The Day After The Tea Party Ends!

      I'd like to discuss two subjects: why "The Tea Party" will eventally end and why the "Christian Right" worldview of America is wrong. America was designed to be a "City Of Refuge" for persecuted Christians of various denominational faiths. As such, each faith group that came had to learn how to live and work together in cultural diversity and do justice. First, Christians in America should be  an example, to our brothers and sisters throughout the world on How to conduct ourselves in a culturally diverse world just as the early Jewish disciples had to work in Gentile nations - who did not share their Jewish faith and practice or share their God. The Church in America is failing to grasp and neglecting the serious call of the Lord to disciple our nation instead of trying to build a Augustinian kingdom based on faulty scriptural understandings of our role in culture.  Secondly, American Christians will never be able to "legislate" their religious views on a democratic republic, especially in this post-modern era. The system of government designed in America was designed to frustrate all groups at sometime or another.  Words like compromise, dissent, minority, tolerance, and reciprocal liberty are the main tenants of our country's constitution.  I'm certainly thankful that out of all the early colonial history God used William Penn and the Quaker frame of government to become the basis of our political system. 

William Penn meets with First Nations In Historic New Castle, Delaware

   Let me begin with my first point about our Christian responsibilities in reaching our culture for Christ. From the founding of our country, four major British cultures were established on the eastern shores of the United States.  The Boston culture was firmly established with Calvinistic Puritan ideas.  Those embedded ideas begin with the Total Depravity of humankind.  God is good - humanity is bad, therefore, we need to legislate people's behavior, life, ways, and customs. So, liberty was based on the Puritan ideas of order, discipline and conformity. If you didn't agree with that way of thinking you were purged or put to death by their system of government.  The Puritan's of New England based much of their thinking on Calvin's institutes and the failed policies of  Geneva, Switzerland under Calvin's rule. From the first-hand accounts, Oxford's Gillian Lewis notes, "The city of Geneva possessed a significance which was symbolic and mythical. Her friends saw her as the mirror and model of true piety, a haven of refuge, a roosting-place for fledglings, a stronghold to train and dispatch abroad soldiers of the Gospel and ministers of the Word." And yet, there were enemies as well, enemies who saw Geneva as "Satan's sanctuary, a source of heresy, atheism, and libertine and a center for the active dissemination of sedition."  Just as soon as Geneva embraced the Reformation officially and severed its loyalties to the bishop and Duke of Savoy, the city was flooded with refugees from all over Europe. Over night Geneva became, after Wittenberg, Zurich, and Strasbourg, a capitol of the Protestant faith. Foreign visitors expressed amazement as they observed both the theological and practical attractions of the city.  Later, as the Puritans of New England came to re-establish the failed Geneva experiment in Boston, they envisioned a Biblical state based on the same principles Calvin attempted to rule his culture on. Quakers, Baptists, and other radicals were a threat to the "City on the Hill" vision of John Winthrop.  Truth is they did not envision "separation of church and state."  They envisioned the church and it's Presbyterian government as a good foundation for government.  They believed in bringing about the Millennial reign of Christ through the righteous governing.  Thank God our nation never adopted these views.  But many Christians in America today hold these views and want to impose them on others. 

First consider the fact that Christ gave
himself up to death on our behalf
and became ours: therefore we ought to
give up ourselves for the good of all men,
not thinking that we are our own,
but that we belong to others.- Zwingli

     These same views were held in Virginia but were embedded in the Anglican Church established by the Cavaliers. Jamestown, Virginia was a business venture with one aim in mind - the Christianizing of the first nations culture in order to enslave the indigenous population, and dispossession of the land.  When this venture failed to accomplish this goal they introduced "African Slavery" only to further their business and economic benefits for the benefit of England's king.  Ideas of building a commonwealth to sustain the loses of the Cavaliers lost lifestyle in England was the goal and vision of the founding of the Virginia colony. When the Nasemond county and eastern shores of accomacke wanted to define their faith in light of Boston they were purged and forced to move to up the Chesapeake to establish a new colony in what is now called, Annapolis, Maryland.  Virginia's idea of "liberty" was that the government is who extends you the freedom and rights of liberty.  There was no liberty of conscience or freedom of worship in Virginia's founding.  This explains why groups like the "Tea Party" holds a worldview demanding to "conformity" of their understanding of the constitution. They have become a political entity engaged to "root out" anyone who disagrees with their version of a  "America" just as much as those who are on the extreme left do.  Our political system was not built on a  right republican, Whig, democrat, or Tea Party party worldview. Nor are we a nation of just white elites, native Americans or African Americans.  We are a diverse people and have been since the beginning of our country!  To reduce everything down to one p[articular statement of faith or be aligned to one a political party platform does not constitute a legitimate form of government. Governor Berkley's Virginian spirit still prevails 400 years after the founding of America.  In my view, this view is based on an anti-Christ spirit. It's arrogant, prideful, and intolerant of other Christian interpretations of Scripture and spirit directed movements that God has used throughout our history.  Could we regain the Quaker spirit that began in William Penn's government?  Reciprocal Liberty where DISSENT is honored?

