CONSTANTINIAN FALL-OUT

In my most recent [subversive underground] newsletter entitled "MODELS" I shared a little about my personal struggle with what I've learned lately about Constantine and his negative impact on the modern church as we know it.

I'm currently reading a book about Constantine that details his conversion to Christ and his subsequent murder of his wife and son, and most of his friends and advisors...after he supposedly turned to Jesus.

Beyond this, Constantine had difficulty with the idea of the crucifixion of God's son (he felt it was an embarrassing display of God's failure to rescue his own), and he scolded his own sister for her "worship" of Jesus.

It's difficult to say that this person was a saint...or to even accept that he really had a life-changing experience with the same Jesus you and I follow.

More troublesome to me is how Constantine's impact on our modern church practice and tradition has effectively removed our earlier family-based form of worship (the House Church) and created a form of Christianity where the family/relational form of worship was replaced with something more impersonal.

In essence, Constantine broke up the relational house churches and set up their leaders as miniature kings who would now rule over a peasant class which would be taxed to pay for the upkeep of the castle (the church building), and the provision of the new christian royalty.

This bothers me.

As I shared this with the faithful [subversive underground] subscribers, I received quite a few responses. Some supportive and in agreement with me, some questioning my motives, some critical....but that's what this is all about. I want an open dialog and I really am trying to work out this stuff in my own life and in my own head.

Here are some of the edited responses I offered up today to a few of those who asked for more clarity on this issue.

First of all, I'm sorry if I came across as being judgemental or critical of the modern church. I'm really trying not to be too critical...and honestly, if someone can show me where the early Christians met somewhere other than homes (in those first 300 years before Constantine), I'm very, very open to seeing this evidence. I mean, I WANT to find it. I'm seriously willing to email all 56 people on this underground list and admit my mistake if someone can show me where I'm wrong on this point.

Yes, the book of Acts shows us the earliest Christians meeting in Solomon's Collonade (or Porch), and we know that sometimes they would gather in the temple in Jerusalem, but as persecutions (by the Jews) increased, this became less and less possible. Soon, even within the time period of the writing of the book of Acts itself, and the entire New Testament, we see the early Church meeting in their homes almost exclusively. For 300 years the home was the main place the church would meet. (And I always have to stop and remind everyone at this point that the United States of America isn't 300 years old).

Secondly, I'm not trying to paint all "non-house churches" as evil, paganized organizations. I really am thinking out loud here. I'm honestly struggling in this email, and in my real heart, NOT to do this. I want to remain open to both the historical facts of christian history, and the reality of God's Spirit moving with power through His church (all of it...all forms and models of it) right up to this very day.

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES
I have parents in the modern church form. I have great friends and colleagues in the "constantinian" form of church. Some of these friends, and my parents, are reading this email newsletter. The last thing I want to do is to insult them or make enemies with these dearest of friends and family.

What I am trying to do here is to share with everyone what I'm learning, what I'm reading, what I sense God saying to me about house church. I believe that House Church is not for everyone. I'm not arguing for all of us to tear down the traditional church model. I believe God is still madly in love with His Bride as it exists in this form, and as it has existed in this
form for thousands of years.

But...gee...wouldn't you want to know about how this one guy (Constantine) shaped our christian history and practice? How he never really converted to Christianity at all and yet how our traditions have been tainted by his influence? It's seriously fascinating, and troubling to me.

What do we do about this? I don't know.

SO WHAT?
As I said in my previous email article, I'm asking myself if I can just learn about this, accept it as fact, and then just go, "So What?" and let it go.

People who don't go to house church are not evil. People in the house church aren't smarter or more holy or spiritual. We're all honestly following Jesus the best we know how.

But I would hope we would all be willing to just take a look at the stuff I've shared and take it at face value. You don't have to agree with me. That's cool. But I do feel the need to defend myself and make it clear that I'm not calling for an end to the organized church. What I am doing is to ask hard questions, share my personal misgivings, and offer up my
perspective, and my personal decisions about what I'm learning, with others.

I'm more than willing to be questioned, and rebuked, by anyone on this point. Some of my friends and fellow pastors have dialoged with me about my comments, and it's been helpful to me.

(sorry to ramble on and on here...almost done..)

What I didn't share in the last email was that I realize that what I want to be is a reformer of modern christianity, not a revolutionary. I don't want to argue. I don't want to fight. But I do hope to ask good questions and share some of my perspective with others and pray that God does the rest to reform His Bride in the areas He wants to do this.

I'm honestly trying to walk out this paragraph above.

FINAL THOUGHTS
So, as I consider these thoughts, and I struggle internally with what to do about these thoughts and ideas, I think I have come to a few conclusions...(for those of you still reading this monologue):

1) I need to focus on the postive experiences I've had in our House Church more than I spend any more time criticizing the modern church.

2) I need to emphasize that the Church is more about who we are as followers of Jesus and less about where we meet or how we go about worship. This is a core conviction of mine and I realize that some of my ramblings on Constantine start to undermine this key point. "We are the Church. Church is not a place you go to for a meeting. We need to BE the Church, not attend one."

3) While I feel that Constantine screwed up the Church in many ways, God is the one who has allowed this and has redeemed this structure and form for His Glory. God has the last laugh. Seventeen hundred years later, God has a Bride that has emerged victorious, in spite of the clothes that Constantine has put on her. One day Christ will give Her a new robe, a wedding gown of pure white and nothing any man does will change that inevitable truth.

4) I'm still learning. I can be wrong. I might not have it all together myself. Just a few months ago I was blissfully ignorant of these unsettling thoughts and God loved me as much then as He does now.

5) This blog entry is way too long.

Thanks for reading.

peas,
kg

CLOSED DOORS, OPEN WINDOWS

CLOSED DOORS, OPEN WINDOWS
By Keith Giles

Yesterday I had one of those days that you anticipate with dread.

Wendy and I have been slowly transitioning out of the church we had helped to plant in Tustin over three years ago. Since October of last year we have been meeting with our friends and fellow pastors about feeling called to leave and start a new church elsewhere.

The journey itself has been a painful one. Saying goodbye, asserting your convictions, standing for what God has called you to do, and defending your vision is always difficult when those who disagree with you are your brothers and sisters in Christ.

All in all, this could have been worse. As painful as this process has been for our family, and for those who remain behind at the church, God’s grace has been sufficient to sustain our friendships, and to maintain our fellowship.

For the last five months my family has been continuing to serve in the elementary class we started called “Kids Rock”, training new teachers, handing over responsibility and becoming advisors rather than leaders in a ministry we dearly love, for children we have pastored for three years.

Yesterday was our last Sunday. We had agreed upon the date of March 5th as our final Sunday in attendance.

We had been dreading the goodbye, and especially the pain of closing the doors. Even though we know we’ll still see many of our friends again, and we aren’t moving away, the process of saying goodbye itself is most painful, especially when so many of our friends still don’t understand why we’re leaving and don’t support what we’re doing now.

But God has a way of healing wounds and mending hearts.


As a tribute of sorts, they had put together a short video collage. Thankfully, the video was brief, and even humorous at times, but we still cried. Wendy and I were invited up front, along with our two boys, and the entire pastoral staff laid hands on us and prayed a blessing over us, to send us out in our new, strange, ministry of house church.

After this blessing, they presented us with a baseball bat which had been signed by everyone in the church, encouraging us to “step up and swing the bat” for the King in all that we do.

I prayed over the elementary children, one last time, and then we went out with them for our final class together. The Kids Rock class itself was great. Wendy and I had a great time with the kids, and there were no tears (thankfully) as we gave our final lesson.

After church we took the kids to the Pizza Party, and then over to a friend’s house for a Baptism.

My final day at this church, I stood in the hot tub, side by side with my Pastor and friend, Robert Crabbe, and together we baptized a little boy from our Kids Rock class, a little girl whose family we met while ministering at the motel in Santa Ana, and an older gentleman who had never been baptized in his life, even though he had served the Lord faithfully for many years.

Afterwards, as we stood waist deep in the warm water, Robert and I were able to talk, and to share about these last few months of transition, about the pain, and the tears, and the way God had held things between us together for His Glory, and His Purpose. In that moment, there was healing, and an agape kind of love for my brother in Christ that transcends words. It was a sweet moment of grace between the two of us that only God could have orchestrated.

After all the disagreements, after all the pain of tearing ourselves away from our friends and church family to launch out into the unknown, there was something healing about doing the work of the Kingdom alongside my brother in Christ that last day. In the act of initiating these few children into the family of God, Robert and I became brothers again. Our differences faded into the background for those few moments, and our words lost all value and meaning in the simple obedience of baptism.

I am thankful for the time we spent at The River, serving the poor, teaching the children, and sharing our lives with the good people there. I’m grateful that we’ve been part of the legacy of this church in these areas of compassion and ministry to children, and to know that these ministries will continue under new and capable leaders.

