Come Home
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood,
ye have no life in you. John 6:53
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When is it acceptable for the "church" to be so busy with other things or too big to celebrate "communion?" The answers are simple. If it is too busy, it is so with the "devil’s handiwork." If it is too big, it has lost it focus and its mission. The stage is set for the first response to the question by the importance Jesus should have in everything the church does. First and foremost, we gather together to remember and to honor Him. Perhaps nowhere else other than in the verses from John cited above does He spell out the importance of what we call communion. Luke records that at the "Last Supper" Jesus took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. And of the wine it is recorded He said, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. Similar Scriptures are found in Mark 14:22-25. Nothing is more emphatic than that recorded in John 6:53-54. We are to do it together. When we do, every time we do it, we bear witness to the most basic tenet of Christianity that God, in the person of Jesus the Christ was and is reconciling Himself to the world. Is there anything more sacred and fundamental? In the face of this, some churches contend they are too busy; it costs too much; it takes too much time. There are those "churches" that are concerned its celebration might offend the "seekers" in their midst – a good reason for them not to be there.

The word, "Eucharist" isn’t really found in Scriptures. The Greek eucharistia, from which "Eucharist is derived appears some 15 times in the KJV, but it is translated as "thanks," thanksgiving, thankfulness, etc. It wasn’t until the writing of Ignatius, Justin, and Irenaeus that it began to acquire the definition it has today. It’s interesting what Protestantism has taken from Roman Catholicism and what it has left behind. When it comes to pomp and ceremonies, Protestantism is out there leading the parade. So also with the sacrosanct priesthood. But when it comes to the beautiful simplicity of the Lord’s Supper (Coena Domini) we all but leave it in the gutter. The Roman Catholic Church considers the Eucharist, along with the Trinity and the Incarnation as the three essential characteristics of Christianity, that exceeds reason. They are what defines our faith. Perhaps, when it concerns such fundamental issues, it’s time to come home. Come home to fellowship with the Lord filled with eucharistia – thankfulness.

If we have gotten so big that we cannot effectively and efficiently offer communion during our services, then one must question the reason for growth. Where is the "spotlight" in a stadium-sized gathering? Why have so many gathered together? What’s the attraction? Who is on center stage? On whom is our attention directed? Is it the "pastor?" Is that who? Whom do we serve, the "pastor" or Jesus the Christ?" Or, is there the assumption they are one and the same – His vicar? Surely, we aren’t saying that in such throngs that the "pastor" is the only one who can "preach" the Gospel. Are we actually saying that the "pastor" is more important in our assemblies than He? We are if we can’t "afford" to serve communion.

Are we so busy, caught up in our psycho social agenda of making everyone, regardless of beliefs or lifestyles, feel accepted and loved that we haven’t time to celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Has our espousing worldly creature comforts that exaggerates what God seemingly owes us or what we think we are due as a consequence of embracing the label "Christian" left no room for The Table of the Lord? If so, perhaps it is time to return our church services to something closer to Synaxis. Synaxis meaning gathering, assembly, reunion, comparable to synagogue (synagoge), the place of reunion. The verb synago occurs frequently in the New Testament in the form of "gathering together a religious meeting (Acts 11:26; 14:27 etc.), as also for the Jewish services and councils (e.g. John 11:47)." Roman Catholic Cardinal Bona (1609-1674) thought synaxis had a mystic meaning, "referring to our union with God or Communion." What a wonderfully elegant thought we’ve left by the wayside

The metaphors we use and the examples we see suggest the church is something it is not. It is not a structure; it is not an organization; it is not a social-work agency, an entertainment or health center. It is a community of believers built on faith in and confession of Jesus the Christ as their Lord and Master in which the "saints" may freely fellowship and worship together unencumbered by worldly cares and distractions – a time for communion with Him as well as one another. It is time we set our house in order and come home to the Lord.

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 1 Corinthians 11:26

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A Mission Not A Church
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator,
who is blessed for ever. Amen Romans 1:25
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Stage Struck
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Romans 1:22
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It doesn’t take too many glimpses of the Hollywood set trooping down the red carpet of a "grand opening" or a this-or-that awards show to realize their heads have been turned. It’s as though each is singing, "It all about me." Their apparent self-assurance fed by the momentary fame they bask in masks their deep-seated insecurities. They know sooner or later the applause meter will take that precipitous fall to zero from somebody to nobody. But for now they are in the limelight, drugs and alcohol sustain them and serial monogamy provides the illusion of being loved.

