VIDEO INTERVIEW: Prophecy Brothers Talk With Keith Giles About "Jesus Untangled"

One of the best conversations I've had about faith and politics is this one with the guys known as The Prophecy Brothers.

Check it out.

Interview: TogetherLA Talks To Author About Political Compromise

[FROM THE ARTICLE]

As the Church has become increasingly entangled in the pursuit of politics, the Gospel has become tarnished and often abandoned as the primary focus of the Body of Christ. — From Jesus Untangled — Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb back cover

Jesus Untangled author Keith Giles recently shared with Together LA that unity in the Church in Los Angeles is more critical than even other big cities simply because of “the breadth of diversity and the collision of cultures that are represented.” He makes the case that his book is a “prophetic call for the Church to awaken from the ‘American Dream’ and to return to Her first love.”

Our interview (transcript below) with Giles drew some rather pointed answers from him about the state of affairs for Christians and their politics today.

Together LA: What parts of your book address unity?

Keith Giles: The entire theme of the book is about the dangers of putting politics at the center of our faith; whether as individuals or as the church. Unity itself isn’t the goal. It’s the byproduct of placing Jesus at the center and following Him. The book certainly does examine how divisive politics can be to the Body of Christ, so as we untangle our faith and crucify our politics, we begin to see our brothers and sisters as they truly are, without seeing them through a political filter.

One reason we need to untangle our faith from politics is that if we are more “American” than “Christian” then we’ve become compromised by our nationality. AS I point out in the book: You can’t convert a culture if that culture has already converted you. We need to abandon our politics and seek first the Kingdom of God.

Read the entire interview here>

PODCAST INTERVIEW: Zao Church Talks To Keith Giles about "Jesus Untangled"

Joe and I had the pleasure of interviewing church planter and author Keith Giles. He wrote a book called Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb.

It was a great conversation and hopefully it will spark a paradigm shift when thinking about our place, as Jesus followers, in The Kingdom and politics.LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE>

INTERVIEW: Veracity Hill Interview Keith Giles "Nationalism: Patriotism Gone Too Far?"

Watch and Listen to this great conversation between Veracity Hill host Kurt Jaros and author Keith Giles as they explore the topic of "Nationalism: Patriotism Gone Too Far?"

Go here to listen> 

INTERVIEW: Derek Gilbert talks to Keith Giles about new book "Jesus Untangled"

WATCH: View From The Bunker host Derek Gilbert interviews author Keith Giles about his new book "Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb". 

MY NEW BOOK: JESUS UNTANGLED

This is the book Trump and Hillary don't want you to read.

My new book, Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb is coming to Amazon on Inauguration Day - January 20, 2017 in both print and ebook formats.

I'm very honored to have Greg Boyd [author of The Myth of a Christian Nation] contribute the Foreword to my book.

This is also my first book that I'm publishing through an actual publisher rather than going the self-publishing route. Already I'm kicking myself for not doing so much sooner. It's been a wonderful experience so far.

If you'd like to know more about the book, we have a little landing page set up here: www.JesusUntangled.com

I'm currently setting up radio and podcast interviews for the book, and I'm sending out advance pre-release copies on PDF to several authors and bloggers to solicit advance reviews leading up to January 20th, 2017.

If you live in the SoCal area, you might want to join us for the Jesus Untangled Book Signing Party at Fuller Seminary, Irvine on Saturday evening, Jan. 21st. at 6pm. This will be a great opportunity to grab a signed copy of the book and meet me in person. I'll read a chapter from the book and take a few questions.

Going forward, you might see a few new 5 Minute Video clips here and on YouTube focused on the book, plus a few other surprises that I can't wait to share.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog over the last 10 years, and who have supported me and my writing ministry. I'm so blessed to share this book with all of you!

Thanks for the support, it is greatly appreciated.

Peace,
Keith

NOTE: If you plan to buy the book on Amazon, please DO NOT PRE-ORDER the book. We're asking everyone to be patient and purchase the book on Friday, January 20th so our sales numbers are maximized and all sorts of beautiful things start to happen for us at Amazon.

Thanks!

How do you know if your church is really the Body of Christ?

This weekend I was blessed to fly to the San Francisco area to co-lead a weekend gathering for those interested in learning more about Organic Church.

Our event was hosted at a local pizza shop. The sign on the door said “Round Table Pizza” but on the inside all the tables were square.

To me, that felt like an appropriate metaphor of the modern Christian church in America.

We advertise ourselves as being “The Body of Christ” but then once people get inside they quickly realize that we’re not acting like a body at all.

See, when Paul uses that metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12, he is describing how the Church functions in relationship to Jesus, and to one another.

Any church that doesn’t operate the way Paul describes isn’t really the Body of Christ. Sure, it might be a Church in the traditional sense, but it’s not a Body in the Biblical sense.

Simply put, Paul tells us that Jesus is the head of the Body. That means that He is in control. Not figuratively, but actually. He is in charge. He directs the members of the Body, just as your own head directs the rest of your body parts.