Planting a church like this one has been one of the most dynamic and spiritually stimulating experiences of my life. In truth, it has been a sort of laboratory where I’ve been free to try new things, dream big, and lead others in the kind of Christianity I’d only dreamed of before. I’ll never forget my time in this church.

Now, we turn our full attention towards the work of God at The Mission, the small house church that meets weekly in our home. This is our new adventure. This is the next laboratory of the Spirit for us to discover more of Him, walk deeper into the Kingdom, and become more like Jesus in the process.

Wendy and I take strength from the experiences of serving at The River and set our hearts toward the new thing that God is doing in our family, for His Glory.

God has been so faithful to us, opening a window for us, even as he closes a door. We know that He has so much more in store as we continue serving Him and seeking His face.

ENGAGE- WEBSITE NOW LIVE

Hey everyone, be sure to go and check out the awesome website for ENGAGE that my buddy Lito did in about 5 hours time.

SOUL SURVIVOR PRESENTS: ENGAGE- APRIL 22, 2006
WITH DAVID RUIS and others

http://www.soulsurvivorusa.com/engage/

EARLY-BIRD Tickets are just $15 while they last, and then they go up to $25, so hurry!

Peace,
kg

TWO OR MORE

TWO OR MORE by Keith Giles

Last Thursday Wendy and I attended a Teen Challenge Graduation Ceremony in Santa Ana.

We arrived early, got to meet a few people, and sat back as the flurry of activity took place around us while the team was setting up for the celebration.

They set up tables, chairs, and laid out food and drinks for everyone to share after the ceremony. They practiced their worship songs and ran off copies of the program and lyric sheets for all who would soon arrive.

Finally the guests were all congregating around the makeshift sanctuary, which was a converted two car garage, complete with the large door which remained raised so that people could make their way inside and find a seat.

We opened with prayer and a few wonderful songs of worship, lead by the Director of Teen Challenge himself, Ron Brown, on the piano. His gospel-themed style of piano and singing made us all feel that we were at a Sunday Morning church service, rather than in a converted garage in the poor side of Santa Ana.

After the worship time, Ron got up and introduced me. I gave a short message on The Power Of Weakness, looking at King David, Samson and Gideon as examples of how God looks for and seeks out the most ordinary and simple of people to accomplish His amazing work on Earth.

The most surprising miracle was that I managed somehow to deliver the message in exactly 20 minutes. No one was more stunned than I was.

Next came the real blessing. The Graduates of the 4 month program were to be honored for completing their initial stages of sobriety. One by one they were brought up to the front and given a blessing and a word of encouragement by their counselors for the hard work they had done in successfully completing the program.

Everyone was in tears by the end.

But what God most dearly blessed us with on this day was something very simple and sweet.

The good people at Teen Challenge had spent all this time and energy putting on this Ceremony, and about 50 people went out of their way to drive out and attend this graduation service, for just two men.

That's right. Only two men graduated this day from the 4 month program.

On the drive home, Wendy and I were marveling that this ministry would have such an amazing heart to stage such an event in order to honor just two people.

"Would we do that?" Wendy asked out loud in the car.

I wondered that also.

And then God did something kind of sneaky.

That night, as we prepared our dish for our Thursday night house church meeting, only two people were there. I was very disappointed by this. We held hands to pray and bless our food and I held back a sadness in my heart at my apparent failure to attract and minister to more than two people, one of whom was my sister-in-law.

We ate our dinner together, we talked about life, we shared a bit. But inside I was squirming. I felt like going into my bedroom and hiding away.

Then, one other person showed up.

Still, I felt embarrased. Now this person realized what everyone must already know, that I was a failure. Our house church was a failure. Maybe we really were foolish to think that this sort of thing would ever fly in Orange County?

We finished dinner and sat down to share together what God had been speaking to us this week. As we shared, another person showed up.

I felt a little better. At least now we had four people, and including my family that made eight. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all?

That was when Wendy shared with the rest of us how blessed she was at this morning's Teen Challenge ceremony. How blessed she was that they would do for only two people what most of us would only do for ten or twenty.

That's when the Holy Spirit kicked me in the teeth.

"Would you do that?"

Well...would I?

Suddenly the lights came on. I realized that God had deliberately used this morning's experience at Teen Challenge to show me how to operate in the Kingdom.

Even God Himself, the Creator of the Universe, isn't too important or busy to show up for two people. "Where two or more are gathered, there I am in the midst of them." Why should I treat people any differently?

Now I realize that I was more concerned about my own reputation than I was about honoring and serving the people of God.

I wanted those who have mocked us and put us down for taking this step into the house church model to hear about a "successful" and "growing" meeting in our home. Even though personally I do not equate bigness with success, and I don't personally believe that "growth" equals "depth", I know that those who judge us and criticize us really do draw those parrallels, and I wanted to look good in their eyes.

So, I had to repent. And I do this now, in full view of all men. I repent of my own pride. I repent for wanting to please men rather than to please God. I repent for playing along with those who say that large gatherings equal success and continual growth equals spiritual maturity.

Tonight, our house church meets again in our home.

Whether we have one, or two, or even if our family is the only one in attendance. We will have church. We will invite the Holy Spirit. We will worship God and we will read the Scriptures together and take strength from God's Word and His prescence with us.

I remind myself again, "We are the Church. Wherever we are, there is the Church. Whatever we are doing, this is what the Church is doing."

I repent.
kg

Small Requests

Hey guys,

Just wanted to ask for a prayer from you about a message I'll be giving tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 9am.

I'm speaking a Teen Challenge graduation ceremony in Santa Ana, California. This is a class of students who have graduated from their 90 day addiction recovery program.

Pray for me, please, that God would speak through me to encourage these guys and gals. Pray that God would bless them and that I would share only what is on God's heart for them.


ARTICLE ALERT:

I've got 2 new articles online right now.

BBQ WAFFLES is online now at SEED STORIES:
http://www.seedstories.com/main.cfm

CONVERSATIO MOREM! is online now at CMA RESOURCES
http://www.cmaresources.org/

Go check'em out!

Thanks!

Keith
www.keithgiles.com

ENGAGE- "GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE"- APRIL 22ND, 2006

SOUL SURVIVOR PRESENTS: "ENGAGE" APRIL 22, 2006
(Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone)
With David Ruis and others.

Hey guys, we're taking registrations now for the Soul Survivor ENGAGE conference on April 22nd now.

The basic info is up now:
www.soulsurvivorusa.com

The first 20 people who register can get in for just $15 each!

After that it's just $25 per person.

The theme of the event is "Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone" and this will be a one-day Saturday conference to explore the Biblical connection between Worship and Justice.

Our main host is David Ruis, and this other guy Keith Giles...some of you may know him.

WORSHIP SERVICE:
The conference will also feature interactive artistic elements, workshops, and a 2 hour "Worship Service" where we let our Worship be our Service to the poor in the community.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE:
For those brave enough, we're offering a "Missionary Challenge" track where people can sign up to go on a "Mission" into the culture to engage the poor, BEFORE the event even begins! Those "Missionaries" will then have a "Debrief Session" at the event where they can share their experiences and testimonies with each other.

Hope you can all make it out!

Peace,
kg
www.keithgiles.com

RELATIONSHIP FACTOR

Poverty: The Relationship Factor by Keith Giles

One thing I’ve had to learn about working with the poor is that it’s not about “fixing them”, instead, it’s more about the relationship.

When I first began working in the motel over in Santa Ana, my vision was grand. We were going to start regular Bible Studies, share meals, worship together and see powerful conversions, healings, deliverance and eventually convert the entire motel into a satellite service of our own Church.

God had other plans.

Instead, as we began to host monthly carnivals for the children of the motel, God started high-lighting one particular family to me. We were involved with serving several families at this motel, but one in particular stood out in our hearts and minds, as if God had put a spotlight on them for us and said, “Love these above all”.

So, we started to intentionally befriend his family. I took time to drive Mike all around Orange County so he could find an apartment through the Section 8 program for those who need housing assistance. We prayed together, searched the internet together, drove all over the county, looked at apartments together, filled out applications, met with managers, and the usual stuff, for several weeks. All for nothing.

Mike’s frustration was my own. We kept praying. We had them over for lunch after church. We watched movies together. We befriended them.

Soon I began to realize that this was really the whole point of this Compassion Ministry. It was not about the program, or the activity, or the resources we could offer these families as much as it was about really allowing their lives to intertwine with our own lives.

As this began to occur, I realized that it was I who was being changed, healed, and blessed.

That’s the paradox of this ministry. No matter how much food we give away, no matter how much resource or blessing we give, I always walk away feeling guilty. I used to wonder about that. I used to think it was because we didn’t do enough. Even though I knew in my mind that this wasn’t true, that we had actually brought a significant material blessing, something still felt “unequal” in the transaction for me.

That’s when I figured out that it was because we were taking away a blessing that was always greater, in the Spirit, than anything we could ever hope to provide out of our own material resources.

We’re the ones who got blessed.

