Wednesday, November 25

A foolish tale of a weak people…

"The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong; and the lowly things of this world and the despised things God has chosen, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him."  (1 Corinthians 1:25, 27-29)

"We live in our forgiveness, clinging to the assurance of salvation and hoping for the Lord's return," T.M. Moore, Principal of Crosfigell, the Fellowship of Ailbe, writes, "with almost no vision for what we're supposed to be doing to turn our upside down world rightside-up for Jesus."

Salvation is only the beginning of the journey that we undertake when we come to that place where the Spirit speaks to our heart, to the very essence of our desires, worries and fears. The transformation of our hearts is instanteous, God reaches in and replaces without scars, without instrumentation, our corrupted and diseased heart with a heart burdened with only Him….a heart beating as it was meant to beat, in step with the plans and desires of the Creator. Our story becomes a sub-plot in the larger story of mankind's redemption; not designed to be some bit-player who comes and exits after a few moments of dialogue to propel the main character into greater depths but rather an active, supporting role that brings sharper focus and attention to the main character, Jesus Christ.

It is an involved role, one that requires our active participation in the blank pages of our chapters within the book. Some come into prominence during the battle scenes, some during the love portions and others in the destructiveness of the opposition. If it were simply a bland story where everyone played a recurring theme, what a boring story it would be and it would languish on the dusty shelves of the local bookstore without notice. If it were only about salvation, it would be a short story indeed…..for salvation comes only once in the lives of those who have tasted its tart-sweet flavors. There is much more to the story, though, than many of us believe when we 'taste the Lord' and find that He is good.

For those who realize this, too often we seek to forcibly write the next event or situation for our new life. We seek to make an impact, not only in our own portion of the tale, but also in the broader and universal context. We come to a place when we do that where we begin to doubt the heartbeat within us, sorrowing that we will never ever achieve true spirituality, true understanding simply because the logical progression of what we believe our faith is to follow is foolishness…..illogical to our humanity and weaker than the strength we feel is necessary for its achievement. Worship becomes mundane, service an anchor to our drowning souls that brings no true joy, only sorrowful and methodical requirements to be checked off on the 'to-do-list' of our devised plot outline. Our attempts to transform the people we love, the community we live in and the world become a disjointed, dysfunctional and offensive force that ends in sorrow as lives turn away from Him rather than towards Him. We then seek to bunker down in a community of the faithful where we don't have to focus on the disjointed feeling of spirituality mundane but can just have moments of forced joy in messages of love, of prosperity and of enjoyment.

Then, as we walk out of the buildings beautifully appointed and step away from the cushy chairs of our sanctuaries, our eyes glaze over and we rejoin the world disappointed in a God that would subject us to this plot line and throw off our cloaks of many colors in favor of the bland greys of a world in rebellion. We don't see the needs, the opportunities and the provisioning that God lays out in our world for us to but grasp with hands not our own, with a strength that is weak by human understanding and a joy that defies the wisdom of our own cultural upbringing.

"There comes a place on our spiritual journey where renewed religious activity is of no use whatsoever." John Eldridge writes in his devotional The Ransomed Heart: Too Easily Pleased, "It is the place where God holds out his hand and asks us to give up our lovers and come and live with him in a much more personal way."

We are called to battle from the moment our eyes open in our bedrooms of our homes, turning and stepping into the shoes of peace and donning the breastplate of righteousness. We put on the helmet of our salvation and girth ourselves with the belt of truth. We pick up our defense, a shield of faith and our offensive weapon….the sword of the Spirit and begin the battle in ourselves each day. Epic tales of struggles and trials are for some of the Body to write, others to live and yet more to gather strength in the tales of our weakness being strengthened by the hand of God. We were made to bear the image of God, our personalities and how we relate not suborned by this new heart but blended into it for the purpose our story is written.

In the mind of our own humanity, this story doesn't have any depth or glory or even a happy ending. It never will, for humanity a long time ago took the writing of this epic out of the hands of the Author and Finisher and decided to write it on our own, according to our rules, our understanding and our desires. But, with the heart of renewal in our bodies, our minds are injected with the mind of Christ and we begin to see how our humanity is corrupted, our logic flawed and our desires of the biased evilness of our sin. Our natural selves cannot live in the supernatural world of God…..only Christ can and through Him we find the tale of our faith written with bold and descriptive, never dull, strokes of the heavenly penmanship of the Author once more….

"A natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?"  But we have the mind of Christ."  (1 Corinthians 2:14, 16)

Our story, the smaller part of the larger complete story of God, becomes something other than mere religious activity……more than just a Sunday hour of forced joy and worship….and becomes the tale of bards and harpists, echoing throughout the halls of the faithful gathered for joyous celebration of victories amidst defeats and love in the midst of hatred. Glorious song breaks out among the battered, scarred and famished warriors of the gathered army…..at the round table of the battle room of the Lord. Laid out before them are all the humanity of their fallenness, the brokenness of their spirit, and the desires wrapped in the corrupted stench of their selfishness. The great among them wash the feet of those freshly from the battle for their souls, the first among them with gladliness surrender their place next to the Captain for those lastly come….for in His shadow shines the light of victory, the peace of overcoming and the taste of complete joy. And each warrior approaches the King, the Captain and the Victor with their crowns in hand….setting them down at His feet because there is nothing in this room worth holding on to in the light of His sacrifice.

"so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching; or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another; in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly in prayer; communicating to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality. Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. "

(Romans 12:5-14 ASV)

That is the stuff that the epic tale of God's redemption is written with……and our contribution to it is by no measure small. The cultural, moral and redemptive revolution began in each and every one of our lives, purchased and owned fully by the Author of our salvation begins with our surrendering of taste, diversion, working styles, relationships, stewardship and conversation. Lives completely and utterly transformed in the foolish weakness of our God to write a grand tale of love, provision and glory of a people restored, redeemed and purposed.

Shield and sword hand in hand for the battle.

Monday, November 23

Peregrinatio pro Christo

"Pay attention, my children! Follow my advice, and you will be happy. Listen carefully to my instructions, and you will be wise. Come to my home each day and listen to me. You will find happiness. By finding me, you find life, and the LORD will be pleased with you." (Proverbs 8:32-35 CEV)

"The Irish peregrinus throughout the middle ages was not an Irishman who visited a shrine abroad and then returned home, but rather the man who for his soul's welfare abandoned his homeland for good or at least for many years" Thomas O Fiaich in An Introduction to Celtic Christianity

"An Irish peregrinus was a missionary who left his home to go on peregrinatio - wandering - for Christ. During the period of the Celtic revival (ca. 430-800 AD) thousands of men and women took up this calling, carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ from Ireland to Scotland, Wales, the Low Countries, Gaul, Switzerland, Northern Italy, among the German tribes, and even beyond. They were the principal means by which, in Tom Cahill's memorable phrase, "the Irish saved civilization."" T.M. Moore

We tend to view the Christian 'mission' as a stationary thing, something to go to every Sunday morning either at the church building where our offices and ministerial trappings reside….connected to the world by telephone, fax and even an internet website. Our leadership is there, our comfortable and even reclinable seats wait for our warm bodies to fill them…..a Cheers! kind of place where everyone, well at least those we trust, know our name and our reputations are unsullied. We live our faith for that hour of comfortable worship, dynamic instruction and with light refreshments afterwards as we catch up with our 'friends', who we usually don't meet for the rest of the week. The "Church" in community….a plug in and plug off society.

We also view the Christian 'mission' as transitory…..something to be shaped and reshaped as the membership numbers fall or the tithing's drop off…..we MUST protect and furnish with enticing objects and colors our buildings….all for the sake of our mission….after all, if we don't have a big sign off the major freeways and full big parking lots around the building, how are we to tell the gospel to the community……

Church is important, and the Bible instructs us to fellowship together for the glory of the Kingdom, but Church isn't a building, a congregation or even the more generic labeling of followers of Christ…it is a organic, vibrant and un-walled relational structure that does its best 'living' outside the traditions of Sundays and Wednesdays….and program-structured connections. It is an encouragement of spiritual progress, living faith and ethical 'good' works in the breath and width of creation….from inner cities to distant lands. It stops us from being self-centered, self-protective and self-agenda driven because it requires an intimate and personal relationship with those who journey with us in the landscape of this world. It cannot be faked, honestly, though there can be an illusion created for its believed existence.

It, the Church, can meet in a garage at someone's home, in the backyard or even in the living rooms. It can meet in warehouses, in rented school cafeterias and in movie theatres. It can also meet in workplaces……it can be two or it can be more……but if it is not relational, if the pastors and ministers and 'lay leaders' do not know, intimately, the congregation they lead, how can they be effective in the promotion of Christian living and doctrine?

But just like sitting in a garage doesn't make you a car, sitting in the physical environment of the church doesn't make it or you a church or a Christian. And just saying that you are a Christian does not mean you are fulfilling the Great Commission……

We were commissioned to be peregrinus and have built within us a desire to wander……after all, the journey cannot be done in a stationary stance…..but we aren't called to wander for ourselves, but rather wander with a purpose.

The Church was meant to be a foundation for 'works greater than these' not a stagnant and total business orientated establishment. The church is described by Christ in seven distinct ways: Shepherd/sheep, Vine/branches, Cornerstone/living stones, Merchant/pearls, Great High Priest/servant-priests, Head of Body/members of Body and Bridegroom/bride. The church, in this biblical context, was the organizational unit of an offensive and formidable component of the faithful's service in God's Army….not a way station on the journey and certainly not a destination of the journey's end. As Lambert Dolphin points out in The Church At The End Of The Age, "The amazing fact which the Scriptures clearly declares….is that God has designed His church should be a kind of government on earth…..mak[ing] possible benevolent law and order, the rule of justice and peace and would hold in restraint the wild forces of tyranny, anarchy and murder" and not the proud, rich and worldly institution that exists in many denominations today.

It was meant to equip, condition and training the soldiers of the Army of the Lord to fight the spiritual battles that often have physical representations in the whole of creation. A church that replicates, that spends more on its outreaches and has a constant flux of faithful who attend is more on biblical grounds than a church that spends millions on property and enticements, inner-focused ministries and cushy seats for its 'worship center' does.

The Church was meant to lead….was meant to be something impacting the social makeup around it, not being impacted by the society around it.

