It’s not everyday that you read a book and pretty much everything it says strikes a chord within you, but I’ve got to say this one has.
Frank Viola’s book Reimagining church (you can find it at Franks website or at Amazon) is a healthy critique of our current church practices (from house church to high church) with depth and a clear understanding of the Old and New Testament he casts a revealing light into so many of the doctrines and perspectives that I have personally been exploring over the past few years…but puts it so much more graciously than I!
He explores topics around community and gatherings, leadership and accountability and reveals many of the poor practices that have taken hold of the the 21st century church.
Just a few posts ago I mentioned a post by frank on Organic Church, and for those interested in going deeper on this subject, I think this could be the book for you.
February 2nd, 2010 in
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Yesterday I went for a walk on Epsom Downs, to clear my head, get some fresh air, and have a pray.
The start of the 2010 has been an interesting time for us, we’ve committed January to seek the face of God and his will for the rest of the year and already we’ve experienced highs and lows during this time, there have already been some frustrations and some disappointments, but one thing that seems very very clear is that God is calling us to walk a new path into un-chartered territory… at least for us.
Back to the Downs, as I was strolling over the hills I was heading in the general direction of my car which at the time was out of sight and found myself travelling along a already beaten track through the rough grass, as I neared the top of the hill I could see my car in the distance but for some strange reason I felt almost compelled to keep walking on the path that had been previously trodden, the odd thing is that this path would have eventually led me in completely the wrong direction, I could see that, yet for some reason, I still felt drawn towards it, I had to make a conscious choice to leave the path and go in the direction of my car, over the rough ground.
It was at this point, I just felt the holy spirit whisper to me, sometimes following the paths that have being walked before us eventually end up leading us to the wrong destination, so when following the holy spirit, his leading and his guiding we have to make a conscious choice to step out of the familiar and walk a new path. Of course there are risks involved as its not easy to see where you’re going, it’s not all clean cut and tidy, but one thing the Lord has been speaking to me about recently is the need for courage in our walk with Christ, we have to be prepared to embrace the unknown after all faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’ve got.
I think it was Einstein, who said “doing the same things and expecting different results is madness” and for me I have to agree with that, it seems so much of our Christianity is the walk of the familiar, the routine, the comfortable and sadly, this just eventually turns into religion (form without power) there’s so much power in Christ yet to walk with him means listening, being led, surrendering our own wills and agendas, and from time to time leaving the beaten path.
I can’t say I know where the rest of 2010 is going to lead but I am pretty sure that I / we can find ourselves walking through some new territory, new ground, which to some could be scary, stepping out of the box often is, but equally it could be exhilarating, rewarding, inspiring, much of which is all about how we perceive things. Some people fear change, some people love change, but for me one thing is very very clear, so much needs to change.
So for me, it’s “yes Lord” to quote a song I wrote several years ago “I will follow where you lead”
January 27th, 2010 in
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I was just reading a comment on Facebook about a book that apparently stands against the prosperity gospel, which states that money is evil and so are things, I haven’t read it so I can’t comment on the book itself but I do have a few quick thoughts on the issue.
1, I personally believe that God wants to prosper us and not to harm us, but prosperity does not necessarily mean a fat bank account and a rock and roll lifestyle. However when we do prosper it is our responsibility to give too, we are blessed to be a blessing, in all areas of our lives.
2, My understanding is that we could live without want and that is demonstrated in the book of acts, where the disciples held everything in kind and no one went without. But that means giving not taking, the prosperity gospel can become a very self centred theology and that is never Gods intention.
3, That when we place our lives and business in Gods hands and walk obediently, we should, over the long run see good friut in all areas.
4, The reaction to the prosperity gospel and the manipulation etc that comes with it can swing too far in the other direction and subsequently we end up embracing a poverty spirit which is definitely not of the Lord.
5, Jesus is very clear on the love of money being the route of all evil, not money itself, it’s the hold it can have on our hearts that is the issue here. Also Jesus admonishes not to put our trust in material things but to place our trust in the Lord, but he doesn’t say anything is wrong with having “things” again its the attachment we have to things that can become an issue here.