And that’s why I think God said that “..the poor you will always have with you”, because He knew that we needed them. We have so much we can learn from them, and there’s so much we can’t ever get about the Kingdom without interaction with the poor.

So far, what I’ve learned is the true meaning of courage, of sharing, and of love.

Want to know what courage is? It’s a man who suffers the indignity of raising a family in a one-room motel, full of prostitutes, drug dealers and the mentally ill, and who stands by his wife and children with his head held high.

Want to know what sharing is? It’s a seventy year old woman with an infection in her leg who can’t afford to buy groceries, or insurance, who gives away the food you just gave her to a total stranger who is walking by and asks for help.

Want to know what love is? It’s a family living in a motel room that they can barely afford who allows a friend to sleep on their bed, rent free, while they sleep on the floor, knowing full well that if the manager discovered this guest they’d all be thrown out on the street.

Love is a when a couple who once lived on the streets gets their own apartment after years of struggle, who brings in total strangers off the streets to sleep on their couch, so that they can help them get jobs, get their State ID Card, get into Job Corps, and get off the streets.

Before this, I didn’t really know the fullness of the meaning of these words, and I could never have discovered this in a text book, or in an article like this one. It’s the sort of thing you only really learn as you live it out firsthand.

This is why I’m so eager to share this with others. There’s a whole world of things that God wants to show us and teach us, if we’ll just obey Him in this one thing; to love and care for the poor around us.

The Holy Spirit is always trying to get us into relationship, because it’s in relationship with others that He can move and teach and transform us into the image of Jesus.

Kg

GRACE VS WORKS by Keith Giles

GRACE VS WORKS by Keith Giles

I'm fascinated with how the proliferation of the "Easy Grace" version of the Gospel has corrupted our understanding of actually "Following Jesus".

If we're all saved anyway, why fast? Why die to ourselves? Why suffer here in this life? If you do those things and I don't, but we both still go to heaven, why bother?

The warped idea that because we're saved by Grace we therefore shouldn't actually follow Jesus is absurd...and directly in opposition to the words of our Lord Himself.

"If anyone would come after me let him take up his cross daily and follow me"-Jesus

"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in Heaven." - Jesus


Want a shock? Read Ephesians 2:8-10. This is where Paul unloads the idea that we're saved by Grace "...and not of ourselves lest any man should boast", however, if you read the very next verse he says, "...saved by Grace TO DO GOOD WORKS.."

How about that? The ideas of Grace and Works really do go hand in hand!

Again, we are totally saved by Grace, no question about it. But as Dallas Willard says, "Grace is not opposed to effort".

The area where we've gotten so confused is in understanding that, just because works won't save us, that doesn't mean that works are bad. It just means we need to have a correct understanding of the idea of service.

Jesus says in Matthew 4 "..Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."

Service and worship are linked together. Worship is more than singing songs and crying and jumping up and down to declare with your lips that God is good. It's also, Biblically, about surrendering your whole life to God (Romans 12), and about caring for the poor (Amos 5, Isaiah 58, James 2:14, 1 John 3:17-18, etc.), and about obedience to God and to Jesus' words (John 14:15; Matthew 7:24, etc.).

Works are what actual saved people do gladly. See Matthew 25 for a great proof text.

Here's my analogy: "If you swim all day, you will not become a fish. But if you are a fish, you will swim."

Translation: "If you're actually transformed into a new creature (by Grace), then you will do what a transformed creature does (Obey the Lord you love and serve Him)".

Jesus didn't submit himself to become a baby in the hay, endure the hardships of life, suffer under the Romans, endure whipping, beating, torture and mocking, even death on a cross just so you and I could sit on the couch and watch "American Idol".

He saved us to allow us to be living testimonies of His Grace, not idle recepticles of this amazing love for a private collection.

God help me to live this out!

Wendy and I are called to be missional in our community, and to the world around us, but we both realize it doesn't come natural to us. We're totally throwing ourselves on His mercy, on His Grace, to somehow live in this "Jesus kind of way".

God opposes the proud, but He gives Grace to the humble.

Praise His Holy Name for that.

JOIN THE UNDERGROUND

STATUS REPORT: "THE MISSION"

Last Thursday evening Wendy and I hosted our first "Interest Meeting" for the new house church called "The Mission".

We had around 14 people RSVP'd for the evening, and there were 2 others who surprised us (in a good way) when they showed up too.

The evening was very sweet. Wendy and I took turns sharing how we arrived at the House Chuch model, explained our vision for the group and how our goal is to let the Holy Spirit be our leader and our most important member.

What was most surprising to us was how effortlessly we shifted from talking about how we wanted to operate into actually just spontaneously moving with the Spirit into sharing, caring, and praying together. Even as I was becoming aware of it I could only marvel at the phenomenon and smile.

There seemed to be an almost unconscious assumption among us that we were already the church and the formality of saying it out loud became unnecessary.

Still, as a pessimist at heart, I have to reserve my presumption that everyone who attended this meeting will return and become part of the regular weekly meetings of "The Mission". Only time will tell who is genuinely called to this way of being church.

We asked each person to take the entire next week to pray and ask for God's direction and guidance about whether they are called to this way of church or not. We recognize that this isn't for everyone and it's very important to us (Wendy and I) that only those whom God calls actually become one with us in this endeavor.

In just the last few days there have been several other people who have also expressed interest in coming to see what we're doing and to pray about whether they might also be called to this.

So, we're trusting God to build His Church, as He promised He would. We're committed to allowing The Holy Spirit to be the leader, founder and inspiration for this Church.

This is all in His capable hands.

Our first official meeting will be Feb.2nd, 2006.

I can't wait.

GOING ABOVE GROUND

In order to be subversive, sometimes you have to go above ground with your message.

Here are two recent transmissions to the masses:
(you'll have to cut and paste these links, sorry I'm html challenged)

WHAT IF? by Keith Giles
(an article posted on the Ooze' 'SEED STORIES' website for emerging church planters)
http://www.seedstories.com/articles/article.cfm?id=18

I AM A CHRISTIAN ACTIVIST (the podcast version)
I've recently become an assistant pastor at Soul Survivor's congregation in Costa Mesa and they have podcasted my message from Sunday evening. You can download it here (if you have ITunes):
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=117593278&s
=143441
*MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY is the title they gave my message. It's a testimonial of sorts about God's hand in my life and a statement at the end about who I am and my personal manifesto.

ENJOY!

LIVING STONES

Just last night it occured to me that the early Christian Church (from Acts to the first 300 years of History) never used property or land for a building or a facility so that they could stop meeting in those house churches.

In fact, we do know from the book of Acts that the early church did receive property and land all the time. If they had wanted to use this land to build a large facility where people could meet, they certainly could have done so. At least we do know that they had the opportunity.

Instead, they consistently sold the property and gave all of it to the poor.

In 300 years of church history, beginning with the Biblical, New Testament Church itself, we never see the church using property, funds or resources for the building of their own empire.

They were interested in compassion, in the building of the Kingdom and in serving the least and the lost around them.

Just interesting to me....

THE MISSION: DAY ZERO

Today is Tuesday, January 17th. In two more days we will host our first "Interest Meeting" for our new house church, The Mission.

Right now we have around 10 people who have RSVP'd and some are bringing friends along with them who are interested or curious about the house church model.

I'm trying to organize my thoughts, think of how best to describe just what a house church is, and in some ways, trying to think of ways to creatively talk people out of joining us.

Yes, that's right. I'm subconsciously trying to think of ways to convince people that this isn't really what they're looking for.

I think the reason why is that most people don't really know what they're getting into. I'll do my best to make it as clear as possible what this will be, and what it will not be, but I know that inevitably some will come along for all the wrong reasons.

Some are coming because they like us, they love our family, they want to support us, etc. This is awesome, and we're grateful, but for this house church to become what it must become, we really need people who are committed to the house church and who are going to be excited about doing church (or "being church") this way.

So, what this will not be is a home group. Although there will be at times elements of this group that resemble a home group such as worship time, fellowship, a short Bible study, etc., this is not a home group.

This is also not about taking what happens in a traditional church on Sunday morning and creating a micro version of it in our living room each week. We will not have an emphasis on a select few leaders and a larger group of followers. We are all followers, and we are all leaders.

See? I told you it's not something that we intuitively understand in today's culture.

I'll do my best on Thursday night to explain our vision for the church, to describe in detail the sorts of things we will be engaging in for the house church meetings, and hopefully inspire some good questions from the group about what the heck I'm talking about.

Last night I sat and read a chapter in "The Church Comes Home" about how to begin a house church. It talked about what to do and what not to do. It gave excellent examples of how the group should organically develop over time, how the first few meetings should differ from the later meetings, and then how the mature group should shift focus and begin really taking form.

Part of me is terrified. I've never done this. It is so far outside my comfort zone that I tend to want to grasp at those systems and patterns that I am so used to operating in, but if I do that then I short circuit what the house church is really meant to be.