The universal (catholic) Church was given from the Apostolic age a package….the total content of Christian faith that has been transmitted to us from one generation to the next from the Apostles' witness unpolluted and undiluted….but we, as a church, have lost our integrity and orthodoxy because we have failed, as Jude…one earthly brother of Christ, urges us…"to contend (epagnoizomai, epi-upon or about intensive and agon-a contest) for the faith which was once for all time (hapax) delivered (paradidomi- delivered over, handed over) to the saints." Gone is the sound heritage of interpretation and wisdom from God….polluted by human reshaping and rewriting of what historically and sociologically is the faithful biblical worldview passed to us by those saints who have gone on ahead of us in this journey.

We have failed to remain separate from the world while being in the world….instead of standing upon the message that has been delivered into our hands by the faithful we have been more concerned about our ability to 'reach' the fallen world with enticing and engaging dialogue……reshaping it for its palettes instead of letting the Spirit to the watering of the seeds of truth. We have failed in heeding Paul's last words to the Ephesus elders…..

"And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them: 'You yourselves know how I lived among you all the time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance to God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ...I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears...'" (Acts 20:17-31)

It does not mean that we are to be solely full of biblical knowledge and doctrine….lifestyle, conduct, selfish love and godliness are equally important, as proof of Truth acted upon and faith developed and lived. All things done in love…..with a doctrinal integrity lived in responsive relationship with God that speaks of our faith without words and with intentional sacrifice….for, as Peter tells us…love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). We aren't called to convert, brow-beat or shape with our words the makeup of a fallen world….but to speak the Gospel truth to the nations, to fellowship together and to live with a heart in full surrender to God. That is what the Apostles left us in the package passed down and what the Lord commands us to do. A servant-authority government in the church that has been surrendered to the top-down management style of the world business is a harlot or false church. There is no idea, nor command, that the Church would subdue the world with the Gospel….such is a human understanding and corruption of the Truth….and warps the great Commission beyond our ability to effectively profess and has lead to the prophetic apostasy of the Church.

A Church that becomes doctrinally and morally separated from the biblical worldview passed down by the testimonial witness of the Apostles…..a professing lifeless entity…..

A true Church does exist…..evidenced by its character and its body…..where Christ is the Head of a living organism that depends upon the wholeness of its organs….not made of a top-down, hierarchical leadership where things happen with the approval of one but where edification, endorsement and discernment are sought and discovered from the Head, Jesus Christ, in ALL things. All members of the Body work together, are equipped for their functional operations in the Body and are supported by the rest. "If one member suffers, all suffer, if one rejoices, all rejoice."

"But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift...And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, in order to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the purpose of building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love." (Ephesians 4:7-16)

A Church that is open and one….belonging to each other and to God with "the sense of openness and honesty and transparency, of the need to bear each other's burdens and to uphold one another before God," Ray Stedman describes the fellowship and Body Life of the church, "to be concerned and to care for each other, and to demonstrate it by deeds of help and mercy towards each other." It is that true church that is undeniable…..where great lives are lived with warmth, love, and acceptance of everyone and anyone….ones in need of salvation, ones in need of accountability, ones poor, ones rich and those who struggle in their faith. It is that church, and not the 'culturally-relevant' or 'seeker-friendly' that transforms the Gospel from the pages of the Bible by the example of its powerful work in our lives…..convincing evidence for what they want for themselves, their families and homes.

As a friend and brother in Christ told me as we fellowshipped together…..the time for 'gentle' and 'unexcitable' words are over….they have created an intellectually humanistic church that is the shadow of what it is supposed to be; a prophetic voice of the Word of God…..and time grows short. The growing apostasy, the departure from the Lord, that is being evidenced as the 'church age' progresses is a telling sign of the rapture, the end of times, according to John Walvoord, The Church In The End Of The Age. The prophetic scriptures are being fulfilled…and yet the professing church refuses to preach it….rather a doctrine of love, love, love than 'doom and gloom.' Rather than showing the world in its present state of doom and gloom and then presenting through the lives and testimony of the faithful saints of the Body, the church would rather profess a loving, improvable stance of 'tolerance' and subjective truth….as one Pastor I hear say…."The Gospel is more 'middle of the road', neither for or against certain 'hot topics' of the age."

This apostasy isn't something that has come to be born in the conception and life of the 'church age' but was rooted in the formation and commission of the original sin that introduced sin into the life of God's creation….the unbelief, the faithlessness of Adam and Eve that was the block between man and God….progressing through Cain's killing of Abel, the mocking of Noah and the subsequent flood, Israel's historical reproof and correction under God's direction and the apostolic church's rejection and rewriting of scriptural integrity is only the telling generational example of a people lost in their own depravity and dependent on themselves, rather than a God who sent His only Son to die for the sinfulness of our nature.

The so-called sense of an enlightened people has demanded that the concepts of Christianity which have been passed down through the ages be submitted to the 'bar of reason' as to what is the source of grace, the dependence of truth and the traditional sacraments in regards to the physical and philosophical realms of truth. The declaration of the unimportant and questionable virgin birth, deity of Christ as a divine quality of a good man, the spiritual rather than physical resurrection of His body and rejection of final judgment, heaven and even hell….by new and confusing cults and new religions of neo-orthodoxy that say the love of God makes the biblical and 'trans-generational' authority and understanding null and void because it makes a judgment of a righteous God impossible.

The post-modern conceptions of Christ are the 'damnable heresies' that Peter speaks of in 2 Peter 2:1-2……heresies that make the belief in them a barrier to salvation because of their falsehoods and corruption of biblical truths. Jesus has become regulated in these heresies to a 'natural child' of man who was an exceptional person, but ultimately just another human. It denies the authority and divine personhood of Christ and becomes a philosophical discussion of the myths that comprise His work. Christ is nothing more than a noble man who was caught up in His own nobility and not God incarnate who was subjected to man's wickedness and grave depravity because of His nobleness…..there is no guilt to be felt by a sinful and depraved creation at the culpability in the painful crucifixion of its Messiah, its God, and its Creator. And that through His nobility, His very Divinity….our sins were purchased and held in judgment on His blood as our substitute…is a concept we refuse to accept because it is very offensive and very damning to our enlightened minds…..where is our nobility if such an event happened at our hands?

Unless we accept our hand in the plan of God, the sinful and evilness of our crucifixion of the Messiah, we cannot realize the freedom of the hope that our salvation brings….as Mark Freier of WhatIf Enterprises calls our divine authority to be 'who God made us to be.'

As the ministry I am involved in (www.ahmministries.org or www.m3ministries.org) progress into the transcended mission that God has enticed it to pursue begins that season, such freedom and faith that God has purposed each and every person involved to be uniquely part of the Body in such holy and lofty pursuits becomes not only paramount but necessary……for God's plans defy man's enlightened logic and corrupted theology……one cannot walk with God and work with God unless God is understood and pursued in the context of the work and in the motivation of the desire. As Henry Blackaby says, "Joining God in His work requires major life changes…" and simple commitment.

You cannot live life for God unless you live the life God made you to live; being that person, that personality and that character that God has perfectly designed you to be. It is not a matter of shaping yourself to the ministry you have been lead to serve in….but to find that shape within the ministry to which you have been shaped to fit. Removing religion from it does not remove the biblical view of its foundation……

And there lies the culpability and corruption of the Church; where human concepts and conditions have led to personality driven, top-down leadership instead of fully functional membership of a complete Body. If the Church is not simply a collection of building, denominational commonalities and like-minded people but rather an organic, breathing, multi-functional and directional entity compromised of uniquely purposed and shaped parts……then the missional imagery of the church and its 'attractiveness' to the fallen and lost becomes a living "Word", a perceived and viewable testimony to the 'hope we have.'

It doesn't fight the world, but the world still will fight it…..it doesn't lay down upon the corruptibility of the humanity of the parts but stands accountable and vigilant against its effects…..it stands ready to battle, draws swords in opposition to the demonstrations and illusions of the enemy and lives a life forfeit to God……surrendering without agenda, without self-preserving gain, for the sake of love…a love so powerful, so sacred, that it's absolute truth is evident to even the ardent of opposition….there lies the power of the seed, the authority of the planter and the mission of the Church.

It is not a church of so-and-so pastor, it is not a church of so-and-so doctrinal beliefs…….no, it is a mosaic (to borrow a word) of a collection of parts that joined together become the hands, feet, arms, thoughts and eyes of a bride painted worthy of the bridegroom's sacrificial purchase and His eminent return…………….

If I have been designed with the strengths of context, restorative, harmony, intellection and input (Strengths Finder 2.0) that grow under the Strategic Thinking style of leadership (Strengths Leadership) and are purposed under Administration/Teaching and compassion……and yet I live a life burying those strengths and focusing on the overcoming of my weaknesses…….then I am living a life in bondage and am guilty of the state of the body… i.e. the Church…….as much as the next nominal, 'enlightened' Christian.

But if I, as Freier states, "dare to imagine a life of significance and potential" through the "continuing task or responsibility that one is destined or fitted to do or especially called upon to undertake"…. i.e. mission, as the person God has made me to be….then I become an organic and effective member of the uncorrupted, true and worthy bride of the Bridegroom……and find achievement of a significant (though small) part in the larger story of God's tale…..

Such individual accountability in the corporate wholeness of the church prevents the "lukewarmness" of the works it performs and guards against the worldliness of its identity because the distinct separation between the life of its members from those disconnected from its life….it is not simply complimentary of Christ but a clearly defined, dividing and absolute testimony to Jesus Christ's deity and eternity….one with the Father in being as well as fellowship. In a time where the world is full of 'lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…..(2 Timothy 3:2-5), such distinct separation is unavoidable and divisive….because of its' un-human influence.

"The best efforts of the evangelical church are falling far short in keeping up with the increasing birth rate, much less countering the avalanche of unbelief and ridicule which expresses the world's attitude toward divine revelation..….For the true church, it means that the days of its pilgrimage may be coming fast to a close. On the one hand, this calls for expenditure of every effort to snatch as brands from the burning those who have not yet come to Christ." John F Walvoord says in The Church in Prophecy (Kregel 1999), "On the other hand, the hope of His soon return should constitute both a comfort and a challenge to be "always abounding in the work of the Lord" (I Corinthians 15:58) and to purity of life and motive (I John 3:3)."