We also see from Paul’s description that the members of the Body all share the ministry equally.

God distributes spiritual gifts to each member of the Body for one reason: So they can build one another up into Christ.

In the round table model, everyone is equal; everyone’s voice is just as important and necessary as everyone else’s. Every member of the Body shares in the work so no one gets burned out and everyone gets to participate.

In the square table model, there is a human boss, typically referred to as the Senior Pastor, who makes all the decisions and quite often does most of the spiritual work alone rather than relying on the members of the Body to accomplish the work cooperatively. You know, like the various parts of a human body.

If you’re going to follow a square table model, that’s up to you. But please don’t refer to yourself as a round table when those four corners are so obvious to the rest of us.

For what it’s worth, both tables are useful, but one makes it easier for everyone to serve one another and use their gifts to build one another up.

If you want to keep your focus on the Lord, try putting 1 Corinthians 12 into practice.

If you want to put that chapter into practice, you’ll find that sitting in a circle makes it much eaiser.

Where you meet and when you meet matters much less than what happens when you meet.

Put Jesus in the center, gather around Him and use your gifts to build one another up in love.

That’s called the Body of Christ.

-kg

NEVER TRUMP. NOT HER. WHO THEN?

Many Christians today are confused, heartbroken, polarized, angry and conflicted over the current election cycle.

Who should we vote for? Which candidate is "God's Candidate"? If I vote for this one will God be angry? If I vote for the other one will God allow our nation to collapse in moral decay?

Who will rule over us? Who should we pledge allegiance to?

Here's a thought: If we have pledged allegiance to Jesus as our King and now serve as ambassadors to His Kingdom, how can we participate in the political processes of another kingdom?

Didn't Jesus say that we can't serve two masters? [See Matt. 6:24]

Didn't Paul warn us not to become entangled with the affairs of this world? [See 2 Tim. 2:4]

What qualifies as an affair of this world more than politics? [Other than war?]

For many Christians in America, their identity is found primarily as being citizens of the United States of America.

But for many others, they have discovered a new identity as members of a new community which is composed of those who have renounced everything for Christ. They "look for another country that is from above, whose architect and builder is God." [See Hebrews 11:10]

These Christians have a new loyalty to a new "Lord" [Leader, King, President, Ruler, etc.] who has His own Kingdom and His own way.

Our King does indeed have an agenda, a campaign platform if you will, for spreading His Kingdom and transforming the culture. 

He told us that this plan was for us, His followers, to put His words into practice and to teach others to do the same. [See Matt. 28:19-20]

Our leader was offered the opportunity to change the world through politics and He refused, twice: Once when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, and again when the people wanted to "make him King by force" [See John 6:15]

Yet, sadly, many Christians today are still seeking for a ruler like all the other nations of the earth have. They, like the Israelites before them, have rejected God’s rule and reign in favor of a political ideology that is not of Christ, nor is it seeking to advance His Kingdom or to promote His Gospel.

 Nor should it. Living out the Gospel of Jesus is the job of those who have been transformed into the image of Christ, not those who claim to be Christians in order to sway a voting block and yet live far outside the rule and reign of Jesus in their daily lives.

Many Christians in America refuse to fellowship with other believers if they happen to disagree on political issues, or candidates. Even though Paul would not allow the Christians in Corinth to divide over differences in opinion over other Apostles! Why, then, do we think it's ok to divide with one another over political candidates?

Answer: It’s not.

For those who follow Jesus, we know we are not of this world, even as He is not of this world. [John 17:16]

Jesus had nothing to do with politics. He called us to follow Him and His example. [Matt. 4:19]

We are citizens of another nation. Our King is alive today. He has a Kingdom. He has established His throne over the earth. He has published his campaign platform. Now, He is looking for those who are willing to align themselves with His agenda.

Have you pledged your allegiance to Him, and to Him alone?

Remember, we cannot serve two masters. Your birth nation does not deserve your allegiance.

Here’s what your Bible says about the nations of the earth:

“All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity.” [Isaiah 40:17]

This means that God does not count any nation as being greater than another. To God, all of them are “less than nothing” and are full of pride.

“The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” [Rev. 11:15]

This means that the Kingdom of God is on a collision course with the nations of this world. One by one, they will all collapse. Every one of them will soon become swallowed up by the Kingdom of God. How? By the relentless advance of the Gospel of Christ! Not by political means which cannot ever change the hearts or the minds of anyone.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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]

This means that God looks to His people to change the culture, not to the King, or the Government, or the Laws of the Land. None of those things matter. None of those things can hold back the Kingdom of God.

Our calling as citizens of the Kingdom of God is simple: To live under the authority of Christ right now and to proclaim His Kingdom as ambassadors who have a new identity, and a new home.

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.28 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.” [Gal. 3:27-28]

We are not Americans any longer. We are not identified any longer by our nationality, or by our race, or by our gender, or anything else.