I'm realizing that the most important member of our house church is the Holy Spirit. He needs to be at every meeting. He needs to have the complete freedom to speak, to encourage, to rebuke, to move and to, in fact, lead this group where it should go. I am the co-pilot, if that. He, the Holy Spirit, is the One who must build this Church, His Church, and lead it where it should grow.

Maybe my fears are centered here. I must be comfortable with being out of control. I must make it my practice, as the leader, to lead in a way that I have almost never observed anyone else leading before; with a "hands-off" approach and the courage to allow the Holy Spirit to have His way, no matter what.

So, I welcome your prayers for this endeavor. I know that the Enemy hates the Church, and I know that the opposition to something intended to be as pure and as Biblically-based as this will be great.

"Your mission, should you decide to accept it...."

BEEP

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON POVERTY

In my last [subversive underground] e-newsletter, I referenced a story I had read on MSN about how the poor in American aren't really poor because they have color tvs, microwaves, refrigerators, etc.

My reaction to this, in the article I sent out to everyone, was centered on how the article really had no intention of dealing with the very real problem of poverty in America, but was more about justifying our own apathy towards the poor who live among us because, "Hey, they're not as poor as those in Mexico or India, etc.".

I actually got several great responses from people on the list (which is the cool thing about the e-newsletter format...people can talk back!) and so I had to expand on my thoughts and really dig down on this issue of poverty in America and our Biblical mandate to respond.

Here's a little of what I sent out to those who responded:


I guess what I was saying about the article was that it really wasn't trying to actually deal with the very real problem of poverty in America. It was actually trying to make us feel better for not helping at all because "they're not REALLY poor".

Secondly, and mainly, I'm trying to say that there's a Biblical difference between the poor in another country and "our poor". The poor in India, Mexico, Ethiopa, etc. are seriously, desperately poor. No one argues that. This is why I'm on the board of Arms of Love (armsoflove.org), a ministry that builds orphanages in the poorest nations of the world to provide homes for street children who live in the city dumps and are forced into prostitution, etc. I'm not saying don't help the poor "out there".

But the poor in your city, in my city, down the street from me, they are "our poor". What we're called to do, Biblically, is to do something about it. Not to solve poverty. Not to cure it. Not to erase poverty forever, but to do what we can to help a few, in the name of Jesus and with the compassion of Jesus.

The quote from Jesus in Matthew about "the poor you will always have with you" was Jesus referencing Deuteronomy 15:7-11. You should seriously read this passage. The point is that God, the Father, is commanding the Jews to not have a hard heart or a closed fist towards the poor, the stranger, etc., but to give generously, freely to the poor among them. At the end of the passage, God say, "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."

That's what Jesus means when he says what he does in Matthew. He is not suggesting that, since we'll always have the poor with us, why bother?

Read Matthew 25. At the Judgement Seat of Christ the one criteria is whether or not those who call him "Lord" had any regard for the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the prisoner. The Sheep almost unconsciously care for these poor, not because they think it will get them into Heaven, but simply because they have genuinely been transformed into the people of God. The Goats, who also call Him "Lord", have the same unconscious attitude, but towards the existence of the poor or their needs.

The people of God, redeemed by the Blood, saved by Grace, seem to have an inability to walk past someone who is naked, poor, hungry, thirsty, lonely, etc. and do nothing. They cannot do that. It's not in their new nature.

We have a Biblical mandate (and it's alllll over the Scripture, both Old and New) to care for the poor..."our poor"...and that takes more than writing a check.

Again, this is my very biased conviction. I've been hammered by God on this issue and I cannot let it go because it won't let me go.

Do you know what the sin of Sodom is? Read Ezekiel 16: 49. It's not what you think.

"Now this is the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were proud and did detestable things before me. Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen."

Wow.

How about this one?

Galatians 2:10- "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."

(Paul's response after being sent out as the first missionary by Peter, James and John).

or...

{God is speaking of King Josiah:}
"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" (Jeremiah 22:16)

Wow.

"Is that not what it means to know me?"

What does it mean to "Know" God? This verse suggests that it means to care for the poor and the needy.

and of course we could also look at, Isaiah 58:6-7, Amos 5:21-24, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:14-17, etc., etc.

I just wanted, in the article, to make the point that God has called us to care for the poor, not to justify their poverty or our lack of compassion by comparing them to the "actual poor" in Third World countries.

Still, I'm new to this whole thing. I'm still trying to work out my own calling in this area too.

Thanks for letting me rant.

2005- the year in retrospect

This year was certainly one of the most challenging ones our family has had to face.

The sheer variety of tests and trials we endured were also significant.

We suffered through a miscarriage, loss of income, had shake-ups at church, went through a move and a house search, had to say goodbye to dear friends, and went through some times of poor health (without any health insurance).

Still, we've grown so much. We've learned more about what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.

Most of us go out of our way to avoid situations where we don't have control and don't know the outcome for certain. This is why God forces us into these sorts of tests so that we can walk by faith and not by sight.

God loves it when we keep our eyes focused on Him. He loves it when we put all of our trust in His providence and when we have nothing else but Him to lean on, or depend on, or place our hope in.

He really does love it.

As we look forward to 2006, we still hope and pray that it will involve much less adventure. We do not want to move again anytime soon, or change jobs, or have to receive money from anonymous donors to pay our bills, or suffer through sickness or a miscarriage, or say goodbye to any more of our friends.

But, this is life. Life is unpredictable. Things change. People die and move on. All things are temporal We ourselves are mortal. Everything is in flux. Nothing is certain.

We lift our heads and place our hands into the hands of God, one more time.

2006, here we come!

Yuck.

I am sick.

My throat is killing me.

I've gargled with salt water, whiskey, and had more honey, lemon tea than is necessary to kill an elk.

I've taken massive doses of Vitamin C, eaten grapefruits, had hot coffee, taken garlic pills, and the last four days I've lived on alternating cups of Dayquil and Nyquil (the coughing, aching, stuffy head, oh my gosh how did I end up on the kitchen floor medicine).

I still hurt.

A few seconds ago I took two ibuprofen and one of my Mom's sleeping pills. If this trails off before the end you know what happened.

So far our trip to El Paso has been great. Seen old friends, ran into a few by surprise, ate some great food (Chico's Tacos!), and some not-so-great (Whataburger...better in the old days), and even found time to go shooting in the desert for a few hours with my Dad, my best-friend and his Dad.

Hopefully pictures will be posted here soon.

Wendy and I have a tough decision to make this week. Please pray for wisdom and that we'll hear God's voice and see His hand clearly on this issue.

At this point, I don't have a good reason to say no to either of my options, so I'm thinking of saying "yes" to both....unless God stops me, that is...


For now I fall into the comforting arms of catatonia......
...maybe I'll have a dream...?

....more....later...

..........................

[subversive underground] UPDATE

As part of this blog, I've started a little email newsletter thingy called the 'subversive underground'.

Part of me feels like it's insane to send out a regular e-newsletter a couple times a week on top of posting articles here two or three times a week, and still try to keep up with my personal journa writings, and the occassional sermon, etc.

But honestly, I love the accountability this newsletter affords. It means that I have to keep writing. I have to keep putting all these thoughts down somewhere, and I have to share them with others to find out if they're good thoughts or garbage.

That's the other part I love- the feedback. Several of you have taken time to respond back to me with encouragement or to further the dialog offered by the [subversive underground] broadcast.

I crave that.

So far I've got around 30 people signed up for this little experiment. I get a few new ones every other day.

For those of you who are not sure if this is for you or not, here's the first one I sent out about a month ago.
**
welcome to the first edition of the subversive underground.

this is will be an email newsletter/stream of consciousness/random thoughts signal sent out at various times each week. i will not bombard you, i promise.

so, let's start by a definition of what it means to be subversive:
What is “Subversive”?- It’s a systematic overthrow of one system or power by those working from within.

Jesus came to announce that His Kingdom was coming, and that, even now, is available to all who know Him. This was the Gospel message.

Now we, the followers of Christ, are compelled to make a difference in the old order by working from within, changing one person at a time, advancing this new kingdom with every tool, talent and resource available.

This is what I hope to inspire. This is what I personally aspire to.

Just last night, while watching the semi-dreadful "American Music Awards" I had this thought: "No one gives a crap what we believe. Show us your convictions in the way you live, not in the words you speak."

I think this is one of the main reasons that I love working for Soul Survivor, because they're mantra is 'actions speak louder' and they operate from this assertion.

We have to stop pontificating. We have to begin to simply love, not just with words, but in action and in truth.

We have to question. We have to ask why. We have to be willing to take a chance, to risk for the sake of the world that waits to see with their eyes if what they've heard with their ears is possible.

I hope that there's a growing number of people who are willing to make it possible.

I hope that together we can spur one another on to live a life of simple obedience to the words of Jesus.

Welcome to the underground.

END TRANSMISSION**

*TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]:
simply email me at keith at soul survivor . net (without all the spaces, and remember to use the @ sign, etc.) with the subject heading of UNDERGOUND and ask to be signed up.

