CRY UNCLE!

Sorry I've been lax in posting here lately.

MOMENTUM 06 just wrapped late last night and in a few hours I'll hop on a borrowed RV with 7 others and head to Arizona for a six hour drive to launch our ROADSHOW with Mike Pilavachi.

Ugh.

I am so tired of this.

I miss my family. I miss "normal" (whatever that is).

Last night I realized that I have been enduring hardship for exactly a year (starting with last year's MOMENTUM conference where Wendy and I had just had a miscarriage a few days previous).

I'm ready for a season of not getting hit with a hammer. I want to pause this dull suffering and step into a stretch of time where He makes me lay down in green pastures and restores my soul.

When I was a kid my Dad and I would wrestle on the floor together. If he ever got me pinned in a way that I couldn't move or escape he would ask me to "Say Uncle" (meaning I give up the fight).

I feel like God and I are on the floor. We've been wrestling for a year now. I've been pinned and I'm trying to get up.

I say "Uncle".

I know a lot of what makes my situation more raw is the fact that I'm physically and emotionally exhausted right now. I just want to find a quiet place somewhere, preferably a soft, clean, King-sized placed with cotton sheets and my favorite pillow, and sleep for a week or so.

When you get exhausted and you endure the feeling for several days you begin to loose control of your emotions. Everything is either unbearably sad, or ridiculously funny, or entirely too difficult to even begin to attempt.

I'll be away from my family for another 2 days now. On the road with co-workers and friends. But under the stress of having to perform again, which is something I have learned to loathe (I mean "Performance").

If I could call a time-out about now, I would. If I could hit the pause button and retire to the sofa, I would.

But.....I can't...and that sucks.

CONVERSATIO MOREM (the PODCAST SERMON)

You've got the tattoo, you've ordered the t-shirt, now listen to the FREE PODCAST Sermon!

Here:

"CONVERSATIO MOREM" by Keith Giles PODCAST from Soul Survivor Church

HOUSE CHURCH IN WASHINGTON POST

GOING TO CHURCH BY STAYING AT HOME

Going to Church by Staying at Home
Clergy-Less Living Room Services Seen as a Growing Trend
By Michael Alison Chandler and Arianne Aryanpur
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, June 4, 2006; Page A12

After Sunday dinner at Joe Rodgers's Rockville home, guests adjourn to the living room for church.

In his makeshift chapel, wooden kitchen stools and a floral print couch act as pews, a portable keyboard substitutes for an organ and the host, an electronics technician by day, serves as pastor.
(MORE IN LINK ABOVE)

BRAIN DUMP

MINISTRY TO PROSTITUTES
So, last weekend I took a small group of people from Soul Survivor to the streets to minister to young prostitutes on Harbor blvd., but for some reason we only met one girl on Friday night and saw zero on Saturday morning. So, I guess we need to do some more research before we move ahead.

Two months ago there were around 8 to 10 girls out there on the same stretch of road, so it's a little confusing as to why things have changed in so short a time. Potentially it's because the issue is getting media attention now and this has caused Police to crack down more, chasing the girls somewhere else.

As I've researched this issue I've learned a lot about the problem of prostitution (more than I ever cared to know, trust me) and I can begin to see that the only way to really impact these girls and provide serious ministry to them involves setting up a complete ministry to them, not just a monthly service project.

For example, there are no ministries in Orange County (that I can find) set up to help these girls specifically. There's Teen Challenge with two women's homes about 50 to 70 miles away, but they are for girls with drug or alcohol dependency issues. They also only take interviews for potential residents to their program on Tuesdays at 9am, which is very inconvenient to a girl who is trapped in prostitution and wants out asap. Plus, Teen Challenge requires the girls be at least 18 and have a social security card and a driver's license, however many of these girls on the streets are under 18 and have no driver's license. Other girls are here illegally, some against their will, and have no social security card or license either.

It just seems ridiculous to me that we could find a girl who wants out of this oppressive lifestyle (prostitution) and if she's under 18, or never got a license, we have to say, "tough luck" and kick her back to the streets. That's not an option to me.

