Category: New Covenant


Integration

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Christendom, Church Life, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — 6 Comments
February 14, 2013

How different is this, practically different...

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope (Gal. 5:1-5).

What is Paul saying here? Is this merely about circumcision or is there a deeper principle in what Paul is saying? I believe there is a deeper principle, which is this. Pick your covenant. Live by the old covenant of the law, which is slavery, or live fully in the new covenant of the Spirit, which is freedom. You can’t have it both ways. To choose to take one part of the old covenant is to reject Christ and at that point you are required to obey the whole old covenant of the law.

Now that we Christians have twenty centuries under our belts I believe we need to ask that question again. Which covenant are we going to live in? Specifically, are we going to have an integrated faith which revolves around Jesus as Lord and living in a new covenant arrangement with Him or are we going to live like we are in the old covenant? If we are going to live in the new covenant then everything we do, say, believe and practice should be an integral whole. Let me state this as a question. Is your theology (what we believe about God), ecclesiology (the way we live the gathering of believers), missiology (the way we do Kingdom ministry), and praxis (the way we live life) seamlessly focused on the centrality of Jesus the Lord and His new covenant relationship with us, or does it go back to old covenant practice? If it does, it will not only reflect the theology of the Bible, it will reflect the practice of Jesus, his disciples and the early Church as reflected in Acts and the Epistles.

Before you answer that question let me contrast these issues in the old covenant and the new covenant.

...from this...

Theology: in the old covenant believers stuck to the letter of the law as it was written. In their own power they tried to follow the rules. In the new covenant our behavior is based on the law that is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (see. Heb. 8:7-13, specifically vs. 10). This will reflect God’s written word, but it is initiated by the Spirit, not human will.

Ecclesiology: in the old covenant the gathering of God’s people was focused on the temple (a building). All worship and ministry was directed by men (the Aaronic priesthood). In the new covenant no ministry in specific buildings is mentioned or prescribed because the temple of the Holy Spirit is the human body and heart. Therefore when God’s people gather (anywhere) they can allow Jesus the Lord himself to lead them. While there is human participation, leadership belongs to Jesus the Lord. There is no special building and no clergy class.

Missiology: In the old covenant all ministry was done by men and led by men. The beauty of Israel was intended to draw the nations to God who resided in the temple. It was a “bring them in” mentality. In the new covenant Jesus said go. All of us have the Holy Spirit leading us from inside of our hearts and minds (Heb. 8:10 again). So Jesus the Lord leads us individually and corporately outward. Men do not coordinate this but they do cooperate through obedience.

Praxis: In the old covenant the leading of the Holy Spirit was rare (occasionally through some prophets and kings) and inconsistent. The Spirit came and left. Consequently it was up to men to follow the letter of the law in their own power, by their own will. In the new covenant the Spirit resides in our hearts and minds. Our bodies therefore become the new temple and the Christian leads a holy life by His power and direction. And this will reflect the behavior of godly people in the New Testament.

Both old covenant and new covenant life were integrated and consistent. In the old covenant godly people tried their best to follow the letter of the law in what they believed about God (theology), how they gathered in the temple (ecclesiology), how they did ministry (missiology), and how they lived. This was human led and human powered, but done to please God.

In the new covenant the Holy Spirit resides in us and leads from within. Jesus leads humans to cooperate and obey Him. If this leading is truly from Him it will never negate His written word. So our theology is first and foremost led by the Spirit but discerned by the written word (they won’t conflict). New covenant ecclesiology needs no building, it just needs Spirit filled believers to gather. It also needs no special leader because when they gather Jesus the Lord leads. Ministry is led by the Spirit of Jesus and reflects the missionary behavior we see in the Bible which was also led by the Spirit of Jesus. Our behavior (praxis) is led by the Spirit from within, not laws, rules or even Scriptural principles, as good as they are (read Rom. 7). In fact the written word of God itself says, the letter kills but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6).

...or this?

So old covenant life was integrated in every way. It was human led but trying desperately to please God. It needed a written code to follow by human effort. It needed a special building where men could worship God in their own effort. It needed special human leaders who would spiritually lead others (priests) by their own effort. Ministry was based on humans, in their own effort, behaving according to the written code which would draw people in. Behavior that pleased God was strictly an act of the human will. In the same way, new covenant behavior is all about following the Spirit of Jesus the Lord who lives in our bodies and speaks to our hearts and minds. So theology, ecclesiology, missiology and praxis are all led by the Spirit of Jesus from within. That’s why “Jesus is Lord” is not just a doctrine of theology, it is a way of life. Jesus leads everything. For that reason we don’t need a special building, special rules, special leadership, great human developed strategies and a life of trying hard to follow the principles of the Bible. All of this is lead by Jesus from within. We just cooperate and obey.

Pick a question and respond:

  • Is your theology, ecclesiology, missiology and praxis old covenant, new covenant or a mixed bag?
  • Have you ever seen a Christian building (commonly but erroneously called a church) named something like “Temple” Baptist? Does that seem as incongruous to you as it does to me?
  • What’s the practical difference between an old covenant priest and a Christian priest, minister or pastor? How does that square with the new covenant?
  • What happens when our theology, ecclesiology, missiology, and praxis are a mixed bag of old covenant and new? Does it make sense to say we follow the Spirit (new covenant) and then talk about our goals and objectives we’ve developed? Does it make sense to say our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit yet meet in temple like buildings and have a Christian priesthood? Does it really make sense to say “I live by biblical principles,” and then say Jesus is Lord?
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Hearers or Doers

Filed Under: Christendom, Discipleship, Evangelism, Meeting Together, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — Leave a comment
June 6, 2012

Some people merely listen but...