    God calls us to be salt and light to the unchurched world.  However, that salt and light is not to be based in "Colonial Imperialistic Culture!"  Pocahontas died after she was bathed, put in a proper English dress, was forced to have a hair cut, and presented as a well dressed reformed English Christianized women to the English Crown.  The national Right winged thinking held in various part of Christian Culture too often has tried to impose their "colonial views" on the greater nation rather than do what Christ called us to do (see. Matt. 28:18-20). The United States has several histories.  Euro-centric, Native American, African-American, Asian American, and Latino stories form who we are as a country regardless of those who believe in the Euro-cententic fairy-tale of America's formation. Slaughtering 50 million Native American in the name of Jesus is not my idea of a Christian nation. The truth of our national history with it's slavery, racial hatred, and purging of first nations peoples is not exactly something I think of as the good ole days.  Our nation is an an experiment!  It's a movement that is called to teach the Shites and Sunnies how to live with one another in peace.  We are called to be that kind of people.  That's why I believe that the Christian Right is losing power because it seems that they just can't move our nation backwards to the good ole days.... whatever that may have been in their minds.  It's time for us to wake up - and realise what has been said before "you can't legislate" your statement of faith in a nation that was called to be a "HOLY EXPERIMENT" based on reciprocal liberty.  This is why the "Tea Party" will never succeed and eventually come to an end. My only hope is that the Church In America will get back to reflecting what our country was called to do in the first place... "endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace - until we come into the unity of the faith!

What To Do With The Quiet Moments In Your Life

Orlando Ridout (Direct descendant of John Ridout
 who sold Kunta Kinta in Annapolis) and Bill Haley Jr.
grandson of  Alex Haley  direct descendant of Kunta Kinta
May 2,  2014

 Over the last few years, I've had the ride of a lifetime ministering around the world, speaking in very special churches and conferences.  I have had great success in building a very important ministry in Annapolis, Maryland which has been developing a "strategic prayer" initiative that has been dismantling the "principalities, powers, and wickedness" in our city. We have been experiencing serious city transformation. This has resulted in breaking the spirit of slavery off our nation through indentificational repentance and reconciliation over the slave trade here in Annapolis. Annapolis was one of America's major slave ports - which is in fact where Alex Haley's (Author Of Roots) direct ancestor Kunta Kinta was sold on September 27, 1767.  I have concluded after witnessing God work through our ministry he is now directing us to do the redemptive work on making our city a center for addressing the plight of Modern Slavery and will be using our ministry to assist in those endeavors both here and abroad.  It's just like God to take a city's sin and turn it around to "Heal America's Wounds." So what does that have to do with "The Quiet Moments" of our lives?

In May of 2010, I had a very vivid dream/vision at 3am one morning.  It was a panoramic vision of a coming revival on Gen Y and the Millennials.  In the vision I was invited to come and minister to a group of young people.  They were laying all over the floors weeping, travailing, crying out to the Lord for mercy on their lives.  The presence Of God was so thick I was afraid to move.  I have been a part of several major outpourings in my lifetime but I had never experienced something like this.  I was literally afraid to move because I didn't want to be disruptive of God's work in their lives.  I asked a person who was standing in the vision along side of me "Why was I here?"  I felt privileged to be there but didn't understand "why."  Then a voice said, "We asked for you to come to help us because you are a Father."  "You understand the moving of the Holy Spirit."  I understood immediate what God was showing me was the next move of the Holy Spirit.  It will be an intense "Crying Out" from a generation that knows absolutely nothing about the Holy Spirit."  It's almost like the people in Acts 19 who said to Paul, "We have never heard of the Holy Spirit."  The Vision also was a warning.  Leaders who have encountered the Holy Spirit in past encounters need to be careful to not  assume they know how to proceed in this next revival.  There has never been anything like it and you cannot use your "pentecostal or charismatic wares" and just due business as usual and reteach old ways. Isaiah 43:18-19 proclaims, "remember not the former things nor consider the things of old. Behold I do a new thing.  God is not going to just give our churches and ministries a new infusion to do what has been done. He is going to use only those who have been stripped of "ministry know hows" and are sensitive and intimately acquainted with the Holy Spirit... and you cannot have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit with the busy instagram world we live in.  That's why God is stripping down churches, leaders, dispossessing and putting extreme pressure on all of us.  He is trying to get our attention to spend time with Him.  We need to get quiet, listen, discern and prepare ourselves for the next move of the Holy Spirit.  I believe this next move will begin in about five years from now.  currently, we are in a preparation period. If you don't prepare you won't be ready for when the Lord comes. (See Matthew 25:1-13)