I'll do the rest.

i will also not duplicate articles from the blog on this email. for the most part you will receive "fresh and new" thoughts, from my brain to yours.

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful Christmas and that 2006 is the best ever.

Peace,

Keith

IN PRAISE OF THE LOCAL CHURCH by Keith Giles

IN PRAISE OF THE LOCAL CHURCH by Keith Giles

I've had to eat some crow the last few days.

So much of my attitude of late has revolved around feeling that, in general, the contemporary church has it all wrong. The solution, of course, is to go back to the beginning and to re-visit the values and the vision of the early church, before things got so corrupted.

I know that God still loves His Bride as it is today. I know that, by the Grace of God, people are still touched by Him, lives are still transformed and the Gospel is still preached, and often, even actually reflected in the lives of those who call themselves Christian.

But, I have felt frustrated, even angered and deeply disappointed by most of what is called "Christian" today. I do feel that Church has become an event that must be paid for, not a life that must be lived. I am saddened that our churches today focus more on putting butts in the seats than on actually helping people in need, discipling young Christians and putting feet to their faith.

Still, as I said at the top, I have had to eat crow.

What happened was, I was visiting one of the families in the motel this week where our Church has been ministering and I began to see the amazing fruit that has come in their lives. Granted, yes, this compassion ministry into this motel was something I had been working on for over a year, but the recent advances in their spiritual development I can mainly attribute to their involvement in the traditional church I've been part of for 3 years.

Because of the ministry through prayer that these guys received at a recent Sunday morning service, they experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They sat and told me about how they had never been to a church like ours before, where people didn't look down on them because of their poverty, where people actually cared for them and shared the love of Jesus in real ways.

"We love our church," they said. "We want to have our kids baptized and we want to come every week now, no more excuses."

I was forced to admit that our church, our contemporary, traditional church, had accomplished something truly amazing in the lives of my friends.

I have to admit that God is able to do whatever He wants with whatever system of worship is available to Him. Whether it's a system that takes its cues from the big business world, or the mega-church model, or the simple, early home church version, God is able to produce fruit and transform lives, no matter what.

Of course, on one level, I 'knew' this already. I haven't ever said or felt that the over-riding methods of "doing church" were evil or bankrupt, although I do feel that changes towards a more relational, community-focused sort of gathering are more likely to impact the culture than the system we've got.

This brings up another subject I want to address. Most of the house churches that I've looked into are characterized by their common hatred of the modern Church system, and most often directly defined by how much they are not like the church they all left to form their gathering in protest.

I really don't want our group to be defined this way. In fact, Wendy and I have promised each other that we will be vigilant to cut anyone off who starts spewing out negative monologs about why we're better or why that "other church" has it all wrong.

What I want is to focus on what we're called to do and to live out the convictions we have, without defining ourselves as an "anti" church.

So, in the future, whenever I write about the failures of the modern church, or critique the methodology of American Christianity, please keep in mind that God is still at work in all of the various forms His Bride might take and that He loves, and redeems, and is completely in love with us all.

PHASE 2 CHRISTIANITY by Keith Giles

I always find myself chewing on the concept of what it means to follow Jesus. How do I deny myself? How do I take up my cross daily? How do I seek first the Kingdom of God in my actual, everyday life?

I teach about it, I talk about it, I write about it and yet I seem to always find myself "stuck" at square one.

It feels like I'm 39 years old and yet still at the very beginning of my Christian walk and experience.

Just today I had to pray and ask God to help me be a better pastor. I feel like I blow it so often with people. I second guess myself afterwards and wonder if I should've said this or done that.

Do I ever move on to Phase 2? Will I know it if I do? Is the character of Christ really being formed in me? Am I being transformed by the renewing of my mind?

Will this growth come about by reading more and more books, or deeper thinking or more doing of the works of compassion? Does any of that really matter? Will all of this ever result in the changing of my heart or character?

Maybe I don't sense any progress because I don't practice the spiritual disciplines? Do I need to pray more? Or meditate?

As I think on this more, I wonder if it isn't really the Grace of God that prevents me from being aware of any spiritual progress or success in this area of discipleship to Jesus. To have an awareness of growth might open the doors for pride, and God knows how I struggle with that.

Here's what I've discovered. There is no Phase 2. There is nothing after seeking first the Kingdom or dying to self. There is only the constant, daily surrender, the 'moment-by-moment' obedience to Christ.

Even Paul the Apostle admitted he had not yet attained the prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ. It is an ongoing race we run and the moment we "arrive" is the day we take our first glimpse of the Resurrected Jesus in the flesh with our own two eyes, our first day in the physical Kingdom of God itself.

The way is the cross and the cross is the way.

HALF OF WHAT PARENTS SPEND ON TOYS = UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

This boggles my mind.

Read this carefully and then meditate on the implications of this.

Amazing stuff.

“Through the cross, God has created a body that has within it the economic resources to provide affordable housing, long-term community development, and primary health care to everyone who needs it. Universal primary education would cost $8 billion a year- roughly half what the world spends on arms every four days, or half of what parents in the US spend annually on toys for their children. This might mean that, as believers, we will have to break rank with consumerism, live more frugally, and do church more simply- but this will only help us to express the type of community we are committed to become, a community which lives sacrificially, gives away generously and resources those bereft of their basic human rights”

- Ray Mayhew, “Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin Of Contemporary Christianity?”

APPLES AND ORANGES by Keith Giles

APPLES AND ORANGES by Keith Giles

As my wife and I begin to move into this new phase of our calling to start a missional house church in a new neighborhood, we've been reading a lot and studying up on the early church and how they operated.

Our goal is not to copy the early church verbatim, but to glean from them a basic method of operation and to understand the core values they embodied.

In this process, I came across a quote that stirred me to think in a new way.

In discussing the way that the house churches exponentially grow outward via a process similar to organic cell division, one author noted that "The goal of an apple tree is not to produce apples."

This made me stop and re-think what I understood about nature and about church.

If the goal of an apple tree is NOT to produce apples, then what is the goal of an apple tree? And more importantly, what the heck does this have to do with planting a house church in the O.C. today?

Here's what I discovered. If an apple tree only produces apples all of it's life and dies, what has it accomplished? At first glance, a lot. It's provided the world with nutritious food and fulfilled one of the basic design elements inherent in its nature. But is that really all that an apple tree is really designed by the Creator to do?

That's when I realized the mistake we all make when thinking of organic structures, as compared to the living Body of Christ. If the apple tree dies without having produced another apple tree, it has failed miserably. Mainly because future generations will never taste of the fruit.

Unless an apple tree produces more apple trees, it is a total failure.

In a similar way, if the Church only makes converts, or even true disciples, and not more churches, then it has failed.

Look at the early church as an example. They quickly spread throughout the known world and "turned the world upside down" with the Gospel. How did they do this? Not by simply making converts or disciples, although this is an important part of the process, but by making more churches just like itself.

What made this process ingeniously easy and effective was the fact that the church was a family-based, household of faith. To plant a new church just like itself all it had to do was outgrow the largest room in the house it was currently meeting in and send out five or six to start meeting in another house in another part of town.

These churches then grew exponentially as each house church sent out more and more groups who then also sent out more and more groups, they quickly took over a region for Christ.

The beauty of this system is that it inspires community, allows the full use of the gifts for the building up of the body, and it costs nothing. In fact, these house churches not only cost nothing to maintain, they could only create funds through the gifts and offerings of the members who gave on a weekly basis to the poor among them, both inside and outside the community of faith.

The early church was known, even by its enemies, as a radically inclusive group that cared for the poor and even buried the dead of the pagans in their city whose families couldn't afford it.

Of course, the Church must produce disciples. It's our mandate from our Lord Himself, but if all we do is create more and more disciples and never plant new churches, we're not fulfilling our organic, natural, God-designed calling as the Body of Christ.

I could write another article all about how, for the apple tree to produce another apple tree, those apples have to leave the tree and then to die in order fulfill its mission. Much like the follower of Jesus is called to die to himself/herself and take up the cross daily to be a productive disciple.

In John 12:24 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

Now, let's go plant some apple trees for the Kingdom.
**

IF YOU WANT TO...

There's an old song by a band called 'Daniel Amos' that always makes me cry. It's called "If You Want To" and it's written from God's perspective as if He's singing to us and inviting us to to take His hand and dream with Him.

Here are the lyrics:
If You Want To

I'll pick you up
I'll set you down
We'll fall in love
If you want to

I'll stay right here
Or I'll go away
We'll live forever
If you want to

I'll block the door
Or I'll step outside
We'll change the world
If you want to

I'll turn the key
I'll start the car
We'll drive off into the sunset
If you want to

If you want to
If you want to
If you want to...

from the album "Kalhöun"

Words and music by Terry Taylor
©1991 Twitchen Vibes/ Brainstorm Artists Int'l.. ASCAP/BMI

WHAT IS THE VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE? by Keith Giles

WHAT IS THE VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE? by Keith Giles

The other day someone at church was praying out loud about how we need to live the victorious Christian life. Something about this bothered me for some reason. I started to wonder what this is all about.

