whatever

The Church

2010-11-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

If anyone is still reading this, I would like to know: What are you thoughts on the current state of the Church. Is the Church relevant? Is it accomplishing it's mission? Has the Spirit of the American church been quenched or is it in danger of being snuffed out all together?

Just been doing some reading lately and am about to write a sermon on the state of the church.

Wondering????

Small Groups: 10 things before you start - Ministry Toolbox - Pastors

2010-03-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

Small Groups: 10 things before you start - Ministry Toolbox - Pastors

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15 of 40

2010-03-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

This continues to be a different kind of journey. No, I am not talking about the rock group sans Steve Perry, but I am talking about my ability to not digest solid food and still have a productive life. I am amazed by the bodies ability to work and function on little or no nourishment.

The Lord has kick started my spiritual journey yet again. During this time of fasting I have been bringing before the Lord the atrocities that are taking place in the Indian state of Orissa. There continues to be full on daily persecution of the Lord's church. During my prayer time I have not gotten a specific answer on what I could be doing to help our brothers and sisters out. I do pray for strength, encouragement, physical healing, and the light to shine ever so brightly in Orissa. Please join me in prayer for the brothers and sisters who are being sought out and killed for there faith in Jesus Christ. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYs92b

I will continue to let you in on the fast, and any hardcore answer from the Lord regarding Orissa.

back in 10

X

2010-03-04T06:56:00.001-08:00

Here we go, we are in the thick of this Fast, it has been amazing how quick and easy this time around has been. Not a lot of hunger pains, sleeping good, alert. What I have been doing that has been challenging for me has been the daily reading from the Purpose Driven Life. Knowing that I've already read this book before and have marked it up, I am finding myself during the current reading, being drawn to thoughts I have not highlighted. It has made for an interesting quiet time.

I am still praying for the ministers in Orissa daily. And daily trying to lay down my life. I still don't know what this fast is leading my to, it will be interesting when I get there I know.

See you in ten

...A Day Late

2010-03-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not touching base yesterday. Had a busy day and was not able to get by the cpu. We had Walk Through the Bible at our church building yesterday. What an amazing ministry, if you have the chance to have them at your church or go to an event they are hosting....by all means do it.

On to the business at hand. I am doing really well. I can't believe how the Lord has made this trip without solid food extremely easy. I have journaled to have Him take away the food cravings, and the empty feeling... and so far the Lord has proven faithful. During this fast, my Discipleship partner and I have decided to read the Purpose Driven Life. A chapter a day- for forty days. Along with reading the book we are also enjoying the scriptures and jotting down thoughts in a Fasting journal. I have looked forward to this since my last 40 day trip. If you have not trusted God in a long time...I would encourage you to try fasting. It is long standing tradition within the community of the church.

Along with bringing fasting tidbits from history, I have also been able to bring before the Lord the human tragedy that is happening in the Indian state of Orissa. Preachers of the word are being pulled out of there churches and beating publicly. Several are being martyred everyday. One of the things have decided to do during my 40 days is to pray for these fellow Christians that they might receive more power from the Spirit to preach the word more boldly and to have their words cut the hearts of the ones who are doing the prosecution. If you can't join me in the fast, please for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, join in pray for the saints in Orissa.

See you in 5

Going Back for Seconds

2010-02-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

If you have not read any of my posts, today I am starting my second 40 day fast. I will not eat any solid food, just water and juice for 40 days. My discipleship partner and I will break the fast on Easter Sunday morning. We thought that would be cool. Along with fasting we will also be blogging, and reading the Purpose Driven Life (there are 40 chapters meant to be read daily). I have already read this book some years ago, but we thought it would be a good refresher. We will need your thoughts and prayers this is an eye opening experience.

If you spiritual life needs a kick in the butt, give this a try. Check back I will be sharing the details often. I will post at 5, 10, 15, 25, 35, 40 and maybe a little something extra... we will just have to wait and see.

See you in 4,

I am Done...or am I?

2009-09-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

Well this is it. The 40 day fast is complete today at about 8 pm. I find myself a little sad, I have really enjoyed my time with God during these last forty days. It has been intense prayer at times, with scripture easing my feelings, and it has been some hard hitting passages convicting me into a more focused spirituality. Whatever, it has been good for me to do this.

I forgot to mention it earlier that during the 40 I was also reading "Presence Centered Youth Ministry". which really could have been called Presence Centered Life. The book took me back to some very early if not first century practices of the first church. This coupled with the forty days really sent me over the edge spiritually speaking. I wholeheartedly recommend you at least trying a prolonged fast, it has been a HUGE blessing in my life.

So lets break it down; I have roughly estimated lost 45 lbs. I have been able to start the habit of writing in a journal, been able to slow down my bible reading pace to a more digestible speed, and have been ready willing and able to share my experience with others...and so far that has birthed at least 4 people interested in getting off the pew and ignite their spiritual life.

See if this is for you, pray to Lord to guide you and prepare you for what He has is store for you to do............THEN DO IT!

One final thought; starting next week I will fast for one day every week, in the spring....I will hit another 40. It has been that good of a thing for me.

Five Left! The Countdown Begins.

2009-09-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Can I start off by saying...WOW, God is truly amazing and can do some really terrific things in our lives if we just let Him. I can't believe that I have gone 35 days without any food at all, just juice and water. I am stunned about how great I feel and what I can actually do in this state. I find myself to be a bit sad with only 5 days left. My Discipleship partner and I have decided that we will most likely break the fast with some form of Mexican food.

I will tell you this from what we have learned doing these 40 days...I will be fasting on a regular basis and will be instituting it once a week from now on. I have found to be more focused on God things. And as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ....I believe I must set the example and do all I can to be focused on things above and not below.

