rants of a beggar

The Preface: Before I go into my rant.. I would like to clarify my heart concerning the church. I have gone to church most of my life, from the time I was 4, I can remember reciting memory verses in Sunday School and listening to all the crazy stories of the Old Testament. However it has only been in the last 7 years, that I have recklessly pursued the heart of God. In my pursuit of HIM, I was drawn to the beauty of His bride.. the Church. I spent several years preparing for missions overseas, and found myself planting networks of house churches in the States. Through that experience God unveiled the heart of His bride, and allowed me to fall so deep in love with the Church that I now dedicate my life as her bondservant…

Flash Forward: Today I serve in a local church as the Director of Spiritual Life. It is my sole responsibility to protect the integrity of the church, and to be compelled by the hearts of the people in which it contains. I am also involved in a UNITY movement, which has seen it’s better days.. but with the dedication of a few good men, and the voice of God beckoning us.. We press on.

My Rant: I once had a dream (not MLK JR.. but close) of going to a church, sitting in the pew, and listening to a preacher.. only to find myself surrounded by corpses. The vision of this shook me to my core.. It forced me quickly to my knees and pray. It stirred me and put me on guard against any false teaching, and sharpened me to always examine right doctrine. But it doesn’t take away the question.. How and Why churches die?

Living in New England, I drive by so many old church buildings with beautiful architecture and historical content from the early colonial settlers. But each building carries a dry and darkened spirit, which is reflected upon many that “visit”.. but very few people that belong. The life that these monuments once contained is found depleted and empty. It’s obvious to me that the church is not the building, but the establishment of the people in which it contains… yet the structure of the building, represents life that once was and is no more.

What are the signs of death in a church?

Individually we examine our lives and preach unto others that the consequences of SIN is death. Yet how do we hold those standards to the church corporately? In the Old Testament, God is constantly offended by the corporate SIN of the Israelites. Prophet after Prophet He sends them, to warn them of their sinful, selfish desires and remind them of His unfailing promise. Yet somehow in our individualistic society and culture we ignore the concept of collective SIN. Anytime the church puts their own agenda before God’s, they SIN against Him.

In churches today many of the programs or ministries become self serving, and are used more for their own entertainment and content, rather than the desires and plans God has for them. His WILL, will always shake ours.. and force us to step in FAITH in a direction that is never natural to us. IF your church simply plays it “safe”, then you are withering away from the PLAN God has.

God’s plan is never about us.. but always for us.

I am sure church leaders serve whole heartedly and do what they believe is right. But there comes a point in leadership, when you have to follow the voice of God in spite of the unknown. John 3:8 describes the Spirit of God moving like the wind. So often God speaks and we grasp on to it like a ledge.. but when He speaks again, we rationalize it out and cling to the ledge He first revealed. Unwilling to reach out to the next ledge which ultimately leads us to a better place and reveals even MORE of His plan.

Hanging from the ledge, unable to move.. we slowly decay.

Signs of death may not always be obvious.. Our “good” intentions become entwined with our selfish desires and the contrast becomes blurred. We act in the what we believe is the best interest of our church, but forget about the Church as a whole. Our focus dwells on establishing our own fiefdom and not the Kingdom of God in which we belong.

What the church should be..

The church (emphasis on little “c”) is merely an outpost of the Kingdom to which we all belong.
The church is the “City on a Hill” a “Light in the darkness” Matt 5:14-16.
The church is an embassy in a foreign land with allegiance to a King and Kingdom that is distant from those around us.
The church must operate and make decisions with the Church as the forefront of it’s agenda.
The more a church focuses on itself, the more it becomes isolated from the Kingdom it belongs to.

It has long been my God given agenda to create or cultivate Community centered on Christ.

My heart is compelled by Community. Community is where lives are transformed and rendered anew. It’s where the TEACHINGS of Gods word meets the application into daily life. It’s where the Spirit of God manifest and showcases itself to the world. It is the CITY on a Hill, or a light shining into darkness. It is what God first created when He formed MAN and WOMAN. It was the only reason why Christ died and it is the only way for His Kingdom to come.

I am living this out today first and foremost by BEING in community. The Church is comprised of the PEOPLE not the banner or logo of its establishment.. but the blood and tears shared in the brokenness of man. I belong to a community I call the Forge.. which is a band of misfit, Christ driven, over-achievers with a desire to live out AUTHENTIC faith.

I have also had the privilege of  forming a leadership development group in my church called Roots.  The focus and intention of Roots, is to equip men to equip others. (2 Tim 2:2). By focusing on discipling MEN, you create a catalyst of change within the Family, which subsequently revives the COMMUNITY that harbor them.

I have been so blessed with the experience and tools God has equipped me with to fulfill this Calling placed on my life. Even to the extent of being recently engaged to a beautiful woman, in which I will be able to share community with in the home.

MY entire being is wrapped into this..
It’s who God made me.. It’s why I’m here.. & It’s what I’m all about.

4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord .’5 “Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.
Ezekiel 37

Haunted by visions of dead men..
Cities destroyed.. Families abandoned..  Children roaming.. Women wearied.. and Men dead.. Over and over the scene plays in my mind..

Dead Men = Dead Families = Dead Communities

So my question is this.. How do you give life back to a community?

Simple… Breathe life into men

Only the power of the Holy Spirit poured out through his word can give life into a dead mans bones. It happened to me, and it may have happend to you. But it is not just good enough to be poured into and revived.. We must learn to stand together with the breath of life given to us… and SHARE that by pouring it into others.

If the Breath of Life you’ve once received, doesn’t give life to anyone else.. then it is just hot air.

21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed.22 “But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. Luke 11

So often we find men bound and enslaved on the floor of their own homes.
Tangled by arrogance, selfishness, idolatry, deception, pornography, alcoholism, violence, and fear. Bearing the chains marred with the flesh and blood of their fathers.

Homes unattended, left open to be ravished by the whims and currents of this world. Pressed on every side, leaving families broken and shattered.

As men lay dead.. lying on the floor of their own home.
Helpless and without influence.

Dead Men = Dead Families = Dead Communities

Fertilizer..  It always finds a way to hit the fan..

It seems prominently to be the aftermath of a “some what good” intention combined with ill sought advisement .. which sadly concludes to an unwelcome response..

Yet even “it” seems to serve a purpose..
Conflicts are inevitable, resolutions are not.. Our response to “it”, is what ultimately shapes and defines our character.. It’s easy to turn and burn the bridges you leave behind.. Yet that ineptly equips you for conflicts that soon arise..

Reconciliation doesn’t require fondness.. however it does call for courage..
Yet.. it is that very courage through the adversity, that foster growth and maturity.