GUEST POST: Benjamin Cremer on

"Why I don't want a “Christian nation”

isn’t because I’m a “secularist.”

The reason I don’t want a “Christian nation” isn’t because I’m a “secularist.”

It’s because I have studied church history in depth and have seen the tremendous harm caused when the church crawls into bed with the empire and when the empire crawls into bed with the church.

The difference can be seen in the time between the crosses of the martyrs and the swords of the inquisitions.

Church history also reveals the tragic trend of how christians from differing sects and traditions don’t necessarily get along very well, which often spiraled into violence.

This is why the separation of church and state is so crucial in our country as well. It not only allows all Americans to live according to their own religious and non-religious beliefs, but it also allows the church to maintain a prophetic witness unspoiled by the worship of power.

On top of that, there are more than 200 different Christian sects within the U.S. alone, all with their own theological beliefs, ecclesiology, and interpretations of scripture.

As a Protestant, I wouldn't want a Catholic controlled nation, nor would Catholics want a Protestant controlled nation.

As a Wesleyan, I wouldn't want a Calvinist controlled nation, nor would Calvinists want a Wesleyan controlled nation.

Who then gets to determine what kind of "Christianity" the nation upholds?

That simply sounds like a recipe for repeating the same tragic harmful patterns of our past.

When the church crawls into bed with political power, its voice not only becomes one with the state, but its Christian witness becomes a mouthpiece for the empire, rather than the gospel of Jesus and advocacy for the most vulnerable.

The church is at its worst when it seeks power for itself. The church is at its best when it advocates for the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized, and the oppressed by speaking truth to whomever is in power.

Separation of church and state is best for everyone.

Note: The common response I will get when I post things like this is “so you don’t want Christians to vote according to their beliefs?” This isn’t what I’m saying and I find this response rather odd. Our vote as Christians is an opportunity to be the church and advocate for the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized, and the oppressed by speaking truth to whomever is in power. I believe our vote is misused when we vote in a way that simply seeks more power for our own religious group alone.

“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.” -James Madisona

Missing Half the Gospel

Dennis Wiens

Unconventional Ministry News

More than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible. Less than a quarter of those who have read the Bible have a systematic plan for reading the Christian scriptures daily. And a third of Americans have yet to pick it up on their own, according to a new study from Nashville-based Lifeway Research.

 GUEST POST: #ReimagineHEAVEN...when the curtain is drawn back

September 2024

I have worked my way through the Gospel of Matthew over the last six weeks. Now I am doing the same with the Gospel of Mark. Several things have encouraged this daily Gospel reading and prayer. First, I have a profound sense that I did not pay enough attention to the four Gospels over the course of my long life. (In my background we didn't even know what a lectionary was so we rarely read a Gospel text each Lord’s Day. (However, for the last eighteen years I have experienced this discipline by being part of a good Lutheran church.) I truly wish someone had told me that reading and contemplating the person and events in the life of the Messiah was central to a robust life of faith and prayer. It was through my journey to ecumenical practice and theology that I saw how central this practice really was to the whole story of the church itself. 

My companion is this present reading has been N.T. Wright. In his seventeen-volume series, The Bible for Everyone, Wright unpacks the material of the New Testament in ways that reveal the depth of the text but always in a manner that is for “everyone.” He believes, as I do, that this material is for every Christian, not just scholars. While these readings are quite simple they often reveal the obvious more clearly. 

Over the Labor Day weekend I read the first chapter of Mark. In Mark 1:9-13 the Gospel writer tells the reader of the baptism of Jesus. When Jesus is baptized by John a voice from heaven says “You are my wonderful son; you make me very glad” (Wright’s translation). Then Wright makes a simple but startling point: “The whole Christian gospel can be summed up in this point: that the living God looks at us, every baptized and believing Christian, he says to us what he said to Jesus on that day. He sees us, not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in Jesus Christ. It sometimes seems impossible, especially to people who have never had that kind of support from their earthly parents, but it’s true: God looks at us, and says, ‘You are my dear, dear child; I’m delighted with you.’”

Mark says Jesus “saw the heavens open, and the Spirit coming down like a dove.” We often miss this because we have so many wrong notions about the word heaven. “Heaven, in the Bible often means God’s dimension beyond the ordinary reality.” Heaven here is more like a curtain being drawn back so that instead of seeing trees and flowers, or in Jesus’ case the river . .  we are standing in the presence of a different reality altogether.”

Many Christians, perhaps most, have a wrong idea about this word heaven. In the Bible heaven is God’s dimension of the created order, whereas earth is the world of space, time  and matter. Sometimes heaven stands for God ( as in “the kingdom of heaven,” in Matthew). This means heaven in the New Testament is not where we go when we die. “Entering the kingdom of heaven does not mean ‘going to heaven after death,’ but rather belonging in the present to the people who presently steer their life’s course by the standards of God. (Consider Mathew 6:10, “on earth as in heaven” which means we steer our earthly life by the standards and purposes of heaven itself, or God’s reign. We live in this heaven right now when we experience the Spirit working in us. 

If you ask me what happens at death I answer, “We go to be with Jesus in paradise.” Heaven finally comes when the new heavens and new earth come ofter the return of Jesus. Try thinking this way and then speak this way regularly. I promise this will powerfully impact your life. 

In the love of Jesus Christ alone,

John

GUEST  POST: Your Cultural Identity Influences AND Infects Your Theology

When Cultural Identity Becomes Sacred

by BRAD VAUGHN

In contemporary American society, a striking phenomenon has emerged: the sacralization of culture and cultural identity. To put it more directly, culture has become a religion. Cultural identity has become a religious identity.

