Shaking Is A Promise, Not A Problem!

From a prophetic perspective, I have been paying close attention to the "shakings" going on around the world.  All over the world, people have been experiencing a "shaking" in their finances, their jobs, their businesses, and losing their personal homes.  In the United States alone over 2.3 million homes have been foreclosed on and are now held by the banks who intend to hold onto to this real estate and rent the houses out while they bundle these properties into reits and roll them into securities that can be sold on Wall Street as derivatives once again.  Millions of dollars are at risk once again driven by the greed of the bundlers on Wall Street that got our nations into this trouble to begin with.  This is a serious time.  God is going to shake the nations once more because we do not heed his voice.

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 12 verses 25-29, it says: "See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

So how should those of us who are followers of Jesus respond?  Well. the first thing we need to do is recognize that these shakings are a promise, not a problem.  From a kingdom perspective those in our present economic systems may have their plan, but God has a plan that will foil their agendas.  There is coming a major reorganization of economic order that will dispel those who presently are manipulating the federal reserve and banking system. This reorganization will be caused by shifting technologies, ordinary people's ingenuity, and God positioning leaders in high positions of authority just like he did in the days of the Babylonian captivity, the medo-Persian empire, and the rebuilding days of Ezra and Nehemiah.  This new economic order will be preceded by a major period of godly young people who have cried out to God and have prepared themselves to serve in the king's court.  They will be like those great young men found in Daniel chapter 1.  They will be well-favored in appearance, skillful in all wisdom, discernment, and understanding.  They will be apt in learning knowledge (graduating from the Ivy league schools), competent to stand and SERVE in the king's palace- and they will be fluent in the literature and language of the Chaldeans.  In other words, these coming leaders will be influences within the cultural governmental contexts of their nations.  They will be working within the bureaucracy, invisible to the public eye, and many will not recognize God at work. He is going to bring in His Kingdom through a Godly, kingdom oriented, stealth leadership who will work to dismantle the corrupting influences now affecting the world cultures of government, finance, business, arts, entertainment and media, health care, education, and religion.  PLEASE NOTE:  "The church-world as we know it will be shaken too!"  God is going to dry up every resource that empowers these wicked systems.  Daniel Chapter 4 gives us the prophetic picture of why.

After building a hugh image in his own honor (Dan. 3) and demanding everyone to worship his image, Nebuchadnezzar has another dream.  In this dream, a very large tree which was strong and growing toward the heavens is chopped down.  Daniel interprets the dream and explains to his king that God is going to humble Nebuchadnezzar due to his arrogance and pride.  There are several factors that led Nebuchadnezzar to his downfall.  (See Daniel 4:4,30)  This sounds like the American dream:

• He was living a very comfortable life.
• He was very prosperous and lived in a very large palace.
• He was proud of his accomplishments when he proclaimed "Is this not the great Babylon that "I HAVE BUILT?"  
• In his arrogance he said, "I HAVE BUILT" this royal palace which is the SEAT of government by the MIGHT OF MY POWER and FOR THE MIGHT AND GLORY OF MY MAJESTY!"

Daniel as chief counsel speaks to the king and says, (see Daniel 4:27) "break off your sins and show the reality of your repentance by having a right standing with God and the moral and spiritual rectitude to show rightness in every area and relationship you have in life."  STRONG WORDS HERE.  I wonder where the godly leaders are today who are leading the way to encourage our world cultures to be accountable to God like Daniel does.  During my study at George Fox University with Dr. Len Sweet, a book by Edwin H. Friedman’s entitled A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, was presented to me to read by my dissertation advisor.  Friedman’s book concerns itself with the crisis of leadership in America civilization, which he characterizes as a ‘failure of nerve’. This crisis of leadership is found throughout American civilization, in national, state, and local politics, in the legal system, in schools, businesses, and in families, which receive particularly close attention.

Friedman attacks the manner in which organizations primarily adapt themselves to their most dependent, recalcitrant, and anxious members, rather than to ‘the energetic, the visionary, the imaginative, and the motivated’ (12). He argues that the devaluation of the important of self-differentiation as the key to leadership is the origin of many of our problems in the area, causing leaders to depend more upon their ‘expertise’ than on their capacity to be decisive. More technique and data won’t solve problems that arise from embedded emotional processes. A failure to understand the manner in which these processes operate causes us to believe that they can be resolved or regulated ‘through reasonableness, love, insight, role-modeling, inculcation of values, and striving for consensus.’