Ask yourself a question: are most of the Christians you know merely hearers of the word of God or do they actually do what it says? I am, of course, referring to James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Here’s the passage in context. This isn’t necessarily a black and white issue. There are different levels of “doing.” Let me give you a few.

Some people assume that if they go to church weekly and are part of the Christian or their church’s sub-culture they are doers. Frankly, I’d call that a mere hearer of the word. Others feel that if they listen to sermons and have a vague Christian spirituality, trying to be nice people, that they are doers of the word. Is that really “doing what it says?” Others look at all the Biblical commandments and use this as a pattern for their moral life. Is that being a doer of the word or just being legalistic? Some discuss, church life, doctrine and Bible verse with other Christians all the time. Others try to implement biblical principles into their life, such as following Jesus’ statement to “love as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). Have we gotten there yet? Still others see that living the word is a matter of the Spirit living in their lives, speaking the law into their hearts and minds, then giving them the will and power to live the life God wants from them? Finally some are even more intentional. When they read a Bible passage, they actually ask God how they can put what has been read into immediate practice, then they go out and do it under God’s guidance, control and power.

So, where do you and I fit in this continuum? Are we really hearers or are we doers? This has all come to mind for me because I am discipling four men I have led to the Lord in a small group. I am trying out a simple program called Discovery Bible Study, by David Watson. In that study the last of three simple steps is to write “I will” statements. Here’s the idea. We study the Bible together, then we individually write three I will statements on how I personally am going to actually put what I’ve learned into immediate practice. Then we come back the next time and report to each other about the experience. It is pretty simple in concept, not so easy to actually do.

...others actually put what they hear into practice.

Last week was the first week we actually gathered to do this together. Three of the men were guys I’ve led to the Lord over the last three years. One of the guys was someone I led to the Lord two weeks ago. While I’ve been discipling the first three for awhile, they have also become involved in various traditional churches. I found it interesting the difference in response between the new Christian and those who have more experience.

Vitorio wanted to do the study and wanted to do the “I will statements” but struggled a bit on how to come up with ideas. The other guys gave him suggestions and he settled on his three “I will” statements and agreed to put them into action this week. He also commented that his other church experiences never actually expected him to do something with what he had just learned.

Cesar came up with two “I will” statements right away. He asked for help to come up with a third. At one point he was actually in tears as he described how much he wanted to learn how to actually follow Jesus more effectively.

Toño, actually refused to do “I will” statements. First he said he couldn’t think of anything. I told him we’d go to others and come back to him later. He still refused; then offered that he’d send me some “I will” statements on Facebook later. I suggested that he should participate and be held accountable just like everyone else. He again refused and said he couldn’t be at the study next week but would come in two weeks.

Then there was Edwin, the new Christian. Edwin embraced the idea with enthusiasm and vigor. In the study he kept saying, “Hey guys, this is about living, not just talking about the Bible.” He had no trouble coming up with “I will” statements and couldn’t wait to get started. When I dropped him off at his house later he thanked me for sharing the gospel with him and for teaching him how to follow God.

Pick a question and respond:

  • How much of a hearer and how much of a doer are you when it comes to living the word of God?
  • Can you think of a way to be a more intentional doer? Do you think God could help you with that?
  • What did you notice and/or learn from the different responses of my friends?
  • What would you do about Toño?
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How to Kill a Viral Jesus Movement

Filed Under: Christendom, Church History, Church Life, Jesus is Lord, Meeting Together, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism, The Viral Jesus Book, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 3 Comments
April 13, 2012

It's great while it lasts. We need to learn to not take control from Jesus so they do last.

When viral Jesus movements (also called revivals) happen they are exciting, powerful and fruitful. They can also be surprisingly fragile. God begins many of these but they are killed because of inappropriate human activity. I want to discuss this activity so that none of us are ever a part of killing a movement of God.

The Wrong Wineskins

In my book Viral Jesus I note that what I call partial Jesus movements normally last twenty years or less. By partial Jesus movements I am referring to a movement of the Spirit (revival) that gets snuffed too early. I would include in this list the 1st Great Awakening, the 2nd Great Awakening, The Moravian movement, the Welsh revivals, the Azusa Street Revival…I could go on. Here’s the sad point, we have not seen a single viral Jesus movement go for more than about twenty years between the Edict of Milan in 313 AD and the current viral Jesus movement in China in 1949. That’s 1,636 years. Let me be clear, a number of these movements sparked significant lasting change. Both the 2nd Great Awakening and the Azusa Street Revival gave birth to current denominations. But the lasting power and presence of the Holy Spirit was gone, as was the rapid in gathering of souls. The Assemblies of God denomination was born out of Azusa Street. Is the average Assemblies church having a rapid in gathering of souls? Is there a pervasive holiness among members that is any different than say a Baptist church? The revival had long lasting effects but the revival itself has gone.