So, I'm learning that up the road in LA county there are a few ministries that do reach out specifically to prostitutes and under-age girls trapped in this lifestyle. One is The Dream Center and the other is Children Of The Night (which helps under age children of both sexes trapped in prostitution and living on the streets). I think I need to meet with these organizations and see what it would take to either set up OC versions of their ministries, or at least learn from them how to replicate what they do down here in Orange County.

This, of course, is bigger than any of us ever bargained for...and yet I do think that God really is calling us into this ministry. Especially since no one else here in Orange County is doing anything to reach out to these girls and offer real world solutions and assistance to them, in the name of Jesus.

Is that what I'm called to do? How much of a role do I take in setting this up? Am I only here to help someone else get it going?

I'm not sure yet.

HOUSE CHURCH UPDATE- "The Mission"
The last few weeks at house church have been so great. God has spoken to me in so many ways, and I am seeing Him work in our midst in amazing ways. I wish I could explain or describe all the nuances of what it's like to be in fellowship with other followers of Jesus, and AT THE SAME TIME to be in fellowship with the active presence of God in the form of The Holy Spirit, while He is moving and speaking and blessing and healing and ministering to each of us, through each of us. It's breath-taking. It's called "Koinonia" and it's real. I am so blessed by God that He has called us to this sort of community and faith in action and a life of faith that goes beyond "playing church".

Last night we had a smaller gathering as some of our brothers and sisters were on vacation or home sick or in meetings, etc. We enjoyed our evening meal together as usual, shared communion, worshipped in song and shared very openly and frankly together about our personal walk with Jesus. We sat there in my den and shared and prayed and talked and encouraged one another until 12am. No one wanted to leave. It was so, so sweet. I mean, there are seriously no words for me to express to you the intense love and mercy and "life of Jesus" that is present with us in those sorts of moments. It is something I have never experienced in my life before.

We spent a large portion of the evening encouraging one of our own dear sisters who has been dealing with bitterness and struggling with certain areas of her relationship with God, and also with the Church itself. I think it was one of the most earnest and open times of sharing we've ever done. At one point our sister said, "Thank you for not rushing over and trying to put me back in my little Christian box" (after she shared her struggles with us). It was great to talk openly with each other and share our own struggles and put to death the "performance" aspect of our faith, and to exchange that for honesty and real-world experience, peppered liberally with the Word of God, encouragement and prayer.

Sometimes all we need to do is shut up and listen. How often does that happen in most church meetings or gatherings?

Personally, I am liberated by the fact that our house church isn't built on me. I do not deliver the sermon or submit the Bible Study. We all come ready to share something equally. In fact, I think the group could easily go on and have a healthy, complete spiritual life without me. Because it's the Holy Spirit who leads this group, not me or anyone else. It's so refreshing to simply open my front door, invite people in to share a meal, pray for the Holy Spirit to have His way, and then actually allow Him to do just that. Imagine! What a concept.

THE MOVEMENT?
Earlier this week I met with a local house church network pastor who helped me to imagine how I might play a larger role in the OC house church movement. I've never thought of it before, honestly. But after meeting with this guy I started to pray about how God might want me to interact with other house church pastors here in Orange County. I started wondering about how I might encourage them, or learn from them, or help this guy (Ken Eastburn) as he tries to put together magazines or websites or area conferences/gatherings for other house church pastors and members.

I have to admit that as I meet more and more people who are doing this house church thing I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is genuinely up to something. I call the house church thing a movement because I keep meeting people just like me who came into this thing as the result of God's specific calling, feeling that they were the only ones doing so, only to realize (after they'd taken the step of faith) that there were hundreds of others just like them who had heard the same calling and resonded in the same way.

This guy Ken also shared with me how he's met with regional denominational representatives from around the country who report that their traditional church-planting efforts are failing. How existing churches are dieing slowly, buildings sit empty or are sold to others to cash out their debts. But in the house church movement things are exploding. People who would never darken one of those church doors are open to sharing a meal and talking about Jesus with their neighbors.