Cultural and ethnic identities have ascended to positions of reverence and unassailable authority in the lives of many individuals. This shift is emblematic of a broader social transformation, where culture has, in some respects, supplanted traditional religion in its role as a moral and ethical compass. This post delves into this dynamic, shedding light on how culture has become a new creed and why it has gained a status that is beyond challenge.

Culture as the New Creed

The decline of traditional religious adherence in many Western societies has left a vacuum that has been filled by the rise of culture as a source of meaning. Cultural or ethnic identity has become the primary source of meaning, ethics, and community for many individuals—roles traditionally played by religion.

This transition is not merely about rediscovering or reconnecting with cultural roots; it is about elevating those roots to a status that is beyond reproach or challenge, where cultural practices, norms, and values are viewed with a reverence akin to religious dogma.

Religion, for centuries, has provided frameworks for understanding the world, moral codes, and a sense of belonging. As the grip of organized religion loosens, these alternative frameworks are increasingly drawn from cultural narratives. The stories, traditions, and collective memories of culture provide a scaffolding for individuals to construct their identities and moral understanding of the world.

This reverence for culture has reached a point where it has become a creed— a set of beliefs and practices that command the ultimate loyalty and devotion.

Unchallengeable Authority

The sacralization of culture is marked by the idea that cultural identity and its related practices are beyond criticism. To question cultural norms and values is to risk being labeled as an offender of cultural sanctity. Such social “sinners” are deemed “bigots,” “colonialists,” “racists,” “close-minded,” and some flavor of -phobic.

Much like how religious dogma has historically been protected from scrutiny, the challenge to cultural norms is often met with vehement opposition. In public discourse, this dynamic plays out in debates where the criticism of cultural practices or perspectives is met with severe backlash, often framed as a defense against cultural insensitivity or appropriation. “Cancelling” is one of the most common mechanisms used recently.

In this context, cultural identity is not only a source of personal meaning but also a form of authority that dictates social interactions, political discourse, and personal relationships. The perceived inerrancy of cultural norms can be so ingrained that it assumes an almost canonical status, guiding behavior and thought in a way that parallels religious texts.

Cultural Identity and Personal Meaning

The sacralization of culture (i.e., making culture sacred) addresses a need left by the decline of traditional religious structures by providing personal meaning and identity. In a society characterized increasingly by secularism and individualism, cultural identity offers a sense of belonging and a connection to a larger narrative. This need for connection and meaning is a fundamental aspect of human nature, and as traditional religious observances wane, the rituals, symbols, and collective memories of a cultural identity step in to fill the void.

For many, their cultural heritage is not just a backdrop for their life story but the very essence of their being. This heritage provides a link to ancestral history, communal values, and a sense of continuity in a rapidly changing world.

The deep connection to cultural identity infuses everyday practices and traditions with sacred significance, turning cultural festivals into solemn celebrations and traditional costumes into ceremonial garb. Virtue signaling is an act of devotion. Cultural narratives become not just stories of the past but moral lessons and guiding principles for the present and future.

The Veneration of Cultural Identity

The sacralization of cultural identity also manifests in the elevation of symbols and figures that represent cultural heritage to a status of veneration. Icons of cultural history are treated with a reverence that mirrors the respect given to religious saints and prophets. Murals, statues, and other representations become sacred relics that embody the collective spirit and pride of a people.

To deface or disrespect these symbols is to commit an act tantamount to sacrilege, provoking a defensive response that is both visceral and intense. In some cases, one must be born into a culture to participate in the pseudo-religious rites, lest one be accused of “cultural appropriation,” a type of social sacrilege.

The Role of Media and Education

In this climate of cultural sacralization, the role of media and education becomes ever more critical. They are the main channels through which cultural narratives are disseminated and reinforced. Through film, literature, and the arts, cultural stories are told and retold, each time reinforcing their sanctity and central role in the community’s moral fabric.

With evangelistic fervor, media and schools are primary engines for spreading propaganda.

Education systems have the responsibility of imparting knowledge about cultural heritage, but with the added challenge of doing so in a way that respects the sanctified status of culture while still encouraging critical thought and individual interpretation.

Challenges to Integration and Cohesion

While the sacralization of culture can strengthen communal bonds within cultural groups, it also presents challenges to social integration and cohesion. When cultural identities are held as sacrosanct, they can become barriers to cross-cultural understanding and interaction.

The reluctance to challenge or critically engage with different cultural practices can lead to a form of cultural isolationism, where communities become echo chambers that reinforce their own sanctity while being resistant to external influences.

Conclusion

Sacralizing (“making sacred”) culture and cultural identity in American society represents a fundamental shift in how individuals find meaning and a sense of belonging in the modern world. It is a testament to the power of culture to provide a moral compass and a communal identity in the absence of traditional religious structures.

However, this elevation of culture to a sacred status also brings with it challenges that must be navigated with sensitivity and openness. As America continues to grapple with its diverse cultural landscape, the dialogue around the sacralization of culture will remain a pivotal part of its ongoing narrative.

MORE>>>

Originally posted @ Patheos.com

GUEST POST: Discipleship + Mentoring ---> Evangelism

Ripple Effect of Mentoring Evangelists

GUEST POST: Rethink Sanctuary

By Mike Glenn

In ancient times, church buildings were sacred places. If you needed any kind of help, you would go to the sanctuary and someone would give you food or water…whatever you needed.  If someone was after you, you could hide inside the church and no one could harm you as long as you were in the church building. A few years ago, several churches resurrected this doctrine to protect illegal immigrants – especially mothers with children– to hide them from authorities who would have arrested and deported them. There is a space where no one in the world can get to you. We call it “sanctuary.” 

