Category: New Covenant


Themes

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Discipleship, Evangelism, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 2 Comments
April 8, 2011

Catch the 10:2b virus

God talks to us in many ways. It is part of our new covenant heritage. In other words, it is part of being a Christian. In fact, Jesus said that his sheep know his voice. Not only do they know it, they listen. While God can talk to us in all sorts of ways, some obvious and some less so; I’d like to talk about one that commonly gets overlooked. Then, I’d like to tell a recent story about how God spoke to me in this way as an example.

If we want to hear God’s voice one of the most important things we need to do is pay attention. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been so distracted at times, that people nearly shouted at me, but because my mind was somewhere else, I couldn’t hear them. It is the same with God. We need to be consciously pay attention, if we are going to hear his voice. Here is one thing we can pay attention to: themes. We need to consciously pay attention, when the same subject seems to come up over and over again. It is God, not so subtly, speaking to us.

Right now I have seven men I am discipling. Six are men I have led to the Lord in the last couple of years. One has not yet come to faith but hangs around with us. You can get a thread of posts which tell some of these men’s stories here. For the last few months I have been praying daily at 10:02 AM the 10:2b prayer, that God would trust my friends out into the harvest. Here is how God responded.

In my post Discipleship as Discernment I mentioned a dream about evangelism that Vitorio had experienced. I mentioned how he discussed this with Toño and me and how this led to a two hour training session on evangelism. This was actually the second of three dreams my friends have had. Toño has also had two dreams that had very clear themes about him sharing his faith. These dreams have ended up causing the group to discuss among themselves the importance of sharing their faith with others and trying to discern who God wants them to share with.

Last Friday night we were discussing this issue in the presence of German, who actually hasn’t come to faith. I’ve been discipling him anyway, helping him take one step closer to Jesus. In the midst of this discussion on evangelism, he openly said he hadn’t come to faith yet, but was hanging around us because we seem to know God. He ended up in an extended dialog with us about what it meant to come to faith in Jesus. The dialog was mostly between him and me although the others joined in. It was a gentle, gracious and friendly back and forth conversation with lots of questions. When I mentioned a Bible passage I’d have Toño look it up and read it. This was exactly the kind of redemptive life and conversation I had been talking to the guys about. Our lives were attracting German. And because of this, we could follow Jesus into a conversation where Jesus and his good news was the focus.

Think about this. I pray the 10:2b prayer for my friends. I ask that Jesus would trust them out into the harvest. In response, Jesus starts giving them multiple dreams about them sharing their faith. I had actually not discussed this issue specifically before, because it had not come up. I just prayed and waited for Jesus to respond. Not only did Jesus give them dreams that lead to training on evangelism, he set up a situation where they could participate with me in sharing their faith with one of their friends. I’d call that a theme. This is what Jesus wants my friends and me to focus on. Our job is to listen and obey.

  • What themes is Jesus bringing up in your life?
  • How do you think you should listen and obey?
  • What other ways does God talk to us?
  • What is the implication of someone who doesn’t hear the Shepherd’s voice?
Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Good Investment

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Discipleship, Evangelism, New Covenant by rossrohde — 1 Comment
April 6, 2011

We need to make a good return on the people we invest in.

Imagine with me for a moment that you had a million dollars to invest. Now, imagine that someone said they had an interesting investment portfolio. Three out of four of the stocks he would have you invest in would return nothing; you would lose all the money you invested in them. However, every fourth stock you invested in would return at least 30 times what you invested in. Some would actually return 100 times the amount of money you put into them. So, at the end of your life, you would end up with somewhere between $30,000,000 and $100,000,000. Would you go for the deal?

This is basically the investment opportunity that Jesus is offering us in the Parable of the Sower. Three out of four of our investment opportunities will go south. Some of the “converts” we begin to invest in are almost immediately sidetracked by Satan (Mark 4:15). The good news doesn’t take deep root in other “converts” we invest in (Mark 4:16-17). About another 25% of the “converts” we invest in get drug down by the particular demon of our Western society, the love of money and the stuff money can buy (Mark 4: 18-19). But then there are disciples. Disciples reproduce; boy do they reproduce. They are so productive that they are worth all that wasted investment in converts.

By now it should be clear that I’m making a big differentiation between converts and disciples. So let’s talk about converts for a minute; then let’s talk about disciples. Converts get sidetracked. Jesus points out a number of the common ways they get sidetracked, lack of deep commitment, persecution and troubles or conversely too much of what we would consider to be a good thing, material well being. But all three of these types of converts have something in common. They are still focused on themselves. Their entrance into the Kingdom was based on what was in it for them. They never actually become a disciple.

Disciples, on the other hand, are focused on what is important to their King, his kingdom. They want to see his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus longs to redeem his lost and broken world. His disciples, because they are focused on him and his desires, resonate with his longing. If they are truly his disciples, they will allow him to change them so that their very lives become a redemptive analogy for others. The righteousness they live, the Jesus they reflect, becomes attractive to others (I Pet. 3:15). In other words, as Jesus mentioned not long after the Lord ’s Prayer, we should seek his kingdom and his righteousness. In the logic of the Kingdom, if we seek God’s desires, instead of our own, we end up getting everything we could possibly need. We gain them by not worrying about them. And, conversely those who focus on their own needs, risk losing everything.

