My Five Greatest Heroes from the History of the Kingdom

A few days ago, a friend sent me a link to a Vimeo video by Evangelical Seminary (my alma mater) President Tony Blair entitled, How the Pietists Made Disciples. 

I watched it. It's awesome, but it was all the more fascinating to me because the video traced Pietist disciplining strategies to the seventeenth century German minister Philipp Jakob Spener. 

It turns out that, years ago, I began to ask myself who, among all the great heroes of the Christian faith, inspires me most: My Five Greatest Heroes from "Church History"...

...and, Philipp Jakob Spener made my list.

I settled on this list in a relatively short time and the membership of the list has remained the same for a long time even though, for my own amusement, I have reconsidered it many times.

Some of these names are relatively obscure. Spener is probably the most obscure but there are no Luthers or Calvins here. 

Here's the list in chronological order. The characteristics that set these (they are all) men, apart, and which I greatly admire, are  that they all attacked an existing paradigm and they all advocated for radically righteous lives. These are, of course, characteristics I aspire to, hence the fact that they are heroes to me personally. 

1. Tertullian (155?-220?)

2. Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705)

3. John Winebrenner (1797-1860)-well, I am still in love with the Church of God 

4. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

5. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

My guess is that no one who reads this blog would be amused for a nanosecond by creating a list of greatest Christian heroes. But, if you have thoughts...

...on or off the blog, of course.

We "Went to 'Church'" Today

It's been a looooooong time since we walked into a church building on a Sunday morning to, uh, go to church. 

We're into what today, apparently, is faddishly now called "micro." When we began it, it was called House Church, then, later, Simple Church. 

I can't account for how long ago we last "attended church." I will admit to watching a church, ouch, "service" on line from time to time but, even then, that was mostly during the "two weeks to flatten the curve" (Wasn't that a joke? The longest two weeks of MY life).

A friend of ours whom we've been disciplining or, as Lance would say, I've been fathering...we have been spiritually parenting...was showing slides of and discussing a mission trip to Uganda at her church. We went to support her.

Going was especially traumatic for Evie who has never really been edified by what passes as church services. Several times yesterday she let go, unconsciously, a long, heavy sigh. After the first one I asked what was vexing her. She said, "Church tomorrow," and after that, I understood. 

(Just a quick note: I don't think many church people realize how far the standard twenty first century church experience has diverted from what is biblical as far as the gathering of disciples is concerned, let alone what is essential to building up each other.) Doing the Sunday morning thing doesn't edify her. At best, it's a neutral influence on her walk. Worse case, it actually impairs her life of obedience. 

It's little wonder to us that the group called the "Nones" grows so rapidly. It's possible, easy in fact, to be all about Jesus and even to love His Body but to be unconnected to the organized and institutionalized church. 

Anyway, out of love for our friend Elizabeth, we went.

A few observations. 

1. There were about 125 people present. Evie and I may very well have been the oldest people there. Clearly, this was not a CGGC gathering. There were many of youth age, lots of twentysomethings and thirtysomethings. And, surprisingly, a lot of males...perhaps even more than females. I'm not sure how to account for that. Apparently, one of the things this group DOES is intentionally connect with people who commit felonies. Most felons, I suspect, are men, so...

2. This group is guilty of the same theological atrocity that most low church evangelical-ish groups commit. They call, and think of, their music time as "worship." That's not what worship is. In truth, in the New Covenant, to worship is to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. (Rom. 12:1) I wore out the finger prints on several of my fingers typing that out and entering it on Brian Miller's Emerging CGGC blog back in the day. Anyway, they worshiped for about 20 minutes. Contemporary music. A five piece band. Not very polished but the members of the band seemed authentic in "leading worship," not performing. 

3. The sermon was topical, not expositional. It was broadly on spiritual warfare, I think. Again, the preacher oozed authenticity. He preached for about 45 minutes and then invited others to give testimonies, which several did. This is not an introvert church.

As you probably know, I believe that Jesus "gave some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists and others to be shepherds and teachers..." (Eph. 4:11) You can choose to think that that truth is no longer applicable to our day but when I listen to a sermon, it's usually easy to hear the fruit of an APEST calling. It's a bit of a hobby for me to examine APEST fruit in a preacher and sermon.

This guy was, to me, an interesting study. From word one he connected biblical truth directly to lifestyle. He had three points, of course. (After all, if a three point sermon was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!). Anyway, in points two and three he declared specifically the necessity that we repent. And, shiver me timbers, when he commented on one of the testimonies, he quoted the verse I wear out on this blog, 2 Corinthians 7:10: "For godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation..."