Our digital age has changed our understanding of space. We can work from anywhere. We can connect from anywhere. We can do anything from anywhere which means anything can be done to us anywhere.

We aren’t safe anymore, anywhere. Not only do we have to worry about hackers stealing our personal and private information, we have to worry about being caught in a social media frenzy through no fault of our own because someone posted a picture or used us in a meme, all without our permission.

We’ve learned to live very guarded lives. We’ve learned to be aware of who’s using a camera on their phone, to be suspicious if anyone is taping our conversations. These days, everyone has a cell phone.

When in public, you have to assume everything is either being recorded or videoed. How many politicians, athletes and corporate executives have been caught in compromising situations because someone had a cell phone? How many adolescents have had their lives ruined because something about them got out on the internet?

The obvious thing is to always be aware that everyone has a phone these days and to act accordingly. But it’s not that easy. In our world of constant surveillance, we’ve lost something. We’ve lost trust in each other. We’re worried about what the other party will do with the information we’ve just given them. Does everything I say to you end up on social media? Will I find myself unknowingly quoted on X, or Instagram, or Tick Tock?

What’s more, we’re beginning to understand no one actually lives the way they say they do in their social media. Imagine that…people lie on social media. The consequences of this constant state of pretending is we’re slowly losing our true selves. Too many of us become our pretend selves, our public selves and we’ve lost our true identities because we can’t find a safe place. 

And where is a safe place?

In Corinthians, Paul reminds the early church they are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. They are to be careful about the places they go and what they do because wherever they go, they take the Spirit of Christ with them. It also means, we as believers take the sanctuary of Christ with us wherever we go. That means, when people show up in our lives, we do what we can to help. It also means that when someone, anybody, is in our lives, no one can hurt them. They are safe with us. We will give our lives to protect them. 

Sadly, churches and Christians have lost the presumption that people are safe with us. The sexual scandals and abuse stories that have broken across the whole spectrum of churches have resulted in people thinking churches and Christians are to be avoided rather than sought out. Christians are seen as self-righteous and judgmental. It breaks my heart to know we have earned these criticisms. 

But what if, as Christ-followers, we began to rethink the concept of sanctuary? What if, taking the teaching of Paul seriously, we began to understand that we, as Spirit bearers, are the sanctuaries, the safe places, of our communities and neighborhoods? What if the word got out that people were safe with us? When they were with us, no one would judge them, no one would harm them, and no one would condemn them. 

People could come to us and be themselves. We would listen, really listen, not just wait to talk. Our friends would know we’ve heard them and we know them. And we would love them. 

No, I’m not talking about a superficial “just love everybody” bumper sticker philosophy. I’m talking about a love strong enough to bear the cross for the beloved. To love a person through all the heartbreak, confusion and darkness that are part of all our lives. To be there, like a lighthouse, that doesn’t move and remind our friends every day, we’re still here. God is still here. We are bearers of His presence. 

And the world is safe with us. You can lay your burdens down and sort through them. You can face your pain and not be overwhelmed in the process. Sure, we’ll tell you the truth. True love demands that kind of honesty, but we won’t beat you to death with it. We’ll find a way forward.

More than that, with the help of Christ, we can find a better way. Jesus promised that. 

These days, everyone is looking for a safe place. We shouldn’t be that hard to find. Every Christ follower is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Every believer is a safe place. Every Christian is a sanctuary.

Sanctuary

SCOT MCKNIGHT

© 2024 Scot McKnight, 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

GUEST-POST: A "Bell Curve" Perpsecitve?

Trends on any issue need to be viewed from the center of the bell curve.

Quick Quote - Source - Jeff Hilles

A Biblical Christian worldview perspective - With every issue, there will always be extreme opinions. I recently responded to a reader who stated that Christian preachers were calling for the execution of gay people.

I am sure one can find extreme views such as this if we look hard enough. However, in most cases, the extremes on both sides of an issue are in the minority. But they do garner media attention and gaslight viewers into believing extreme positions are mainstream. It is important to look to the middle of the bell curve, rather than the vocal extremes when evaluating the popular direction on an issue, especially a divisive one.

From the center of the bell curve, Christians don't hate gay people, they don't want to turn America into a Christofascist state, and most realize there are times when abortion is an appropriate medical need.

Author - Jeff Hilles | BCWorldview.org 

GUEST-POST ~ Discipleship: Walking In Eternal Life  

Walking in Eternal Life

by Francis Frangipane

God’s end time people will "end time." What I mean is that, as we near the end of the age, we will increasingly learn how to walk in eternal life, abiding above the boundaries, constraints and the pressures of the realm of time. We’ll see what’s coming and either avoid it or announce it, but we won’t be limited by it.

Jesus taught that those who come to Him "have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16). Right now, we have eternal life in our spirits. Yet, how do we access the timeless place of God’s presence? This is a serious question, for we have become more "time conscious" than "God conscious." Schedules, meetings, appointments and deadlines all fuel our anxieties and compel us to live horizontally, instead of vertically in the Presence of God. 

The Lord seeks to deliver us from anxiety, but that can only happen if we truly learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. The sad fact is, most Christians fail to spend time with the Holy Spirit. We pray, even calling upon the Lord, but few are they who have cultivated moment by moment openness to the Spirit of God. 

"But, when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:23).

The Holy Spirit "will guide . . . He will speak . . . He will disclose" to us what we otherwise could never know or attain. To guide, speak and reveal are forms of communication. Clearly, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to talk to us.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. There are issues in our hearts that the Holy Spirit alone can reveal and remove. Listen to Him, like Christ, He does not come to condemn but to save. His voice is Salvation speaking to us. 