6, St Paul learned to be content with much or little, life is seasonal so things come and go, learning to be content is a key here instead of being driven by our materialism and greed. How many flat screen tv’s or things do we really need? There real issue is one of filling a gap with stuff that only Christ can fill. Sadly so many people have a poverty spirit that no matter how much stuff they have it’s never enough. You can even have a poverty spirit and be wealthy!
7, When you know the love of Jesus, and know his presence and the meaning of being adopted into him, you know he has everything we need, stuff has very little meaning so it’s hold is broken, I know I can trust him with my needs, and if we are in a healthy Christian community (which sadly isn’t always the case) we should be looking out for each others needs before our own and corporately should be free of a poverty spirit and mindset. Like I said, we are blessed to be a blessing not blessed for our own sake.
8, Some people will embrace poverty as a lifestyle and that may bring them the kind of freedom that they need, like an alcoholic embracing a sober lifestyle, however that is not the case for everyone, some can enjoy a drink sensibly, as some can handle wealth in a Godly manner.
There is probably a lot more that can be said on the matter but here’s a good starting conversation…I may add some more in time?
I’ve just been reading this article on Frank Viola’s blog, for someone that has been trying to explore church that isn’t institutionally based I found this description very helpful, there are some links to other helpful related articles at the bottom of the page as well.
For those who are struggling to grasp some of what I’m exploring I think Frank sums it up very well. I Reckon I might buy his book too, Jx
I was forwarded an e mail from a friend today (thanks Fi) by a Doug Addison, it’s all about identity, and a confirmation to me about the recent topic so I thought I’d post it here with permission Thanks Doug… for more info on Doug Addison and his ministry go here.
Spiritual Identity Theft
By Doug Addison
I woke up the day after Christmas after several dreams where I saw the enemy trying to steal people’s destinies. As I prayed about it I heard the words “identity theft.” Oftentimes, things that are happening in the natural realm reflect what is happening in the spiritual realm. The rise of identity theft in the world is symbolic of what is happening spiritually to people all around the world. I saw two covert strategies that Satan is trying to use against people to keep them from seeing, finding, and fulfilling their life purpose and destiny in God.
Strategy 1: Getting us to Believe That we are our Behavior
Bad experiences or painful pasts can negatively affect our present. There are forces of darkness that want us to believe that we are the only ones who suffer with these issues and that it is unchangeable. This is simply not true. Too often our sin and emotional baggage gets linked to what we believe about ourselves. In other words, our personality and identity becomes associated with the things we struggle with. The strategy of the enemy is for us to believe that we actually “are” how we feel or behave, which is not true at all. Satan wants you to believe things like: you “are” depressed, unhappy, worthless, unable to change, stupid, a failure … the list could go on and on. It is important to realize that our feelings and behavior are situational and we can change them—the truth is feelings and behavior are not who we really are. They might be things that we struggle with, but they are not our identity, or who we are in Christ.
This includes the things that you may think about yourself at a deep level. You might not consciously believe them but you find yourself thinking them or saying them about yourself on a regular basis. Most people don’t see that there is a direct connection between the way they view themselves and their destiny.
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he Proverbs 23:7 NKJV.
Strategy 2: Dying too Much to Yourself and Losing Your Passion
Satan wants to steal our identities and take away any hope for change. When he is able to get us to believe the lies about ourselves in Strategy 1, he then uses Bible verses out of context as he did with Jesus to release a second deadly attack against our destinies by getting us to over respond to our sin.
To experience a radically transformed life we must have renewed thinking. It is interesting that while writing about how to find God’s will for your life, the Apostle Paul says that we must first change our thinking by renewing our minds.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God Romans 12:1 NIV.