But, are they any more to blame for their conceit than their ogling fans that worship the very ground they walk upon? It isn’t too much of a stretch to suggest all that fan attention, regardless of the venue, produces the artificially inflated egos of the superstar set. After all, the vainglory spoken of by Paul in Philippians means "empty pride." He wasn’t talking to actors, rather he was addressing the leaders of the "church" in Philippi. Who among us could resist developing a swelled head in the face of persistent and overwhelming adulation whether from an audience or a congregation? One danger of leadership is the tendency to believe in one’s own invincibility.

Jesus warned against the leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees several times. That warning was about the way they lived as much as their false doctrines. In Matthew 23:6-7 they are shown as loving public recognition – the "red carpet treatment. They are also described as greedy, in Matthew 23:14. Part of His concern was that the disciples not be taken in by them and that they not become like them.

It was probably "the Sadducean high priests who had booths in the courts of the temple for the sale of sacrificial requisites, tables for money-changers, as ordinary coins had to be changed into the shekels of the sanctuary." (International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia) They called themselves "the righteous" or sometimes more flamboyantly as the "straightforwarid, open, honest, righteous." (McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia) "They were a quarrelsome group whose followers were wealthy and powerful, and that he (Josephus) considered them boorish." (Wikipedia Encyclopedia) "Name from High Priest...about the "haughty" aristocracy of Jerusalem. The Sadducees, says Josephus, have none but the rich on their side." (Jewish Encyclopedia) Doesn’t this sound familiar: moneygrubbers, self-righteous, flamboyant, boorish and haughty with the wealthy an powerful of society as their "groupies?" These too, Jesus warned against.

Unlike the superstar set, humility seems the tone Christians are to have in their lives. And that goes for all of us. Yet, how hard that must be to maintain with hundreds of thousands of adoring "fans" singing our praises – telling us how wonderful we are. Imagine how difficult it must be for Chuck Smith with over 16,000 attending his services every Sunday or for Clarence McClendon not to be seduced by the 15,000 attending his services. Then, of course, there’s the 17,000 attending Fred Price’s Crenshaw Christian Center and the 19,500 who go to Ed Young’s Fellowship Church, the 15,000 going to Greg Lorie’s church, Rick Warren’s 22,000, Bill Hybel’s 20,000. Joel Osteen tops this list of 1300 "mega-churches in the U.S. His Lakewood church. More than 30,000 attend every Sunday making him the superstar to top all superstars.

But even if one’s church attendance is 50 or 100 the pastor is still the one "on stage" to whom everyone looks for direction and leadership. How are they able to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees that "in time, it infects and corrupts the whole of men's principles and practices, and puffs and swells them up with a vain opinion of themselves?" Obviously, some, perhaps many, don’t. In the meantime, sitting in the "pews" is 100’s of 1,000’s of millions of congregants ogling their hero pastor. Or is it more correct to say taking advantage of our pastor while we sit on the sidelines/bleachers only half-heartedly listing to his sermon? "Wonderful sermon today pastor" is the pronouncement but if quizzed how many would have more than a fuzzy notion of what it was even about? We spend more money, identify more closely with and are more enthusiastically involved in our sports and movie stars than we are with our casual Sunday morning church attendance. Yet each of us is equipped with unique and essential gifts specifically designed to further the spreading and teaching of the Word. True, in some cases that suits the pastor and his staff but, it isn’t part of Christ’s Plan for saving the world. Does this passage sound like we’re supposed to just warm the bench?

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

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Two seemingly innocuous Scriptures are the subjects of furious debate and controversy within Christianity. Matthew 16:19, according to Roman Catholicism, establishes its authority to hear confessions. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. John 20:22-23 gives the Church authority to forgive sins. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. It is not unreasonable to suggest these two claims are foundation for all of the Church's authority. Their interpretation raise several issues. First, were these powers exclusively the "property" of Peter and the disciples? Second, are they transferable to future generations? Third, where does that leave Protestantism?

Based on these and related scriptures, the mediaeval Church initiated the practice of "auricular confession" -- confessing one's sins 'in the ear' (secretly) to the priest. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, this power Jesus transmitted to Peter and the other Apostles. It also claimed the authority of Absolution, an act of the priest in which he forgives sins committed after baptism.