Jeremiah said that the heart is deceitful above all things. We cannot objectively know ourselves. Yet the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth sees and understands our ways. Trust Him, He cannot be deceived. Indeed, the ancient Greeks used the same word for truth as they did for "reality." Thus, we could accurately say that the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Reality." He shows us the reality of our need and the reality of God’s answer. To hear Him is to hear the voice of eternal life. 

Jesus lived in union with the Holy Spirit continually. The miracles He accomplished came through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit He saw the things the Father was doing; He heard the words the Father was speaking. Every strategy we may come up with pales in comparison to seeing God and doing what God does and hearing God and saying what God says. You see, Jesus lived in the dimension of time, but was not limited by it. His consciousness was always aware of the eternal realm. 

Even the urgent news of Lazarus’ illness did not make Jesus move anxiously. As right as it seemed to rush to Lazarus’ aid, Jesus was aware of another reality. He was conscious of the heavenly Father. Because He knew that the Father was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He lived without hand-wringing or being driven by anxious thoughts or pressures.

Oh how we need to walk in the Spirit today. In every situation, we would consciously be aware of God's involvement in our lives! 

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). 

God has a system of thoughts and ways that are totally on another plane, yet He invites us to abide with Him!

Beloved, we are not mere human beings. We each are a temple for the Holy Spirit, but we must cultivate a listening heart if we will do the things that God is doing. A Christian is not just someone living out a natural life, hoping that God will bless him. No, God has more for us than that. Jesus set the standard, and He’s given us the Holy Spirit so we can follow Him.

Spirit Filled?
When we are born again, we begin a journey with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us gifts to help us grow; He baptizes us in power to increase our effectiveness. All of this is to lead us until we are actually filled with the Holy Spirit, where we think and act like Jesus. 

Many of us think we are already filled with the Spirit, but we are not. We have three quarts of self and one quart of the Holy Spirit, and we think we have a gallon of God. There is still too much self ruling in our hearts. In America, some pastors identify themselves as being Spirit filled and say they pastor Spirit-filled churches. To be perfectly candid, I have never attended a church that is truly Spirit filled. In the Book of Acts, we see a picture of a Spirit-filled church. The leaders met daily for prayer, and on the way to prayer, their shadows healed the sick! Their offerings went to feed the poor. Out of their sense of love and community, they held all things in common. In that atmosphere, the church grew exponentially. 

I know some are thinking, "My church is getting close to this example." Oh, I forgot to mention, in a Spirit filled church, if you lied, you died (see Acts). 

You see, let’s not accept that we are further along spiritually than we are. God desires to take us further, deeper into eternal life. Having a spiritual gift doesn’t mean that you are filled with the Holy Spirit; being born again does not mean you are also Spirit filled. I have never met a truly spiritually mature person who was anxious; no one who is nervous about time can truly be led by the Holy Spirit. 

Where Do We Go from Here?
In our quest to walk in eternal life, we must allow the Holy Spirit to excavate our hearts of self. If we want to tune into the God channel we must tune out the "self channel," where the anxieties, fears and sins exist. 

I want a heart that can hear God; I want perception that can see God. We are too much like the world. How do we break this? Spend time with the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to talk to your heart and then write down what you feel He is saying. If we want more of God, we must cultivate the awareness of His Presence, and especially listen for His voice.

We must also take faith and believe that the Spirit is here to help. Zechariah 4:6 teaches us that it’s not by our might or power, but it is by the Spirit of the Lord that we succeed. Acts 2:17 tells us that in the last days God seeks to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. I love the words "pour out." We must stop thinking "thimble" and think Niagara Falls!

It’s time to step out of the box called "time," and live in the Spirit. I’m not suggesting that you become unreliable or are late for your appointments, but that you give yourself to learning how to hear God’s voice and how to live in His presence. If you are one of God’s end-time elect, then it's time to rise above the pressures of time and walk in the eternal life of God. 

Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God

This is the first book ever written by Pastor Francis. It came after three years of studying and repeatedly reading the Gospels. The thrust of these messages is geared towards those who desire the holy, powerful life of Jesus Christ. It is a penetrating study of the human heart and how God prepares it for His glory.

Book - $9.60  (Retail $12.00)
Ebook - $9.60 (Retail $12.00)

Audio Book on CD $12.00 (Retail 14.75)
Audio book on MP3 $6.00 (Retail $12.00)
Companion Teaching - CD Series $26.25 (Retail $35.00)
Companion Teaching - MP3 Series $13.13 (Retail $17.50)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Disciples of the Cross
- audio series

As we learn to share in Christ’s sufferings, we join a society of redeemers who walk in God-given abundance.

Message titles:
Fellowship of His Sufferings
Wimps or Warriors
Disciples of the Cross
Conquering Conflict Through Character

CD Audio Series - $15.00 (Retail $20.00)
MP3 Audio Series Download - $7.50 (Retail $10.00)~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Christ's Image Training

New self-paced online format.

In Christ’s Image Training is an international online course developed by Francis Frangipane, designed to take Christians at all levels and lead them into a deeper understanding of what it means to be like Christ.

Learn more at www.icitc.org.

Training also available in Spanish / Español
 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Visit Arrow Bookstore to order these and
other resources by Pastor Francis~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2024
All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were
taken from the NASB.

