A Reply

I'm not sure why, but it is sometimes easier to write in response to a friend's question or comment that it is to sit down and write a blog entry. My friend Keith recently sent me an email to vent about frustration he was experiencing and bounce some ideas off me. He was so impressed with my reply that he asked permission to post it on his blog.

You can read it here.

A Dream

I'm not one who normally tries to interpret dreams. I'm not particulary adept at recognizing and interpretting symbols, and I doubt whether most dreams have a meaning anyway. Lately however, my wife has been having what she describes as "weird dreams." When she tells them to me however I immediately see a clear spiritual message to us and the church at large, that she herself did not see. Below is one such dream. I'll resist the temptation of telling you what I think it means. What do you think?

Our pastor called a leader’s meeting at a nice hotel. My wife did not want to go, but she went because it was important to me. The meeting was held in the restaurant at the top of the hotel. While we were discussing church business, my wife noticed a large group of people had gathered on the balcony outside and were throwing themselves off the building to their death. She was distraught and tried to get us to help, but all the church leaders (including myself) simply looked the other way and continued the meeting.

Finally my wife went out to the balcony to try to get the people to stop jumping off the building. They explained that were killing themselves because no one loved them. My wife insisted that she loved them and she was able to save many of them from committing suicide.

She returned to the leaders meeting in time to hear the pastor invite us all to go skinny dipping. Everyone was eager to go, but my wife freaked out and tried to get everyone to see what a sin that would be – but no one listened. Finally as she continued making a scene the pastor’s wife took her aside and explained that it was Biblical quoting a single word from a verse to make her point. Despite all her protests, my wife was unable to stop us.

Just then she realized that our son was not with her. She searched everywhere for him but could not find him. Finally she forced me to leave the leaders meeting and go look for him. Not finding him, I gave up and returned to the leaders meeting (yes, I’m not the hero of this dream). She then continued frantically looking for him until one of the people she had saved on the balcony came and asked her what was wrong. When she explained that her son was lost, all the people she had saved banded together and hundreds of people searched for him. Our son was found, all alone and crying in a corner. Then she awoke.

Orthodoxy

"There is nothing unorthodox about what is in the Bible."
- Grady Hancock

My grandfather spoke these words when I called him years ago to explain that I was mailing him a handkerchief that my church had anointed with oil when we had prayed for him to be healed. I explained that it might seem unorthodox to him, but that the book of James taught anointing with oil when praying for the sick, and the book of Acts mentioned that Paul had sent handkerchiefs to sick people he couldn’t visit and they were made well. While the Bible didn’t specifically teach us to send handkerchiefs to sick people 1,500 miles away, it didn’t say we couldn’t follow Paul’s example either.

My grandfather’s response – a lifelong Lutheran – was immediate and firm. “There is nothing unorthodox about what is in the Bible.”

These words by my grandfather have been burned into my memory. They serve as both confirmation and guide to my approach to living the spiritual life. I need not apologize for believing or obeying the Bible. The Word of God trumps any doctrine, theology or creed. They bow to the Bible, not the other way around.

The words of my grandfather have rung in my ears afresh over the past two years, as God has shown me powerful things in his Word that conflict with our church culture and theology. They have helped give me the strength to believe God, even in the face of opposition from the household of faith.

The Role of Teacher in a House Church

Some time ago I felt God instructing me to look at what my brothers and sisters outside of my church were doing to spread the Gospel. This led to my discovery and investigation of cell church, purpose driven church and organic / house church organizational structures. I learned valuable lessons from each of these types of churches, but of these I was most impressed with what was possible with the Organic or house church.

I haven't written about this investigation before because explaining it is actually a little boring. Spiritual life does not come from an organizational model - it comes from a living connection to Jesus Christ. At best these ways of organizing a local body of believers can be seen as a way to support and encourage the development of that spiritual life. At worst, they are a hinderance to true spiritual development. The organic or house church model has the advantage of almost zero organizational overhead, complete empowerment of each person in the church to use the gifts God has given them to minister to others, and the ability to grow and spread naturally and easily into almost any environment. However, many of the organizational norms of doing church don't apply to house churches. One of these is the role of the teacher. As a teacher, this is something that I wanted to get a handle on. Besides praying the meditating on this topic, I decided to write to a missionary house church planter that is starting churches among the unbelieving population of India. Here is a copy of that correspondence"

How does a teacher equip the saints for the work of the ministry in a house church setting?

