't say a prayer. But, if what you're suggesting here is true and if Jesus is really summarizing these Levitcal commands and all of the Law and Prophets with the command to "Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself" then it seems the love command is really about showing actual compassion and demonstrating a love that results in shared food, shelter, and clothing. It's not consistent to share the message of the Gospel without also seeking the Shalom of the whole person.

I think this is why Jesus points out that the second greatest command is "like unto the first" greatest command. Loving God is intertwined with loving others. If we say we love God and hate our brother we're liars, according to the first letter of John, or "If you see a brother in need and do nothing how can the love of God be in you?" (1 John 3:17)

So, these concepts of loving God and showing actual, tangible love to people in our community cannot be separated. We express love for God when we express love for a neighbor, and vice versa. It then seems that it's very much about putting them up in a motel, or buying them groceries, or giving them the shoes off your feet, or whatever their immediate need might be. That IS loving God and that IS loving others.

THOMAS: I think that's right. I think that's why it makes perfect sense for Jesus to say, "Sell your possessions and give to the poor" and why at the Judgment Jesus will say, "You fed me when I was hungry and you clothed me when I was naked". Of course those are the things that you should do if you are seeking to obey the heart of the Law and the Prophets. If we're seeking the Shalom of our community then of course we're going to be feeding people.

KEITH: You and I have talked about this before, and I love how in your paper you point out something controversial. When Jesus commands the Rich Young Ruler to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor we usually hear objections from modern Christians that this command was only made to this specific person and not to every disciple of Jesus.

THOMAS: Not true. Jesus says to the disciples in Luke 12:33, "Sell your possessions and give to the needy" and in Luke 14:33 he says that "anyone who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." In Matthew 6:19 he says to the disciples that they should not "lay up for (themselves) treasure on earth" but to lay up "treasures in heaven."

KEITH: So, Jesus did say to the disciples...

THOMAS: He DID say to them, "the way to lay up treasure in heaven, the way to do it is to sell your possessions and give them to the poor."

KEITH: So, that teaching and Singer's argument, have radical implications don't they? As you point out, if Singer is right, and if Jesus agrees with him, then for someone who says "I'm following Christ," these are pretty frightening and challenging realities. So, the next question is, "Where do I draw the line?" I mean, do I just need to go to eBay and sell everything now? Do I have a massive garage sale and empty out my house and then become homeless myself? Is that what Jesus is requiring of me?

[END OF PART 1]

Success, Failure and the Kingdom of God

2011-10-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

The Kingdom of God is for losers. Those who are blind, broken, forgotten, poor, marginalized, weak, sick, sinful and sad are right at home in the Kingdom. In fact, those who consider themselves to be healthy, self-sufficient, popular, rich, strong, righteous and in control aren’t even able to see the Kingdom of God, much less find the door and enter in. Even if they did, they honestly wouldn’t want to continue living in a place where their riches, popularity, righteousness and pride weren’t celebrated.

Jesus was quite clear that only the sick were in need of Him. (see Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32) Only the sinners were capable of being welcomed into His healing embrace. Those who can see have no need of being healed from blindness, do they? Those who already have a great life cannot receive the eternal life that Jesus provides, unless they’re willing to let go of their life and follow Him.

"In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." (Jesus) - Luke 14:33

This is exactly why Jesus warns us that the rich cannot enter the Kingdom of God. He says it’s impossible, really. (see Matt 19:24) A rich man already has all that he needs so he doesn’t realize that what Jesus offers might actually be worth trading his riches for. The more we have to lose the less likely it is that we will succeed at losing it for the Kingdom.

In the Kingdom of God everything is upside down from the reality we’re used to. The first are now the last. The humble are exalted and the proud are laid low. The greatest is the servant. Only those people who lose their lives find true life in Christ, and even then they must still die daily.

It’s the surrender of life that trips most people up, frankly. Especially those of us who have been raised to believe that we have certain rights to freedom and happiness and wealth and fame. The American Dream is an alternate path, not a parallel one. You cannot serve both God and money, Jesus said. If you love one, you will hate the other.

Success in this life can prevent us from fully embracing the Good News of the Kingdom that Jesus proclaims. In fact, success in the Kingdom looks like total failure to the world we live in – Giving away your possessions; Sharing with people who can’t pay you back; Forgiving people who don’t deserve it; Loving people who can only hurt you – all of these things seem like failure to those who are not of the Kingdom. It makes no sense to them. Why would we fail on purpose? Why would we lay down our lives for the scum of the Earth? Without eyes to see the Kingdom there’s no point in trying to explain it really. But we must still fail in the eyes of the world if we hope to succeed in the Kingdom of God. To put it another way, “We fail to succeed at failure when we succeed at failing to fail.”

Jesus is for losers. The Kingdom of God is for those who mourn. The Good News is that everyone can enter the Kingdom right now. But the price of admission is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and a willingness to surrender everything in order to receive the treasure of the Kingdom.

“The Kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44)

-kg

WINNING GOD'S LOTTERY

2011-10-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

It’s not hard to understand why people long to be financially secure and dream of winning the Lottery. People can’t help but dream of a life where every need is taken care of in advance and all fears of the unknown tomorrow are laid to rest. But money does not perform that work in us.

We have convinced ourselves that money will take away our anxiety about tomorrow. We believe that with enough money we will never need to worry about anything again. But one can plainly see that the Millionaires in our world are not the most peaceful, content and worry-free among us.

Having money usually brings more anxiety along with it. Keeping money and protecting it and finding ways to earn more of it is a never-ending process that consumes the human mind and poisons the heart. Money does not bring us peace, or happiness, or joy. A recent study by the University of Rochester confirms this fact. In the study, one of the researchers, Edward Deci, a professor of psychology, concluded that, "even though our culture puts a strong emphasis on attaining wealth and fame, pursuing these goals does not contribute to having a satisfying life.”

In fact, according to the results of this study, being rich, famous, well-respected, or beautiful can actually have the opposite effect. It can actually make you miserable.

Want proof? Just watch a half hour entertainment news program on television and you’ll see the evidence: Drug abuse, infidelity, diva tantrums, criminal acts, psychological meltdowns, and other assorted examples of self-destructive behavior. It’s no different for politicians, CEO’s or lottery winners either.

The secret to real happiness and contentment is not found in the things of this world. It’s not found in our circumstance. I’ve met people who are dirt poor and yet full of joy. I’ve met people who are rich beyond belief and yet still empty inside.

In Matthew 6, Jesus confidently assures us that, if we will change our perspective to align with the Kingdom of God, we can enjoy the peaceful, stress free sort of life we’ve always dreamed of. According to Jesus we already have all we need for our life today. God has already provided each of us with our daily bread. Just as God cares for the daily needs of sparrows, He cares even more for us.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" - Matthew 6:25-26

Jesus also tells us that we do not need to worry about tomorrow. Why? Because God has everything - absolutely everything - under complete and perfect control.

"So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:31-34

Of course, if God is in control, that means that you and I are not. This is what most of us really struggle with. But we can't have it both ways. If God is in control, we are not. That's why trusting God is so important. Without trust, we are filled with anxiety and strife. But if we can let go of everything and trust that God is good, that He really loves us, and that He really only wants what’s best for us, then trusting Him is the only response that makes sense.

So, who is truly rich? Isn't it the person who has all they need right now and who has no fear or anxiety about tomorrow? Jesus urges us to live that way right now. As citizens of the Kingdom of God, our daily bread is secure and Jesus has tomorrow under complete control.

If you have eyes to see the Kingdom, you have already won the greatest Lottery of all. You are a child of the Creator of the Universe. You’ve been adopted into His family. He loves you. Everything is going to be alright.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:11-13

-kg

TO LOVE IS TO DIE TO SELF

2011-10-06T04:56:00.000-07:00

According to Jesus, all of the Law can be summed up in just two simple commands, “Love God” and “Love others as you love yourself.” This means that whenever we break the Law, or sin, we are essentially failing to love either God or our fellow man. (See Matthew 22:37-40)

Jesus also suggests that the two commands are connected; "...and the second is like the first..."; which would mean that if we don’t love God then we won’t love others, and if we don’t love others then we’re not really loving God either. (see 1 John 4:20)

Whenever we sin, we’re misdirecting our love for God and others and we’re aiming it at ourselves. Because we love our own pleasure more than we love our spouse we look at pornography. Because we love our own comfort more than we love the homeless we keep on walking and pretend not to see them. Because we love our own reputation more than we love our co-worker we keep our mouth shut whenever someone asks us about our faith.

Our ultimate failure, then, is that we love our own comfort, and reputation, and pleasure, more than we love other people. It's not even so much that we're not loving when we sin, it's really just that our love is self-focused and not aimed at God or at those around us.

This is why Jesus tells us that it is impossible for us to follow Him and become one of His disciples if we do not first learn to daily practice death to self. (see Luke 9:23) Why? Because as long as our love for our own pleasure and comfort and reputation is pulsing through our veins, we cannot even begin to love God - or to love others - the way Jesus commands us to. It just can’t work.

Lately I’ve been sensing a need to locate that old cross of mine again and to lift it up on my shoulders before I leave the house each day. I think it might be under the bed, or maybe in the hall closet. Hopefully it’s not up in the attic or in the garage (then I’ll never find it again). But I do know that if I don’t get back on my knees again and wedge that cross against my shoulder every day, and lift the weight and feel those splinters in my hands again, I will never learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I’ll never be able to love God or to love other people the way Jesus does without dying to myself daily. There’s no other way.

"The way of the cross leads home. The way of the cross leads home. It is sweet to know as I onward go. The way of the cross leads home." - Jessie B. Pounds (1906)

-kg

THIS SATURDAY: INTRO TO ALT CHURCH

2011-10-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

INTRO TO ALT CHURCH
Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 – 9am to 5pm
$10 at the door (lunch included)
at Anaheim Vineyard Church
5340 East La Palma Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92807
NOTE: The 91 E. fwy is under construction. Please plan your trip accordingly.

Presentations by:
>Bill Faris - Five Characteristics of Alt - Churches
>Don Sciortino - Building Nets That Work
>Keith Giles - Being Church: Discovering Your Mission in Your Community
>Eric Brown - (topic to be announced)
>Jerry Paumier - Small Drop, Big Splash
*Ken Eastburn of The Well will be joining in our panel discussion

RSVP HERE

ILLEGAL CHURCH?

2011-10-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

You may have heard that a home bible study in San Juan Capistrano is being ordered to stop meeting in a local home or face hundreds of dollars in fines.

Since we live just up the road from this bible study and live in the same county (Orange), it's likely that the outcome of this pending case before the court could impact our little house church family.

At first glance it appears that that this family (incidentally the publishers of Worship Leader Magazine) are being singled out and persecuted for their faith. That may be so, but after watching this local news clip I learned that it wasn't as simple as I originally thought.

For example, the gatherings regularly draw up to 50 people. Their home is laid out with chairs just like a church service. Plus, they claim not to be a church but simply a Bible Study where they can "enjoy one another's company" and read the Word of God together. But they meet on a Sunday morning. What Bible Study draws 50 people on a Sunday morning?

Are they a church? Does that make any difference? What if they had 100 people showing up every Sunday morning? What then?

In our case, we have about 28 people at most gathering in our home on Sunday mornings (or in one of the other homes where we gather regularly). Where the family in this case claims that they are not a church, we claim the opposite. We are a church, although we have no 501c3 status or bank account and no one leads our meetings (other than Jesus) and no one takes a salary.

The Bible Study in San Juan Capistrano does not take any offering, but our group does, although all of that money goes to help buy groceries for the poor in our community, or to help those in need within our house church family or otherwise.

If the city rules that this "Bible Study" is a church according to their definitions and forces them to pay a fine or apply for a conditional use permit (which would also cost them potentitally thousands of dollars for environmental impact studies and wheelchair accessibility ramps), then I wonder what it might mean for us. Would they knock on our door next? Would they demand that we either stop meeting or pay the fines, or incorporate our church?

The bigger question for me is what we do if this happens to us.

Needless to say I'll be watching this case closely.

-kg

SCANDALOUS MERCY

2011-10-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

God shouldn’t offer us His unending love and devotion, but He does. He shouldn’t pour out His daily morning mercies on all mankind, but He does.

This, I think, is why so many of us miss the Kingdom of God. We have yet to have our perspective shifted from the one we were born into. We need to have eyes to see the Kingdom.

In Micah 6:8 the scriptures tell us that ”(God) has shown you, O man, what is good, and what is required of you; to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Doing Justice is hard enough without learning to love Mercy. Why? Because Mercy is when someone who doesn’t deserve a blessing gets one anyway. We hate that. Unless of course the person receiving that undeserved gift of mercy is us. That’s totally acceptable. But when that sinner repents after a lifetime of wasted selfishness we’re not usually the first ones to cheer. When that angry, judgmental person who lives next door to us wins the lottery we do not rejoice over their good fortune. When the hateful, self-important bigot we work with is handed a raise, we do not rush to congratulate him. Mercy is only good when it’s deposited into our account. Or, at least we act that way sometimes.

Yet, if we understand that God is sovereign and that He is in control of all things, we can rejoice whenever someone who does not deserve a blessing gets a big fat gift from God dropped into their lap. We can learn to love mercy if we truly understand that we are also among those who do not in any way deserve the daily blessings we receive from God’s hand.

Jesus is for losers. The Kingdom is for the poor, the blind, the broken, the weak, the hopeless, the helpless, and the sick. This is good news for all of us sinners.

"And now I know the secret that only losers keep, and I wallow in the hopeful tears that every finder weeps." - Finder's Weep

-kg

ONLY THE LOSERS

2011-10-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Only the broken can know the unending joy that comes from being re-formed again into something beautiful. Only the hopeless can experience the astounding relief that comes from being rescued at the last moment. Only the poor can understand what it feels like to receive that undeserved gift of mercy, or food, or rent. Only the losers appreciate the fact that they have been given a trophy that they know they could ever earn on their own.