GUEST POST: The Power of Stories: Learning from the Past to Shape Our Future

Church Growth: The Road Less Traveled 

Does Your Church Position God Alone as Father? The Bible leaves no doubt about the identity of those who follow Jesus.  We are God’s children.  He is our Father.  Satan’s perpetual lie since the dawn of time is that our Father cannot be trusted.  Religious leaders throughout history have questioned our identity and access by positioning themselves as intermediaries between the Father and His children.  Christ came to prove once and for all that His Father (and ours) loves His children personally, unequivocally, and unconditionally.  Often unwittingly and unintentionally, church leaders divert attention from the Father to themselves and churches in ways that undermine our relationshipwith Him.  The result are churchgoers not grounded enough (in their status as a son or daughter) to represent Christ well, fueling popular perceptions of Christians as hypocritical and judgmental. Our Heavenly Father Produces Faithful Children Our Father knows His children and they recognize His voice.  If parents are rarely fooled by their kids, the Father is never deceived by His.  Jesus looked at the heart, merciful to those acknowledging their weaknesses but reserving His harshest words for those projecting under false pretenses.  Genuine Christ-followers pursue the Lord with all their hearts and seek His righteousness, not self-righteousness.  Our Father is interested in authentic Kingdom advancement, not the size of a church’s congregation or number of confessions of faith.  He is looking for true disciples, not cultural Christians, who embody… Growth – To find out “who was who”, Jesus preached His most challenging sermon at the height of His popularity.  His objective was relational, not numerical, growth.  How often do pastors “preach a church down” on purpose to weed out the insincere or (perpetually) unrepentant?  Losing excess weight typically makes people, and churches, healthier.  Jesus didn’t entertain (or, in some cases, tolerate) those only interested in what He could do for them, not a relationship with Him.  He knew who was seeking a favor (temporal help), not God (eternal hope).  Our Father is about depth, not breadth. Sincerity – In the early Church, no distinction existed between “disciple” and “Christian”.  A public profession of faith in Christ could be a death sentence.  Anyone that courageous was desperate for a relationship like Jesus had with His Father.  Persecution forced believers into small, house churches.   In America, where conspicuous church buildings dot the landscape and Christians are just beginning to experience relatively mild forms of persecution, it’s more difficult to tell those who has surrendered from who’s simply going through the motions. Obedience – We want our children to obey because they love us, not to get something or avoid punishment.  Their motive for obedience becomes more important than obedience itself.  Agape love, the purest of all motives, is the Greatest Commandment.  Jesus exposed those strictly following the law to appease God or impress people.  In today’s culture, sin has left our vernacular and society flouts and celebrates violations of God’s commandments.  Authentic Christ-followers repent, transform, and even love those who hate them. Discipleship – Jesus provided a vivid example of how to live out the Great Commission.  His discipleship approach was personal, intensive, and multiplicative.  Christians who don’t become a disciple or make disciples aren’t one.  We discover who truly walks in Jesus’ footsteps by how they respond to adversity.  Do they cower, revile, defend, or view disappointments as God’s appointments? Compassion – The Greatest of All identified Himself with the “least of these”.  Jesus’ economy flips ours on its head – rich is poor and poor is rich.  He modeled healing and feeding to open ears before disclosing who He is (i.e. the Gospel).  The implication of Jesus’ parables of the Good Samaritan, Sheep and Goats, and Rich Man and Lazarusis clear – no genuine Christ-follower will ignore the (materially) poor.  For roughly 1,900 years, churches took those warnings seriouslyyet few churches and Christians today make them a commensurate priority. Any intermediaries or impediments in our lives that operate outside the bounds of Agape will inhibit our relationship with the Father.  Their lack of authenticity will diminish ours as distance from Him impedes our growth, sincerity, obedience, discipleship, and compassion. Spiritual “Fatherhood” Produces Spiritual Orphans Intimacy with the Father suffers when churches repair the curtain (separating us from Him) that tore when Jesus was crucified.  Our last blog post listed 25 ways in which churches today insert themselves between man and God, redirecting attention from the Father to the institution.  It becomes difficult to sense the Lord pursuing us (as a child) when the church is pursuing us (as a member).  It’s hard to distinguish our love for our Father from our love for our church when both are asking for our loyalty and allegiance… Growth – While Jesus humbled spiritual “fathers” and demanded commitment to the Father, many churches today elevate pastors and emphasize commitment to the church (invite/involve/invest).  There’s nothing wrong with numerical growth if it’s attained despite regularly challenging members to follow Jesus’ non-negotiable call to authentic discipleship no matter the cost. Sincerity – While Jesus invested in those desiring God for who He is and not what He can do for them, most churches exhibit transactional behavior.  Services have been reduced to an hour, salvation to repeating a phrase, evangelism to extending an invitation to church, and metrics to achieving commercial objectives.  “Kingdom” and “Church” often take a back seat to “kingdoms” and “churches”. Obedience – While Jesus wants love to fuel our obedience, which is normally the case for aspiring pastors, temptations lurk once a church becomes “successful”.  We are to call no man “father”, but leaders can evolve into spiritual “fathers”.  They can begin to believe their own press and become less dependent on their Father.  Spiritual “children” of church “fathers” can be pulled away from our Father as reverence and affinity for pastors grow. Discipleship – While Jesus instructed parents to disciple their children, churches who don’t disciple members aren’t preparing them to disciple their kids.  Instead, parents drop them off at children’s ministry and youth group, counting on church to assume their discipleship role as spiritual “fathers”.  However, churches that don’t disciple adults don’t disciple children either (to ensure they have fun and want to come back next Sunday). Compassion – While Jesus treated those He healed and fed with dignity, most churches conduct local missions transactionally and paternalistically.  We are to love our neighbors year-round, but occasional outreach events that “check the box” perpetuate (rather than alleviate) poverty by fostering dependence. Contemporary church growth models encourage treating “church” as a place, members as “customers”, worship services as events, and metrics as a business.  Pastor-led churches can look like a “genius with 1,000 helpers”, drawing attention away from the Father and toward spiritual “fathers”. How Churches Can Position God as Father The following are steps pastors can take to ensure they’re positioning the Father as “Father” and members as His children (not their own): Growth – Risk losing lukewarmchurchgoers and all they’ve worked so hard to build by leading like Jesus, who loved His followers enough to challenge them and hold them accountable, finding out who truly is a child of the Father. Sincerity – Disintermediate by flattening the hierarchy, equipping and empowering members to resume their rightful responsibilities for living out GC3 (Great Commandment, Great Commission, Great Calling) all week, not just on Sundays. Obedience – Repent of a Priest/King dichotomy.  Swim against the cultural “current” by decentralizing “Church as We Know It”, relinquishing ownership of the “priestly” role and dependence on “kings” to staff and underwrite the operation. Discipleship – Reintroduce personal and intensive discipleship, starting with leaders, but quickly multiplying through parents to children and then to families, coworkers, and communities (reaching those who wouldn’t come to your church). Compassion – Plant or support ministries year-round that serve the materially poor, risking the culture shock of welcoming into the congregation those who look little like your average member, realizing we’re all in some form of poverty. Few church leaders would argue with that roadmap, yet it remains the road less traveled.  Prevailing church growth models encourage dependence on pastors and loyalty to church – undermining authenticity and intimacywith the Father. It’s Your Turn… Does your church position God alone as Father and Christ-followers as His children? The post Does Your Church Position God Alone as Father? appeared first on Meet the Need Blog. Read in browser »