It is not simply a matter of transforming the wayward and lukewarm church into the bride it is supposed to be but the individual work and effort of the members of the body to be living the hope unseen and in perseverance of the redemption of our corporate (and individual) body…….as promised as the beloved sons and daughters of the Most High God through the kinship and inheritance of our Savior Jesus Christ.

"Having the firstfruits of the Spirit, I groan inwardly as I wait eagerly for my adoption, the redemption of my body.  For in hope I have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he sees?  But if I hope for what I do not yet see, I eagerly wait for it with perseverance.  (Romans 8:23-25)"

True peregrinus on a wandering journey for our Lord Jesus Christ………..

Sunday, November 15

Barnabas

"When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a true follower. Then Barnabas helped him by taking him to the apostles. He explained how Saul had seen the Lord and how the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also said that when Saul was in Damascus, he had spoken bravely in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:26-27 CEV)"

I can remember the first time I set eyes upon the man who would become my Barnabas, that true friend to whom no other would compare and who would have faith in God's movement in my life even before the concept had developed in my own mind and heart. The relationship that has blossomed from that first meeting in that tiny little office in the warehouse of Orchard Grove has been one that has never stagnated even thought circumstances and movement in both of our lives have caused time to pass between our once frequent fellowship with each other. If ever there was a man I would most want to be like, it would be him. A man secure in God's hands, sensitive to the paths God would lead him on. As he has watched me grow in my faith, I have been inspired and awed by the growth of God in his.

Friday was one of those days I have been abundantly blessed, because I got to spend some time with Barnabas….there is never really an agenda to our talks it seems, just true fellowship in the work that God has burdened both our hearts within the journey to the fullness of the reward of Heaven's bounty. A David amongst the faithful, a man in full borne pursuit of God's heart, and a leader who is the reflection of a servant.

I come away from those meetings more blessed than I went in and I see the fruit of God's blessings in his life as I see in my own. It is always more empowering, more rewarding and more real to hear the sight of God that another sees in you than trying to expose that by yourself. It is not the speaking "Christianized" English, though we do speak the language of God when we speak of our lives and how He is moving in them……it is not the edification from another that exposes the grace and mercy that God has given through the sacrifice of His Son upon the cross of our sins. My Barnabas, much like Paul's, has called me to task for some things I have held when viewing the church, fellowship and others. He has given me pause to reflect upon what made me decide those opinions I held and spoke of a biblical truth that isn't just written on the pages of some ancient tome but lived, breathed and developed by God into the text He has left His children to read and live.

After my telling him that I was done with the 'organized' church, it is him who told me of Mosaic A2, a church plant that his home church was sending out into the 'wilds' of Ann Arbor to be a painting of God's truth in an intellectual, cerebral place……and why I went to its inaugural service and have gone ever since. It is my Barnabas who recommended Soul Quest and spoke to the leadership of Orchard Grove of the calling that was so clearly placed upon a redeemed sinner. It was this brother who has challenged, edified and strengthened me through the trials of a divorce, rejection and self-defeat; speaking not of disappointment but of the grander things that God has so clearly placed upon my heart…..he has taught me what 'being faithful' means.

My children love this real man, this godly man, and are jealous of the time that I spend from time to time with him. He was there when my daughter was hurt at OCC and calmed the children down as I came running to help (I was working in demolition in the sanctuary). He was there when I married Kristy. He was there when I told him at the bus that was taking us back to our hotels for the night that God had called me to "be a pastor" and was my interviewer for the pastoral care ministry.

He answered the phone when I struggled with disbelief in my 'worthiness' to continue with Awakened Hearts, He answered the phone when I struggled through the difficulties of being a true Christian through the divorce and was there to continue to drive home the dream, the purpose and the delight of God's purposed call.

Through this all, he has taught me that it is not the man (or woman) who does the work that should be glorified but the God to whom the work has been done for. That we are all a body, maybe different as hands are from feet, but all connected to the body for the glorification of God. And when he told me of the things that God is doing in his life, I could reflect the pleasure and the glory that God feels at the dedication and humility of this man who only desires to be what God has equipped him to be.

Today I got to be a Barnabas to my Paul…..

And encourage him to be that which God has equipped, developed and shaped him to be.

Look out world……..this man knows how to truly love!

And against that there is no defense.


 


 

Thursday, November 12

My treasures…my children

"So love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Memorize his laws and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7 CEV)"

My son broke down when he overheard me talking to a friend about the lay-off, the 'not-fired, but no longer employed' term that has left me and my family a week away from utter poverty. He cried because he saw the dream of not living in my sister's basement but having his own room in a house of our own evaporate like the morning dew under a hot sun. Bitterness, coming from a long year of disappointments, allowed those tears to flow and each sob crushed my heart even as I wrapped him in my arms and told him we would be okay, we would be together and Dad would find another job. I reminded him about all the times that God has provided for us; money from friends, gifts from others….we haven't had much in the last year to claim as our own, but what we have has come from those who care and love the Lord….and passed blessings on to us.

My daughter sat in the back seat and said nothing. She is too much like me, quietly observing a world that seems bent on opposing this little band and defiantly staring it down in the face. She began to echo my words to her older brother…"Casey, Dad said it will be alright….Casey, its okay, Dad said so." She has had her own rough year, spent with her mother instead of with us….and she has a longer road back to the peace and comfort that family once meant in this life.

I believe what I tell my children. God has proven Himself a respecter of no man, but a loving Father to His children. He does not utter simplistic things to pacify His children but moves in the most effective and logical way towards the delivery of the promises He has made throughout the generations. He, more than I have ever been able to deliver, comes through each and every time. He blesses both the righteous and the wicked; not because He doesn't care whether you are His or not…but because He has a plan for each. He will never demand our obedience or our lives…but will continue to knock at the door to our hearts until we open it with our own free will and invite Him inside.

Another day has passed, tomorrow at 4:30pm it will officially be a week since I received the news that no longer would I be working at the job I've known for five and a half years…..day in and day out, through the marriage and divorce, through the custody and the allowing my daughter to live with her mother. The friends who have come and gone, some of their own free will and others because they had no choice. Another day will be spent filling out applications for positions that I know I can do, but I have no degree for…another day trying to find the funds to maybe go back to school and get that degree…another day of taking my daughter and my niece to school….another day closer to the end of the severance I was given.

I tell my children each day that God is going to provide….because I can hear Him whispering through the tears I have cried in the worry that sometimes creeps in to the heart when I get distracted by the Enemy's attacks and fall back..."Jim, it will be okay. Your Dad said so."

I know that I am not the only one facing these problems in these perilous times…some 4,000 alone in the building I once worked in were summarily let go after years and years of working when they showed up in the morning one day….the funds for 'no worker left behind' are running out because people are using them to return to school for hope….obtaining state/federal aid for food and shelter are three months awaiting time….and the demand for higher degrees are hidden in the simplest of job descriptions…

My son thinks it's funny that his 'old man' needs to take a math course before he can go back to school, if the funding and the provisioning come through for that…He no longer worries about when Dad will get a job but how much time Dad can spend maybe coming to school and volunteering….the same with my daughter. She said, in the solemn voice of an eleven year old, that I should become a police officer or a homeland security officer….failing that, I should become a teacher. And then her ten-year old niece said in equally solemn tones "I didn't know Christians could be police officers." As I read stories of children dying from cancer, of families torn asunder by divorce and job loss and look into my daughter's confident smile and see my son's bright, gentle glance, I thank the Lord that I can have this time, even with the prospects growing smaller and smaller, to spend in the delight of my children.

And I go outside each night and spend my time with my Heavenly Father…..crying out my heart to Him that I not 'screw-up' the blessings that He has given me with my children, that I can have more time with them, to show them that even in the midst of the enemy's arrows flying like a blanket of death around me, that I will stand faithfully with my sword and shield and rely on my Father's strength, promise and mercy to see me through….

Shouting His praises even in the midst of the storm……confidently daring the waves and shaking my fist at the enemy……because my duty to my children, to show them God and teach them the way of living as a child of His doesn't end like the job did…..there are no budget cuts in the coffers of God's treasure house, there is 'no longer a position for you' in the ledgers of His accounting. My duty is to show my children a real and living God…….and my confident faith in His word, His deeds and His promises. So I look at going back to school, and continue to fill out the resumes for the secular jobs that I think I can at least have a chance for as my heart longs to be in the church as a pastor or on my way to Australia to be a men's pastor to the men of the outback……

Because my children have faith in their father….and their father has faith in the Heavenly Father…….

"It will be okay….because my DADDY tells me so…….."


 


 

Wednesday, November 11

Suffering

"Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. Instead, because you are participating in the sufferings of Christ; keep on rejoicing, so that you may be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13 ISV)"

I can remember the humor that flooded my being as God spoke to me that October day in 2004, telling me that He was calling me to be a pastor. Me, redeemed surely by the blood of Christ, and yet still bracketed by the consequences and struggles of a life lived in direct opposition to the Lord of Host…not merely living in darkness but taking up arms against the Army of the Lord in my foolish pride….my anger and pain, to be a pastor…to speak of God to those in the pews before me…to speak God's words to His people and those who were in the process of seeking Him. Right! It must've been just indigestion or a funny mushroom that seeped into the food I ate the previous day. He's a funny guy, our God….

Seriously.

I left the conference and went outside, walking through the little wooded area that lies on the Willow Creek's massive grounds….pacing…wandering…and offering up one valid excuse after another for why I, above all people, wasn't "that guy" that God wanted to be associated with. Finally, almost as a flippant remark, I said, "Fine, I'll tell my pastor and You can do what You need to do to make it a done deal."

It was one of those, "Be careful what you say" moments that now, five years later, I realize what God heard when I said it…..the journey hasn't been the most pleasant or enjoyable, but God has been doing what He needed to do to make such a thing happen.

And in His time, it will happen.

Not just a simple pastorship in a church where I can hide behind the lights and the stage productions…..not even going back to the simple chapel full of saints as an ordained chaplain…..but something I surely would've ran from years ago. Ran because where that will take me is far beyond any comfortable place I would want to be and places me squarely in the firing sights of anyone and everyone. I have found, as I've been shaped and molded by God's will, that the Christian Army is one of its worst enemies…..eating their own wounded.

"If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across." Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest. "The sufferings of Christ are not those of ordinary men. He suffered "according to the will of God"………."