This is the Kingdom of God. It is scandalously inclusive. It runs against the grain of fairness and tramples on our sense of equality.

Jesus came announcing the Good News that the Kingdom of God was wide open. Anyone could enter it on the spot. However, there were a few conditions. His Sermon on the Mount outlined the requirements for seeing and entering the Kingdom of God. “Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who mourn.” He said.

As John Fischer points out, when it comes to the Kingdom of God - “Proud people don't get in. Rich people don't get in. Successful people don't get in. Self-righteous people don't get in. Happy people don't get in. Competent people don't get in. And it's more than just getting in. People like this don't even see it. They don't know what it is. They can't. They are blinded by their own sufficiency.”

This is why Jesus proclaimed that it was not for those who are well that he came, but for those who are sick. It was not for the righteous that he came, but for the sinners who were desperate for salvation and had no way of measuring up without a Messiah who was full of mercy. (see Luke 5:31-32)

I love the account in the Gospel of John (chapter 9) where Jesus heals a man born blind. The entire chapter chronicles a kangaroo court where the Pharisees attempt to get at the bottom of this miracle (which Jesus decided to perform on the Sabbath, of course). Throughout the chapter there is a fascinating juxtaposition of the physical blindness the beggar experienced and the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees. At the end of the chapter, Jesus says, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”(John 9:39) Hearing this, some of the Pharisees asked him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9:40-41)

See? Those who know that they are blind receive sight. Those who pretend that they can see are without hope because if they would simply admit that they were in need of Jesus, he would reach out and heal them.

-kg
**

*SOUTHERN BAPTISTS RE-NAME THEMSELVES. MAY I SUGGEST “CHRISTIAN”?

2011-10-02T16:35:00.001-07:00

You may have read the news that the Southern Baptists are about to change their name as a denomination. Their reasoning is that it no longer reflects their identity accurately.

As a former Southern Baptist (Licensed and Ordained) I couldn't agree more. Their name has never really reflected their actual identity. Not even on the first day they coined it.

If there's any possibility that I might still have a vote in this debate, let me suggest the name "Christian". Only this title properly reflects the true identity of those people.

In fact, if that title isn't the most accurate name for this group of people, it may be time to re-evaluate being associated with them at all.

At some point in your walk with Jesus you need to come to the realization that you are not a Baptist, a Methodist, a Lutheran, a Charismatic, a Pentecostal, or a whatever. You are either a follower of Jesus and therefore a member of the one and only Bride of Christ, or you are not.

There is only One Church. It is made up of people who may disagree on how to reflect the Infinite, or who exhibit a different focus on a particular gifting, or who emphasize their own brand of adoration, but in the end there is only One Bride of Christ.

Ask yourself, "Are denominations God's idea or man's idea?" Does our division advance the Gospel or inhibit the effectiveness of our witness?

I'd like to submit that our denominationalism is a sin. It is the fruit of our pride and our inability or unwillingness to love one another in spite of our differences of opinion over matters of doctrine or inflections of scripture.

Christ is what unites us. Only Jesus.

If you are putting your hope in Christ, and if it is your ongoing, daily intention to follow Jesus and put His words into practice, then you are a member of the Church with full membership privileges. You are important. You matter. We need you. You need the rest of us.

Let us be One even as Jesus and the Father are One. That was the prayer of our Lord, and it should be our desire as well.

If you belong to Christ you are my brother or sister. You're in the Family.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" - 1 John 3:1

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." - John 17:20-23

THE UNANSWERABLE VERSE?

2011-09-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

"On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.." -(Genesis 15:18 ESV)

According to one recent anonymous comment on a previous article where we explored the identity of Israel in Scripture, this passage in Genesis 15:18 is "the verse replacement theology cannot answer."

[Note: "Replacement Theology" is the term used by Zionists and Dispensationalists to refer to the teaching that true Israel is anyone who is in Christ. To me the term is inaccurate because nothing is being replaced here, only fulfilled.]

Of course, I couldn't take this comment without providing a response. So, let's look at what the Scriptures say about this passage and how we should understand it in light of what the Apostles taught in the New Testament.

The great confidence my anonymous friend has in this Genesis passage comes from the assumption that it is plain as day that God (in this scripture) is making a promise to every Jewish person on the face of the planet. You can almost hear my friend-with-no-name saying, "See? It says right there, 'to your offspring' and he's talking to Abraham, so God's promise was made to all of the children of Abraham. I rest my case."

And, I will agree, it really does appear to be a slam-dunk, doesn't it? Gee. Sure does. But, let us not forget that it is never a good idea to take one single verse of scripture to build a case for doctrine or belief. Right? We need to look at what the whole scripture says about this, not just the New Covenant scriptures, but also what is reinforced (or contradicted) in the Old Covenant scriptures. So, why don't we do that?

I'll start with an OT reference and then move to what I believe to be the real interpretation of this concept found in the teachings of Paul, the Apostle.

First, the OT reference (which I have mentioned on this blog before), is Psalm 50:7 -
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God."

Here, God speaks to Israel. Look at what He says to them:

"But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you." (v.16)

God calls Israel "wicked". Are they all wicked? No, not all of them, only those who are worshipping idols and disobeying His word. So, all of Israel is not automatically blessed. This reminds us (or it should, anyway) of the passage where Paul teaches us that circumcision of the flesh means nothing, only circumcision of the heart.

"For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter." - Romans 2:28-29

"For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God." - 1 Cor. 7:19

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." - Galatians 5:6

Please keep in mind that when Paul talks about circumcision, he is not only speaking of a medical procedure. Not at all. He is referring specifically to a Jewish, racial identity. His point, over and over again, is that being Jewish by race or culture counts for nothing.

Now, here's the real clincher, (at least for me), when it comes to the question of the Genesis passage above. Is God's promise to a race of people? Or is God's promise to those who are in Christ? Here's what Paul says,

"Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring [seed]. It does not say, “And to offsprings [seeds],” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring [seed],” who is Christ." - Galatians 3:16

I don't think I'll need to break out the flannelgraphs on this one. It could not be more clear that Paul believed that the promises made to Abraham were not made to every single descendant of Abraham (other translations render the word "seeds"), but the promises made to Abraham were to his seed (singular)...and who is that one? (Say it with me class) - Jesus.

So, if we are in Christ, then we are Abraham's offspring too? And we're also heirs according to the promise? Let's see...

"And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." - Galatians 3:29

Whoa. There ya go.

If we are Christ's then we are the offspring of Abraham - the very one's to whom the promises were made. Or, more accurately, the promises were made to Jesus. If we are in Christ, then we also are partakers of that promise.

Just to drive this nail all the way home before I conclude, let's look at what Jesus says about the "seed of Abraham", shall we?

In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus is going back and forth with the Pharisees who claimed to be the offspring (or seed) of Abrahm. Here is what Jesus says in response to their claim:

"I know that you are offspring [seed] of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children [seed], you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did." - John 8:37-40

So, although they claimed to be the "seed of Abraham", Jesus made the point that although they were descended from Abraham, they were not doing the works of Abraham. What are the works of Abraham? For what is Abraham known? Obeying the word of the Lord. So, only those who truly love and obey God are considered to be the true seed of Abraham of "Israel".

To recap, there is only one Israel of God and that is composed only of those who believe God and accept His Son as Lord and Messiah. Anyone who rejects Christ as Messiah is lost, is outside of the Israel of God and is - according again to scripture - anti-Christ.

Again, I want to emphasize here that this teaching is totally based on scriptural evidence and not my own opinion. Like Paul, I pray that all the Jews would turn to Christ and be saved. Thankfully, many Jews do see Jesus as the promised Messiah. We should pray for those who do not do so yet. God loves them, and all the nations of the Earth, with an amazing love and His desire is that none should perish but that all should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus, the Messiah.

-kg

SINGING THE TRUTH?

2011-09-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Is this what God hears when you worship on Sunday?

Israel is the Bride and We are Israel

2011-09-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

At the top of my previous article, "Here Comes the Bride?" I mentioned that some who deny that the Church is the Bride believe that the Bride of the Lamb is actually Israel, and I couldn't agree more.

So, where I agree that the identity of the Bride of Christ is Israel, where I disagree is who Israel is according to the Scriptures.

"...but Israel shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever.” (Isaiah 45: 17)

“All Israel will be saved.” (Romans 11:26)

In Jeremiah 31:31, the prophet says, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

In the upper room, before his crucifixion, Jesus held up the cup and declared,

"...this cup is the new covenant in my blood.”

To whom did he proclaim this covenant? To his disciples who were truly “the house of Israel” because their hearts were circumcised according to the Spirit and not to the flesh (except for Judas, of course).

Paul’s argument is that the true Israel is a remnant of people, not the entire Jewish nation or race. In fact, this is why he proclaims,

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

As I've mentioned before, it is quite telling in this passage that Paul doesn't say that there are now "Jews AND Greeks", he says that now, in Christ, and in the Body of Christ, those identities are forfeit. We are now "one in Christ Jesus."

It’s widely known that God promised to save Israel in the Old Testament scriptures. But most Jews today are not followers of Christ, so does that mean that this an unfulfilled promise?

According to the Apostle Paul, the true identity of “Israel” is not made up of national, ethnic Jews, nor did God promise that He would save all those who were born of Abraham. Instead, God's plan and promise was always that He would save those who receive the Messiah (either Jew or Gentile). Those people are truly “Israel”.

How do we know this? Because in Romans 9:6 Paul says,

“But it is not as though the word of God has failed.”

Failed? How so? He's referring to the claim that God's promises had failed because not "all Israel" had been saved according to the Old Covenant. Paul goes to to say,

“...not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.”

God made promises to Israel, but not everyone who is Jewish by blood will automatically receive the promised salvation. As Paul has already said, in Romans 2:28-29:

“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”

So, who is truly a “Jew” or “Israel” according to the Word of God? Is it anyone born from Jewish blood? Or is it only the one who is circumcised of the heart and in Christ?

Clearly, Paul is adamant that the only true “Israel” are those who are in Christ and who accept the Messiah as Lord and Savior.

Of course, this should come as no surprise because Paul also says in Romans 9,

“This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”

Therefore, not everyone who is Jewish is really “Israel." Only those who are in Christ, the Chosen One, are the Chosen of God.

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

Therefore, the Israel of God is the New Jerusalem, and the Bride of the Lamb.

Thoughts?

-kg

Here Comes The Bride?

2011-09-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

It may come as a shock to many of you, but there are many Christians today who flatly deny that the Bride of Christ is the Church. Some of them argue that the Bride of Christ is Israel (which to them are the Jews rather the Church), and still others outright admit that they're not sure who the Bride is, only that it simply cannot be the Church. (And they have their reasons).

I first came across this unusual objection to the idea of the Bride of Christ being the church about a year ago when I published an article here called "A Profound Mystery" which elaborated on the identity of the Church as the Bride, the Body and the Temple. A friend responded to that email and challenged the idea that the Bride was the Church. We went back and forth via email for about a week and in the end neither of us had convinced the other, and so we agreed to disagree and let it go.

But today on Twitter I posted something about the Church being the Bride and here again someone else chimed in and challenged this idea that the Bride of Christ is the Church. I was flabbergasted. Until today, I had assumed that only a few isolated people doubted this teaching, but now I realize that it's quite pervasive, and so I'd like to address this idea here. Comments are more than welcome.

First, let me lay a case for the Bride of Christ being the Church before I attempt to refute the naysayers.

THE CHURCH AS THE BRIDE
Throughout the Scriptures, beginning in the Old Testament, the idea of the Bride is one of the most common terms used by God to describe His people. These references are largely found in the Song of Solomon, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and 2 Samuel.

Of course, this practice continues into the New Testament as well.

I'll start with one of the lesser known arguments for the Church as the Bride of Christ before I move on to the more common scriptures that are usually debated.

THE CITY THAT IS THE CHURCH
In Galatians, Paul uses the illustration of Hagar and Sarah as two types of mothers; one a slave and one free. In Gal.4:26 Paul says,

"But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother."

Notice here that Paul refers to "the Jerusalem above" and says that she is "our mother." By this he means to imply that we are children of the free woman and the heirs of Abraham's promise.

Now, let's look at what the author of Hebrews has to say on this subject.

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly (ekklesia) of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven..." -Hebrews 12:22-23

Here, we see that "Mount Zion," "the city of the living God," and "the heavenly Jerusalem" are equated with "the assembly (ekklesia) of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven." The Church is equated with Mount Zion, the city of the living God and the Heavenly Jerusalem. Got it? Now, let's read Revelation 21:

"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Revelation 21:2

"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God," - Revelation 21:9-10

So, according to the Scriptures, we (the Church) are children of the Jerusalem above, and that Jerusalem above is the city of the living God, the assembly (ekklesia) of the firtborn, and that city is the Bride of the Lamb.

THE CHURCH AS WIFE
Now, most of you already know about Ephesians 5:25-33. Here, Paul uses an illustration from marriage to teach us something astounding about Jesus and about our identity as the Bride of Christ. I've edited the text to highlight the main thoughts:

"...just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." - Eph 5:25-27

"'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Eph 5:31-32

Because this passage is so often used to counsel men and women in regards to the marriage relationship, I have removed those references so that we can see what Paul says he is actually talking about: "Christ and the church".

Let me admit here that those who deny the Bride of Christ as Church doctrine really hate this passage most of all. Many say that this is only meant as a metaphor, and therefore we shouldn't use this to teach people that the Church IS the Bride of Christ. Of course, one could argue that if Paul didn't want us to be confused about the identity of the Bride he probably shouldn't have used such an explicit metaphor - and he also probably shouldn't have applied this metaphor as a basis for the way husbands and wives should love one another and become "one flesh" in the same way that the Church is "one flesh" with Christ.