I wholeheartedly agree that dialog, reasoning, and questions are all necessary for effective learning, and that a monologue often leaves people with the same unanswered questions and doubts for years, and if the speaker errs no-one can correct him. I also know that people can learn from the thoughts and experiences of other saints if only they were allowed to speak.

However, I still have difficulty understanding how someone gifted as a teacher can use that gift to equip the church in a house church setting. In the house church I visited, each person was able to bring a thought or need to share, and the group discussed it. It was refreshing. In this setting the best thing a teacher could do is keep his mouth shut and let people work out the answer for themselves - stepping in only occasionally. If the teacher was ever perceived as the guru with all the answers it would kill the whole dynamic and learning would actually decrease. I can understand that. I also understand that people can learn by seeing the Word of God modeled in the lives of those around them. But I can't help wonder how new believers would come to know the Bible if it is not taught directly - or asked another way, what is the role of the teacher in a house church?

Dear Brent,

You have my sympathy as I am also a teacher by gifting and have a great struggle to believe that the Holy Spirit can guide people to learn with very little monologue from me.

The role of the teacher is more of a facilitator and guiding the discussion and dialogue in such a way that it becomes fruitful and does not end in strife.

As my wife and I deal with a lot of seekers and non-literate first generation Christians who come from other faiths, it is amazing how these babes in faith come out with astonishing revelations and perceptions, which we often miss.

Reading your letter I am encouraged that you have the correct paradigm. Just practice it and see, what the Lord can do.

Shalom,

V.

Learning to Rest

Its amazing how hard something so easy can be. Simply Be.

I’ve struggled with wanting to DO something for God and I feel like I’m not doing anything worthwhile. Why hasn't God given me the next set of instructions? If God want's us to leave our current fellowship, then when and where do we go? Simply Be.

I’ve struggled with knowledge – trying to understand difficult passages of scripture and see where they fit in the overall message of scripture. Simply Be.

I’ve struggled with frustration at rejection and misunderstanding by others who seem not to care about the truths God has shown me in scripture. A little knowledge gets me all upset. Simply Be.

I've struggled with concerns about my job - the type of game I'm being asked to make, the layoffs I've survived but my friends haven't, the long commute and long working hours, and the inner certainty that its time to move on, but not knowing what to move on to. Simply Be.

I’m constantly in motion, searching, thinking, and striving – when God wants to teach me how to be at rest. To sit at his feet and love him in perfect peace, and let raging storms be something that's only on the outside of me, and not on the inside. God could end my struggling in a moment by simply giving me the direction, knowledge and favor I seek. He'd rather end my struggling by teaching me to rest. All these irritants are really just that. God knew that by giving me knowledge without direction, I'd tear myself up. Now that I've experienced that he wants to teach me to take trust to a new level. The same God who provided knowledge will provide direction and timing. Until he does he wants to provide himself a refuge of peace and serenity. Simply Be.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Whose Kingdom are We Building?

I have come to realize that everything God has taught me over the past two years is tied together by a single theme and composes a single message. It is this message that has overthrown my spiritual worldview and shaken me to the core. All things had to be re-evaluated in light of this message. A torrent of emotion has raged in me and is passing through me, and would have destroyed me but for the grace of God.

This message was God's answer to a series of questions I had asked in prayer. I initially asked why our church wasn't growing and hadn't grown in years. I prayed for His kingdom and His will, and prayed that my own will and His would be one. I expected that having offered my will so completely and having prayerfully beseeched him on behalf of His own kingdom, that God would tell me some great thing that I could go do in order to build his kingdom and grow the church. Instead he took me into the biggest spritual storm of my life.

