Unity

My friends and I have recently finished teaching a Streams 101 Starter School in a beautiful little town called Goldendale. Smallish town, somewhat isolated and so peaceful. I taught three units this time and in two of them a major theme is unity among the brethren. As I mentioned my last blog I am becoming somewhat obsessed with this idea of unity in the church.
I grew up in a mainstream denomination that, during the 60's and 70's when I was growing up (yes, I am that old Emily ) was wrestling with the idea that God might even be dead. Well, the academics in the seminaries and the "upper tier" leadership were wrestling with it. My mom & dad and our small-town church had no such doubts. There was, I am afraid, a distinct lack of bible training in my Sunday school experience, especially after grade school and almost none when I got high school youth group.
After a relatively brief, but intense period as a hedonist (post high school) I started seeking a relationship with God. I found a bible study that promised to open my understanding of Revelations to me, which excited me. It turned out to be a recruiting tactic for a group of believers who, well, let's just say I couldn't support many of their more emphatic belief structures and let it go at that. Many of the people I met had, I imagine still have, a genuine love for Jesus, so I am not willing to judge them. I just couldn't buy in to the movement so I moved on...to nothing. At least not for a while.
Eventually I found this cool little church just down the street from the rental my new bride and I were living in. They had just hired a new pastor and were so excited to have reached 100 people attending a couple of weeks in a row. Yep, a small church in a cinder block building, much like the one I grew up in. This church however, centered everything they did on the bible. Learning to live every day by the Word of God. That was what their sign said, and it was true. What a great bunch of sincere God-loving, people. This was no fire breathing, get-saved-or-die-tomorrow church. These folks were warm, loving, and it was a place of healing and growth for us. My wife became a Christian shortly after we started attending and life was very, very good.
The church grew. And grew. We built a new sanctuary, converting the offices to Sunday School rooms and offices. We built additional square footage for Sunday School space and almost by the time it was built, we had outgrown our "new" building. So we rented a nearby school auditorium. Adults met for two services there, while the kids took over the entire facility - and it grew.
Eventually the green light was given to begin building a huge (by our community's standards, anyway) new church. And a funny thing happened. During that building project, my eyes were opened to a realm of Christianity I hadn't known existed. Through a series of events one could only say were God-directed (for they are too strange and convoluted to be of human invention) I became aware that the little voice in my head that I had heretofore called intuition might just be God speaking to me.
Now THAT freaked me out, as it may be freaking some of my friends from that church out, but hang in there for a bit while I explain. You see, I began to experience a new intensity when I prayed. When I really listened to that voice while praying for people, words would spill from my mouth that directly addressed a situation or issue in that person's life with such accuracy that they often have a physical and/or emotional reaction. What was strange to me is that there was absolutely no way I could have known about that situation or issue in the natural course of events. It was uncanny..and yet it brought emotional healing, comfort and/or encouragement, so I am sure it was God. The fruit was good (see Matthew 7:17-19).
And that led to my leaving that wonderful church. I still love that church, but it didn't support my newfound experience. The leaders subscribed to something called dispensational theology. I wasn't really sure what that was, nor am I entirely sure I understand it now (I plan to make a study of it in the upcoming weeks or months), but I do know that all of sudden I didn't fit into their mold. I was something of a freak. No one was rude about it. You must understand, I was not treated badly. People just weren't sure what to do with me. My definition of what God does and will do had changed into something that didn't fit. Theologically correct or not, I knew what I was experiencing was real and it was God. I had to go. Fortunately, I was called to go to someplace rather than just leave someplace.
I was called to help plant a new church, Desert Rock Fellowship. We were modeling this new church to be an independent, evangelical, charismatic church. We were inspired by a book called The Word and Power Church by Douglas Bannister. This was the pastor of a large evangelical church who had to deal with a supernatural experience in God, and how he lead this large church into an acceptance, no, an embrace of the flow of God's Spirit in their church. It fit who our core group of pioneers were, mostly ex-Baptists who had experienced too many of the supernatural aspects of God to accept the conventional wisdom that the spiritual gifts died with the last apostle.
And now, through circumstances beyond my control, I find myself in another small church, the Three Rivers Bridge Christian Fellowship (and it's only that short because they ran out of relevant adjectives ). As you might guess we simply call it The Bridge, not to be mistaken for the local tavern of the same name. :) I find myself pursuing certification to teach courses from a ministry founded in the prophetic, learning to interpret dreams by the Spirit of God, and then taking that experience to the street to give the lost a "God touch" of love and encouragement, and guess what. It's awesome!
It's more than a little strange sometimes, but always strange in ways that bring us closer to Jesus. Creativity has been released in new ways and is actively sought out. New paintings, sketches, dances, sculptures, songs, and yes...blogs have found life because of this enthusiastic embrace of the creative spirit of our Creator!
So how does all that relate to unity? Simple. I've come to understand that many in the body of Christ take great delight in trashing the reputations and doctrine of those with whom they disagree. The internet abounds with with I call "Gatekeeper" websites, inviting anyone and everyone to participate in the public denunciation of any doctrine with which the orthodoxy had declared unsound. I've read books that trash the Charismatic movement because of emotional excesses that left out solid doctrine. Guess what. That happened, unfortunately. And guess what else. God is a God of GRACE. He forgives. He loves. He corrects first in gentleness and only when we willfully, stubbornly refuse to change does he correct us more sternly. In many case, by withholding a measure of His protection around us, allowing us to suffer the natural consequences of our foolishness.
My plea is this. Brothers and sisters, whether you believe in the current operation of the Spiritual gifts or not...LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Stop the backbiting, snide, mean-spirited criticism of your fellow Christians. Just stop it. Take your complaint with your brother's doctrine to the Judge and let Him sort it out. Do you not believe that God is big enough and sovereign enough to correct His church? If not, your God is too small. The truth is that He is more than big enough to correct those who are out of line. Let Him do it. Let's concentrate on fulfilling Jesus command to love one another so that the world might know we are His. Wouldn't all that energy be better spent on loving and winning the lost?
Think about it. Search the Scriptures. I think you'll find that the keepers of doctrine were more often than not the Pharisees, who missed the whole truth of who Jesus was because they were so busy jealously guarding the word, when the Word, stood before them in the flesh.