Paul also quotes from Genesis chapter 2 in this passage and this reminds us of how God put Adam to sleep and made a woman for him because "God saw that it was not good for man to be alone". Notice it was God's idea, not Adam's, for man to have a wife. Somehow this reference points to God's plan for the Church. As Paul reminds us - "For this reason" the man is to "leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and the two will become one flesh". This is where Paul pauses and remarks that "this is a profound mystery". Why? Because he is not talking about Adam and Eve now. He's not talking about Christian marriage between a man and a woman. No, he is talking about Jesus and the Church "becoming one flesh".

If we are not "one flesh" with Christ in the same way that a husband and wife are "one flesh", then why use this metaphor of marriage? Why refer to Genesis 2?

SOME OBJECTIONS

THE BRIDE MAKES HERSELF READY?
I've found several arguments against the idea of the Church as the Bride and I'll try to address some (but not all) here.

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." - Revelation 19:7

Some who disagree with this doctrine try to say that the Church cannot be the Bride because, in this verse, the Bride must "make herself ready" and since Christians are all saved by Grace this cannot be talking about the Church.

To quote one source:

This requires "works" to be done by the Christian to get ready. The word says that we are already made righteous, and are already sanctified. So then, the church, in God's eyes, is already ready. Rev 19:7 can't be refering to the church. It has to be something else.

Really? Is there some other class of people who WILL be saved by "making themselves ready"? Or maybe you're misreading this passage?

First of all, the passage says that the Bride has made herself ready but does that mean that the Bride has made herself righteous? Is it possible to "make (yourself) ready" by simply obeying all that Christ has commanded in humble obedience? Is it possible to be "made ready" by receiving the free gift of God's saving grace? I would argue that this passage is not about salvation, it's about the Bridegroom coming to take his Bride.

A BRIDE ISN'T A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY BY GRACE?
Another argument against the Bridehood of the Church is:

"A bride can only become a member of a famly by the law. Christians are made members of the body of Christ by grace through faith (a gift) and not made a member of the household of faith through the law (works)."

Taking this same logic, one could easily argue that the Church cannot be a son of God because a son cannot be "one flesh" with his father. (That would be gross, and illegal in 49 States). But these illustrations are not meant to be encompass all facets of the analogy. They are limited in some respects, but true in others.

It's also wrong-headed to say that because the Church is a Temple, it cannot embody the qualities of a Son; and if the Church is a Body, it cannot share the same qualities found in a temple of living stones. Pointing out the differences in these terms does not qualify as refuting them.

YOU CAN'T MARRY A CITY
Some have argued that the Church cannot be the Bride because the Bride is a city and Jesus can't marry a city. Really? What about Isaiah 62?

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the LORD delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
(Isaiah 62:4 ESV)

Apparently, God has no problem with the idea of marrying a city or a land. In fact, it's something He told us He would do a long time ago.

I've got more to say on this topic but let's save some of this for another post, or perhaps any comments or questions.

-kg

PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB - JANUARY 2012

2011-09-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB
We will fight for peace, but we will do no violence

THE RULES:
The first rule of Pacifist Fight Club is, you do not talk about Pacifist Fight Club.
The second rule is, you must move from talk to action.
The third rule is, you must love all people, at all times.
The fourth rule is, you must engage in a fight to the death daily as you struggle against your own apathy, selfishness, prejudice and pride.
The fifth rule is, you must do violence only to the status quo of your life.

OUR TOPICS
Non-violence
Solidarity with the poor
Immigration reform
Loving God
Loving others

OUR POTENTIAL FIGHTERS
Brandt Russo
Chase Andre
Thomas Crisp
Keith Giles

Fighters enter the ring in January of 2012.

More info to come.

CHURCH HISTORY 101 - QUOTES OF PEACE

2011-09-23T05:46:00.000-07:00

Quotes from first and second century Christian writers about the continuing posture of non-violence in the early Church following the age of the Apostles:

"The Lord, in disarming Peter, disarmed every soldier." —Tertullian from "On Idolatry"

"Christians could never slay their enemies. For the more that kings, rulers, and peoples have persecuted them everywhere, the more Christians have increased in number and grown in strength." —Origen Contra Celsius Book VII

"Wherever arms have glittered, they must be banished and exterminated from thence."
—Lactantius’ Divine Institutes IV

"As simple and quiet sisters, peace and love require no arms. For it is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained." —Clement of Alexandria Chapter 12 of Book 1

"Above all, Christians are not allowed to correct with violence."
—Clement of Alexandria

"I do not wish to be a king; I am not anxious to be rich; I decline military command... Die to the world, repudiating the madness that is in it."
—Tatian’s Address to the Greeks

"We who formerly used to murder one another now refrain from even making war upon our enemies."
—The First Apology of Justin Martyr

"Whatever Christians would not wish others to do to them, they do not to others. And they comfort their oppressors and make them their friends; they do good to their enemies. Through love towards their oppressors, they persuade them to become Christians."
—The Apology of Aristides

"A soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to refuse to do so if he is commanded, and to refuse to take an oath. If he is unwilling to comply, he must be rejected for baptism. A military commander or civic magistrate must resign or be rejected. If a believer seeks to become a soldier, he must be rejected, for he has despised God."
—Hippolytus of Rome

"There is nothing better than peace, in which all warfare of things in heaven and things on earth is abolished."
—Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians

"The new covenant that brings back peace and the law that gives life have gone forth over the whole earth, as the prophets said: "For out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and he will instruct many people; and they will break down their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and they will no longer learn to make war." These people formed their swords and war lances into plowshares,” that is, into instruments used for peaceful purposes. So now, they are unaccustomed to fighting, so when they are struck, they offer also the other cheek."
—Irenaeus

"We would rather shed our own blood than stain our hands and our conscience with that of another. As a result, an ungrateful world is now enjoying–and for a long period has enjoyed–a benefit from Christ. For by his means, the rage of savage ferocity has been softened and has begun to withhold hostile hands from the blood of a fellow creature. In fact, if all men without exception…would lend an ear for a while to his salutary and peaceful rules,…the whole world would be living in the most peaceful tranquility. The world would have turned the use of steel into more peaceful uses and would unite together in blessed harmony."
—Arnobius

"Those soldiers were filled with wonder and admiration at the grandeur of the man’s piety and generosity and were struck with amazement. They felt the force of this example of pity. As a result, many of them were added to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and threw off the belt of military service."
—Disputation of Archelaus and Manes

"We have rejected such spectacles as the Coliseum. How then, when we do not even look on killing lest we should contract guilt and pollution, can we put people to death?"
—Athenagoras of Athens’ A Plea for the Christians

**
NOTE: This post originally appeared here in July, 2009.

JESUS: THE PRINCE OF PEACE (Part 4 of 4)

2011-09-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

By definition, we who call ourselves "Christians" should be followers of Jesus. Our Lord is known as the Prince of Peace. We are commanded to "Love one another" and to be known for our love. Jesus pronounced a blessing to those who would be peace makers saying, "Blessed are the peace makers for they shall inherit the Earth."

Yet, somehow, we who are called by His Name are not known for our great love. We are not known for our expertise on the ways of peace. Even though we are given the ministry of reconciliation, we are not the ones people come to when they hope to resolve conflict and experience peace in their lives.

What has happened?

It was not always this way. In our New Testament we find a seamless flow of love from our Lord to His disciples and from his disciples to the world.

In fact, for roughly 300 years the followers of Jesus were models of peace. Even though they were hunted and beaten and pursued and persecuted and put to death by the sword and wild animal, they did not raise a hand in retaliation. They shared all that they had with anyone in need and gave up their own daily bread to feed the hungry in their midst. For 300 years they were people of peace and examples of love to everyone they met.

Imagine that. Imagine 300 years of Christian history where not one recorded instance of violence is found in the record books where a follower of Jesus took a sword to another person or raised his hands in violence.

Something happened to change our tune. Someone stepped in and rearranged the music, and the saddest thing is: We listened.

When Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 312 A.D. and established himself as the "Pontifex Maximus" of the Church he effectively unraveled 300 years of Christian pacifism and ushered in a new era where Christianity would be re-defined as a belief system rather than as a way of life.

In 316, Constantine acted as a judge in a North African dispute concerning the validity of Donatism (a Christian sect). After ruling that the Donatists were heretical in their faith, Constantine led an army of Christians against the Donatist Christians. For the first time in Christian History, after 300 years of pacifism, a Christian took up a sword aganst another person - and those people were other followers of Jesus.

This radical shift created by Constantine set in motion a series of changes to the Christian faith that are still being felt to this day. While the early Christians peacefully opposed the Empire and lived a life of quiet subversion against the pattern of this world, the new Christians (under Constantine) became the tool of the Empire.

To this day the Christian faith remains the puppet of the Empire. In America, the Christian Church has alligned herself with the State and has adopted the party message, seeking to influence the world through political means rather than through the transformative power of the Gospel.

I've met Christians who cannot imagine their Christian faith apart from an allegiance to the Republican Party. I've spoken to Christians who feel that the use of deadly force against another person is not only acceptable, it would be endorsed by Jesus. I've debated Christians who support the use of torture against other human beings as long as it means we can sleep safe in our beds at night.

These views are not in line with the words of Jesus. We have to divorce our faith in Christ from such blind Nationalism and rediscover what it means to submit to Jesus as our Lord, placing Him on the throne of our hearts.

If our allegiance is to Christ, then we must take seriously his commands to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. We must wrestle with these difficult issues of ethics and faith.

Our calling as followers of Jesus is not only to avoid violence, it is to take the initiative to show love to our enemies and to bless those who want to bring violence against us.

These are not political issues, these are personal issues. These are matters of personal faith and obedience to the words of Jesus.

Either we love Him and we believe His words to be true, or we must admit that we've found another way that is more attractive to us than the Way of Christ and embrace the American Dream. We cannot have it both ways.

My prayer is that Christians in America would rediscover their original DNA as peaceful, loving followers of Jesus and jettison the Nationalized Christianity that enslaves us to the Empire.

Let us place Jesus back on the Throne of our hearts, and crown him again as King of the Church. Let us pledge allegiance to Christ and to His Kingdom, not to any man-made creed or political system.

-kg
**
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Jesus (Matthew 5:25-30)

JESUS: THE PRINCE OF PEACE (Part 3 of 4)

2011-09-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

HOW RELEVANT IS CHURCH HISTORY?
The behavior of the first and second century church is relevant because it shows us how the early Christians consistently carried out the practice of radical love and non-violent resistance to persecution and evil in their day. The practice of loving, non-violent behavior originated with Christ and continued under the Apostles. It endured for over 200 years as a defining mark of Christian faith and practice.

Non-violence wasn't an "error" that showed up after the new testament was written. It was not a new teaching that was introduced after the Apostolic Age. No, it was simply a continuation of practice from the founder of the movement. One of the premier characteristics of the church, which was founded on the teaching and example of Jesus, was love. And that love was expressed in humility and peaceful interaction with all men.

Jesus is our blueprint for life in the Kingdom of God. The early Christians understood this. They knew that they were held to a higher standard of love than anyone else on the planet. When Stephen is stoned to death for his faith in Christ, he doesn’t defend himself or retaliate, or even run away. Instead he stands his ground and forgives his killers, even as Jesus did, before giving up his life for Christ.

The New Testament is full of references, both from Jesus and from the Apostles, regarding the expectation of non-violence in response to persecution. Furthermore, we also know that hundreds of followers of Jesus also went to their deaths for their faith and they did not raise a hand in self-defense. They either ran away or they submitted to torture, crucifixion and death. Why? Because of the example of Jesus and out of obedience to His command to love our enemies and endure hardship and persecution.

For anyone serious about following Jesus and learning to be His disciple, non-violence is a critical element of obedience. Jesus set us an example and he expects us to follow it.

The Christian practice of radical non-violence flowed from the example of Jesus and his commands to his disciples regarding love for our enemies. This example and teaching was carried forward by the Apostles and it was further embodied by the early church for over 200 years.

As Shane Claiborne once remarked when asked if he was a Christian: “Go and ask my enemies, or the poor, or my neighbor and if they say I am a Christian then I suppose I’m a Christian.”

Could our enemies affirm that we are followers of Christ? Would the poor in your community testify to your faith in Jesus? Would your neighbors on your street, or your co-workers bear witness to your Christ-like attitude?

What we do matters. How we live is critical. We are the Ambassadors of the Risen Lord. We are the Body of Christ, Incarnate on this Earth.

Let love be our tattoo.

Peace,
Keith
**

JESUS: THE PRINCE OF PEACE (Part 2 of 4)

2011-09-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

One of the more creative arguments in favor of Christian violence has been the suggestion that the conversion of Cornelius the Centurion to the Christian faith is an indication that Christians accepted violence and even professional soldiers among their ranks. If there is any real instruction to be found here (in Acts 10) regarding the attitude of the early Christians towards violence it is mostly from silence. The point of the passage is that Cornelius, a Gentile, is miraculously converted to the faith in Christ as the Messiah. The inference in this passage is that Cornelius was a practicing Jew who cared for the poor and loved God. He did not, however, know about Jesus and it was only through an angelic vision that he was told how to seek out Peter in order to receive the Gospel and be saved.

The argument in support of Christians who practice violence seems to be that, since it says Cornelius was a Centurion then it must be an endorsement of his violent lifestyle. However, we do not know what happened to Cornelius after his conversion to Christ. Did he continue to serve the Roman Empire and engage in war? Maybe he did, we don't know. But even if he did the question remains: "Does the New Testament endorse such behavior in any way?" No, it doesn't. At least, not for a follower of Jesus.

We could ask, “Did Cornelius resign his commission in the Roman Army and face martyrdom?” Again, we just do not know. Although we do know that many other Roman soldiers who came to Christ did just that and were put to death for it, as in the example of Martin of Tours.

Martin of Tours was a soldier in the Roman army under Constantine. After the Emperor “converted” to Christianity in 312 A.D. and began to re-define the faith it became acceptable in the church for followers of Jesus to define their faith by a set of beliefs rather than by a practice of values and principles embodied by Christ. As Christianity and the Empire became entangled, the line between following Jesus and being loyal to the State became blurred. Much like it is today.