The sad thing is that most pastors of traditional churches reject this movement because it threatens their own job security, or it questions their method, or it insults their tradition, etc. and so most of us who have left to follow God's calling to plant house churches are feeling left alone, rejected and "banished". This makes me realize the very real need to encourage other house church pastors and planters. Also because I see an alarming trend among house churches for bitterness towards those brothers and sisters who have rejected them. I firmly believe that this movement needs to take the high road, to forgive and to bless those who curse us...even our own brothers and sisters in the traditional church.

What I wish the traditional church could see is that, all that they need to do is to bless this. Supporting a house church movement doesn't involve spending one single dollar. House churces cost zero to build, promote or maintain, yet they offer so much of what is missing in the traditional church today. Community, fellowship, ministry of the Holy Spirit, Discipleship, lifestyle evangelism, hospitality, service to others, etc. are all natural byproducts of the house church. Why would you want to cut off your church from its own fruit? Even more, ask yourself what happens when you cut off all the fruit from a plant? Doesn't it stop producing fruit?

All that the traditional church would need to do would be to bless these house churches, meet once or twice a month with the pastors of these house churches and pray for them, encourage them, resource them. It would only cost the church one lunch special a month and a cup of coffee to say "Yes" to what the Holy Spirit is doing across this Nation.

I guess we can only pray that some pastors will decide to do this as we go forward.

More later.

Peas,
kg

MUSTARD HEART

Last night my wife Wendy was making lunches for our two boys, Dylan and David.

As I walked through the kitchen and saw her putting mustard on one of the sandwiches I noticed that the top section of bread had a mustard trail in the shape of a heart. The bottom piece of bread was a smiley face.

In my pessimism I asked her why she would go to the trouble of doing this when it was obvious they would never even look at the inside of the sandwich or notice this.

She looked at me sheepishly and smiled. "I don' t know," she said.

"Do you ever put those hearts on my sandwiches?" I asked her.

She reached over, unwrapped my sandwich and showed me the inside of my baloney sandwich. The mustard-shaped heart was a silent testimony of her love for me.

We both stood there with tears in our eyes and smiled at each other.

I am so very loved.

Just Added: New Dallas Willard Podcast

Just Added: New Dallas Willard Podcast on The Kingdom As Reality (see link below at lower left).

Great stuff!

Enjoy.

kg

YOUR POOR....

In preparing slides and researching texts for the recent ENGAGE '06 conference last month, I came cross this verse and this image, which together speaks volumes about how far the Church has come in America in regards to caring for the poor, the immigrant and the oppressed.

NEW ENGAGE '06 PODCASTS NOW UP

Hey, be sure to check out both morning and evening sessions of ENGAGE '06 podcasts featuring DAVID RUIS at the links below (lower left), and while you're at it, be sure to listen to the amazing DALLAS WILLARD message from the recent ALLELON Conference, also linked below...also free.

ENJOY!

kg

CONVERSATIO MOREM!

I can hardly believe this...but my friend KEITH SECKEL (see link to his blog under LINKS below) recently sent me this email about how he had been inspired by my article "Conversatio Morem!" and decided to get a tattoo of this message on the back of his neck (see the picture of said tattoo above).

wow.

I don't know what to say....has anyone else here tattooed themselves with any other phrases or ideas from my articles and columns?! I hesitate to ask...but, if you have, please let me know and I'll post the weirdness here.

This seriously does make me want to go ahead and create [subversive underground] t-shirts. It costs less than a tattoo, and it's painless!

more later..
kg

GREEN CARD

GREEN CARD by Keith Giles
(this article is now online at www.ginkworld.net)

Recently, I read an article where someone suggested that Churches should issue green cards to converts who are baptized in order to remind them that they are resident aliens in this World.

Jesus agreed with this idea of Christians as immigrants when he said, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."
(John 17: 15-16)

We are not of the world, any more than Jesus was of it. So, why do we continue to live our lives as if this were our home?

Beyond the implications of what this verse suggests about our materialism, or our pursuit of fame, money or position, I am wondering about what this verse might mean in terms of our identity.