The issues are simple. Were these powers only ascribed to Peter and the Apostles? If they were, only the Roman Catholic Church can lay claim to them. Protestantism, we must remember, was protest against the Church. It, notably in the Council of Trent, repudiated the movement and branded its leaders heretics. That's a conundrum for Protestantism. Denying the Apostles exclusive authority denies the exclusive authority of Catholic and Protestant clergy. Accepting exclusive authority, and its ability to be transmitted, only gives legitimacy to the Church and renders all denominations of Protestantism deserters of the faith.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. Luke 17:3 †

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That's what Greg Ogden would have us believe. (The New Reformation) "Christianity," he writes, "is essentially a lay movement." (p.21) For that to be the case, the church, the clergy and the laity must be prepared for a total transformation.

The world of business and finance is the primary focus and interest of most Americans, not God. The entertainment industry, not the Scriptures, provide us with our hopes, wishes and dreams. "Sports" figures, earning hundreds of millions, are our "role models, not Jesus Christ.

Today's clergy seem reluctant to view Christianity as a lay movement. Whether it is the reticence from vested self-interest or from a genuine belief to the contrary, most contemporary clergy today seem unable to embrace a meaningful lay movement.

There is a "comfort zone" in Christianity as it is. Periodically, the laity dons the respectability of devoutness without too much disruption in their lives. The clergy continues their proud, near total, control of the church. The lives of neither group is disrupted or inconvenienced too much. Religion is there, like clothing hanging in your closet, ready to be put on or set aside. More involvement of "average" Christians is not going to be an easy sell.

Somehow, there is a disquieting truth to Ogden's words. The church Jesus promised Peter would author after his confession was, doubtless, anything other than a building or an organization. In the name of all that is Holy, it is the Body of Christ. It is all who truly confess He is Lord. It is all who, without distinction, privilege or enmity, believe Jesus is their Lord and Savior.

If there is one iota of Scriptural truth to the belief that all of God's people are ministers, things must be turned around. Life may be a stage full of sound and fury, as Shakespeare noted, but it is God in the audience. We need to seek His applause, not that of the folks next door or in the pews down front.

The distinction between the sacred and profane within the church and within our lives must be eradicated. The abdication of "spiritual matters" to the clergy must end. Ogden states, "Laity too often perform tasks for the church, but are frequently not allowed to exercise ministry gifts to build up the body of Christ."(p.20) Preaching, teaching, pastoral care and counseling must become a part of every Christians duties as much as teaching children's Sunday school and caring for the communion elements. That implies a willingness on the part of each of us, clergy and laity, to become more involved with His work and less with ours.

"Ministry, Ogden writes, "is not to be equated with what professional leaders do; ministry has been given to all God's people." He continues by stating,

So the pastor's role is not to guard ministry jealously for himself, but instead to turn the spotlight on this multigifted body. In the process, God's people are discovering that in fact they are "gifted to act." (p.21)

Gifted indeed. David Provencal provides a daily inspirational message through the in-house E-mail to all Crystal Cathedral employees. Who ordained him but the hand of God. No one else seemed to notice or to be interested in the opportunity. Should the comfort and blessings his work produces wait upon the inspiration to strike the few?

Part of the unfinished business of the Reformation is the rediscovery that "ministry," as Ogden observes, "is not confined to the church building."(p.21) Rather, the church is a "base of operations called to support and equip people to live out their Christian witness..." He continues, "Only people who know they are ministers can be compassionate tools of God's healing work." (p.21) The hurting world today needs a "called army" to confront the magnitude of the pain and suffering found in the world.

IF ANY MAN SERVE ME, LET HIM FOLLOW ME; AND WHERE I AM, THERE SHALL ALSO MY SERVANT BE: IF ANY MAN SERVE ME, HIM WILL MY FATHER HONOUR. JOHN 12:26 (KJV) †

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There are several way to become ordained if it is your wish. You could enroll as a full-time student in a seminary of one of the hundreds of recognized Christian denominations. It is increasingly possible to pursue home-study programs. There have always been "mail-order" ordinations and, today, there are many resources on the infamous internet. On the other hand, you could simply declare yourself an ordained minister and start your own church.

If this is one of your ambitions, have you considered the possibility that you are already ordained? What about your belief in Jesus Christ? Isn't that your inescapable commission to be a minister for Him? The Bible says it is. In 1 Peter 2:9, we are told, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." What other authority need you have? What other hands need to anoint you? What other commission is required?