Does the victorious Christian life mean I never experience frustration, suffering, temptation, or spiritual warfare? Does it mean I experience rest, comfort, and plenty because I’m a child of the King?

When I look at the life of the actual “Child of the King” Himself, I don’t see a life free from sorrow, opposition, temptation or pain. Far from it.

What about the cross? Didn’t Jesus say that it was impossible to follow Him without taking up my own cross daily?

Maybe I just have a knee-jerk reaction to statements like this because it smacks of the same old “easy believing, kick-ass” versions of Christianity I rebel against with all my being.

Maybe…

When I think of following Jesus I think of Paul’s statement that the power of Christ is revealed in our weakness, not in our success, or talent.

Where do we locate the victorious Christian life in our weakness? We forget that the soaring with eagles promise comes only after we’ve endured the long season of waiting upon the Lord, which everyone hates passionately.

I think what I am concerned about when I hear the success driven, prayer of Jabez stuff is that we are living within a culture where we attempt to shortcut true discipleship.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life
for my sake will find it. – Matthew 16:25

Maybe being a “loser” is the better life after all?

We want the joy, the peace, the fruit and the anointing without actually spending any time at the feet of Jesus, enduring suffering as He did, serving others without accolade, waiting for the answers, praying with bitter tears and holding on to Jesus like there’s no tomorrow.

I think our focus, too often, is on the good life that we think God owes us because we have prayed the prayer and paid our dues, instead of on the simple loving trust in God with our whole lives, no matter what.

David Ruis makes a great comment about how Jesus said He was sending us out like lambs among the wolves. But, we want to be the one’s who swagger in like the movers and the shakers, we want to snap our fingers and have God rain down fire from heaven. We want to pray in faith and receive the bounty of plenty, to the awe of our heathen neighbors.

That will show them.

We are enamored with the way of the wolf. Yet Jesus said he was calling us to be like sheep among the wolves; The weaker ones, not the ones with sharp teeth; The humble ones, not the ones with the cool factor; The vulnerable among those who snarl.

Does this mean we have to hang our heads and accept defeat? Not at all. But, if we are to actually learn to live a life of victory in Jesus, it will be found at His feet, in our weakness, shouldering a cross day in and day out, with our focus on the One we love, not on the victory party in the executive suite.

We must embrace the Truth. The Truth is that every life has moments of bliss, moments of joy, and every life has moments of pain, disappointment and sorrow.

So, rather than seeking after the elusive “Victorious Christian Life”, maybe I’ll settle instead for a walk beside my Master who said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the World.”
**

THE HARD LIFE

Sorry it's been a while since my last post.

I've been busy at work, trying to get the new Soul Survivor Summer Camp website up and running. With the help of my brother Lito, it's finally (mostly) done:
http://www.soulsurvivorcamp.com

My son Dylan has Chicken Pox. We're not sure if we want David to get it or not..but if he does we'd like it to be quick so he can get it over with.

Last night my Dell laptop, which I use for work and for posting on this blog, just died. It's either a virus, or something in the hard-ware. Not sure which is worse.

For now I'm using a craptacular Toshiba laptop built in 1977 that takes about 30 minutes just to power up.

Wee.

But, I suppose I should be thankful that I have a back-up option or I'd be really screwed.

The third "issue" of the SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND (sign up info below) just went out the other day. So far I think it's going ok. I've received a few comments back from people and most are thought-provoking. No "unsubscribe" email notices...yet.

I'm trying to judge what sort of things should go on the UNDERGROUND email newsletter as opposed to the SUBVERSIVE1 blog.

For example, my last UNDERGROUND was a full-blown article which probably belonged here moreso than on the newsletter...and this little entry on my blog is probably something I should be sending out on the newsletter...or whatever.

I'll write more later. Don't want to ramble.

peas,
kg

LESS IS MORE by Keith Giles

LESS IS MORE by Keith Giles

Moving is one of the most painful and emotionally draining experiences imaginable. I do not recommend it unless absolutely necessary.

Having recently endured the suffering of relocation, I have several observations to share.

The first one is the fact that I have entirely too much.

As we were moving recently, into our new house, I had the very painful experience of moving my stuff into storage for about two weeks and then moving it back out of storage again.

As I went through this process, I found myself repenting of my materialism every few seconds. Finally, those who had come along to help us move even asked me to stop apologizing for all the stuff I had. Maybe I was making them feel guilty about all the stuff they were hanging on to, I’m not sure.

Seriously, I think that if most of what I own were to go up in flames, I’d be a happier person.

Last week, as I was unpacking one of my many boxes, I re-discovered an article in Print Magazine that reviewed the book “On Brand” by Wally Olins. His book took a look at brand identity and our consumerist culture.

Here’s a bit of the article for review:

“Our personal identities are so entwined with brands that it has become difficult to distinguish our preferences from our beliefs. Olins (the author of the book) says that brands have “a kind of spiritual power…In a sense, brand affiliation seems, in our individualistic, materialistic, acquisitive, egocentric era, to have become a kind of replacement for or supplement to religious belief.’

“Olins cites the book ‘Lead Us Into Temptation’ which draws analogies between consumer behavior today and the behavior of individuals in a more conventionally religious era, (imposing) the shopping mall as cathedral, the designer label as crucifix, and so on.

“He asserts that brands have replaced religion…yet answering this question is essesntial. Why have we replaced our spiritual beliefs with products that provide social confidence? Why do more and more of us affiliate with consumerist clubs and with churches, temples, communities- or each other?” – (from the review of the book “On Brand” by Wally Olins; Print Magazine, May/June, 2004).

Why indeed?

It makes me sad to think that, as the Church has retreated from its God-given role in society, the vacuum has been filled by shopping malls, advertising and materialism.

It's like when I was a little kid I'd want that new toy so badly, and a few weeks after I got it I'd realize that it didn't really make me happy. Then I'd see another new toy and want that one, yet once again the disappointment would follow after the initial excitement of acquisition.

The toys never made me happy.

Our society has elevated the act of purchasing, owning and acquiring material wealth above the virtues of giving, sharing or being content with what we have.

Maybe I’m overreacting again? I know that many of my friends accuse me of taking things too seriously, and maybe that’s true.

But, I have learned to take the conviction of the Holy Spirit seriously these days, and as I look at the piles of boxes in my garage, I am cut to the heart. Some of these boxes are actually labeled “Junk”.

Maybe what I’m feeling is a combination of guilt over my materialism, and a genuine shame for having so much, when I have friends who have so little?

One of the little girls at the motel where we serve was in our Kids Rock class this last Sunday. Our lesson was about being thankful and not complaining, as the Israelites did when God continually provided manna for them to survive on.

This sweet little girl, who shares a single room with her parents and her little brother at a local motel, raised her hand and shared with us how she would not complain that way if it was her. “I would be happy that God gave me food to eat and a place to sleep,” she said.

I almost asked her to come up front and finish teaching the lesson while the rest of listened. If anyone understands what it means to be thankful and not to complain, it’s this little girl.

What do I know about feeling thankful? What do I know about being content with little when I have so much? Maybe even too much?

I’m reminded of a section in the book “Fight Club” where Tyler Durden says, “I’m breaking my attachment to physical power and possessions, because only through destroying myself can I discover the great power of my spirit. The liberator who destroys my property is fighting to save my spirit. The teacher who clears all possessions from my path will set me free.”

Earlier on in the same book, the main character is chided by the doorman of his building on the evils of materialism. He says, “A lot of young people try to impress the world and buy too many things…a lot of young people don’t know what they really want...if you don’t know what you want, you end up with a lot you don’t”.

I think maybe now I’m beginning to understand what it is that I want…what I really want…and even more, what I really need.

Maybe that’s why I secretly wish that I could just ditch all my ‘stuff’ and live a more simple life?

Didn’t Jesus warn us that it was possible to gain the whole world and yet lose our soul? Didn’t Jesus say that the man who finds his life will lose it, and the person who looses his life for His sake will find it?

Yeah…I think it was Jesus.

So, should I take a vow of poverty? Should I start donating all my most valuable things to the local Thrift Store? Should I drag my junk out onto the driveway and post a giant sign that says, “Free Stuff”?

Wait a minute…I’m still thinking about this one.

My wife and I have vowed to spend at least one night each week going through at least one box with the intention of getting rid of junk we don’t need and donating things that are superfluous to us but might be of use to others.

It’s not as dramatic as lighting the match, or renting the dumpster, but it’s a start.

“Everybody has one, and one is enough for anybody” – Willy Wonka


**

THE EXTRA MILE by Keith Giles

Jesus talked about going the extra mile. He suggested that, if asked to walk with someone for one mile, that we go two miles without being asked.