Day 30

2009-09-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well it has been right at a month now with only water and juice and all of their variants. The Lord continues to prove faithful. I am looking at only 10 tens left and I feel great. My sleep is great, my energry is great, and my walk is great. I have been able to slowly read through 1st and 2nd Peter, and I have just started the book of Isaiah. I have journaled consistently for the first time in my life. It has been filled with prayer concerns for others as well as some personal things. Some scripture that particulary hits home and a running record of how I have been feeling.

Like I said during my first post, I really can't tell you how much weight I have lost. I can tell you I am on the last notch on my belts and I have been able to hit that part of your closet that we all know we have that has been relegated to "I'll be able to get this stuff back on, there no way I am giving this to Good will" place.

During these last 30 days I have had an increased desire to explore some old spiritual habits that might have gotten a bad rap in the past or for some reason have been deemed Roman Catholic and "we should never do that in the Christian Church" kind of disciplines. But more on this later, as for now I am strong. Please test the Lord to see you too should try and fast.

The Other Half

2009-09-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Day 25. I am Rick's accountability partner. This is a awesome journey. I want sure what to expect from this fast. Just knew that I wanted to have a change in my life. I wanted to show god that I want to make a commitment to him like never before!! Focus on god? Check. I spend much more time in the now. I’ve read Acts, Romans, Proverbs, I Corinthians. Starving Jesus and Red letters. My prayer list has grown and see myself in "other minded" mode. My life is ever changing and can’t wait to see where the next 15 days will take me.

Hungry? Gotta love the juice!

God Bless,

John A. Walker

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15 to Go!

2009-09-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

As I have said in my last post I would be checking in to let you know how the fast is going. Short and sweet....I feel fine. It is so amazing to experience the Lord carrying me along as He has done for 25 days now. Again Scripture seems to jump off the page and I can't wait till the next time I sit and read the Word. I find myself thinking about what will I read next, all the time.
The prayer list I have started is ever expanding. I seem to be letting nothing back, laying it all before the Lord every time I talk with Him in my prayer time. This has been an amazing journey so far, I can't wait to see what the next 15 will hold.

Hungry? I don't even know what that is anymore.

Looking forward<><

XX

2009-09-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

Give you a little background on my personal fast; I challenged my discipleship partner the week of August 14th (for those of you who care my 42nd) he did not know how to field the challenge, except to go home and do some internet research on the subject of fasting. Since then he has read Starving Jesus and has blown up in a big way with his walk with Christ.

He comes back to me in two days and say, "let's do it". Our last meal was dinner on August 15th. Now for me I wanted it to be a more spiritual thing so I did not weigh myself at the beginning. Since our last meal we have only had 100% fruit juice and water. Both my d-partner and I have had to ween ourselves off of caffeine as well. So as of writing this post I am down to 16 fl.oz a day of Diet Coke.

Physical Changes: Have I lost weight....sure I have I guesstimate around 30lbs. or so and am probably going to end up with losing about 50lbs. altogether. I am sleeping better at night. I have more energy. I still practice Martial Arts every Monday and Thursday. I have not missed any work. I have realized I don't have much stamina now. So I do need to mix in some rest time. Just sit down and take a breather now and then. During these first twenty as I have lost the weight it seems my wallet has gotten fatter (no doubt cause I am not going out to lunch with the staff on a daily basis) more on this latter.

Spiritual Changes: I can't even begin to tell you all of the changes that have taken place spiritually in my life since I have started doing this. Since August 15th I have also been reading the Bible/journaling twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night (also from Starving Jesus). I have broken up the passage into smaller chunks 1-2 verses. The passages are jumping off the page. It seems every passage has something for me now, it is amazing. My prayers are more focused. I am praying throughout the day now, I am relaying on God to meet my needs, instead of Subway. Since I am not eating I have all this extra money laying around, I decided to financially support the Strip Church. This is new work started by Fireproof ministries to reach the Las Vegas strip.

I will post again on day 25, 30, 35, 40, to let you in on how it is going and how my discipleship partner and I break the fast.

Keeping stroung!

Amazing Journey

2009-08-31T08:12:00.000-07:00

Before I get started I do have to apologize for not writing any sooner than my last post. The Lord has seen fit to bless my family and I with our very first home and the lost of my wife's job with Raymond James Financial. The kids have gone back to school; Ricky began the 8th grade and my daughter Ally has entered Kindergarten. So with all this transition taking place I found myself a bit up heaved (if that is really a word).

A friend recommended a book called Starving Jesus awhile ago, I have not been able to read until recently. The book urges the readers to get off the pew and into the world. It asks, 'Is Sunday the only time we are to be Christians?' The book was and is a definite call for the christian to take action. Now as I was reading the book the Lord saw fit to show me a few things. It seemed everywhere I looked I was being hit with the message of fasting. To make matters worse Starving Jesus even has a huge message to fast and to humble yourself before the Lord.

I was to the point that I was asking God, God are you telling me to fast? I was having serious conversations with Him about the subject. Sure I have given things up in the past, I done the 30 Hour Famine with youth groups for years. But what was so hard to swallow (pun intended), God was putting the challenge forward that I should fast for 40 days (juice and water only). You see the authors of Starving Jesus (Craig Gross, J.R. Mahorn) are the xxx church guys. As they were embarking on a new ministry venture they coupled it with a 40 day fast. It is an amazing story, one in which I will hope you will read one day. They guys are doing some amazing things in the name of Jesus. I am blown away by their abandon to always strive to do what God tells them to do and the areas He has taken them.

Oh by the way...I am on day 16 of a 40 day fast.