Restoration

Restoration has been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe the fact that we've been restoring and remodeling our old house for the last few years has influenced me. Yeah, probably. But there is much more on my mind than a newer looking kitchen (uh, yeah the year-long kitchen remodel is finally drawing to a close...picking out, and putting up the tile backsplash is all that's left - whew).

Actually, I really got on a restoration frame of mind when listening to an awesome young man preach a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, you know him. One of the things that really stood out to me was his uncommonly good common sense about dogma. I was totally captured by the idea that we believers in Christ are absolutely horrible at loving one another with His grace. Just to be clear, that's not what Jason said, it's the thought I had when he talked about Matthew 7:1 - you know the verse, "Do not judge..."

Wouldn't it be cool if the body of Christ could all just get along? I am not advocating that everyone meet in the same building with the same style of worship and same service. No, no, no. Keep your identity and power to you. I just want not to be judged for how I choose to worship, dress, express my beliefs. That's all. I am not telling you you have to believe every word I speak, I am simply asking you to listen with the same grace Jesus gave to His disciples.

Think about it. Jesus' closest disciples, the 12, had all kinds of screwy ideas about who He was, what He was about and were in a near constant state of amazement at His radical ministry. Yet He corrected them with love, mercy and grace. Even when His words seemed a little harsh, there was such love behind them that instead of being angry they simply repented and came around as best as they could.

Wouldn't it be great if "charismatic" or "evangelical" or "Pentecostal" stopped bringing with them all kinds of baggage and criticism by those who consider it their sworn duty to be gatekeepers of the truth? Don't the gatekeeper websites and books sound an awfully lot like the Pharisees of Jesus day? They too, were the learned religious scholars of their day. And they completely missed the day of their visitation.

