The Body and Gifts - V

The Bible says each person in God's family is given a gift "for the common good."  As the New Testament was originally written in Greek "for the common good" is how newer English versions interpret "Προς το συμϕερον".

At first, "common good" sounds like mutual giving and serving within God's family. That seems to be a good thing. Love, service and grace poured into each others' lives. The family grows in heart, character, mutual interdependence and practical unity. All good things.

We still have the problem I wrote about in my last post. If everyone should be expressing this gift (and it seems Scripture says they should), how do we find a niche for everyone to fill?

Of course, maybe we are misunderstanding "for the common good?" I have found references for translating the phrase as "toward that which is profitable."

Maybe the gifts are for more  than pouring into the family of God? (They are certainly for that.) Maybe the gifts are for kingdom building?

The niche question remains, but the scope grows bigger. We are no longer looking for just improving God's family. We are improving God's family and demonstrating God's love and character in the community and culture. We are seeking whatever is profitable. Is there a problem which brings misery to people and dishonor to God -- hunger, lack of education, human trafficking -- does the application of grace through diverse gifts bring hope, and relief to people, and honor to God.

If we open the doors for God's gifts to be applied, filling a niche may become asking different sorts of questions. And there may be more niches than can be filled.

The Body and Gifts - IV

I have heard people say that all people in the church are necessary and important to the health and growth of the body. The Bible certainly teaches that. I am not too sure that the church of God lives that way.

I have pointed out in a previous post (http://gray-dawn.blogspot.com/2012/08/preisthood.html ) that the Bible says we are all priests, but we don't live like priests. What we live like is: certain people are priests.

God gives gifts. Most agree that one gift is "teaching."  In present-day churches, it seems like there are two places where the teaching gift gets plugged in: the message during the worship meeting, and in spiritual education for children. In some churches, there is a spiritual education system developed for adults. In many of those churches, the adult education and the worship meeting teaching is filled by the same people.

What if there is someone with a gift of teaching, who is not one of those teaching the worship meeting, and whose gifting is not suited to teach children?

If the Holy Spirit gives gifts to individuals by his wisdom, outs those individuals into a group of Christians by his wisdom, and the purpose of gifts are for building the body, how does the above individual fit in and express the gift to do what the Spirit intends it to do?

Does he invent his own curriculum, structure and plug it into the church and its structure? And if the leadership feels this new thing does not fit in with the values, goals and philosophy of the church? Is it the church's responsibility to find a niche for everyone?

And if a person has no niche, no expression of who he is in God among God's people, is he that necessary and important to the body?

The Body and Gifts - III

The Spirit is responsible for implementing God's strategy. He is the tactician. He blends the body together. He knows the weaknesses and strengths of each local group. So, he knows each groups needs. So, he know what to add to complete each group.

He strengthens a group by adding different people. Because people have different gifts, he, in eternal wisdom, empowers different gifts in someone. He puts that someone into a particular family of God. That person lives out of his heart, expressing who God designed him to be and adds his unique contribution to the body, and fills an important need. That person matures. The body matures. The body bears fruit. And God is glorified.

The Body and Gifts - II

A person could make a very strong case in saying that the quarterback is the most important position in football. The quarterback can largely determine the success or failure of a team.

Many would argue that the pastor, apostle or other person, recognized as the head of the church, is the most important person in the church. And most people live in agreement with that.

I will contend here that the most important person in the church is Jesus. (Or the Holy Spirit, given he is the present-day, animating force of God in the church.)

The church is not the pastor's body. The church does not carry out the purposes of the apostle. If the person who sweeps the floor is more obedient to God, in closer agreement to God's purposes and in greater harmony with his role in God's kingdom, he can have a greater impact in the world than the pastor or the apostle. It is a person's agreement with God, that determines how God's presence and grace flows through him. Not a position. Not a title.

It is faith, love, obedience and humility that grant authority in God's kingdom. And a large proportion of Christians in the western church live as though God gives authority based on titles and educational degrees.

The Body and Gifts

One of the Spirit's jobs is to point favorable to Jesus. Jesus is the visible part of the God-head. He is a picture that allows us to know the character and nature of God. By revealing Jesus to people, he reveals the Father and himself.

