are we really that delusional?

Some recent observations have me scratching my head in wonderment. In fact last week I said to Bev - "are we really that deluded?" Two differant incidents happened within close proximity of each other, incidents that would have been funny had they not been so serious.

Last spring I received an email from a "ministry". I quote directly from the email:

The Lord told me to look at the nation [the United States] as He sees it, not through my eyes but through His. I could not look too long before I had to agree and repent of loving Babylon. Once I repented the Lord told me to prepare for the fall as time is running out. I must preach the Gospel of The Kingdom not the Gospel of America. America is already judged, the time of shaking is now and will increase rapidly this summer. Water shortages and food shortages will become common this summer, as well as fuel shortages. Civil unrest will become common place in large cities first but will spill over into the rural areas as well.

If you are not aware of it...there were not water and food shortages that were commonplace in the United States this past summer. Civil unrest did not become common either. Last week I re-read this "word". I decided to email both the ministry that had distributed the "word" as well as the man who gave the word asking about the veracity of this supposed word from God. The responses I got were bizarre at best.

From the ministry that distibuted the word - I did not believe that his [the man giving the word] sense of timing was correct. However the ministry claims this man to be a credible prophet in their promotion of him! How can one be a credible prophet when he claims to have a word from God but the "minor detail" of timing is incorrect? Did God make a mistake? Or did the "prophet" insert his own thoughts into the word?

I also received a response from the man giving the word - I believe these things are going to happen maybe God is giving more time. Besides I did not give this word out of the flesh. Quite obviously neither was the word from God. So what was the source of the word?

Here is the truth of the matter. A word was spoken as the prophetic word of God. Instead of admitting the truth that the word did not come to pass, there is a willful ignorance of what is.

The second incident had to do with something I read on the internet. I was reading about a new church. The words used to describe this new church were -Birthed out of a vision for unity within the body of Christ, we strive to be connected with each other and other churches. Noble words indeed! There is only one slight problem with this statement. I have enough knowledge of the situation to know that this church start was actually the result of a church split! No amount of niceties, no amount of noble words will mask the fact that the foundation of this church did not come from unity but from division.

I am beginning to believe that we so desparately want to believe certain things. I believe the "prophet" wants to believe that his word was true even though it never came to pass. I believe the leaders of this new church want to believe that unity is important, but the truth is that they caused a great deal of pain and angst in the body of Christ with their divisiveness.

When we choose to believe something that is not truth, we are worse than deceived, we are delusional. Perhaps we are seeing a fulfillment of the scriptures from 2 Thessalonians 2.

1Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

fruitfulness - do we limit God?

Recently I have been thinking about fruitfulness a good deal. Jesus talks about being fruitful in His last extended dialogue with His disciples. As I have pondered His words on fruitfulness, some questions come to mind What are the characteristics of a fruitful life? How does one become fruitful?

I have learned that when I have this kind of question, frequently the answer is discovered in nature. In fact, in John 15, Jesus uses a metaphor from the vineyard to teach about fruitfulness. I am becoming increasingly convinced that fruitfulness occurs as we discover God's ways of doing things and then began to act in harmony with His ways.

Recently I was challenged in an email that I was placing God in a box; that I was not giving Him an opportunity to act and move. As usual when receiving these kinds of challenges, I pondered what was said. As I considered what was said, a thought occured to me - I would never plant our garden here in the last days of November. Does that mean that I am limiting God? Do I limit God when I encourage my clients to feed their cattle for maximum productivity? Should I plant my garden in November expecting God to produce a harvest? Should I counsel my clients to feed their cattle inexpensive sawdust so that God has a chance to do something miraculous?

I believe that one of the hindrances to our personal fruitfulness is our paradigm of God as a magician. We sit around and wait for God to work some miracle when He has already outlined the path to fruitfulness. Husbands that desire God to work a miracle in their marriage are foolish if they choose not to love their wife as Christ loves the church. Farmers that plant crops outside of the planting season are fooolish to expect a harvest.

