Is The Gospel Relevant in Today's Culture?

If you find yourself wondering about this, or if you've read any articles lately posing this question, I think it's worth discussing.

First, anyone who poses this question either doesn't really understand what the Gospel is, or they don't know the meaning of the word "Relevant".

WHAT IS RELEVANT?
I've often found myself in conversations with people who use the word "relevant" as a synonym for "Popular" or "Current". As in, "This new book is very relevant" or "What you said is so relevant for people today".

In Christian circles I think this misuse of the word "relevant" is tied to the popular magazine of the same name for which I was once a writer. Their hip, trendy, "twenty-something" culture branding has successfully replaced the meaning of this word with the idea of being cool.

This is great news for the magazine and bad news for Christians who now think that something has to be acceptable to the culture in order to be relevant.

Being relevant simply means that something is necessary. The color of the sky is not relevant to someone who is dying of thirst, but a glass of water is very relevant to the man in the desert. Water is relevant to the thirsty because it is necessary, not because water is popular and trendy among those who thirst.

From the Dictionary:
Relevant (rĕl'ə-vənt); adj. - "Having a bearing on or connection with the matter at hand."

If something is relevant it must be valuable, necessary and contain meaning.
So, does the Gospel of Jesus have any bearing on or connection with today's culture? Let's make sure we understand what the Gospel is before we attempt to answer that question.

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
The Gospel of Jesus is that the Kingdom of God has come near and anyone who wants to live in this reality can do so today.

"I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." (Luke 4:43)

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15)

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness." (Matt 9:35)

"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom.." (Matt 4:23)

Entrance into the Kingdom of God is accomplished by following Jesus with your every day life. It involves a submission of your will to His perfect will and a surrender of your way of life in exchange for God's way of life.

"Then (Jesus) said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." - Luke 9:23-24

The Gospel of Jesus is simply an invitation to follow the example of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus in submission to the commands of Jesus, every day of your life.

Instead of answering the question, "If you died tonight do you know you'd be in Heaven tomorrow?" the question Jesus asks is, "If you knew you'd be alive tomorrow, who would you follow and how would you live your life?"

Does the Gospel of Jesus have any relevance to our culture today? Is it connected with the matter at hand? I think so. I believe everyone has to answer the question: "Who will you follow and how will you live your life?"

People are asking this question already. This is why they read books on self-improvement and watch Oprah and Dr. Phil and read Deepak Chopra and meditate and chant and do Yoga and go to Church, or stay home from Church. They are all answering this question, or they are all seeking to decide how the question should be answered.

The Gospel of Jesus is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago. Our job, as followers of Jesus, is to model the Kingdom lifestyle in such a way that those who are yet to answer this question can make an informed decision about who they will follow and how they will live their lives.

If those who follow Jesus look and act and behave just like those who do not follow Jesus, what is the point? Do our lives point to the new life we have found in Christ? Are we a city on a hill? Are we salt to those who are thirsty for the Living Water? Are we light those those who stumble in darkness? Or do we hide our light? Has our saltiness been lost and trampled underfoot?

The Gospel of Jesus is still relevant. Can we say the same of His Followers?

-kg

Beware the Yeast of the Celebrities

One thing that concerns me was I see this growing house church movement prosper is the celebrity effect.

When I first stepped into this universe there were a few books out there to help me get my bearings and for those books, and to those authors, I am grateful.

Now I see us selling books into Christian bookstores that are topping best-seller lists, and our annual conferences are selling out early (better get your tickets now before they're all sold out), and our spokesmen are becoming minor Christian Celebrities.

I suppose I fear that, if we're not very intentional about all of this, we risk becoming the thing we fear.

If we really believe in this peer-led, leaderless concept of "being Church", and if we really are convinced that God's Spirit is active in each of us just the same, then I would love to see some of those up and coming, almost famous house church leaders step aside and allow a few "Joe Nobody's" to take the stage and move into the spotlight. It would be great to see us model something different at the highest levels of our movement...something really unique and refreshingly inclusive.

-kg

UNWORTHY

When I first came to California about 15 years ago I worked as a sales rep for Diamante Music Group selling alternative and rock cd's and cassettes into Christian bookstores.

One of the guys I worked with there was Chris Singer. Today he is the pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Orange where I now live.

A few weeks ago Chris asked me if I'd be interested in meeting him on a Thursday morning at 6am (gulp) to pray for about an hour before I had to leave for work. His invitation humbled me and I was blessed and honored to accept his offer to meet and pray.

This morning we had our second meeting for prayer and as we were praying Chris said something that really leapt out at me. He made a comment to God about how we (pastors) are unworthy to carry the message of the Gospel and the name of Christ, yet Jesus allows us to do so anyway.

I couldn't help but think that if every Pastor in America had that same attitude our Churches would be in a lot better shape.

As I drove to work I continued to think about this. We, the "Holy Men of God", the Pastors of the flock are unworthy to carry the Gospel or bear the name of Jesus - just like everyone else.

We all need Jesus. The sinners, the losers, the drunks, the prostitutes, the homeless, the wife beaters, the apathetic, the homosexuals, the drug dealers, the pastors and the saints - all unworthy of God's Grace. All free to take it anyway.

Praise Jesus.

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." - 1 Cor 6:9-11


-kg

Serve Day?

Here in Orange County we have an annual "Serve Day" where hundreds of churches and thousands of christians on one single Saturday a year to serve the community.

As someone who has been passionate about serving the poor and wanting to remind the Body of Christ of our mandate to serve others, you'd think I'd be one of the most vocal supporters of this annual event.

The truth is, it burns me that we have made serving others an annual event where everyone pays money to sign up, gets their "Serve Day" t-shirt and checks off the box for their annual hour of service to "those poor people" in our community.

I have to ask, "Why don’t our Churches do this every single day?"

Is this really what Jesus had in mind for His Church? Are we called to focus on ourselves 364 days of the year and expected to set aside just one day to serve others? I don't think so.

Sure, there's the potential for an event like this to be an opportunity for people to get their feet wet and discover the joys of serving others. I'm certain a few of those who have taken part in a Serve Day previously have decided that they could surrender more of their time to serve more often in their community.

I suppose my biggest concern is with the leadership behind Serve Day. They seem perfectly content to organize a massive, annual day of service across Orange County without any intentional effort to encourage participants to make service their way of life, every day of the week.

The emphasis seems to be on the "One day to change Orange County". Of course that one day has yet to change Orange County, or us, in any significant way, except perhaps to make us more complacent and apathetic the other 364 days of the year towards the poor around us.

Have I made my concerns known to those who organize this event? Yes, I have communicated my concerns to several people, but I think the event has become bigger than anyone ever expected and now any attempt to reconfigure the DNA of this thing is considered too much to tackle. At least that's my assumption of why no one seems to have tried to use the Serve Day event as a catalyst for long-term service within the community.

Why? Because servanthood is just one option for us as Christians, and honestly, it's not a very popular or appealing option to most.

I will say one thing, servanthood wasn’t an optional activity for the early church in Acts, or for the Apostles, and certainly not for Jesus.

Why has it become optional for those who call ourselves by His Name?

-kg

UNDERSTANDING JESUS

This morning I sat down with my oldest son, Dylan to read Mark chapter 8 before I left for work.

When we got to verse 31, where Jesus informs his disciples that he will suffer and die, Peter rebukes him and Jesus in turn rebukes Peter saying, "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Jesus then turns to all of his disciples and says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me, and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Dylan, who turns 13 in December, admitted that he wasn't sure what Jesus was talking about there, so we talked about it a bit more. I explained that Jesus first says that he will die, and when Peter rebukes him Jesus explains that not only will He die on the cross but all of those who wish to follow Jesus must also take up their cross daily and prepare to die.

I asked Dylan if he was ready to do that. He admitted that he wasn't ready to die. So, we prayed together for God to help him understand what this was all about.

We talked about how, when he was a little boy, he prayed and gave his heart to Jesus. He was baptized as a young boy and started his journey with God all those years ago, but our decision to follow Jesus is a daily decision. I explained to him about how all of us who follow Jesus have to pray that prayer every day- ask God to forgive us and lead us and change us and surrender our lives to Him.

I had to admit to Dylan that I really never understood what Jesus was saying for most of my Christian life. It's only been in the last six or seven years - after being licensed and ordained and pastoring others- that I began to understand what Jesus was saying.

My oldest son is wrestling with concepts that I never encountered until I was in my 30's. I know this is not an easy thing for him to understand.

On my way to work this morning I prayed that God would help Dylan to grasp these difficult words from Jesus and to have the wisdom to understand them.

I need to understand them too.

-kg

WOMEN AS PASTORS, ELDERS, DEACONS AND OVERSEERS

Earlier today I responded to an excellent post by my new blog-friend, Lionel over at his blog.