Because his family is the body of Christ, part of the strategy is to shine a light on the people of God. God's people should be a picture -- and imperfect picture, but a true picture -- of Jesus.

God gives each person in God's family a supernaturally empowered ability, so each person in god's family matures, has a heart to pursue God's purposes and their role in them. The completion of God's purposes is a team effort.

There is a lot of discussion about who is the greatest quarterback today: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. The truth is, if they did not have teammates protecting them, the greatest quarterback would be Michael Vick, because he can run, and neither Brady nor Manning can.

These men have an important function that leads to the success of failure of their team. But they will fail unless they have others completing their functions.

A Gospel Challenge - II

On further consideration of my last post, there is another part of the Bible where it is said that wisdom is knowing when to keep your mouth shut. (Rough paraphrase.)

Stirring up trouble, arguments and bad feelings does not honor God. Christians are already labeled as bigoted, critical, and narrow-minded. They only give lip-service to this thing they say they believe in -- love.

Jesus did say that the gospel itself was going to be offensive. For one reason, it was going to turn the expectations of the religious upside down and inside out. Those who thought they were in are going to find that they are out. And those on top are going to find out that they are really on the bottom.

So, how do you tell someone that he is a fool for not believing in Jesus -- not only will they be condemned for eternity, but they will cut themselves off from living as they were designed to live -- but do it in a truly kind and loving way?

A Gospel Challenge

My group at work has lunch together on Thursday's. Recently, because of flip-flops in schedules, there were only three of us eating --  Two women and myself.

One of the women likes to dominate  the conversation. Mostly, the topic revolves around why she holds the political philosophy she does, why the "other" political philosophy is ruining the country, how past governments failed and how recent governments cannot accomplish anything because politicians are all behaving with partisan fervor. (One gentlemen and I agree where we can, and politely listen where we cannot. To disagree is to invite a harsh response, a refusal for the most part to compromise and an expression of hard feelings. Interestingly, according to her, a refusal to listen and accept people with different opinions is one of the main problems with the current political climate.)

This day, religion moved to the forefront of the discussion. Life existed only in the arena of the physical and the senses. People were chance collisions of atoms. Those who held a religious or spiritual philosophy were weak and needy. 

My inclination at this point was to eat my lunch and pretend to listen. I could have created a heated debate if I chose. Each of us staking out our turf. Bad feelings abounding. She would not move one millimeter closer to the kingdom. God would not be honored. "Here is one more, backward, ignorant, judgmental, born-again bigot."

But I find myself asking questions:

• Is the above scenario the only way this situation could work itself out?
• Jesus always seemed to be on top of tense situations. How would he have responded?
• Does every situation that ridicules or denies God have to be challenged?
• Was my choice to sit quietly a failure?

Priesthood

It is written in the Bible in several places that God's desire is to create a people who are priests. "A nation of priests." Every single one of his children is a priest. We do not live in obedience to that.

A priest is a certain person who represents God, who connect God to, who serves other people in their relationship with God. There are certain tasks, certain areas of service, that complete these purposes o the priesthood. A priest needs to be trained in, and to practice these tasks.

Priests are an intermediary, a go-between, for god and people. So, a priest needs to be able and to practice praying for people. If the whole family of God comprises the whole priesthood of God, then all of God's children should practice praying for others.

If a function of the priesthood is to explain the character and nature of God, how to live his lifestyle, and how to improve the relationship between a person and God, then all of God's children should teach.

If a function of the priesthood is to perform a ceremony where a person declares his allegiance to God, that he now a part of God's family, and that he renounces his former way of living (not his physical family or people), then all of God's children should baptize.

And all of God's children are part of the process to demonstrate the supremacy of God and Jesus, to persuade those not in God's family to change their allegiance to God, and to teach all of God's children what is necessary to know and to do in order to achieve transformation into his image.

Given the increasing bad feelings among Americans, the inability to discuss reasonably and peaceably differing opinions in politics and religion, I think the sentiments written about on the following link is a good step in the right direction. Hopefully, prayerfully, anyone who has given his allegiance to Jesus will adopt the attitudes expressed here.

http://www.electiondaycommunion.org/

Grace and Prayer - II

This understanding of God's nature provides us with a different understanding of prayer. People should not be afraid to ask God. To seek provision for needs. To ask about wants. To pray for big things.