The Hindus say that it is a result of our past lives….'karma'. The Buddhist says it is merely an illusion. Islam says it doesn't matter; just submit to the will of Allah. Even atheists tell us that suffering is a random chance event, though I wouldn't try and tell a mother of a five year old cancer patient who is dying that randomness, illusions or something in the child's past life have cause him to suffer this and through him, the parents, family and friends. I wouldn't even say "It doesn't matter" because in the pain and agony of the moment is very real, very direct and very personal.

I remember Hurricane Katrina…..how God arranged for me to go down with the Church I was attending at the last minute and the return to a place where I had once called home. From the rest of the country, far removed from the life and times of the people living in Louisiana, and the other states hit by this hurricane….aid and comfort came; supplies and people, not motivated by governmental jobs but a kinship to the citizens who survived and those who didn't. The physical needs of a people were overwhelmly met….but there was a lesser known or realized need that would never be filled again, but could only be adapted and reshaped. Community. Friends. Family.

There were some, even in the midst of handing out food and water, expressed how it was the sinfulness of New Orleans and Marti Gras that caused the devastation or the wickedness of the US in its worldly involvements and petty wars. "Even if nature or Satan unleashed the deadly tidal wave, one word from Jesus would've stopped it. He did not speak it." John Piper says "This means that there is a design in the suffering." It is possible that God ordained or allowed this to happen in the coastal area of the United States….for the sake of redeeming a people or nation that have fallen away from God.

But it doesn't matter if this was just nature or God moving….the call is the same; nurture and compassion to a people suffering.

For five and a half years, I 'lived' under the shaky employment that has become the automotive industry. Every year, every quarter I would wonder if this was the time that I would find myself on the unemployment line. Then, November 8th, I received a call from my HR representative. Despite the fact that Ford posted surprising profits for the last quarter, it still wasn't enough for the projected "One Ford" plan and budget cuts were made. Myself and two other members of the team I worked on were being laid-off or retired. I was the one to be laid off. The one remark that the HR rep said to my boss and a coworker was that he was glad I was a man of faith. Surely, in the economic climate I would need this faith that he had seen displayed in each moment he interacted with me on the job.

As with the Katrina disaster, God is glorified in the suffering of His people. Countless churches, missionary groups and faith-based organizations moved with quickness and intent to reach those countless thousands who were stranded and abandoned in the coastal areas affected by the devastation. Far ahead of the Federal Government and with more direct effectiveness. Driven by compassion and mercy, those countless thousands have not given just food and water to the residents in those areas but something far greater….a connection to community, the nation as a whole. As one dear lady asked me, "Why, all the way from Michigan, are you here in the midst of this?" I told her because I've lived in Lousiana that I knew how much suffering lie beneath the surface of the physical…..the devastating loss of community and I wanted her to know that she was not alone…we were united in our grief, bound in our sorrows and would climb out of it hand in hand because we were family…the family of the United States of America.

In this place of unemployment that I find myself in now, even here God can be glorified….in the movement and provisions that He has promised me and all those who suffer this stressful season. God's provision and movement will be undeniable. As I have spent the last few days going over the 'classified' ads, seeing job after job requiring more experience than I have or a degree I do not, I am a bit disheartened. My two week severance is going to run out too quickly and my ability to go back to school is seriously hampered by financial restrains. But, as I spend time with God each morning I remember and am instilled with hopeful peace because He has provisioned me in countless ways in a timing perfectly His own, through methods that I would have not thought possible through His direction and built my faith through the trial and tribulations of this life. God will provide and that provision will be undeniably His.

"It is only when we are related to Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. It is part of the Christian culture to know what God's aim is." Chambers continues, "In the history of the Christian Church the tendency has been to evade being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ; men have sought to procure the carrying out of God's order by a short cut of their own. God's way is always the way of suffering, the way of the 'long, long trail.'"

It has been a long, long trail as God has delivered upon the promise He made when He first called me out to go into direct ministry for His kingdom. Much has been lost, much more has been learned through the brutal examples of what Church is in the post-modern Western culture and much more has been given for the strengthening and equipping for a life of service under His guidance. Suffering isn't as hard when it is taken under the context of sharing in the suffering of Jesus Christ, as we can experience in the reading of the Bible and hold up to the light of God's righteousness for clarity.

This could be the time that God has brought me to where the calling is realized or this may just be a step towards His ultimate goal of apostleship to a nation down under……

I will sit still and listen to the instructions of my God and be ready to pack up my tent to follow without firm idea the cloud of His presence into the desert. Knowing that:

"If we will not bear suffering for Christ now, we must bear eternal sufferings hereafter."


 


 


 


 


 

Monday, November 9

The greatest profit…

"Of course, godliness with contentment does bring a great profit. For we did not bring anything into the world, and surely we cannot take anything out of it. (1 Timothy 6:6-7 ISV)"

I can't say that I was surprised when I received the call on Friday telling me that due to budget cuts, my position on the team was being cut. I would like to say that it was a mutual decision, but it wasn't and the likelihood of me finding employment like what I had at the job recently departed is a long shot, by no small measure. I have no degree, no college 'almost completed'…just a wealth of experience that has to compete against Masters and PhD level people who are just as willing in the economic climate to bus tables at a sit-down restaurant. Being a single dad doesn't make matters better.

I could easily surrender all hope and crawl into some hole that I carve out of the ground for me to hide in; abandoning my children, my calling and my God….but I can't. Each time today when I browsed the online job banks or highlighted jobs I'd like to do……and despaired because of the 'requirements' for a degree or a wealth of experience well beyond my means….I reflected on what God has done since December of last year….and felt joy return.

It may be the end of life as I know it….but it isn't the end of life.

All I can think of is that whatever God has next, it is going to be something that is immeasurably greater than anything He's done before, for in this place….where so much is stacked against me, the greater is the authority and the provisioning that can only come from God. Here I am; a single father, living with family, with no degree and no prospects other than the one God has burdened my heart with since October of 2004…..that of being a pastor.

That which I once 'believed' have either burned in the fires of this world's trials or become firmly implanted in faith, true faith that has been tested and whittled away to the barest of things and rebuilt through His movement in my life. As Henry Blackaby said, "A crisis of belief can only be overcome with faith and experience. And when God invites you to join Him in His work, it requires major changes." And when God moves in the faithful's life, there are those undeniable things that He does that makes it impossible not to give Him the glory. And that is the essence of witness…..in a world that is bent on denying Him.

As I told my mentor today, maybe this is God's way of pushing me back into the fray, of reigniting my passion in being a Pastor, a teacher of the Word He has left for us to follow, and to help those in the body and without to live life seeking Him and His purpose, not fixing them but helping them in the trials to see His face. He has surely put me through the survival and escape training of my faith. He has brought me to a place I asked so long ago to be brought, to where I could hear only him…where I could have faith only in Him…where His movement is as evident as the stars in the midnight skies….this place.

And He has faithfully brought me here.

The pages of my story are blank…..the ink that lies in the poised pen ready to write another chapter to the testimony of my life; before and since Jesus Christ became my Savior, my friend and my kinsman. I no longer hold that pen, no longer seek with trembling hands to write a legible paragraph of beautiful mercy, total love or even faithful obedience…for what I have written seems so pale, so insignificant compared to the lines of the greater story….the one written by the Master's hand. So, it is He who holds the pen, He who will continue this story of my life in the grandeur tomes of His plan. One cannot help but tremble with anticipation in the lines that He will write…..already His hand has begun to move.

Christianity is not, to me, some label that one puts on Sunday morning on the way to church, where the 'righteousness' of the beliefs they hold lip service to is a heavy fog that travels with them as they cut someone off on the road, are rude to the fast food employees who are pushing their product out the door to make a minimum wage……. Those who leave the church doors quickly to get back to their life, to deal with the 'chores' of the day, that football game, that family gathering or that dinner fat upon their tables. Those who believe God is a coin machine, where they dump the loose change of their desires for His tithe…..

Christianity is godliness….a life, consumed with passionate pursuit of that thirst-ending water….that waits in the Savior's hands. Not denied at any time, but portioned to meet our growth in the relationship God so desires with us….as we grow, the thirst grows but we develop a passion to pass it on to another as we journey home.

Godliness with a contentment…….that nothing in this world can take away…..

So as I wait for my Savior to write the next line for my consumption….as I wait for the chapter's end….I am content, finally, to wait here for Him to move so that I can sing of His glory and His faithfulness…..

Even if this is to be my last chapter…..I know with the Master's hand writing it….it will be a grand adventure indeed.

And I will sing of His glory forever!

And when I stand upon the steps of the White Throne……with all that I have done or am yet to do…..I will give it all away to hear

"Well done, good and faithful servant"


 

Thursday, November 5

The Anabaptist movement of Hutterites…

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need." (Acts 2:44-45 ASV)


 

I have had the pleasure lately of speaking with an ex-Hutterites living in South Dakota. Until she had mentioned it, I had no clue that there was a communal religious group known as the Hutterites in the world, let alone with colonies in the United States and Canada, as well as other locations throughout the world. The Hutterites can trace their roots back to the Radical Reformation movement. After the religious wars of the 17th century, the recognized faiths were Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed and with the signing of the Peace of Augsburg, all people were to practice and follow the faith dictated by the ruler's church. No other churches were tolerated. Anabaptist, so named because of their stance on infant baptism and immersion were re-baptized, believing that their infant baptisms were invalid, a practice which carried the death penalty as a criminal offense. The Anabaptist movement, which started underground, and fought to stay alive for many years splintered as sects of people moved away from each other into hiding. Three main groups of Anabaptists are the Amish (led by Jakob Ammon), the Mennonites (led by Menno Simons) and the Hutterites (led by Jacob Hutter).

In 1528, Jacob Wiederman led a group of Anabaptist to pool their money together and officially started a commune in Moravia. Jacob (Jakob) Hutter, from the Austrian providence of Tyrol in the 16th century, was a Tyrolean Anabaptist hat maker who led a radical Christian movement away from the Roman Catholic Church which was proclaimed to be corrupted and devoid of spiritual nourishment. In the modern-day Czech Republic (Moravia), the Anabaptists were granted religious tolerance and Wiederman's and Hutter's groups joined together, adopting the name of Hutterite after Hutter who became the leader, teaching the practice of communal ownership of goods, absolute pacifism and baptism of adult believers only based on the New Testament teachings of Acts 2:44, 4 and 5, along with 2 Corinthians. This distinguished the Hutterites from their Anabaptists 'cousins' of the Amish or Mennonites. Paul's use of the term fellowship here in Acts 2:44 means "participation" and stresses the sharing of a common life under the leadership of the Twelve. This fellowship involved a sharing of possessions (cf. 4:32-5:11) and a full meal partook with glad and generous hearts day by day (Interpreter's Commentary). Jacob Hutter created a community of colonies (Brüderhöfe) that consisted of married adults and their children living communally under the 1565 Confessions of Faith by another Hutterite leader, Peter Rideman, a distinction that has followed through the generations since, with two exceptions.