I have considered writing about this many times, but have refrained from doing so. Considering the waves of emotion flowing through me I didn't think I could present the message with the proper balance of boldness and love it required. I also didn't feel God compelling me to do so. I needed to fully internalize the message myself before preaching it to others, lest I transfer my burden to them instead of being changed myself.

If I were to write that book however, it would be titled "Whose Kingdom are We Building?" Below are the chapters it would contain.

Church Growth or Church Growth - our metric of success

Teaching vs. Discipling

Being vs. Knowing, Believing or Doing


Leadership and the Church

Money and the Church

Church as a Business vs. Church as the Body of Christ


Religious Obligation vs. Spiritual Desire

Looking a Pharasee in the Mirror

Do We Really Believe the Bible is God's Word?


The Tale of Two Kingdoms

Simply Be

When We Gather Together

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18: 19-20

That is church. Fellow believers gathering together with Jesus to encourage and build up one another in their faith and walk with God.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25

Christian’s need one another. We are not to go it alone. We are to encourage and build up one another to continue in the faith and grow in our faith. The scripture is full on “one another” passages. We are to love one another, bare with one another, care for one another, pray for one another.

How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 1 Corinthian 14: 26-33

We assemble together to encourage and build each other up in our common faith. We do this by coming to the meeting ready to share a song, teaching, revelation, interpretation of tongues or prophecy that God has given us that will benefit the others.

The scripture is simple, clear, loving and peaceful on this topic. The difficulty is that our church culture makes it difficult to obey the scripture. We assemble together, but do not speak to one another other than a greeting as we find our seats facing a stage. We listen to one person speak the whole time, without questions or comments. If the Holy Spirit were to reveal something to us during the message we cannot say it. Instead we are instructed to make an appointment with the minister to share it with him privately. Instead of taking turns as Paul taught, our silence is supposed to keep everything decent and in order. If we appear bored, it is not because we have lost a love for God or his word. Please understand that we have heard the same man give a monologue about the same things literally for years – even decades. If we required a high school student to repeat their freshmen year for 10 years and we don’t allow them to ask questions or help teach other students they too would appear bored. We assemble, not because we are being built up or because we are able to build up others – but primarily out of duty – we want to do the right thing. After the message we pray or sing as a group and then go home.

Sometimes the Lord does speak to our hearts during the message and meets a need. Other times a brother or sister will come up to us after church and give a personal message to us that the Lord had put on their hearts. Sometimes we will feel compelled to pray with someone individually at the close of service and God will meet a need.

Also, please don’t misunderstand – the man who is speaking is not wrong or evil or inherently boring. I’ve been that man at times, and while I attempt to foster more interaction in my messages the format and expectations lead to the same result. Each of us has something to give. After we’ve given it, we can only give it again and again. God has not given any of us everything that everyone else will need. Instead, he has distributed his gifts among all of us.

Please don’t blame us if we feel spiritually frustrated and unfulfilled. Please don’t blame us if we vacillate between an intense desire to DO something for God and use our gifts, and an apparent apathy as we meet resistance and are directed to do our duty by serving as an audience in a religious service that feels like repeating our freshman year one more time.

But we want to please God, we want to grow, we want to be all God has called us to be. We don’t want to be rebellious, cause division or tear apart the church. But we don’t want to die spiritually either. We don’t want to waste our lives and all God has invested in us as we rot in a rut of religious ritual.

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12: 3-8

One by one people are searching the scripture for answers and crying out to God in prayer. The Holy Spirit is drawing people to obey the scriptures and become the church he created them to be. Christians are finding themselves drawn into small gatherings of believers where each can minister to the others and all can use their gifts. They openly admit they don’t have all the answers about where they are going, but are simply trying to do what the Holy Spirit tells them. Some call this Organic church, Simple church or House church. But it doesn’t seem like church. They meet in homes not a church building. There is usually singing and music, but even children can bring an instrument and join in. There is no pastor running the service and doing the speaking, yet it is quite common for several members to have extensive pastoral or teaching experience. There are no tithes, but they give generously to the poor and pool their resources to help members in need. But is it church? Is it rebellion?

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20