We enter into a contract with God; click the image to see the terms.

This is being a disciple. A disciple understands that they have entered into a contract with God, where he will be their God and they will be his people (Heb 8:10). And like all Hebraic covenants, the faithful parties look out for the interest of the other party. We seek God’s good, he takes care of ours. We are Jesus focused, he is lovingly focused on us, his beloved. Converts, by looking out for their own good, are breaking their contractual agreement. They show they don’t trust the God they’ve entered into a contract with. This is why the Bible explicitly encourages us to faith (trust). We can trust the God we have a contract with. He will keep up his end of the bargain.

Jesus told us to make disciples, not converts. But look at the way we tend to preach the Gospel nowadays. In essence we are saying; join the club and you get to go to heaven. The focus is on our benefit and Jesus is only a causal agent in us getting what we want. He isn’t a beneficiary of the contract. We get what we want and he gets to suffer and die for that purpose. It may all be factually true; but it is unbalanced in the extreme.

So how do we get a good return on our investment? We make disciples. We let them know from the very beginning that they should always be moving toward Jesus and his desires for their life. They can trust him to work for their benefit. But they keep focused on the author and perfecter of their faith. So, how do we make disciples? It’s simple, we consistently help everyone we know take one step closer to Jesus. That will get a good return on your life investment.

  • Ask Jesus to help you take an honest look at your life. Are you a modern day cultural Christian, a convert focused on your own benefit, or are you a disciple, focused on Jesus?
  • How do you preach the gospel? Is it designed to make disciples or converts? Do you preach the gospel?
  • Do you believe discipleship is really that easy, just helping everyone we know take one step closer to Jesus? Do you buy the implications of this, that you can be intentionally disciplining non-believers? What would that look like?
Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Discipleship as Discernment

Filed Under: Discipleship, Evangelism, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Simple Church, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — 3 Comments
March 31, 2011

Listening to the Lord is really this simple

Every Friday morning I take out two or three guys I’ve won to the Lord to pass out lunches to the hungry. We meet early, have breakfast and then pass out the lunches. Often this ends up being a very intense time of discipleship. This morning (March 18, 2011) was no exception. You can read about another time this was effective discipleship in this post: Good Seed.

While Toño, Vitorio and I were eating breakfast, Vitorio asked me if dreams could be a communication from God. I told him there was a long history in the Bible of God using dreams to communicate with people. Then I asked if he had a specific dream that he thought might have come from God. He immediately started to share about being back in Guatemala. Before him was a large acreage of beans and the harvest was very abundant. So, I began to ask him questions. Did he sense this dream was different and important as opposed to a “regular” dream? Yes. Did he sense it was coming from God? Yes. Were these black beans? Yes, how did you know? I told him I thought that might represent Chapines (Guatemalans). Yes, that seemed right. What do you think the abundant harvest was about? He felt it was important but could I help him understand? I told him a harvest in the Bible was usually about souls, not physical goods. Yes, that was right, that seems right! Do you have specific people God has placed on your heart to whom you are to share Jesus? Yes, and he mentioned them. What then Vitorio, do you think God is telling you? I’m supposed to share the gospel with these guys.

That discussion evolved into a two hour discussion about effective evangelism. We talked about gossiping the gospel. We talked about being gracious and non-judgemental, being Spiritual not Religious. And we talked about some of the concepts shared in Evangelists and Insiders.

I need to discern with the Lord was up to

Did I share everything I knew about evangelism? No. As I talked to Toño and Vitorio, I was also talking to the Lord; listening to what he was telling me. I only gave them what Jesus was letting me know would be helpful to them at this particular point in time. Then I encouraged them to follow Jesus into the harvest. In other words, let’s not just talk about it, let’s go do it. They were excited about this. They viewed it as an opportunity.

Teaching disciples to discern

If it's complicated, it's not useful

One of the most important lessons we discussed was the importance of listening to God and obeying what he tells us to do. This is as much or more a heart exercise as it is a mind exercise. They need to discern what the Holy Spirit is leading them to do. My friend Ed Waken likes to say we can be 100% effective in evangelism 100% of the time if we do exactly what the Lord leads us to do; no more, no less. I told them this, then encouraged them to go out and be 100% effective through obedience to what the Holy Spirit was putting on their heart and mind; no more, no less. In other words, I was teaching them to discern the presence and direction of the Spirit.

That’s the main point. As we disciple people we don’t need a complicated, pre-set agenda. We just need to discern what the Holy Spirit is up to and follow him through the discipleship conversation. In the same way, we teach those we are discipling to do the same. And, after all, we are modeling it, so we can use that as an example. This is discipleship as discernment, not discipleship as curriculum. This is new covenant discipleship where we trust the Holy Spirit to speak into our hearts and minds.  This discipleship through paying attention to the Spirit is part of our new covenant heritage. It is not only fun, it is fruitful because God is actually leading the discipleship process.

