Out of the Clay

Being brought up in ”Christian” Germany with churches everywhere, I have always felt that there must be something exciting about the Church which Jesus started and about which I read in the New Testament - but somehow I have yet to discover what it is. I dreamed - together with many friends and colleagues, of a church, that is as simple as One-Two-Three, yet is dynamic; an explosive thing, able to turn the world and a neighborhood upside down. The church as a supernatural invention; endowed with God’s gift of immortality; the way to disciple each other, and to transfer the life of Jesus to each other. An experience of grace and grapes, love and laughter, joy and jellybeans, forgiveness and fun, power and - yes, why not, paper. A church, which does not need much finances, rhetoric, control and manipulation, which can do without powerful and charismatic heroes, which is non-religious at heart, which can thrill people to the core, make them loose their head for joy, and simply teach us The Way to live. The church which not only has a message, but is the message; which spreads like an unstoppable virus, infects whatever it touches, and ultimately covers the Earth with the glory and knowledge of God. It’s power stems from it’s inventor, who has equipped it with the most genius spiritual genetical code - a sort of heavenly DNA, which allows it to transfer and reproduce Kingdom values from Heaven to Earth, and transform not only water into wine, but atheists into fascinated apostles, policewomen into prophetesses, terrorists into teachers, plumbers into pastors, and dignified village elders into beaming evangelists in the process. It is like a spiritual family - organic, not organized, relational, not formal; it has a persecution-proof structure, matures under tears, multiplies under pressure, grows under the carpet, flourishes in the desert, sees in the dark, and thrives on chaos. A church that can multiply like two fish and five breads in the Hands of Jesus, were the fathers turn their hearts to the sons and the sons their hearts to the fathers, were it’s people are it’s resources, and which has only one name to brag about, the Lamb of God.

I posted this for one reason.  To get you to think.  How many times do we see or hear of a vision that is dominated by the outward appearance of an organization?  I come across it everyday of my life.  In this fallen world so many are driven by the thought of what others are thinking about them.

 One of the subtleties of the flesh is it’s ability to slowly turn our focus from inward to the outward.   When we take our eyes of of Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith (yeah, think about that one for a while), then we have placed our eyes on something else.  Jesus is the only way and any way that is not Jesus is not the way.  Everytime I read that vision or mission statement quoted above from Wolfgang Simsons book ‘Houses that Change the World’ I am reminded of Jesus words:

 “…upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hades will not overpower it.”

Live out Thy life within me, O Jesus, King of kings!
Be Thou Thyself the answer to all my questionings;
Live out Thy life within me, in all things have Thy way!
I, the transparent medium, Thy glory to display.

The temple has been yielded, and purified of sin,
Let Thy Shekinah glory now shine forth from within,
And all the earth keep silence, the body henceforth be
Thy silent, gentle servant, moved only as by Thee.

Its members every moment held subject to Thy call,
Ready to have Thee use them, or not be used at all,
Held without restless longing, or strain, or stress, or fret,
Or chafings at Thy dealings, or thoughts of vain regret.

But restful, calm and pliant, from bend and bias free,
Awaiting Thy decision, when Thou hast need of me.
Live out Thy life within me, O Jesus, King of kings!
Be Thou the glorious answer to all my questionings.

There is an immense difference in work that is an expression of our faith and work that is trying to produce faith.

I read that statement this morning as I finished the book ‘Sidetracked in the Wilderness‘ by Michael Wells.  The book was a gift to me from John Woodward of Grace Fellowship International and it outlines the truths of what Wells calls ‘The Abiding Life’.  Other Christian authors and those in ministry have given it the term ‘The Exchanged Life’ or ‘The Abundant Life’.  I have even heard Pastor Warren Broomer of The Gathering in Sevierville call it ‘The Crucified Life’.  No matter what it is called, it is characterized by only one thing - Faith.

After finishing ‘Sidetracked ..’ and getting a warm up on my daily venti, bold, black eye from my favorite morning hang out (aka - Starbucks), I hopped in my car and worshiped for a brief moment before I had to be at work.  After booting up my PC and browsing through all of the monday morning email, I came across a devotional from Lifetime Garauntee called ‘In Me, Through Me, For Me‘ and WHAM!!  I was smacked right in the face again with truth of Faith being an expression of His Life in me as opposed to my working to try an produce faith.

Like most believers, for years I tried my best to copy Jesus.  I was taught that ‘…He has given you so much, you should want to do something for Him …’.  So, I worked.  I read my Bible, I prayed, I served, I tithed, I gave beyond the tithe,  I sacrificed, I fasted, I cried out to God, I repented, I journaled, I quit my career for ministry, I led, I preached, I taught, I baptized and the list goes on and on.  I like to tell people that if anybody completely sold out to the ‘Purpose Driven’ model of Christianity and Church, it was me - and it failed me miserably.