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"We have different gifts," Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans. It is unfortunate that so many of us feel, if we have any,it is the gift of "bench (pew) warming." Every pastor of an "institutional church" would like to persuade us we have a second gift - the gift of giving. That's it. That's as far as the discussion of Spiritual gifts usually goes if it is ever brought up.

Who is the WE Paul wrote about? We, meaning all the pastors in the city of Rome? Was his letter an encyclical to the bishops?

One of the few evening television programs worth watching is a story of a pastor with virtually every gift imaginable. Single handedly, he correctly executes every gift on record and some never before imagined. In his church, no one else needs any gifts because he does it all with poise and aplomb. Is that the kind of people Paul was writing to - Superpastors? If not, then who?

Greg Ogdon in The New Reformation dares suggest it is "gifted people, not gifted pastors." He states, Jesus Christ was the only fully gifted human..."(p.75) Then, after His ascension, what or who was left to guide our journey?

Was it Peter? After all, he was the rock upon which the church was to be built. Perhaps it was he and the weary mass of vicars, bishops, popes who, presumably, followed him.

So many years ago a war protest lyricist penned the mournful words, "Where have all the soldiers gone?" Might we not ask, "Where have all the gifts of God gone?" Don't you suppose the Lord God Almighty is also wondering - and waiting?

The concept of "superpastor" seems no more Scriptural than a concept of giftedness bound and limited to the requirements of a stagnated institutional church. Is it time for each of us to hear the knock at the door. (Revelation 3:20)

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Robert H. Schuller in his 1982 book, Self Esteem the New Reformation, predicts the year 2000 A.D. will be the end of the "Reactionary Age" in church history. (p. 174) That age, according to Schuller, began around 1517 as the great Protestant Reformation. It was a reaction to the absurd and vulgar excesses of the Roman Catholic Church. Beyond the year 2000, is identified by Schuller as "The Age of Mission."

Using his phrase, the Reactionary Age has been characterized by (1) opposition to the insidious authority of the papacy and (2) the growth of the institutionalized church.

For centuries, the Church of Rome focused its efforts upon political power and material wealth. For political power, it prostrated itself before the thrones of kings and the swords of conquering armies. It prostituted morality and ethics for the proverbial thirty pieces of silver.

The Church was in the business of selling salvation. Financial "sacrifices" at the alter of the Church may not have secured eternity for loved ones in purgatory, but it built beautiful cathedrals and choked the coffers of the Church. Luther and other Protestant reformers ended the more outlandish forms of Spiritual theft. However, they thrived upon the bureaucratization of the church.

About the appetite for bureaucracy, Schuller comments, "...the institutional church denominations gather for their annual synods and conventions and spend thousands of hours debating amendments to amendments and playing the game of religious institutionalism according to Robert's Rule of Order."(p. 30) Amen to that. Earlier, he criticizes "...ritualistic attendance at typical church services the formal recitation of prayers ..."(p. 18) as among the short-comings of the church in the "Reactionary Age." Again, amen.

Schuller believes the Age of Mission in the year 2000 and beyond will be founded upon self-esteem and "positive Christianity." That is simply elementary. Self-esteem founded upon accepting God's love and grace is the beginning of Christian living, not the centerpiece. It is the beginning of discipleship, not its end or its goal.

The centerpiece is, was and always will be the glorification of God. The emphasis upon Positive Christianity is returning that which was lost during the "Apostolic Age" and found again only in the latter part of this century.

Schuller's calling is to the unchurched and the non-Christian. Such as these must become convicted of God's undying love for everyone of us and Christ's grace-saving sacrifice that purchases our salvation. The decision to follow Him is Christian success. There is nothing of greater value. It is the pearl of great price. A "Christian capitalist" finds it and sells everything he has to buy it.

Parade ten million billionaires before the Throne of Grace. He will be unimpressed. Send one humble servant, rich or poor, with the conviction of God's love in his heart and He will shed torrents of tears of joy and endless rainbows of lovingkindness.