In contrast, the first viral Jesus movement, the early Church lasted about 280 years. Honestly it was losing its power before the Edict of Milan but that was the largest and last nail in the coffin. The viral Jesus movement which is currently happening in China has been going on since 1949 (63 years and counting). What’s the difference? Put simply the difference is wineskins. The way of doing church which we now think of as standard practice, (congregational meetings in dedicated buildings with a hierarchical leadership structure) is a hostile environment to the Spirit’s powerful work. For specific details of this read the chapters The Crumbling of a Viral Jesus Movement and The History of Partial Viral Jesus Movements in Viral Jesus. How could the early church sustain a viral movement for nearly 300 years? They didn’t have our current church practice. When it finally became formalized the viral movement stopped. How can our Chinese brethren sustain their movement of the Sprit for over 60 years? They don’t follow standard church practice. You can read about that in Thank You Chairman Mao. Following are some of the more specific reasons that our more traditional practices kill viral Jesus movements.

Human Control

The Church was specifically designed to function with Jesus as Lord and his servants to listen to His specific instructions because of the new covenant. In the new covenant Jesus the Lord gives us specific directions to our hearts and minds (Heb. 8:10). Have you ever seen footage of a SWAT team entering a house to make an arrest? It is confusing and chaotic. One guy is yelling POLICE! Another is commanding, “PUT UP YOUR HANDS!” The next is screaming, “GET ON THE GROUND!” Another is saying, “DON’T MOVE YOUR HANDS!” All the while there are flash bang grenades going off. Chaos! That’s what we have now in the Church, thousands of human leaders “leading.” There is so much human noise it becomes difficult to hear the still small voice of the Lord speaking into our hearts and minds. This human domination can also manifest itself in a leader, group or denomination trying to control what happens.

Focus on Manifestations or Avoid Them

In my last post Characteristics of a Jesus Movement I mentioned two current tendencies, to bask in the glow of supernatural manifestations or shun them. Both can kill viral Jesus movements. To encounter God’s supernatural power is wonderful. But God gives this for specific reasons, to change our lives towards holiness, to show his power to the world and spread his Gospel. It is not a spiritual drug for us to merely enjoy. When we focus on the manifestation and not the Master we risk losing both. In the opposite direction we have brethren who are so steeped in secular rationalism that they are offended by supernatural manifestations. They seem weird, inappropriate and distasteful. In fact, to many they seem satanic. I give a sound test to see what is from God and what is from the devil in my post Is This God or the Devil? However, both of these fleshly tendencies create a hostile environment for a viral Jesus movement.

Fail to Become Missional

There have been a number of truncated viral movement in the US in the last thirty years. They started out fine, despite the bad wineskins, but they fizzled. What happened? Two things happened in my opinion. First, people were curious about the supernatural manifestations but weren’t serious about God’s plans. In other words, it quickly became human focused instead of God focused (see above). But the second problem was that there was little focus on allowing God’s work to become missional. In my post Characteristics of a Jesus Movement I noted, “true Jesus movements start out attractional and very quickly become missional.” That happened in the 1st and 2nd Great Awakenings, the Moravian movement, and the Azusa Street revival. Currently the tendency is to come and observe, come and experience, come and enjoy; but there isn’t a lot of going unto all the world to preach the Gospel. These truncated movements have died or will shortly if they don’t take God’s purposes in mind and follow Him out into the harvest.

  • Do you see any common factors in these fatal behaviors?
  • Why do you think the form of the wineskins makes so much difference?
  • Why do you think Jesus movement die if they don’t become missional?
  • Why does human control (not the same as human participation) truncate viral Jesus movements?
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The Gospel and the Old Testament

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Evangelism, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Recommended Books, The Viral Jesus Book by rossrohde — 5 Comments
March 5, 2012

Is this really the only way to preach the Gospel?

The following is an abbreviated version of a blog interaction I had concerning the role the Old Testament takes in the Christian Gospel. You can see the entire exchange in the comments of Scot McKnight Interview: “The King Jesus Gospel” & McKnight Responds to Critics .

Hey, Ross

I wanted you to know that I’ve been enjoying your book greatly. Also, some of the things you’ve said there have encouraged me to go back and actually begin reading McKnight’s “King Jesus Gospel.” (One of McKnight’s theses is that one can’t truly understand the Gospel without understanding its roots in the Old Testament.)

I’ve been pondering for a long time now just what the gospel IS, and not knowing exactly what I’d say if I were called on to actually give a sermon on it. I mean, we’re promised that we’ll be given the things to say, but all the same it might be good to have SOME idea what’s going to come out of our mouths. I gave up the Four Spiritual Laws gospel long ago as woefully inadequate. While I do know the OT, I can hardly share the whole thing with an interested friend in one go.

I think part of this is to get the knowledge internalized via the Spirit to the point where it is no longer necessary to intellectually construct an argument or thesis; it just grows out of you as a flower does out of a plant. That’s my goal, anyway. But I did want you to know that thus far, I love your book.

Blessings, Cindy

Hi Cindy,

As you read Viral Jesus you will note that I place a high value on two issues, the lordship of Jesus (which needs to be played out in all that we “do” not just “say,” and the new covenant. This new covenant is a living contract/arrangement/lifestyle that we enter into with Jesus. At that point he becomes our God and we become his people.

When I preach the gospel I find that I often (not always) mention the new covenant because at least one way to understand the gospel is that they are entering into this agreement/contract. That brings in the Old Testament. Israel also had a covenant with God call the law or old covenant. At least one thing McKnight is saying is that we can’t understand the new covenant unless we understand the old one.