Lionel started an excellent discussion regarding the role of women in today's Church by asking readers to answer a question about someone who devotes their life to building up the Body, yet happens to be female. Would we call that person a pastor?

This is a question, and a subject, worthy of great discussion and debate within Christian circles today.

My short answer is that I have no problem with this at all, however the subject is multi-faceted and any discussion of this must take the time to examine the various angles equally.

As I see it, there are three issues at the core of this discussion:

1- What would Biblical leadership look like in the Church?
2- Can women take a leadership role in the Church?
3- What does Paul intend to communicate in his various teachings on the subject?

First, let's tackle the first issue regarding the nature of leadership within the Church according to the New Testament.

1- What would Biblical leadership look like in the Church?

One problem we face is that we equate leadership within the Christian Church as being the CEO/Pastor who acts as a Boss and through whom all teaching, edification, instruction, encouragement, (and many of the other 28 spiritual gifts described throughout the NT) must flow.

This is not a Biblical position. So, whenever we examine the New Testament regarding this issue, and others like it, we have to take off our 21st Century filters and attempt to read things at face value. The early church did not resemble what we experience today. The weekly gathering was in a home, meals were shared, everyone contributed and there was no visible leader in the group who did all the talking or teaching while the rest of them listened.

According to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, God has designed His Church to act relationally. He has given everything the Body needs to function and grow to the Body itself, "for the common good". The Body is able to thrive through the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which lives within each member of this Body.

If you read 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12 and elsewhere in the New Testament, you will NOT see any teaching or practice within the Body of Christ where all of the gifts flow from one elect leader to everyone else so that they can grow, mature, receive mercy, etc.

What God DID do was to give all of the gifts to various people distributed throughout the Body. In God's relational design for His Church, the encouragement you need is available from someone else in the Body. This means you need the rest of us. It means we need you. We need each other to grow and mature.

Couldn't God have given each person the spiritual gift they needed, when they needed it? Yes, of course He could have. But then we wouldn't need to relate to one another. Instead, God's plan was to place the gift you need most in the hands of someone else so that you and I are required to communicate our needs with one another. It is necessary for the life and health of the Body that we share our weakness and that we share the gifts we have been given.

With this in mind, let's look at the rest of our issues.

2- Can women take a leadership role in the Church?

Some are convinced that there are New Testament scriptures which prohibit a woman to act as a leader within the Body. We'll look at those verses more closely in our next discussion point, but in general I would remind everyone that women played a very important role in the ministry of Jesus. His most powerful interactions, healings and teachings involve women (the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, the woman with the issue of blood, the woman whose son had died, the woman who annointed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, the woman who broke the gnard of perfume over his feet, etc.) and women supported his ministry, watched him die, attended his grave and gave witness to his resurrection from the dead.

Jesus honored women in a culture where women were undervalued and equal to children and unbelievers.

Now, let's see what Paul really had to say about this subject and, beyond that, what he meant to teach us about the role that women play in the Body.

3- What does Paul intend to communicate in his various teachings on the subject?

Lionel's article references 1 Timothy chapters 2 and 3. In those chapters the main thing we take away is found in verse 12 of chapter 2 where Paul says: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent."

Paul says, rather clearly and somewhat chauvinistically I might add, that he does not permit a woman to teach, or to have authority over a man. He also says she must be silent.

As with all difficult teachings and doctrine, we have to take the consensus of other scriptures on the subject in order to get a clear picture of what is being said and taught.

While Paul appears to teach that women shouldn't have any authority over a man within the Body in this passge, we have to remember that elsewhere Paul also teaches that a woman should cover her head when she Prophesies. (see 1 Cor 11:4-5)

What's going on here? In one verse Paul says that he doesn't allow a woman to speak and he doesn't allow a woman to teach, yet in this passage he's providing guidelines for how a woman should prophesy in the gathering of believers.

Let me remind you that, to Paul, the gift of Prophecy is one of the greatest "leadership" gifts in the entire Body (see 1 Cor 14: 1-5). Doesn't one who prophesies speak to the entire Body and provide a message from God for their edification and strengthening?

How do we reconcile these seemingly contradictory ideas regarding Paul's vision of Church? Women are allowed to prophesy as long as their heads are covered, and yet they are called to keep silent. What's going on?

In my opinion, there are a few things going on here.

First, Paul says one thing to the Church in Corinth because he is addressing some very specific issues they are facing in their fellowship together. This means that when he writes to Timothy and he gives a different set of guidelines he is attempting to correct a different set of behaviors within a different Body.

Simply put, Timothy's church didn't face the same problems as the church in Corinth, therefore Paul's advice to one was not the same as what was given to the other.

Also, Paul often says certain controversial things and he attaches a qualifier like, "I am saying this, and not the LORD..." as he does in 1 Cor 7:12, "But to the rest I, not the Lord, say, If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to be with him, let him not divorce her."

In passages like this Paul seems to be aware of certain opinions that he might hold that may, or may not, be necessarily a hard line teaching from God.

With this in mind, I think it's interesting that in our original passage (1 Tim 2-3), Paul says, "I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man..." and in my mind this leaves room for us to wonder out loud about whether or not Paul intended this teaching to be taken as "from the Lord" or from Paul's personal bag of wisdom. At any rate, I believe Paul leaves room for us to disagree with him in these matters of cultural preference regarding the role of women within the gathering. I want to stress, however, that we do not have that same privelege when Paul leaves off that qualifier, "I, not the Lord".


ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Paul writes in Timothy and in Titus to provide criteria for an Elder, and an Overseer within the Body. In those passages he centers on the male gender, calling for them to be "Husbands of one wife", etc.

However, the New Testament also includes great evidence that the early church had many women deacons. Paul speaks of a deaconess named Phoebe in Romans 16:1 and also mentions Priscilla and Aquila in verse 2 calling them "my fellow workers in Christ Jesus". These two are also prominent in Paul's ministry, even travelling with him on Missionary journey's in Acts 18:18, and we know that the two of them hosted a church in their home according to 1 Cor 16:19. (Paul also mentions Euodia and Syntyche in Philipians 4, as well as Tabitha or Dorcas in Acts 9.)


DISCUSS: There also seems to be a difference between the roles of elders and overseers as it pertains to the Worship service or share time versus the life of the Church outside the meeting. Women are welcome to share among the rest of the people who gather to share and worship in the 1 Cor 12 model, however the authority required to rebuke or confront a believer caught in sin, etc. seems to rest on those male elders and overseers who were recognized as having a Fatherly position within the Body.

Your thoughts?

UNBELIEVABLE

The internet is a strange place and apparently several of my more vocal online fans have submitted my name to a talk show host who has now helped to create a grassroots campaign calling for me to run for President.

No, I'm serious.

Watch this news clip:
HERE

I don't think any Third Party candidate has a hope of winning the Presidential Election anytime soon, but this groundswell of support to recruit me into running for the highest office in the land is very humbling.

What do you guys think?

kg

EINZE GEHOBEN

This is going to sound very weird, but the other night I had a series of very strange dreams. They were the kind of dreams where my wife Wendy has to pray for me because I am struggling, both within the dream and outside the dream, to wake up.

I call these spiritual dreams because they always involve a message, a vision or a sense of spiritual encounter.

So, my dream the other night involved a phrase in German that I could not understand. Mostly because I do not speak German. So, when I woke up around 2am I went into the den and scribbled the word down on a piece of paper so I wouldn't forget it.

Today, just a few moments ago actually, my sister-in-law called me to interpret my German message from God. (She speaks German).

The words I had written were: Einze Gehoben. According to Felicia, my sister-in-law, these words are interpreted as:

Einze = First

Gehoben = One who is lifted up or elevated

So, I still don't know exactly what to make of this. Why would God give me a message in a language I don't speak? Why would it be something cryptic like "The First one who is lifted up?"

Not sure. But it is interesting isn't it?

I could draw parrallels to scripture and recall the verse where Jesus says, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself". Jesus was the first one to be lifted up, onto the cross, for the salvation of mankind. We also are called to carry our cross, daily, in order to follow Jesus. Our cross and his cross are linked together.

Is my German message just another name for Jesus, the "Einze Gehoben"? Or is it something more?

I'll be praying about this over the next few days. If you have any ideas what this could mean I'd appreciate the feedback. Just place a comment below.

Thanks,
Keith

REACTIONS TO "THE RELUCTANT RADICAL"

Yesterday I sent out my weekly [Subversive Underground] article to the subscribers of my little e-newsletter. It was entitled "The Reluctant Radical" and it was something I have been working on and thinking about for some time now.

(You can read this article by clicking on the [Subversive Underground] link at the left-nav).