  • Have you ever had those discussions where it was clear that the Holy Spirit was involved? Did you realize God was using you to disciple one another?
  • Have you ever intentionally practiced discipleship by discernment?
  • What are your fears or concerns about doing discipleship this way?
  • Do you have stories about how God has done this in your life?
Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Level and True

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Church Life, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — 1 Comment
March 23, 2011

A good foundation makes everything else fit together

I spent the summers of my college years working for the family construction businesses. I never was a particularly good carpenter or builder, but I did learn a few things. One lesson I learned was the importance of laying a square and true foundation. I believe this makes an important analogy for our spiritual lives as well.

If a builder lays a solid, absolutely level foundation; the house he is building will fit together well. By the time he has laid his level foundation there is only one thing that can throw him off; foundation bolts. The foundation bolts are what makes sure the building is not only true horizontally, but square and true vertically. The foundation bolts are cemented into the foundation. They must be in exactly the right places and be absolutely true vertically. If the foundation is level, and the foundation bolts are perfectly placed, the roof is going to fit together without a problem.

Spiritually Square and True

I’ve been a Christian for nearly forty years. I’ve know a lot of Christians, both solid and unstable. What surprises me, as I analyze those who have maintained their faith and grew trough the storms of life, and those who fell apart in a stiff breeze; was that stable Christians built their lives on different foundations than unstable ones. I’ve watched major Christian leaders fall apart, both pastors and mission executives.  I’ve seen seminary trained theologians allow the devil to turn their lives into a train wreck, while simple no-name Christians quietly glorify Jesus every day of their lives. I’ve seen people who have dedicated themselves to the details of theological paradigms live unkind, selfish and downright mean lives. I’ve also know pastors, leaders and theologians who were gracious, godly people and everyday Christians who were what my friend likes to call “pieces of work.” What then makes some people spiritually true and some spiritually unstable?

Unstable Foundations

Our Western culture has caused us to rely on some pretty unstable spiritual foundations. In the previous paragraph I named three: leadership positions, seminary training and theological paradigms. I’ve actually know Christian leaders who honestly believed that because they held a position God owed it to them to bless their lives. Our faith doesn’t work that way. It is an interesting exercise to go back 20 years after seminary graduation and find out how the graduates are doing in their spiritual lives. Many have become ship wrecked. I’ve also known people who were sure that because they knew the fine points of Calvinism, their spiritual lives were secure. In the previous sentence you can replace the word “Calvinism” with “Lutheranism,” “Catholicism,” “Pentecostalism,” or any other ism. All of these are unstable spiritual foundations.

Level and True

The new covenant is our foundation bolt that anchors us to Jesus our Lord.

I believe there are two foundational spiritual realities that work together to cause our life to fit together squarely and weather the storms. However, they are both spiritual realities that must be lived, not just doctrines to be professed. The first is the lordship of Jesus Christ, the second is our spiritual operating system, the new covenant. When Jesus said “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” he was laying a solid, level, stable and true foundation for our lives.

First, it was based on his blood; the blood of Jesus the Lord. When we live our lives based on what he tells us to do we are safe. When we start using our own human wisdom, or own selfish parameters, or rely on our position, the status of others, some institution or human theological system we are not going to live stable lives. Jesus is omniscient, Martin Luther wasn’t. Jesus is omnipotent, I’m not and neither are you. Over and over again in the New Testament we are told that basis of our spiritual life is faith; but faith in whom? It is faith in Jesus.

But how do we know what Jesus wants us to do? The Evangelical answer to this is “the Bible.” But it is only a partial answer; true as far as it goes, but not true enough. The Bible tells us the general rules and principles of the life, but it can’t tell us what to do in a given situation. It can’t tell us if God is calling us to ministry in Europe or if we are to stay home for another three years. For that we need more specific direction. And Jesus can give it to us. How? He does it through the new covenant. The new covenant is explicitly written out twice in the Bible, once in Jeremiah and once in Hebrews; but it is mentioned, explained and alluded to all through the New Testament. It is our spiritual operating system. It is how we connect our lives to Jesus our Lord so we can obey him. We can do this because he puts his law, his instructions, his very thoughts into our hearts and minds (Heb. 8:10; Jer. 31:33 ) so He can be our God and we can be his people.

When Jesus is our Lord in actuality, not just as some vague theological idea; we have his power, his faithfulness, his wisdom, his stability as a foundation for our lives. When we learn to lives in our spiritual operating system of the new covenant, it is like having our very lives cemented into that solid foundation, like perfectly placed foundation bolts. Then we can listen to what he speaks into our hearts and minds and know what to do in any given situation. When we live like that, we can whether any storm and know what to do in any situation. That is living a life that is level and true.

  • Besides leadership positions, seminary training and theological paradigms, what other false foundations to we tend to build our lives upon?
  • The Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Is that the something different, or is it basically saying the same thing? Click on the link to read it in context.
  • Can we believe Jesus is Lord and the new covenant as a doctrines; yet still miss the power of living with a level and true foundation?
  • What happens if we go back to the old covenant of the law (living by the rules)? Can such a life give us the foundation we need? Here’s what the writer of Hebrews thought about living by rules or principles.
Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Good Seed

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Discipleship, Evangelism, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — Leave a comment
March 4, 2011

Good seed, the gift that keeps on giving.