Hutter was arrested on December 1, 1535 and taken to Innsbruck to King Ferdinand's government. After months of torture to make him refute his faith, he was burned alive as a heretic on February 25, 1536. His words are recorded in eight letters, written under severe persecution, to the Hutterite community. Renewed persecution over the Hutterite tenet of absolute pacifism that goes as deep as not taking orders, being part of military activities, paying war taxes or even wearing a formal uniform, led the Hutterites to flee Austria after the seizure of their lands.

Bethlen Gabor, Prince of Transylvania, a Protestant welcomed the Hutterites to his country but was declined until 1621 when it is told that he forced close to 200 Hutterites to come to Transylvania under the promise of religious freedom. During the 30 Years War, many Hutterites perished except for those in Transylvania and eventually all surviving Hutterites fled to its relatively safe haven.

Between Transylvania and Romania, the first split of the communal Hutterites happened, with some converting to Catholicism and formed a distinct separate identity known as Habans, which would become extinct virtually by the end of World War II. Under the fear of Turkish enslavement, the Hutterites enjoyed prosperity for a few years when they migrated to the Ukrainian countryside until a second abandonment of the communal life in 1819 left only their identity as Hutterites or some building and communal properties intact.

It was with the influence of the Russian Mennonites, through the interaction of Johann Cornies who helped the Hutterites establish a village called Huttertal near the Mennonite settlement of Molotschna and the involvement of persecuted Lutherans from Carinthia, Austria with names like Waldner, Wipf, Hofer, Stahl, Kleinsasser, Gross and Wurtz, that the spiritual and financial health of the Hutterite movement was revived. Minister Michael Waldner (called Schmied-Michel), a blacksmith, in 1859 reestablished the community goods concept that had been abandoned and was followed by Darius Walter (Darius) the next year. The village was split with non-community goods Hutterites living between these two groups. In 1859, the Reverend Waldner established a new colony at Scheromet and the group was formally known as Schmiedeleut (Schmied-Michel's people) and Darius Walter's group was known as Dariusleut (Darius' people).

But, in 1873, with compulsory military service mandated in all of Russia, the Hutterites joined with some Mennonite brethren and scouted for a new home in America. Three groups, 1,265 individuals, migrated to North America between 1874 and 1879, in the Dakota Territory; the Schmiedleut establishing the Bon Homme Colony near the Missouri river near modern-day Yankton, South Dakota; the Dariusleut established Wolf Creek Colony near modern-day Olivet, South Dakota, and Lehrerleut (named after the profession of their leader, a teacher (Lehrer)) settled Elm Spring Colony near modern-day Ethan, South Dakota, reestablishing the traditional Hutterite communal lifestyle in the form of colonies. With the 1918 incident where four Hutterite men subjected to military draft who refused to comply were imprisoned and tortured, with two dying at Leavenworth Military Prison from their mistreatment, many Hutterites immigrated to Canada where 75% of them live today.

Another group was combined with the Hutterite colonies of the Schmiedeleut, Dariusleut and Lehrerleut in 1974, the Bruderhof (the Arnoldleut) of Germany.

The Bruderhof were founded by Eberhard Arnold in Sannerz, Germany, in 1921, Arnold adopted the religious orders and administrative blueprint of North American Hutterite communities, travelling to America to receive Hutterite ordination as a minister and upon his return, affiliated his hof (community) with the Hutterites. The Forest River colony of Schmiedeleut Hutterites in North Dakota invited the Bruderhof to join them, but in 1955, the Schmiedeleut group excluded the Bruderhof and placed the Forest River colony under probation. After the Bruderhof leadership apologized for the problems among the Forest River colony in 1973. In 1974, the "Society of Brothers" or "Hutterian Brethren" were accepted on a probationary basis into the entire Hutterite community to "get acquainted and accept the teaching and tenets, rules, Ordnungen and Principles of The Hutterische Church as they were practiced by us at that time and our forefathers, so that you may adopt and adhere to them, which up to that time you shunned and trod with your feet, and in fact disgraced and abused the messengers that were sent to you from time to time, all out of love for your salvation".

Unlike the traditional Hutterites, the Bruderhof have strayed from the agricultural arena instead concentrate on manufacturing and publishing (media relations): children's toys under the label "Community Playthings" (1950), products for disabled people under the corporation Rifton Enterprises and a publishing house under the imprint "The Plough" (1920).

The Bruderhof leadership is a 'divine right' passed from father to son only through the Arnold line. . In "A Case Study of the Conflict between a New Religious Movement and its Critics" by Julius H. Rubin, Professor of Sociology Saint Joseph College, states, "The Bruderhof members have passed down control of their movement to Eberhard Arnold's son and grandson in hereditary succession of office. This traditionalism is legitimated as emanating from the will of God, whose divine order has also created a hierarchy of patriarchal relations between husband and wife, parent and child, and leader and follower. Authority patterns are believed to have originated with God; leaders serve as his instrument, providing spiritual and temporal rulership over the congregation. They also believe that God decreed an organic social order where men exercise authority over women, and parents over children. The promises of salvation are inextricably tied to the surrender to God's will and the believer's submission to divinely-legitimated hierarchical authority."

The Bruderhof follow the writings of this 'divine' leadership and accusations from ex-Bruderhof members speak of 'indoctrination' through deprivation of food and sexual favors from Bruderhof females. Secret meetings of the 'brotherhood', active recruitment under 'illdyic' disillusionment feeds the 'uneven distribution' of wealth to the leadership not generally available to the general community. The leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar that is empowered with a special mission far beyond the Great Commission to save humanity. At least, these are the accusations from ex-Bruderhof members. 'Hof (Bruderhof colony)life appears idyllic [to visitors]. Violent crime, illicit drug abuse, or economic and material concerns are largely absent from their lives. Premarital sexual activity is prohibited, and single parent families are largely unknown in the community." Rubin writes, "Divorce is not permitted. Thus, Bruderhof families are not disrupted by family patterns that characterize the wider society."

In 1990, the Hutterite Brethren Church of the Darius and Lehrerleut Conference excommunicated them from the community of the Hutterites with a ten point indictment. The indictment pointed out various Bruderhof practices that were in direct opposition to the Hutterite tenements and even Christian foundations, that describe the Bible as a great weapon of the Devil, not the Word of God and God speaks to His people in daily life, not through the antiquated words that He spoke to Moses, Elijah and Jesus. The conference noted that the Schmeidenleut, Lehrerleut and two Dariusleut ministers who agreed to uniting the Arnoldleut with the community had hoped for the adoption of the Arnoldleut of the Hutterian Brethren Customs, traditions and ordinances and the Bruderhof failure to do so, "deliberately drifting in the opposite direction", forced the Conference to revoke the unification because "Gott ist ein Gott der Ordnung, und er will haben dasz unter seinen Volk Ordnung sein soll." (God is a God of ordinance, and he wants ordinance to be adhered to by his followers." The Schmeidelets were the only Hutterite sect to continue in fellowship with the Bruderhof.

The division and alienation of the Bruderhof Community became fully exposed once evicted from the Hutterite umbrella, with ex-Bruderhof members contesting the Bruderhof media presentation of its history and current practices and the Bruderhof responding with 'demonizing these enemies of faith.' Clara Arnold, great-granddaughter of Eberhold Arnold and former member, said the Bruderhof is a community where nonconformity is not tolerated, equality is spoken about but not practiced. The Bruderhof community has adopted a complex legal, public relations and intimidating strategy to silence dissenters. Most Americans still confuse the Bruderhof community with the Hutterites, an unfortunate and misleading representation that seems to be manipulated by the Bruderhof community at the Hutterites expense.

In modern days, the Hutterite community remains very much the same although it is losing a majority of its younger generation to the secular world. There are three main types of Hutterites; the Schmiedeleut who in 1992 voted to replace Jacob Kleinsasser as elder because of Kleinsasser's management procedures, financial ventures and a lawsuit filed against a fellow Hutterite that they felt were unduly influenced by the Bruderhof sect. Kleinsasser refused to accept the council's decision and split with the "conservative" Schmiedeleut (called the Committee Hutterites who are led by a council of Elders) and Kleinsasser's "progressive" Hutterites (now known as The Hutterite Brethren), the Dariusleut (led by Elder Martin Walter in Spring Point Colony, Alberta Canada), and the Lehrerleut. The sect of Arnoldleut (Bruderhof) is no longer associated with the Hutterites, adopting the name "Church Communities International" after the 1990 excommunication. One other, the Prairieleut (Hutterites that lived in town rather than colonies) seems to have faded into the history books. There is no information I can find on that particular sect.

The Schmeid-, Darius- and Lehrer-leut colonies are male-managed with women in the traditional roles of cooking, medical decisions and selection/purchase of clothing. The three top level leadership positions, democratically filled, are the Minister (President in all matters of legal business), the Secretary (book-keeping, money manager called "Boss" or "Business Boss") and a second-tier leader called the Assistant Minister (church leadership and preaching called "German Teacher" for school-aged children). In some colonies, an additional position is filled called the Schneider (German for tailor) and is often held by the Secretary's wife. Third-tier leadership positions are also referred to as "Boss" and are considered the leader responsible for their area of operation, (i.e. Hog Boss, Farm Boss, etc.) with colony members working for them.

The voting and decision-making process is based on a two-tier structure of a council and voting membership (all married men). Ministers and Secretaries who do not follow the decisions of the colony can be removed. Women and children, though having no formal vote, influence decisions through the social framework of the colony and their husband's votes at council meetings. A broader "Bishop" structure that cross-branches the Lehrer-, Darius- and Schmied-leut sects keeps colony compliance with broader-ranging decisions of the Hutterites. at most colonies is based upon a two-tiered structure including a council—usually seven senior males—and the voting membership which includes all the married men of the colony. For "significant" decisions the council will first vote and if passed, the decision will be carried to the voting membership. Each colony is made up of 10 to 20 families, split only when the leadership determines a new colony is needed due to population growth for the consistency of economic and spiritual needs into a daughter colony that is constructed prior to movement with an equal division of the business operations.