How are the Gospel's roots sunk deep into the Old Testament?

Now here’s a mind blowing thought. The words for “testament” as in Old Testament and New Testament can be equally or even better be translated “covenant.” The Old Testament revolves around the old covenant, before Israel had it, what it was, and what happened when they obeyed and when they did not. The New Testament is exactly the same thing for the new covenant. Remember Jesus said “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Lk 22:20). Semitic/Hebrew covenants were sealed with blood. That’s what the animal sacrifice was about in the OT. Jesus sealed his part of the covenant with his own blood. He became the “lamb of God” the sacrificial lamb of the new covenant just like the lambs and goats were of the old covenant. Our sealing of the covenant comes with baptism which symbolizes death, burial and resurrection (i.e. we are sealing the covenant just like Jesus did); he did it literally, we do it symbolically. Now does the OT part of salvation make more sense?

Finally, the Holy Spirit really does give us words at the right time. Part of our new covenant agreement is that He will put the law in our hearts and minds (Jer. 31:31 and Heb. 8:10.) That means he can speak to our hearts and minds, it’s part of our covenant arrangement. And, because of this arrangement the Holy Spirit can put words in our heart and mind and just the right time. We have to be attuned to Him and listening but I’ve learned that when I am in a witnessing situation and paying attention just the right analogy or way of being comes up. I’ll mention this more than once in Viral Jesus. Note for example how my friend Vincent listened to Jesus in the Introduction. Note how Jesus told me to work with Amado later in the book.

Cindy, you are person with a sensitive spirit. That’s a huge advantage. It means that your heart is an excellent receptor to the voice of God. Trust it, or better said, trust Him. The only homework you really need is to learn to discern His voice from others. For the basics on that I’d like to point you to the post Four Voices.

Your Friend,

Ross

  • Do you think we need to understand the Gospel’s Old Testament roots to truly understand it?
  • Do you believe that there are many ways to preach the Gospel?
  • When we reduce the Gospel to a few propositional facts (such as the Bridge Illustration or the Four Spiritual Laws can it have a negative effect? What would that be?
  • Is it possible that every way of preaching the Gospel has its drawbacks? If so, how do we decide how to preach the Gospel in any given situation?
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Listening 101

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism by rossrohde — 4 Comments
January 31, 2012

Listening isn't as hard as you may think.

In a recent blog Technique Disorder, I encouraged people to let Jesus guide them through the process of how to do ministry. In response, Richard M. made the following astute comment.

Ross,
Yes, I suffer from technique disorder too. But… I do have to say, most of your blog posts appear to me to boil down to “just listen to Jesus, dude!”. Now that is a fine reminder, and not a criticism.

But… listening to Jesus is still rather more easily said than done. I might have an idea – it seems Godly (so passes the ‘four voices test’) but is it just a good idea of mine or actually from Jesus? How much of what comes into my mind is just a reflection of what I’ve been reading of late? What about people who feel God tells them to do frankly crazy stuff? How do you teach people to hear God’s voice? Especially those from a non-Charismatic background? I know you’ve written a couple of blog post on that, but I would say that for every “just listen to Jesus” blog post, some pointers as to HOW would be great! But perhaps that’s just technique disorder, second degree.

Here’s my answer which might be thought of as Listening 101; not the final or even advanced listening, but at least a place to get started.

Hi Richard,

I think you’ve made a good point. Yes, we do need to listen to Jesus. In fact, it is a prerequisite to fruitful ministry. And, as you point out, few of us nowadays have been trained to listen to God’s voice, so it can be a bit frustrating to have someone consistently say, “listen” when we find that prospect daunting.

This, comment of yours, for my wife and me, is another confirmation that we need to write the book that Jesus has put on our hearts. For about six months now we’ve been discussing writing a book together on exactly what you state, how to discern the voice of God. We want it to be practical and accessible; written in ways that particularly evangelicals can comprehend. Charismatics have some writing on this, Catholics surprisingly (at least for some) have the very best writing on this, but Evangelicals have almost nothing besides Blackaby’s Experiencing God series, which is good, but very basic. In my opinion, Charismatics tend to have their bent which only touches certain aspects of hearing God. The Catholics use vocabulary and concepts that are so outside both the Charismatic and Evangelical worlds,they become inaccessible, despite the excellent content if we can get past all that…and our prejudice against Catholics.

In the mean time, let me give you a few pointers, which I hope will be helpful. God speaks the Richard language. That is to say that God knows how to talk to you personally. He doesn’t talk to everyone in some generic fashion. The hard part is listening; and for that you need to be willing and actively seek to hear. Go back to the post on the Four Voices and work through that lens which is a basic starter. If you discern that you aren’t hearing the other three voices, the world, the flesh or the devil, then start believing that the Spirit may be talking to you. Then move to the next points.

First is this test, and it’s an important one. Does the desire of your heart match the Scripture. If it is in violation of the precepts of Scripture it isn’t the Spirit’s voice. Observe how James uses this test in Acts 15 at the council of Jerusalem. God can’t deny himself. If it is neutral or in agreement, more tests of discernment need to be made, but at least it hasn’t been clearly ruled out.

Next, let’s answer your question, “but is it just a good idea of mine or actually from Jesus?” Your question brings to light the next point in discerning God’s voice. Who is in focus when you think and pray about this issue? Do you end up being a hero or the center of attention in your prayer or imaginative life? Or is the longing in your heart only because you want to see Jesus glorified or help/love others? These issues can be mixed together but, when push comes to shove, if it really is about you, it probably isn’t from Jesus.