The real supernatural miracle working power of God occurs in the context of acting in accordance with His ways. The gardner tills the ground, plants the seed, waters it, and controls the weeds. God gives the supernatural increase. Miracles occur in finances as we submit to the God-ordained rythm of work and generosity.

I want to live in harmony with God and His ways. I desire that He be glorified due the fruitfulness in my life. However I can not expect to become fruitful without effort on my part.

natasha again

This morning I had another encounter with Natasha. After all the weeks of lashing out against the milking protocol; after weeks of nervousness, today was different. She casually chewed her cud as I prepared her for her turn in the milking process. She quietly stood as the milking process continued. For the 6-8 minutes that it took to milk her, she was as relaxed as when she was a heifer on a sun-drenched pasture. I could detect no traces of the McDonald's special sauce on her, no shreds of lettuce were anywhere to be found. In fact she smelled a lot like a real live cow. I am happy for Natasha!

Since my Wednesday morning milking duties occur long before the world awakens, I usually have lots of time to think without distractions. Once again Natasha stirred my thoughts about discipline and fruitfulness. She is becoming productive and fruitful due to the fact that she submitted to the process of discipline even though at the time, the discipline seemed harmful to her.

It occurred to me how often Christians complain of being attacked by the devil. Frequently the felt discomfort is not so much an attack from the devil as it is a painful reaction to God's discipline. We kick against God's parameters. When the resulting pain occurs, we are quick to blame "the enemy". In reality, we are not being attacked by the devil, rather we are experiencing the self-inflicted pain of resisting God's hand.

During one of the most deeply formative seasons of my spiritual life, it seemed as if God was my enemy. Every strength of mine, every identity fell under the hand of God. When I finally quit kicking against His hand, life became more simple and somehow more free than ever before. It was during that season that I learned to look for the hand of God in the midst of pain of discipline.

Be careful when attributing discomfort to an attack from the devil. Without a doubt we have an enemy that seeks to destroy us. However, in the hand of God he becomes a tool for our spiritual growth. I am convinced that the majority of our discomfort is not from some demonic attack. Instead it is a result of our self-centered reaction to God's discipline.

the magic ingredient

My job puts me in close contact with dairy producers. I frequently interact with producers who are looking for the magic formula or a magic ingredient that will increase the milk production of their herd. Interestingly, they are frequently the producers whose cattle produce less milk. The real key to profitable milk production is not some magic feed ingredient. Rather it is the compilation of many small details done well. There is no shortcut to healthy productive cows.

I have notice that we as Christians often have the same "magic ingredient" thought process. We hope for the "thing" that will give us deliverance. We wait for the "check in the mail" to bail us out of our financial difficulties. We expect God to somehow suddenly intervene and everything will be okay.

The problem with this mindset is that it immobilizes us from discerning and implementing the strategies that will truly accomplish what we want. Instead of seeking God's wisdom for our situation; instead of practically implementing the revealed strategy, we wait. (and wait...and wait...). When the "magic formula" never comes or when it doesn't seem to work the way we thought it would, we become disillusioned.

There really is no magic formula for entering the kingdom of God. There are no shortcuts to abundant life. In Jesus' words - the way to life is narrow and constrictive. Don't waste time and energy on shortcuts!

the ring again

I wrote this a number of years ago and have posted it earlier. However it seems to fit with the discussion here so I will post it again.

Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” (Mark 10:32-34)

From my leadership experience, I have discerned a startling truth – People will willingly follow a good leader almost anywhere except into the valley of the shadow of death. God’s pattern of leadership as revealed in Jesus requires leaders to embrace what feels like a downward spiral into the shadows, into a place where the glory of leadership dissipates completely.

Jesus’ disciples were astounded that He would choose to travel to Jerusalem in the face of imminent danger. His steady movement toward a place of apparent death struck fear to their hearts. Their consternation with Jesus’ travel plans blinded them to see through the valley of the shadow of death to the glorious reality of the resurrection.