In Friedman’s extensive experience, the crucial factor that distinguished families that flourished through crisis and those who failed was the presence of a ‘well-differentiated leader’. Friedman seeks to show that strength lies in ‘presence’ rather than ‘method’, ‘to enable leaders to avoid trying to instill insight into the unmotivated’, show the unhelpfulness of leadership concepts such as ‘role-modeling’, ‘emulation’, and ‘identification’, and how self-differentiation ‘can make the dependency of the unimaginative and the recalcitrant work for instead of against them.

WE NEED LEADERSHIP!  However, we do not need more elected leaders - we need Godly bureaucrats.  People who remain in position for years to come who will speak the truth to our elected officials and call them to account.  Bureaucrats can work within and reform the corrupting influences of our cultural systems.  If not, God has only one other solution - Shaking the system until it collapses and a more equitable and just system is put in place. If you study the historical background of the Quaker revivals of the 17th Century God used leaders to birth a new form of government in Philadelphia as an example for our early leaders to follow.  It honored God, it honored people, and it provided a great foundation for a new republic (see Micah 6:8).  However, when every generation chooses its leaders and its direction- the outcome will be bases on it's worldviews- good or bad!  When the church decides to become a cultural acommadator rather than a cultural influencer;  It's only a matter of time... before God will shake our nations.  He will use strong weather patterns, fires, earthquakes, Tsumnamis, stock market crashes, bank collapses, a mortgage crisis, and bring our enemies to deconstruct our way of life.  Who has ever heard of two young men, ages 26 and 19 shuting down an American City like what just happened in Boston.  It's time to wake up Church!  The choice is ours! (See II Chron. 7:14)

Hebrews 12:6 explains to us that, "The Lord corrects and disciplines those he loves." The writer goes onto explain that these corrective times are evidence of being a son and daughter of God!  Wow, that means if I'm feeling the heat it's evidence that I am a child of God... because a father does not correct children who are not his own. Hebrews goes onto to say, "You must submit to and endure correction- even though it is unpleasant for a season."  The final explanation to "understanding discipline" is that "God corrects us so that we become sharers in his holiness."  When the church loses it's influence- it's not because we didn't rally enough people to vote who we wanted in office.  We lose influence because we are not reflectng the character and nature of a loving God.  We are not living in the old testament world.  The NEW TESTAMENT says, "Where sin abounds, GRACE MUCH MORE ABOUNDS."  (Romans 5:20)  

We are called to disciple the nations not alienate them. In many ways, I sense the church, like Jonah, has been called to preach to a place like Ninevah. (See Nahum 3) It was a city full of lies and robbery. It was a place known for it's violence and cruelity. Think about the US, violent movies, videogames, school shootings, bombings, and terroist going back home after terroring a city and blending back in as though nothing had happened. A city which brought down others to lift themselves up!  Wow. The whole thing should have been sent right to HELL.  However, God called Jonah to call this place to repentance. But, He didn't want them to repent do he refused to go.  So, so what did God do?  He shook a ship, sent a fish to devour Jonah, who in turn threw him up on the shoreline of Ninevah to ensure that the city was givn an opportunity to repent.  This is what is happening to the church worldwide.

Isaiah 6:8-13 says:

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”  And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

Make the heart of this people dull,

and their ears heavy,

and blind their eyes;

lest they see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”

And he said:

“Until cities lie waste

without inhabitant,

and houses without people,

and the land is a desolate waste,

and the Lord removes people far away,

and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

And though a tenth remain in it,

it will be burned again,

like a terebinth or an oak,

whose stump remains

when it is felled.”

The holy seed is its stump.

GOD HELP US!

GOD IS A HACKER!

  With the advent of new technologies, a culture has been created in our world that celebrates and supports the ongoing technological endeavors with its associated processes and knowledge to make our lives easier. Our world has encountered a major shift with the development of hand held devices that allow us to collaborate, network, infoshare, and carry our social community around in our pockets.  It has also caused many industrial era jobs to just disappear.  It also now forces us to examine where are the jobs in the future markets created not only by our new social media habits but emerging virtual worlds to come created by emerging hologram technology.  All these devices are designed to make our lives less stressful and enable us to cocoon in our own self-created worlds.  Our Ipads, smart-phones, and home computing  make it possible for us to never leave our homes.