I am especially curious about how we fail to see ourselves in the plight of the current immigration reform debate that is currently raging in our own Nation. We are more like these resident aliens living here among us in the United States than we realize. So, why are we not out there marching alongside them, asking for them to be treated fairly and seen as worthy human beings who deserve the same chances we've been given?

Even if we weren't especially called to skip work and carry a sign in the park alongside the activists, what about simply praying for them? What about defending their position to those we call our friends? What about taking the time to identify with these fellow outcasts and unwanted immigrants?

Jesus told us, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you" (John 15:19).

This verse is especially troubling to me. It makes me ask myself, "Does the World hate me?" or even worse, "Do I hate the World?" Now, I don't mean "hate" in the sense that I should hate other people, but do I hate the system, the consumerism, the focus on the flesh rather than the spiritual?

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

Do I love what God hates? Do I hate what He loves?

We, as followers of Jesus, should be comfortable among the the ranks of the misunderstood, the hated, the outcasts and the despised. We should go out of our way to embrace those who are, like us, always in the world but never of the world. That means the poor, the prostitutes, the unpopular, the prisoners, and yes, even the undocumented immigrant.

Welcome to the church. Do you have your Green Card?

Kg

HARDER THAN YOU THINK

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another"- JESUS (John 13:34-35)

I am learning that these words of Jesus are more difficult than we can imagine them to be.

At first, these look like simple commands. "Love each other? That's it? Ok, then..."

But walking out the reality of these words is so much more difficult, challenging and painful than it seems.

Honestly, I wish that Jesus had said, "They will know you are my disciples if you love the lost, the least, the broken and hurting in the world." For me, that would be much easier.

I can extend Grace and forgiveness to someone who is weak. I can overlook the faults of those who have never known Jesus or experienced His love. It's not so hard for me to love and embrace the ones who are in pain, or in need, or have experienced sorrow.

It's those Christians I can't stand.

Seriously, no one can wound you like a brother. No one can disappoint you like a pastor. No one can hurt you like someone you've trusted like a sister in Christ.

It's when your brother in Christ stabs you in the back that the words of Jesus take on new meaning.

It's when the Church you've been attending for years, and serving faithfully all the while, turns on you and begins to slander your name, or to mock you...that's when the full weight of the words of Jesus kick you in the teeth.

"A new command I give you."

Notice that it's not a suggestion. It's a command. Want to know why? Because he knew that it would be something so hard, so painful, that if he didn't command us to do it, we'd never take him seriously.

Until we learn to love our brothers, we'll never really know what it means to love our enemies. We'll never fully know what it is to offer compassion to the least and the lost and the poor and the broken.

First, we learn to love those brothers and sisters who have injured us. We forgive them while they smile and wear their masks and go on as if nothing has happened.

Lately, God has revealed to me the depth of my own hypocrisy. It's been painful, so very painful, and yet at the same time, it's a sweet thing to know that He loves me even though I look like this on the inside.

He's known I had this twisted side to my inner being now from the beginning and only now has He let me see it too.

I've been so judgemental of all those other Christians who don't value the poor the way I do. I've had contempt for those so-called followers of Jesus who leave their crosses at home, who embrace the easy grace version of the Gospel, who leave out the poor and the marginalized (especially here in Orange County). I've hated those bastards for not seeing what I see or believing what I believe...and then God shows me that I'm one of those bastards too.

A few weeks ago, in my own home, during our house church meeting, I was actively ignoring the needs of someone in our group who I had determined was unworthy of equal treatment or compassion. It wasn't until another person in our group had gone far, far out of her way to love and bless this man that I was able to see my own sin.

God spoke to my heart in this moment and said, "See? I was here in your house and you did not wash my feet, but this woman has not stopped washing my feet since I sat down on your sofa. Do you really value the poor? The broken? Do you really see me? Do you really love me?"

Wow.

I was crushed. My heart was revealed to me...my own black, sinful, selfish, evil heart.

I wanted to look away, but God had so brilliantly revealed it to me that I couldn't pretend I didn't see it. I couldn't ignore it. In fact, I think I suddenly felt the same pain in my heart that I must have been causing in His for a long time now.