I had to come to a place where I accepted Christ, by faith and faith alone, not only as my Savior and Lord but also as my LIFE.  As I reckon myself dead to sin, self, works, religious activity, and the world and then believe that I have been raised with Him, transformed, a new creature, then I begin to experience the fruits of the Spirit in my everyday experience.  I have peace because He is peace and He is my LIFE.  I have joy because He is Joy and He is my LIFE.  I have patience because He is patience and He is my LIFE.  Do you see it?  How could I possible DO anything to add more to Him?  I can honestly say that since the day that I quit working for Him, He has done more for eternity through me and for me that many will ever see or know. 

I read an illustration this morning - maybe it will speak to you like it spoke to me:

There are many months when a tree appears to be inactive to the naked eye, and yet something is taking place in its innermost parts which will be evidenced in life and fruit.  If such life is never overtly manifested, then we could concluded that the tree is quite dead … Just as a tree, by the power of its life, can break in two a mighty boulder beside which it is planted, so faith is the power within you which will overcome all obstacles.  It is not from you but from Him.  Therefor, if you possess faith, it will be manifested.  We will not allow the enemy to stifle our faith through the deception of inactivity.’

A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevaling. 
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be? 
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us. 
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours,
thru him who with us sideth. 
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

As a church leader:

If we do not disciple and empower others, as Jesus has done, we end up exploiting others, using them for our ends, even if we clothe this in very spiritual terms.

If traditional congregational type churches do not have discipling at their core, they will not be able to develop a structure that disciples and empowers people, let alone disciple nations.  Quality defines the structure which in turn determines quantity.  As a result, people will remain systematically undiscipled and left powerless.  If the traditional structure does not empower and disciple, what does it do?

(Quote and Chart from Wolfgang Simpson’s ‘Houses that change the world’)

If you consider yourself to be a leader in the Body of Christ, then is your life one that is about discipling?  Maybe you’re a pastor, what is the core of your organization?  Quality or Quantity?  Are you empowering people or exploiting them?  Post your thoughts to the comments …

How many times in your walk with a church have you have heard that you should do something because “Christ died for you ..” or “because of all that He has done for you”?  Surely, if you have spent any time walking with a church, you have heard this as motivation to a call to commitment.  And I will admit that doing things because of what He has done for us sounds like a good and noble reason for activity.  Further, when viewed through the lens of the totality of the cross (Christ’s death for us and our death with Christ) it makes complete sense but, usually, at least in my experience, this statement is not made from the standpoint that we are ‘accepted in the Beloved’ but that we are in need of performing some certain work in order to be accepted.

Let me explain…  In the insitution church, much of the motivation for the believer to move to action is from a guilt driven principle.  As a matter of fact, in the emerging church movement today, discipleship is measured by a person’s level of commitment to a church.  That commitment is encouraged and taught by the leadership from the perspective of ‘Why wouldn’t you want to be committed to the church?  He died for you and He died for the church …’  This type of a call to activity appeals to the guilty conscious of a believer trying to do their best to live for God.

The problem is that before any type of a commitment should be made to any ministry - a believer needs to be taught, through one on one mentoring and training, what really happened to them at salvation and what God really desires of the believer.

So, the question is, what does God really desire of the believer?  Well, I believe that God’s plan for every person on the planet can be summarized into three spiritual milestones.

• Salvation
• Surrender
• Identification

Further, each of these three spiritual milestones in the maturing believer are attained by an inner realization (or revelation) that all that is needed to have a fulfilling and satisfying walk with God has already been freely given to them by His Grace!  There is nothing more that needs to be done in order to walk free of besetting sins, behaviors, and attitudes.

More and more commitment to a church might cause a believer to feel better about their self but these feelings will eventually subside.  Why?  Because Christ wants to be All in our lives.

The point is this - believers, old and new, need to be taught and trained how to rest in the finished work of The Cross.  They need to see that by the supernatural work of The Holy Spirit, not by their own effor, they were baptized into Christ.  And that includes His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.  They need to see that they have been ‘transferred from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of His Son’.   They need to see that ‘they have died and their real life is hidden with Christ in God’.  They need to realize that they have become new creatures.  Eternal Life is Christ’s Life.  At salvation, believers become new creatures - totally free of all guilt and condemnation.  There really is nothing more that a believer needs to do in order to attain any level of righteousness or holiness.  God desires to be our all.  Period.

So, next time that you feel like are being guilted into some decision.  Remember that Romans 8 says that ‘…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…’.  You are forgiven, accepted, and loved.  Further, you have been given supernatural status and significance.  You are an heir to the throne, adopted as children, a royal priesthood.  Those things are true of you whether you feel like it or not.  So, quit putting your faith in your feelings.  Start taking God at His word … and next time the ‘guilt trip’ won’t bother you.