We don't have to go to a library anymore

We don't have to go to a store anymore

We don't have to answer our phones anymore

We don't have to go to the office anymore

We don't have to go to school building anymore

We don't have to go to a doctor's office anymore

We don't have to go to a mail box anymore

We don't have to go to the bank anymore

We don't have to go out for entertainment anymore

We don't have to go engage people outside our homes anymore

and soon we will be able to visit places around the world without leaving our holodeck rooms.

I love all this new technology.  It allows me to stay in contact with people I love all around the world.  It allows me to accomplish things I would have never dreamed of with hitching up the horse to the buggy, cranking up the model T, or having to wait for the radio or TV broadcast eat up the time that is most important to me.  We can bank online, go to school online, date online, watch movies online, talk to our friends face to face worldwide online, and do business online... it's an amazing digital world.  In fact, I am now convinced that anyone, anywhere, can create their own reality and their own new digital kingdoms.  Gaming, virtual reality, robotics, and holograms will empower a whole generation to live in worlds that will give missionaries whole new worlds to reach.  With all these exciting new technologies there are a few theological and scriptural perspectives we need to explore which will help us redefine our relationship to God and one another.   

With the advent of the creation of virtual worlds we are often left alone, without face to face, without personal touch. Digital natives are faced with the need for more Interactive relationship to ensure that they give others a place to challenge their lives, their thinking - relationships which hold them accountable to God and one another.  Genesis 1:18 states very clearly that human interaction was designed by God to deal with our ability to live in our own little world by ourselves.  It says "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him."  

      I love exploring new perspectives of scripture and how they may apply in new cultural contexts. With all these new emerging worlds of robotics, holodecks, and virtual reality games... It is important to recognize that we have a great capacity to disappear into those worlds and live in the unreality of aloneness.  Robots, holodecks and online gaming will always get disrupted by God.  He ensures that we will always be called out by others- out of our own little small minded worlds.  Why?  Because Proverbs 18:1-2 says "A loner is out to get what he wants for himself.  He opposes all sound reasoning.  A fool does not find joy in understanding but only expressing his own opinion.  

      One thing for sure, my wife and kids keep me grounded in reality and likewise I disrupt their self-created worlds.  God could have left Adam to his own devises in the Garden of Eden... and he could have stayed in that little world and never explored the entire planet God created.  However, God ensured that he devised a "hacker" of sorts called "woman" who would continually call Adam out of himself.  Likewise, Adam was forced to contend with this "Hacker" who opened up whole new worlds to him because of her curious nature.  As a result, Adam and Eve would so learn God is God and I am not.  Isn't that what "Being Human" means?   God's creativity opened up new opportunities for both Adam and Eve to be challenged out of their delusions, deceptions and ability to live in unreality.  God has designed "humans" to be forced into reality of the real world... because He wants us to interact with Him. One day when the Internet goes down and it breaks down as everything else has - whole groups of people will be forced out of their own little self-created worlds and forced to interact with "real" others to fix what went wrong.  But it will never stop God from hacking the system.

One of the main reasons I see God as a hacker is due largely to the attractional, propositional, and colonial nature of the anti-Christ spirit that prevails in the use of technology.  At the creation of the "Tower Of Babel" in Genesis 11 humanity explored how  to create a world of "conformity" by introducing new tower technology to advance their own self-definition.  We too can become gods.  Remember, God is God and your not!  So God saw this new technology advance through a new architectural design not seen before, examined its purpose and use and said "Let's go down and mix up their language so that don't understand each other."  That's what hackers love to do... mix up their software language so that it's dysfunctional. In this passage, the tower was attactional, the call to the entire city was "propositional", "let us build a city (virtual world) for ourselves, and  make our world colonial (conformity).  So God hacked in and messed it up.  Why?  Because God called us to be missional, relational, and he wants to incarnate himself in our world.  God loves to walk in our gardens. Romans 12:2  states "Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."   The conforming nature of technology results in "self-created" worlds whether it be online, in our homes, or our churches.  The word "church" takes on new meaning in that the Greek word for Church, "Ecclesia,"  means to be called out of... into a corporate experience.  As the people of God, we need to ensure that we do not get isolated by all these wonderful technologies, flee corporateness, or live in virtual (addictive) worlds that keep us from experiencing and "church-life."  Church  life deals with our own self-delusions and challenges us to become better at life and relationship.  God hacks into our world through giving "helpers" (both our families and the Body Of Christ) to call us out of ourselves.  So when God invades MYspace, or I'm facebooked by a friends because they want to engage me in relationship I need to understand that God is attempting to incarnate himself in my world.  I need to accept that he gives me the gift of other human beings to keep me from my own self-centered dellusions and opening myself up to self-seductive voices calling me to be my own God.