Schuller asks, "How shall we launch the new Reformation?". Read carefully his answer. "It will come as we listen to and learn from Jesus Christ. What the church desperately needs are Christians who are genuinely discipled." (p. 175) Amen to powers of ten! That is what we need

The New Reformation suggested by Ogden and Schuller must begin with pastors, ministers, theologians clerics of all manner and those in positions of authority in the institutionalized church yielding the floor. Yielding the floor to the Holy Spirit. Must we be reminded that we may not sit at Jesus feet to be taught? Is it not Scriptural that He ascended and that He "sitteth at the right hand of God?" It is the Holy Spirit who instructs and comforts each of us. Is that not Scriptural? Then, it must be taught by the leaders of the church. How are we to disciple if the only time we heard the name of the Spirit that is supposed to be among us was when we were baptized?

It must be taught that Spiritual Gifts from the Holy Spirit are not His only manifestation. Daily enlightenment, truth, wisdom and protection are every bit as much in His domain as speaking in tongues. It must be taught that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not for the enhancement of the church but for the edification of the Body of Christ. And, that Body assembles every single day in every place where two or more are gathered. He is there with us on the "highways and byways of life" waiting upon our call. Discipleship is being empowered by the Holy Spirit; that "still small voice" moving each of us to focus upon God's glory. Glory through loving service to all whom we meet; great and small, friend and foe. It is written. It must be preached

Schuller's "Age of Mission" must be ushered in by the leaders of today's churches instructing their congregations on discipleship and the works of the Holy Spirit. Discipleship must be understood as life's work, not life's avocation. This age to begin in the year 2000 must shift from its professionals being on center stage to being support staff. "Church services" must be transformed from the main arena of worship into classrooms of encouragement and instruction. The "laity" of today must be taught that they are the Royal Priesthood in this Age of Mission. We are the Apostolic People of the twenty-first century. In his book, Living out the Book of Acts, Bruce Larson writes, "The story of the acts of apostolic people continues as you and I are called to be apostolic people. This means we are as close to the Lord of the church as the twelve were in the first century." Let us remember this promise"... the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26 (NIV)

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During most church services, we are given the "opportunity to participate" with our "tithes" and "offerings." Putting them in the collection plate may well be the extent of our participation in the service. Except for some hymns, amens and a few hallelujahs, depending on the denomination, we can sit back and relax. The program is about to begin. Our participation at an end.

The Reformation spurred by Martin Luther, was a rebellion against the ecclesiasticism of the Roman Catholic church. It rejected excesses in liturgy. And, in particular, it rejected of a sacrificial Eucharist The reformation taught that the worship service was directed at preparation for service; not participation in service. Rather than "going to church" being the end, it was intended to be the beginning of service. Distinct from what was practiced in the Roman Church, the emphasis was to be participation in an integrated life of Chirstian service. Rather than the isolation of worship, there was to be an integration of life and worship. The invitation to participate was an invitation to participate in life - a Christian life.

Organized worship was not considered to be "center-stage" and participation, clearly, was to be more than funding budgets and programs. Church service was viewed as a preparation and an equiping for service. Fellowship, praise and teaching were to unite life and worship. Church was to be the intersection of life and worship, not its dissection.

If it is to have any value, the church service must prepare and equip. In contrast, we have reverted, often out ritualizing Catholicism.

Depending on the way it is presented, that other, more common, contemporary kind of participation, our "tithes" and "offerings" is, perhaps, acceptable. If it is not represented a substitute for service. As with the worship service itself, "tithes" and "offerings" are an extremely limited part of a very limited aspect of Christianity.

Furthermore, it must be understood that participation with our tithes and offerenig is without New Testament foundation. While it may be defended as supporting church activities, there is no basis in calling the "collection" tithes and offerings. Such were invariably sacrifical in nature. Something no longer required under the New Covenant. Calling such, essentially fundraising, things "tithes" and "offerings" is labored at best and contrived at worst.

In the fourth chapter of Acts, there is reference to the converts selling their estates to support the charitable activities of the "church." However, this was nearly a communial sharing of wealth, not something even beginning to approach modern "collections." Paul writes of receiving wages and maintenance, "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." 1 Cor 9:14(KJV) He says nothing about tithes and offerings.

There are no references in the New Testament to "freewill offerings." There are many in the Old Testament. The word, "offering," is used thirteen times in the New Testament as opposed to the hundreds of times in the Old. Very few of these New Testament usages refer to anything closely resembling current usages.

In Ephesians 5:2, Paul does write of offerings: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. In Hebrews 10:10, Paul again speaks of offerings, By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Once more, in Hebrews 10:18, he writes, Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. OK? Count the number of times "tithe" or "tithing" is used in the New Testament. None. Why? The full price has been paid. The only required sacrifice has been made. "For God so love the World," it is written, "that "He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever beleiveth in Him should not perish have everlasting life."(John 3, 16) Who would dare suggest we offer more?