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Guest Post: #ResetYourChristianity…”Deinstitutionalize”

When You #Reimagine...

People Of Focus TargetPoint by Vince D'Acchioli VINCE D'ACCHIOLI DEC 29     READ IN APP   NOTE: A hidden message from our Lord awaits you below When you observe the world through the lens of your soul you will often experience confusion and despair… when you view the world through the lens of your spirit, you will have discernment and hope. Jesus makes it very clear that we must be born again. He tells us that when we are, the Holy Spirit dwells within us and will ultimately bring us the proper perspective on life. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. John 16:13 As believers we are called and expected to see life through a lens unfamiliar to us before we received His Spirit. We see everything through the lens of our soul (our mind, emotions and will). It is only as we allow the Holy Spirit the rightful position in our life that we are able to see a whole new perspective… His. Consider the example of looking at something through a microscope. When you turn the dial to move the lens, you are changing the focal point of your view. As you do that everything in you see changes—things that were in focus begin to blur and something you have never seen emerges, often with great wonder. That is the way it is supposed to be in the life of the believer. We are to adjust our focal point from our soulish view to a spiritual one. But this begs the BIG question on the minds and hearts of most of us, how can I do that? I want to help us answer this important question but before I do let’s take a brief look at where we are. As we enter this new year it might be good to look back over the last several years and examine what we have experienced. For me, over the past 3-4 years, I do not believe I have ever encountered so much doubt and confusion. It seems like any semblance of normalcy, if there ever was, is gone. There is not enough room in this article to talk about all the distortion and lies that have been perpetrated upon us as a people. Many have lost all confidence in the media, government, politicians, big business, the medical industry and especially our educational systems. The general level of trust for all of these is at an all-time low, and for good reason. We have been in a matrix of smoke and mirrors that is controlled by forces that are not out for our best interest. I want to suggest that our frustration level here is directly related to how we are viewing what is happening. What is your focal point? For too many of us we are looking at all of this through our soul. When this happens, we are left with a view that simply reflects the condition of our soul. My friend the battle lines are drawn. The forces arrayed against us seem overwhelming, but they are nothing in the sight of our God. The question for you and me is this, do you want to be a casualty in the battles yet to come—or a mighty victorious warrior in God’s army? The answer is not complicated. It lies in our willingness to step up our game going into this new year. It means drawing ever nearer to Him (James 4:8) and being in His word every day (Romans 12:2). It also means praying specifically for His Holy Spirit to give you the proper spiritual view and an understanding of how He wants to use you in His unfolding plan. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 Some tips entering this new year: Pray your problems in life last as long as your new-year’s resolutions do—in other words, don’t make resolutions—make commitments. List all the changes you need to make to get closer to God and sense His Holy Spirit in you. Pick up a one-year Bible and determine to read every day, Prepare a place in your home that is your personal go-to every morning to start your day reading the word, praying, and worshipping Him. The below image has a message for you from Jesus Himself. To see it you need to focus in a very particular way. Whether you see it or not, the fact of the matter is, it is there. This is also true of God’s vision for your life. God is calling us to focus with our spiritual eyes to discover it. If you end up seeing His message, please let us know. You can also help others by sharing how you adjusted your focal point. Please leave your comments below.   If this TargetPoint has inspired you in some way, please forward it to your friends.

GUEST POST: "Christianity is no longer the norm"

By Curtis W. Freeman

...research professor of theology and director of the Baptist House of Studies at Duke Divinity School. His book Pilgrim Journey: Instruction in the Mystery of the Gospel

was published in September by Fortress Press as a sequel to Pilgrim Letters: Instruction in the Basic Teaching of Christ.

This proposal for reordering in discipleship isn’t an attempt to be “seeker-sensitive,” in the worst sense of the phrase, giving nonbelievers less to disbelieve. It’s a realistic response to our society’s profound cultural and political shifts. It’s a recognition that Christianity is no longer the norm and, therefore, does not feel normal to many of our neighbors.