What could I do but to repent? Fall on my knees again and beg for Him to wash me, cleanse me, heal me, change me.

I realize, again, that I need a constant conversion. I need to daily lay down my life for Jesus. I need to really learn what it means to lay down my life for a brother..for a friend...(and it doesn't involve bloodshed as much as it involves submission, humility, service and genuine compassion).

Am I really ready for what it means to follow Jesus? To lay down my life for Him? To daily take up my cross and die to myself?

This is harder than we know. Following Jesus, contrary to what the televangelists would have you believe, is not easy. It will not make your life easy. In fact, it will jack you up in ways that nothing else can ever hope to.

Maybe I'm not ready to follow Jesus yet. Maybe I need to find something else to do with my time?

But I know that there's really no other option for me. I've tasted and I've seen. I've been in His prescence and changed by His touch. Where else can I go?

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." - John 6:68

by Keith Giles

Great comments, pictures over at the ARTS INTERACTIVE

Check the new comments posted online at the ENGAGE Arts Interactive blog here:

http://artsinteractive.blogspot.com

You'll be glad you did...

kg

IMMIGRATION REFORM?

My buddy Arnie Adkison had a great quote over on his blog. I had to post it here for your consideration.

"I have an idea. I think that the city of San Antonio, where I live, should make it a law tomorrow that you have to live in the city to work in the city. Then Wednesday, when all those people who live in the suburbs "immigrate" into SA to work, they should arrested as illegals and deported back to their home community. If they don't have respect for our laws, regardless of how arbitrary they are in the overall scheme of things, they should not be allowed in to work." - ARNIE ADKISON

ARNIE'S BLOG:
http://www.stimulation81.blogspot.com/

*It's great to have friends like this...
kg

JOIN THE UNDERGROUND

ENGAGE- I'M A SURVIVOR

Wow.

What an amazing Saturday conference we had at ENGAGE.

I can't even begin to describe all the cool stuff we did and experienced.

There's a cool picture journal and blog of the day's events over at:
http://artsinteractive.blogspot.com

Go check out some of the workshops, arts entries on the graphitti wall, the service projects we went out on, etc.

All in all, the day exceeded my expectations.

There were people who had never done anything like this in their spiritual life before, and this was my target audience. So, I was thrilled to have so many people take their first steps outside their comfort zone to serve the least and the lost at ENGAGE.

The workshops were all well received and all of the feedback I got was glowing.

The service projects were all very successful. People were blessed, and our participants were excited to be putting their hands and their feet into action for the Gospel.

David Ruis did a fantastic job. I am so honored to call this guy a friend and a brother. He delivered two challenging messages to our group that inspired and blessed us.

The Arts Interactive was the most ambitious part of the day, and in hindsight I think I wouldn't have done so much on setting it up as I did for this day. Next year will be cool, but not as "over the top" as this one was. The best thing was that people really did pick up a brush and a pen and began to share their thoughts and experiences on paper for all to see. I was happy about that.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE FOR NEXT YEAR'S "ENGAGE":
1. I would make it a two day event. Start on Friday afternoon/evening and extend the experience and the dialog a bit. Maybe even have it spill over onto a Sunday morning also.

2. I will make the next ENGAGE event small on purpose. This year's event was about 70 people and that's about right. I'll cap next year at 100 or less to keep the interaction and the intimacy level high.

3. I'd like to have David Ruis return, but I'd also like to involve other voices like Greg Russinger, Crissy Brooks and my buddy Scott Laumann (who had planned to come this year but couldn't make it at the last minute).

4. Arts Elements: I like the artistic elements very much, but maybe this should be a separate track? I'm not sure. The other option is to do a separate arts conference that specifically focuses on art and justice. This would be small and highly creative, which I love.

5. Involve other area ministries more. I have good friends who work for some incredible ministries here in the OC and I'd love to have them enjoy a larger presence at the event. The OC Rescue Mission, MIKA, the OC Interfaith Shelter, Teen Challenge, Side By Side Ministries, MoreOfJesus.org, and many others, are doing great work for the poor in the OC and I'd love to have a roundtable with reps from each of these groups to come and share together about the face of poverty in Orange County and how we can all work together to improve the quality of life.