The process of renewing your mind involves a principle called dying to yourself. There are several verses in the Bible that talk about dying to the sinful nature or “old self” and allowing God to live through us. This is a necessary process for transforming your life. However, it is also a very misunderstood principle. Satan wants to get us to take this to the extreme and believe that we must die to all the heart desires and plans that we have. The truth is, dying to ourselves does not mean that we cannot have any desires or ideas of our own. If that were the case you would become a robot for God. God wants us to be his sons and daughters and to have authority on the earth. God created the earth and we are created in His image. Therefore, we all have the ability to be co-creators to expand His Kingdom on earth.
God wants to give us good things that we want and desire once our motives are right. It is no wonder that so many people don’t know their destiny; it may be because they have died to any desire they may have once had.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart Psalm 37:4 NIV.
Dying to yourself means that your heart has the right intentions. Not all of our desires are necessarily from God. Quite often God will give us a passion or strong desire to fulfill something in our lives. Passion is important because it brings about a divinely inspired drive to accomplish things for God.
The Remedy: God’s Good Intentions for You
A really great thing about God is that He sees us as who we are becoming through His love and power. As He looks at our lives, He knows our past, understands our present, and can see us in the future, all at the same time. His love, mercy, and grace are unfathomable. Imagine the possibilities if we could see ourselves the same way that God sees us. Much of the time we are not able to see our purpose and destiny with much clarity, so we are required to rely on faith. The principle of faith allows us to trust that there is something special and unique for us, even if our experiences have been the opposite. Sometimes there is great resistance or even setbacks before we are able to get into the fullness of God’s desires for us.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV.
We need to be certain of the fact that God has nothing but good intentions for us, even though we may not see them yet. You’ll see this in this powerful biblical principle:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV.
These are God’s intentions for us. His plans are to prosper us, to give us hope and a future. If you read on, you’ll see the benefits of grasping this.
Then [after you discover God’s plans for you] you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart Jeremiah 29:12–13 NIV.
We must see what God is doing in our lives and work with Him to bring it about. It’s time to take a stand against what Satan has in mind for us and come into line with God’s wonderful intentions for us.
If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed Proverbs 29:18 The Message.
Our Identity is in Christ
The foundation of my life is this: in Christ, I am a new creation, and all the old thoughts and behaviors no longer have power over me. I am being renewed every day with God’s love and character. I share in God’s divine nature because God’s Spirit lives in me. I am free from condemnation and have the strength to live my life free of despairing thoughts and the competing desires of my flesh. I am God’s workmanship, created to do good works, which God has prepared ahead of time for me to accomplish. I am more than a conqueror through God who loves me. I have a clear mind and can make good decisions. I am increasing daily in faith, strength, wisdom, and love. I am able to love others because God has first loved me”.
Good stuff huh, Jx
I’ve been having a lot of conversations recently regarding identity and I think it is of such major significance to us as the body of Christ that I’m not even sure where to start…
But for a starting point here are a few thoughts for now.
1. We must not look to the institution or our function for our identity, within the “church” or outside of it, when we do we elevate the institution to the place of an idol, we must know Gods voice and his approval, (which by the way cannot be earned but is received).
2. We must know ourselves and our weaknesses especially the need for significance and approval – these often get in the way of us walking in obedience to the Lord, we please people before we please God and often that leads to consequences that are unhelpful.
3. Those in leadership must not exploit peoples need to belong for the sake of the organisation or institution – but the power of the institutionoften overpowers us because of point number 1
4. Though we should enjoy our gifting, we must not be defined by it.
5. When we know who we are in Christ we do not have to fear empire or control, but that is not always received well by those around us.
6. It’s all about who we are not what we do, and we must follow Jesus’ example of this.
7. It will come at a cost, and are we prepared to count that cost?
I’m currently working on some of these thoughts in more depth, but it’s such a huge area, I hope to expand on more of this over the next few weeks, (well at least after the holidays anyway), it would be good to get some feedback on this topic too, so feel free to comment, but for now, happy Christmas and maybe we’ll meet up on New years day as we gather to pray for the nation at 1pm in parliament square – London.