Yikes! This guy is a prophet!

So,...

We went to church...to support Elizabeth. No doubt, we'll do that again...

I love Jesus. He still amazes me. I'm probably more in awe of His incarnation and our redemption through Him than I have ever been. 

I love the body of believers. I love the fellowship of the saints, but, the organized and institutionalized church? What it does when it gathers? Not so much.

I wish that the organized and institutionalized church edified us more. I  wish the usual church gatherings "spurred us on to love and good works" and promoted Romans 12:1 worship for us more than they do.

But, after today?...

The Words of the Prophets are Written on the Subway Walls...and Tenement Halls

I have been preaching repentance for the twenty first century church for well over a decade.

It's not gone well...to say the least. 

One of my old friends from the CGGC used to write to me, from time to time, to advise me that people with my ministry need to measure success by how faithful they are in bringing the message, not by how many people act on it, and I know that.

The truth is that, throughout most of the history of the people of God,  in both Testaments, the mainstream of the organized, visible nation/church has isolated, often castigated dissenting, counterculture...prophetic...voices. Think of Elijah's exile. Think of the forerunner of Jesus preaching in the wilderness. 

Paul Simon was not thinking about the Kingdom of God when he punctuated his Sounds of Silence lyrics with, "and the Words of the prophets are written on the subway walls." But his description of the institutionalized American church of the past 70 years is apt with laser like accuracy. 

Today's American church is losing the culture. One dominant characteristic of the institution of Christianity is that it has exiled dissonant voices as throughly, though not as violently, as mainstream religion ever has.

In my recent posts, I've been noting that my history in the ERC and CGGC extends to the 1970s. I've been reflecting on how little things have changed during those years.

Of course, the overarching story of those decades has been decline. Yet, there are subplots connected to that theme. 

One subplot that drives the story of decline is the way the body has treated the people of its counterculture. 

Since the 1970s, there have been quite a few people who have challenged the direction that Conference and denominational leaders have mapped out.

Two truths about those people:

1. Looking back, they were correct. Not one of the programs or plans devised by decades of our church leaders have succeeded. 

2. All of those voices have been silenced. Either they gave up and left our body in frustration or they have been sent away, in one way or another, by the leaders of the institution. 

In the CGGC, as Paul Simon sang, the words of the prophets?, well, they are not written in Conference or denominational reports. They are not at the core of new programs or Strategic Plans. The words of the prophets in the CGGC these days aren't even found in dishonored places such as subway walls, or tenement halls. 

We must repent. Nearly all of us agree.

But, repent, specifically, of what? How?

Over the centuries, in the wisdom and plan of God, certain people, they were both men and women, have been called to set themselves apart from the Kings and High Priests to speak for the Lord. Almost without exception, they performed two tasks. 

First, they called for the act of repentance. 

Second, they defined the particular acts of repentance that would please the Lord and restore relationship with Him. (For people primarily familiar with the New Testament, this second task is most vividly portrayed in Revelation 2 and 3.)

In our first days, we were a prophic people who expected counterculture voices  to speak. We empowered those voices. We obeyed them.

We must change. Yet, the truth is that, in the CGGC, we have been changing almost continuously for decades. But, change for the sake of change is not what we have ever needed. We need the Lord's change.  I'm convinced we need to empower the people to whom the Lord speaks...

...and, we must listen. 

The only acts of change that matter are the acts of change the Lord demands.

For years, we have responded to dissonant, counterculture messengers in the way of Pharaoh and of the most hard hearted Kings and High Priests.

We must repent. 

Where Never is Heard a Discouraging Word

As The Gospel of Matthew tells it, one day Jesus saw the crowds and went up on a mountain and began to speak. What follows has become known as The Sermon on the Mount. 

As Matthew tells the story, Jesus doesn't draw the crowd's attention by telling a brief story from His childhood or about what happened as he was climbing the mountain. He begins by declaring a simple, foundational, universal, inescapable truth for anyone who would be His disciple:

"Blessed are the poor in Spirit..." And, then, "Blessed are those who mourn..."

In the CGGC, we have a colorful history.

Reading the accounts of our first days, it's clear that, from the beginning, we struggled. In the beginning, however, the struggle was not for survival.  We struggled to follow the Spirit faithfully so we could keep up with His blessing. 

These days in the CGGC we have precisely the opposite struggle: The Lord of all authority and power and  grace and mercy and blessing is not blessing us.

We have been struggling to be in relationship with the Lord so that He will, again, provide the increase.

Yet, no matter what new strategy we adopt, no matter what plan we put in place, He is untouched. 