I challenge you to crucify your politics, put to death your nationalism and patriotic pride.

Pledge total and complete allegiance to Jesus your King, and to His Kingdom, alone.

Jesus is the only hope for America, or for any other nation.

Only Jesus.

-kg

**
My new book, "Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb" will explore many more ideas like this. I can't wait to share it with you!

Stay tuned for details about where, when and how you can grab your copy.

INVITATION: Jesus At The Center Conference - Nov. 12 and 13, 2016

Are you curious about house church? Or are you interested in learning more about how to realize Jesus as the actual, functional head of your church gatherings?

This is conference is for you!

Join us in the Bay Area of California for two evening sessions where we will answer questions, provide practical examples and explore what it means to allow Jesus - not a pastor or a teacher - to actually lead the Church on a regular basis.

DETAILS
Session 1: Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6pm
Session 2: Sunday, Nov. 13 at 6pm
Location: In the Bay Area of California (Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco, etc.)
Note: Actual address to be announced soon.
Hosts: Herb Montgomery, Keith Giles and Ross Rohde [tentative].

Cost: FREE!

RSVP at our Facebook Event page HERE>

THE ATHEIST AND THE HERETIC: An Honest Conversation About Faith

On Sunday night, I had an amazing conversation with Doug who is an atheist [formerly a Christian] about God, Faith, Doubt and whether or not Jesus actually existed.

It was a beautiful discussion and I am looking forward to part 2 next Sunday evening.

Check it out and please leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

Peace,

Keith

5 MINUTE VIDEO: Discipleship [Part 1] with Keith Giles

Take 5 minutes and listen to Keith talk about Discipleship in this new "5 Minute Video" series of talks about what it means to follow Jesus.

Part 3 [Session 4] Podcast: The Sermon on the Mount: Jesus Without Religion [Or Politics]

In our final Sermon on the Mount podcast for the Jesus Without Religion [Or Politics] series, we look at these teachings of Jesus:
*Do Not Worry
*Do Not Judge
*Seek and You Will Find
*The Golden Rule
*A Tree and Its Fruit
*A House Upon The Rock
Click the link above to listen to this podcast.

EPISODE 19: "THE HEALING POWER OF COMMUNITY" DAN NOTTI AND KEITH GILES - VIDEO SKYPE PODCAST

After a long break, Keith and Dan are back at the microphones to talk about the healing power of the ekklesia community.

Can you guess where Skype randomly cuts Dan off in our conversation? Do we get him back? Does the audio cut out? All these questions will be answered in this exciting episode of Keith and Dan's Video Skype Podcast on Organic Church and Christian life.

EPISODE 18: "Hard Conversations" - Dan Notti & Keith Giles [Video Podcast]

When and how do you have that hard conversation with a brother or sister in Christ who needs gentle correction or rebuke?

Dan and Keith share from real life personal experience how hard it can be, and what not to do, the next time you have to sit down with someone in your life who needs to know about their blind spot.

Humility, love and sincere concern are essential. Never undertake this process unless you genuinely love and care for the person. 

Recognize your own blind spot, too, and keep in mind we're all in need of people in our lives who have permission to show us an area where we are not yet formed into the image of Christ.

Episode 17: "Warning Signs of Unhealthy Church" - Dan Notti and Keith Giles

NEW IMPROVED AUDIO FILE

What are the warning signs of an abusive or unhealthy church?
How do you know when to run - not walk - to the nearest exit?
How can you make sure that your house church doesn't become unhealthy or abusive?
What is it that makes a church safe for everyone to be who they really are?
All this and more in Episode 17 of the Video Skype Podcast series with Dan and Keith.

Episode 16: Dan Notti & Keith Giles "Personal Revelations"

After a 2 week hiatus, Dan and Keith share some of their personal testimonies about what God has been showing them after some down time.

Including:
*We still have a lot to learn
*Neither of us has it all figured out
*God always reveals our weaknesses in the positive, not through condemnation
*It really is all about Jesus
*And more!

Episode 12: Dan Notti & Keith Giles: "Pharisee Me" - Video Skype Podcast

EPISODE 12: "PHARISEE ME"

When Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, he's talking to you and me.

EPISODE 11: Dan Notti & Keith Giles: Missed Opportunities

Sometimes we miss our chance to live out our faith. Why does that happen? How can we improve our serve? Why do we have to re-learn the same lessons over and over again?

Episode 10: Dan Notti and Keith Giles "Too Much Jesus?"

Do Christians today put too much emphasis on Jesus and not enough on the Father or the Holy Spirit?

Is it really possible to have "too much Jesus"?

EPISODE 7: DAN NOTTI AND KEITH GILES: "THE DONES" AND "SUSTAINABILITY"

In this episode, Dan and Keith talk about a variety of subjects, including:
*What happens when God gives the same scripture to 2 different people, 2 weeks in a row?
*Who are "The Dones" and how should the Church respond?
*How can Organic churches sustain and retain membership and engagement?