Here’s another important test, the Gal. 5:22-23 test. The voice of the Spirit reflects the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. If you think about the issue you suspect might be God’s voice, but are consistently angry and disturbed, chances are that’s not the voice of the Spirit. For example, someone hates Obama. Then they begin to hear a voice that says they should shoot or even just continue to hate Obama. That isn’t from the Spirit. It doesn’t reflect the fruit of the Spirit. I’m not saying everyone should vote for Obama. I’m not going to weigh in on that one way or the other. But hatred isn’t from the Spirit. However, hatred and lying are two languages the evil one speaks well.

This isn’t all there is to say on this issue but at least it is a very basic primer. Ask God to speak to you. Ask him to teach you how to hear his voice more accurately. Trust him, he wants to speak to you. But expect his beginning to speak to you to be a growing process, not an event. Ask him to lead you to resources. But most of all, be willing to listen and actively seek his voice. It is better to make a mistake trying sincerely to follow Jesus, than to not listen due to fear of mistakes. God is a gracious and loving God and doesn’t get upset with our mistakes. Even a human father would rather his son or daughter made a mistake trying to do what he wants rather than a son or daughter who consistently won’t even bother to listen to what he says.

I hope this is helpful or at least a starter.

Warmly in Jesus,

Ross

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Biblioidolatry

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 13 Comments
October 7, 2011

See what I mean?

The other day a couple of friends and I were having lunch together in Oakland, CA. One of the many topics we touched on was biblioidolatry. What is biblioidolatry? It is when we make an idol of the Bible. Most of us in our minds would imagine this looking perhaps like someone placing a Bible on a pedestal and praying to it. But it almost never takes that form. It is much more dangerous and subtle than that. Most commonly it takes the form of thinking the power for living comes from following biblical principles. In doing so, we have replaced the role that only belongs to Jesus, the Word, with concepts from the written word. The power is not in the Bible, it is in Jesus. It is not in the written word, it is in the Living Word.

Why do we do this? I think there are a number of reasons. First, if we don’t actually have to follow Jesus but only “biblical principles” we are still in control. We chose which principles we are going to apply. We chose how we understand those principles. And, even more fun, if someone doesn’t apply a biblical principle the way we do, we get to judge them. But, if we understand how the new covenant works, it isn’t the written word that guides us. It is Jesus, the Lord, who is the Word who became flesh. He speaks his laws into our heart and mind, but not as some written code (Heb. 8:10). Living by a written code is living in the old covenant, not the new. We obey Him, not “it.”

A second reason we are so intent on actually living by the written word instead of obeying the Word is because our culture is obsessed with ideas. We’d rather talk about doctrine than actually put it in practice. We usually don’t do this intentionally; it is built into our cultural habits. Think about school from grade school to university. How were we taught? Wasn’t it usually by hearing someone talk about an idea, a fact, or a concept? We usually try to teach our faith this way, by preaching and giving classes instead of walking with each other along the way (Deut. 11:19) It isn’t very ineffective. That’s the difference between teaching our faith like it is a school subject and actual life on life discipleship. Discipleship has more in common with teaching someone how to change a spark plug than it does a seminary class. I say all of this to point out we have been trained by our culture to think in concepts instead of living life in the power of God. And the result is that we often put more confidence in doctrine (facts from the Bible) than in Jesus himself. That’s biblioidolatry.

Another reason we tend to be biblioidolaters is that it is easier to be judged by what we say, or believe to be true, than what we do. This, most likely, is subconscious. This is actually just an outgrowth of the other two reasons mentioned above. But Jesus isn’t going to judge us by how correct our doctrinal ideas were. When he separates the sheep from the goats he is going to judge us by our works (and no, that isn’t works salvation) Just read Matt 25:31-46. How can that be? It’s simple. If we are the real thing we will live like it. Talk is cheap. We can easily be judged by our works because if Jesus is truly living in us, His Spirit will flow out of us like rivers of living water (Jn. 7-38-39). All Jesus has to do is judge how we lived, to see if there was evidence of the Holy Spirit within.

What good then is the Bible? It is wonderful in every way. While in itself it has no power to change us, it can point to Someone who can. It can’t save us, but He can. It can be a beautiful mirror which shows us how we are living, but the power to live the Christian life still comes from Jesus himself. The Bible just helps us see if we are on track. We don’t need to worship the Bible. We shouldn’t expect it to give us principles to live by. Rather, it gives us access to the Person who wrote those principles. The Bible expresses those principles to help us make sure we are living in the Spirit and not in the power of the flesh. So let’s be filled with the Spirit of Jesus. Let’s walk in the power of Jesus. Let’s worship and honor Jesus, the Living Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us. Let’s be grateful for the written word and deeply appreciate it. We should read it until it saturates our soul. But the power for life still comes from Jesus. He himself said I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (Jn. 14:6). That cannot be said of the Bible.