One Roman soldier, Martin of Tours, upon converting to faith in Christ dared to defy the status quo. Even though it would have been completely acceptable to many within the State-sponsored Christian Church of his day and age, Martin instead took a bold step to follow Christ and not bow his knee to the Emperor. So, at a ceremony in which soldiers were given a monetary reward for their service, Martin of Tours stood up and explained to his commanding officer that he could no longer remain a soldier in the army of Rome, saying:

“Up to the present I have served you as a soldier. Allow me now to become a soldier of God. Let the man who is to serve you receive your donation. I am a soldier of Christ. It is not lawful for me to fight.”

For this act of disobedience, Martin was executed, choosing to remain loyal to Jesus rather than to compromise his faith in submission to the State.

Did Cornelius do the same? We’re not sure. Perhaps yes, or maybe no. The point is that the scriptures do not tell us what Cornelius did after his conversion to faith in Christ. All we know is that Jesus clearly teaches us to love our enemies and to refrain from violence. What Cornelius did is less important to us than what Jesus expected, and of that we are well-informed and accountable.

At any rate, the story of Cornelius’ conversion is not meant to teach us anything about violence, it is meant to teach us how much God loves the Gentiles and how Peter was obedient to God and allowed them to receive the Gospel of the Kingdom and enter the Body of Christ.

[END PART 2]
**
-kg

NOTE: This series was originally published here in July of 2009.

JESUS: THE PRINCE OF PEACE (Part 1 of 4)

2011-09-19T05:41:00.000-07:00

*Over the next few days I will be publishing a series of articles regarding the radical teachings of Jesus on love and non-violence. Some of these will also touch on the Americanized-Christianity heresy which continues to plague our nation.

**
One of the most difficult teachings of Jesus involves love. Thought at first his commands to “Love God” and “Love one another” seem simple to our ears, we soon discover that living these things out takes more out of us than we are prepared to give.

Lately I’ve been spending some time looking at the more radical teachings of Jesus regarding non-violence and how it informs our practice of the Christian faith.

If you only learn one thing from Jesus in the Gospels it’s that he expects his followers to be known as people who love with extravagance. Jesus teaches his disciples to not only love those who love them, but to also love even their enemies and to bless those who curse them.

Love, above all else, is the defining characteristic of a true follower of Jesus.

BUT WHAT ABOUT…?

Some Christians today flat out ignore the dozens of verses from the mouth of Jesus regarding love and the practice of peace and look instead at one or two verses to base their theology upon. This is largely endorsed by a certain segment of Christians who teach a decidedly Americanized form of Christianity, one fueled by politics and infused with an heretical twisting of the words of Jesus to conform to those of the Founding Fathers of our Nation. These America First Christians teach that the United States is God’s favored nation. They teach, either outright or by inference, that God loves America more than He loves the rest of the world and justify the use of force to advance American interests in the name of God and country. They even endorse torture and believe that Jesus would approve of it.

This is one of the main reasons I so vehemently oppose the politicized version of American Christianity. Because it distorts the pure Gospel of Jesus and attempts to mix such opposing ideas as “Take up your cross daily and die to yourself” with “The pursuit of happiness”.

Even more, this Americanized brand of Christianity aligns the Gospel with a specific political party and equates loyalty to one with righteousness and justification in the other. In many ways the two concepts are tightly intertwined and many cannot imagine following Jesus apart from pledging allegiance to the Party.

Not that Christians shouldn’t exercise their freedom to vote or to stand for justice, mind you. Those are wonderful opportunities and I applaud those who take the time to do their civic duty and participate in politics. There is a time and a place for this.

However, whenever we begin to place our allegiance to Christ beneath the shadow of a political party or system, we have jumped the tracks. Whenever we are more passionate about our candidates or our political issues than we are about the Gospel of the Kingdom, we are off base. Whenever we begin to judge someone’s salvation based on whether they vote the way we do, we are misguided. Whenever we find it impossible to imagine following Christ apart from being a good Republican or Democrat, we have another Jesus and we have embraced a false Gospel.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat or a Socialist or a Libertarian. If you cannot imagine following Jesus apart from participation in, and agreement with, your political views, you are not really following Jesus, you’re following a political system.

ONE BODY, ONE SPIRIT, ONE CHURCH

Most of our brothers and sisters in this world today are found in communist or socialist nations such as North Korea or China, or in continents such as Africa or Asia. If someone hears the Gospel in one of these nations and receives Christ as Lord and Savior, do they then also become a Republican at the same time? No, of course not. But if the majority of Christians in this World, who make up the largest segment of our Body, are not also Good Americans, or faithful Democrats or Republicans, then it must be possible for us to divorce our politics from our faith in Christ. Not only must it be possible, it must be accomplished in order for us to see clearly who our Lord is and what it means to fully die to ourselves and follow Him alone.

GO AND BUY A SWORD

Some have recently questioned me regarding whether or not Jesus really taught such a radical form of non-violence in the Gospels. They reference one verse where Jesus asked his disciples to go and buy a sword so that “this scripture must be fulfilled in me: “And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” – (See Luke 22:35-38). It’s easy to read this passage and simply conclude that it is an endorsement of violence in the name of self-defense. Yet, one must take into account all the many other teachings of Jesus regarding turning the other cheek, loving our enemies, and not resisting an evil man.

Is this passage an example of Jesus making an allowance for violence in the name of self-defense? Perhaps. Although two swords is hardly enough to protect 13 people. And furthermore, when the soldiers arrive to arrest Jesus and Peter responds as we might also have responded, Jesus rebukes him and offers another strong teaching on non-violence saying,

“Put your sword back in its place…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” – Matthew 26: 52

One possible interpretation lies in the reference Jesus makes to a passage in Isaiah which he quotes in the same breath as he asks about swords. He then refers again to the fulfillment of scripture when Peter cuts off the soldiers ear saying:

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" – Matthew 26:53-54

Perhaps what we’re missing here is the necessity for the scriptures to be fulfilled in that Christ was treated as a criminal and “numbered with the transgressors”? This is a viable interpretation, especially in light of the response Jesus has to the act of violence itself and his constant statements that “the scriptures must be fulfilled” in this way.

[END OF PART 1]
-kg

Introduction to Alt Church - October 8th

2011-09-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Oct. 8th I will join Bill Faris (Vineyard at Home) and others as we gather for an Introduction to Alt Church (or, a day long conversation about organic church).

I'll be leading an hour long discussion entitled "Being Church: Finding Your Mission In Your Community" which will cover the concepts of "being church" versus "going to church", and how we as a body of believers can impact our actual neighbors, serve the poor and bring the Kingdom to our community by "being the church" right were are.

DETAILS:
Intro to Alt Church
Saturday, Oct 8th
9am to 3pm
COST: $10 at the door (Includes a light lunch)
*No child care provided

LOCATION:
Vineyard Anaheim
5340 East La Palma Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92807-2021

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Vineyard at Home is excited to announce a one day conference on House Church / Alternative Church to be held on Saturday, October 8th, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The location for this event will be on the campus of the Anaheim Vineyard Church in Anaheim, California.

“Introduction to Alt-Church” will be an opportunity for you to learn about – and share about – simple churches, house churches, hybrid churches and other non-traditional church structures that focus on bringing the ministry of Jesus deeper into the lives of believers and deeper into the fabric of the neighborhood, nation, and world.

TOPIC COVERED:
* Leadership in the Alt-church milieu

* Biblical principles of Alt-church ministry

* Being Church in the Community

* and much, much more.

WHY THIS CONFERENCE?
Mainly, we just want to gather people who are interested in starting Alt-churches, joining them, learning about them and sharing about their experiences with them.

Let’s see what God will do!

TO REGISTER: Use the Facebook page to indicate that you're coming so we can plan lunch, etc.
FACEBOOK PAGE
HERE

Or, email Bill Faris at Bill@vcmn.org to let them know you're coming, or to get more info.

Hope to see you there!

Starting with "What if...?"

2011-09-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

It all started with "What if?"

About five years ago, my wife Wendy and I were part of a local church plant. We were serving the poor in our community and leading an exciting Kids Rock program that we loved every week. But God began calling us to plant a new church in Orange County.

At first, we thought it would be a traditional church like the one we were helping to launch, but over time we began to make our lists of what this new church would be like. We began to hear the Lord's voice leading us to make serving the poor a priority; about involving children in the service; about welcoming the poor to sit alongside us and to be more than an outreach but become our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Eventually I came across an article written by Ray Mayhew called "Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of American Christianity." I can't remember now where I found it, but that little 30 page PDF document rocked my world and it changed everything we thought we knew about Church.

Essentially, the article simply documented the high priority the early church placed on the poor. Starting with the book of Acts, the article quoted first and second century Church Fathers and referenced church history to reveal that God's heart for the poor was an essential ingredient for those who followed Jesus from day one.

In one section of the article I read about how one community of faith responded when a stranger showed up in the village just after they had distributed the weekly allotment of food to the needy. Rather than say, "Sorry friend, but we've got nothing to share with you right now" (which frankly is probably what I would have done), these dear followers of Jesus nearly fought one another to see which one of them would have the honor of fasting for one week in order to let the stranger eat their food, or sleep in their home.

As my wife and I marveled over these testimonies of faith and charity, we started to ask ourselves, "What if our new church family shared all their money with the poor like this?" The more we considered this, the more we knew that the Church that God was calling us to plant should give 100 percent of our offering to help the poor in our community. There was no question.

Our hearts began to beat faster as we imagined a church like this. I tried to picture the conversations I'd have as I explained to people that our church didn't spend one penny on salaries or utilities, or anything other than the poor. I couldn't wait to get started, actually.

But then one evening, as Wendy and I were talking about the new church I asked, "How are we going to pull this off?" We both sat there for a second or two, and then Wendy looked at me and said, "We're talking about a house church."

I knew she was right. I searched her eyes for a glimmer of resignation or defeat, but all I saw reflecting back at me was joy. "Yeah," I said. "I think you're right."

And that was it. We both knew that God was calling us to start a house church, but we didn't know (yet) how to pay our bills and support our family. Only that I would find a job in the workforce and our yet-unformed church family would meet in our home.

That little "What if?" started the ball rolling. I had no idea just how long it would take for me to find full-time employment outside the church (about a year), and I had no clue that in between our "Yes" to God and our first day of house church we'd have to endure so much pain, condemnation, uncertainty, and self-doubt. But now, five years later, I can honestly say that it is still the best thing I've ever done with the word "Church" on it.

-kg

Love: How much is too much?

2011-09-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

As we’ve been in the process of helping and serving the homeless here in Orange County, my wife and I, and our house church family, have encountered more than a few challenges.

Sometimes people get concerned that we are doing too much to help people. Some suggest that it would be better for us to allow people to “hit bottom” and sleep in homeless shelters so that they will be more motivated to change their own lot in life. Others feel that we are enabling them to remain in their condition by propping them up from the outside without addressing their internal sin issues more directly. Still others are not comfortable with our helping them in more practical ways because by helping them we might somehow be showing approval to their questionable lifestyles (i.e. – having children out of wedlock, using drugs, abusing alcohol, etc.).

None of these concerns are taken lightly. In fact, over the years, my wife and I have withheld assistance from people who did not take the proper steps towards escaping their condition – whether that be homelessness, or addictions – and we’ve also questioned ourselves at times about whether helping someone does more harm than good.

For example, when the scripture says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:17), maybe the question is really about what the real “need” is. Someone might tell you that their “need” is for $100 to cover their rent. But maybe their real “need” is for someone to help them understand how to budget their money so that they can pay their own rent?

Hopefully I can think out loud here and invite you and others to weigh in on this discussion, because it’s something I’m currently still debating with myself, and because I freely admit that I do not know exactly what I am doing all the time.

My reaction at first was to say that most of these people are not followers of Christ, and so I cannot withhold kindness to them based on their sinful behaviors. After all, doesn’t Jesus urge us to be like God and to show mercy to the “just and the unjust” as God does? (see Matthew 5:44-45)

Secondly, my own spiritual calling and gifting is largely in the area of hospitality and service. Showing practical kindness and serving others is how I communicate the Gospel of Jesus to people. I’m not likely to take 45 minutes to attempt to convince someone to agree with me that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. I am not an evangelist in this sense of the word. However, I do feel that I communicate the truth and the power of the Gospel message by doing acts of service and showing mercy to people in my path. For me, this IS evangelism. It is an apologetic that no one can argue with or disagree with (except perhaps for overly judgmental evangelicals who might say that I am a horrible witness).

So, I’m not very comfortable with the idea of imposing my will onto people by threatening to withhold the grace of God to them if they do not take the steps that I want them to take. For example, it has been suggested that our house church family not help people with addictions unless they agree to attend at least one AA meeting a week and find a job. At first blush this seems more than reasonable. They need jobs and so what’s the harm in adding an incentive? They need to break their cycle of addiction, so what’s wrong with saying that we won’t take care of them if they won’t take care of themselves?

Over the weekend, I spent some time listening to college students share their experiences getting to know the homeless at Isaiah House in Santa Ana. As we shared, the idea of imposing our will on them “for their own good” was brought up. I was reminded of a similar conversation I had regarding church discipline in the house church. In that context, I argued for the power of love and relationship to generate the necessary repentance rather than incorporating an external (or internal) authority structure to threaten people to act righteously. This is still my conviction, and now suddenly I could see how my desire to impose my will upon this homeless family – even though it was for their own good – was the equivalent of “bringing in the Bishop” to address ethical or theological errors in the Body. It seemed inconsistent to argue for the power of love and relationships in one context and to deny it in another.

I caught myself saying, in the discussion on Sunday afternoon at Isaiah House, that it’s better to speak to people out of a sincere love for them; out of relationship; to let people know that because we love them we wish they wouldn’t smoke, or take drugs, or remain homeless. I argued that it was more effective than withholding basic necessities from people as a way to gain leverage over them and coerce them into changing their behavior. Suddenly my theoretical discussion was reflected back at me and I realized that I was in the process of trying to apply pressure to these homeless people in just the same way.