The opportunity to participate in Christian worship must be regarded as living an everyday Christian life. In contrast, the collection of "tithes" and "offerings," while perhaps acceptable, must be understood within the narrow confines of supporting the activities of the local "church" rather than within the larger context of Christian service. In his time, Luther found fundraising activities disguised as sacred rite reprehensible. There is no reason to believe time has made them any less so. If we like our Sunday activities, we should accept the financial responsibility. Why can't that opportunity just be called a "collection?"

We do have an opportunity to participate in God's worship service. We can invite His Holy Spirit to empower our lives with virtue. †

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For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.
Isaiah 33:22

Over six hundred years ago the authors of the Protestant Reformation challenged the role of the Church as an intermediary between God and His people. In that challenge, they weren't so much "reformers", as they were "restorers." They were challenging the Church's right to judge, make rules, "lord it over others" and, in a real sense, determine one's eligibility for salvation. In short, they challenged the Church as lawgiver. Somewhere, left behind, the simple fact that the LORD is our only lawgiver.

First, the leaders of the Reformation challenged the Church by wresting the Holy Scriptures from its clutches where it had been confined for centuries. John Wycliffe translating the Bible into English and Luther into German were beginning steps in handing a substantial part of the church back to the saints. Can you imagine living without your Bible? Trying to discern His will through words spoken from the pulpit would be as likely as a blind person recognizing an elephant by feeling its tail. Wycliffe and Luther were branded heretics. Many saints were burned at the stake for reading their Bibles.

To be able to read the Bible was a major accomplishment. To dare to interpret it - even in contradiction of popes and Church councils was incomprehensible. The Council of Trent ordained, "…no one, relying on his own judgment shall in matters of faith and morals pertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine, distorting the Holy Scriptures in accordance with his own conceptions presume to interpret them contrary to that sense which Holy Mother Church to whom it belongs…" Clearly the Church claimed exclusive rights to the Holy Scriptures and their interpretation. The phrase, "no one relying on his own judgment…: We might agree if by that they were invoking the power of the Holy Spirit. Instead, the Church read, interpreted and gave the law.

Early in its history, distinctions of office began to be made in the church. With the advent of the pope as the top of the hierarchy and as the vicar of Christ, the role of "ordinary" Christians was reduced to a place of nothingness. The Reformers partially wrested the church from the control of the Church by breaking with the sacrosanct tradition of the Catholic priesthood as Christ incarnate, intercessor and confessor. Unfortunately, they did not complete the task of returning it to Biblical foundations. A New Reformation must complete the process. Then, it must foster restoration in areas not touched. As early as the first century, responding to the heresies of Gnosticism and Mountanism, the Church made decisions and took doctrinal positions by committee. Kuiper, The Church in History (p. 17), describes the way "Church Fathers" dealt with issues, " It took the leaders in the Church a great deal of hard study, thought, and discussion to come to a right understanding of the person of Christ." Is there something missing here? Over the centuries, matters did not improve. Creeds, cannons catechisms, confessions, church organizations and offices were created without notable reference to Scriptures or the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. Ignatius, for example, penned this note to the church in Philadelphia, "Do ye all follow your bishop as Jesus Christ followed the Father. Do nothing without the bishop." Kuiper (p.21) Paul wrote, My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

The New Reformation must introduce the Holy Spirit into the daily life of everyone who calls himself Christian. He must reinvigorate the body of believers. Only through Him are the Gifts of the Spirit forthcoming. Only through Him are they meaningfully used. Office, creed and doctrine are not only meaningless, they are dangerous without His guidance. It is the Lordship of Jesus Christ (not of bishops) acting through the Holy Spirit, where truth is to be found. He died that we might have salvation. He shed His blood that we may be cleansed. He ascended that we might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In John 16:7, we are told, Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

The Bible without the Holy Spirit is reduced to words. Words to be debated and words to justify false doctrines. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 No amount of religious training or rank or office, apart from the Holy Spirit, can possibly suffice in understanding and discerning the truth from the written Word. What was the understanding of the Scribes? What was the wisdom of the Pharisees? Weren't they the learned and the lawgivers of the day? It is the scholarship of men that has spawned divisive denominationalism, not the Word of God. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:33 It is the lawlessness and heresies of men, regardless of their good intentions, that must be purged from the body of Christ through the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