  • Do you agree with me that we American Christians have a tendency to be biblioidolaters?
  • Can you think of other reasons why we tend to do this?
  • The 1st Century Christians didn’t have the New Testament, yet they often lived powerful, spiritual lives. How did they do that without the New Testament? Do you think it could have anything to do with actually living according to the new covenant, in the power of Jesus?
  • Ever wonder why the 1st and 2nd Century Christians turned the world upside down and we are losing ground? Could it be that we are looking for our source of power coming from the Bible rather than Jesus?
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Critical Skill Set

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Organic Church, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism by rossrohde — 16 Comments
June 7, 2011

In the objective process human planning is the key.

Organic ministry is very different than what most of us have become used to. There is a holistic logic to organic ministry which escaped me until I actually started doing organic ministry. I ended up learning to do organic ministry by doing organic ministry. And I ended up learning how it was different from traditional ministry by trying to do organic ministry using the skill set I had been trained in. I quickly found out that the skill set I brought to organic ministry was worse than useless in an organic context. I say worse than useless because it actually got in the way of effective organic ministry.

Before I talk about the critical skill set of organic ministry, I need to state what the critical skill set of traditional ministry is, which is not helpful in organic ministry. Traditional ministry is based on a logic and premise that is dangerous in organic ministry. The premise is that we humans can decide what needs to be done and how we need to do it. Since humans are the ones making the critical decisions we humans need to organize our behavior is such a way that we maximize our efforts. With this premise firmly (but probably not consciously) in place in our minds, we then set out to look for sources who can give us a skill set which will help us maximize our human effort.

Currently in the Western world those who are best at maximizing human effort is the business world. So, we go to the business world and copy their business skill set. What skill set do they offer us? It is commonly called the “objective process.” It is a logical system of organized skills which do indeed maximize human effort. So, we learn how to set time bound and quantifiable goals and objectives. We learn how to interlock short term goals with long term goals and the overall philosophy of our corporation…errr I mean ministry. We learn administration skills and management skills and leadership skills, ad nauseum. We read the latest business books and then we try to incorporate their principles into our ministry.

Here’s the problem. Jesus is Lord, we are not. If we do ministry as it is described and modeled in the New Testament, we don’t make the critical decisions, we discern what God wants done and we obey. We can do this because God tells us what to do by speaking into our hearts and minds. He does this because we are in a new covenant relationship with Him. Let me give you an example, one of many, from the Scriptures:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.  When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.  So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.  During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:6-10).

The critical skill set that Paul and his friend were using was discernment. They needed to discern what God was telling them to do. They didn’t make up ministry, God did. They didn’t decide; they obeyed. They didn’t actually work in their own human effort, then maximize that effort; they worked in God’s supernatural power.

But the critical skill set in this organic ministry paradigm is discernment. Note the phrases that indicate they were listening, discerning and obeying: they were kept by the Holy Spirit… they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to… Paul had a vision; concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. And note the obedience: After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia.

None of this implies, let alone explicitly demonstrates current corporate ministry practice. There were no goals and objectives, job effectiveness descriptions, philosophy of ministry statements (although they knew what he was doing and why). Instead, they listened with their hearts and minds, discerned and obeyed.

Discernment, the critical skill set of actually obeying Jesus the Lord in a new covenant relationship, is almost never even mentioned nowadays. When was the last time you heard the word in a ministry context? Where can you find training or clear writing on discerning the voice of the Lord in the current Western church?[1] We need to relearn this critical skill set and begin to train each other in it if we are to actually learn to follow Jesus the Lord into ministry.[2]

  • Why do you think we have become so ignorant of the discernment skill set in current Western ministry?
  • When was the last time you heard about a seminar on discernment skills?
  • Have you ever been explicitly trained in discernment skills? Where would you go to find training in this skill set?
  • Would you want to learn more about discerning the voice and will of the Lord and obeying?
[1] The Catholics have a whole genre of literature and extensive training courses and ministries focused specifically on these issues. And, their writing and training is extremely good and sound theologically. It is much better than anything developed in the Evangelical world (which says almost nothing on this issue) or the Charismatic world, which does a little something with this issue.

[2] Felicity Dale is starting to scratch this itch. She is working on an ebook focused on hearing God. You can find out more here. Thank you Felicity.

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Detox

Filed Under: Christendom, Church History, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — 1 Comment
May 9, 2011

Drugs and worldly principles: both require detox

In my last post Under the Influence I mentioned how easy it is for us to be under the influence of what Paul called “the basic or foundational principles of the world.” These principles, just like a drug, at first flush seem to improve our life, make us happier; they seem positive. But it’s an illusion; they are deceptive and very dangerous. I also gave two tests to check to see if we have become addicted to these principles. The first test was to see if our beliefs, life and practices reflected in every aspect the Lordship of Jesus. The second test was to verify our spiritual software, to check if we were functioning within the new covenant where our life is controlled by the inner voice of the Spirit of Jesus as he speaks into our heart and mind (Heb. 8:10). In this post, I want to do two more practical things. I want to give one final test to see if we are still under the influence of worldly principles and I would like to suggest a good detox program.

Test #3: Does your ecclesiology reflect the New Testament

When I was a new student in Bible College I noted a consistent pattern. When I took theology classes we would discuss the way things were in Bible times and then how we do them now. They were very different. Our theology came from systems which developed much later in Christian history, from specific historical leaders and only used the Bible to prove that this theology was correct. They were contrasted with other theological systems, also developed later, which were obviously wrong. This was so because they didn’t follow the system developed by the right human leader. So our practice came from traditions developed latter in history and our theology came from systems and paradigms developed later in history. At the time, I figured that’s just the way it is. It must be right, these great Bible teachers are teaching me this as truth; it has to be correct. Now I realize I was actually getting a heavy dose of human tradition along with a light dose of Bible proof texting.

