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Christ is not divided by labels
Many of the believers who have left the paid clergy system for alternative gatherings in homes or other ways of walking with Christ express a snobbery regarding the epithet, “Christian,” preferring to call themselves, “Christ followers.” There are a series of clever YouTube skits parodying the PC vs Mac commercials on “Christian and Christ Follower” that make this point very well. The Mac/Christ Follower is the cool guy while the PC/Christian is the uptight business guy.
The people who call themselves “Christ Followers” are trying to distance themselves from the rest of the body and to set themselves apart as the ones who are “really” walking with God. This elitist attitude found in the emergent church circles and other such group is contrary to the Spirit of Christ, and is as old as the Protestant Reformation.
Cults thrive on elitist thinking. The denominational divisions over doctrinal differences is no different than the division created by calling one self a Christ follower instead of a Christian. To make that distinction, even in one’s mind is carnal and soulish. It appeals to pride.
Whether one calls one’s self a “Christian” or a “Christ follower” makes no difference to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is working with us all in our dying to self so that Christ may live through us instead.
Isaac Airfreight had a skit on denominational differences that applies today to the Christians who stay in the paid clergy system and those who have called themselves “Christ followers” and gather in homes or elsewhere instead. The skit is 7 and a half minutes long. For those who are reading this on Facebook, you have to click on the link that says, “view original post,” since the mp3 is not copied onto Facebook.
Danny DeVito defines character as actually caring about people, instead of selling Jesus to people.
I have posted this video of Danny DeVito in the “Big Kahuna” because he provides a rough illustration of organic pastoring. In a previous article I made the case that we all have only one Pastor, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus referred to all His help as “hirelings“ who care not for the sheep, but will flee when wolves arrive (John 10:12-13). I stand by this still. Only Jesus knows everything about us and cares about all the details of our lives. It is impossible for another human being to do so.
Later on I wrote another article on the organic functions of the “5 fold ministries” in which I explained the temporary nature of ministry. God brings people into our lives from the body of Christ to meet needs temporarily in those seasons of our lives when we have such needs. Pastoring is one such ministry, even though we are all hirelings while we are in His service. Read the rest of this entry →
A couple months ago Jeanette Viola sent me an email asking me to read Frank’s new book, and to review it in my blog. I was flattered that I was asked. Does this mean I have developed a web presence of note now? I agreed, and Mike Morrell of the Ooze sent me a copy. I apologize to both the Viola’s and Morrell for not getting the book read in a more timely fashion. Once I started reading it, I found it to be a very easy read and was able to get through it in just a few days.
I think I was asked to read, not because of my “web presence” but because I have been an avid reader of many of Frank’s books. My wife and I left mainstream Christianity when I heard George Barna speaking to Kirby Anderson on Dallas’s “Point of View” radio about Revolution by Barna. I felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to listen to that broadcast, and ordered a copy of the book. I was greatly excited in my spirit to realize that there was a world of believers not involved with organized religion, and yet were deeply involved with the leading of the Spirit. Read the rest of this entry →
For many years I have been led to believe that the time of Judges was a lawless time for the nation of Israel. The verse:
“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
is repeated twice. First in the middle of the book (Judges 17:6), then again at the very end of the book (Judges 21:25) by the writers, who clearly added this during the time of the kings of Israel. In the church the verse is used as an expression of the wrongfulness of their ways. For they had the Law of Moses, yet, it seems, they followed their own hearts. Read the rest of this entry →
In the last blog I recorded a podcast [editor's note of 6/28/08: the podcasts have been deleted: the co-host quit without much explanation and I felt it best to remove them] and spoke about our sovereign freedom in Christ. The topic is difficult to understand and I want to unpack that topic again. To start, I want to borrow a basic legal principle as shared by the Team Law website.
Team Law’s: Standard for Review
First understand who the parties are;
Always know yourself first
Discover the true nature of all other parties second
Then you must understand the environmental and historical nature of the relationship; and,
Only then do the actual terms of the relationship begin to have meaning and bearing on the relationship. Read the rest of this entry →
Ps 127:1
1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. (KJV)
This famous psalm is clearly understood to mean that it is God who builds the family and home. This is understood by the following verses:
Ps 127:3-5
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. (KJV)
But the crux of the psalm is found in verse 2:
Ps 127:2
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. (KJV)
In a nutshell the psalm is telling us that without God making the arrangement, all our efforts are wasted, for they come from our natural strength and not by His Spirit. Read the rest of this entry →