Later this week I sat and talked with my friend Thomas Crisp (a professor of Philosophy at Biola) about this same issue. He agreed that it was an abuse of our authority to treat other human beings this way. In fact, he appealed to the exact same premise found in Dallas Willard’s book, “The Divine Conspiracy” as an example. Our interaction with others should be out of sincere love for them, not tainted with manipulation – even if we think we know what’s best for the person.

Certainly, we treat our children this way don’t we? Yes, but I think in the case of a parent to a child it’s appropriate to set expectations on proper behavior and to impose punishments when disobedience occurs. But this is between a parent and a child, not between one brother to another. I mean, for me to exalt myself over another human being outside my actual family (as if I were their father) is insulting and presumptuous. Maybe even sinful?

For someone in the Body of Christ, authority rests on Jesus and the Spirit of God and the Scriptures, not on me or any other authority figure. Outside the Church it should still be the Word of God and the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin – not you or I. And to be more blunt, what these people need more than a job and more than to be legally married, and more than to be free from their addiction, is Jesus. Only Jesus can change their hearts and only Jesus can convict them of sin and give them a real hope to escape their situation.

So, for me, by showing love for people in practical ways – even in the midst of their sin – we ARE showing them Christ. We are bringing the Word of God and the Spirit of God to them as we continue in relationship with them, as we pray for them, and meet with them, and even as we model right behavior for them.

As we serve people in this way, many of them have made comments to us about the difference our service and mercy and kindness has made in their lives. Even seeing how people love one another, how husbands treat their wives in our fellowship, how children are given a voice, how the poor worship alongside the rich, has challenged them to be more understanding and patient and loving of one another. So, we’re not at the finish line yet, but we have cleared several hurdles in our lane so far.

To be fair, I can understand when someone says that they’re not comfortable helping people who are living in sin. Those are all pretty huge issues for me. Do we, as a church, send the wrong message to people when we bless them in practical ways, even when we know that the entire relationship is outside of God’s perfect will?

If we are called to show extravagant love to those on the edges of society like this, we will have to continually confront these issues and answer these challenging questions. To be honest, anytime you buy a cheeseburger for a homeless person you – potentially – enable that person to spend the $5 they would’ve spent on food to buy alcohol or drugs. So, maybe you should just never help anyone ever again because potentially your help – even a cold cup of water in Jesus’ name – could result in further sinful behaviors.

Maybe it seems I’ve already made up my mind about this, but let me assure you I have not. I am still wrestling with this question. For now, I am inclined to continue to love and serve whoever Jesus puts in our path. Right now I’m leaning towards showing the unconditional love and praying for God to work on their hearts, but even as I write this article I am still not 100% sure.

What do you think?

-kg

TIME TO SAY "I LOVE YOU"

2011-09-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

On September 11th, 2001, the victims of the attack had precious seconds to call one person they loved and say goodbye, or ask forgiveness, or let them know just how much they cared for them. And then it was goodbye.

Who would you make that call to? What would you say to them?

As we remember the tragedy of 9/11 today, I encourage all of us to take the time to put ourselves in the shoes of those who lost their lives that fateful day. Find your cell phone. Call that one person. Make sure they know how much you love them. Make sure they know you're sorry what you did, or what you said.

And when you say 'goodbye' at the end of that call, rejoice that for you it is not goodbye forever. You are still alive. You can even make another call or two before this day is over.

This is your opportunity to heal; to forgive; to love; to live.

-kg

IF CHURCH ISN'T IMPORTANT...

2011-09-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine sent me this Church sign. He found it misguided and sad.

My question in response to this sign is, "If church buildings are so important, why are so many of them empty?"

Or maybe, "Why are so many of their members empty?"

My friend who sent me this photo is a senior pastor of a traditional church in the South. He and I spoke over the phone recently and he shared his personal struggle with me as he wrestles with the tension between Church as a business and Church as Jesus intended.

My friend loves his church, the people, so much that he's ready to lay everything down - his career as a full-time pastor - in order to demonstrate to his brothers and sisters that THEY are called to be priests and not depend on him for everything.

On Saturday I spoke to another senior pastor in California who finds himself in the same position. He and his wife are now fully convinced that the traditional church system is not what Jesus intended His Bride to become, and now they're struggling with how to transition out of the pulpit and into the neighborhood.

The challenges for these two pastors is very real. How do they care for their church family in this process? How do they provide financially for their own family? What will Church look like in their community? How will God lead them next?

As I listen to these brothers share their heart with me over the phone, I can only encourage them that the same God who is calling them out into this wilderness will also provide for them once they take their first steps.

There are no easy answers. This is real life. The bills are real. The spiritual battle is real. The opposition to this path is very, very real. But, as someone who walked away from all of this and searched for full-time employment for over a year, I can say now that it is possible, and most of all, that it is very, very much worth the struggle.

Pray for these two men today, and for their families. Pray for their church families too as they confront the reality of "being the Church" themselves rather than remaining spectators on the pew.

Going back to the sign at the top of this article, the answer of course is that Church is very, very important. The Church is a living temple made up of living stones who are being built together by Christ Jesus as they daily offer themselves as living sacrifices to God and who minister to one another and encourage and teach and edify one another daily.

The Church is what Jesus the Messiah died and rose again to breathe life into. The Church is the Body of Christ, as long as Christ is the head and as long as the people themselves operate as an interconnected organism in love for one another, and for Christ who is their life.

The question is not whether or not Church is important - it is. The real question is "What is the Church?" and how you answer that question - and how you live out that answer - is what matters most.

Where you meet (in a building, a house, under a tree) doesn't matter so much as what happens when you come together as a Body. Is any one of you exalted over all the rest, or is Christ Jesus the actual Head of the Body? Is every member free to function according to their gifting? Is everyone (women, children, elderly) treated and loved equally?

Church is a "Who" not a "What". It's not a meeting you attend once a week. It's not a performance. It's a family, an organism, a Body, and a Bride.

-kg

BREATHING LESSONS

2011-08-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

As a child I used to suffer from asthma. I can remember wheezing and struggling to breathe as my parents coerced me to swallow the two bitter pills that would help to open my bronchial tubes and allow my lungs to process oxygen again.

The thing about asthma is that it keeps you from doing things that everyone else takes for granted, like running, riding your bike, playing tag, and a lot of other physical games with other kids.

At this age I was very aware of the fact that I had inherited my asthma from my own grandmother. Hers was much worse and required her to burn some sort of incense in an ashtray and inhale the fumes to clear her lungs. To this day I can instantly recall that smell whenever I remember being in my grandmother's house.

Eventually I outgrew my asthma, but I’ve never forgotten this phase of my life. Often, it serves as a metaphor to me when I consider the sustaining power of prayer in my life.

In the New Testament we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17), and breathing is often equated with prayer in the spiritual disciplines for this very reason. Our spiritual communication and connection with God should be a constant and never ceasing activity – just like breathing. We exhale our confession of weakness and we inhale the empowering Spirit of Grace.

This act of breathing prayer is life for us. Without breath none of us could survive very long. Prayer becomes our life line to the source of our life - Christ Himself. Breath also becomes an essential activity for anyone who runs a race, or hopes to compete in a marathon.

I point this out because Paul and the author of Hebrews often speak of the Christian life in terms of running a race.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Without great, deep, constant lungfuls of oxygen, we are unable to compete in this daily marathon of faith. Prayer is the key for us if we hope to reach the finish line.

Lately I've been thinking of this because I've started to realize that my asthma is starting to kick up again. Not the physical asthma (I've outgrown that), but the spiritual asthma has begun to slow me down. Thankfully the cure is not a bitter pill or any noxious smoke. It's simply bending the knee and taking the time to listen to that still, small voice again. Time to sit quietly in the darkened silence - and breathe.

-kg

The Gospel: For Here or To Go? (Part 6 of 6)

2011-08-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

*This is the final installment of this excerpted series of articles from the book. Download the PDF for free or purchase the book online (in English or French) to read the entire book
HERE

**

RELIGION OF COMPASSION?
One of the most disheartening things, when you listen to non-believers talk about why they are not followers of Jesus, is to hear things like, “My boss is a Christian and he’s the meanest person I know”, or “Our neighbors are Christians but they are just as screwed up as we are, why would I want to join them?”

One thing that’s clear when we look at the early church is the fact that they were living radically different lives from those Jews and pagans around them. It was the curiousity such living provoked that drew the majority of early converts to the Jesus Way of life.

Early Christians did not pass out printed tracts about salvation, they did not market their religion, and everyone knew that to join them meant becoming an outcast within the culture, possibly even arrested and put to death because of aligning oneself with Christ.

Yet the early church grew by leaps and bounds. Hundreds of thousands of people gave up their lives to follow this Jesus, in spite of the lack of evangelistic crusades and the threat of persecution. Why is that?

Many scholars are convinced that the lifestyle of those first and second century disciples was, in itself, the main reason. Some even suggest that their lives of service to the poor and their inclusive nature was as important as the miracles performed in their midst by the Apostles, perhaps even more important.

Historian, Henry Chadwick, for example, attributes the practical application of Christian charity as the “most potent single cause of Christian success in the ancient world..” and German theologian George Krestschmar has said that it was not so much the miraculous signs and wonders that followed the early church but unbelievable conduct of the Christians that had such an impact on the world of its day. He calls this, “the propaganda of the deed” where the generosity of the early church spoke louder than the doctrine or the healing of the infirmed.

It was the overwhelmingly generous lifestyle of those early believers that transformed the world and overcame persecution. Their lives demonstrated that Christ was more than powerful enough to change their hearts and the evidence was their ongoing care for others.

The sad truth is that, in our day, especially here in America, the line separating the pagan and the self-proclaimed Christian is difficult to see.

You don’t have to read too many Barna or Gallup polls to see that attending church services and proclaiming oneself to be “Born Again” doesn’t make any noticeable difference in the sort of life you may live on a daily basis. Many experts on Church Growth and Evangelism see a direct correlation between the lower ethical standards of those who claim to be Christian and the kind of evangelism we’ve been practicing for the last century.

“They’ve simply believed the story we told them,” says Todd Hunter, President of ALPHA Ministries USA. “We’ve made the story of the Gospel reductive in the absurd,” he says. “It’s like that old bumper sticker that says, ‘Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven’. Is that all we are? Just Forgiven? What about living a life of radical transformation where we are learning to live our lives like Jesus?”

Granted, the sound-byte culture we live in has encouraged the Church to present a watered-down version of the Gospel to the world around us. Most have heard our story over and over again and have decided that it doesn’t work.

The real question is what sort of Christianity are we calling people to? Are we really calling people to surrender their lives to Christ? Do we even really know what we mean when we say this?

Sadly, most of us do not think of conversion as a surrendered life to Jesus as our Lord and (yes), our Savior.

Most of us think of salvation as the answer to the question, “If you died tonight do you know you’d be in heaven tomorrow?” and perhaps the better question we should ask is, “If you knew you’d be alive tomorrow (and most of us will be), then whom will you follow and how would you live your life?”

Christianity is a way of life. Jesus calls us to die to ourselves in order to walk in his path.

Maybe we’re asking the wrong questions? If so, we’re offering the wrong answers too.
This would explain why the majority of people, both inside and outside the Church misunderstand what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Nothing illustrates this better than a comment made by the son of former President Ronald Reagan after the death of his famous father. In a New York Times exclusive, Ron Reagan Jr. was asked about his outspokenly Christian father and his own opinion of Christianity in general. Here’s what he said:

**
Q: Now that the country is awash in Reagan nostalgia, some observers are predicting that you will enter politics. Would you like to be president of the United States?

Ron Reagan Jr. (RRJ): I would be unelectable. I'm an atheist. As we all know, that is something people won't accept.

Q: Do you ever go to church?

RRJ: No. I visit my wife's sangha.

Q: So you sometimes practice Buddhism?

RRJ: I don't claim anything. But my sympathies would be in that direction. I admire the fact that the central core of Buddhist teaching involves mindfulness and loving kindness and compassion. ... One thing that Buddhism teaches you is that every moment is an opportunity to change.
**

The sad truth is that, in the private life of his Christian father, Ron Jr. saw nothing about Christianity that felt real to him, or relevant. Furthermore, he didn’t think of Christianity as a religion that promoted compassion or loving kindness.

While we might blame the first part on Ron Junior’s parents, we have to take the blame for the second part ourselves.

It would have been virtually impossible for an unbeliever living in those first three hundred years of Church History to ever reject Christianity on the grounds that it lacked compassionate people or failed to teach loving kindness.

In fact, we have testimony from many of the most hostile pagans who lived during the first three hundred years of Christianity who were put to shame because of the overwhelming generosity of the Church. Julian, the Apostate wrote of this frustrating situation when he said, “..The godless Galileans feed not only their poor, but ours also.”

Christian philosopher Aristides (125 AD) wrote about the radical charity of the early Church also, recording the fact that, “…if there is among them a man that is poor and needy and they have not an abundance of necessities, they fast for three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food.”

Radical compassion indeed.

Where have we gone wrong? Perhaps we’ve forgotten that our first and greatest command was to love.

GHANDI ON CHRIST
One quote which has always haunted me comes from a great man of peace named Mohatmas Gandhi who said this about Jesus Christ; “(He was) a man (Jesus Christ) who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.”

As encouraging as those words may be however, Gandhi had little good to say about those who call themselves the followers of Jesus. “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ,” he said. “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”

Have we missed our opportunity to change a nation for Christ because of our inability to live out the Gospel on a daily basis?

THE WAY BACK
Mike Pilavachi, the founder of Soul Survivor Ministries, uses a great illustration of our modern evangelistic efforts when he describes the Church as a great castle that, out of guilt, lowers the drawbridge annually to embark on an evangelistic crusade. Traveling in large groups, (for safety), we pass out tracts, launch “Bible Bombs” at people, play Christian music or perform pre-recorded puppet shows for those poor, lost people. Somehow, by sheer luck, we manage to convince one or two of them to pray a prayer and join us inside the castle where we raise the drawbridge and begin to teach them our quirky “Christianese” so that, a year later when we launch out again, they can’t talk to non-Christians either.