DR. WALTER MARTIN ON HOW THE DEVIL STEALS YOUR CHURCH

2009-06-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

There is a progression that takes place in liberal theology: It begins with a corrupt bibliology, a corrupt view of the nature and the inspiration of Scripture. They have a corrupt theology because once you are picking and choosing from the Bible what you want, your theology has to suffer from it, because your human reason is corrupt… every major theological seminary that has turned from orthodox Christianity began with disbelief of Biblical doctrine. There wasn’t a single exception.

This corrupt Bibliology then lead them to the next step. Their theology began to be touched by it, their view of the Cross, the Virgin Birth were both immediately questioned; then came the miracles of Christ… And finally they had emptied the Gospel of all its content; they were simply using the outward shell so that they go on collecting money from the people and the churches; because they knew that if the people in the pew knew that they were apostate, they’d throw them out. So the strategy was hang on to the trust funds; hang on to the money we’ve got; hang on the properties we control, and we will gradually educate the laymen into this new approach to theology.

And then finally we will take control of everything. The gradual process of feeding you theological poison until you become immunized enough so that you don’t know what’s happening to you. And when you wake up to what’s happening to you, it’s too late they’ve got everything. That is not a baseless charge, I stand prepared to prove that the Cult of Liberal Theology in the United States has deliberately and consistently followed this methodology to entrap, control and dominate the denominations and the churches of the United States and our educational institutions. (The Cult of Liberalism, available from Walter Martin Religious InfoNet)

I love the line "theological poison", that is what this is, we are slowly poisoning ourselves and our churches. I believe it is too late for some of the "ole school" denominations. They simply don't know what to do anymore. So many of them are just playing church.

Phil Johnson on the R-rated Church

2009-06-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

Jun 08 by Admin

Phil Johnson at Teampyro has a good post up about the end of evangelical innocence. He writes:

Sermons with graphic sexual themes and church-wide sex challenges are merely symptoms of a much bigger problem. In short, the church is fornicating with the world and intoxicated with the spirit of the age. Some of neo-evangelicalism’s favorite jargon—missional, contextualization, authenticity—has been tortured and misappropriated in order to justify and institutionalize gross worldliness.

This worldiness and sensuality comes with a price tag, even for the pastors. Pastor Gary Lamb of Revolution Church did a series called “Creative Sex” using secular rock songs like, “Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer and “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Bad Company. Tragically, Gary Lamb resigned from the pastorate of Revolution Church yesterday after having an affair with his personal assistant. The spirit behind these R-rated churches is one of disobedience, rebellion and ultimately, destruction.

This seems to be a growing problem, we have got to put an end to this love affair that the church has with this world. It will be the end of the church as we know it. We will lose our saltiness...then what good will we be?

What is Old is New

2009-04-01T06:57:00.001-07:00

EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY REPAINTING THE SOCIAL GOSPEL AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Mar 31, 2009 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Emergence Christianity, Emergent Church, Features, Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne/New Monasticism, Youth Ministry

DOWN WITH SOLA SCRIPTURA!

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

The Primary Mission Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Is To Preach God’s Gospel

If you are following the issue of the postliberal cult of Emergence Christianity here at Apprising Ministries you will see me talk about their reimagined version of the old social gospel as perpetrated by their forebears in the original cult of liberal theology. This Emerging church rebellion against Sola Scriptura, in favor of their highly subjective and existential experience in Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism, is downplaying—if not in some cases completely obscuring—the essential work done by Christ in the vicarious penal substitutionary atonement on the Cross.

This heresy then leads to a huge misconception concerning the primary mission that our Lord Jesus has given to His ambassadors; namely, to seek and save the lost just as our Master. He didn’t stutter, nor did He leave us to meditate in silence as to what this is. Jesus quite clearly says, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). As a good example concerning the very wrong teachings by Guru of Emergence Brian McLaren concerning the Gospel of our Lord Dr. John MacArthur has said:

For McLaren, other areas of ambiguity (or even outright disregard for the straightforward reading of Scripture) include doctrines like eternal punishment, eternal life, biblical inerrancy, divine sovereignty, divine masculinity, any doctrinal “distinctive,” and any teaching that would exclude other denominations or even other religions from being enthusiastically embraced (cf. A Generous Orthodoxy, 19, 74, 81, 100, 113-14, 159-60).

As he himself says, “The last thing I want is to get into nauseating arguments about why this or that form of theology (dispensational, covenant, charismatic, whatever) or methodology (cell church, megachurch, liturgical church, seeker church, blah, blah, blah) is right…” (Ibid., 19)… Throughout the rest of The Secret Message of Jesus, McLaren proceeds to present Jesus’ Kingdom message in a way that most closely aligns with the non-eschatological, social activism of twentieth century liberalism. (Online source)

This was often referred to as the social gospel as evidenced in the fantasies of Walter Rauschenbusch, who rejected the Biblical concept of regeneration:

Rauschenbusch’s view of Christianity was that its purpose was to spread a kingdom of God, not through a fire and brimstone style of preaching but by leading a Christlike life. Rauschenbusch did not view Jesus’ death as an act of substitutionary atonement but in his words, he died “to substitute love for selfishness as the basis of human society.” …

Rauschenbusch wrote: “Because the Kingdom of God has been dropped as the primary and comprehensive aim of Christianity, and personal salvation has been substituted for it, therefore men seek to save their own souls and are selfishly indifferent to the evangelization of the world.” Because of his views, Rauschenbusch was largely condemned as heretical, Romish, and socialist. (Online source)

Hmm, does any of that sound just a little bit familiar? In Dr. Walter Martin Exposes The Rotten Roots Of The Postliberal Emerging Church Of Postevangelicalism we showed you what Martin had stated in his lectures circa 1987 concerning what he called “the cult of liberal theology:

The reigning school of American theologians has progressed from bad to worse. We only have to deal with Harry Emerson Fosdick in the 1920s; but then, it accelerated to Edwin Lewis, Nels F.S. Ferre, Reinhold Niebuhr, and on from Niebuhr to Paul Tillich, and crowned in Rudolph Bultmann. Not one single one of those men believed the historic doctrines of the Christian faith; but they were all the leading theologians of America.