A friend of mine recently told me he didn't feel like going to church.  Suddenly the Lord said to him, "Well, I didn't feel much like going to the cross either, but I did!"   God is calling you, he's calling me, and He's hacking into our world to explain to us that "social media" is our new opportunity to build our lives relationally with him and others.  It also gives us new frontiers to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who would have never heard of him.  We are called to join God in his mission and invade this new virtual reality and introduce others to the reality of a loving God who sent Christ to die for them so that they don't end up stuck in the self-life.   As I see it, nothing has changed... God is still God and he will always be the hacker who will invade our gardens even when we are trying to hide under a bush and cover ourselves with leaves.  Thank God he cares enough to invade our world and works to incarnate himself in our story.

God The Master Artist!

Every morning I wake up to breath-taking views of the Chesapeake Bay.  It seems every morning that God paints the sky with color and beauty reminding us of His creativity.  Creativity is something I really enjoy. I enjoy art, sculpture, architecture, wood craving, music, dance,  film, and other forms and expressions.  Whether its poetry, lyrics, metaphor, or stain glass windows, God gave each of us creative expression to communicate our stories, histories and the things we hold dear.

      

  In an age of post-modernism, story, metaphor, symbols, art, and creative expression has become necessary in an age when "words" take on new meanings.  John 1:1 opens with "In the beginning was the WORD."  When God began expressing words, worlds were created.  When we speak words- worlds are created also.  There is power in words but more importantly we need to understand words are limited.  There are worlds of expression.  St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words."  I love creativity.  I love coloring my world.  I love filling our home with music, art and story.  One of my favorite people, Phil Pringle, communicates the gospel through canvas painting and sculpture.   When you explore art you can assign meaning to it that might have a different meaning to you than the artist intended - however, it speaks to you!

   Art can become expressions of worship. Of course, many people in times past thought artist expression meant that people worshiped the art vs. expressed worship of our creator through art.  Recently, I learned some interesting backgrounds to folk art expressions done by Quaker Edward Hicks. Edward Hicks (April 4, 1780 – August 23, 1849) was an American folk art painter and distinguished minister of the Religious Society Of Friends. He became a Quaker icon because of his paintings.  
     In 1812 his congregation recorded him as a minister, and by 1813 he began traveling throughout Philadelphia as a Quaker preacher. To meet the expenses of traveling, and for the support of his growing family, Hicks decided to expand his trade to painting household objects and farm equipment as well as tavern signs. His painting trade was lucrative, but it upset some in the Quaker community, because it contradicted the plain customs they respected. Quaker beliefs prohibited a lavish life or having excessive quantities of objects or materials. Unable to maintain his work as a preacher and painter at the same time, Hicks transitioned into a life of painting, and he used his canvases to convey his beliefs. He was unconfined by rules of his congregation, and able to freely express what religious words could not.  His most famous paintings were a series entitled, "The peaceable kingdom."  In each of these paintings he painted differing expressions on his animal's faces to communicate what was going on in the Quaker community at the time of his paintings. But what is most interesting is how many times he paints William Penn making a treaty with Native Americans.  In one of his paintings he has Penn making a treaty under the natural bridge of Virginia.  I found this odd until recently when a friend told me a family story from Alabama. 
       A friend of mine learned that her family was saved during a massive conflict between her family and the native american population in the early 18th century.  Her grandfather told her the story of how the conflict was resolved.  Family legend has it that William Penn traveled down to Alabama and made a peace treaty between the native tribes and the family and the family was saved from a great massacre.  Wow! I thought this story might explain why Hicks put William Penn in so many of his paintings in differing places other than Philadelphia - making a treaty.
      Another great friend of mine, Australian evangelist Tim Hall, has also found art as his expression of his appreciation of Australian culture. Tim has funded many of his oversea ministry trips by painting and selling his art so he could minister in places no one else would go.