6. More volunteers. I did the entire conference pretty much on my own. This is why I am exhausted. This is why I didn't see my family for most of the last week. I will gather volunteers and empower them much earlier in the process next time. I promise.

7. Speaking. I think I'd like to actually take one of the sessions to share next time. I had originally planned to share at this ENGAGE, but because of all the pressure on me (due to lack of volunteer involvement) I decided to let David do all the talking...and it was awesome! But next time I want to share about what I've learned specifically about dealing with poverty in the OC over the last three years or so.

All in all, it was a great day. I'll have podcasts/downloads of David Ruis' messages at ENGAGE pretty soon for everyone to listen to for free. It was a wonderul experience and I can't wait for next year.

Now I turn my attention to MOMENTUM and the Roadshows in June.

Back to work!
kg

ENGAGE- JUST A FEW HOURS FROM NOW...

I'm running ragged trying to get everything together for this one-day conference for Soul Survivor called ENGAGE with David Ruis.

The biggest challenge has been the Soliton Interactive Arts Room we're (that means "I am") building in the large fellowship hall at St. James.

Tomorrow I'll lead a small army of volunteers to set up cardboard walls, lay down drop cloths, set up tables, art supplies, paints, paper, etc. for one giant arts interactive experience on Saturday.

I'm a little bummed out that my buddy Scott Laumann won't be able to join us for ENGAGE. I do have Karen Schmidt (an amazing sculpture artist), and Heather Wright (an amazing painter) for the workshop on arts and justice.

David Ruis is ready to go. We should have the lights, sound, video projector, etc. ready to go in time also.

Plus, we've got the NOISE service projects from 2pm to 4pm. This has been a little challenging, but I've reduced the number of projects from five to four, and one of the projects has two sponsors/partners helping out, another has one partner and a very capable team leader (Carrie Yarborough), and actually all of our team leaders are excellent...so that should be fine.

I'm trying not to stress about the things I can't control. I'll do the best I can do and let God handle everything else.

I'm going to feel soooo good after this is all over.

Wish you could all join me for ENGAGE!

If you're near the O.C., check out the website and try to come down for as much as you can:
WWW.SOULSURVIVORUSA.COM

Must sleep now.

kg

RISEN?

The good folks at SeedStories.com just published my article "RISEN?" just in time for Easter.

Please go check it out and make a comment if you would over here:

http://www.seedstories.com

Thanks for your support!

peace,
kg

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The mathematician goes mad.
Not the poet.
Because the mathematician tries
to build a bridge across the infinite.
When the poet can swim in the sea."

G.K. Chesterton

LIGHT VS HEAT

LIGHT VS HEAT by Keith Giles

Most everyone who has read my blog here, or who receives my weekly [subversive underground] e-newsletter, knows how I feel about the corporate church model.

It’s no secret how I feel that our modern versions of “doing church” have corrupted the Biblical model where everyone who follows Jesus “is the Church” and gets to participate, use their gifts, interact with everyone else, be ministered to and minister to others, and enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit in His Power along with everyone else.

Honestly, as we’ve been doing house church now for about two months, I realize that “Koinonia” is something I think I never experienced before now. Everything before “the mission” was just playing church to me.

I also feel that there is way too much emphasis placed on “Leadership” (as defined by the Big Business World and now co-opted into the Bride of Christ).

Why are there no “Follower’s Study Bibles”? Why so much emphasis on leadership? How about encouraging “Followership” since that’s what Jesus called us to do in the first place?

I can remember being so frustrated as an on-staff pastor that our mandate was to make sure we visited with our significant leaders every month. I wondered, “Who will visit with our forgotten, poor and insignificant people if we’re all focused on those leaders?”

*If I’m not careful, I could run off on a rant myself here...so, I’ll take a deep breath.

(whew)

So, the other day I received an email from a friend who had written a scathing attack on this exact issue and he wanted to share it with me, knowing that I lean hard in this direction, I suppose.

As I read my friend’s email, blasting the corporate structure, attacking the cultural distortions of the Biblical form of “being Church”, I guess I saw myself from a distance and it troubled me.