The answers coming back may not be what I expected. My son may ask me for a Harley 900. I have have the means to get him one. I may want to give him one. But, if he is five, he is not legally able to drive. He is not physically ready or mentally ready to drive one. I would be a bad father to buy one, and say, "Here it is! Take off!"

I could tell him he was too little, and buy him a bike. I could tell him he was too little, and plan to buy him one as a high school or college graduation present. I could buy one, and show it to him. "You are too little to ride it now. But this is yours, and you can rtide it when you are older."

The are a multitude of possibilities of how God could respond to our requests in keeping with his love, his wisdom and his purposes.

Grace and Prayer

Jesus told a story about man who had a late night visitor. The visitor had come far, had eaten nothing and was famished. The man, being a good host, wanted to feed him, but he had nothing in the house. So, he went to his neighbor. He knocked on the door, and shouted out his need for some bread. Again, it was late. Everyone was in bed. And the neighbor did not want to get up.

Now , if the neighbor did not want to get up, because of friendship, or common kindness, he would get up if the man kept banging on the door. He would not be able to get back to sleep unless he got rid of the man.

Jesus drew a contrast between God and the neighbor. Many people feel like God is like the neighbor. When we bring our needs to him, we have to bang on the door, yell loud, and keep yelling until God says “For my sake, here! Take it! Now give me some peace and quiet!”

No, Jesus says God is not like that. People tend to be selfish. But even most selfish people love their children, and want to provide the best for them. And God is not a selfish person. God is a truly loving, generous person, who really wants to reach out to us, and give us the best.

Workers in the Harvest

Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful. The reason there is so little produce stored away was because there were too few workers. Jesus then commanded us to pray for more workers.

• Is this part of our prayer life?

We are probably praying -- if we pray at all -- for all sorts of things. Needs abound. And God expects us to bring our needs before him. Good things continue to happen. God expects us to give praise and thanksgiving. But do we pray for this? Is what is important to Jesus, important to us?

• What makes a worker, a "worker"?

Jesus seems to think we need a lot of them. So, does a worker need a BA from a special school? Or does it only require a willingness to work, and a heart for people?

Certainly, at a minimum, a worker needs a heart for people. Motivation counts for a lot in God's kingdom.

Does training count for anything? We can't consider training to be nothing. Training can have a positive impact in all sorts of area: understanding Scripture, how to live God's standards, how to pray, sensitivity to cultural differences and other practical issues. But how much is enough? No amount of training can prepare a person for everything. And we will never be at a point where we will be finished with learning or changing. People probably make mistakes in waiting too long, or going too early all the time. But people seem to side mostly on waiting too long. There is probably a point that Jesus had in mind for being a worker. And it is probably earlier than we normally assume.

One reason it is earlier, is because Jesus never assumed anyone would become a worker alone. Life as a follower of Jesus is always placed into community, into family. Some will just be beginning. Some will have lots of experience, lots of training. And they will labor together -- drawing on each other's strengths and resources. And everyone has resources.

Moreover, as important as training in some areas is, there are some things we need to learn that training cannot touch the essential core. We need to learn faith: dependence on Jesus. We need to learn love: giving to promote the best in people. We need to learn to be strengthened in grace: receiving Jesus' resources which go far beyond our own. It is these heart qualities that impact people and cultures the most.

Love Never Fails

It is written in the Bible that "Love never fails." Reading it in English, I wonder if it means that love always succeeds, or if it means that love never ceases.

Since, in its immediate context, it is compared with things that will expire, I deduce it will never cease. I imagine water going over Niagara Falls. A torrent extending back to the horizon. It does not slow down. It does not decrease in its flow. There does not seem to be an end to its thundering power.

Proclaim the Gospel

There are groups of Christians who send teams out into society to pray for people. The pray for: God’s blessing on the individual, physical healing and relationships. From reports I have heard, most people who receive this prayer are blessed encouraged and grateful. Sometimes, a conversation ensues. Those praying can talk about why they are doing this, what God has done in their lives, and how God views those receiving prayer. But often there is no conversation.