This is not about a formula we’re to follow, however. We’re not supposed to make the words of Jesus into another set of laws, but instead, we’re to filter everything through the attitude of love.

So, if the most loving thing to do is to walk that extra mile with someone, then we should do it, not because we’re “supposed to” but because we’re compelled to love others the way Jesus loves them.

Recently I was visiting a church where the pastor’s sermon was about going the extra mile. His attempt was to get us to go above and beyond the everyday, ordinary sort of Christianity in favor of a faith that is more than the mundane.

He was suggesting that we do things like pray for our lost friends, or love our next door neighbors who weren’t yet believers, or read the Word of God every day, taking time to be alone with God in prayer and meditation. That’s when I realized something. This sort of “Extra Mile” Christianity that the pastor was talking about was actually what Jesus had in mind in the first place.

In other words, what we’ve come to think of as the “extra mile” is really the bare minimum that a follower of Jesus should be about anyway.

So, it made me wonder, if Christians aren’t doing all these “extra” things as they go about their everyday life, then just what ARE we doing?

Do we need someone to tell us that we need to love our neighbor, or spend time with God, or pray for our friends? If so, then I think we’ve really got a very low bar when it comes to our faith.

Maybe it’s the fruit of an easy grace, where all we’re required to do is to raise our hand if we don’t want to go to hell and repeat a prayer and maybe sign a card, in order to be considered a “Christian”?

I think we’ve lost the concept of surrendering our life to Christ.

When you think about your own faith walk, what comes to your mind when you think about going the extra mile?

Is it something like praying for an hour each day? Or maybe reading your Bible every night before you go to bed? Maybe it’s closer to helping people around you who are in need, even if it costs you something? Or perhaps you’d equate sharing your faith with total strangers with the extra mile?

Whatever comes to your mind when you think of going that extra mile, I’ll bet that it’s really only what Jesus would’ve expected you to do simply because you’ve surrendered your life to Him.

But what good do these insights do us?

Seriously, what’s the point? Is it so we can feel badly about how little we actually do for Jesus each day? Is it to make some of us feel superior because, in our estimation, we actually do embody this high standard of Christian behavior?

No. The point is that all of us have fallen short of the Glory of God.

All of us.

What is it that prevents us from living that ‘extra mile’ brand of life that Jesus models for us in the scriptures? I think it’s pure and simple; obedience.

There are moments when we respond to God’s Spirit in obedience, taking the opportunity to be Jesus in someone’s life, whether we feel like it or not, and then there are moments when we fail to listen to God’s voice and we do our own thing.

When we obey God, we create the possibility. Maybe that’s why Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven’, so that we might cooperate with what God is doing in the moment. When we allow God’s will to be done, and it’s only done when we are obedient to Him, then His Kingdom can break into the here and now and we can experience life ‘as it is in Heaven’.

Jesus said, ‘Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only He who does the will of my Father in Heaven’…and ‘If you love me, keep my commandments’.

Jesus didn’t ever expect that those who would become his disciples would ever do anything less than exactly everything that he taught, commanded, and modeled for them to do. Obedience isn’t an option for those who have surrendered their lives in favor of the Jesus kind of life. Obedience IS the Jesus kind of life.

Of course, when I talk this way people say that I’m being legalistic.

What about Grace, they ask me.

Yes, Grace is awesome. We’re definitely saved by Grace and not by our works, as Paul says in Ephesians.

But, in that very same verse, in the same breath if you will, Paul says that we’re “…saved by Grace to do good works, prepared in advance for us to do.”

So, Grace is for salvation, and it’s for us to have strength to do those good works too, and obedience to Jesus is what the faith walk is all about.

Believing in Jesus is more than having a strong opinion that he exists. It means “putting your whole trust in” Jesus. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “For whosoever believes in (me) will not perish but have Eternal life” –John 3:16.

The word ‘Believe’ is translated as the Greek for “the kind of knowledge that conceives”, or a relationship that allows an intimate knowledge and complete trust in someone…sort of like the ultimate intimacy that permeates the physical, emotional, and spiritual reality.

Belief, then, becomes about much more than ‘hope’ or ‘agreement’ when we understand this. Belief is actually about complete trust…and surrender…and obedience.

We can’t afford to perpetuate the concept that being a Christian involves having God as our ‘Co-Pilot’.

He’s either the pilot, or you’re flying solo.
**

JOIN THE SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND

Ok, I'm kind of playing with an idea here, but it's only going to be successful if you guys sign up for it.

Basically, I'd like to sign people up for an email journal that I'd send out once a week or so, (I promise not to overload your email box with too much fluff), with thoughts, articles, ideas, and maybe even questions for you guys to respond to.

It would be the same type of stuff I talk about here, but in a more interactive format and only for those who want a little more 'subversive' stuff in their in box.

So...if you think you're interested in being part of this underground list/journal/thang...shoot me an email at the address below. (You can always opt out if it's too boring...or too much email for you).

Send an email to me with the title "underground" to this address to sign up:

keith @ soulsurvivor. net (take the spaces out of course)

The articles I post here will not be emailed to you. Only new articles and columns that aren't online at this blog will be sent out a few times each week.

Welcome to the underground.

kg

DOWN RIVER by Keith Giles

DOWN RIVER by Keith Giles

Here I sit in my new house in Orange, far away from the familiar life I once knew in Tustin.

Just today I was reading in “Practitioners” about how Jesus took the blind man who was brought to him outside the village, alone.

The point being made was about how Jesus often takes us to the unfamiliar places before he works a miracle in our lives because he wants us to depend totally on him and not on what we know or have experienced.

I am in unfamiliar territory.

Just the other day, before I read this chapter on the unfamiliar, I caught myself driving around the city of Tustin where I know the trails and the landmarks by heart.

It’s easier to live in the places where we’re at home. It’s more difficult to venture outside our comfort zones, or our home territory, to explore a new village, or discover a fresh idea.

When I first began to explore this idea of leading a House Church, I heard pastors ask me what the model is for what I’m doing. My peers scratch their heads when I talk about House Churches and ask me to provide evidence that this is a viable method of evangelism or missions.

You know what I realized? It’s impossible to blaze a new trail and then ask for the roadmap first.

If you’re called to pioneer something, it will mean that there will not be a trail for you to follow as you move along.

Since those first few days of exploration into the House Church movement, I have discovered that I am not so alone. There are people all over Orange County, and the Nation, who have been doing this sort of thing for a very long time now. It’s just been under the radar of most of contemporary Christian society.

Even in this I feel the tension. Do I blaze a trail all alone, leaning only on God and His divine guidance? Or do I glean from the wisdom of those who have taken this path before me and save myself the grief of repeating the mistakes that they made long ago?

When it comes to the neighborhood we find ourselves in now, I wonder how best to approach the launch of our mission here.

Do I invite my neighbors to a friendly cookout first? Get to know them as friends and as people before I ask them if they’d like to come over on Sunday mornings to pray and study the Bible with us?

Or, do I start an ALPHA class series during the week first? Have a meal, watch a DVD segment each Thursday night and host the resulting discussion groups in hopes of winning some of them to Christ before we launch the Sunday service?

I am wrestling with several different combinations of these scenarios.

So, now I find myself in a great, new house, here in Orange. In unfamiliar territory. Unsure of exactly how to be a missionary to these people. Waiting for a sign.

Last year, back in March, my friend had a dream about me. He said he saw me dressed in a bright yellow suit looking full of life and light. Then he said the color changed to orange and he heard God say, “He will astound and confound” before he woke up.

What I find interesting is that my decision to leave my pastor’s position has left many of my friends, including this friend, very confounded. It’s also interesting that I’ve moved to the city of Orange to start a House Church.

Then, last week, Wendy and I were invited to have dinner with an older couple at our church. She shared with me a vision that God showed her during the Sunday service back on September 25th of this year.

She showed me her journal and the only thing on the page was a drawing of a large house with three upper floors (a total of four floors) and each floor had 3 windows in it. The lower floor had only 2 windows and the door in the middle.

She said God spoke to her through this vision (as I was sitting in front of her during the worship set) and told her that the house was symbolic of the new house church we would be starting. (No one knew we were leaving to start a House Church at this time, btw).

The windows, she told me, were symbolic of all the new windows of opportunity that God was going to open for us. There were eleven total, plus the door itself on the ground floor.

God has been sending people to us lately to encourage us and to spur us on towards this new endeavor and it’s nothing short of amazing.

Even though I honestly prefer, in some ways, the familiar sights, smells and sounds of our old life, I am constantly challenged and compelled towards this new phase of our ministry.

More on this later…

Peace,
Keith

TERTULLIAN'S WINDOW

If you’d like to know what it was like to attend a Christian gathering in the early days of the faith, here’s a great look at what they were doing in the 2nd Century.

*Tertullian’s explanation of Church in the 2nd Century:

“We are a society with a common religious feeling, unity of discipline, a common bond of hope. We meet in gatherings and congregations to approach God in prayer, massing our forces to surround Him…We meet to read the divine Scriptures…Our presidents are elders of proved character….