Already I've received several responses which tells me several things. One, that some people actually read those things, which is a relief. It also tells me, based on the email and comments I'm receiving, that I need to clarify a few things.

Below I have pasted some of my correspondence with my good friend Ben V. and also with fellow blogger Adam on the subjects of church history, practice and leadership.

Here ya go:
**

I hope that people who read my articles still get that I'm not against traditional churches or those who attend them. I've tried to balance what I'm saying with the idea that I still have many friends who are traditional pastors and parents who still attend, and love, their mega-church, etc.

My high-wire act is to share what I'm learning with everyone and allow them to draw the conclusions, allow them to fill in the "Now What?" blanks for themselves.

Yes, I have my opinions, and I try to share them as graciously as possible, and yes, sometimes people get offended by what I share and that's ok too, I guess.

I am pretty open about the fact that our family has decided to enter the house church arena, and I hope that people get more light than heat from my articles. I hope so, anyway.

To answer your questions:

A) "when I actually read Acts and realized the Believers were still meeting in the Temple daily for prayer."

Well, not exactly. I mean, yes, at the beginning of Acts we read that they met daily in the Temple Courts. But this stopped pretty much instantaneously after Stephen was stoned to death and Saul started going from house to house to round up these Followers of The Way. After this is was pretty much the house meeting exclusively to avoid arrest.

It's important to note, however, that the decision to meet in houses didn't come up after the persecution as a way to protect the Body. It was something they were doing from day one. What they did was eliminate the more public and Jewish-based meeting in the Temple Courts, but the house meetings were ongoing from Jesus, into the Upper Room meetings and throughout the New Testament church.

I'm not kidding when I say don't read the history of the early church unless you want to have your concepts blasted apart. The less you know about these things he easier it will be for you to stay safe and happy the way you are. I'm just sayin'....

B) "It talks about the church hierarchy and it seems similar to what we have today"

Again, not really. We tend to read into the New Testament these patterns because that's how we've always been taught to see and understand things. But there was no hierarchy in the early church, not until late in the Third Century when newly converted pagans became leaders and brought their ideas of Priest and Bishop into the fold. Before this the church was lead mainly by Elders who were self-identified by the rest of the Body and sometimes by one of the Apostles.

The word "Pastor" only appears once in the Bible. We have no formal explanation of what someone with this gifting did, other than to trace the root of the word as it relates to "Shepherd", or one who cares for the flock. To me, it's significant that the only way to lead a flock of sheep is from behind. Jesus modelled a very different kind of leader for us, and for his disciples, which they took to heart.

At any rate, those with pastoral giftings in the early church certainly didn't look or act anything like the one's we have today.

I recently engaged in a Q & A with a guy (ADAM) over this on the [SU] so rather than re-type this here's what I said to him about the idea of leadership within the early church:

ADAM SAID: "...having been in the corporate world a while, one truth I have found regarding human nature is that people WANT to be led."

KEITH'S RESPONSE: Yes, people do want to be lead, but what I've learned is that leadership doesn't have to look like what we're used to seeing in the church.

The traditional church models a CEO leadership and takes its cues from the business world, but there are other forms of leadership that don't take the "I'm the boss" approach.

The form of leadership that Jesus modelled was to wash the feet of his followers, and then he commanded them to do the same, especially pointing out that when they lead others they were not to "Lord it over people" as the pagans did/do.

Leadership, as modelled by Jesus, is by example, based on servant hood and facilitates dialog, cooperation and teamwork, not a professional clergy class.

ADAM SAID: "But what about Romans 12:5-8 which I was always taught about spiritual gifts?....there is a Leadership "gift.""

KEITH'S RESPONSE: You're correct, but again, we cannot assume that "leadership" means what we've come to know it as simply because that's the model we've grown up with. Does the Bible show us a different model for leadership? Yes, it does. My argument is that we, as followers of Jesus, need to adopt the model that Jesus gave us, not the one we've borrowed from Bill Gates and Starbucks, etc.

ADAM SAID: "...this passage insinuates a multi-member, multi-function organization with people in leadership roles. If the pastor is not designated the "leader" then who is?"

KEITH'S RESPONSE: You're getting it. The Bible gives us a model where function within the Body is shared and relational. Each person contributes something that no one else can using their unique gifts.

ADAM: "Just curious, how does your house church operate?"

KEITH: Glad you asked! I've got several articles I could send you which describe this in greater detail, (and I'll email those links to you if you ask me at "elysiansky" at hotmail (dot) com), but essentially I facilitate our share times together and try not to dominate the dialog, allowing everyone (even the children) to share insights into scripture, communicate a testimony, provide an insight, etc. to encourage the rest of us in our walk with Christ.

There are times when I need to exert my "Pastoral Authority" but usually everyone plays nice and most of the leadership you'd expect to see is done behind the scenes, in private and one-on-one with those who need a loving rebuke or a nudge in the right direction

**

Ben - I'm glad to hear you're re-reading through the book of Acts. I'd encourage you to go to the library and pick out pretty much ANY book on Constantine and/or early church history. It will change your mind about a lot of things.

As you say, "It would be truly terrible to find out one day that, like our Catholic brothers, we've been getting things wrong for centuries. Of course, that may be the case . . ."

Yes, that would be truly terrible.

kg

LORD, SAVE US FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS

This is one indie film worth seeking out. "Lord Save Us From Your Followers" is not a slam against Christianity by non-believers, it's an honest look at Christianity in America that we need to take seriously.

First, this film hopes to reclaim the heart of the Gospel and to restore the concepts of relationship and love for people, as Jesus commanded us.

Secondly, the film hopes to inspire dialogue between political or ideological extremes, particularly Christian and non-Christian; Liberal and conservative.


WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE FILM
HERE

MAIN WEBSITE
HERE:

Rabbi Unveils Secret Name of God

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE
HERE

(FROM THE ARTICLE ABOVE): "Rabbi Mark Sameth contends...that the four-letter Hebrew name for God…should actually be read in reverse. When the four letters are flipped, he says, the new name makes the sounds of the Hebrew words for "he" and "she."

**
Wow. If you flip the four letter name for God and read the gibberish out loud it sounds like the words "he" and "she"."

This is an historic discovery. Apparently if you take the name of God from the Hebrew, reverse the letters, and then attempt to pronounce the gibberish, someone who speaks Hebrew will think you are saying "He, She" and do you know what that means?

I don't either, really. But, I decided to take this genius theory and apply it to my own name to discover even more about myself.

So, if you reverse the letters in my last name you get "Selig" and often people will call me "Kevin" instead of "Keith" since the two names are very similar. This leaves you with "Kevin Selig". Amazing, huh?

So, if you Google the name "Kevin Selig" you find this page:
KEVIN SELIG

Here's what we've learned: First, not only is Kevin Selig, my anti-thesis, a blogger who writes articles on the InterWeb (just like me), it turns our that Kevin loves coffee as much as I do.

You know the most amazing thing about all of this? I'm going to tell you. The most amazing thing about all of this that the Rabbi who came up with this theory has a picture of himself on the first link (go check) and he looks just like John McCain who is running against Barack Obama who has not one, not two, but THREE Muslim names.

Doesn't that strike you as oddly fascinating?

Me neither.
-kg

Arrested for Feeding the Poor

On April 4, 2007, at the conclusion of an Orlando police undercover investigation that, according to the Orlando Weekly, cost taxpayers $65,000, FNB member Eric Montanez was arrested. His alleged crime: feeding more than 24 people. His weapon: a ladle.

The result was twofold. One: A jury who understood the concept of "unconscionability" found Eric "not guilty." Two: The arrest scared away groups and people who were participating, especially some of the church groups, who were afraid of being labeled "law-breakers."

Yes, it is unconscionable to let people go hungry, in a city of plenty in a nation of plenty. It is a higher magnitude of unconscionability to persecute those who feel called to serve the poor and subject them to arrest and prosecution.

READ THE FULL STORY
HERE

**
These stories make me wonder if I would continue to go out and serve the poor if I knew I would be arrested for doing it. Part of me wants to say, "Absolutely", but the truth is that I have a family, and the idea of being arrested kind of scares me. Would I really be willing to feed people, serve people, love people even if it meant that I'd be handcuffed and taken to jail for doing it?

Next weekend our house church is taking a truck load of free groceries to hand out to the families who live at the California Studio Inn in Santa Ana, as we've done for over 5 years now. But what if our local government made it illegal to pass out food to people in motel parking lots? Would I still show up and face arrest?

Next month some of our Mission house church family are taking food and supplies to an orphanage just over the border into Tijuana, Mexico. What if we knew they could be detained and thrown into jail for doing this? Would we still be so eager to serve?