It may be funny, in some ways, but it’s the Truth. We have to change the way we think of non-Christians and we have to start changing our approach now.

First, I believe we need to lose the “drawbridge” mentality. The Church in current times desperately needs to stop treating non-believers as if they have social leprosy. We need to lower our defenses and learn to express the love of Jesus in practical ways to those in need.

Secondly, we need to expand our concept of evangelism to include an intentional discipleship to this person known as Jesus. As long as discipleship is optional, all our efforts at evangelism will lack the necessary proof that the kind of life Jesus offers is worth a dime.

Third, we have to take the calling to love others personally. It’s not “The Church” that needs to have a reformation of the heart, it’s you and I.

CONVERSATION – COMMUNITY – CONVERSION
The only formula I can see, at a basic level begins with conversation, which at some point leads to community and relationship, and then, somewhere in the course of all this, conversion takes place. Our role is simply obedience and the practice of unconditional love towards everyone God leads into our path.

THE MISSION
Recently, my wife and I left our role as pastors at a local church we had helped to plant more than three years earlier. Our dream was to start a new sort of a church. One where everyone took following Jesus seriously. One where the practice of compassion to others was expressed in the giving of 100% of the tithe to the poor and the needy.

Our conviction was that everyone who called themselves a follower of Jesus was, by default, a missionary to their culture. Because we wanted to be reminded of this, we called our new church, “The Mission”.

Just a few weeks ago, we started a Sunday Morning “Kids Club” in our neighborhood. Four elementary-aged children came, along with our two young boys, to spend five weeks studying the life of Jesus. We sing songs, play games, and have fun together while we learn more about how Jesus loves us and can change our lives.

For over a decade my wife and I have taught Children’s Ministry in the local church, and many of those children came to faith in Christ as a result. We are thrilled for that experience and we applaud all of those who serve in this way. However, we felt a tugging in our hearts for those children who played with our sons every weekend and yet did not know Christ. So, we decided to host a Sunday School program in our living room on Sunday mornings for all those children who weren’t going to church anywhere.

Now our plan is to get to know the parents of these children and to eventually invite them to join us all on Sunday Morning for a few songs, some Bible Study and free coffee and bagels in our living room.

This is the way my wife and I have felt called to express our calling as missionaries in our neighborhood. Your talents are probably different than ours. Your area of ministry is probably a little different too. But your calling to “Go” is exactly the same.

Our challenge has been to inspire this sort of activity within our own weekly house church gathering. While we’ve called ourselves, “The Mission”, not everyone has come to the place where they have their calling figured out completely. This is where discipleship comes in. Our goal is to lovingly assist everyone in our house church to discover their gifts, their talents, and their mission field.

So far, the experience of house church has been amazing. We patterned our group after that of the early Christians, gathering in homes, breaking bread together, and sharing and ministering to one another in the power of the Holy Spirit, with God as our leader and teacher, not as a select group of qualified professionals.

So far we’ve enjoyed the simple joys of being the family of God. We’ve seen healings, we’ve seen miracles, and better yet, we’re all learning how to “be the Church” and not how to simply attend one.

CONCLUSION
Whether or not you decide to start a house church is beside the point. The issue of who we are as Christians is still just as important, if not more important, than what we say we believe in our heads. However we decide to express this, the truth is that we must begin to live out the truth and the power of the Gospel in our everyday lives. We must begin today.

Evangelism, like following Jesus, is all about going to where the broken and the lost and the forgotten are and loving them as Christ loved us. It’s not, I am convinced, about finding new ways to get them to come to us on our terms and to learn to believe the way we believe.

Jesus commanded us to “Go” and the command is still valid today. If we have any hope of accomplishing this command, it will only be as we go out in the power of the Holy Spirit and as we cooperate with Him in the process.

I encourage you to engage others in conversation. Tell your story, and listen to their story. Share your experiences with God in natural ways, not rehearsed speeches, but with a genuine voice of concern and compassion. Love others the way Jesus loved you. Invest in people. Trust that God loves them far more than you ever will, but ask God to teach you to love them more anyway.

And, whatever you do, “Go”!

-kg
**
**

THE Gospel: For Here or To Go? (Part 5 of 6)

2011-08-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

PATTERNS OF EVANGELISM
One thing that’s also helpful to me is to realize that, contrary to popular opinion, there is not a formula to evangelism found in the New Testament. Several times in the Gospels we see various people who come to Jesus and ask point blank, “What must I do to be saved?” One of the most shocking things is that Jesus never gives the answer that all of us have been trained to give. Not once. Jesus never says, “Confess your sins, believe in me and repeat this prayer after me.”

What we see is that Jesus gave a different answer to this question every single time. He never gave the same answer twice. It’s as if Jesus goes out of his way to demonstrate to us that evangelism needs to be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, being sensitive to the specific heart of the one person we are speaking to, and not applying the cookie cutter approach to preaching the Gospel.

Let’s look briefly at the various answers Jesus gives to those who approached him asking about what must be done to inherit eternal life and see what we can learn from Him.

To Zaccheus Jesus simply acknowledges him in the crowd, invites himself to dinner and when Zaccheus repents of skimming from the taxes he’s collected, Jesus proclaims that salvation has come to his household. In the case of the Rich Young Ruler, Jesus commands him to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and become a disciple under Jesus. The man refuses and is allowed to walk away, seemingly unconverted. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, is told he must be born a second time. This confuses him and Jesus does little to explain what he means, leaving the teacher of the Law to work it out on his own time. The Woman at the Well is boldly confronted with the promiscuous lifestyle she’s been living and yet never feels offended or condemned by Jesus throughout the conversation. Finally, the Thief on the Cross is converted and welcomed into Paradise simply for realizing that Jesus was the promised Messiah. His only part in the process seems to be the amazing good fortune of being crucified for his crimes on the same day as the Son of God.

Many other examples of salvation in the New Testament reflect this same lack of pattern and tailor-made response to the Gospel message.

How does your personal conversion experience compare to these found in the New Testament? Do you see a common pattern in your own story?

When I look at this amazing variety of conversion experiences in Scripture it really puzzles me as to why we’ve made evangelism so predictable and uninteresting.

What’s more, our focus on evangelism seems to be in asking whether or not someone knows whether or not they would go to heaven if they were to die tonight? If anything, it seems the basic questions beings asked by Jesus and His disciples dealt with what one would do if they knew for a fact that they’d be alive tomorrow. The real question seems to be, “If you were alive tomorrow, who would you follow and how would you live your life?”

Are we asking the wrong questions?

HAVE YOU EVER FALLEN IN LOVE?
If you’ve ever fallen in love you know that it’s a scary, delicate and uncertain process. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get in the way of the natural progression of things. Other times we fall in love and we can’t even really explain how and when it really happened, only that one day we woke up and realized that we could not live without this other person in our lives. There is no science to the process of falling in love.

What I think we fail to realize is that, conversion to Christ is really a process of falling in love with Jesus over a period of time. When we make this process about a series of steps and a progression of words, we have seriously interfered with something that is far outside our ability to grasp and coordinate.

I can remember when I fell in love with my wife, Wendy, back in college. I can remember that first time I ever saw her, as she stepped onto the bus headed to a leadership conference we were attending with an on-campus student ministry. As she walked towards my seat and eventually sat in front of me I remember thinking, “Wow. Who is she? I’ve not seen her around campus.”

Before the bus left the parking lot she and I were engaged in small talk, she leant me new batteries for my Walkman and we barely interacted for the rest of the trip. A few weeks later I joined the Drama group she was leading, just to be near her. Over a series of months I got to know her. Finally I asked her to join me to see a local play and she turned me down cold. I was crushed.

Eventually she did join me and over time we got to know each other over the course of a year or so. After formally dating for a few months I asked her to marry me and a year later we were married.

Now, what if I took my own personal experience of falling in love and created a formula by which all others who wanted to fall in love must follow? Would that make any sense?

Hopefully we can plainly see that to expect everyone to fall in love the way that we fell in love is ridiculous. Yet, we have formulated a process for falling in love with Jesus and if people miss a few steps along the way we are quick to point out that they have failed to fall in love with Him in the acceptable way.

Doesn’t this seem foolish?

My prayer is that we will begin to see evangelism, and conversion, and discipleship to Jesus as an organic, creative, and miraculous process, as mysterious and marvelous as falling in love.

“And they will know that you are my disciples if you love one another”
–Jesus (from John 13:35)

-kg
**
Excerpted from the book "The Gospel:For Here or To Go?" with a forword by Neil Cole. Available as a free PDF download or for purchase in print (in English or French)
HERE

**

The Gospel: For Here or To Go? (Part 4 of 6)

2011-08-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

SOCIAL LEPROSY
In the book of John, Jesus prays for those who would follow his teachings after he ascended into heaven. What I find fascinating is that Jesus began by praying for what he didn’t want to pray. Yeah, it sounds strange, doesn’t it?

Why would anyone every start praying by asking God for what they were not asking? Maybe the clue is in what it was that Jesus didn’t pray. He says, “I pray not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the Evil One” (John 17:15).

Why did Jesus pray this?

I think it’s because he knows human nature and he knew that, soon after his ascension, we would want to remove ourselves from the world around us. We’re not comfortable hanging out with those sinners. More often than not, we treat the lost, those outside the Church, as if they have some sort of “Social Leprosy”. We’re afraid we’ll catch what they’ve got, so we avoid contact with them. We create Christian versions of the world so that we never have to interact with these “Social Lepers”. We have Christian Radio Stations, Christian Yellow Pages, Christian Coffee Shops, Christian Book Stores, and all sorts of private avenues where our contact with non-Christians is minimized.

I’m convicted when I realize that Jesus didn’t even treat people who had actual leprosy this way, and yet I treat those who think differently than I do as if they had some infectious disease that I might catch if I’m exposed to them for any extended period of time. The ironic thing is that Jesus expected that his disciples would be salt and light in the world, not hidden under a basket waiting for the second coming.

Paul the Apostle echoed the prayer of Jesus when he instructed the Christians in Corinth about their interactions with non-believers. “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people; not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10)

Have we removed ourselves from the world? If so, we’ve allowed the Enemy to pacify us into complacency. It’s time to awaken from our slumber and burst out of our Christian bubble.

SALVATION IS A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT OR POINT IN TIME
One thing I find fascinating as I study the New Testament and the practice of the early church is that their concept of salvation was much different than mine. When I think of salvation, I usually think of that one day when, as a nine year old boy, I walked forward and prayed with my pastor to ask Jesus into my heart. However, Peter and Paul seemed to have a different opinion about the salvation process. In their minds, salvation was an ongoing experience, not a one-time deal.

“..And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)

"For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:9)

When we begin to think of Salvation as a process, and not an event, it changes the way we think of Evangelism.

In your own experience, what happens when someone you’ve been praying for and witnessing to finally accepts Christ as Lord and Savior? Don’t you cheer and weep and give high-fives to all your Christian friends? Sure you do. That’s an appropriate response. Even the Scriptures tell us that the angels in heaven celebrate when someone is saved.
(Luke 15:7-10)

However, our response and attention usually diminishes soon after this event. I believe it’s because, for us, our work is done. Our friend has “made it”. They are “in”. They’ve crossed the finish line and we can all move on with our lives now.

But, if Salvation is a process, and not an event or a point in time, then our work is not done. Our friend has not come to the end of the journey. Instead, they have only just begun.

In other words, Salvation is not the finish line, it is the starting line. If we begin to think of Salvation in this way, as an ongoing, daily commitment to following the marvelous person of Jesus, it will have a radical effect on our methods of evangelism and the way we treat those we hope to lead into this way of life.

-kg
**
Download the entire book in English or French for free as a PDF or purchase online
HERE

**

The Gospel:For Here or To Go? (Part 3 of 6)

2011-08-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

BELIEVE, BELONG, BECOME

Someone once told me that every single human being has a desire to believe something, to become something and to belong to something. As we enter into relationship with others we need to listen for the clues to where people are at in this process.

Ask people questions about what they believe, find out what they are searching to belong to, help them to come to grips with what they want to become.

In some cases, the answers to these questions will be very practical. Some people want to become a nurse, or a mechanic. Others want to become significant or necessary. A few people we talk to will reveal that they want to belong to a family, or a discussion group, or that they are already identified with people who share their viewpoint. Until we engage people in real, honest relationship we’ll never discover the answers to these questions, and we cannot help others find their own answers to these questions.

If nothing else, start your conversation with the person in front of you by saying, “You know, I was reading the other day about how everyone wants tobelieve, belong and become something. What do you think about that?” Let the Holy Spirit guide things from there and see where things go.

GARDNER VS WARRIOR MODES OF EVANGELISM
Another useful concept for me lately has been the understanding that there are two different styles of evangelism we can employ. As described in Spencer Burke’s book, “Making Sense of Church”, the two styles are “Warrior” and “Gardener”.

The “Warrior” model is the predominant method that I have been trained in over the course of my Christian life. This model uses ideas like closing the deal, winning the lost, and targeting sinners, as if they were deer on the other end of our hunting rifle. Our mindset, in this model, is squarely centered on results, and often we expect the result to come sooner rather than later. If we take a shot and miss, we simply move on to the next target and take a shot at another one.

Granted, this sort of evangelism style has been largely successful in bringing hundreds of thousands of people into faith in Christ over the years. Perhaps, again, our focus has been so centered on conversion that many have fallen through the cracks, but over the decades of the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies especially, this “Bag’em and Tag’em” mode of evangelism netted scores of new converts.

I think in today’s culture this warrior form of evangelism is a dead-end. If anything, it does more damage to the Gospel than good, in my opinion. The reason why is that, honestly, we’ve gotten so good at blasting out the message that “Jesus Loves You” and “Jesus Died For Your Sins” that the world is tired of hearing it. What they want now is to see.