[Episcopal] Bishop [John] A.T. Robinson cannot be unfrocked by the Anglican Church despite the fact that he is a living devil when it comes to Christian theology—denying everything and turning the faith of people into darkness. Do you know why they can’t unfrock A.T. Robinson; because [Episcopal leadership] is heretical as he is. Therefore they can’t touch him…

British theology was corrupted by German theology; by Friedrich Schleiermacher, Albrecht Ritschl, David Strauss. Finally [it moved] to the United States in Walter Rauschenbusch; and from there to Harry Emerson Fosdick, Nels Ferre, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Rudolph Bultmann—and the school that’s emerging from them today. (The Cult of Liberal Theology, CD Rom, available at Walter Martin Religious InfoNet

And since the very influential Elvis of Emergence Rob Bell is himself quite taken with Brian McLaren et al you will also see this warped and toxic view in his own version of a corrupt Christianity as well. Study Bell’s theology closely and one will notice that Jesus is largely presented as being concerned with social causes and a kind of champion for the poor and oppressed people. In fact, in Velvet Elvis Bell says:

Famine, debt, oppression, loneliness, despair, death, slaughter – they are all hell on earth. Jesus’ desire for his followers is that they live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth. What’s disturbing then is when people talk more about hell after this life than they do about hell here and now. As a Christian, I want to do what I can to resist hell coming to earth. Poverty, injustice, suffering - they are all hells on earth, and as Christians we oppose them with all our energies (148).

If You Think Anything Hell Is On Earth; You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet!

Noble, yes; but wrong. Nothing on this earth would ever even begin to compare with complete separation from the presence of God. Whatever else Hell is, it begins there; and we get a horrifying peek at it when Jesus—God the Son—begins to experience this on the Cross — About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

J.C. Ryle’s insightful and penetrating comments to follow reveal how awful that harrowing cry from Christ truly was. Witness the heart of the Gospel now being glossed over by duplicious deceivers and their Emergence quasi-Christian univeralism:

There is deep mystery in these words, which no mortal man can fathom. No doubt they were not wrung from our Lord by mere bodily pain. Such an explanation is utterly unsatisfactory, and dishonorable to our blessed Saviour. They were meant to express the real pressure on his soul of the enormous burden of a world’s sins.

They were meant to show how truly and literally He was our substitute, was made sin, and a curse for us, and endured God’s righteous anger against a world’s sins in His own person. At that awful moment, the iniquity of us all was laid upon Him to the uttermost. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him, and put Him to grief (Isaiah 53:10). He bore our sins. He carried our transgressions. Heavy must have been that burden, real and literal must have been our Lord’s substitution for us, when He, the eternal Son of God, could speak of Himself as for a time “forsaken.”

Let the expression sink down into our hearts, and not be forgotten. We can have no stronger proof of the sinfulness of sin, or of the vicarious nature of Christ’s sufferings, than His cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It is a cry that should stir us up to hate sin, and encourage us to trust in Christ. (Exporatory Thoughts on the Gospels, Vol. 1, 394)

And for a more complete understanding of Emergence Christianity, a repainted i.e. reinterpreted version of—another—social gospel, as well as why this emerging theology easily embraces apostate Roman Catholicism, the piece on liberation theology from Dr. Ron Rhodes referenced below will prove helpful. Though I obviously differ with him concerning the ecumenical ministry of Rick Warren, Dr. Rhodes is a fine scholar, and you’ll see that The Emergence Gospel of Good Deeds preached by e.g. Rob Bell and Shane Claiborne is really nothing new at all:

Without going into detail, [Jurgen] Moltmann has suggested that the coming kingdom gives the church a society-transforming vision of reality as opposed to a merely private vision of personal salvation. [Johannes Baptist] Metz has emphasized that there is a political dimension to faith, and that the church must be an institution of social criticism. [Dietrich] Bonhoeffer has issued a call to redefine religion in a secular context. His theology emphasizes human responsibility toward others, and stresses the value of seeing the world with “the view from below” - the perspective of the poor and oppressed…

Marxism has also exerted a profound influence on liberation theologians… Drawing from European theologies and Marxism, Latin American theologians developed their own theology by radically reinterpreting Scripture with “a bias toward the poor.” … Like Bonhoeffer, liberation theologians say theology must start with a “view from below” - that is, with the sufferings of the oppressed. Within this broad framework, different liberation theologians have developed distinctive methodologies for “doing” theology.

Gustavo Gutierrez, author of A Theology of Liberation, provides us with a representative methodology. Like other liberationists, Gutierrez rejects the idea that theology is a systematic collection of timeless and culture-transcending truths that remains static for all generations. Rather, theology is in flux; it is a dynamic and ongoing exercise involving contemporary insights into knowledge, humanity, and history.

Gutierrez emphasizes that theology is not just to be learned, it is to be done. In his thinking, “praxis” is the starting point for theology. Praxis (from the Greek prasso: “to work”) involves revolutionary action on behalf of the poor and oppressed - and out of this, theological perceptions will continually emerge. The theologian must therefore be immersed in the struggle for transforming society and proclaim his message from that point.