Let's not miss it, shall we? Let's build bridges of love and grace and leave the tired old dogma behind.

Just Thinkin'

I am guessing that everyone who reads this blog knows me at some level or they wouldn't be here. With that in mind, I feel the freedom to spend a little time just downloading my thoughts here, whether it's profound thinking or not. I know there is love and abundant grace and for that I am eternally grateful.

I've been reading and doing my prep for an upcoming course I am teaching, 101 - The Art of Hearing God developed by John Paul Jackson and Streams Ministries. I love this course. I love the way it changed my life and the way I see it changing the lives of those to whom I've had the privilege to teach it. This will be, God willing, my last Starter School. For those who aren't sure, that means that I am a "Teacher Trainee" so I teach classes for which no tuition is charged, although the Student Notes must be purchased to take the class. It's a great way to take the class at less expense and an equally great way to learn how to teach the class. Everybody wins...most of the time. :)

One of the things I like to do to prepare is listen to CD's of John Paul teaching the first Teacher Training and hearing the deep insights for why a particular topic is emphasized and when this insight came to him, and how the Lord has worked in his experience to reveal the principles, concepts and actions presented in the course. There are such gems of truth in this material. Such profound insight. Yeah, I love it. I love it because every time I review the material I see something that hits home. I do a lot of repenting and clean up when I study to teach this course. Wow, the material is convicting.

It is also edifying and encouraging to note that everyone struggles to follow God well. Everyone. I love God with all I am and yet I find myself struggling to keep my appointments with Him. I struggle sometimes to make time to just "sit at His feet and listen" as Mary did when Jesus visited her house. In the past, I've been prone to beat myself up pretty badly over my lack of discipline, and sometimes I still do, but I am getting over that. One of the most freeing concepts I've ever gotten hold of is that God is into progress, not performance. I love the phrase (thank you Jim Driscoll), "We need to learn to get good at doing things badly."

It's not that I purposely go out of my way to do things badly, just the opposite in fact. I strive for excellence in all that I do. But the idea I've caught hold of is that like the kind, gracious, loving Father He is, God loves me just for trying to follow Him well, whether I am a stunning failure or a smashing success. He loves me for loving Him enough to try. There's FREEDOM in that concept. Grab it!

So here's to doing things badly (like writing a coherent blog entry). Go forth and fail...or succeed...but go forth!

Stick to Your Ribs!

Ah...nothing like the taste of ribs that are cooked just right! Can you guess what I had for dinner tonight? :)

Yep, I am sitting here, hours after the fact, basking in the warm glow of a huge beef ribs dinner and you know, I can't think of a single profound thought to record. So here's my first "throwaway" blog...well if you don't count my first blog when I found myself unintentionally creating a blog in the first place. ;) We had dinner with my wife's mom and her husband to celebrate my Mother-in-law's birthday, which happens to be tomorrow, the same day as my sons. What are the odds?

Happy birthday Jan and Branden!

Have you ever wondered what makes something funny? I don't mean just a little funny, I mean universally, rib-splitting, gut-busting funny. Guffawing, snort-inducing, hold your gut and shed tears funny. Me too. There seems to be a pattern to things that make us laugh. Playwrights, screenplay writers, and a few stand-up comics seem to have figured it out. There are body language cues, there specific types of movement in an area, facial expressions, and spoken language. For instance, have you ever noticed that clowns...well trained ones anyway...always move in circular, rounded movements? Hah, I didn't think so! Why is that? Well, that one I actually know the answer to. It's because straight lines aren't funny - they are commanding, so they are used to show aggression. Rounded paths to a destination are "soft" and therefore more likely to be funny and put an audience at ease. It's hard to laugh when you're tense.

I have no idea why I thought that was important enough to share with you, but there ya go.