Together, the Word, and a Spirit filled priesthood of all believers will forge a new, fully restored and living Christian church. While some debate the time, place and manner of His return, those under the influence of His Spirit will prepare the way and hasten the day. And our Christian lives will be fulfilled in the New Covenant by His Holy presence within us. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17-18 †

Good times bring hardship to charitable organizations dependent, as they are, upon the generosity of others. Analysis suggest that we become embroiled in the pleasures of the good life, fascinated with increasing our wealth and confident in our own abilities. The "good life" is bad times for the finances of the church. Now, we needn't pray for the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, but surely there is something the church can do to restore its coffers in times of plenty. In post Reformation times, churched Christianity has found many ancient practices of the Church of Rome useful. Perhaps among its many relics there is one for this occasion.

It is recorded in the 19th chapter of Matthew, the story of a wealthy person seeking advice from Jesus Christ on how to guarantee his salvation. He was nearly perfect fore he had done what few could claim. He had kept, by his own account, all the commandments. You know quite well Jesus' response, it was, perhaps somewhat cryptic. "If you want to be perfect, go," he said, "sell your possessions…"

Now, the Roman Church reasoned as they were so inclined to do, that if this young man had done as Jesus commanded, he would have performed a work of supererogation. That is, he would have done more than what was required - a case of "over-kill" - and he would be worthy of high honor in eternity. Picture Bill Gates or one of the other "princes" on the Fortune 500 list approaching your pastor with much the same question as the young man written of in Matthew. Such an opportunity for good! If we resurrected (Please excuse the pun, it was entirely intended.) this idea of Supererogation, what blessings would be forth coming. If we could just let it be known about town - especially for those who, in all other respects, were such fine, well-heeled saints. The church could even broker the deal. Make it chief beneficiary. There could be a granite wall, walk, pillar, path - a facsimile of the Lamb's Book -- something inscribed with the names of those who had been so generous with their material possessions for all to see and know.

And, everyone is pleased and happy! What more could we ask? The people are pleased because their eternal salvation is assured. If the gift is sufficient, perhaps family members, even the souls of departed friends, relatives, loved ones could be granted such assurances. The church is ecstatic! A limitless source of money to carry on its mission in the form of buildings, grounds, staff, retreat centers. There could be mission abroad - China, Hong Kong, the Congo, Korea, everywhere missionaries are fond of going to. Oh, the list is gloriously endless! Can you imagine what the church would do with an unlimited budget?

Oops! One problem. The Scriptures record, Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Matthew 19:21 It must be a mistake. A translation error. †

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Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:4-5

Rightly, much is made of Spiritual Gifts. They are vital ingredients to His plan. Unfortunately, most contemporary discussions are confined to churched Christianity although it is not at all certain that was ever intended to be. Along with virtually every other aspect of faith and worship today, Spiritual Gifts have become boxed up into the restricted modern version of "church." Does this conventional view, make any God-sense? Does it make sense that we limit any or all of these gifts to the church? That would make sense only if the institutional church were the end toward which all Scripture is directed. Is this the case?

Let us propose another plan that starts with Jesus Christ and the Glorification of God as the keystone, intent and purpose of the written Word and the Holy Spirit. It is a ministry of all believers all of the time because its focus is on Christian living. Its goal is bringing the Gospel to the entire world. The role of "pastor" and the "local churches" is a support team for our ministry to the world. With prayerful attention to the direction of the Holy Spirit, the "church" gives solace, respite, guidance and instruction to His people for their daily ministry to the world.

His church is not an "ingrown toenail" festering at the end of a dying branch. It is not a complicated organization of official functions. It is a dynamic living organism totally consumed with the matter of bringing every aspect of human existence to focus upon the glorification of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. Because of the certainty and gratitude we have for His precious gift of eternal salvation, purchased with His blood, we glow with the joy of that sure and certain knowledge. We don't have to obey the Ten Commandments, we have become the Ten Commandments. And, the Gifts of the Spirit flow through us to all those around us in every circumstance, in which we find ourselves to enlighten, encourage and watch over us. "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:38-39) These are, after all, gifts of the Spirit. Incidentally, did you catch the word, "Whoever?"