Jx
Today I was amused to find out that rage against the machine are possibly in line for a Christmas number one in the UK record charts (for those of you that know rage against the machine are a rock/ funk/rap/ metal/ band). And they stand in direct competition with the latest X factor winner.
What I love is just how a small group of people who are fed up with saccharin sweet manipulative entertainment that we are constantly bombarded with are encouraging people to buy a record that stands against pretty much everything that X factor stands for, and it’s really starting to worry them. Simon Cowell is making statements, Cheryl Cole’s making statements, they are all terribly worried that this American rock band can undermine all the work they do as X factor panellists, and rightly so, they should be worried. The veneer is starting to wear thin, people have had enough.
X factor isn’t about talent, it’s all about entertainment, It’s all about Simon Cowell making money and fair enough, if that’s what he wants to do, who am I to get in his way? But the problem with the X factor, which is common to any empire, is that it believes it is somehow has the right, that is entitled to the number one spot, but that’s not true. It should not be the empire that decides who wins and who loses yet clearly that’s what happens, but when a few guys through Facebook and the internet rally so many people to buy a record by a band who so many people have never even heard of. It just shows what can be done from grass-roots level when people are inspired.
Now that’s entertaining.
This is a blog post from Jonathan Bartley of the Ekklesia think tank which I thought was very interesting not to mention just a little bit challenging…something to think about.
The other day I was reading a blog from a prominent leader of a church movement, on his post there was a comment about the importance of Christ within me and that is the key to seeing the kingdom outworking (it was slightly understated and to be honest it’s the only way we can exist as believers, in both relationship and function) so I wanted to explore the depth of importance of this and also if this is so important how do we release the spirit of God from within us?
Scripture tells us is Romans 8 v 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
1 Cor 6 v 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
1 Cor 3 v 16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are Gods temple and that Gods Spirit lives in you?
Romans 8 v 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God
1 Corinthians 2 v 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
And there are plenty of other verses that point to this reality, so here are a few thoughts.
Christ gave up his divinity and lived a perfect life and the manner of which he would like us to live, by being fully dependant on the Holy Spirit, he didn’t simply shelve his powers and occasionally let them out in a restricted form, like in a super hero movie where the hero acts like a normal human but in fact has a constant access to his super power, he left them behind when he stepped into humanity, with the intention that we could follow in his footsteps and do what he has done, He was the first of his kind and he wants for us to do what he did, live as he lived.
At the point where we are born again and filled with the spirit of God (and it is possible to have confessed Jesus as lord and not be baptised with the spirit see acts 19 v 4), we start the process of learning to be dependant on the leading, prompting and teaching of the holy Spirit. it is from this point that we start the process of being transformed and learn to live as Jesus lived, but there is only one way to do this successfully and that it through intimacy with that spirit.
So here we have an image of God stepping into humanity and putting on a man suit, restricted to only do what the holy spirit (the spirit of the father) does. The Incarnation, subsequently when we are baptised in the spirit, we become the vessels by which the spirit of God now flows through us to humanity, just like it did through Jesus.
Much of our weakness and powerlessness is that we are too ready to do things off our own back and not lean onto the spirit for guidance, generally only when we’re in a crisis do we fully lean on God.
I want to try and expose the importance of this reality, if the same spirit that flowed through Jesus and by which Jesus did all the amazing things he did, consider all the healings, miracles of provision and countless others (to many to contain in all the books in the world) surely then those things are also accessible to us,
-all of them.
But there does seem to be a condition, and that is that we surrender our will, our pride and learn to be fully reliant on the spirit. Living sacrifices, our hearts willingly placed on the altar of God. And that means dying to self. It’s amazing how much we can achieve with enough money or influence, but just consider what is achievable once we realise that God’s very presence lives within us and can flow through us. There is no force able to withstand the Glord of God.