There are many ways we are different today than the Church of God was at the beginning. 

One difference between us then and now is a matter of heart. The most foundational difference connects to the first words Jesus spoke from the mountain, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

We once were a dynamic people who acted on a full range of emotions. We struggled among ourselves and we struggled to walk in the blessing of the Spirit. 

These days, even as we work desperately to reverse our decline, we're,  simply, pleasant with each other. We encourage. So very rarely, if ever, in the CGGC is heard a discouraging word. 

We uplift. We rarely, if ever, confront.

We don't stare wrong, or sin, in the eye. We never raise our voice against it. We're never so passionate in a moment  of righteous indignation that we regret our words.

While we may, on rare occasion, confront a wayward member of the body, no one,...no one with institutional authority,...ever passionately confronts the whole body.

...yet, as proper as this may seem in today's CGGC culture, it's not the way of Jesus.

Below is a rarely quoted passage from the letters of Paul: 2 Corinthians 7:2-13. 

In this passage, Paul describes his fight to get the Corinthians to turn from a sin.

How did Paul do that? 

To use the words of Jesus, Paul caused them to be poor in Spirit (Mt. 5:3), to mourn (Mt. 5:4). What Paul says is that his letter made the Corinthians "mourn" (v. 7) and "grieve (v. 8).

Paul says that what he wrote to them was so harsh that he himself "did regret" writing it when he wrote it.

Happily, in the end, the letter Paul wrote achieved its goal. The Corinthians chose not to be defensive or angry. 

They chose to grieve over their fallen ways (v. 8). The grieving, led them to repenting (v. 9).

For Jesus, being poor in spirit, and mourning, were merely first steps in the discipline's journey. They led to repentance. 

Paul explains the totality of this teaching of Jesus succinctly in 2 Corinthians 7:10a,

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret...

In verse 11, note the raw emotional qualities of the Corinthians' revitalized walk as disciples: Earnestness, eagerness to clear themselves, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, punishment. 

Take a moment to read Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 7:

Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing,  zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are comforted. (ESV)

As I noted in a recent post, on the day of Pentecost, Peter was brutal in addressing the crowd. He concluded by accusing the people in the crowd of being the very people who crucified Jesus. And, they were cut to the heart. Ultimately, about 3,000 repented. 

Years ago, I heard an authority on Luther's preaching say that Luther began by preaching law to convict his audience and then he preached grace and offered repentance. 

In our early Church of God days, people would be driven to the mourners bench in abject sorrow until, being overwhelmed by grief, being "poor in spirit," their spiritual mourning produced the repentance that leads to salvation. 

The Corinthians to whom Paul wrote were already a church. The godly grief Paul spoke of in verse 10 is grief that must be experienced by a church when that church loses its way

In the CGGC, we know that we have lost our way. We have known for generations that the Lord of all authority and power and grace and mercy and blessing is not blessing us. 

Yet, today, the CGGC is a community where never is heard a discouraging word. 

The Gospel truth is that "godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret."

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

We must change. We need to become a people known for "speaking the truth in love." (Eph. 4:15) Our love must be the love Peter practiced when he accused the people in the crowd of crucifying Jesus...the love of Paul when, for a moment, even he regretted his harsh letter. 

We must call each other to grieve. 

Uncle-ing: Thoughts on Lance's, WHO ARE YOU FATHERING?, eNews

I've just finished rereading Lance's latest eNews in which he raised issues related to spiritual fatherhood and, ultimately, discipleship. 

I think that, as far as the eNews is concerned, this may be what Lance does best.

Almost from the time Lance assumed control of the eNews column, I noticed that Lance often uses the eNews to send out something very similar to a daily devotional in The Daily Bread. As I said, I think Lance does this very well, superbly, in my opinion. 

In this one, Lance bounces some very shepherdy comments off of 1 Corinthians 4:15-17:

“Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you to imitate me. For this reason, I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” 

From that, Lance focuses on what it means to live in the Kingdom as a guardian as well as a father. 

As I often do when I comment on the eNews, I strongly recommend that you read this article. From what I can tell, you can no longer find the eNews on the Contagious blog (more about that in another blog post...perhaps) but it is easily accessed through the CGGC website. 

There's a nice, brief, first class piece of Bible scholarship in the article in which Lance explains the role of the "guardian" and how it complements and contrasts with who a father was and what a father did in the first century world. 

A guardian was a cross between a nanny and a tutor/teacher. Eventually, a growing child would pass from the care of the guardian to begin to work with the parents, literally the father, to be schooled in the family trade.