Although we are witnessing the prophetic fulfillment of the promises given in the 1980's of massive mega churches emerging;  God has not called the contemporary church to be reduced down to be a part of the entertainment industry. I have been privileged in years gone by to speak into major movements within the contemporary church.  It has been an honor to be a part of this past emphasis.  However, God is not in the lights.  God is not in the music - even if it makes the Billboard charts.  God is not in the preaching or the great theatre complexes or stadiums that have been filled.  It's been a blast to witness the church's growth and play a small part in it.  However, God does not dwell in temples made with hands.  He is calling us to be filled in our hearts with his presence.  That presence calls us "to put off" the old nature, and be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and "put on" Christ.  God is calling for "relational holiness." He wants us to get our lives right with Him, within ourselves, and with those we share life with.  

Brokenness and humility will be the earmarks of the next move of the Holy Spirit. No Super star Apostles, Preachers of LA, or Great mega centers of Christian entertainment.  It's all coming down. It's all going to be stripped, and "political power" will be taken away from the church so that the church of the future will have similarities of the early church.  (See Zech. 4:6) You might ask why I say this?  Because the next move of the Holy Spirit is going to lead us into a new phase of whole cities coming to Christ.  Everyone currently serving in ministry has to be retooled and prepared to minister in places and among people groups they have never been a part of to lead them to Christ, help them to become disciple-makers themselves, and turn whole cultures of godless behavior around.  It's going to take the entire "Body Of Christ" to work together for the Great Harvest coming.  No one church, no movement of churches, or denominations will be able to capture this movement of God's Spirit among the nations. Whole nations will be swept by the Spirit of God in an instant and changed.  This is not my wishful or magical thinking. It is a prophetic promise in the Bible that's about to come upon the earth before the return of Christ.  (see Hab. 2:14; Psalm 102:18; Isaiah 40:5)

I have no idea what other ministries are up to or what the latest "word" is.  What I am witnessing is extreme pressure being placed on everyone including me.  It's referred to in the Bible as a "time of atonement." God's people are being called to "get their inner world and outer worlds aligned with Him. In order for that to happen He will strip and shake everything in our lives to complete that work in us. Phil. 1:6 says, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  So,  when your world gets quiet and invitations are not being issued to have you come and be a part of the big celebrations right now... don't fret.  Get busy and use these quiet periods in your life to prepare yourself for the next period God is taking you to.  You may be called to write. You may be called to finish that theological degree.  You may be called to study, develop a prayer life or get those music lessons needed to make yourself an accomplished musician.  Whatever God is calling you to do... now is the time to take the moment to get ready.  Parties will come and go.  You're not missing out on anything because nothing is happening right now.  We are all just being called to "get quiet."  Here's a couple of cool verses: I Thessalonian 4:11 "aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands";  Psalm 75:6-7 "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. For God is the judge! He brings one down and exalts another. " So don't worry about becoming a celebrity pastor, singer or worship leader.  James 3:16 explains to us, "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." God wants to kill all that self ambition in us. He's going to tear down the idol of "My purpose, My dream" emphasis because it's His purpose, His Dream, His kingdom that he's building not ours. I am glad that in all my years preaching, teaching, and being invited to be a part of great moves of the Holy Spirit in the past I've never once had to ask someone to let me come and speak on their platforms or conference.  They invited me to come - I didn't go seeking celebrity pastor status. I just want a relationship with Jesus that makes Him pleased with me. God alone is the one who promotes.  He alone calls us to a quiet place with Him so that we can be intimately acquainted with The Holy Spirit.  Prayer and His word provides the foundation we need for any work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Right now, God is giving us a reprive from "business as usual,"  He's giving us a quiet time to retool our lives and get ready for the "move of the Holy Spirit."