    So, recognizing the importance of art.  I envision myself over the next years finding ways to tell the story of what God has done here in Annapolis.  The last 10 years has been an incredible journey.  I am amazed how God has taken time to speak to me personally on so many little and big ways through images, art, music, and stories.  There is power in a story when God incarnates himself in it.  One of the churches that impacted my life when I was in my early teenage years had a motto plastered above its altar area.  It read, "Little is much, when God is in it."  If you look around your city, look around your church facilities, or even in a local mall - look at the images, the art, and listen to the music and ask - Is God speaking?  Can he possibly be working in and through the signs and images of our culture?  
    Romans 1: 20 tells us "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..."  So next time your wake up... stop and look at the sky, the lake, the mountains, the trees or flowers and remember that God himself is speaking to us in very creative ways.

What Is Discipleship?

What is Discipleship?

Jesus exhorted us to go make disciples of all people (Matt. 28:18-20)

In the History of Christianity, the disciples were the followers of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel. In addition to the Twelve, the gospels and the Book of Acts refer to varying numbers of disciples that ranges between 70 and 120 to a "growing multitude". Jesus controversially accepted women and those outside the circle of Israel’s faith among his followers, though it's not clear they were disciples. In the book of Acts, the Apostles themselves have disciples. The word disciple is used today as a way of self-identification for those who seek to learn from the teachings of Jesus.                                                                            

            There are four important aspects in discipleship

Accountable Relationships  

Relationship is at the heart of the Christian Faith, reflecting the fact that we as human beings have been made for relationship. Relationships are at the core of who we are as humans. When God created humans he put them into relationship, first with Him and then with each other.  From the very beginning of creation, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”  The writer of proverbs states, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.”  It is in relationship that we find out who we are as humans and what matters most in life. Whether it is an individual broken heart, or whole families and societies devastated by relationships gone bad, relationships reflect our deepest human struggles. They are the source of our most profound joy and pain. From love to hate, relationship is at the depths of sin and at the heights of moral virtue.  Compassion, sacrifice, forgiveness trust… betrayal, murder, adultery, revenge.  Each is rooted in relationship. Scripture teaches us that God made people, with all their goodness and failure, for himself and also for one another.  This is at the foundation and heart of discipleship.  We believe that our spiritual growth with God is intentional and conditioned by interpersonal relationship with God and One another.  Discipleship can be defined as “an intentional response to others – especially God- that promotes well-being.”

Christian Formation

Christian formation involves opening ourselves up to an experience with God and others. Our focus is to break down the walls and barriers that hinder our relationship to God and others and explore the underlying causes to those roadblocks in our lives. Secondly, the discipleship process explores the maturity continuum of our adult lives and how our faith assists us in accomplishing the tasks of each stage of life.  Both Emotional and Spiritual Growth are a part of this process.  If we do not grow emotionally we cannot grow spiritually. Growing up in Christ is a process and involves becoming accountable to God; others and ourselves; learning the scriptures and how they apply for our lives; and building relational wholeness in our lives.

Teaching

Another aspect in discipleship involves teaching. Our discipleship process is designed to help new followers of Jesus formulate a Christian worldview and it will transform their thinking, assumptions, and mindsets. How does one do this? It requires, in part, challenging our learning about how to have a relationship with God, the Bible, and learning how life was designed by God to work. Our teaching process will focus on the nature and purpose of accountability, the history and background of the bible, and personal transformation.

Service

We are all called to put our faith into practice! We now take the relationships, mentoring, and learning, and carry it out in daily life. This is often expressed in service projects and missions, but that is only a small, although necessary aspect of service. Service is how we live our lives and model His character on a daily basis to those around us! When we are in ministry, we need to realize, it is not what I do, but whom I can equip. As we practice by reciprocating what we have learned to others, we will also be built up! 

All four of these aspects of discipleship collate and build into each other synergistically. Discipleship can be skewed and people fall away if any of these four aspects are let go. We will lose valuable opportunities to share and teach one another if, as Jesus stands at the door and knocks, we are watching TV and ignoring His door. Remember, the focus is never the task in and of itself. Rather, it is the glory and worship of our Lord and the enabling of one another to do and be better at living the Christian life. What we learn and do here during our short time together will echo throughout the vastness of eternity!

Every person who wants to follow Jesus needs to be discipled. Do whatever it takes to get someone who has been a follower of Jesus and reflects his nature to disciple you.  Don't be afraid to ask them until they or someone else takes the opportunity to invest in your life.