Yesterday morning I was discipling Toño[1] and Pedro[2]. We had finished passing out lunches to hungry day laborers. Through breakfast together, then passing out the lunches and for about an hour afterward, we had been having a running dialog. We discussed all sorts of things, but the Holy Spirit’s theme seemed to be walking under the direction of the Spirit, rather than following a bunch of rules.

While this seemed to be the principle theme, our conversation ranged all over the place. We kept bringing up all sorts of Bible verses, then read them in context and then discussed them. This, in turn brought up other issues and more Bible verses. This in turn would lead to prayer, which would bring up another subject.

The discussion was passionate, lively and free flowing. And Jesus was there guiding the whole thing. How do I know this? Well, there were a number of indicators. First, we all could sense the presence of the Spirit. Toño and Pedro probably wouldn’t have put it in those words, because it is not part of their vocabulary, but they were noticing something special about this conversation. Second, there did seem to be a general theme, in this case, the importance of the direction of the Spirit. This wasn’t a theme one of us brought up intentionally; we just kept coming back to that through comments, observations, stories and questions. Third, everything we said was Christ focused. The Holy Spirit loves to point to Christ. So, as we talked about the Holy Spirit’s control, we inevitably ended up also talking about Jesus being Lord, of following Jesus, of loving Jesus.

All of these are key indicators of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a conversation. This is what we seek in a discipleship relationships; not the mere downloading of information, but the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit. However, I’d like to point out one more indicator; an indicator that is a telltale sign of the presence of the Spirit.

Our discussion had ranged to how when we are following Jesus in our lives, as we listen to the Holy Spirit; one result is that we end up bearing fruit. I mentioned Jesus parable of the good seed, where a good seed ends up producing 30, 60 or 100 fold (Mk. 4:20). Whatever the Holy Spirit gives me, to give them, they can give to many others. This person in turn can give it away to many others (2 Tim. 2:2). So, by reproducing, we can reach many, even people we’ll never meet. In the midst of this conversation Toño spontaneously proclaimed, “I want to be good seed!” That spontaneous proclamation was evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in Toño’s life. That was not mere information about biblical doctrine being discussed (as good as that is); it was the Holy Spirit planting seed in good soil. It was Toño saying I want my life to be different! I want God to use me! I want to learn to follow Jesus the Lord so that He can change the world through my life! All that expressed with a simple, passionate statement, “I want to be good seed.”

Jesus told us to make disciples. We don’t make our own disciples; we help new Christians become disciples of Jesus. How do we know that’s happening? It’s happening when we see the Holy Spirit inspiring them to love and good deeds. We know it when we see their lives changing towards the image of Christ. We know it when new Christians burst forth will passionate exclamations of heartfelt truth. That’s why when Peter proclaimed to Jesus “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Jesus wanted Peter to know that the Father’s Spirit was at work in his life. I’m sure it gave Jesus great joy. In the same way, when I hear new disciples spontaneous announce that they want to be good seed, it gives me joy. Why? I’m joyous because the Spirit is at work; because lives are being changed; because the Kingdom is moving forward and because Jesus the Lord is being worshiped through one more life. That’s when real discipleship is happening.

  • Have you ever had those conversations when there is that special Presence? Did you realize it was the Holy Spirit?
  • Have you ever been in these Spirit directed conversations and then the wind gets knocked out of it? Why does that happen? What tends to cause that?
  • Are you making your own disciples or helping people become Jesus’ disciples? What’s the difference?
  • Is your life reproducing in other lives, which are reproducing, which are reproducing (2 Tim. 2:2)? If not, why do you think the 2 Tim. 2:2 process is being hindered?
  • Was passing out lunches together a separate activity or part of the discipleship?
[1] You can read other stories about Toño in Burgers and Jesus, The Church “Going to Church”, and Sequentialism; or for an even biger picture type “Toño” in the “Search this site…” button in the top right hand corner.

[2] Pedro is somebody Toño has introduced to our group.

Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Lessons from History

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Christendom, Church History, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God by rossrohde — 2 Comments
February 23, 2011

What lessons can we learn from Israel's history?

The apostle Paul thought of Israel’s history as a series of lessons or warnings to the Church.  He explicitly laid out some of the lessons we can learn from Israel’s failure in I Cor. 10:1-12. He concludes this passage in verses eleven and twelve with this statement: These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.  So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! Paul’s warning was about sexual immorality and idolatry. Sexual immorality is something all people should be wary of in all ages. In our current culture, it is doubtful that we are going to bow to some carved “god,” as such, but we may idolize foolish things such as the suburban lifestyle, money or even our car. Nevertheless, be warned, Israel’s failure can be a lesson for us.

I’d like to note three ways I believe the current Western Church has failed to learn lessons from Israel’s history. Like Paul, I’d like to draw parallels between Israel’s failures and how we mimic them today. In general I’d like to show how we have imitated the cultures around us rather than be a peculiar people as the KJV puts it in Deut 14:2 and I Pet. 2:9. More specifically, I’d like to show that just like Israel, we have rejected God’s covenant, choosing instead to go back to previous practice and we have chosen to lead ourselves, rather than choose God’s leadership.