The Hutterites sects have a dress code which is similar to their Amish cousins where men wear suspenders, black trousers and buttoned shirts and a beard for the married among them. The women wear below-the-knee length dresses, with the younger women wearing more colorful dresses than the older and a Kupftiechle (a black, polka-dot peppered head covering). The young female children wear a mitz (bonnet-like covering) from 3 until the age of 10. The 'progressive' Schmiedleut sect under Kleinsasser (The Hutterite Brethren) have adopted more 'modern clothing', the men don't wear suspenders anymore, but wear belts. The young girls wear their dresses all the way down to the ankles, the older women have their hems a little higher. The head covering is black, with some putting dots or some other small decorations.

The Tyrolean dialect of German, originating from the Southern Austria, North Italy and Carinthia speaks of the Hutterite foundations, is considered to be the traditional language of the Hutterites but standard German is taught in colony schools because of the original writings of the Hutterites in that language. Some 'modern' Hutterites have foregone this tradition of teaching the German dialect.

As it gets harder and harder to support the colony with farming or ranching, more Hutterite colonies are re-developing manufacturing as a means to retain their self-sufficient lifestyles like Plastics Manufacturing, Metal Fabrication, Cabinetry and Stone/Granite Forming. The lifestyle of the three sects of the Hutterites seems to becoming more and more a memory as the modernization of their lives bring more and more secular world involvement in their colonies for higher education and improvement of their colonies production, drawing more of the legal aged Hutterites into its environs. While the Lehrerleut and Dariusleut colonies strictly enforce the departure of their children at age 15 to work in the colony's adult roles. The more 'liberal' Schmiedeleut colony have more and more children graduating from High School and even college. Recent times have seen increasing disillusionment with this life as books and articles are written against the 'male-dominated' society, the divisions that any human institution goes through, and the continued association with the Bruderhof by non-Hutterites.

There is a feeling that outside influences who want to develop the Hutterite lands and view the Hutterite attempts to restrict outside influence in their colonies is a sign of continued persecution for this Anabaptist sect, although it is common in Hutterite populated areas to see the Hutterites selling meat, produce and other manufactured services locally and nationally in some cases with sustainable results. The Hutterites are viewed with some minor jealously and resentment by some because of their efficiency and successful agricultural methods but most non-Hutterite farmers and communities maintain good relationships, even friendships, with them. Today, the Hutterites are still majorly in Canada; Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba host 347 colonies. In the United States, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Washington State and Oregon host only 134 colonies, the memory of the Hutterites of the American persecution of their extreme pacifist views apparently still very real to the sect as a whole.

Modern times have given birth to a Japanese Dariusleut colony and a Nigerian Schmiedeleut colony, though some differences exist between these two colonies (neither colony speaks German and are of European descent) and their westernized brethren both are recognized as Hutterites because of the adoption of the lifestyle.

The Schmiedeleut Hutterite that I have had the pleasure of conversing with over the internet is only 23 years old. We struck up a conversation after we realized some common interest, mostly the un-Hutterite desire to serve as a member of the United States Armed Forces (particularly for her the US Army). We spoke about this desire to serve often and it was only recently that she told me that she was a Hutterite. Upon my research into this communal group that I had not ever realized existed, I have been surprised at the level of persecution and alienation that they have suffered while their cousins the Amish have been viewed with somewhat of a 'shake of the head' acceptance. Maybe it is due to the Church Communities International (the Bruderhof) that has caused this continuing shunning of the Hutterites and their way of life.

What fascinates me and makes me a little sad for us non-Hutterites is the educational level that school children have apparently achieved in the colonies, as opposed to the secular education most 'public' schools teach to our children. This young Hutterite is more philosophical, intellectual and capable of deep theological discussion than many college graduates of the American school system today. In the Hutterite schools, the scripture is taught, the bible read and the ability to learn is more focused as they once were in our country's history and they are reaping the benefits of such a system in their colonies and in the young members, both who stay and who decide to depart the Hutterite society. We non-Hutterites and the government that serves us would do well to look at this example of what powerful influence the Bible has when taught in school and faith introduced through the living example of its text.

Maybe the current economic crisis that has spread from the American shores into the world and still very much hits hard here at home in Michigan can benefit from the understanding and interaction with the Hutterite community. One society, intolerant of Christian views and more and more inclusive of anything else has had its feet pulled out from under it because of the entitlement, individual-dominate culture it has promoted for so long, in denial of its Christian historical roots and the eradication of its strict adherence to Christian morals is slowly being introduced again to a society, still grounded in biblical living and communal life, that is becoming increasingly involved in more technological ways with the world around them; either through the appropriation of technology to be adapted to their colonies or the departure of their young members into an apparent reawakening of the Prairieleut sect….Hutterites who still honor their heritage and call themselves Hutterites but live in the communities of non-Hutterites.

There are things both in the Hutterite doctrine and in their lifestyle that I don't agree with, at least when viewed by my culturized eyes, but if I apply Paul's teaching of, "…… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things. Likewise, keep practicing these things: what you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me….. (Philippians 4:8-9 ISV)" to the research I have done as I have to the postmodern, emergent and denominational Church I can extract the 'good' and ponder upon 'these things.' And can apply them to my faith, my belief and my experiences to better bring glory and honor to the Name Above All Names, Jesus Christ.

And I do not have to become a Hutterite to do so……though, I would love an opportunity to go through their minister program if one exists.

The Hutterites based many of their beliefs on ideas and arguments preached by Balthasar Hubmaier (1484-1528), an Anabaptist theologian and follower of Huldreich Zwingli, an Anabaptist who started the evangelical movement. Hubermaier's concept of the "trichotomy of man" dealt with a spirit-will of man that remains perfect, and a body of man that is completely corrupt. The soul-will of man gives in to temptation of the flesh with the body unless it regains the ability to differentiate between good and evil by accepting Christ.

Gemeinschaft, 'communal living', is based on three concepts:

  1. "brotherly love in action…..Where this is no community, there is also no genuine love…."
  2. "Gelassenheit"….yieldedness, resignation.
  3. "obedience to divine commands. As one gives up his own will, he naturally accepts God's commands as the basis and guideposts for action"

The Hutterites believe that Gemeinschaft is necessary for their salvation……but the Church needs to have Gemeinschaft also. I do not believe that salvation is conditional upon communal living, but I believe that communal living in the community of the Church, as exampled by the Apostles in the early days of the Church, is necessary. It would prevent the widespread discord and disconnection from the Truth, empower the Great Commission to be done like never before and create undeniable glory for God. It doesn't have to go and create a colony…..but the communal living can exist within the walls of the congregation, in the small groups and activities of its members…..far beyond the Sunday morning services provided at convenient times. But the Church does not preach "Gelassenheit" rather prosperity as a mainstay. Christianity is being sold as a 'perfect means of advancement' and once 'saved' individuals are leaving the church in droves because they feel they have been sold a lie. The concepts of Gemeinschaft don't exist in the walls and hallways of our mega, multi or denominational church……a community where we listen to God and not our own sinful nature.

"One of the purposes behind the brotherhood is to help sustain each other in their beliefs and keep individuals from backsliding. This is a more difficult task when the outside world is kind rather than persecutory because members become "soft". The Hutterite method of preventing backsliding is based on Matthew 18:15-18. When there is an open commission of sin, the wayward member is warned, admonished, and then excluded from the brotherhood if necessary. Usually the person then repents and is gladly forgiven and restored to full membership just like the Prodigal Son." (Kimm Viebrock/Hutterites, the origin and practice).

Donald W. Huffman, a Professor of Sociology and author of Life in a Hutterite Colony: An Outsider's Experience and Reflections on a Forgotten People in Our Midst, published in the American Journal of Economics and Sociology/October 2000 lived in a Hutterite colony as a participant-observer and discovered significant elements above the Gemeinschaft that have lead to Hutterite stability and growth within it's concepts; religious ritual, structure of family, well-defined division of labor and well-developed strategy for new colonies when critical mass of 120 people is reached.

Most churches today are jealously possessive of their congregations because many pastors view their jobs as successful by the numbers garnered from them….if the Church was to truly live Gemeinschaft, not by religious rituals but in defense and promotion of the structures of marriage, family and community with an intentional strategy for church planting when a critical mass is reached where community is no longer truly sustainable…..what would that look like? Smaller communities conjoined for Kingdom purposes.

"The 20 to 30 children and teenagers I observed during my week-long stay were, on the surface, like any in wider American society--lively, rambunctious, curious, eager to learn. But they are being molded in a very distinctive way. As children whose lives are lived nearly every moment in a colony largely cut off from the wider world, they are socialized from the day of their birth to become baptized adult members of the colony by the ages of 19 to 21." Professor Huffman writes, "The children are early and continuously taught Hutterite history and hymnody and core communal values such as cooperation, shared work, and respect for all elders."

There is no PlayStation 3's, no TVs or other 'babysitter' type 'programs' that exists in most mainstream churches today in the Hutterite colonies….these children aren't introduced to such things until the spiritual and moral character so important to the scriptural instruction of raising our children is met….."teach them in the way they should go….and they won't stray when older." The traditional Sunday service for children has morphed from the strict expectation of parental and extended family engagement for the purposes of biblical memorization, proper morality and accountability for our 'Christian' young that when the world hits them once their 'legal freedom' is gained, the crumbling fragile structures of the post-modern church fall quickly away…..and the bible viewed as a culturally quaint book ill-equipped for the modern world. Self is key, community and the responsibilities that come with it aren't. The history, understanding and foundations of the Christian movement aren't being taught…..and love is ill served when left in the hands of humanistic, universal and subjective truth. All across the landscape of our wounded nation lie the broken, neglected and abused that the Church has failed to equip, mentor and teach a biblical worldview to in the school of Sundays that they have offered.

This community cannot be enforced, nor can it be modeled by the pastoral staff, the production staff or the teaching staff inside the congregation. As Professor Huffman discovered, the core of successful Gemeinschaft is in the family, the professing and living family of faith…..and should be guarded, nurtured and defined as the Bible states, not as secular society has decreed.

"I observed the powerful, binding force of religion in Spring Prairie Colony [where he stayed for his study]. For the Hutterites, religion permeates life. The Hutterite family reinforces the importance of cooperation, work, and worship, viewing them as ways to glorify the God ……….. Add to this the daily interaction of children, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents….. of whom profess and practice their faith."