We can no longer assume a basic familiarity with our faith that makes a sense of belonging, at least superficially, relatively easy to achieve. We must start with belonging in the sense of “faith as trust” in God and membership in God’s family, not belief in the sense of “faith as understanding,” because getting to the doctrinal affirmations is a much longer journey than it used to be. In post-Christendom, occasional church attendance is not a sufficient basis for making Christians—if that attendance happens at all.

Moreover, the disciple-making process is not about enculturating people into an affinity group of support and togetherness. It’s about cultivating a community committed to following Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). In a secular society, to believe and behave, we must be able to grasp that we belong not only to that community but to God who created us and demonstrated a profound love for us in Jesus Christ.

Belonging, then, is not simply a matter of church attendance or even membership. It’s a covenant relationship based on trust and commitment. It’s deeper than cultural similarities or consumer attraction to a congregation’s programming. It’s belonging to God and one another in the ties that bind our hearts in Christian love. It’s the fellowship of kindred minds. It’s bearing one another’s burdens and sharing the joy of blessings. It’s a common journey and a common hope.

Read complete article here>>>

GUEST POST ~ "They just don't know how"

But How?

SCOT MCKNIGHT's BLOG

By Mike Glenn

Every parent has made the mistake of asking their children to do something the child wasn’t quite ready to do. Maybe it was bringing in a bag of groceries before the child was quite strong enough to carry it by themselves. Maybe it was getting dressed before they understood the tag always goes in the back. The child understood what needed to be done. They just didn’t know how to do it. 

I’m afraid this is true in most of our churches. Every Sunday, our members leave the worship service, inspired by the sermon, committed to doing something differently in their lives, but not knowing how they are to do the new thing they want to do. 

The pastor said in the sermon we need to pray more. The members want to pray. They just don’t know how. 

They’ve heard a sermon convincing them they need to read the Bible more. Again, every member wants to. They just don’t know how. 

Discipleship, for most of us, has become a matter of information. Our depth of discipleship is determined by how much trivia we know about Jesus and the Bible. If someone can rightly point out the wise men visited Jesus in a house and not the stable, they are considered to be a serious student of the Word. In other words, they are real disciples. 

This knowledge, however, never seems to transfer to the way these Bible quoting disciples  actually live their lives. During my ministry, I have been repeatedly surprised to find my Scripture quoting members were some of the meanest people in the congregation. Why this disconnect?

Because we saw success in the church as people being able to quote the text, not necessarily live the Way. If someone could quote 1 Corinthians 13, they didn’t necessarily have to love their neighbor. They just have to know the words. 

This happens when we become overly concerned about good works actually saving us. So, we focused on “belief” which means being able to repeat the discipleship lessons we’ve learned. To be able to say it meant we obviously believed it. True belief is confirmed in the doing, not the talking. All of us would agree good works don’t save us, but we forget good works are the evidence of our salvation. What we know and believe about Christ blossoms into the choices and actions lived out in our  lives. We love our neighbors because we do loving things towards them. We love Jesus if we do what He teaches us to do.

That brings me to my point. How much time do we spend talking about how we do the disciplines of the faith we talk so much about? How many of us have spent time working with someone teaching them how to pray? How much time do we spend working with a class teaching them to read, study, understand then apply the learned truths to our actual living? How many times have our people left the church after hearing an inspiring sermon and realized they have no idea what to do with what they’ve just heard?

Paul reminds the Philippians to do whatever they have seen him do. I used to think this was an arrogant boast on behalf of Paul, but when I became a father, I understood his statement. I can’t remember the number of times I would say to one of my boys, “Do it like this. Watch me.” They learned to wash their hands, brush their teeth, tie their shoes, comb their hair, read their Bibles, love their wives and yes, become fathers to their own children by watching me. I had to show them how to do the things I wanted them to do and how each desired action should be done. 

Why  are we surprised we would have to be shown how to love our neighbors, pray, or study the Word? After all, we should remember, none of these actions come naturally.

I guess the only thing more surprising is realizing how little of our time is devoted to helping new or young believers actually do what we’re asking them to do as followers of Christ. No one is born being good at being a disciple. No one is born knowing how to pray or study Scriptures. All of us have to be taught. 

Every good teacher I know is very patient. None of this stuff is easy. There will be days when our young disciples are brilliant. There will be other days when they don’t have a clue. Teaching – and learning– these skills takes a long time. In fact, learning them well takes our entire lives. The second quality good teachers have is intentionality. They have a goal for their student and they are determined to get their student to achieve that goal. 

To know and not do, a wise man said, is the same thing as not knowing. Knowing the Word is proven by living the Way. Discipleship happens when disciples live out the teachings of Christ, not when we have memorized the words. 

So, ask yourself, how well are you teaching the application of the teachings of Christ to those you are discipling? (You are discipling someone aren’t you? Every disciple makes a disciple…but that’s another blog). If your disciple can’t do what they believe they should be doing, it may be because they don’t know how. 

Most people are living the best way they know how. The great thing about Jesus is He has a better “how.” Make sure your friends know how to do His “how” the way He would do it. This makes all the difference. 

Guest Post ~ Three Ways to Seek the Wekfare of Our Cities

By Jim Denison 

Peter called his fellow believers “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11). The former describes someone who is a foreigner or stranger; the latter refers to temporary residents. Taken together, they remind us that this world is not our home and that we are only here for a short time.

How are we to live in this foreign land?

The Lord’s letter to his Jewish exiles in Babylon is instructive (Jeremiah 29). It was preserved in Scripture because it has value not just for its original readers twenty-six centuries ago but for all readers across all times and cultures.

It begins: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce” (v. 5). This is the opposite of what they might have expected. Rather than finding temporary shelter, they were to construct lasting structures in which to “live” (the Hebrew is literally translated as “sit down and remain”). Creating gardens takes time, but they were not only to plant them but to “eat their produce” in the years to come.