We are not a peculiar people

We have not chosen to be a peculiar[1] people, distinct from the world around us. The average Christian’s lifestyle is not particularly different from the decent non-Christians around us. I know of “faithful” church going Christians who have surprised their neighbors and colleagues by letting them know they were Christians; even though some of these people had known them for over 20 years. Why the surprise? Why was Christ’s activity in their life so obscured? Why wasn’t their life such a sweet fragrance that at least some people were asking to give an account for the hope that is in them, yet with gentleness and reverence ( 1 Pet. 3:15)? Worse, we aren’t particularly less sinful than decent non-Christians. Our divorce rate, for example, is almost identical to the world around us. Something is wrong.

We have rejected God’s covenant

Israel rejected God’s covenant; continually trying to go back to the idolatry they knew before and the behavior of the nations around them. 2 Kings 17:15 is just one place where God accuses Israel of specifically rejecting his covenant: “They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, “Do not do as they do,” and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.”

Perhaps it is part of human nature to try to go back to what we have known before rather than move into something new and better. Perhaps we would rather live with the devil we know rather than risk the unknown. Israel rejected life under God’s rules and laws, choosing to go back to what they knew before and the behavior of the cultures around them; idolatry.

We choose to reject the new covenant (Heb. 8:7-12) of living by the Spirit within, who speaks to our hearts and minds and choose instead to go back to the law. We don’t all go back to the Old Testament law like the Seventh Day Adventists, but we try to live by laws, precepts, rules and “biblical principles.” In other words, we prefer the explicit code written on paper, and lived by own effort, to the law written in our hearts and minds by the Spirit. To prefer principles over the Spirit is to grieve the Spirit.

We’ve chosen human leadership over God’s leadership

Israel chose the human leadership of kings instead of following God as their King as he worked through judges and prophets in I Sam 8:6-20:

But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.  And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.  He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do…  When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”  But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.  Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

Jesus Christ is our Lord and King. There was never intended to be any other. Because of the new covenant we can follow him as individuals and as a corporate body. We do not need any human leadership. We may need help and accountability to other Christians to make sure we are actually listening to Jesus the Lord correctly, but that isn’t leadership. You can read more about this in Leadership??? and Human Control. To choose human leadership is to tacitly reject God. We are making the same mistake that Israel did. Let’s ask Jesus our King to help us be a peculiar people whose lives are beautiful and winsome because His Spirit lives within us. Let’s follow the new covenant that has been given to us instead of a faulty covenant (Heb. 8:7) that enslaves us. And let’s live accountable to our godly brothers and sisters but follow only one Lord, Lord Jesus. 

  • Have you ever thought about Christian history paralleling Hebrew history? Do you think that Paul’s warnings to the Corinthians could apply to us in a number of ways? 
  • Do you think the people in your city or town would consider the Christian Church to be peculiar as in weird, peculiar as in a distinctly attractive people or hard to distinguish from everybody else? 
  • Do you think we can live by laws, precepts, rules and “biblical principles,” in our own effort and still be faithful to the new covenant? 
  • Have you ever thought of choosing human leadership to be a rejection of God’s leadership? Have you ever thought of the Churches current situation as a parallel to Israel in I Sam. 8? 

 

[1] The KJV uses this word to mean distinct from the cultures around us. This is translated in more modern versions as “a people for God’s own possession” or a “people belonging to God.” Peculiar nowadays means “weird.” Some Christians are weird and some aren’t. God never asked us to be weird.

Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Human Control

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, Meeting Together, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Simple Church, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism, Worldview by rossrohde — 7 Comments
February 21, 2011

Merely a doctrinal statement, or a way to abundant life?

I often discuss simple church with people who are new to the concept. Since simple church is so different than what most of us know, it is quite common to get reactions; often negative reactions. The most common focuses on the need for some sort of human control. How can you have a church without designated leaders? How do you maintain order? How do you keep heresy from springing up? If you try to do that, chaos will ensue. These reactions are based on a fundamental assumption which I believe is false. These reactions are also based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what biblical Christianity really is and how it works. Let me explain.

To understand how Christianity was designed to function outside of human control we need to understand two fundamental Christian truths. The first is this; Jesus is Lord. This is the fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. It was never meant to be mere statement of fact to be agreed with. It was intended to be lived out in everything we do. In other words, do you believe that Jesus is Lord? Good, show me by what you do. This is the exact same issue James dealt with when he stated the fundamental doctrine of Judaism, the Shema, “God is one.” But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder (Js. 2:18-19).

“Jesus is Lord” is the Christian Shema statement. It is the fundamental doctrine on which everything else hangs. So let’s just restate James with the Christian Shema inserted.[1] But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  You believe that Jesus is Lord. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder! It is pretty clear, “Jesus is Lord” is not just a doctrinal idea we agree with. We must live it in everything we do.

The Holy Spirit puts the law directly in our hearts and minds.

The second fundamental doctrine we must understand is the new covenant. “Jesus is Lord” is our Shema statement. The new covenant is the one and only Christian covenant with God. As the Old Testament Law (the old covenant) was for the Jews, the new covenant is for Christians.