I ask these questions because they reveal a sense of comfort in me that I find disturbing. Am I really more interested in serving and loving others than I am in my own comfort and safety? I know we're not supposed to be stupid about how we serve people either. We don't just take any stranger off the street and allow them to sleep on the floor next to our children at night. We're careful within reasonable boundaries and we use our brains to make wise choices as we serve others.

I just wonder if the day ever comes when serving costs me my freedom or my safety, will I be willing to serve and to love anyway?

-kg

PARKER'S EPIPHANY

Over the last two and a half years my family has been trying to live out a missional calling to the neighborhood where we live.

One of the main ways we've accomplished this has been through the children who live on our cul-de-sac in Orange and play with our boys every week.

A few weeks ago at the Mission we were joined on a Thursday evening by five of the children from our neighborhood. They knocked on our door as we were finishing up dinner and preparing to enter worship to announce that they were coming to church with us.

They sang along with us, took communion with us and engaged in our open share time dialog along with everyone else.

The day we moved into this house it was Parker, a street smart kid who is used to taking care of himself and his two younger siblings for much of the time, who first welcomed us to the neighborhood, and himself to our house.

Parker, who is only about 7 or 8 years old, is head strong, funny and smart as a whip. He's got the mind of a 19 year old in the body of a young boy so you never know what he might do or say.

This night, as we were answering the rapid fire questions being thrown at us from the kids, Parker suddenly had a revelation and shouted, "Hey, wait a minute!"

We all paused to hear what he might be preparing to say next. "If Adam and Eve were the only people in the beginning and then they had kids and their kids had kids, then that means the whole planet is one big family."

The adults in the room all smiled and nodded to one another. We were visibly impressed by Parker's revelation.

"You're right," I said to Parker. "If only the leaders of our Nations and the people of our planet could all remember that, our World would be a much better place wouldn't it?"

Parker agreed.

-kg

Peace

"...the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - Jesus (John 14:26-27)

If there's anything I need right now, it's the peace of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I've felt so disjointed the last few weeks, as you may have noticed due to my less-than-frequent blogging here. Life is busy.

I know that everyone in Orange County is "Busy". If you don't believe me, just ask them. They'll tell you with a sigh that they are busy.

But for the last several years my wife and I have been, intentionally, living as simple and as stress free a life as we can manage.

A lot of our friends say we already do too much, but the truth is we normally only do the things we love doing and then we just do a whole lot of it. For instance, we love to serve the poor and to spend time with people so we do as much of that as we can with our kids and our house church. We also love our kids and so we spend as much time doing family stuff as we can. We also love our house church family and so any chance to be with them we take advantage of it and we do that.

Lately, however, we've been invaded by a series of time-stealing activities that have made me long for those days when we could spend more time doing what we love instead of what we have to do.

So, today at work, where I am buried under a never ending mountain of projects, I googled this verse and took a moment to meditate on what it means to lean on the Holy Spirit and to ask Jesus for his peace.

I need that peace right now. I need the joy of the Lord to be my strength.

Granted, these things that are stealing my time for the moment are passing. Soon enough my life will return to normal (in about six more weeks) and then I can stretch out and enjoy the luxury of a quiet moment with my family, or a fun time with my sons, or a warm cup of coffee with a good friend.

Until then, I am daily seeking Jesus for His peace and for the strength that God provides me through His joy.

Peace,
Keith

And the Lord said, "Wait..."

For about six or seven years now my wife and I have noticed an ongoing pattern in our lives. Everytime we start down a path or attempt something new, God always seems to respond with "Wait".

Sometimes it's as mundane and everyday as waiting in traffic, or unexpected delays at an airport, but many times it's big things like that check we need from the IRS to help us pay our rent, or a new job so we can get out of debt, or an answer to a prayer we've been bringing to Him for months, sometimes years.

It's almost like a conspiracy of sorts.

These days Wendy and I will usually just look at each other and nod silently, or simply repeat the word to each other- "Wait" as if it's the punchline to a joke we've heard many, many, many times before.

Except that this joke is only funnier the longer it goes on. In the beginning we didn't laugh when God said "Wait". Instead we threw fits and cried and rolled around on the floor like spoiled brats. Over time we've learned to roll our eyes, or comfort one another with the simple, yet very familiar word of God, "Wait".

A few weeks ago we attended a day-long seminar on the ministry of the Holy Spirit lead by Mike Pilavachi. It was a great day to be with my old friends from Soul Survivor and to receive practical instruction on how to pray for people and to move in the power of the Holy Spirit...which is something I have to admit I am really terrible at.

My dear wife was the first to bring it to my attention. "Isn't it funny," she asked me as we stood in the kitchen on the day after our Holy Spirit conference. "What?" I said. "You know," she continued, "God's been trying to get us to understand the importance of waiting on Him for years now and yesterday Mike Pilavachi demonstrated to us the secret of moving in the power of the Holy Spirit was all about waiting for Him to move."

I didn't respond at first. It took a moment to sink in all the way, but when it did I had to laugh. "The reason why I'm so bad at moving in the power of the Holy Spirit is because the secret is to wait on Him to move first," I said, stating the obvious point which had eluded me all these years.

It gave me a new understanding of the verse where God says, "Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they will mount up with wings as Eagles."

Suddenly I could see that this verse wasn't just about waiting for months on God's answer to prayer, or for years to discover God's will for my life, but also about waiting five or six minutes in silence for the Holy Spirit to move or to speak to us as we gathered together to pray.

So, I have to admit, I am still not very good at this. In fact, I am still downright horrible at it. But, now that I understand the principle and the importance of waiting on the Holy Spirit, I can honestly say I have a hope of improving in this area.

The secret is to wait.

-kg

NEW BOOK IN PROGRESS

I'm hard at work writing my third book, "Jesus Called. He Wants His Church Back" and I'm very hopeful that it will be complete and ready by the end of this year.

This book will take a look at the church that Jesus built, the Cyprian heresy, and specifically how God's people need a fresh understanding of what it means to "Be The Church" rather than attend one.

In addition, I plan to include a section of the book with testinonials from pastors, friends and everyday people like you who have discovered the power of "being the Church" and moved towards a more organic and simple ecclesiology. (If you'd like for me to include your testimony feel free to contact me about it at "elysiansky" at "hotmail" dot "com).

The book will also include a section detailing our specific adventures into House Church at The Mission over the last 3 years in a journal/diary section taken from my personal diary and my articles over at www.MissionHouseChurch.com and over at SeedStories.com and Ginkworld.net.

My first two books are still available at the link on the left-nav bar and one of them should be officially re-published before the end of this year also. More on that as soon as I've signed the actual contracts.

Thanks to all of you who have downloaded the free PDF versions of my book, and giant "THANK YOU'S" to those awesome folks who actually purchased a hard copy of your very own. I am very blessed to read your feedback and to hear how God has challenged you as you read these books.

I pray that this new book would also inspire, challenge and bless a new generation of people to understand how God designed His Church to function and what it means to be the temple, the daily sacrifice and the royal priesthood of God.

More later..

kg

The Normal Holy Spirit

Fellow blogger Adam made an interesting, and very honest, comment on my last entry regarding his reaction to the Holy Spirit and I wanted to follow up with a few comments of my own on this subject.

I am, like Adam, a recovering Baptist who was raised to believe that God answers prayer and heals, but most likely won't in my case.

It's a pretty common thing, I believe, for us to doubt testimonies of miraculous healing or Divine Appointments. Our everyday experience often conspires against our inner faith in God's willingness to intervene in daily life.

Part of the problem, I think, is that we've all seen the Holy Spirit used as a tool to coerce people or manipulate them. Usually this manipulation involves sending in a check to an Evangelist with bad 70's hair and an immaculate Armani suite on channel 40.

However, the Holy Spirit is real. He is the third person of the Trinity. He is continuing the ministry of Jesus in the actual world you and I live in every single day. Without the Holy Spirit the Church, you and I, would have no hope of accomplishing anything in the Kingdom of God on our own.

Todd Hunter recently made a statement about the Holy Spirit that helped to center this discussion for me. He said, "In the Early Church, and in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit was not a controversial subject. It just wasn't. Because the Holy Spirit was simply the manifest presence of God empowering them to continue the ongoing message and ministry of Jesus".

Part of our problem is fear. I also think that, speaking for myself, I need to overcome the delusion that God doesn't want to heal or to speak or to move or to empower His Church to utilize their Spiritual Gifts. Of course He does! Why would God want to cripple His own Body? Why would the Holy Spirit desire to bring doubt to God's people? Why would Jesus want to withold the power necessary to encourage His Bride to live and love as He did?

Answer: He wouldn't.

The Holy Spirit is real. He is no more "weird" than Jesus. He is no more inaccessible than our own thoughts and prayers.