Jesus’ disciples had dreams of Jesus being a king like David. In their minds, not only was Jesus destined to be a king, but they were poised to have leading roles in this emerging glorious kingdom. Therefore, Jesus’ journey into the shadow lands of death caused a great deal of consternation in them. They needed Him to establish a kingdom, to be the monarch of the new Jewish superpower.

In the context of Jesus’ journey into impending death, in the context of their fear, James and John came to Jesus asking for positions of power in the empire that they were certain that Jesus would establish. (Read Mark 10:35-37). It was as if they were reminding Jesus that He had a responsibility to establish the new Jewish superpower.

Jesus’ experience with His disciples mirrors much of my own experience. People will follow a leader as long as the leader is building something magnificent. They deeply desire to be a part of something grandiose.

For leaders seeking validation from the people they lead, it becomes easy to never make the journey into the valley of the shadow of death due to the expectations of those being led. To not complete the leadership journey, however, will negate the leader from engaging with God’s pattern for leadership. Consequently the Kingdom of God is never established through that leader.

It is important to note that Jesus’ own journey into the shadow lands was the prelude to resurrection power. God was establishing His kingdom through Jesus. Even so today – leaders must journey to the shadow lands of death to discover a new and fresh authority and life.

From my own experience I can tell you that any leader who makes the journey into death and the cross will probably not be popular. Throughout the years of leading and being a catalyst in the emergence of God’s Kingdom on earth, I have experienced the resistance that comes from the demonic hordes seeking to destroy the new things God was bringing forth. However, the greatest resistance I have received on my walk with God occurred when I intentionally followed God into the valley of the shadow of death.

Many of the people I have led consistently applied pressure on me to abandon the journey into “nothingness” regardless how much I tried communicate with them the power (and the Jesus pattern) of the journey into “nothingness”. Beyond the pressure from people, my own desire for significance was compounded by the voices of the enemy encouraging me to choose a less threatening path to resurrection life. (Which, incidentally, does not exist).

For the past number of years, the gentle whisper of heaven, the voice of the Father, has invited me to choose the way of the valley of the shadow of death, to enter a place that seems and feels insignificant. I have chosen to resolutely heed the invitation, knowing that in all likelihood, I would find myself not on some grandiose stage, but in the shadows of the world and the church.

However, I have found some diamonds in the place of darkness. In the shadow lands I have found that the barrier between heaven and earth are minimal. In the shadow lands, I experience the kiss of the Father for an extended period. His kiss has sustained me in my resolution to press ahead. In the shadow lands, I discover God as my friend. I become acutely aware of the invitation to participate with Him in the redemption of creation.

Press on to Jerusalem; it is the way of God. Purpose to enter the valley of the shadow of death as God invites you to do so. To grasp at our dreams of greatness will cause us to miss the point, to miss resurrection life.

the ring

I know...I haven't written anything in a while. However, just because I haven't been writing doesn't mean that I haven't been pondering things. This past weekend I was working outside for a bit in NY putting clear coat on the cabin logs. Since it was a rather mindless task, I had ample opportunity to reflect.

I do not watch many movies, however, the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy caught my attention several years ago. On the chance that you have not watched the movies, the storyline centers on a gold ring that gave the bearer of it unusual power. Unfortunately the power in the ring also destroyed anyone who used it to advance a selfish agenda. The whole story chronicles the journey of Frodo (an insignificant hobbit) returning the ring to the place where it was created so it could be destroyed. The destructive power of the ring was uncanny. It destroyed relationships, it destroyed people, its seductive power called out to those who desired power and the personal gain to be achieved from that power. Rational thought became a victim of its allure.

While the story is purely fiction, I believe it is also a powerful allegory. Today we have our own ring, our own means for grasping at power. For the past 20 years I have been involved in various leadership capacities in what I would call the institutional church. Far to frequently, the institutional church has become our "ring". It offers power, significance, and validation. Yet the personal destruction wreaked by the system of the institutional church is staggering.

My heart breaks with the frequent stories of people who speak to Bev and I about their pain; pain inflicted by leaders in the IC who used their position selfishly. We (Bev and I) recently had a discussion about the sources of pain in our own life; from where did it come and why. Without a doubt, the greatest source (and if I may add - by a wide margin) of pain in our personal lives has come from the IC.