In the theological process, then, praxis must always be the first stage; theology is the second stage. Theologians are not to be mere theoreticians, but practitioners who participate in the ongoing struggle to liberate the oppressed… (Online source)

Few Become Legends

2009-03-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday night I had the privilege to test and receive my Black Belt under the great Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. I have been in the Superfoot System for about five years now and have enjoyed every minute of the training. Bill fights with his left side facing the opponent, so it is extremely hard to attack something with not a lot of target showing. The system had proven very effective over the years and has allowed Bill Wallace to be the only fighter to retire without losing his Middleweight title. Mr. Wallace travels full-time now spanning the globe teaching his perfected Superfoot System. Thank you Bill Wallace for taking the time and sharing, thank you for taking the time to test me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEO8pbX9XSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wn3ldIiXLg

Check out the YouTube link. It tells of the Superfoot Legend.
Also you might want to stop by the Superfoot website at: www.superfoot.com. He is a great guy and has a real love for what he does. Enjoy!!

Right In Your Own Backyard

2009-02-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

So I like history. I have always loved history. I do like to read about historical things but I also enjoy seeing with my own eyes historical sites, places, things. When you are standing there you can almost imagine what it must have been like during those heady days when "those" people who were doing "those" things didn't seem to be anything special but to us, now it is History.

As I went to Bible college I had to take a class on the "Restoration Movement". Coming from Florida and growing up in the Christian Church, I really did not hear much about the "Restoration Movement". So to take this class about the history of our churches intrigued me, until I actually sat in the class. The disseminating of facts and a proclamation to read a book about a man and his father coming to same conclusion on the subject of restoring the New Testament church did not do it any justice. This is a great movement of God. And today has a ton of great churches doing a lot of great things to proclaim Jesus' death, burial and resurrection which brings me to my point.

Within an hour and twenty minutes from where I live now, one can stand on the ground where Restoration History was made.

James O'Kelly 1738-1826 circuit preached in Chatham and Orange counties from 1794 till 1804. For those who might be new to the Restoration Movement Mr. O'Kelly was one of our nation's first to unfetter himself from Denominationalism and actively pursue the church picture we get from the New Testament. All of this was done years before the influence of Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campell's on the American frontier.

Yesterday I had the privilege to stand on the church grounds of the O'Kelly Chapel. A one room church building were James O'Kelly preached his Restoration message. The church was organized by O'Kelly in 1794. The building stands unused and today it is privately owned. Our next stop was Martha's Chapel also in Chatham county it too was organized by O'Kelly in 1804. The chapel is predominantly used for weddings but remains in use today.

The last stop of the day was actually James O'Kelly's last stop. I was able to walk the old plot when this great Restorationist's body lays. Although it is in the middle of a very high end subdivision the public is allowed to visit the grave site. Erected by his Christian friends in the memory of James O'Kelley of N.C. The southern champion of Christian freedom. 1738-1826. James O'Kelly was one of the earliest anti-slavery clergymen to come out. In his landmark writing Essays on Negro Slavery he proved that he was not only an advocate for religious freedom but human freedom as well. James O'Kelly 's theology was very close to N.T. Christianity. He believed in partaking the Lord's supper on the 1st day of the week. He taught that the collection was a free-will offering. He believed in singing, preaching, praying, admonishing the saints. He did fail at baptism. He didn't believe immersion was necessary, that sprinkling would suffice. But in the true nature of the Restoration Movement as it seeks to "restore" one could only hope that the more time O'Kelly might have gotten to mingle with Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell, he too might have accepted immersion.

If you would like to visit these sites, ask and the directions will be provided. If you are the type of person that likes owning a piece of history; you might consider purchasing the house that sits directly in front of the O'Kelly's grave in the brand new sub-division. For a paltry $829,900 you too could have Restoration History right in your own backyard ;)

Lets talk,

R

Is the Emergent conversation over or did everyone just stop talking? And where will the Church go now?

2009-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

THIS IS A GREAT ARTICLE:

by: Rebecca Barnes, editor ·
11 Feb 2009
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The big news last year in the Emergent movement was the disappearance of Tony Jones as national coordinator for Emergent Village. In its December issue Christianity Today observed that the decision by the Emergent Village board of directors to eliminate its national coordinator position "marked the latest sign that the movement is either decentralizing or disintegrating."
Those in the movement would probably say "decentralizing"—at least those involved in trying to get more broad participation last year. Joshua Case posted a video on the EV Weblog to start a groundswell of support for everyone becoming the new national coordinator of Emergent Village.
"I, and a few friends of mine, are urging everyone who are involved in the conversation, wherever you are, to stand up and take your place within this conversation," he said. " ... Stand up and claim the role of national director, so that we’re able to see this movement continue on."
That was in November, after a late October move to turn the group back toward its social networking roots.
Emergent books
Leaders remain in the Emergent group, however. They blog more prominently and are published. Phyllis Tickle’s 2008 release, "The Great Emergence," was named by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the best books of the year in the religion category. While that would seem to bode well for the future of books on the subject—or at least for more books on the subject—those tomes are difficult to find.
The Emergence publishing weblog hasn’t been updated since July, 2008. The only new titles from Baker’s line of Emergent books due out in 2009 I can find listed online are:
Tim Conder’s new book "Free for All: Rediscovering the Bible in Community" which will arrive this summer. Conder is a founding member of Emergent Village, the founding pastor of emerging church plant Emmaus Way in Raleigh/Durham, and the author of "The Church in Transition."
Alan Hirsch’s companion handbook to last year’s "Forgotten Ways." However, to classify this Emergent when the subtitle is "A Practical Guide for Developing Missional Churches," may be incorrect.
Theology
Former Emergents Dan Kimball and professor Scot McKnight were interested in a generous orthodoxy that added controversy to movement early on, but now these two are adhering more strictly to the Lausanne Convention. Kimball’s apparent discomfort with Emergent led him to help form a new network. Provisionally called Origins, it is dedicated to "friends, pioneers, innovators, and catalysts who want to dream and work for the gospel together rather than alone."
Specifically noteworthy is Origins' proclamation about beliefs that align with Lausanne, including No. 2 in the list: THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE BIBLE. (Lausanne’s caps)
The Convention states:
"We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We also affirm the power of God's word to accomplish his purpose of salvation. The message of the Bible is addressed to all men and women. For God's revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit still speaks today. He illumines the minds of God's people in every culture to perceive its truth freshly through their own eyes and thus discloses to the whole Church ever more of the many-colored wisdom of God.
(II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:21; John 10:35; Isa. 55:11; 1 Cor. 1:21; Rom. 1:16, Matt. 5:17,18; Jude 3; Eph. 1:17,18; 3:10,18)"
This statement leaves little room for revisionist theology. So it makes sense that Kimball and McKnight broke from the emergent group that as recently as last April had invited Kimball to share the stage with Jones, Doug Paggitt and others with whom theological difference would have been inevitable. This was at the Emerging for Existing Churches conference in Denver last spring. Kimball’s books were on the book table and his photo in the brochure, but he was absent. However, others adhering to traditional theology attended the conference, namely Bob Whitesel.
The difference pointed out by multiple speakers at the gathering was that mainline churches often struggle more with changing the worship style while evangelical or non-denominational churches struggle with changing the theology.
New turns in the Emergent road
This year the Emergent movement, or what is left of it, is taking another direction. Or, perhaps it is just a further progression of the one already traveled. Emergent conferences on the horizon this year indicate an interest in female leadership and Catholics joining the Emergent conversation.
Jones is still speaking and blogging away—though on BeliefNet now, and notably avoiding that pesky "E" word.
Brain McLaren, emeritus member of the board of directors of Emergent Village, along with former Emergent McKnight and current Emergent Tim Conder, are at the National Pastors Convention this week in California. Only one is still talking Emergent. That’s Conder, who is speaking about "The Pastoral Vocation in an Emergent World." And it only makes sense that as a leader in EmergentVillage and an emergent church planter, Conder also will speak this week on "Emergent Ministry for Existing Churches"—close to the name of last year’s Denver conference.
Conder explains his talk by saying that existing churches "may have the momentum and stability of a historical ministry, but long histories also yield the potential burdens of entrenched expectations and inalterable traditions."
Of course, liturgical, high-church congregations generally have more traditions. But even looser groups tend to build up certain worship, fellowship or event practices. So tradition becomes a tension for any healthy congregation. Churches want to grow to gain momentum and stability. Once they do, a strain toward further growth becomes evident among some members. Particularly those who may be more interested in the traditions than the innovative, and their existing friends than emerging ones.
If Emergent survives now it is in this tension, which all kinds of churches that want to grow experience. These are the people who are now talking about surviving in an antagonistic North American culture.
Churches that want to survive are adapting, reaching out and experimenting. Has the word "emergent" gotten old? Maybe, but the concepts that drove even the most traditional mainline, liturgically worshipping congregation to question the need to change remain. And the question: What must we do to be saved?

I would love to here opinion on this. I truly believe this was a "thing", and now the church worldwide (adam again reference) is searching for the next "thing".

Please tell me what you think.

R

This is Great!

2009-01-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

New Life’s “Hush Money” Exposed

Jan 26 by Ingrid Schlueter

When Ted Haggard’s lurid gay hooker adventures were made public some time ago, New Life Church had a little secret they hoped would stay that way. It seems that Haggard’s romps were hardly a one time deal. Now that one of Haggard’s other male friends has come forward and announced that the church paid him money with the agreement that he stay quiet about “Pastor Ted”, Haggard isn’t the only one looking bad.

In that many of the perverted, lost and sociopathic megachurch scandal pastors ultimately end up starting over at some other church, didn’t New Life owe it to the public to let the full story be told? It’s bad enough that the church paid Haggard a six-figure salary for a year after his departure, a seeming reward for his betrayal of Christ and the Gospel, as well as lying through his teeth the night the news story broke. Now we learn that the church tried to hush up another who knew the depth to which Haggard had sunk. It was hush money, whatever other wording they want to use.

These churches who pay these celebrity leaders huge salaries without any serious accountability are just as culpable in the end as the men who fall. If they were serious about cleaning house, they should have come clean about the whole story, publicly apologized to the world for the shameful, Christ-dishonoring conduct of their pastor, and then shown Mr. Haggard the door. Regardless of what the church claims about their behavior being in the best interest of the Gospel and so forth and so on, the real issue was self-preservation of a highly affluent ministry. They couldn’t afford to come clean because they feared a reduction in ticket buyers for the circus, so to speak. Never fear. The church has grown by 1,500, according to the new pastor, so it’s all good, right? Slice readers may remember that the same week their pastor became an international disgrace to Christ, the church went forward with a comedy act scheduled for their sanctuary. No further commentary needed.

This comes from a great website: www.sliceoflaodicea.com, check it out great stuff.

Church Health??

2009-01-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

In my ministry career I have had the privilege to be on the learning end of some pretty unique church situations. The term "Church Health" or is this church "Healthy" has come up a few times. My church situation in Saint Petersburg, Florida seemed to be a great church. I loved my time at this church, in fact it was my first full-time employment in the ministry. But what seemed to be a good ministry, church, situation, digressed into a non healthy body real fast. The senior minister and I had and still do have a great relationship. We would come up with ideas, or read what someone else is doing in the ministry and would immediately retool the idea and make it our own and put it into practice. On many occasions we would have several visitors proclaim this is the greatest church they had visited or this place rocks, what you guys are doing here...we have not seen in church before, we will be back. They never did come back.