God works with humans by covenants. One way for modern Western humans to understand this is that the new covenant is our operating system. Just like a computer must have an operating system to function, Christianity and individual Christian’s operating system, for its relationship with God, is the new covenant.

The new covenant is referenced many times in the New Testament, including Jesus statement “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Lk 22:20). It is in the background (like any operating system) in almost every statement and act. But it is stated twice explicitly in the Scriptures; once in the Old Testament as a wonderful covenant to look forward to (Jer. 31:31-34) and once in the New Testament (Heb. 8:8-12). Hebrews is an exact quote of the Jeremiah passage.

The key verse to understand is Heb. 8:10 (Jer. 31:33). This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. What God wants us to do is no longer based on a written code we try hard to follow (the Law). We do what God wants because he communicates directly to our hearts and minds. As the writer of Hebrews said: For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another (Heb. 8:7). The new covenant is far superior to a written code because it is divinely place in our hearts and minds and empowered by the Holy Spirit himself. Now that’s a superior covenant!

So what does that have to do with human control? If “Jesus is Lord” and we are to reflect that in everything we do, he must lead us individually and every corporate meeting. He is Lord. But how can that happen without human control? We can do this because we live and function according to the new covenant. It is our operating system. He will tell us exactly what he wants us to do by communicating to us directly to our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit. He speaks to the hearts and minds of individuals, and he leads groups. To get an idea of how a group functions in the new covenant see: Authority: How Jesus Leads a Church.

Once we understand that “Jesus is Lord” is a way of life, which is to impact every single thing we do, and such a thing is possible because of our new covenant operating system, we can finally understand how the Church can function without assigned human leadership. Instead, Jesus leads us individually through speaking to our hearts and minds and corporately by orchestrating the giftedness and leading of grouped individuals. This is a joyous and supernaturally powerful thing. And it is far superior to humans leading humans to “do the right thing.” For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another (Heb. 8:7).  

  • Why do you think we react so strongly to the idea of the lack of human control? 
  • What do you think James would say to Christians who say that Jesus is Lord, as a doctrinal statement, but whose deeds reflect human decisions and human control? 
  • Did you ever think of the Christian’s covenant with God, the new covenant, as an operating system?  
  • Does the new covenant reality of God speaking to your heart and mind reflect the way you live your Christian life individually and corporately?

 

[1] James was writing to the “twelve tribes scattered among the nations” Js. 1:1; in other words, Jewish Christians. They understood the Shema statement. He was referring to something that they understood as central to their identity as God’s people.

Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Churchianity

Filed Under: Christendom, Church Life, Meeting Together, New Covenant, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 3 Comments
February 11, 2011

Are you filled with Christ or just filling a church?

Much of what we think of as Christianity really isn’t Christianity at all, it is Churchianity. What is Churchianity? It is the focus on church; it is concerned with forms, practices and doing “it” right, whatever “it” may be. This is focusing on the wrong thing, aiming at the wrong target. Some friends of mine have a little saying, “I missed. There is something wrong with the target!” Churchianity is taking what my friends are talking about to a whole new level. We are not only often missing what we are aiming at; we are aiming at the wrong target.

Church was always intended to be a means to an end. Church is a good thing. It is a vital thing. It is a necessary thing. But it is vital if, and only if, we are actually aiming at the right target. What is the right target? It’s the wrong question. The question should be who is the right target? And the answer is Jesus. Christianity is focused on Christ. It is CHRISTianity.

Ralph Waldo Emerson[1] once spoke to the graduating Seniors at Harvard University. His speech was focused on two problems: Jesus has become such a non-human distant figure for us that we can no longer relate to him, and the clergy has become just like Jesus, distant and difficult to relate to. Emerson was touching on the problem of Churchianity. He was not invited back to speak at Harvard; in fact, he was banned.

Sometimes our eyes are focused in the wrong place.

Jesus is the central focus of our faith. He is supposed to be the supreme example of how we are to live. It is our direct connection with him that allows us to live like him. Does his lifestyle seem out of reach? Does it seem too spiritual? Do you tend to believe, Jesus was God, I’m just a human, so I can’t really live like that? You, my friend, are probably a victim of Churchianity.

If we are truly Christians, the Spirit of Jesus lives inside of us. Hence such statements as “Christ in us the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27), being “temples of the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 6:19), and “being filled with the Holy Spirit” (nine instances in Luke and Acts). His Spirit makes it possible to live like him because he can be in control of our souls. Jesus Christ is not meant to be a distant, otherworldly entity; someone we read about but little more. He wants to live in us and allow us to live in him (Jn. 15). He wants to change our broken world by working in partnership with us and living through us. That is profound intimacy. Sadly, Churchianity can short circuit the entire process by getting us aiming at the wrong target.

A while back I wrote a post on “Meanity” the religion that is focused on me, in the name of Christ. I noted: “When you officially group meians, you have another religious phenomenon called Churchianity. Churchianity is meian group think. It asks questions like: What does the denominational policy manual state? What color of paint will best attract visitors? How can we get 10% more in the budget so we can fix the roof? Is that pastor’s messages just a bit too boring or pointed? I wonder how that kind of person ended up here at our church? Just as with singular meians, those participating in Churchianity never seem to pause to ask Jesus what to do. Although they have been known to let Jesus know where he needs to catch up to the program; if the church program is going be successful.”