Far too frequently, I have seen the negative transformation of people once they had a position of power in the IC. A number of years ago a local pastor spoke to me about a power struggle in his church. He was shocked at the way that perfectly nice people transformed into angry, vile antagonists if their perceived position of power was threatened. His experience mirrors my own. I have seen too many wonderful followers of Jesus destroyed by the allure of position and power in the IC. Give them a leadership position and they cease to follow Jesus, choosing instead to clutch to the thing that is giving them a sense of power. Over the past twenty years, I have seen more grasping for power in the IC than any other sphere of my life. Churches split over the desire for power. Relationships are destroyed in the grasping for authority.

On a personal level, not only have I observed what the "ring" does to others, I have experienced firsthand its seductive allure as well. When I started to walk with God twenty some years ago, my walk was characterized by a radical zeal for God. Gradually I lost my zeal, its fire replaced with an effort to "get ahead", to play the system. Oh I still prayed, read the Bible and did the other Christian things. However my relationship with God changed, my need for Him was based on my desire for the church to succeed.

In 2002 God invited Bev and I to relinquish our leadership position at Grace Covenant Church. At that point, my relationship with "the ring" was exposed within me. I did not know what God said about me. I had no identity beyond being a "pastor". At a weekend retreat, God broke through and spoke to me that He would rebuild the foundations of my life. True to His word, He began to work in my heart. As I allowed Him to transform me, I became increasingly aware of seductiveness of "the ring" and how I had subtly yielded to its influence.

Someone is sure to ask - Do we do away with the institutional church? Only God has that answer. I do know that if we relinquish our desire for the position and power that feeds our ego, we will become more impervious to the effects of the allure of the ring. In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo could be trusted to carry the ring because of his humility. He had no desire to use the ring for personal gain. We must be ruthless in dealing with the god of self, choosing instead to follow Jesus fully. I believe that the solution to the problem lies within each of us. How will I respond to the allure of power offered by the ring? Will I follow Jesus and take up my cross or will I clutch to my ideas, my desires, and the dictates of the self god?

natasha update

Yesterday, I encountered Natasha again. She rather nervously submitted to the whole routine of the milking process. I might have detected a slight touch of aroma of special sauce on her, but I can't say definitively that I did. Maybe my advice to her to act in a way that will allow her to stay far from the Golden Arches was taken to heart. Anyway...Natasha has sparked a good deal of conversation with you all. Natasha reminds us of ourselves, and the people around us.

One of my observations about Christians is that we create a God that we like; a paradigm with which we are comfortable. Most of us have an image of God that falls into two opposing viewpoints. (1) God is like a benevolent grandparent that smiles on us regardless of what we do, or (2) God is a distant judge with a big stick just waiting for us to step out of line so that He can punish us. Neither paradigm aligns with the revelation of God in the scriptures.

In the scripture, we find the concept of love and discipline deeply intertwined. We cannot separate the two. The book of Hebrews speaks of the discipline of God, of the purpose of the discipline, of the pain and of the benefits. One of the things that bothers me deeply is seeing Christians resisting God's discipline, choosing instead to go their own way, doing their own thing. I can say with certainty - they will never be fruitful, productive, or truly fulfilled until they submit to the hand of God. They are destined to be wanderers, aimlessly drifting through life without purpose. They will be complainers, victims, forever blaming others, never taking responsibility for their own actions.

God disciplines us for the purpose of dealing with the issues that keep us from experiencing abundant life. His love compels Him to target the things that hold us back from fulfilling His good plans for us. Yet far too frequently, we resist the parameters of the discipline, disconnecting from God in the process. I understand the difficulty of God's discipline. However it is the only path to abundant life.

Natasha has begun to submit to the protocol for a healthy productive life in the herd. Yesterday it was still obvious that she didn't really want to submit but she did. She was a bit nervous, uneasy in our interaction. Yet she never lifted a foot during the milking process. I am encouraged about her future!