Finally, it is not just a collection of families that are religious that cause the Hutterite colony Huffman lived and participated in for a week to remain a strong community despite the world around them. It is the model that Paul speaks of that makes the community as a whole an united, effective and powerful example for the church today to follow….

"It was startling to me to discover that a group of 130 people, including 55 adults and 75 children, all of whom had unique personalities and talents, could function so well together as a cohesive community. This raised to consciousness a fascinating question: How could such cooperation and obvious unity of purpose exist on a daily basis, given the wide range of tasks that need to be accomplished in order for the colony to survive?.................The labor of each individual, so coordinated, added to the wealth of all…….. all worked in complementary fashion to enable the colony to exist and thrive day by day."

"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If all the body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If all hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body as it has pleased Him. And if they were all one member, where would be the body? But now indeed many are the members, yet only one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. But much rather the members of the body seeming to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we put more abundant honor around them. And our unpresentable members have more abundant propriety. For our presentable members have no need, but God tempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member having need; that there not be division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it. And you are the body of Christ, and members in part. And God set some in the church, firstly, apostles; secondly, prophets; thirdly, teachers, then works of power, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, kinds of languages. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of power? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak languages? Do all interpret? But zealously strive after the better gifts. And yet I show to you a more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:14-31 MKJV)"

As two cultures come slowly together in these times; one living pure and continuous Gemeinschaft even as it progresses into further divisions of 'progressive' and 'conservative' camps and the other longing for the very concept the other held close to its cultural identity…..we can gain understanding, wisdom and discernment for the defense and restoration of both……this is the last lesson I think the Hutterites can teach us as we come into the end times….as our nation, our world and our faith will be altered by the forces of the enemy because of the neglect of the faithful to stand against his schemes….in our families, in our homes, in our communities and in our churches…..

Paul said it well…..

"Instead, in every way we demonstrate that we are God's servants by tremendous endurance in the midst of difficulties, hardships, and calamities; in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger; with purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; with the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and divine power; through the weapons of righteousness in the right and left hands; through honor and dishonor; through ill repute and good repute; perceived as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and yet-as you see-very much alive, as punished and yet not killed, as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing, as poor and yet enriching many, as having nothing and yet possessing everything." (2 Corinthians 6:4-10 ISV)

Resources:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1087725/hutterites_the_origin_and_practice.html?cat=9

http://www.uwec.edu/geography/Ivogeler/w188/articles/hutterites.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_4_59/ai_68704398/

Wikipedia: The Hutterites

http://www.goshen.edu/mqr/pastissues/oct05janzen.html


 


 


 


 


 


 



 

Wednesday, November 4

Faith is the essence….

"Now faith is the essence of things being hoped, the evidence of things not having been seen. For by this the elders obtained witness. By faith we understand the ages to have been framed by the Word of God, so that the things seen should not come into being out of things that appear. By faith Abel offered a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, by which he obtained witness to be righteous, God testifying over his gifts; and through it, having died, he yet speaks. By faith "Enoch" was translated so as not to see death, and "was not found, because God translated him." For before his translation, he had obtained witness to have been pleasing to God. Gen. 5:24 But without faith it is impossible to please God. For it is right that the one drawing near to God should believe that He is, and that He becomes a rewarder to the ones seeking Him out. Being divinely warned by God about the things not yet having been seen, moved with fear, by faith Noah prepared an ark for the salvation of his house; through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness according to faith. Having been called out by faith, Abraham obeyed to go forth to a place which he was going to receive for an inheritance; and he went out not understanding where he went. By faith he resided as a foreigner in a land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the same promise; for he looked forward to a city having the foundations of which the builder and maker is God. Also by faith Sarah herself received power for conceiving seed even beyond the time of age, and gave birth; since she deemed the One having promised to be faithful. Because of this came into being from one man, they who were generated, and these of one having died, seed even "as the stars of the heaven" in multitude and countless "as sand by the seaside." Gen. 22:17 These all died by way of faith, not having received the promises, but seeing them from afar, and being persuaded, and having embraced and confessed that they are aliens and tenants on the earth. For those saying such things make clear that they seek a fatherland." (Hebrews 11:1-14 LITV)


 

George Koukl, President of Stand To Reason, an apologetics ministry sent out the November issue of STR to my email this morning. We have all heard the expression, "Just take a leap of faith….." Koukl feels we should remove that expression from our vocabulary and with good reason. Faith has lost its true definition.


 

Often, too often in my experience, this is used as an impus to have faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. "Just believe, make that leap and find yourself standing on solid ground despite what you think you see…….after all, what do you have to lose?" There is no intentional harm in this approach, making Christianity and faith a 'product' to sell as if we are some cosmic sales force in competition with other companies selling the same thing, if in different packaging. But harmful it is, as evidenced by the increasing number of 'disillusioned' Christians. The denomination rifts in the Christian community (often mislabeled as the Christian faith, in my opinion) come from different perspectives on belief, not faith, but they call it faith. The religious movements of the emergent, the post-modern, new age, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and other world religions use this word to define their dogmas. Faith has become individualistic in its application and definition and has been watered down as much as the Gospel and Scriptures have in modern times.


 

"Faith" commonly is referred to as 'the affirmation of belief" (Latin affirmare; to assert), declaring that something is true. This can be a positive or negative thing….a positive judgment that God exists, without evidence to the contrary or negative in the same context, whereas God does not exist because of any evidence to the contrary. In religion, it has further meaning, from loyalty to a movement or religious group, acceptance of the religious creed espoused or an identifier… i.e. Islamic faith, Christian faith….


 

The Hebrew root word, aman, means firm, something that is supported or secure. The word emunah, derived from aman, means firmness (as in someone who is firm in their actions). Emunah cannot be translated into 'faith'….as one website I researched for this meaning puts it. "To have faith in God is not knowing that God exists or knowing that He will act, rather it is that the one with emunah will act with firmness toward God's will." Many of the universalist movement, New Age and emergent 'religions' follow Soren Kierkegaard's definition of faith, the "sincerity grounded in belief accepted without any reason….belief on the basis of believing"…in something. Others, like William Sloane Coffin define faith as 'not acceptance without proof, but trust without reservation.' Implicit faith is belief beyond evidence or logical arguments and so is viewed as impossible by many theologians of any religious movement…..a faith that is "the belief that God exists but accepted without any supportive arguments or evidence."


 

Out of the Hebrew root aman, the Indo-European word omen was developed, meaning 'to believe as true.' This developed through the language translations from aman to amon (Egyptian god Amon-Ra, the sun god) and into the English word Omen. The belief was that there were invisible guardians around the 'faithful' who foretold future events. The Hebrew aman loses its scriptural meaning and becomes omen, the act of simply believing something is true…..'A leap of faith'. It is this expression that has permeated the church language and caused much disconcertment among the 'faithful.'


 

According to Merriam-Webster, faith is from the Middle English word feith, Anglo-French feid, fei and the Latin fides (similar to Latin word fidere which means to trust)….at least from the 13th century on. It is the "allegiance to duty or person, belief and trust in and loyalty to God or something that is believed especially with strong conviction."


 

David Kinnaman, from www.Americanbible.org, analyzed how the four adult generations; Mosaics (18-25), Busters (26-44), Boomers (45-63) and Elders (64 and up) in America approach and use the Bible, the sacred text of the Christian community of believers. "About half of American adults have fairly traditional approaches and uses for the Bible." The Barna Group reports of Kinnaman's findings, "However, the youngest adults (Mosaics) are less likely to see the Bible as sacred, consider it less accurate in the principles it teaches, understand it more as universally like all other sacred texts belonging to other faith groups, are more skeptical about its origin, and engage the Bible less."

"…..since we are no longer willing to embrace the ancient faith," Chuck Colson says, "many looked for solace or explanation in other ancient faiths, or at least new-age versions of these faiths."

It is imperative that we reclaim the true definition and understanding of faith…..evidenced by the decay of the 'faithful' mosaics, modern faith, from the 'faithful elders', traditional faith, as evidenced through the generations of Boomers and Busters. We have failed to teach our children in the way they should go, convoluted and warped the definition of faith and allowed the message of the Gospel to become a mystical and improbable document of textual disagreement. As a result, our mosaics are chaotic, distressed and without peace, trying to sustain a belief that cannot exist long-term in this world. The only way to restore that peace in through the true development of faith, as evidenced by Isaiah 26:3 "The LORD gives perfect peace to those whose faith is firm." A faith that is not mere "assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance of a fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without immediate personal knowledge; reliance upon word or testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty, persuasion, conviction, or confidence." That is mere belief.

"What's going on here is the idea that we live in a random and unintelligible universe, and that's more terrifying than the cataclysms predicted for the year 2012. So we grasp at straws or over-interpret obscure texts, or we despair." Colson states regarding faith "But there is a third alternative—real faith. Christians know that God is working out His purposes in history, and that faith removes all anxieties."

Irene Alexandrou, President of the Hellenic Society Paideia of South Florida, notes that if one was asked, "What is faith?" the predictable response would be, "Faith is belief." When asked then what belief is, the response would be "Belief is faith." "Since neither word is defined from another source," Alexandrou argues, "the result is non-definition."

It is important to understand what faith is, because faith is "everything" in our life and the incorrect application of its definition has brought the church and its future into peril; from a human perspective, not from a Godly one.

"Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn't living in you, you have failed." 2 Corinthians 13:5

According to the Bible, faith is not obedience to the Mosaic Law, but rather the method by which God teaches us faith. Paul says in Galatians 3:24, "In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God." That Law wasn't based on faith, but only was the method by which those who obey its commands can obtain life. As complete and utter obedience to the Law is impossible, its promised return is nullified. Only through conscious action in obedience and repeated application of the Law can we develop faith.

Faith, in the Christian application, cannot exist without logical or material proof, but we often define it as this "confident belief in the truth, value or trustworthiness of a person, and idea or a thing; a belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence; loyalty or allegiance to a person or thing."

Alexandrou looks at the Greek root that Koukl uses in his article on faith…. pistis (noun) and carries it further by looking at the Greek verb for believe (pistevo). The Greek noun means persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself; assurance, belief, believe, faith. The word, believe means: to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing); by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ), believe, commit (to trust), put in trust with.

So, what is faith?