They want to see, with their eyes, if what we say is true, and they are looking at the lives of those who identify themselves as followers of Jesus to find the evidence.

The “Gardener” model of evangelism takes a much different approach. Like a farmer or a gardener plants, waters and protects the growing things in their care, they recognize that making the plant produce fruit is not their job. They recognize that they are simply cooperating with the natural process of growth inherent in the creation.

This does not mean that the gardener does nothing. Far from it. As anyone who has tended a garden knows, success depends on daily attention and care, but the bloom and the fruit will come in due time. These things cannot be forced or coerced. They must be allowed to occur in an organic and natural way.

To apply this to evangelism, it means trusting that God loves people more than we do. It means daily placing our attention on the lives and spiritual development of those whom we are in contact with. Our goal is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He urges us to love people into the Kingdom of God. This means we’ll be invested in the lives of people for the long haul. We’re not loving them because we want to push them into our way of thinking, we are loving them simply because God loves them and we are committed to love them in tangible ways to express the love of God to them every single day.

-kg
**
The entire book is available in English or French editions for purchase or as a free PDF download
HERE

THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO? (Part 2 of 6)

2011-08-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

In the closing words of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus leaves us with what has become known as “The Great Commission”. In it, Jesus charges his disciples with a set of tasks until he returns. Here’s what Jesus commands us to do:
1) Go out into the world and make disciples.
2) Baptize these disciples in the name of the Trinity.
3) Teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded us.

If we take a moment to evaluate how we, the Church, have done in accomplishing these tasks, I think we’ll see where we’ve missed the mark, and hopefully where we need to get back on track.

First, we’re called to go. It seems simple enough, but what frustrates me is how often I see us in the Church twisting this into a more comfortable format. For the most part, the organized Church has built a model of evangelism and discipleship that says, “Come to us”. We build large buildings, we buy plasma television screens to announce our upcoming events, we host large-scale musicals and plays to dramatize the Gospel, and we instruct our members to invite their friends to Church so that the professional clergy can do the evangelizing.

I’m not trying to say that these methods are wrong or evil, but just that we’ve taken a very simple and clear command to “Go” and made it into a call for the lost to “Come to us”. This isn’t what Jesus commanded us to do. Jesus very easily could have commanded us to create inviting environments where the lost feel welcome. He could have commanded us to make space for unbelievers to show up and meet us on our terms, but he didn’t. He commanded us that we should go out and, in the course of our everyday, regular life, communicate and live out the message of the Gospel among those we encounter everyday.

Secondly, Jesus commands us to make disciples. A disciple is someone who is daily, intentionally following Jesus with their whole life. A disciple is not a convert. If you take a look at how our local churches practice evangelism you’ll probably see a lot emphasis placed on winning people to Christ, getting them to come forward in the meeting to make a public profession of faith, and not as much emphasis on taking them from this first step into all the other steps that follow.

As one example, I recently came across a very helpful tool called “The Engel’s Scale” which charts the slow progression by degrees of those who are far from God and how they slowly come to faith in Christ over time and with the assistance of loving friends and the Holy Spirit.

What I found troubling about the scale was that it stopped at conversion. As if, after the conversion experience, we no longer had any need to chart their ongoing development and discipleship to Jesus.

Again, the entire emphasis was on conversion, not on discipleship.

I understand that there are exceptions to this in the Body of Christ, and for that I am very grateful. I’m simply pointing out that, at least as far as I have seen, most modern American Churches seem to focus entirely too much on conversion and not enough on discipleship, which is expressly what Jesus commanded us to focus on.

Thirdly, Jesus commands us in the Great Commission to “teach them to obey everything I have commanded”. I find this part the most painful to explore. Simply put, I have never once encountered a church or a ministry where the main goal was to emphasize the commands of Jesus or to communicate a strong expectation of obedience for those who would call themselves disciples of Jesus.

If you want to know whether or not the Church has been obedient in the third section of The Great Commission, just ask yourself if you can name all of the commands of Jesus. If you don’t know what all of these commands are, you not only cannot teach others to obey them, you yourself cannot obey them.

Jesus had an expectation that those who would follow him would…well…follow him. Obedience to Jesus was not an optional activity for disciples. Over and over again Jesus spoke about how those who love him obey his commands. His unwavering invitation was for disciples who would take his words seriously and put them into practice.

For the Gospel to become a living reality to those around us, it must become a living reality to those of us who have decided to make Jesus our Lord and Savior.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded by saying, “The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind...and the second is like the first; you should love your neighbor as yourself”. (Matt 22:37-39)

Without embracing the Great Commandment, we can never hope to accomplish the Great Commission. This is why Paul the Apostle tells us that, without love, all that we strive to do for the Kingdom is meaningless and empty. (1 Cor 13)

We have to love people because they are people that Jesus loves. We have to learn to love people unconditionally. To love others as He loved us. Until we get really, really good at this, all our efforts to evangelize and to make disciples will appear hollow and empty.

-kg

**
*Taken from the book which is available in English or French as a free PDF download or for sale in print
HERE

The Gospel: For Here Or To Go? (Part 1)

2011-08-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

*This is an excerpt from the first chapter of my book, "The Gospel:For Here or To Go?" available as a free PDF download or for purchase in print
HERE

French language version also available at the link above.

**

There’s a great scene at the end of the film, “The Big Kahuna” where Danny DeVito’s character counsels a young co-worker about his overt mode of evangelism.

He says, “It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep.”

That scene sums up, for me, how the world sees the insincerity in our attempts to sell our faith the way a door-to-door salesman sells magazine subscriptions.

As a young college student, I was very passionate about Christian Apologetics. I read book after book dealing with how to “give to every man an answer, a reason for the hope that lies within” using science, history, archaeology, and logic to convince the skeptic and the unbeliever that Jesus really was the answer.

After several years of learning, and even teaching others, about the basics of the Christian Faith, I came to the realization that I had never once argued anyone into trusting Jesus. I had some great theological and mentally stimulating discussions with people, but the fact was that my apologetics had not won a single person to Christ.

That’s when I realized that the only Apologetic that really matters is the Apologetic of your life. No one can argue with your actual, personal experience with God. I realized that my life needed to reflect the transformational power of Jesus, or else my logic and wisdom and answers were useless.

Granted, I’m much wiser and more secure in the grounding of my faith now that I’ve spent so much time studying and discussing the issues with people. But what is best for others is that I begin to actually live out the Gospel in my daily life and share openly about my own struggles, failures, experiences and insights as I personally follow Jesus every day of my life.

When Peter exhorts the early disciples of Jesus to “..always be ready to give an answer, a reason for the hope that lies within..” it was written with the underlying assumption that the people he was writing to were living radically transformational lives within the culture they were part of. We know this because of what we see in the book of Acts and by looking at the first three hundred years of Church History. The early followers of Jesus were living lives that were extremely different from those of the pagan world around them. Because of this, Peter is encouraging these disciples to be ready to explain why they cared for lepers, and fed pagan widows, and shared personal belongings with anyone in need whenever unbelievers asked them the reason why.

These days I fear we in the Church have largely lost this sense of living a different sort of life from those around us. Instead, we’re quick to offer answers to questions that no one is asking us.

-Keith Giles

THIS IS WHAT LEADERSHIP LOOKS LIKE ACCORDING TO JESUS

2011-08-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

Like this....

Not like this....

SHANE CLAIBORNE INTERVIEW EXCERPT

2011-08-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I interviewed Shane Claiborne over the phone. This is a short excerpt of that conversation. The full interview will be published in an updated version of my book, [Subversive Interviews].
**

Keith: What were the experiences that God used in your life to open your eyes to the needs of others and what it means to follow Jesus into solidarity with the poor?

Shane: There’s certainly a ton of those kinds of experiences for me. But the one’s that most poignantly stirred things up in me have been personal relationships with folks that are hurting in different ways.

I’d have to say that being in India and seeing Mother Teresa and the sisters engaging the poor in Calcutta was very transformative for me also.

My time in Iraq was also quite significant. Being face-to-face with the collateral damage and seeing the myth of redemptive violence; witnessing some of the most horrific things I’ve ever seen in my life. That had an impact on me, as you might expect.

Being in Iraq during Advent and the week of Easter was powerful.

I think we have a hiccup in our theology or our politics when we encounter real people. Prior to any relationship it’s easy to cling to our ideology or to quote statistics or whatever. But I can remember one of my friends in college telling me he was gay and he said he felt like God had made a mistake when he made him and he just wanted to kill himself. Those experiences really mark us, I think. Because they are real human relationships and to me those are the kinds of things that have created the DNA of what love looks like and what justice looks like to me.

Keith: You’ve hit on something I’ve experienced as well. I think that when these issues become not just talking points or clever arguments but they suddenly have a name and a face and you’re forced to engage with actual human beings who are your friends and they’re struggling with poverty or drugs or their sexual identity, it’s a whole different story. When the people you love and care about are caught in addiction or trapped in poverty, or whatever, it’s not so easy to quote statistics or give easy answers. I mean, it’s one thing to win an argument about these issues on a blog but it’s something else when you’re friend is looking at you with tears in her eyes and she’s asking you for help.

Shane: Right.

Keith: When I spoke to Jim Wallis we touched on something I wanted to ask you about if you don’t mind.

Shane: Sure. Go ahead.

Keith: Sometimes I think Christians in America confuse politics with social justice and they have very little understanding of the Biblical mandate we have as Christians to care for the least and the lost and to follow Jesus into these uncomfortable places, regardless of political affiliation. Do you agree that we politicize social justice? If so, why and how can we break out of that?

Shane: I think it was Cornell West who said that justice is what loves look like in public. I think that’s true in a lot of ways. The language that I use for social justice is the phrase “restorative justice” because I think it gets at the heart of what Biblical Justice is really about. It’s not just getting what we deserve but it’s about restoring what’s been broken and creating space for reconciliation and forgiveness. It’s really the idea of “Shalom” and how righteousness and justice are the same word in the Hebrew. This means it’s about making wrong things right again and repairing what has been broken in the community we live in.

I think it’s ok to be involved with legislation as long as we don’t think that love can be legislated, or that it needs to be legislated. But good laws are not a bad thing either. We just have to remember that good laws can’t change a bad heart.

So, restorative justice is a work of God and the work of the Church.

Keith: It seems that this is what has been working itself out in your community there in Philadelphia. Sometimes the solution may be found in a courtroom, or before a city council, but other times the solution is found in someone’s living room as you pray with them.

Shane: Yeah. That’s like a prayer we have painted on one of our buildings here that says “Come Holy Spirit and repair all that is broken in our homes and in our street and in our world.” I think that’s really beautiful because it recognizes is a personal God who is about the restoration of all things and His Kingdom coming on Earth. I think we need to see justice as encompassing inclusion and immigration and the death penalty and poverty and war and abortion and all these are issues of humanity. We’re called to care about those things. We have to marry all those things together and not allow them to be divorced in our minds. These are all inseparable concerns.

In the recovery community they say “We cannot fully recover until we help the society that made us sick recover.” So, I think that we need an integration of healing for individuals and for our world that has grown very sick.

Keith: You mentioned recently that your community is like an onion. I know that doesn’t that mean you smell bad and you make people cry. So, can you explain that concept and unpack it more for me?

Shane: Really what we’re trying to do is to grow people into an integrated and holistic Christian life. It’s about what we believe but it’s also about how we live. So, the onion was, for years, the way we did spiritual formation essentially. In the monastic order it takes years to grow into that rule of life. So, I think we’re correcting one of the shortcomings of Evangelical Christianity which has been so driven to do evangelism that it’s forgotten discipleship.

Keith: Yes, you’re right.

Shane: So, rather than making members on a Sunday service we’re really talking about what it means to make disciples instead of merely believers. It says we’re called into the world to make disciples and I think that’s where our Christianity today has become really shallow. Our faith has become a set of doctrines on paper and not about our whole life and how we integrate what we believe. I think Christians in the past have been able to say, “If you want to know what I believe then watch how I live.” So, we’re trying to get back to that.

We also recognize that people are on different kinds of journeys and there are different layers within our community so it’s not like you’re either in or out. As we see with Jesus there were many different people at many different places. There are some people who think they’re in but they’re on their way out. (Laughs) Because they’re choosing patterns that are really contrary to what Jesus is about.

NOTE:The rest of this interview will appear in the updated version of my book [Subversive Interviews]. Available soon.

-kg

Over 2,250 people have download my book for free.

2011-08-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

My book, "This Is My Body:Ekklesia as God Intended" is available as a free e-book download for Nook, Kindle, iPad or other e-book reader device at this link
HERE

Or you can purchase a print version my book at this link
HERE

If you'd like to read reviews of the book, listen to my radio interviews, check out reader reactions, see the press release or read related articles you can do that at the book blog located at
www.WeAreTheTemple.com

For all of you who've purchased or downloaded the book I want to say "Thank you" and I invite you to share a review of the book which I'd be happy to add to the reader reactions already posted at www.WeAreTheTemple.com.

-kg

**

Our Idea VS God's Idea

2011-08-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD." - Isaiah 55:8

Quite often we develop our own ideas about who God is and what He wants from us. Lately I've noticed that a few of our concepts about doctrine, worship, fasting, missions, church-planting and faith are quite divergent from what God reveals in His Word. Here's a few of them for you to consider. See if you notice a theme running through a lot of these:

Our idea of Sound Doctrine:
An unwavering commitment to a set of teachings about tongues, salvation, the return of Christ, baptism, hell, etc. that must be argued for, defended, and held onto in order to preserve our denominational truth and/or identity.

God’s idea of Sound Doctrine:
“You, (Titus) however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

"Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us." - Titus 2:1-8

Our idea of Faith:
To believe that what the Bible says is true and to agree with doctrines that our church upholds as truth.

God’s idea of Faith:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." – (James 2:14-19)

Our idea of Fasting:
To abstain from food or water (or any other activity) for a set amount of time in order to pray and hopefully find an answer to our prayers or hear God’s voice for direction concerning a specific issue or question.