“Even if there is a treasury of a sort, it is not made up of money paid in initiation fees, as if religion were a matter of contract. Every man once a month brings some modest contribution- or whatever he wishes, and only if he does wish, and if he can; for nobody is compelled; it is a voluntary offering…to feed the poor and to bury them, for boys and girls who lack property and parents, and then for slaves grown old…

“So we, who are united in mind and soul, have no hesitation about sharing property. All is common among us- except our wives. At that point we dissolve our partnership..

“Our dinner shows its idea in its name; it is called by the Greek name for love (Agape)…We do not take our places at table until we have first partaken of prayer to God. Only so much is eaten as satisfies hunger. After water for the hands come the lights, and then each, from what he knows of the Holy Scriptures, or from his own heart, is called before the rest to sing to God.

”Prayer in like manner ends the banquet…”

(An excerpt from his “Apology”, taken from “Roman Civilization Sourcebook II: The Empire, p.588)

BOOKS I RECOMMEND

Thanks to those who know I love books and keep a wishlist on Amazon, these books are now in a little box on the way to my new front door:

*FOLLOW ME by Jan Hettinga
Jan Hettinga addresses the roadblocks that keep us from following Christ-our mistrust of authority, our fear of giving up control, and our unwillingness to face our resistance to God's kingdom. If you're tired of working to control your life and long to surrender to Jesus, Follow Me will challenge you to examine your life and submit to Christ as He leads you into the safety of His kingdom.

*ORGANIC CHURCH by Neil Cole
Todd Hunter introduced me to this guy and his book is also endorsed by WOLFGANG SIMSON, the guy who wrote HOUSES THAT CHANGE THE WORLD (the book I'm reading now), so I'm excited to get this one.

*LET GO by Fenelon
Someone borrowed my last copy and I need a new one. This is a timeless, deep, convicting devotional book about dying to self from a great spiritual giant of days long past.

*THE PRACTITIONERS (edited by GREG RUSSINGER & ALEX FIELD)
An incredible book featuring dialog and monolog from the last 2 SOLITON SESSIONS in Ventura at The Bridge. I resolve to attend next year. Great insights from DAVID RUIS, PETE GREIG, RUSSINGER, SPENCER BURKE, DAN KIMBALL & DOUG PAGITT.

*THE CHURCH COMES HOME : Building Community and Mission
through Home Churches by R. BANKS
This one was recommended to me by the amazing SCOTT BARTCHY, Professor of the History of Religion at UCLA. It's about the power of the House Church and the idea of being the church rather than going to church.

*FAITH AND WEALTH: A History of Early Christian Ideas on the
Origin, Significance, and Use of Money by JUSTO L. GONZALEZ
I just read Justo's book on the History of Early Christianity and it was very interesting stuff...(I'll have to write a column or two here about what I learned from this other book)....and this one looks to be another fantastic, eye-opener about the early church and the idea of wealth, ownership and sharing.

I also picked up 2 cd's: The new SWITCHFOOT and the new DAVID CROWDER (I had a burned copy but had vowed to actually purchase the real deal, so now I'm off the hook).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (to me)

Yes, 39 years ago today, the fabric of space and time pulled back to reveal this fragile and yet strangely troubled soul.

It was a day of wonder and tears.

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

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

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

Glad to be here, friend.

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

Wubba,

Keith

THE REVOLUTION (Barna Extract)

REVOLUTION - An Extract.
From George Barna's pre-manuscript of a forthcoming book.

As we journey together, I want to show you what our research has uncovered regarding a growing sub-nation of people, already well over 20 million strong, who are what we call Revolutionaries.

What "established systems" are they seeking to "overthrow or repudiate" and "thoroughly replace," in Webster's words?

They have no use for churches that play religious games, whether those games are worship services that drone on without the presence of God or ministry programs that bear no spiritual fruit.

Revolutionaries eschew ministries that compromise or soft sell our sinful nature to expand organizational turf. They refuse to follow people in ministry in leadership positions who cast a personal vision rather than God's, or who seek popularity rather than the proclamation of truth in their public statements, or who are more concerned about their own legacy than that of Jesus Christ.

They refuse to donate one more dollar to man-made monuments that mark their own achievements and guarantee their place in history.

They are unimpressed by accredited degrees and endowed chairs in Christian colleges and seminaries that produce young people incapable of defending the Bible or unwilling to devote their life to serving others.

And Revolutionaries are embarrassed by language that promises Christian love and holiness but turns out to be all sizzle and no substance.

In fact, many Revolutionaries have been active in good churches that have biblical preaching, people coming to Christ and being baptized, a full roster of interesting classes and programs, and a congregation packed with nice people. There is nothing overtly wrong with anything taking place at such churches. But Revolutionaries innately realize that it is just not enough to go with the flow.

The experience provided through their church, although better than average, still seems flat. They are seeking a faith experience that is more robust and awe-inspiring, a spiritual journey that prioritizes transformation at every turn,
something worthy of the Creator whom their faith reflects...

Revolutionaries zealously pursue an intimate relationship with God, which Jesus Christ promised we could have through Him...

In this book I will describe what The Barna Group has learned about this under-the-radar but seminal renaissance of faith that will remake the religious contours of this country over the coming quarter-century.

[Barna goes on to predict the complete re-shaping of the way people experience "church" in America]:

Whereas "Christian community" has generally been limited to the relationships facilitated within a congregation, the Revolution is bursting open the walls of the worldwide Church to birth a truly
international network of relationships...

The U.S. will see a reduction in the number of churches, as presently configured (i.e. congregational-formatted ministries).

Church service attendance will drop... Donations to churches will drop... Churches' already limited political and cultural influence will diminish even further at the same time that Christians will exert greater influence through more disparate mechanisms.

Fewer church programs will be sustained in favor of more communal experiences among Christians...

To some, this will sound like the Great Fall of the Church. To Revolutionaries, it will be the Great Reawakening of the Church.

New scenarios do not mean mayhem and dissipation. In this case, they represent a new day in which the Church can truly be the Church--different than what we know today, but more responsive to and reflective of God.

* The number of Christians attending local church in the USA is declining
rapidly. Today, 70% of Christians attend traditional churches, but this
will sink to 30-35% in 20 years;

* The number of followers of Jesus who do not attend a local church will
grow from 30% to 70% in the next 20 years;

* Alternative fellowship forms (house church/simple church, post-modern
churches etc.), currently home for 5% of USA Christians, will grow to
make up 30-35%; another 30-35% will live out their faith in the fields
of media, arts and culture; the remaining 5% of Christians attending
non-traditional forms of church will have a family-based spiritual life;

* Conclusion: a minority group presently not even noticed by many will
become the mainstream of North American Christianity in only two
decades.

"This is a revolution, and will change not only the recruiting strategies of seminaries and Bible schools, but also radically question church building projects," says Barna. If only half as many people will be visiting traditional congregational services in 20 years, a smaller building will suffice.

Source: George Barna "Revolution" www.barna.org

LOOKING UP by Keith Giles

It's amazing how things look on the other side of uncertainty.

We all know that God is faithful. We all can recite the scriptures that testify to His goodness, and many of us have real-life testimonials of our own to verify that God is good...all of the time.

Yet, I'm ashamed to admit that my faith is sometimes lacking. I admit that there were times in the last few weeks of adversity where I doubted, or at least "wondered", if God was really going to come through for us or not.

Sometimes, it's true, that God allows us to drop off the cliff for a bit...maybe to test our wings, maybe to see if we'll still look up to Him when we land on the rocks below. I don't really know why, but there are times when God doesn't come through and rescue us.

Thankfully, my family has experienced God's faithfulness. We are safe. We are sheltered. We have food. We have support. We are loved.

While I am very, very grateful to God for this, and to all of you who have held us up on prayer these last few months, I still wonder about all of those who have not yet felt God's hands on their shoulders, or heard His voice whisper in their ears.

God has provided an abundance for us at this time, and we have been given opportunities to help others who are in even greater need than we are lately. In fact, it's only because of the incredible graciousness of those who have lavished gifts and blessings upon us that we have enough to share with others.

Isn't that what it's all about?

I find it interesting that the ones who've gone through times of lack and endured poverty are the very same ones who have the most open hand to others who suffer. Maybe because those of us who have lived in this valley of the shadow know what it's like? Maybe these times of suffering strengthen our empathy and increase our compassion?

I think it must be so.

I still know that my family will have to continue to walk by faith, and not by sight. I still know that we could endure another time of difficulty at any moment. I still know that "in this world, (I) will have trouble"....and I still know that God is good...all of the time.

For today, our family has a new three bedroom house in Orange with a large den (for that House Church starting next year), and a fireplace, and a backyard for our Giles Team Soccor Tournaments, and plenty of places for Wendy to plant her flowers.

I am grateful to the point of tears.

Praise you Father.

Thank you for being faithful to us.

Peace,
Keith