In response to my friend, whom I agree with about 99%, I had to admit my own failures in this area of criticism versus grace.

I know we have a very real need for urgency on these issues, and I applaud the truth and the passion of someone who desires to see things change for the better.

To be clear; I am not arguing for the value of “dispassionate conversations”, but let me point out that “less passion” doesn’t equal “No passion”, right?

I struggle, personally, with these same issues/passions, and how best to make people see what’s going on in the Christian culture around us. It makes me sick. It makes me crazy. I long to see people “get it”.

For example, on the one issue; the sickness of the modern/corporate-inspired version of “Church-as-a-franchise” I am especially passionate...maybe too much for my own good, or the good of the issue itself.

I have written several critical articles on this problem, not for the sake of being critical, but just honestly venting my own revulsion and excorcising my own guilt for having been part of this system for so much of my own Christian life and pastoral “career”.

However, I am starting to think that this sort of language only serves to polarize people on one side of this issue or the other, and that doesn’t serve my passion.

What I really, deep down, desire passionately is for people to start to really see what I have seen.

I think Jesus does this masterfully when he uses parables to illustrate points of eternal significance. I mean, if anyone had a right to be angry/passionate/urgent about the state of his people, the corruption of the Word of God, etc., then I think it was Jesus. But only once did he resort to violence, and only once did he publicly rebuke the Pharisees for their misguided behavior. Instead, Jesus spent MOST of his time/energy/passion on helping people to really UNDERSTAND the things they’d been told by “blind guides” and “empty tombs”, and he did this in a very simple, creative, loving and even brilliant way.

This is my personal goal. I want to teach like Jesus. I want to help people consider things they’ve overlooked, and probably have even known all along but have forgotten it because of the corruption within the corporate church systems.

Are you feeling me?

I’m trying hard now (and this is hard, it’s not the easy path that’s for sure), to listen to the Holy Spirit and to use my gifts to communicate this astounding truth of the Kingdom of God to those who have not yet seen it, or who need to see it again.

As for me, I am working to communicate to others more about the pure JOY of living in the Kingdom, of being truly FREE in the Spirit to BE THE CHURCH. I believe that if I can paint a more clear and accurate picture to others about what astounding and amazing freedom there really is in Christ, outside of the structure of corporate church systems, that God will woo those sheep who hear His voice.

The old saying is true, “You attract more flies with honey”, and I’m trying to follow Jesus in His example to accomplish this very thing.

I still believe that Jesus is the ultimate leader and that his style of leadership should be our model. That means not only his servanthood and his “others-focused” ministry, but his tone and his style of communication as well.

I have come to believe that making positive changes within our own lives and modeling this new way of “being the church” we all hold dear is much more effective, and Biblical, than simple criticism, no matter what our tone may be.

It’s partially why I gave up on the whole Apologetics thing a while back. I realized that I had never once argued someone into the Kingdom, but when I shared with others what God had done and was doing my life, then my life became the Apologetic, (which is way more challenging), and besides, no one can argue with the Truth of what God’s Spirit is doing in your life, or in mine.

So, as I struggle with this inner passion, I pray that I can maintain the heart of Jesus and love those brothers and sisters in the Church, no matter what model or form they prefer to worship in.

After all, didn’t Jesus command us to “Love one another, even as I have loved you?”

Amen.

Kg

BLOOD

BLOOD
by Keith Giles

There was rhythm in the air that morning
a seed-planting rhythm in a land
of broken ground. It traveled
from my heel to
my fingertips and
circled in my neck until
I bowed my head in submission. The beat
continued, echoed across
the arid stretch
of the hillside and all
of the faceless people stood
swaying to the rhythm
the compelling metronome
of hammer and nail and
the crescendo mounted until the blood
the blood gushed hot and wet onto the grass
we held our breath until they lifted
the crossbar over our heads, until the sky
turned to black cloud, until he whispered that it was finished and the soldiers took him down.
But the rhythm never left my feet
kept time with
the beating in my heart, turned
my blood to wine.

*more poems in the link at lower left