In fact, the same Holy of Holies that once hid behind a 300 pound veil is now located somewhere in your chest, nestled just inside the doorway of your heart.

He is near. He is real. He wants to bless and heal and empower us to be the Church we're called to be.

-kg

Holy Spirit Weekend

This last Saturday and Sunday our family and our house church spent a lot of time focusing on the Holy Spirit.

First, we attended a Saturday conference with Mike Pilavachi and received some great instruction (as only Mike can) on the Holy Spirit, praying for others and waiting on God. Then we got to practice it on one another. It was really amazing.

I got to pray for a total stranger and God gave me a specific word of encouragement for him that was spot on. Thank you, Jesus! I always feel nervous praying like that for someone because I don't always get a word for them. This time God came through and it was great to encourage someone that way.

A lot of other friends of our were there also and they were blessed as well. It was an awesome day. No one wanted to leave!

On Sunday morning, mostly fueled by what we had experienced on Saturday, we broke our usual liturgy at The Mission and mixed things completely up and invited the Holy Spirit to come, spent time laying hands on those who needed physical healing, and praying over each other in the group spontaneously. We also had a wonderful dialog about the ministry of reconciliation as an extension of the healing ministry of Jesus.

Several people stayed for lunch and some of the kids stayed until 5pm. It was an all-day fellowship and Holy Spirit-fest!

Doesn't it seem like Sunday after Sunday we have more and more to praise God for and celebrate?!

God is so awesome!

kg

3 QUICK SHOTS

ITEM ONE:

By his own admission, James Dobson is not a theologian, Biblical scholar, or even a pastor. He's a psychologist.

This is why I fully endorse this website:

www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com.

It should go without saying that Jim Wallis doesn't speak for me either. I tend to speak for myself whenever possible.


**
ITEM TWO:

If you haven't seen this DVD yet, you need to. Rent it today. Watch it with your family and your Church. It's worth it.


WATCH THE TRAILER:
WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?

**
ITEM THREE:

I leave you with a great quote by Henri Nouwen about our calling as "little Christs" to go where Jesus went and love as Jesus loved.

"Our faithfulness will depend on our willingness to go where there is brokenness, loneliness, and human need. If the church has a future it is a future with the poor in whatever form." - Henri J.M. Nouwen; Sabbatical Journey

**
Have a great weekend!

Peas,
kg

SUBVERSIVE PODCAST: "THE CHURCH JESUS BUILT"

The podcast of my message last Sunday is now online at ITunes. To download this free podcast sermon just go to ITunes and search "Keith Giles" or "Subversive Underground" under podcasts.

This was a great day. The Mission House Church and Soul Survivor Church held a shared worship celebration where I was asked to share what God has been showing me about The Church and our identity as the Body, the Temple and the Bride of Christ.

This message contains the core of what my next book will be about. I'm working on finishing it up now and hopefully before the end of the year I'll be able to share it with all of you.

Blessings,
Keith

Modern Church Translation - Matthew 28:19

Announcing a brand new "Modern Church Translation" of the Bible!

Finally the words of Jesus have been re-translated for our modern Christian lives!

Here's an example of how this new translation modifies the old, stuffy text into a new, more comfortable version we can all enjoy.

New Living Translation Version:
"19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." - Matthew 28:19


Modern Church Translation:
"19 Therefore, stay put in your churches and pray that people will walk through your doors. In this way your pastor can preach to them so that they will become disciples. Baptize the rare convert that walks through your door in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Choose a method and ritual for your baptisms. Ensure that you criticize those whose method differs from yours. You may even choose to question the salvation of those that were not baptized by your preferred method." - Matthew 28:19

*from a post over at "Untried" my friend Mark's blog
HERE

My Son Dylan's First Game of Soccer

Yesterday I got off work a bit early to attend my oldest son Dylan's first soccer game.

I can't tell you how proud of him I was. This was the first sport of any kind he has ever played and he's doing really well at it, for a first timer.

He needs to learn a lot more, but I'm thrilled to see him trying something new that he's interested in and shows some natural ability at.

See, I was never an athelete. I never played sports of any kind, even at recess in school. I'm a thinker. I used to read books all the time, or draw, or make up comedy routines to entertain my friends, etc. So, for me to have an athelete in the family is something new for me.

I guess it means that my son isn't an extension of me anymore, he's his very own person. His unique personality and character is emerging as he approaches his teenage years, and like it or not, I will have to allow him room to stretch and spread his wings and learn to be exactly who he is.

This is me learning how to be a good Father to my son. Cheering him on from the sidelines and coaching him during the breaks, and loving him no matter what happens.

I'm very, very proud of him.
-kg

P.S. - His team did win their very first game. It was 6 to 4 (a pretty high-scoring game of soccer) and Dylan even got a few good kicks in, played some great defense, even shouldered one kid down on one play and blocked out the opposing player on the other end of the field so his teammate could grab the ball away and save the play.

Woo-hoo!

Amazing Day (Yesterday)

I think yesterday may have been one of the very best days of my life so far.

We started out sharing breakfast with Mary Anne, our new-found friend who recently came into our lives, and our house church, about a year ago. She's recently had a brain tumor removed and is doing much better, but still not out of the woods yet.

About 10am we all drove down to Soul Survivor Church in Costa Mesa and had a wonderful shared worship celebration. It was so awesome to look around the room and see my family from the Mission House Church and my family from Soul Survivor all together in the same place.

I got to preach on a subject that has been burning in me for weeks now, all about the Church Jesus Built, who He made us to be, and our identity as the new Temple, the new Priesthood and the new, daily, (living), sacrifice. (The Podcast will be loaded soon).

Afterwards we went together, nearly the whole group, to eat lunch across the street at Rubio's Fish Tacos (yum!) and then after running home for a bit, and to drop off Mary-Anne back at the home where she's living now, we dashed over to continue the party at The Rehagen's house as our house church celebrated the Baptism of our own Mollie Wright. Our First Baptism!!! It was so beautiful. We sang a song of worship together ("Lord I Lift Your Name On High") and then Mollie and I, and her Dad Jason, walked down into the swimming pool. I asked her if she had made up her mind to love and to follow Jesus all the days of her life, and she said, emphatically, "Yes!" and then her Dad and I baptized her in the pool.

After she came up we laid hands on her and prayed a blessing over her. And then we had a swimming pool party! Yes!

It was SO UNBEARABLY HOT this whole weekend! The time in the pool was amazing. I think every single person from The Mission was there who could be there (we have one family out of town) and the party was really sweet and fun and refreshing.

Wendy made an awesome ice cream cake to share and we all chowed down on this luscious cookies and cream ice cream slice of chocolate cake and heaven. Wow. My wife really needs to do more of this...

My vote was to have next Sunday's house church in the pool, floating in the cool water and singing worship songs, sharing together, maybe re-baptizing one another spontaneously, etc. Especially if this heat continues.

After our little pool party and baptism celebration the party continued for our women as they gathered at 7pm for Women's Ministry Night and prayed for one another and ministered to one another.

What an awesome day!

It was so incredible to really "Be The Church" and be a Family together and share this amazing day with everyone.

Am I blessed or what?!

God, you are too good to me. Keep it coming!

Love,
Keith

The Failure of the American Church

The Failure of the American Church
By Keith Giles

"While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." - Matthew 26:6-13

When Jesus tells his disciples that they will always have the poor among them, many have concluded that this statement is meant to downplay the practice of giving to the poor in order to focus on more important things, like corporate worship and giving to the building fund.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the passage Jesus is quoting here is from the book of Deuteronomy and it contains a teaching that they would have known by heart as good Jewish young men.

OLD TESTAMENT COMPASSION
"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." - Deut. 15:11

In contrast to what we may erroneously assume about the meaning of Jesus' words, this passage is actually a command to give generously to the poor, because they will always be with us.

In fact, to read the entire passage in Deuteronomy is to catch a very surprising whiff of just how much God is concerned for the poor in our midst.

In verse 4 of chapter 15 there is a very interesting statement God makes that any good Christian should take note of: "However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you"

God's command to His people was to show such amazing generosity and compassion for the poor that there should be no poor among them, even though later on, in verse 11, He affirms that the poor will always be among them; suggesting that while their love may fail the test, the needs of those around them will not cease.

FULFILLING THE COMMAND
The great news is that, once Jesus arrived on the scene and began to model life in the Kingdom to his disciples, they began to understand what real love and compassion towards the poor looked like.

From the very beginning our Lord Jesus turned to his disciples and gave them a simple command: "Love one another" - John 13:34

From the very beginning, these faithful disciples obeyed this simple command.