Yet, I’m not against church. Church, if it is truly focused on Jesus, is powerful stuff. When we gather (the actual meaning of ekklesia, the Greek word which we translate “church”), we are gathering to encounter Jesus with each other. We are gathering to allow Jesus to minister to each other through each other. He can do this because he is alive and living in and through each one of us. When the church gathered in the New Testament it was an “everybody is involved” affair. You can read more about that in Authority: How Jesus Leads a Church. When we gather like this, it is no longer Churchianity, it is Christianity because it is focused on Jesus, and is led by Jesus. It is a supernatural affair. The end result is that we are changed, we are empowered, we are ministered to and we minister to others. Jesus is the focus and the prime mover. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted all along?

  • When you go to church is it really focused on Jesus, filled with Jesus and led by Jesus, or do you only mention Jesus? 
  • Have you ever experienced Church like it is described in I Cor. 14 and Authority: How Jesus Leads a Church? 
  • Do you find Jesus to be the distant character Ralph Waldo Emerson was talking about? 
  • What practical steps can we do to turn Churchianity back into Christianity? 

 

[1] I’m aware that Emerson was a Unitarian. But he was a keen and accurate observer of religion in the United States.

Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Wolves and Sheep

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Church Life, Discipleship, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 7 Comments
February 7, 2011

How do you tell a wolf from a sheep?

How do we know a wolf from a sheep? How do we know if someone is speaking God’s truth or their own? How do we know if we should trust someone’s council or not? How do we know if we are associated with people, groups or churches that are good for our souls, or those who will end up damaging us? If I were to give the standard Western Church answer to this question, I’d say, check out if their doctrine is correct. I’m not against good doctrine, good doctrine is healthy. But that is not the answer that Jesus gave. He gave a simple, profound and completely different answer to these kinds of questions. And, if we choose to follow Jesus’ parameters on these types of questions, it may very well throw our sense of safety and theological well being into turmoil. Jesus was pretty good at that.

In Matthew 7:15-16 Jesus tells us we can know a sheep from a wolf by their fruit. But how do we discern good fruit from bad fruit; grapes from thorns, figs from thistles? For that we need to go to John 7. In John 7 Jesus snuck into Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. Even his family didn’t know he was there. Jesus starts teaching in the temple courts and is immediately confronted by Jewish leaders who question his right to teach because he didn’t have the right theological credentials. This is how Jesus proved that he was worthy of being listened to.

Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him (John 7:17-18).

Don't let the smile fool you.

In the minds of the Jewish leaders Jesus didn’t have the right theological credentials because he “hadn’t studied” (Jn. 7:15). This is the same kind of thinking we do today. For the Jews, Jesus hadn’t been taught by the right rabbinical scholars. We tend to look at the right doctrinal statements. It’s the same kind of thinking. Jesus answer to this was straight forward. Anyone who wants to know, can know me in this way, I point to God and not myself. Actually I believe we could simplify this concept of Jesus’ even further. Is someone true to God? They will point to God. Is someone false, a wolf? They will point to anything else. He, who is true, will consistently point to God and only God. That’s because he who is true to God is only and wholly focused on God.

John, who penned these words, gives us the same criteria in different words in 1 Jn. 2:20-23. It is evident that he had meditated on this principle of discernment, given by Jesus, throughout his life. Here’s how he tells us to discern a faithful person from a liar.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.  No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

John is being consistent here. We discern the truth from a lie by discerning to whom the speaker points us. If they point to Jesus as the Promised One they are faithful. If they point to something else, anything else, run away, or you might get eaten!!!

Don't judge by external standards.

Let’s use Jesus’ parameters for discernment of whom to trust and not trust. Does the person, or group you are speaking to, point to Jesus as the Christ? Trust them. Do they tell you that you should be under their covering? Run away!!! Do they point to Jesus as your answer? Trust them. Do they tell you that you must see everything through their theological paradigm? Run away or you might be served for lunch!!! Do they try to help you find your answers by listening to the voice of Jesus? Trust them. Do they tell you that their denomination is better than the rest? They are carnivores!!! Do they point to the Spirit of Jesus in your soul as the source of truth (as John does in 1 Jn. 2:20)? Trust them. Do they point to the book of policies and procedures of the organization? They bark at the moon!!! Do they teach you to follow Jesus and listen to him by faith? Trust them, they understand the new covenant. Do they tell you that you will only be safe if you are a member of their church and follow the proscribed way? John would tell you such a person is an anti-Christ; a dangerous wolf.

Am I being too harsh? Well, I’m intentionally being pretty pointed, because this is not an insignificant issue. Here’s the frustrating thing. Many of these “antichrists” have good doctrine. I speak as former wolf myself. Frankly, much of the doctrine of the Pharisees, Jesus’ sworn enemies, was correct. But that theological correctness didn’t connect them with God. They understood good doctrine, but they weren’t following the Spirit. The correct letter of the law was killing them while they denied the very Spirit who could have given them life (2 Cor. 3:6). They didn’t understand the very One who was ushering in a new covenant, far superior to the correct, but old covenant of the right ideas.