When I first heard about these prayer teams, I thought this was an interesting segue into evangelism. I was familiar with evangelism teams. The purpose of these teams was to engage people in a conversation about Jesus. The intention was often to make a complete, clear presentation of the gospel, coupled with a challenge to receive the gospel.

The main challenge to these conversations was getting one started. People have taken surveys. (Which always seemed a bit deceptive to me, because the results were never used.) People have given a cold, straight-forward invitation to a conversation.

The prayer teams had a more open-ended purpose. The team wanted to demonstrate the love of Jesus for people. Showing Jesus’ love was the intended purpose for the evangelism team also. The Bible says people have a problem, and the problem makes them God’s enemy. Jesus provides the solution to that problem. Knowing this – the problem, the results of the problem and the solution – Jesus’ followers should be motivated by love and compassion when they shared Jesus’ message. Unfortunately, these conversations frequently end up in a debate about who is right and who is wrong. With lots of finger pointing about wrong things Christians do and have done.

I have found a place in Scripture where Jesus sends his disciple out to “proclaim the Kingdom” and “heal the sick.” It seems that Jesus encouraged his disciples to do the best of both.

A man I know defines “grace” as “God supplying whatever it is a person lacks to meet whatever need or situation he is facing.” Maybe what we need to form is “grace teams,” go and encounter people, listen to God and give what is needed. If they need to hear truth, then speak truth. If they are sick, then pray for healing. If they need to talk, then listen. If they are hungry, then feed them … both their stomachs and their souls. If they are lonely, the a community to belong to.

Full Gospel, Again?

One of the reasons many people favor this “new” view of the gospel is that it gives the church a swift kick in the pants.

God’s people have emphasized the “Four Laws” view of the gospel. Man’s sin makes him God’s enemy. Man needs to respond to Jesus’ invitation to be reconciled to God and avoid a just punishment. As someone who knows he deserves God's just punishment, I am personally very grateful Jesus paid the ransom, and I have this reconciliation.

But there has been a tendency for people to think once they have gone forward and prayed the prayer, their responsibilities consist of showing up at the meetings and paying their dues.

I know someone who likes to quote the Apostle John, who said the reason Jesus came into the world was to destroy the works of the devil. I would not argue against that. I would argue that God’s pattern is to remove the evil, then to fill the void with good. We destroy Satan’s works by filling the world with Jesus’ works. Jesus did not command us to get professions of faith. Jesus commanded us to make disciples.

Disciples are molded step by step, day by day, to think, to live, to act and to speak like Jesus. Jesus has an expectation that his disciples will greatly impact society, politics and culture. Jesus also expects that impact to happen almost immediately. It should not take years. It should not take special schooling.

There may be instruction. The further away from a Jesus centered heritage, the more concepts, behaviors, attitudes and motivations ought to be removed and new life planted. But the Spirit of God is planted in hearts. A personal revolution takes places in the hearts of people.

Some fun has been poked at George Bush’s “Thousand Points of Light” metaphor. George did not invent the concept behind the metaphor. God did. God’s Spirit in the hearts of disciples should stand out like stars on a dark night.

God has ignited the lights in our hearts. And the expectations and systems of current churches has too often put the light under the bed and in the closet, where it does no good.

So, if we include in the gospel, God transforming the world system into his kingdom, and the process of forming disciples as the catalyst to that transformation, there has to be a revolution at the heart of church, as well as the heart of people.

Full Gospel?

There are places where it is written in Scripture that Jesus traveled to different places “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God.” Does that mean there were meetings where Jesus preached his version of the Four Spiritual Laws?

There are a number of people who are beginning to think western, evangelical churches are preaching a gospel that is too small. They do not mean that Jesus coming into the world, to live, to die, to rise, and to satisfy God’s justice for our sin is not part of the gospel. This is true. This is the gospel. But is part of the gospel.

They propose that the entire gospel is – God is going to fix everything.