Lance notes that these days there are many guardians, for example authors, speakers, podcasts, etc., and that's a good thing. What we need today, though, is more fathers who will teach the disciple's "family trade" of following Jesus. 

I found Lance's idea useful and I took it to heart. As he often does, Lance ties everything together with some useful questions. One of them is, "Who are you fathering spiritually?"

My answer is that there are several people that I'm fathering. In fact, one of them sent me a thank you note on Father's Day! I was so amazingly blessed. 

In the past, I've written about how I have used my job, very intentionally, to serve as an ambassador of the Kingdom, hence the name of this blog.

Because I did that, I created the possibility of fathering relationships with anyone and  everyone. Every person I met was someone with whom I'd offer myself as a spiritual father. 

What happened in real life is that I developed many, well, "uncle-ing" relationships. In these relationships, there's a definite spiritual connection that is focused on Kingdom living, however, the trust and intimacy of a father/child relationship hasn't yet developed. 

In several cases, though, the spiritual father/child relationship has developed. 

Perhaps this is merely a function of my personality, but I'd amend Lance's wisdom ever so slightly. 

In the article, Lance defined the meaning of his, "Who are you fathering?" question with, "Who are you inviting to learn from you what it means to follow Jesus by walking closely with you?"

I'd say that those two questions don't perfectly align. Out of the many I have invited to learn from me, I've entered into a fathering relationship with only a few.

Perhaps I'm wrong here, but uncling ain't bad. It's not failure. And, it's not necessarily the end of the story. All of the fathering I'm doing today is the result of an adoption of a former spiritual niece or nephew who's become a daughter or son.

Again, this may be a function of my personality but, offering yourself as a spiritual parent may come across as coming on too strong. 

Paul was a father to the disciples in Corinth because he was the apostle who formed that church's identity. You and I can't say that about many, if any.

The people I'm fathering today are people I'm fathering because those people developed a level of trust with me that allowed the very intimate father/child relationship to take place. The relationship that I have with them is as much, or more, about decisions that they have made.

But, by all means, try some uncling, or aunting, and be open for more. 

One Reason CGGC Change has Never Worked

Friends, 

I have blogged only twice so far in this calendar year. There are a number of reasons for that. I've continued to sense prophetic insight but haven't always felt as keenly connected with the Spirit as I've wanted to be.

My most consistent harangue is that a faith in Jesus that is true produces fruit. It produces a way of living that draws the attention of the people around you. It causes them think about Jesus. 

Paul reminded the Ephesians that we are saved by grace through faith to be God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. (2:8-10).

I've been in the midst of an extended moment when, doctrinally, my faith has been consistent but my walk has been too tepid, less than radical. 

I've felt unable to write to you with a clear conscience, "We must repent."

Yet, the truth remains. We must repent. 

What follows is a conviction that I feel strongly about. This is, as far as I know, the first time I have constructed the message in this way. 

---------------

I entered the East Pennsylvania Conference of the Churches of God in 1976.

By then, the Conference ministry had already been in numerical decline for two decades. As I understand the history, that numerical decline was fruit of spiritual decline that had been under way for much longer than that. 

The men entrusted with Conference leadership 45 years ago were sincere and devoted churchmen. They knew that Conference ministry was in trouble and, as someone new to the Conference, I sensed concern if not panic...and a touch of the frantic. 

Even then, there was talk that recognized that if this continues for another ten years or even twenty years,...

And, that was 45 years ago.

Even in the 1970s, our leaders were struggling to bring about change. Back then, the three year cycle, the "Triennium," was a big deal in the East Pennsylvania Conference. With the beginning of each three year cycle, the men in positions of institutional leadership presented a new plan to change the Conference, to reverse the trend toward decline and to produce growth. 

These three year programs were surprisingly sophisticated. There was a program name, a slogan, even a logo. These programs were rolled out during Conference sessions. And, the first time or two, as a young "pastor," I was motivated and excited. After then, I realized that there never was a plan of implementation...at least one that rolled far enough down the mountain to reach the pastor of a small church or churches. 

As history makes plain 45 years later, there was no change, and certainly, no reversal of decline and absolutely no growth. 

In these 45 years, we have always been working to change. Yet, we continue to decline and, in terms of what we actually do, we have not changed.

I have had one thought about that for a long time, based on what I find in the teachings of Jesus.  

For all the programs we have devised, for all the strategies we have attempted, there is one crucial spiritual act that we have never practiced. 

Jesus used the word "church" in only one of the four Gospels. So, from the Gospels, it's virtually impossible to learn about the church from Jesus.

However, in the Book of Revelation, before John, the author, describes the vision Jesus gave him, John directs letters, dictated directly by Jesus, to seven churches. 