In addition, they were to “take wives and have sons and daughters” to fulfill God’s call that they “multiply there, and do not decrease” (v. 6). Rather than allowing their nation to wither in exile, they were to seek to grow and prosper.

Now comes the most shocking instruction of all: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lᴏʀᴅ on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (v. 7). “Seek” means to “run diligently after”; the “welfare” of the city refers to its peace, prosperity, health, and success. The exiles were to do all they could to promote the Babylonian city’s welfare and then to “pray to the Lᴏʀᴅ on its behalf” that he might do what they could not.

The reason was simple: “In its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Three ways to “seek the welfare” of our city

One response to the brokenness of our secularized culture is to withdraw into spiritual “huddles” with little concern for those outside our circle. But this ignores our commission to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). And it impoverishes us while denying others the good we can offer them in Christ.

What are some biblical ways we can “seek the welfare” of our broken culture?

One: “Show kindness and mercy to one another” (Zechariah 7:9). As the sign-holding man in Jacksonville reminds us, we cannot know the larger impact of a single act of encouragement and affirmation.

Two: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10). John Grove argues persuasively in Public Discourse: “We do not need more self-conscious crusaders for the nation or even for Western Civilization, but instead more priests, teachers, businessmen, artists, writers, and parents who perform their own activities faithfully, serving . . . as ‘leaven for the whole lump.’”

Three: “Bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). Paul was “not ashamed of the gospel” because it is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). According to Tim Keller, “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

How to love well

Christians have a unique gift for our culture today: we alone can demonstrate the kindness of Christ by offering our best service to hurting souls while sharing the good news of God’s love. But we cannot love well until we embrace the fact that we are well loved.

To that end, let’s close with this intercession from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer: “Help us so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that was we may fully serve you, whose service is perfect freedom.”

Will you join me in offering these words from your heart to your Father today?

Denison Forum
17304 Preston Rd, Suite 1060
Dallas, TX 75252-5618
info@denisonforum.org
214-705-3710

GUEST POST ~ "Gospeling"

The One-Word Gospel

SCOT MCKNIGHT

 

In working again through my translation of the Book of Acts I began to record passages where Luke the Storyteller put into words a summary of what the apostles preached when they were gospeling.

 

Here are the verses in the The Second Testament, with the appropriate words in bold:

Acts 8:35: Philippos, opening his mouth and beginning from this writing, gospeled Yēsous to him.

11:20 Some of them were men from Kyprios and Kyrēnaios [Cyrene] who, coming to Antiocheia, were speaking also to the Hellēnists, gospeling the Lord Yēsous.

17:18 Also some of the Epikoureioi [Epicureans] and Stoïkoi [Stoic] philosophers were engaging him, and some were saying, “Whatever might this scrounger want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign demons.” (Because he was gospeling Yēsous and the resurrection.)

18:5 As both Silas and Timotheos [Timothy] went down from Makedonia [Macedonia], Paulos [Paul] was absorbed with the word, witnessing to the Youdaians that Yēsous is the Christos.

18:28 For he was vigorously refuting the Youdaians in public, exhibiting through the writings that Yēsous is the Christos.

19:13 Even some of Youdaian itinerant exorcists attempted to name the Lord Yēsous upon those having evil spirits, saying, “I implore you by the ‘Yēsous’ whom Paulos announces [to leave].” (Notice then 19:17 This became known to all the Youdaians and Hellēnes who reside in Ephesos, and awe fell on all of them and the Lord Yēsous’ name was magnified.)

20:20 … as I did not back off of what is beneficial so to announce to you and to teach you, in public and house-to-house, 21 witnessing to both the Youdaians and Hellēnes [Greeks] about conversion to God and faith in our Lord Yēsous.

28:23 Ordering for him a day, even more came to him in his guest room, before whom he laid out, witnessing about God’s Empire, and persuading them about Yēsous from Mōüsēs’ [Moses’] Covenant Code and the Prophets, from early until evening.

28:30-31 He remained two whole years at his own wage and he received all journeying to him, announcing God’s Empire and teaching unhindered matters about the Lord Yēsous Christos with all frankness.

Here are eight or nine – one could combine the last two – instances of summarizing early Christian gospeling.

This gospeling is being done in the first generation. This gospeling is done by the apostles and those formed by them (Philip, others).

I believe in the Bible as God’s revelation to us, and I believe Christian theology has to begin first with Scripture (prima scriptura).

I also believe if our framing of theology is not according to Scripture, we are called to adjust it until it conforms to and is consistent with the gospel. This is what I do in The King Jesus Gospel.

The uniform message can be reduced to one word: Jesus.

Or to:

Jesus is the Messiah
Jesus and the resurrection
Repentance toward God and faith in Jesus
God’s kingdom and the Lord Jesus Christ

Not one of these summaries of apostolic gospeling contains a word about salvation – justification, reconciliation, redemption, substitution – and that’s worthy of note.

Why not?

Not because redemption is not the impact of that gospeling, for it is, but the content of the message according to Luke is the person, Jesus, and not about what he accomplished. He did it all, he accomplished it all, but the focus of the apostolic preaching was Jesus – who he was, what he did, what he accomplished, in that order.

Gospeling today could learn from the apostles. We could learn that gospeling others is about talking about Jesus, announcing Jesus, and generating conversations about Jesus. I promise you, it will get to redemption because it leads there, as can be seen with Peter in Acts 10. And, telling others about Jesus is attended by the Spirit who will prompt repentance, forgiveness of sins and redemption, that too in Acts 10.