Through much prayer and sleepless nights the senior minister and I decided with the consent of the "elders" and a so called "church consultant" to close the church body known as Northeast Christian Church. It was a sad day and yes you read right "closed down". We allowed the local churches to come in and put their name on things that might help there particular ministry situation. We had a last service complete with long time guests and some of our missionaries we support, which by the way got ten percent of what we sold the building for. It was a great death for this particular body....or was it?

Since the closing of the church in October '06 I have had misgivings about what I was able to take part in. What seemed to be good at the time has now been a constant prayer of forgiveness to our most gracious Lord. Part of the senior ministers and my severance packages was to go and get trained and certified as Church Consultants. Because the thoughts of my senior minister and me were and still are...We are not going to allow this to happen again. So as we took the training and began the certification process, one thing kept coming to our heads...Our church consultant didn't do it like this???

Now having gone through Church Centrals Church consultant training and now on the cusp of being trained and certified through Church Doctor Ministries I know for a fact that our church consultant might not have been the most trained or qualified person to handle the Northeast situation. In both of my training experiences closing a church down really was not an option to be discussed. The education was more like do whatever you have to, to save a church.

Which brings me to the point of the blog, if you are in a unhealthy church situation, or have lost direction, or the leadership doesn't understand 21st century ministry get some trained help. You do not want to close a church down, the repercussions are huge. This has really messed with my head. I keep asking God to forgive me. I keep thinking that I could have done something more to stop the closing from happening. If you are looking for help in determining your situation please get some good help that will come alongside of you and your ministry team to help you determine the best coarse of action. I for one being one who has" been there and done that" would love to talk with you and your team to at least help guide the ship so to speak.
There are all kinds of tools out there to help with any church situation. Worship studies, demographic studies, church health surveys, on-site visitation, you name it there are tools out there. My prayer is that you get qualified and trained people behind you so you can be part of the vibrant church of the 21st century.

Lets talk,

R

HIFIOY #5

2008-12-30T06:20:00.000-08:00

Just getting back from Christmas vacation in Florida (holla), I thought I would finish up my little series of things that just don't sit right with me in the church world. I have talked about giving, and changing vision and the like, this morning I would like to touch on a subject, that I have seen over and over again. This mentality that the people in the church have regarding the paid staff in their church. It seems that once a church hires someone, that gives them the right to step back out of ministry all together and let the paid gun do everything. Now as much as I have seen this I have also seen it not work just as much.
Lets paint the picture: Church needs help...church hires a person who they think will help them reach the next level, church steps back and allows the new man to practically do every aspect of ministry by themselves, church starts to decline, church fires hired man because of poor numbers and offering, church rebuilds on it own, people come back into the ministry picture, church hires another ace and the circle slide (choir reference) continues.
Now personally I have a big problem with this...is this what the church is called to do? I do believe we are to seek and save the lost. But this seems to get lost in the aforementioned slide. After the people of the church have stepped back out of service to let the ace minister do everything there feelings get hurt, or they "wouldn't have done it like that", or your changing things way to fast around here, and the lost souls of our communities and the good name of the church get lost in the revolving slide.

A little side note, I know what the Bible says about double honor, and we shouldn't muzzle the ox, but I have had a problem for a long time now taking money from the church doing what I do. A lot of times the salary of the minister (s) hamstrings the work, the reach, message of the church. And why should I be the burden of a body of believers that is struggling to get by. In first Corinthians Paul knows he is due compensation...buts opts not to take it. This has intrigued me for some time now. If there is anyone who deserves monetary compensation it is the Apostle Paul. I really understand what Paul is saying in these passages (1 Cor. 9), he has the right but does not use the right. Where there ministers in the first century that were being 100% compensated for there work in the church? or did everyone combine the workload, and the money, and the resources. Has the Ministry become something it was never intended to be?
This is my struggle at this very moment in my career. I have been in places in my Ministerial career that I wondered if I was going to get paid. That is not fair to the church, and it is not fair to the "Minister".

If Ministerial salaries were done away with it might just level the playing field and help to stop the slide. Please tell me what you think.

R

HIFIOY # 4

2008-12-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

Next on the list is why it seems that the Church always gets the short end of the stick when it comes to finances. I have been in smaller churches, church plants, larger churches the story is the same; the Lord's work is third at best when it comes to me and my money. The Lord will get his when I, and the gov, and my car, my house, my kids first get there's. We are never going to be the church the Lord wants us to be unless He gets first run in our lives. This means in every area of our lives, not just Sunday's but a 24/365 approach. This is how the first century church did it, they made the church their lives, this is what we are missing out of in the 21st century.

Time and time again I have seen churches just eek by, and accomplish nothing in the process. I believe it is a heart thing, that people when they take the plunge, not all aspects of there lives take the plunge as well. This is why some of our churches are struggling with trying to keep the boat afloat. I have had experience of actually getting to the point of having to close down a church because things got that bad. But if we were all 100% sold out, I believe it would have been a different story.

We want programs, we want facilities, we want staff, but are we willing to take the time and energy, and money it will take to put these things in place. I do believe that some churches out their..."play church", oops I said it. We see the budgeting process and find out that the leaders themselves are not sold out as they should be. Scripture aside, our thinking should be that what has been given to us....it is not ours, it is His. Money, family, stuff...it is all His. When we learn this then the Lord will get the first place He deserves in our lives.

Tell me what you think?