God Bless.

Have you ever thought about what it really means to have ‘Eternal Life’? In my experience most of those that I come into contact with think, and believe, that eternal life is and adjective followed by a noun. The think that when they were saved that their ‘life’ changed and now it is never going to end. Probably most feel this way because of what they have been taught. To put another way - in the words of Dr. Phil Jones at FBC Powell - most have had salvation described to them as ‘life enhancement’ or that after accepting Jesus that their problems will go away. Well, I’ve got news for ya - being a follower of Christ is not that at all. When we accept the Son it is true that we receive Eternal Life but, I believe that we must re-think and re-learn what that means if we are to truly live the abundant life that Christ came to give us.

Eternal Life, when studied scripturally, is Christ’s Life. Christ has been since the beginning and will be forever. He is eternal. I would challenge anyone to re-think their understanding of eternal life to not include from this point forward but also from this point backwards! That means that when you receive God’s Son for salvation you not only inherit a new future but you also receive a brand new past, His past! That means that the believer no longer has to follow the same thought and behavior patterns that plagued their self-sufficient and sinful life prior to regeneration but they can now appropriate their new eternal identity in Christ!

I recently watched a video that ended with a brilliant message. The final thought was that success in life is determined by the number of shining eyes that surround you. You have the opportunity within every moment of life to make the eyes around you shine. It is a matter of who you are being, not what you are doing. As Christians living faith and hashing it out in the tough economic times, remember, you have Eternal Life and that is not the definition of how long you will live - it is a definition of who you are. Christ.

When was the last time you were wasted?

For me - it was today at lunch.

I don’t mean that I partook of a ‘liquid lunch’ - I mean that I got wasted. Let me explain …

I have been reading ‘The Normal Christian Life’ by Watchman Nee and today was the day that I read the final chapter. The title of that chapter is ‘The Goal of The Gospel’ and the author illustrates that goal using the picture of Mary breaking the alabaster cruse and anointing Jesus with 300 pence worth of Spikenard.

The reason that I use the word ‘wasted’ is because that is how Mary’s action was described by Judas (who betrayed Christ and represents ‘the world’ in this illustration) and by Jesus’ disciples (who represent other ‘christians’). But, Nee goes on to explain that this one action of ‘waste’ will be remembered wherever the gospel is spread. A mighty big prophecy!! See, Mary did something that no other person ever did - she anointed Jesus’ Body. Remember why they went to His tomb after the crucifixion? They went to anoint His body - but, they were not able to do so for He was already risen.

See, what the illustration alludes to is how we, as believers, need to be wasted for His sake. We need to willingly pour ourselves out unto Him. That does not mean that we need to go to work for Him or try to do things for Him, but, it means that our deepest affections, desires, thoughts, our very heart needs to be entirely yielded to Him … we need to be ‘wasted’. If not now, like the others that missed their chance, we will miss ours …

As those that love Jesus with all that we are we must realize that Jesus is only satisfied when we pour out our very self to Him, all that we are, holding back nothing. And if that is all that He allows or instructs us to do, then that is enough. Do you get that? That is enough! When Christ died what were His famous words? It is finished! The law has been rendered powerless over the life of a resurrected believer because his hope and stay remain in Christ!

Friend - if you, like me, have had times in your life when you worshiped the gift rather than the giver or you adored your work for The Lord over The Lord Himself, then I challenge you to pray that He will guide you to be ‘wasted’. Just like Mary’s beautiful and precious anointing - you, too, can be a sweet fragrance as you pour out your life at His feet.

on the inside
down on the inside
Way beyond religion
Way beyond the ideas of man
Way beyond our understanding
Come heal us like only You can do

Amen.

I LOVE haircut day. It’s the best. Once a month (or so) I take my son Noah down to get our haircut together. It’s always on a Saturday, it’s always around lunchtime, and we always go to Frank Allen’s afterwards where I have a double bacon cheeseburger w/ onion rings (I know, I know) and Noah has two hot dog weenies followed by lil’ debbie nutty bars. It’s a tradition.

I don’t know where I picked it up … maybe from my dad but, I love little traditions. Noah and I have only done this about 4 or 5 times but everytime I mention getting haircut, he asks if we can go to Frank Allen’s and have a hot dog. I truly believe that over the months and years that I continue to forge small traditions wth my children, it will pay off huge dividends in their teen age and young adult years. I can hear Noah, now, talking to his friends at college, or wherever, saying, ‘Man, it was always so cool to eat hot dogs at Frank Allen’s after getting our hair cut’. It’s one of those things that will always be with him. Maybe I’m just sentimental, maybe he won’t really appreciate it when he’s older .. who knows? There is one thing for sure - the onion rings are awesome!