I totally believe God is starting to strip away so much of our self in all it’s forms and reveal to us just how much he wants to be made manifest in us, that we become the incarnate image of God, “little Christ’s” it’s not about what we do but it’s all about who we are, that we are image bearers of God, that we are living tabernacles of Gods glory and presence. The temple system was where God connected to earth, now that is done away with we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are the dwelling place of God, where God once dwelt in the temple now he dwells in you and I and it’s down to us to allow him to flow through us into the world around.
When we allow the spirit of God to completely posses us, our heart, minds, body’s, everything, we start to manifest his kingdom through us, everywhere we go, it’s impossible not to if were living like this, as if it’s possible to walk through a cloud and not get wet, it’s impossible to hang out with God and his presence not rub off on us. This is what Gods wants. This is why God wants us to worship him, because we become like the thing we worship, when we worship God it changes us and we become like our Father, prayer is about spending time in his presence, so is worship, it all about his presence.
I remember being taught as a young believer “too much word and you dry up, too much spirit and you’ll blow up” what rubbish, Jesus is the Word of God and you can never have to much of the spirit, the spirit of God is life, you cannot have too much of Jesus, ever. It might ruin you forever, but you can never have too much.
Many men and woman of God of the past have walked in that intimacy, consider the stories of Smith Wigglesworth, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Evan Roberts, and others who in their very presence people were convicted of sin and cry out to God, it’s not that they were somehow special, but it’s that they and the father were one, they had given up themselves and stepped into the fullness of Gods promise for them, that they became true sons of God, completely and utterly grafted into the tree of life and they become the dwelling place for the Glory, I believe that is what God is doing now, its not about the ones or twos but he is wanting to manifest this through the body…globally?
Can you imagine what that would look like, if all the believers around the world would be so completely and utterly submitted to being united with the spirit of God that everywhere they go things are changed because they simply show up, there is a huge call to our generation, as I imagine as there has been to every generation previously, are we going to answer the call?
The scriptures tell us we are children of light, but sadly so much of the church is afraid that we’re going to get infected with darkness and we’re often so intimidated by the enemy that we stay hidden and behind the walls of our institutions and we build doctrinal walls to keep us and other in there, but that is not how light and darkness work, when you are in a dark room and you turn on the light, what happens? the darkness retreats and is expelled and so that is what it is like for us, when we are consumed with the light / presence of God, when we walk into a dark place the darkness is expelled or we’re asked to leave there’s no middle ground, the question is do we go or do we stay? when we stay everything changes! Light and dark can’t mix. We have to remember that we are in a spiritual battle, it is not flesh and blood that we’re struggling against.
So will we be lay down lovers for God, will we lay down everything we have, will we be like the man who finds treasure in a field and sells everything to have it? The promises of the kingdom are well worth the cost, that we may know God and know his presence.
That we will carry his presence and be the people God has called us to be, Glory carriers.
What a hope, what a promise…rise up, rise up.
This is a little call to pray that I’ve just sent out to my friends on facebook and wanted to post here too
On the 1st of January 2010 @ 1pm a small bunch of ragtag followers of Jesus are going to gather and pray for the nation in the very heart of the decision making center of the UK – Parliament Square
Our aim is to repent of our apathy, pride, sin and empire building (and anything else that springs to mind) and call for Gods grace, favor and glory to fall on the nation.
2 chronicles 7 v 14 says If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
It’s time to marry the land, to take responsibility for the state of the nation and to call on the Lord for his healing.
So we’re calling all history makers, salt shakers, fire starters and bread makers to rise up and call for the glory to fall.
If you’ve got nothing else planned on New Years day other than eating left over turkey and mince pies why not have a day out in the nations capital, come along and join us, anyone can pray and if you do come along invite your friends too, it could be the most significant New Years day of your life.
Spread the message, Invite your friends, Jesus loves the UK and wants to bring life, love healing and hope back to the Nation.
So if it ends up being just me and a couple of mates that fine by me, I’m gonna do it anyway, but if anyone wants to come along and joins us then the more the merrier, hopefully I’ll see you on the 1st of Jan,
Jx
It’s not everyday that you read a book and pretty much everything it says strikes a chord within you, but I’ve got to say this one has.