Whatever it is………Koukl points out an interesting fact in each biblical account of its existence…..faith existed before a miracle or healing took place. Faith, not belief, is the necessary ingredient for us, as followers of Christ, to 'do greater than this.' Faith, far from the definition it carries now, is the foundation of the Christian community.

"Faith is not about wishing, but about confidence, and the facts make the difference." Koukl says. "You get a hold of the facts, you study, you learn – even a little – and you'll realize you're not just wishing on a star about eternal things. You'll realize Christianity is really true. And that changes everything."

Faith is a 'title deed', the assurance of "good things to come combined with the elements of hope, confidence, and trust" backed by a confidence in the 'earnest money' guarantee of Jesus Christ in its inheritance. "The patriarchs were asked to trust God without much supporting evidence, and by the courage and confidence of their faith, they still speak encouragement to us" (Interpreter's Commentary). How? Read the Hebrew 'hall of faith'. Perceiving the deep meaning of sacrifice, walking with God to His pleasure, mocking of contemporaries to obey, giving up securities of family/home/religion and risking everything at the word of God or trusting in a situation that is humanly impossible….these are the lessons that the Patriarchs left us to ponder regarding what faith is. Faith is not a concept or definition that can only be applied to the Christian belief system, at least in what the definitions commonly used in today's society say it is…..but it is a concept that can only bear fruit in the Christian community.

Faith involves, according to spirithome.com, belief (the mental action, condition or habit of placing trust or confidence in another/truth/validity of something); certainty (knowledge, based on demonstrable evidence or 'proof'); confidence (strong ground for assurance); conviction (strongly-held belief/idea on spiritual/moral matters often developed through life experiences, hard thinking or mediation); credibility (something or someone showing itself to be worthy of belief); credit (trustworthiness of source); dependence (reliance-confident and trustful commitment-upon a higher ranked or esteemed source without which a task would be nearly, if not fully, impossible to perform); Trust (a depth and sense of assurance based on strong evidence or character, ability, or truth shown by someone or something over time and/or situations. It is a confident conviction based on experiences, mediation and credible evidence that develops a growing dependence in the proven creditability of trusting in Jesus Christ because without the truth of His sacrifice the reliance upon which our eternal inheritance is placed becomes fearfully un-assured. Faith is indicated by persistent action, devotion and direction of belief (existing ideas, knowledge and understanding) by which one fosters a relationship with God that is only able to be developed because of the firm and supported confidence in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This 'justifying faith' makes us right before God because of Jesus' act upon the Cross.

In a nutshell……….….faith is (as spirithome.com puts it) "a sense of being safe or being free of fear, enough so your focus can be on other matters because that matter is taken care of. It becomes easier to simply enjoy life." Faith is trust given to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob based on experience, tested beliefs and evidential proof.

Faith can be applied, as earlier stated, in a multitude of ways and its meaning is intentionally changed with each application. Therefore Faith isn't solely a Christian concept, but the concept as applied by its traditional, historical and factual use means that only the Christian application of Faith is one that bears results as faith is developed to lead us to a continuous and conscious relationship with God Himself. This 'close encounter of the third kind' (direct contact) gives us new experiences and proof to mediate upon as God is invited through faith's growth as we 'live by faith', having observable 'undeniable, sometimes illogical, but always impactful' trust because of this relationship in our lives that reflects God's glory to family, friends and other individuals that we come across in our travels. Martin Buber, author of Two Types of Faith, discusses this 'modern' definition of faith (i.e. leap of faith) and true faith as based on the traditional definition: "One can believe that God is and live in his back; he who trusts him lives in his face."

But faith is not trust with the demand for action, it is action based on active trust (faith).

"All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised (Heb 11:39)"

God didn't ask any of the Patriarchs of the Christian history to blindly put their trust in Him, take blind leaps into the unknown or follow wishful thinking, what many denominations and religious movements demand we do……God intentionally provided demonstrated proof of His power and then asked for their faith in the endeavor He had set aside for them. So that His glory would be demonstrated and attested to, in a way that cannot be attributed to any action by an individual, community or congregation but only to the God of all creation…..the great I AM.

There are 382 verses with the word faith in them. Exhortations to develop it, expectations for it, stories of it in action and stories of actions resulting from it. It isn't as temporary as belief, corrupted by humanity or the actions of this world nor is it something that we will ever stop growing. It is the blood vessels, capillaries and veins of the body of Christ…….who's blood sustain and give us life. Without faith, Christ's blood is worthless. Without Christ's blood, faith is worthless. Faith is our connection and our avenues to a living, breathing and acceptable body of Christ to the Heavenly Father.


 

Faith untested is merely belief. Belief cannot obtain this commutation of the sentence of our sinful nature and yet our Creeds, our Affirmations and even our Constitution read….."We believe……" Faith is the tested, experienced and applied application of our developed beliefs……if we confirm the Creeds, Affirmations and even a man-made document like the Constitution, our lives will be evidenced of their faithful execution…..and if they do, we should change the beginning to reflect that…."In faith, we declare…." Man cannot create faith and the beliefs of false religions, corrupted religious movements and alternate interpretations that claim the definition of faith fall upon the fires of God's Truth to be burned. Faith will make you walk into that fire; confident even if you are to be burned…it will glorify God by the very act of deliberately moving into the flames. Or God will stop you. As He did with Abraham, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, David and the Twelve Apostles….the examples go on and on, over and over through the Old Testament into the New Testament…..through the four Gospel accounts and Paul's Epistles back through Isaiah's prophecies and Noah's obedience. Faith was tested through the trust and obedience in God.

Far beyond our wishful thinking, beliefs or demands…..a life lived in faith prevents us from moving outside God's will and application in this world because of our trust in that relationship. Sometimes God will call us to do what appears foolish things….and yet when we faithfully follow Him….things happen…….

Why?

"Everyone……….should then know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, even though you put him to death on a cross." (Acts 2:36 CEV)

"Faith must be tested and tried before it becomes real in your life………….. so that no matter what happens, the transforming power of God's providence transforms perfect faith into reality." Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest. "The life of faith says, "Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I'm going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word."

We have allowed our belief, a fragile and temporary thing, to be our faith while our faith lies dormant and still in the seats of our worship centers, echoes hollow in the ears of our Mosaics and dies when our belief is burned in the trials and tribulations of this world. As Oswald Chambers said, "God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings."

A life of faith cannot be hidden…..its rosy glow is shown in the cheeks, its application in the flexing of the muscles and its vitality evidenced in the healthiness of the body in an environment that is hostile, bitterly cold and strength-sapping.

The misapplication of belief as faith shows itself in Kinnaman's Barna study…..the Mosaics are less likely to view the Bible as sacred and accurate. They believe that the universal 'truths' of other 'sacred texts' are as applicable as the Bible and the Barna studies show that the youngest generations are charting a new, unique course related to the Bible are less likely to engage in biblical reading and prayer. There is no faith in the origins of the Bible or its engagement to gain additional knowledge and experience to grow faith. Belief is shaky and can be changed through fear, peer pressure or dictation with force; faith as applied in the Christian community cannot be destroyed, only grown or allowed to grow feeble in the discontent of denial. Beliefs can be negative or positive, applied interchangeably in the motion of our lives where faith can only be applied in a forward application…...applied in a positive manner…as we stand against the winds of discontent, disillusionment and persecution.

Belief is that first wind in the race towards the prize; faith is the enduring and refreshing second wind that powers us towards the finish line.

"Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and hold on to the faithfulness of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12 ISV)"

The past year has been a trying one and I have often reflected in the tempest of the storm whether or not if I had the chance to go back to the beginning of it and have a 're-do' if I would. If I could know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would not go through what I have gone through, if I wouldn't experience those heartbreaking times, those humbling moments or those difficult trials; would I go back? Belief would lead me back to that gate without hesitation, for it is a transitory thing that would entice me to entertain the thought that I would be closer to God without those things. Faith would stop me, for the trust and love that have grown in the darkest of the nights, in the furriest of storms and the most trying of famine……for God has shown by experience, by evidentiary proof and meditation that He is trustworthy, creditable and able.

I know, with the experiences of the past year that I would have to pass on that return to the past, for the sake of changing the trials of the future. It is in the trials that my faith has been tested, my beliefs withered and died or strengthened into a brick in the foundation of my faith and that God is more real, more able and more merciful that any other time in my life.

It is my faith that sees the works of God in the lives of others, for the supplication of the saints. It is my faith that allows me to pray for my enemies, love my detractors and push on to the goal……reaching for those who challenge me, those who would malign me and those who have been a source of hurt or an object of my own humanity to be hurt and help them along towards greater and higher relationship with God. It is my faith that can look honestly at the 'rejected son' of my earthly father without fear and believe in the 'beloved son' that God declares me to be and move in a manner that speaks of this inheritance of 'blessed agape love' that God promises to all who have faith.

It is my faith that allows me, in the midst of want, to live a life abundant……enjoying the labor for God while His provisions come to me in the experience of living faithfully. It is my faith that draws me to peace in the midst of worry, mercy in the humanness of being right, love in the world born to hate and in grace despite its lack of being extended to me.

Do you have a faith that is the heart of endurance, the very essence of 'things hoped for' that is grounded in the 'evidence of things unseen?' Or is it the wishful thinking of acquiescence to a belief that cannot bear the weight of this world? Do you live a life of faith abundantly; not in material or financial things, but in the enjoyment of being a child of the Most High?

And are you replicating it in the lives of your children, your spouse or your friends?

Faith without voice and action is belief without structure. Belief is a choice of men about man's opinion, that modern proverbial "leap of faith."

Faith is a foundation from which life flows.

Let's do away with the mis-definition of faith and live a real faith as the Bible defines…………………….

"Those who trust in the Lord will never be disappointed……………..If we were to lean upon men, we would surely be disappointed, but in leaning upon the living God, we are beyond disappointment and beyond being forsaken for any reason." The Autobiography of George Muller.

Test your 'faith' and see if Christ resides in you…….for only where there is faith is Christ.


 

Resources:

E-Sword program

My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers

The Autobiography of George Muller

http://www.colsoncenter.org

http://www.americanbible.org

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith

http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/317-new-research-explores-how-different-generations-view-and-use-the-bible

http://www.spirithome.com/definif.html

http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Faith.html

http://www.wildbranch.org/WOTW/13omen.htm

http://www.helleniccomserve.com/wordstudy.html