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." - Acts 4:32-35

In fact, many New Testament scholars and Early Church Historians have concluded that the amazing love these first Christians had for one another was more instrumental in drawing people to Christ, and to receive the Gospel of the Kingdom, than any of the signs or wonders performed by the Apostles.

A FAILURE OF COMPASSION?
Some have suggested that this radical compassion for the poor eventually failed and was proven unsustainable because later on in the New Testament Paul the Apostle writes a letter appealing to other Churches in the region to send money to support the now-bankrupt Churches in Jerusalem and the area of Macedonia.

"At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." - 2 Cor 8:14-15

While some may see Paul's appeal to other churches for financial assistance as proof that the radical compassion and charity of the early Church was unsustainable, I would argue that it proves the concept was spreading and part of God's plan to spread the Gospel throughout the Earth.

THE POINT WE'RE MISSING
The model of radical compassion that Jesus left us, and that the Apostles promoted, was designed to grow and expand as the Gospel spread. At first the sharing of all things within the community was between neighbors on the same street, and then between those within the same city. As the Gospel spread the sharing expanded to include those within the same region, and then eventually to those within the nation. The circle was meant to grow ever outward. As the message of the Gospel spread so too would the demonstration of radical community and giving would expand to include those brothers and sisters who had never even met in person.

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." - Acts 2:44-47

THE MANNA PRINCIPLE
When Paul quotes Exodus 16:18 in 2 Cor 8:15 (see above)"...they that gather little did not have too little; those that gathered much did not have too much" he was subtly reminding them of the manna principle that God gave the Israelites in the desert. It was a principle of trusting God for daily bread and not taking more for yourself than you need for today.

The beautiful thing is that those early Christians and followers of Jesus got it. They gave hilariously. They gave sacrificially. They gave because they knew that God would supply their need tomorrow in view of their generosity and open hand today.

THE FORGOTTEN WAY
Where have we in America gone wrong? How have we made being a faithful Christian about getting more stuff? How could we twist faith in Christ into a tool for amassing more wealth and blessing for ourselves?

"It is sad to see that, in our highly competitive and greedy world, we have lost touch with the joy of giving. We often live as if our happiness depended on having. But I don't know anyone who is really happy because of what he or she has. True joy, happiness and inner peace come from the giving of ourselves to others. A happy life is a life for others." - Henri J.M. Nouwen; Life of the Beloved

I pray that somehow God would touch and soften our selfish, greedy hearts and begin to break us, giving us eyes to see the poor in our midst.

-kg

Repairing the Veil?

Scholars say the veil in the Jewish Temple was over 300 pounds and took over 400 men to move.

As soon as Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures from the cross, God ripped it in half, from top to bottom.

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." - Matt 27:50-51

God didn't waste a moment removing the barriers between Himself and us.

Let's be careful not to rebuild that veil by establishing a system of Church that keeps Him from us.

He has made you and I the Temple of His Holy Spirit.

-kg

What the Church is Not

Repeat after me:

The Church is not an organization, it is an organism.

The Church is not a business, it is a Family.

A Pastor is not a CEO, he is a loving shepherd.

The people in your Church are not employees, commodities or assets, they are your brothers and sisters and part of your Family.

SOME DEFINITIONS:

ORGANIZATION - Noun

1. The act of organizing a business or business-related activity; "he was brought in to supervise the organization of a new department".

2. The activity or result of distributing or disposing persons or things properly or methodically.

3. An ordered manner; orderliness by virtue of being methodical and well organized.


ORGANISM - Noun

1. Any biological entity capable of replication or of transferring genetic material.

2. Any living entity that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently.

3. A system considered analogous in structure or function to a living body.


BUSINESS - Noun

1. A commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it.

2. The activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects.

3. The principal activity in your life that you do to earn money;


FAMILY - Noun

1. A social unit living together.

2. Primary social group; parents and children.

3. People descended from a common ancestor.

4. An association of people who share common beliefs or activities.

5. A person having kinship with another or others.


EMPLOYEES - Noun

1. A worker who is hired to perform a job.

2. The employee contributes labour to an enterprise. Employees preform the discrete activity of economic production. An employee may contribute to the evolution of the enterprise, but usually has little control over the productive infrastructure, such as intellectual property and business contacts. Employees usually are the labour in the three factors of production, the others being land and capital.



BROTHER - Noun

1. A male with the same parents as someone else.

2. A male person who is a fellow member of a fraternity or religion of other group).

3. Used as a term of address for those male persons engaged in the same movement.


SISTER - Noun

1. A female person who has the same parents as another person.

2. A title given to a nun.

3. A female person who is a fellow member of a sorority or religion or other group.


ASSET - Noun

1. Anything owned by an individual or company that has commercial usefulness or value if sold.

2. An asset may be physical property or items, or enforceable claims against others. Loans made by a thrift institution are assets of that institution. Assets also include real estate, equipment, cash, investments in stocks and bonds, and any other resource that can be converted into cash.

COMMODITY - Noun

1. Something of value that can be bought or sold, usually a product or raw material.


I hope this is helpful.

The Church is the family of God, not a business venture.

-kg

Poverty In The OC - The New Website

Yesterday I put together a brand new web resource page called PovertyInTheOC.com.

You can see it
HERE

This will be a website where people in Orange County can go to learn more about what causes poverty here, what challenges the poor face, and why, and more importantly find out what they can do to help those who live in poverty in the richest economy in California.

I'm also offering to visit local churches and lead a free, interactive presentation on Poverty In The OC for anyone who is interested. So far I've done these at Rock Harbor in Costa Mesa, at Soul Survivor's "Engage" Conference, at the Heart of Jesus Conference in Tustin, and at two other house churches in Orange and they've all been amazing times to reflect on God's Word concerning the poor and the statistics of poverty here in our community.

Help me spread the word!

-kg

WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?

Over the weekend I watched the documentary, "What Would Jesus Buy?" and I have to ask every single one of you to go out and rent or buy this DVD and watch it. It isn't a perfect film, but it's an important one and as someone who takes the words of Jesus seriously it is a prophetic look at our Nation and how our obsession with consumption helps to fund the oppression of the poor in other nations.

You have to make sure to watch the "Extra's" section and hear the testimony of a sister in Christ who was arrested and tortured for her faith while in China and how she was forced (in prison) to manufacture Christmas Lights for Americans. She, and you and I, will never look at Christmas lights the same way again.

-kg

The Parable of the Fourth Talent

The Parable of the Fourth Talent by Keith Giles

Then the Master turned to the man with the fourth talent and he said, "Show me what you have done, my servant."

The man with the fourth talent replied, "Master, I knew you were a savvy business man and that you require a substantial return on your investments, and so come and see the building I have purchased for many millions of dollars. See, I have placed photograhps of you throughout the facility and there are 46 inch flat panel plasma screens from which hundreds of people may watch me as I tell them to send me their money so that you can bless them. On Super Bowl Sunday we can even use this as an outreach to the community," he said. "Master, look here, we have recently installed a thirty thousand dollar sound system with a state-of-the-art mixing board and flipping sweet Bose speakers powered by a killer amplifier."

The Master looked at the man with the fourth talent and said, "You foolish man. Did you not realize that no one can build a house for me? In all the years you have served me did I ever, even once, ask that any of you build a temple for me to live in? All the Universe belongs to me, and Earth itself is my footstool."

The man with the fourth talent scratched his head, "Did I mention that the building seats 3,000 people and has a heated baptistry?"

The Master rebuked him and said, "This building was built with money that could have fed the poor, comforted the sick and provided shelter for the homeless. Take this building and rent it out to the local rescue mission so that my people can have a warm place to sleep and safe place for their children to live, for whatever you have done for the least of these you have done it unto me."

The man with the fourth talent replied, "Can we still have the Super Bowl Party in January?"

-kg

WHY DON'T WE JUST CALL IT "LOVING PEOPLE"?

Instead of referring to our Christian activities as "Ministries" I was wondering why we don't just call it "Loving People"?

So, instead of saying, "Join our Homeless Ministry" why don't we start saying, "Come and love homeless people with us". Instead trying to get people to volunteer for "Senior Home Ministry" we could just ask them if they'd like to be part of the team that goes and loves our friends at the Senior home for an hour each week?

I know, I know, it's a lot more wordy than the saying "Ministry" or "Outreach" but if we can think of everything we do as followers of Jesus as just "Loving People" it might come across less like a job we "have to do" and more like something we can't help but do because it's who we are.

Is that alright with you?

kg

WHAT GOD IS DOING TO ME

I am aware lately of a few things that God is doing to me.

First, he is connecting me with more and more people who are interested in starting a house church. Just the other day another person emailed to ask me about house church and asked me to pray for him as he transitions out of traditional church (he's a pastor) and into the house church.