Here is test number three. If your beliefs, and the practices that derive from those beliefs, don’t reflect the behavior of the people we see in the New Testament, there is something seriously wrong. Nowadays we tend to view things like church practice as if they were neutral, just a matter of personal or denominational choice. The Presbyterians do one thing, the Pentecostals do another and Baptists do some other variation. It’s all good isn’t it?

Actually the church practice of the New Testament, the way churches met, they way they interacted, reflected the actual lived out lordship of Jesus Christ. They also reflected the actual behavior of people who believed that Jesus spoke directly to their hearts and minds and they were to listen and obey. These later developments reflect something far different. The theology reflects the supposed need to have some theological expert (not the Spirit) interpret the Bible for us so that we view it the correct way. This short circuits the new covenant and places that theologian in the role of our lord instead of Jesus. The ecclesiological practices reflect human leadership, power and control structures based on humans making decisions for us. They reflect the human cultural structures where and when they were developed. This is in stark contrast with New Testament believers obeying Jesus directly as he spoke to their hearts and minds. The church was an integral part of this listening and discernment process.

Detox

Paul told us that we could become enslaved to these foundational principles, that they were weak, miserable, hollow and deceptive. The only way I know to become disentangled from them is step away from the practices that encourage them or even force us to behave according to them. This allows us the space to begin to actually hear the voice of Jesus without a lot of background noise.

How can we follow Jesus as our Lord if some other human has power and authority to counteract what Jesus is telling us to do? I’m not suggesting becoming a rogue who is immune to wise council. I’m suggesting we become someone who is responding to Jesus and allows the community to help us listen carefully. How can we live in the new covenant when we automatically assume that our theology must be vetted by a later theological and denominational systems and not the Bible itself. These theological systems have a good deal of the foundational principles of the world built into their behavior and practice. The end result of blindly following denominational and theological systems is that we become more and more separated from the voice of the Lord and direct obedience to him. We have become enslaved without realizing it. Just like a drug addict detoxes by stopping the use of the drug and finding an environment where drugs are prohibited, we need to do the exact same thing. It’s the only way I know of to get clean.

  • Does the word detox bother you? Can you think of a better metaphor for become disentangled from worldly principles?
  • Have you ever noticed how different theological systems fight with each other? Why should this be necessary if they are following what Jesus is telling them to do?
  • Have you ever noticed just how much our church structures mimic the structures of the world like business, government or the military? Now that I’ve made the observation, does it give you pause?
  • Can you think of any way to detox from the principles of the world and still stay in the structures and remain faithful to the structures that encourage them?
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Under the Influence

Filed Under: Christendom, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Worldview by rossrohde — 2 Comments
May 5, 2011

Are we addicted to a dangerous spiritual drug?

In my last post Christendom and Christianity I mentioned that Paul warned us four times about a very dangerous peril called the basic or foundational principles of the world. He told us that we could become enslaved to these principles, that they were weak, miserable, hollow and deceptive. Why all the harsh language? Why did Paul mention this dangerous peril not only to the Galatians but also to the Colossians? Why, at the foundation of Christianity, was Paul so insistent that the early Christians be so vigilant against these dangerous worldly principles?

I think the answer to these questions is rather simple. Paul broadcast far and wide, with unequivocal language, the dangers of these basic worldly principles because they have the potential to destroy our faith.  A good metaphor to understand how the foundational principles of the world work is to think of them as a spiritual drug. Just like a drug, at first flush they seem to improve our life, make us happier; they seem positive. But it’s an illusion; they are deceptive and very dangerous. Once they are in our spiritual blood stream, they begin to slowly weaken us, to corrode our spiritual vitality to the point that we become no different than anyone else in society around us; except we have the patina of Christian religion (Christendom). This, in general, is the state of the Western Church today.

The more important question is how can we tell if we have gone under the influence of the foundational principles of the world? What are the telltale signs? And how do we enter detox so we can once again have the vital spiritual life Jesus longs for us to have?

Two Telltale Signs of Addiction to the World

I’d like to point out two indicators that our Christian faith has slipped into addiction to the basic principles of the world. Or, as Paul puts it, we act as though you still belonged to the world, and submit to its rules (Col 2:20). In doing so I will also be highlighting two tests, like blood tests, which indicate if we have the dangerous drug called stoicheion (basic or foundational worldly principles) flowing through our veins.

Test #1: Is Jesus Still the Lord?

In my post Human Control I stated, “Jesus is Lord” is the Christian Shema[1] statement. It is the fundamental doctrine on which everything else hangs.  This is not a mere correct doctrinal statement to which we agree. It is meant to be a statement of how we live every detail of our lives. If it isn’t, were under the influence. So who makes the decisions in your life? Are you actively seeking to follow Jesus’ instructions or are you making “wise” human decisions? In your church are there humans with the position and power to make their own decisions? Or is the structure of your church designed to only listen to the Lord Jesus?

Test #2 Do You Have a New Covenant Operating System?