We need to learn to use Jesus’ standard of discernment. It is the same standard that John brought up in I John 2. Does it point to Jesus the Christ as our Source, Answer, Lord, and Trustworthy Friend? If it doesn’t; no matter how good it seems; we need to learn to run away. We also need to be honest with ourselves and check to see if we are pointing to the Source of Life, or some other seemingly good things. We may be running with the pack that makes us feel safe; but wolves run in packs.

  • Do we need to have perfect doctrine to know Christ and follow him? Do you believe your doctrine is 100% accurate? 
  • Do you read in my words that I don’t think that good doctrine is important? If so, you are deeply mistaken.
  • I’ve brought up others as our covering, theological schools of thought, denominations, and organizational policies as potential wolves? Does that mean that these things are always and necessarily wrong and evil?
  • Besides the potential wolves I’ve mentioned, can you think of other things that can seem good but end up taking our focus off of Jesus the Anointed One, who speaks to our hearts and minds (Heb. 8:10)?
Did you like this? Share it:
Comment

Leadership???

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Christendom, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Worldview by rossrohde — 15 Comments
January 26, 2011

Leading biblically...really? Isn't this what Jesus told us not to do?

There’s nothing more fun that a good oxymoron. Let me share a few: cruel kindness, approximately equal, civil war, burning cold, explicit innuendo and my all time favorite, servant leadership. Oxymora are a combination of contradictory or incongruous words or concepts. This is actually quite different than a paradox, which is a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is true; often conveying a profound truth, difficult to fathom. Oxymora, are contradictory and illogical; paradoxes only appear to be so. Jesus used paradox very effectively, he didn’t use oxymora.

The term servant leadership has become common, even ubiquitous in Christian circles nowadays. I suppose, if we think about it at all, we chalk it up to being a paradox; something that seems contradictory but really isn’t. I’d like to propose that, in fact, the concept of servant leadership is a true oxymoron. As such it should not be worthy of our consideration as a concept for guiding our behavior.

Our confusion comes from two interrelated issues. First, Jesus is talking about something that is common to all human communities; leadership. It doesn’t matter what culture we come from, nor what strata of that society, some are leaders, some are followers. The second confusion comes from Jesus talking about leadership with a contradictory concept; servanthood, at the same time.

Let’s look at Jesus’ brief lesson on leadership and see what he actually said:

A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves (Lk. 22:24-27).

When we read these words we commonly think Jesus is giving us a new kind of leadership, or a different kind of leadership or a way of being a leader with a different attitude. Nothing could be farther from the truth; he is giving us something to do instead of being a leader. Servanthood isn’t a different way of being a leader; it is not being a leader at all. He is saying “don’t do this; do this instead.” He wasn’t saying something similar to I’ll give you a new way of being a leader; he was saying don’t be a leader.

Why do we keep trying to turn Jesus words back into the very thing he told us not to do? Why do we feel compelled to use his vocabulary to describe what he was preaching against? I believe there are two reasons, one is motivational and the other is organizational. First, the motivational reason we try to avoid real servanthood, instead embracing leadership, in the name of servanthood, is that we are unconsciously succumbing to foundational principles of the world (Gal. 4:3,9; Col. 2:8.20). The world we know needs leadership to function. Leadership, like all of what Paul called weak and miserable principles (Gal. 4:9), are the way the world works. It’s the worldly way of doing things. The biblical Greek word for this is stoicheia, translated, ‘basic principles or foundational principles of the world.’  But we are to live above and beyond the hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Col 2:8).

But there is also an organizational reason we keep falling into the clutches of the worldly leadership principle, human organizations can’t function without leaders. The buck has to stop somewhere in an organization. They need presidents and team leaders, titular pastors and CEOs. But the Church, local, citywide or universal, is not designed by God to be an organization. It is designed to be a body with Christ as head. A multi-headed church isn’t a body, it’s a beast. We have the new covenant. Christ speaks to our hearts and minds (Heb. 8:10). Jesus Christ can function perfectly as our Head. He knows how to talk to us and his Spirit can control us. And we can function as members one to another who need each other and serve each other; one body, with one head, yet many members.

So what should we do about leadership? We should do exactly what Jesus said, “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Don’t be a servant leader; it is still being a leader. It may be a new or different kind of leader than most are used to, but it is still a leader. Do exactly what Jesus actually said, do something else INSTEAD. Just love people through helping them. Let Jesus be their Lord. If you just point out where Jesus is, and encourage them to follow him, it will be enough.

  • Can you think of other reasons why we feel compelled to fall back into the basic worldly principle of leadership?
  • Can Christ truly lead us, in real time and in practical ways, or is his lordship merely to be understood as a good doctrinal metaphor?
  • What would the Church look like if we all just did what Christ told us to do then loved and served each other? Would it be chaos?
  • Could part of the problem be that we really don’t trust Christ (faith) and believe he can lead?
Did you like this? Share it:
Comment
Powered by WordPress | Theme: Motion by 85ideas.