Blessings...and remember, if you want to be funny walk in circles! :)

Monday, Monday

Well, it was definitely a Monday in every sense of the word. I spent most of the day doing the least fun part of my job (for me, any way) working on budget stuff. It comes with the job as a manager, but at heart, I am still just an instructor. I still love teaching more than any other part of my job. I love watching the light go on in someone's eyes when the concept or skill I am telling or showing "clicks" and they get it. The excitement, the sense of accomplishment...yeah I dig it.

Have you ever wondered how Monday got such a terrible reputation? I mean really. It's just another day of the week, by most calendars, it's the second day of the week. But because it's the first day in many peoples' work week (or school week for my young friends), it has come to stand for the drab and dreary. The hard to get over. The "everything will go wrong" day. The "oh, please don't make me get out of bed" day. I'm not sure when these attitudes made their way into my conciousness, but there they are and I deal with them every Monday. Hmmmm.

Anyway, I was at work doing manager-weinie stuff, and I found, to my great delight that I had money in the budget that I thought had been lost. It was there a few weeks ago, then gone, then today we were able to track down where it went and I am getting it back. Woo hoo! This is wonderful because it was set aside for completing a project that I thought I was going to have to scrap or work on free time to finish. God is so good. Yes, you read that right. I am saying God is good, because I firmly believe it was His plan for me to find that money. Why? Because it gave me the boost I needed to make Monday a happy day in spite of many things going wrong.

Sometimes Mondays aren't so bad after all. Just don't tell Garfield. :)

P.S. Bonus points for all who know the significance of the image without using Google! LOL

Lazy Sundays

I love Sunday afternoons. My wife and I have made it rule to reserve Sunday afternoons just for us. More often than not, that means a nap or just relaxing in one another's arms for a couple of hours. It's our time to recharge the batteries and get energized for the coming week.

Yeah, sometimes life stuff gets in the way. Whether we have an errand or two that can't wait or we are drawn to visit with friends or family, sometimes we miss our "nappy time." There's always a price to pay though, because as good as making connections with friends and family can be, and we truly treasure our relationships, we end up feeling like we've missed a vital part of our week if we miss our rest time. I've found over time that I tend to run out of energy by mid-week when we miss our Sunday rest times.

Today was not one of the busy days. In fact, I just got up from a nice long rest and I feel so relaxed and so ready for...well ready for ice cream, actually. Another one of our Sunday traditions is to skip "real food" for dinner and have ice cream. Sometimes it truly is the simple things in life that make it best.

So why was it worth the time and effort to capture and share these thoughts, you may be wondering. Well, I was lying in bed and couldn't help thinking of how many times the bible refers to marriage as a metaphor for God's desire for intimacy with us. Christ as bridegroom, the church as His bride. Intimate.

How is it that we miss that part? I mean, really. How often do you and I really, truly, in the deepest part of ourselves, know the connection and the sense of oneness and wholeness, that comes from a deep intimacy with God? How much more often do just skim the surface in our relationship with God. Satisfied with knowing Him at a distance, and believing that that's all there is or even should be. He is, after all, GOD. How can He possibly have time or interest to waste in pursuing such intimacy with with li'l ol' us'ns?

That's the rub. No honest person can be truly satisfied with such a distant relationship. Oh, it may feel more comfortable to fool yourself into thinking you are in control this way, but the truth is, we need that intimacy with the Spirit of God like we need air, food and water. It is woven into the very fabric of our being. Ted Dekker, in his Circle series, calls it the Great Romance. And that's what it is. God is calling us, wooing us, wanting to lavish His love upon us.

I, for one, am all for this pursuit of the Great Romance. It's what lazy Sunday afternoons have come to represent to my wife and I, and it's what kindles the fire I talked about in my last entry. That passionate, newlywed bliss of a deep, intimate relationship with the One who knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us with a love deeper than the oceans, more vast than the universe. He knows all our flaws, and covers them with grace. He treasures us, cherishes us, holds us and sings His love songs over us. All we need to do is make the time be quiet with Him, resting in His rest, drinking in His peace and soaking up His presence...like a lazy Sunday afternoon.