A prayerful assessment of those Gifts presented in the Epistles suggest that many, if not the larger part, actually seem more directed toward what, today, we would call "missionary" or "evangelical" work rather than those infrequent times when we are assembled for worship. Apostleship and Evangelism are just two obvious examples. But Faith, Giving, Healing, Mercy, Wisdom, Helps, Discernment and Miracles seem particularly suited to helping with the challenges we face in the "world.

An Apostle (1 Cor 12:28 f; compare Eph 4:11) is one who is sent with a special message, not a high-ranking church official. He is to witnesses through out the whole world. The charge found in Acts 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." is clear in its intent. Faith (1 Cor 12:9), according to the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, "is the essential condition of all Christian life." "Giving and mercy (Rom 12:8)", it continues "are among the ordinary graces of the Christian character." And so with "Ministry"(Rom 12:7). The ISBE suggests it is "the function to which every Christian [is] called and the purpose to which every one of the special gifts [are] to be devoted (Eph 4:12). The term is applied to any spiritual benefit, as the confirmation of Christians in the faith by Paul (Rom 1:11). And as the general function of ministry appears from the first in two great forms as a ministry of word and deed (Acts 6:1-4; 1 Cor 1:17)" Amen.

Many of the Spiritual Gifts are needed and utilized to carry on the support functions of the "local church." But, they are not designed for and exercised solely within the strictures of the church, and certainly not as ends in themselves. We get into trouble with Gifts the same way we do with the rest of Christianity when we think of His church as exclusively that little building on the corner we visit now and again. Spiritual Gifts are designed to assist the Body of Christ in its glorification of God everywhere all the time. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 †

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At least in the eastern half of the United States, the phrase "inside the Belt Way" is known as a derogatory reference to our elected Federal official's preoccupation with themselves. Their primary concern was getting elected. Once inside the Belt Way, they are obsessed with remaining in office to the near total exclusion of any other considerations. Those to whom the slur applies are isolated from the truth, the duties and responsibilities of their office and the needs and interests of the country.

There is no corresponding phrase to suggest a similar condition for churched Christianity. There should be. It isn't so much that some clerics are out of contact with humanity and its corruption, as that they have become indistinguishable from it - spiritually corrupt. Instead of ministering to the world as Christ's church, they have chosen to become part of the world. Rather than being an example of Christ's love, they display the symptoms of a dysfunctional family full of arrogance, jealously and deceit. Instead of being a light on a hill, they are mired in the dank darkness of self-absorption. They have lost their direction, vision and mission. Means have become ends. They are in the world and of the world.

Much like the politicians of Washington, the motives of so many churchmen appear more akin to self-aggrandizement rather than glorifying the Lord or shepherding their flock. They seem more interested in greatness, personal enhancement and glorification, expansion of their domain and personal exaltation. Massive churches are built and embellished enshrining their clerics in corporeal thrones of resplendent glory. Properly ensconced, they chide their followers to give more in the name of stewardship and tithing. If it weren't for the historical fact of the Reformation, one would be hard pressed to find evidence of its occurrence in either the style of living or the theology of so much of contemporary churched Christianity.

Perhaps, in this light, the "accord" reached by the World Lutheran Federation and the Roman Catholic Church isn't too difficult to understand. It is classic "Inside the Belt Way" mentality. Exactly 482 years after Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, these two groups said, essentially, that it all was just a little misunderstanding. Perhaps a more realistic flavor of the event can be captured from the article by Charles Trueheart appearing in the Washington Post on November 1, 1999, "Hundreds of clerics and theologians, many in flowing robes of purple, white and black, trod quietly through the sunny streets of this old Bavarian city where Luther had two of his momentous confrontations - in 1518 an 1530 - with the Catholic hierarchy." In those 482 years, has there been any substantial movement of the Roman Catholic Church away from those doctrines and practices Luther and untold numbers of other Christians found so objectionable?

Writing about the "accord," John Wilson, editor of Books &Culture is quoted by the Post as saying, "Many people see this as a desperate gesture that confirms that all established historic church bodies have lost their distinctive faith commitments."

Paul's comments quoted in the Holy Bible may also provide some direction toward finding answer, Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 1 Corinthians 1:20

Where are our faith commitments? Was this accord reached throught prayer and the direction of the Holy Spirit? here is what the Scriptures have to say about "accords," creeds and doctrines of churched Christianiaty. It is from John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Get it? WILL TEACH AND REMIND YOU OF ALL THINGS
 

†