In my post Spiritual Operating Systems I refer to our new covenant with God (Heb. 8: 7-13) as an operating system. Just like computers run on operating systems so does our relationship with God. It’s the underlying code which should control everything in our lives. And, just like computers, if we try to use programs based on a different operating system, confusion and error reign. Jesus the Lord speaks to our hearts and minds (Heb. 8: 10; Jer. 31:33). This is the core of the new covenant. Our response to this inner voice is to obey our Lord. If we are not functioning like this, we are not living within our new covenant arrangement with God. Since a covenant is another world for contract, how do you think God views people who are constantly breaking their contract with Him?

In my next post I will discuss the detox process of getting out from under the influence of this dangerous spiritual drug called the basic or foundational principles of the world.

  • Can you think of any other tests which help us realize we are under the influence of the basic principles of the world?
  • Do you think I’m making too big of deal out of this? Do you think this is a minor theological rabbit trail?
  • The Early Christian Church, with all its faults, was trying to live under the Lordship of Jesus and in the new covenant. The Chinese house church movement had the worldly principles stripped away from them through persecution. Do you think we are more effective and spiritual that they were and are?
  • In my next post I’ve stated I’m going to highlight a detox process for getting out from under the influence of the drug called the foundational principles of the world. What would you suggest that it be?
[1] The Shema was the foundational doctrine of Israel’s covenant with God. It is found in Deut. 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” In the same way “Jesus is Lord” is the Christian Shema statement of the new covenant (Phil. 2: 10-11).

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How Elders Act and Reproduce

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Church History, Discipleship, New Covenant, Organic Church, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 7 Comments
April 27, 2011

A good elder watches over the sheep.

In my last post, What is an Elder Really? I discussed how the meaning of the word “elder” has changed over time to mean something which was not intended in the New Testament. I concluded with this paragraph: An elder, then, is a more mature Christian. And such a mature Christian would use their maturity to serve others, coming from a position of humility and weakness, not from any position of apparent strength, title, power or positional authority. To do otherwise would be to set aside Jesus strict instructions about how “greater” (i.e. more mature) people were to behave. In my next post I’ll talk about how such people actually behaved and the important role they play in organic church.

How New Testament elders behaved

A New Testament elder was a more mature Christian. As such, they had much to give those who were less mature. Their goal was to lead newer, less mature Christians to maturity, which, in reality, meant lead them deeper into a relationship with Jesus. In doing so, they watched over the younger Christians. This is where we get the word “overseer” episkopos, which is also translated “bishop”. Sadly, even in translating it into the word “overseer” we get the idea in English of being over someone else positionally or having power over them. That’s not the idea. They watch over new Christians the way a shepherd watches over sheep. Here’s how James put it:

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock (I Pet. 5:1-3).

A good elder led not by power, but by example. You don’t need power, position or control to lead by example. You just need to be a good example. Furthermore, elders watched over the less mature Christians like a loving shepherd watched over sheep; looking out for trouble, finding any way they could to protect them. Again, no power is needed to serve in this way. What was needed was a servant’s heart and influence. Influence needs no power. It is a gift given to those who have it, by those who are being influenced. You have influence when people give it to you. No amount of power, position or title can give you influence. These things can only give you coercive power. To use coercive power is to “lord over,” what Jesus told us never to do in Luke 22: 24-27.

One last thing should be said about this verse. Elders or overseers are to shepherd the flock. The word shepherd is the same word we also translate pastor. Here it is being used as a verb, denoting the action a good elder takes. This verse has been used to suggest that an elder, a bishop and a pastor are all the same thing. That’s not actually true. A pastor is a person with the spiritual gift of pastor, mentioned exactly once in the New Testament (Eph. 4:11-13). A person with the pastoral spiritual gift is gifted to take care of the emotional and relational needs of those in the flock. This behavior is also easily explained using the metaphor of a shepherd. Elders watch over the flock through maturity and influence; those with the pastoral spiritual gift care for the flock through the use of their spiritual gift. The word pastor is never used in the New Testament as a noun, or as a verb,  to describe someone with positional power, as it is commonly used today.

How New Testament elders reproduced organically

To lead a person deeper into a relationship with Jesus, the main function of an elder, is to disciple them. This is the basic function of discipleship. But it is discipleship though life, by example, not the mere downloading of information, which has become so common today. It is better described as training. It is the way a kind, wise master carpenter would teach an apprentice. No amount of book learning will teach someone how to build a house. For that you have to handle wood, hammers, nails and saws until you are good at it.

In the same way, elders discipled less mature Christians to become closer to Jesus. They taught them the skills necessary to actually follow Jesus himself in a new covenant relationship. When they showed the deep lifestyle maturity described in I Tim 3:1-7, which is the natural outflow of being in an abiding relationship with Jesus, they were mature enough to be considered elders themselves. Note that this is measured by life skill/godly behavior, in other words, spiritual maturity. Oh, and one other thing, the ability to teach or train others to mature spiritually the same way. When elders teach immature Christians to become elders, they have reproduced themselves organically, because they have reproduced according to their own kind.

  • Most of us don’t think about pastors, elders and bishops this way even though that is what is being described in the New Testament; why?
  • Nowadays it is much more common to use the word “elder” as a member of a congregational churches board of directors. Can you see this described anywhere in the New Testament?
  • Does it make sense to you how in organic church no titles, positions or human power is necessary?
  • In the New Testament the descriptive words for Christians were an issue of maturity “elder,” function “overseer,” or spiritual gift “pastor,” “apostle,” “prophet,” etc. None carried the idea of power or position. Could you be comfortable in such a spiritual ambiance?
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