This is in addition to my friends in Seattle who are prayerfully seeking God and searching for others in their area to start a house church with, and also my friends in New Mexico who are attempting to salvage the remnants of a traditional church and (prayerfully/hopefully) transform it into a house church.

What's up with that? Does that mean I have some new Apostolic annointing or something? Or does it just mean that God is continuing to call more and more people to "be the Church" and I just happen to be someone these people connect with?

I'm not sure, but it does underscore the need for more dialog and examination of what God is doing to a lot of other people in His Body these days.

I think my next book will be "Jesus Called-He Wants His Church Back" because more and more I see God knocking down the man-made structures we have built to keep Him out and keep Him from His people. Whether it be traditional church structures, or the Christian Subculture, I believe God is tearing down the barriers that separate Him from His Beloved...and I love it.

Another thing God is doing to me lately is ramping up my pastoral interactions with people living in the motel where we have been serving for like 5 years now. Suddenly I am getting phone calls from families in need who are asking for help, prayer, practical job assistance, and yes, even financial assistance to escape their poverty. What's up with that? Why now? I'm not sure.

Today I got a call from a woman who lives in the motel with her husband and two children. Her birthday is this week, and her daughter's birthday is too...but they have no money to cover their rent for the first time in 4 years. She asked if I could help them with rent, but also wanted to make sure that I could drop by in person and pray with her and her husband.

This is in addition to another family I helped on Friday (see "My Friday Lunch" blog entry from last week) and the family I met at the dumpster on the same day who were interested in house church.

I'm not sure how any of this connects, or what God is doing to me...but I love it.

-kg

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

I think one of the reasons that we're called to pray without ceasing is that, once we start praying for others we soon discover that nearly everyone we know needs prayer and our prayer list becomes so long that it's impossible to pray through it in one sitting.

At the moment I'm praying for two new house churches to be birthed; one in Seattle and one in Farmington, New Mexico. I'm also praying for a dear woman of God who has been so severely abused by the Body of Christ that she was driven from fellowship, and even her town. Now she wants to return to fellowship again even though she knows the risk of being hurt again is very real.

I'm praying for one of my dearest and oldest friends who is going through a divorce and trying to take care of his two little daughters as his heart, and his marriage are ripped in half.

I'm praying for co-workers who are at various places in their spiritual development, and for wisdom and grace to be a true friend to each of them as God leads me.

I'm praying for members of our house church who are far from God, who are struggling in their marriage, who are distracted by the World and who have retreated from fellowship with us in spite of knowing that it's wrong for them to be alone.

I'm praying for a friend who won't return my calls or respond to my email even though I've pledged my undying friendship and love for him, and even though he tells me to my face that I've done nothing to hurt him - I know he's lying to me and I know he's running away from those who love him most...I think he knows it too since it's been a pattern in his life for years and years now. I just want him to wake up and return to God, and to fellowship, and to our friendship, but no matter what I do he will not move.

I'm praying for a young family living in the motel in Santa Ana where we serve each month. They are trapped in poverty, chained by their own addictions, burdened with raising two lovely children in that dark and filthy place, and nearly out of hope.

I'm praying for the manager of that same motel who has learned to soften his heart towards others but isn't quite ready (just yet) to fully surrender to Christ.

I'm praying for another family who has suffered and struggled more than any other family I have ever known over the last five or six years. I'm praying that this week his new job really fits him, and that he can continue moving forward towards a better tomorrow for himself and his family.

I'm praying for the families on our own street and for their children who are emotionally abandoned in many ways. I pray for their safety. I pray that we could connect with these families and that God would show us how to love them and demonstrate the love of Jesus to them.

I'm praying for our house church as we inch closer towards reproducing ourselves and creating a second house church as this one grows physically larger and spritually deeper. I'm praying that God would lead us towards a natural muliplication of new life in the Spirit as some of us respond to the Spirit's calling to step out and plant a new church in their homes.

I'm praying for my own family; that my son Dylan would navigate the journey from boyhood into teenage adolescence; that my youngest son would overcome his speech impediment; that my wife would be strengthened as she home schools our sons each day; that I would be the Father, the Husband, and the Spiritual Head of our household that God has called me to be; and that all of us would hear God's voice as we walk with Jesus and try to be Missionaries to our world.

When you have so much to pray about, and so many to pray for, the only way it can possibly work is to pray constantly, with every breath, in every free moment, for those who are part of your spiritual family and whom God loves intensely.

What are you praying for? Who is on your heart right now? God is listening. Go ahead and pray.

-kg

GLORIOUS DAY

Yesterday at The Mission we enjoyed one of the sweetest times of fellowship and Koinonia ever. Our share time was so very awesome as the Holy Spirit lead us and taught us about the importance of the inner person, the command to love others, and the importance of simply coming to Jesus daily in total surrender to Him.

I know God has blessed us so much already, but I sense that He has even more in store for us down the road.

God is showing me so much lately about what it means to "Be the Church" and how far and wide and deep that truth really goes. I feel like I've just been born again today and God's Word is brand new to me, more vibrant and relevant than ever before.

I'm looking forward very much to our upcoming shared worship service with Soul Survivor Church on the 22nd so I can preach this message that is burning in me. It's so exciting I can barely contain it within myself.

Later that same afternoon, after our joint service, we'll have our very first baptism as a church. I hope it is the first of many more to come!

I am living the dream!

kg

My Friday Lunch

by Keith Giles

Today on my lunch break I ran to the motel in Santa Ana where we have been serving for just over 5 years now. One of the young families there needed some financial assistance and I wanted to encourage them and give them some phone numbers to get connected with the Orange County Rescue Mission's "Strong Beginnings" program.

First I talked with Pete, the motel manager, and I let him know that we were only going to continue to help this family if they took positive steps to get help and escape their situation. Pete had been pretty up front about his opinion of this family, but he agreed with me that they needed some help for a long-term solution. It was a great opportunity to talk to Pete, who is so far not a professing believer in Jesus, about the changes we all need to make when we surrender control of our lives to Christ.

After paying for three days rent on the room to cover this family through Monday, I walked over to let them know what our expectations were for them and to give them the info on the "Strong Beginnings" program.

The young father met me at the door. I could tell he was humbled to receive this assistance. He asked if he could pay it back, and even after I explained that this was a gift, he still wanted to know if I would let him pay it back. I shared with him that I knew it sometimes took more courage to ask for help, and to receive help from others, than it does to go out there and provide your own way. He started to weep as I talked with him and I got to share a bit more about how we wanted to be able to help them in the long run, not just the short run.

We talked a bit more and I ended by praying for him and his family before I left.

On my way to my car I ran into another couple, both about my age, who were walking towards the dumpster and starting to look through it. I called out to them and asked if they would like some free groceries (which I had in the trunk of my car). They responded appreciatively and asked if I was from a Church or something. When I told them that I was a pastor they both got excited and told me that they'd just recently come to live in this motel after the husband had lost his job. They were shocked to discover that some families living in this motel had been there for years. We talked about the problems of homelessness and poverty in Orange County, about God's heart for the poor, and also about our house church and our vision to spend 100% of the offering on the needs of other in our community. They were both very excited about this and we shared a bit more about what it's like to be out of work for months at a time, how hard it is to provide for your family in Orange County, and I got to share a bit of our personal experience being out of work for over a year (twice) and what God taught me about depending on "Daily Bread". They both listened with tears in their eyes and asked if they could come to our church.

I am usually very careful about handing out my home address and phone number to total strangers in the parking lot, but something told me that these people were safe, and that they were my brother and sister in Christ Jesus. So, this Sunday we might have some new visitors to our house church.

Now, it's back to work writing copy for the world's largest technology distributor on the planet.

Isn't God amazing?

kg

WITH THIS RING

My friend's Ken and Ali Eastburn pastor "The Well", a series of six house churches in Orange County. Ali started this amazing non-profit group called "With This Ring"

WATCH THE AMAZING VIDEO CLIP
HERE


VISIT THE MAIN WEBSITE:
HERE

I HATE THE CHURCH

More thoughts on The Church in America
by Keith Giles

God has been speaking to me a lot lately about what Church is, how we're designed by Him to function and thrive, and what "being the Church" is really all about.

I HATE THE CHURCH
A good friend of mine told me the other day, "I hate church." I can totally understand what he means by that; that he hates the way people operate in church, and that he's frustrated by the mentality of some people who are confused about what church is, etc.

I've said these words myself a few times in my life. Whenever I see pastors manipulating their flocks, or when I hear christians argue about what to do with the money they gave as an offering to God, or when I see people twist the ideas of "Service", "Worship" and "Faith", I also feel angry and have been tempted to say, "I hate church."