Two of the seven churches receive nothing but praise from Jesus. 

The other five churches, according to Jesus, needed change. They all received strong warnings including, to one of the five, the threat that Jesus would actually fight against them. (Rev. 2:17)

In each of those five letters, Jesus issues the same command as a first act in change: Repent. 

For example:

"If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." (Rev. 2:5)

So, since my first days in the Conference, we have always sensed the threat of our decline and we have constantly adopted new plans to change.

I'm certain that these were our plans, not the Lord's, for two reasons:

1. They all failed. 

2. None of them were built on the act of repentance which is commanded by Jesus. 

For a few years,...a few years ago,...I'd read in CGGC Newsletters, ABOUT repenting, but I never once read or heard a genuine call for repentance. 

Honestly, my belief is that few, if any among us, know what to call for as repentance in this time and place.

Still today, we are as ernest as ever to end what's now generations of decline, and to share in expanding the Kingdom. 

I'm convinced that it is time to return to the way of Jesus. 

The Gospels and those seven letters in Revelation are heavily peppered with calls from Jesus to repent.

Here's one thing we no longer understand:

Getting to the moment of repentance is emotional... it is painful. Paul told the Corinthians that godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation. 

Jesus said that it is the "poor in spirit" and "those who mourn" who are blessed. It's brokenness of heart that leads to that sort of repentance that produces Spirit-empowered change. 

In Acts 2, after Peter spoke, the text says that people in the crowd were "cut to the heart." As Jesus might have said it, they had become, poor in Spirit," they became people who mourned. They were experiencing the "godly grief" Paul described to the disciples in Corinth. 

In my 45 years in the Churches of God, we always been worried about decline. But, emotionally, we've been steady, even happy go lucky. We do not mourn, or grieve.

In the early days days of our movement, we were an emotional people. The places where we gathered had what was called a "mouners' bench." 

In those days, we  understood the Sermon  on the Mount teaching of Jesus that, to walk in the Spirit, people have to hit rock bottom, to be poor in Spirit and to mourn. 

In recent decades, we've been too, what?, suave, too sophisticated to be poor in Spirit and to wallow in godly grief. 

Our yearning to change has not been blessed by the Lord. We continue to decline. 

We do not need to plan. We need to find something inside us that will crush our hearts and bring us to our knees. From that brokenness can come a repentance that leads to salvation. 

I'll repeat the ancient words of Jesus, dictated through John to the church in Ephesus. "If you do not repent..."

We must repent. 

He has Risen. INDEED! And, the Institutionalized American Church is Dying.

Gallup has released its latest poll on Church Membership, revealing that the number of Americans who hold a church membership is tanking rapidly, plummeting, and has now dipped below 50%... to 47%, actually. 

One message of this blog in the past few years has been that the Lord of all authority and power and grace and mercy and blessing is not blessing...not blessing the organized and institutionalized church. 

This is the day your church calendar people call Easter. It's your day that celebrates the power of Jesus over death itself. 

And, with the release of the Gallup poll, in 2021, it's a time to face the reality that institutionalized religion in America is entirely disconnected from the grace and mercy and power and blessing of God.

As I've written this type of post over the years, I've wanted to scream, I TOLD YOU SO!, and, I don't think that I ever have done that. 

To say that would be to gloat. It would be the fruit of some sort of happiness, perhaps even perverse happiness. 

I'm tempted to scream at you institutionalists, but, in truth, it's not happiness, even perverse happiness that I feel. I'm profoundly sad.

My training is in the history of the Kingdom, specifically what is often called the History of Revivalism. My focus is on those times when the God of all authority and power and grace and mercy and blessing, blessed.

The truth of this day that is special in the institutionalized church only because the creators of the unbiblical church calendar say it's special is that, while the order of the day is the celebration of Christ's power, honesty demands that today be a day to repent in the acknowledgement that you have divorced yourself from His power. 

This is a day when...

...THE GOD OF ALL AUTHORITY  AND POWER AND GRACE  AND MERCY AND BLESSING IS NOT BLESSING. 

He has not lost His power. He has not stopped loving His John 3:16 love. 

He has not turned from you. You have created your own traditions and have devoted yourselves to them rather than to Him.

YOU have turned. From HIM!

The time has long since passed for you to repent and turn back to Him.

He is, truly, the God of all authority and power and grace and mercy and blessing. 

Die to your empty and dead traditions. 

Repent. Confess your sin to Him to each other, and trust Him to show mercy and to pour out His power on you, as He has done in the past.

He has risen. You are dying.

Repent. Turn.