God’s idea of Fasting:
“Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ?
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” – (Isaiah 58:5-9)

Our idea of what is essential for Missions and/or Church planting:
Finding a strong pastor and leadership team, raising enough money to rent or purchase a building and marketing the new church in the community.

God's idea of what is essential for Missions and/or Church planting:
"James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." - (Galatians 2:9-10)

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." – (1 Cor 12:12)

"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many." – (1 Cor 12:14)

"But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." – (1 Cor 12:18)

"…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." – (Matthew 16:18)

Our idea of knowing God:
To study the Bible and to learn as much as we can about His character and His covenant and how it all fits together.

God’s idea of knowing Him:
"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD." – (Jeremiah 22:16)

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." – (John 5:39-40)

Our idea of Worship:
To close our eyes and lift our hands and to sing songs about Jesus for as long as possible in order to express to God our intense feelings of love and gratitude for His goodness to us.

God's idea of Worship:
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." – (Romans 12:1-2)

"Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
– (Amos 5:23-24)

-kg
**

Note: This article is a compilation of previous articles on this theme that appeared here in September of 2010 and earlier this year.

WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?

2011-07-31T05:51:00.000-07:00

A guest blog article by Alf Hutchison.

“So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'” (PS 95:11)

The writer of Hebrews takes this Word of God from Psalms to its ultimate conclusion, “For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (HEB 4:3)

The Lord, in Psalm 95, is addressing those Hebrews who had hard hearts and it was for them, He made the Laws, and they are still under that Law (Torah) today, even the law of the Sabbath, the Rest. "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' for all those Christians who are returning to the ‘Jewish roots’, please read Gods words again "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,'

The writer of Hebrews tells us more:
And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (HEB 3:18-19)

The writer of Hebrews continues driving the point home.
“For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said, “So I swore in My wrath,'They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest." Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience.” (HEB 4:3-6)

The writer of Hebrews then goes on to explain about the day concerned, regarding “His Sabbath rest”

“Again He designates a certain day, saying in David,( i.e. The Psalms) "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said:
"Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."
There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.(HEB 4:7-10)

Finally remember well the words of Paul to those in Colossae:
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.(COL 2:16-17)

The New Covenant came in to effect upon Calvary’s cross, "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (JER 31:33) And until that New Covenant is accepted by the Jews they will remain bound by the Law, and to the religious keeping of the Sabbath. Born again Christians already have the new Covenant in the Blood of Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit of God; and the Law in their hearts and their Sabbath rest is no longer a single day. It is every day.

"For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."(MATT 12:8) Jesus Christ is our Sabbath rest, and His designated day is TODAY...and every day...not just Sunday or Saturday.

If we are to believe that “He is in us and we in Him”, then is it only on Sunday or Saturday that this occurs, or is it every day of our believing lives until He returns? If you are a born again Christian and you keep Sabbath, as the Jews do, you are in error.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (MT 11:28)

Yours In His Name,
Alf Hutchison
**

Bless Israel?

2011-07-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

"...but Israel shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever." (Isaiah 45: 17)

"All Israel will be saved." (Romans 11:26)

It's widely known that God promised to save Israel in the Old Testament scriptures. But most Jews today are not followers of Christ, so does that mean that this an unfulfilled promise?

Some Biblical scholars say that we should be patient because these promises to save Israel will come true eventually. One day the Jewish people will receive Jesus as the Messiah and they will be saved in fulfillment of God’s promise.

Another theory is that God’s promise has already come true. How? Because, according to the Apostle Paul, many of us have misunderstood the true identity of "Israel" as God intends it. To elaborate, God did not mean to suggest that the natural, national, ethnic Jews would all be saved, but only those who receive the Messiah (either Jew or Gentile) are truly "Israel".

Where does this teaching come from? In Romans 9:6 Paul says, "But it is not as though the word of God has failed." Why does he say this? Because, as he's about to demonstrate, God's promise to save Israel has not failed because "...not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel".

God made promises to Israel, the nation, but not everyone who is Jewish by blood will automatically receive the promised salvation. As Paul has already said, in Romans 2:28-29:

"For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God."

So, who is truly a "Jew" and who is truly "Israel" according to the Word of God? Is it anyone born from Jewish blood? Or is it only the one who is circumcised of the heart and in Christ? Clearly, Paul is adamant that the only true "Israel" are those who are in Christ and who accept the Messiah as Lord and Savior.

Let's look to the Old Testament to see if we can find evidence to support this claim. In Psalm 50:5, God calls those Jews who have made a covenant with him as his "Holy Ones". Later, in Psalm 50:16 God says to the same Jewish Nation,

"But to the wicked, God says, 'What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant upon your lips?’ For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you."

So, God clearly divides the Jewish people into groups; those who love and obey Him, and those who rebel against Him and refuse to submit to His rule and reign. One group of ethnic Jews are "Holy Ones" who will receive His promise. The other group of ethnic Jews are "wicked" and have no right to the promise.

So, when God made promises to Israel, He did not mean every single person with Jewish blood in their veins (of the flesh), but only to those who are truly "Israel" and submit to His rule and reign and obey Him in love, from their hearts (of the spirit).

As Jesus said of Nathaniel, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" (John 1:47) What does it mean to be "an Israelite indeed"? Apparently, according to Jesus, it means having no deceit in your heart. Therefore, not every Jew, according to Jesus, is "an Israelite indeed" but only those whose hearts are open to the will of God.

In Jeremiah 31:31, the prophet says, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah." In the upper room, before his crucifixion, Jesus held up the cup and declared, "...this cup is the new covenant in my blood."

To whom did he proclaim this covenant? To his disciples who were truly "the house of Israel" because their hearts were circumcised according to the Spirit and not to the flesh (except for Judas, of course).

Paul's argument is that the true Israel is a remnant of people, not the entire Jewish nation or race. In fact, this is why he proclaims,

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

Notice that he doesn’t say, “There are now both Jews AND Greeks”. Instead he says that now neither one exists as a separate entity. There is no more separation between the two groups because, in Christ, these distinctions cease to exist and become irrelevant.

Then, to put the icing on the cake, Paul ends this same passage by saying:
“And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

Yowza.

Of course, this should come as no surprise because Paul also says in Romans 9:8, “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”

So, when we are told that, as good American Christians we must support a secular state like the Nation of Israel, regardless of what political or military actions are taken, we have to stop and ask ourselves, “What does the Scripture really say about this?”

The notion that Christians, and America as a nation, should support the Nation of Israel comes from the scripture where God says to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

From this, we are told by our pastors and Christian leaders and political experts, that if we don’t bless Israel (the secular nation) politically, then we will as a nation will not be blessed. Is this true? I would say, no for several reasons.

First, because as we’ve already seen, not everyone who is Jewish is really “Israel”. Secondly, because there were plenty of Jewish leaders and Kings of the nation of Israel in the past who were anything but godly. So, for example, if we lived during the reign of Jeroboam (an evil King), God would not expect us to support his pagan worship practices, persecution of Jewish priests, and sacrifices to demons. Obviously not. So, the promise, (if it’s even intended to be something passed down to Abraham’s children or not), is meant to apply only to those who are spiritually “Abraham’s offspring” and according to Galatians 3:29, that means being in Christ, not being born a Jew.

Finally, I would like to ask what the fundamental difference is between today’s secular Jewish nation of Israel and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day? Both reject Christ as the Messiah and persecute Christians in Palestine. Should we support a government, any government, who persecutes our brothers and sisters in Christ?

What do you think?

-kg

When Should We Meet Together?

2011-07-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

Once you start reading the New Testament it becomes clear that the original followers of Jesus had only one day set aside for worship, fellowship, teaching and community. That day was called "Every day".

For example, the book of Acts tells us that "every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts." (Acts 2:46) We also know that "the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers." (Acts 16:5).

The author of Hebrews calls for Christians to "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13)

Paul the Apostle took a handful of followers of Jesus to the lecture hall of Tyrannus and "had discussions daily" (Acts 19:9).

When the Grecian Jews complained that their widows weren’t being cared for it was in regards to the "daily distribution of food" to the poor which the apostles themselves were performing as true servants. (Acts 6:1)

When the Bereans were commended it was because "they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11)

This really should come as no surprise to us, however. Jesus stressed that only those who "take up (their) cross daily" could follow him (Luke 9:23) and he taught his disciples to pray daily and to ask for "daily bread". (Matt 6:11)

A good friend responded recently pointed out that neglected to mention Acts 20:7 which indicates that the early Christians met on the “first day of the week” to share a meal and to hear Paul speak since he was about to go away the next day. (This is the infamous gathering where our poor brother Eutychus fell asleep and rolled out of the upstairs windows into the street below).

I will concede that, yes, it is apparent that the early church did see an importance to gathering on the first day of the week. However, I think we still don't grasp how much their expression of faith was so deeply ingrained in their daily lives.

To us, that "first day of the week" gathering is nearly the only time we think about things like discipleship, community, evangelism, compassion, worship, studying God's Word, fellowship, etc. However, the early church saw these things as daily activities, not once-a-week rituals.

So, if you take into account that the early, New Testament church was experiencing a daily community, and a daily study of God's Word, and engaged in daily discipleship, and daily distribution of food to the poor, and meeting together daily to fellowship and pray and sing and encourage one another, etc. THEN we can grasp how significant it is that they ALSO made a point to get together on the first day of the week to share a meal together.

I have to believe that if you and I were doing all that they were doing, we'd probably set aside the first day of the week as a special day where we DIDN'T gather together. I think we’d want to find a special day where we had a break from all that meeting and gathering and constant community. At least, I think I might.

Yes, the early church did set aside the first day of the week for sharing a meal together, and that was important to them, but it should be seen as yet another example of their astounding commitment to Christ - and to one another – not as evidence to justify our own lack of commitment.

So, instead of arguing over what day of the week we should worship or gather or teach, perhaps we should stop and realize that, according to the New Testament, every single day of our lives should be devoted to God, and to the community of faith. We need to be the Church every day of our lives, not simply attend one each week.

-kg

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." - Colossians 2:16-17

*This article appeared here previously in October, 2009.

WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE (3 minute excerpt)

2011-07-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

Excited to interview the producer/director of this excellent documentary, Porter Speakman, Jr., later next month for this blog.

A Palestinian Christian Seeks Peace

2011-07-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

"As believers, we are by no means immune to the destructive traits that mark our respective communities, and all of the factors that have further entrenched the divisions in the past decade have also affected us. We may disagree on how to go about reaching reconciliation, but we do still have hope for an improvement of our relations, and we have our shared faith in the Messiah who calls us to dwell in unity as brothers and sisters. If nothing is done to restore the relationships that have been damaged, there are dark days ahead, and this is why it is crucial that we allow God to use us as an instrument of his peace. We are called to be peacemakers, and stand against division, hatred and violence with love."
-Salim J. Munayer
Musalaha Director

ABOUT MUSALAHA
"Musalaha is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians as demonstrated in the life and teaching of Jesus. We seek to be an encouragement and facilitator of reconciliation, first among Palestinian Christians and Messianic Israelis, and then beyond to our respective communities."

The name Musalaha comes from the Arabic word for 'reconciliation'.

**

More from Salim J. Munayer:

"So, what is our role as believers in this situation? How can we be a model of Messiah as we move forward in the reconciliation process? Are we too busy challenging the moral and ethical position of the other side that we are unwilling to take responsibility? Because our societies have chosen war and violence, there is a great need for reconciliation. We can accomplish this through taking on a priestly role of intercessor and prophetic role of speaking the truth.

"While the conflict has divided some believers, there are those taking a stand and fulfilling their priestly role. I was greatly encouraged last week to hear a Messianic pastor lead his congregation in a prayer of repentance, especially emphasizing that in a time of war, repentance is necessary from both the Israelis and the Palestinians. We must begin by examining our own sins, failures and shortcomings and seek God’s forgiveness and direction.

"Applying Joel 2, we read,
“Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity” (Joel 2:12-13).

God desires us to grieve from within and turn our hearts back towards him. As we as believers intercede on behalf of the people in our societies we need to invoke the nature of God and beg for his mercy and compassion to fall upon us because we have sinned before him. We must also cry out for God’s mercy and compassion to fall upon the other side.

"In time of war we are also called to take on a prophetic role. The prophet was a representative of God who brought a message primarily to effect social change. The prophet spoke the truth and reminded us to care for the widow, orphan and stranger. When speaking the prophetic word, we need to be blunt without any hidden messages, and we need to have the courage to speak out when our people are wrong. In the prophetic role we are reminded that we must not only speak out against the injustice which has been committed against our own people, but also against others. We have a duty to speak out against the misuse of power and the blood of the innocent shed whether it is Israeli or Palestinian.

"The world views war as war. Some will say, “in war the innocent also die and we cannot help it.” My son was greatly distressed when his friend told him exactly this. I shared with him that in war we need to speak up for the innocent. We cannot justify the act of killing innocent people and say it was in self-defense. Yet, we cannot justify killing someone with a weapon just because they’re holding a weapon. Even killing in war for self-defense should be taken with caution and reverence. The enemy carrying the weapon is also a person who has also been created in the image of God. Especially in a time of war we need to speak louder and clearer against the misuse of power by our governments and their justification of power and violence. War doesn’t mean giving a free hand without any moral and ethical boundaries and limitations.

"So, while we are in the midst of war, we need to honestly seek the will of God and be discerning. We must become intercessors for our nation, our leaders and the other side and ask God to pour out his mercy and compassion. We must also become the prophet and convey that message of injustice happening in our societies. We need to attempt to relieve the pain of the innocent even if we feel our side’s reasoning for war is justified. Instead of pointing the finger, let us look within ourselves and repent. Then let us look at the other side with compassion and love, with a love that transcends societal boundaries, rocket fire and airstrikes."

- Salim Munayer
FROM THE ARTICLE PUBLISHED
HERE