But, I've been very encouraged to consider the words of A. W. Tozer on this subject when he reminds us that we are not speaking of some anonymous organization "out there" whenever we speak of "the Church". Instead, we are speaking about a living organism we are inextricably connected to for Eternity. We ARE the Church. So, while we may hate certain aspects of how our brothers and sisters operate, or how people act within the Body, we are still speaking of something that we are part of.

Tozer's quote says:
"We must not think of the Church as an anonymous body, a mystical religious abstraction. We Christians are the Church and whatever we do is what the Church is doing. The matter, therefore, is a personal one. Any step forward in the Church must begin with the individual." (From The Knowledge Of The Holy, pg.114.)

We are the Church. The only Church the world will ever know. The only Church there will ever be.

So, now, let’s go and be the church we dream of. If we want the Church to be more loving we must become more loving. If we want the Church to be more understanding and patient, we must become more understanding and patient.

I was reading 1 Peter chapter 2 the other day and I saw some things I never saw before in verses 4 and 5:

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

If you remove the little coda in verse 4, which is meant as an aside to further explore in what way Jesus is the living stone, and read it without that little insertion it reads like this:

"As you come to him, the living Stone,...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood...."

So, as we come to Jesus we are built up to become the people, and the Church, He is building.

Notice, God is the one doing the building. He's accomplishing that as He builds us up into the people He wants us to be. (Note: He wants us to be a people who are a holy priesthood).

I know it can seem very simplistic to consider this, but all we have to do is to come to Jesus and allow Him (by the power of His Holy Spirit) to build us up into the people He has called and designed and intended for us to be.

Church = God + the People of God

That's it.

We've gotten into the bad habit of thinking that Church equals a paid professional clergyman, and a building that must be paid for and maintained, and a strategy to attract people to fill the seats, etc. But none of that is in the New Testament. It's not how Jesus modelled Church for us. It's not how the Disciples and the Apostles went about planting and growing Churches for nearly 400 years.

We have to stop trying to build the Church and start being the Church.

Let Him build His Church. Be the Church and the people He has called you to be.

Much more on this subject later..

Blessings,
Keith

CHURCH: THE FAMILY OF GOD

As I'm preparing to speak on June 22nd, as part of a joint service between The Mission and Soul Survivor, I've been doing a little study lately on the Church.

Just the other day I discovered something about the Church, and our identity in Christ, that I'd never seen before. This week's [Subversive Underground] article will explore this yet-to-be-revealed insight more completely, but until then I wanted to share something else about the Church that inspires me.

NO LONE RANGERS
It is not God's plan for us to be alone. He has designed His Church to operate as a Family, and as a Body, where each part depends upon the others. (see 1 Cor 12)

Whenever Satan wants to attack one of us, he always starts by isolating us from the rest of the Body of Christ. Because Satan knows that if he can separate us from the Body, he can cut off our source of strength, encouragment, love, and the rest of those God designed us to be in fellowship with.

It's very true: United we stand. Divided we fall.

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." - Hebrews 10:25

WE NEED EACH OTHER
God has purposely designed His Church to be interdependent and connected at the molecular level. We've each been given different gifts for the purpose of helping one another to grow to maturity in Christ. Each of us has a spiritual gift (yes, even you) and it only works when we use it for the benefit of others within the Body.

"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." - Romans 12: 4-5

Look at that. It says we belong to one another. We need each other. We cannot survive alone.

WHOSE WILL BE DONE?
I've counseled several people over the years who get wounded by someone in the Body, or fall into a pattern of sin, or give in to depression, and feel that they must retreat from the Body in order to heal or to think or to "take a break" from Church.

Whenever we do this we are allowing ourselves to play into Satan's hand. Our Enemy knows that if he can isolate us from the rest of the Body (which was designed by God to strengthen us and build us up in our faith), he has already won the battle.

We need one another. We were desgined by God to love and to help and to serve and strengthen one another. If we remove ourselves from fellowship I have to ask, "Whose will is being done?" Certainly not God's will.

If you find yourself in a place where you're drawing away from the rest of the Body of Christ, you need to remember that you belong to Jesus and it's time to return to fellowship in obedience to His Love for you.

KNOWING AND BEING KNOWN
Sometimes people in the Body of Christ will hop around from place to place and church to church, visiting here one week and there the next week. By doing this they avoid accountability and embrace anonymity which is just as dangerous as staying home completely.

Again, God designed the Body to be relational. If we refuse to allow others to know us, if we avoid intimacy in the Body of Christ, we are denying our own spiritual DNA as members of God's Family. When we embrace anonymity we are opening the door for the Enemy to draw us away from God and His people.

God designed His Church, that's you and me, to operate best when we are sharing openly and loving one another intimately. We can't do that if no one knows us - our pain, our doubts, our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our joys, our sadness, our tears.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF LOVE
I understand that some have tried this and they've been severely abused by some within the Body who were not trustworthy or loving. Sadly, we are a broken people and some of us are still manipulative, angry, bitter, frustrated and selfish. Don't allow those people to make you like them. If you have to find another group to fellowship with, feel free to seek out people who will really love you as Christ intended. Don't give up. There really are people, just like you, who long to be known and to know and love others within the Body of Christ. Seek them out. Find them. Love them. Committ to them. Learn to "Be the Church" with them, and discover what it means to be part of the Family of God.

Lots more on this subject to come...

-kg

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Reading "Pagan Christianity" right now (by Frank Viola) and last night I couldn't help but wonder why none of the Christians during the time of Constantine fought against this unnatural transformation?

I know that there were some who did refuse to bow to Constantine and they exiled themselves to the desert in order to continue to worship and fellowship as they had been doing (these were called the "Desert Fathers"), but it seems the majority of Christians went along with the plan to paganize their faith.

Why did they do that? The incorporation of pagan ritual and the introduction of pagan structures would have been even more scandalous and blatantly obvious to those who were living at this time. Yet they didn't rise up when the Emperor hijacked their faith and introduced pagan elements. Why not? Did they think they could maintain their faith without being affected by these additions? Did they not care? Were they just so relieved that the sword was being removed from their throats that they would do anything the Emperor asked?

This has me curious. I have to dig a bit deeper to answer this question.

-kg

Intentional Components

Sometimes living out my faith can be overwhelming.

How do I fulfill my personal calling as a husband, a father, a pastor, a follower of Jesus, a teacher, a writer, and a human being without getting pulled in every direction at once?

I know that I have a calling to be a missionary to the world around me. This means my neighbors on my street, my co-workers during the week, and people I come in contact with each and every day.

I also know that I have a calling to love the least and the lost, and to have an open hand towards the poor and the outcast.

At the same time, I am called to disciple my two sons and teach them what I know about following Jesus and living a life of integrity.

My calling also extends to my marriage where I am called to love my wife as Jesus loved the Church; laying down His life to set her free.

Sometimes I struggle with how to do all of these things at once. I have to weigh the difference between things I could be doing, and things I should be doing.

I know that I have a personal calling to communicate the Gospel of the Kingdom in words, in writing, and in my daily life. I know I have a calling to serve the poor and to help others understand this Biblical principle of justice. I know I have a responsibility to pastor the people in our house church. I know I have a calling to make disciples, to teach others to follow Jesus so that they can also teach others to follow Jesus too.

So far I've accomplished these "missions" in my life by living my life according to my convictions and communicating what I've learned through my articles, books, and my weekly e-newsletter.

I have new opportunities in front of me now that I could take advantage of. But sometimes saying "Yes" to one thing is also saying "No" to a hundred other things. What if one of those hundred other things is what I'm really supposed to be doing?

I could be helping to publish a magazine that communicates the conditions of those living in poverty here in Orange County. There's nothing wrong with that. It's one of my core passions. So, do I do that? Or not?

I could be leading teams of people to minister to prostitutes on the streets of Santa Ana each week. This is a serious need. These girls are in real danger. But is that my calling? Is that what I should be saying "Yes" to? What about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom? What about communicating the importance of following Jesus with your everyday life? What about the amazing joys of house church I'm experiencing each week? What about evangelizing my neighbors? What about being more missional with my co-workers? What about...?

In the end, all you can do is the best you can do. No one can do more than that, can they?

I remember that Jesus said that His burden was easy and His yoke was light. If my list of things to do is heavy, maybe it's time to lay them all down and figure out what I'm really called to do?

For now, it's a daily surrender to Jesus. If that means writing an article about Social Justice, then I write that article. If that means sharing my faith with my co-workers, then I do that. If obedience to Jesus means laying all other committments aside to spend time with my wife or my sons, then I will do that too.

Instead of being overwhelmed with the vast myriad of possible things I "could" do, it's better to simply surrender my entire life to Jesus and allow Him to direct me, each and every moment, to do those things I "should" do because He has called me to.

-kg