R

HIFIOY #3

2008-12-02T06:25:00.000-08:00

So one thing that has really put me over the edge sometimes is this disconnect people have with there "church life" and what I would like to call there "real life". I have seen it time and time again that the church in peoples life seems to be just tolerated and not really engaged. Things, stuff, people, family, activities all take precedent over the local body of Christ. And as a result, the body is suffering and there is a glut of apathetic Christians on our hands.
In our state that we find ourselves we see that the church in a lot of cases does not get fifth place in a lot of peoples heart let alone first place. We seem to have a ton of "once a month er, dollar givers filling the roles of our churches. Which when we really look at it, we see the trickle down effect this has on our Youth and Children ministries. How in the world can you program for apathetic people.

The people are not involved in church like they use to be. Is is the people or is the Church? When this question was asked "when do you read your bible?" the answer was, "I read my bible in church." This clearly points to the "real world" vs. "Church world" problem I have faced and battled for what seems to be a long time now. I do "churchy" things when I am at church.....the one Sunday I go.

Now I have stated the problem, I can see only one real solution. It has to be Discipleship. Just saying the word makes me cringe. I know what that means. It means long-term investment into someones life. It does not always work, it is not pretty or showy, but I truly believe it is the answer. This is whole Jesus did it, this is how Paul did it...why have we changed? True Discipleship takes a long time, it is a slow process. Churches don't want to hear "not pretty", "slow process", they want big and bad and numbers. Discipleship is behind the scenes, it is not glossy on stage, forefront type of stuff. This has only been made new and fresh in my life just recently. I had the opportunity to fill in preach while the Senior Minister was gone. After my time was finished a man came up to me and said lets do lunch. We did and he confessed to a problem, we prayed and we have touched base consistently every week for about 6 months now. We have shared common interests, music, books, family events. And only after this block of time, I have seen the guy explode in the church. He is serving, he is hungry, he had transformed right before my eyes from disconnected to engaged.

Discipleship will not attract numbers, it might even push the ones you have to fall away. Maybe smaller is better?

Lets talk,

R

HIFIOY # 2

2008-11-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

So in my long life as a "YOUTH MINISTER" I have seen time and time again what I would like to call the (BANE) of the located Youth Ministry. It seems to be at epidemic levels, this mentality that the Youth Ministry can fix my kid when I don't have anything spiritually to do with my child, when I don't read the bible in front of my child, when I am afraid to allow my child to see me pray, and when my church attendance and church giving are at anemic levels. But this new stud Youth Minister can fix lil Billy I know it.
Well I am here to tell you not so much. The time that the Youth Minister and the church for that matter have with your child is very small as compared to the time that you the parents have with them. The child is always going to take the lead of the parents. Your child is the way he/she is because of the example you have set for them. If you don't take time and read the bible...they are not going to read the bible, if you don't make church a priority...they are not going to allow the church to have priority in there lives. A good youth ministry will only start to see fruit three to five years down the road. There is no quick fix in the youth ministry, it takes time, and relationships, and time. All three of these components you the parent already possess. Make the most of the time you already have and read the bible with lil billy. It will make the world of difference. The youth ministry and the church should be the nice side dishes not the main course. The parents should be the meat, the children should come first to the parents and then enhance what the parents are already saying by attending youth ministry and the local church. We want lil billy to be on a good ball team and go to a good school and make lots of money, but do we really have lil billy's best interest at heart. Priorites need to be shifted...then lil billy will be the all around good Christian with the parents leading the way and the church and the youth ministry having there back the whole time.

Lets talk
R

HIFIOY # 1

2008-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Aside from being in the ministry for almost twenty I also fancy myself somewhat of Church Consultant. At the end of my last ministry in St. Petersburg Florida in which I was actually part of a church closing, I was able to be trained and certified as a Church Consultant as a part of my severance. Throughout the years I have always been interested in Church growth/health and have collected bulletins and newsletters, by-laws, mission statements and the like. What I have found to be true in several areas of the country is that we expect great things from our ministries and are dishearten when things don't pan out like we dreamt they would. This got me wondering and excited to do little investigation. What I have found out is that Church's keep doing church like we have always done it and every single time expect some sort of grandiose outcome. Allow me elaborate, what I am talking about we really don't change out methodology we just play at it. The Bible is the same yesterday as well as today, our methods should be allowed to be changed, tweaked, removed, or morphed into whatever will further the message we are preaching and teaching. NOTHING should be sacred except the word of God.

How we "do" church is not how they "did" church in the first century. The movement survived and thrived for more than three hundred years with meeting in homes and the everyone is a minister mentality. During this time in the Church's history it took over the known world. But as we have allowed man initiated thoughts, doctrine, methods and practices to take precedence and become something they are not, it has and will continue to hamstring the local body of believers.

Don't get me wrong "traditions" are good as long as they find there beginnings in the Word. When a "tradition" becomes a pet like or dislike it removes God from equation and puts us on very dangerous ground. When we find ourselves out of bounds like this, we are nothing more than a social club gathering around a buffet.

Lets talk, R

Have I Figured it Out Yet?

2008-11-19T11:04:00.001-08:00

I have had the privilege to be involved in full-time church work for almost twenty years. In those years I have been a youth minister, associate minister, music/youth minister and now I find myself mulling over the Senior ministry or the main preacher/teacher of a congregation. I have come up with a list of five things that I would like feed back on. I would like to discuss these items one at a time, but for starters here is my list of issues that really just wear me out in the ministry.

1. Trying to do the same thing all the time expecting different results.
2. Let the youth minister fix my kid.
3. The disconnect with church life and my "real" life.
4. Church work always getting the short end of the stick financially.
5. Letting or allowing the paid staff to take the lead on everything....should we or should'nt we.

Let's talk, R