• Do people have a broken relationship with God, because of sin? Yes. God is going to fix that.
• Do people have broken relationships with other people? Yes. God is going to fix that. 
• Do governments and countries treat people unfairly? Yes. On purpose? Yes. God is going to fix that.
  
• Is the world we live in poisoned by our activities? Yes. God is going to fix that.
  
• Are people poorly fed, drinking polluted water, inadequately educated, without hope or a future? Yes. God is going to fix that.

When? I don’t know. And I don’t know how I can find out. Certainly not in the time frame and manner that people would devise.

The good news is God is fomenting revolution. He is chasing out the current ruler. He is establishing, once again, his kingdom. He is bringing healing to everything that is broke.

Our relationship with God will be totally healed. Our relationship with people will be totally healed. Our relationship with ourselves will be totally healed. Our relationship with nature will be totally healed.

Systems - IV

I want to take the opportunity to quick clarify a couple of things.

Systems are not bad. The nature of group dynamics requires that rules, roles, policies and procedure are formed. They can be formal. They can be informal. Just as God designed human beings with the ability to form habits, (and as originally designed, habits are a good thing) God designed groups of people to create systems.

Systems can become bad. They become bad when they have the effect of blocking god’s mission and God’s design. If a rule, policy or procedure is established to promote something God-honoring, and it is successful, that is good. But if the rule, policy or procedure has effect over time that blocks obedience to God’s Word, it has turned bad. And it needs to be examined, evaluated, reformed or maybe, scrapped.

Systems - III

I have read a number of post and articles recently that have started a number of thoughts percolating. I hope I can set them down clearly here.

Don’t expect me to cite them all. I don’t think I can even remember them all. And I probably couldn’t do it correctly anyway. Hopefully I can remember all the points. But it was other people’s thinking that started it all.

Some has listed and counted all the commands of Jesus. And someone else – to facilitate memorization, teaching and obedience of this large number of commands – has combined, sorted and summarized the list into seven commands.

Receive Christ – by faith, make a change of allegiance.

• To baptize – lead people to make a public declaration of that change of allegiance in a specific type of ceremony. 
• Worship/have communion – spend time focusing and celebrating the nature, character and deeds of God.
• Pray – express you heart to God; invite him into each facet of life.
• Love – sacrifice and serve for the benefit of others.
• Give – provide resources to help others, ease suffering, and promote people’s welfare.
• Make disciples – assist people to make the change of allegiance, to grow in character, and to understand and obey these commands.

Modern western churches have had various amounts of success in fulfilling these commands. Some individual churches have succeeded in some areas better than others. Some others, realizing that there has been failure in achieving overall obedience, have made passionate fervent calls to all Christians to get back to the basics, and complete God’s call on our lives. And some, hearing those calls, have launched forth to live in obedience: some with success, some with dismal failure, and some with discouragement and eventually giving up.

Generally, these calls to complete God’s work, and to live the God designed, are correct. They are true. But we have a thousand ears of history and a huge cultural mind-set to overcome.

Much of the western church labors under some false understanding. They believe that churches need professional leaders. And those professional leaders should perform all the work. All Christians should receive Christ, be baptized and gather to worship. All Christians should pray, give and love. But it is only the leaders who know enough to make disciples.

The Bible explicitly states that the process of making disciples involves teaching others to obey all the commands of Jesus. If we are disciples of Jesus, then this includes us; and it includes the process of making disciples.

The Bible explicitly states that leaders are supposed to equip followers of Jesus to minister. As a result of words and actions taken by leaders, followers of Jesus should:

• Pray with increasing effect.
• Live with greater generosity.
• Be committed to people.
• Participate in the process that promotes a change of allegiance in people, growth in character and obedience to God’s word.

It is God’s will that his people become a nation of priests. Each follower of Jesus is a representative of God to others in churches, neighborhoods, work places, schools, coffee shops and stores.

I have witnessed one person tell another person, “I think I should follow Jesus. How do I do that?” And the second person immediately turn to look for a leader to explain and pray with the first person. I have witnessed someone come to Jesus, chose to be baptized and arrangements by made for a time a leader could come to do the baptizing. (The command Jesus gave was not “to be baptized”; it was explicitly “to baptize.”)

Because of false gospels and false prophets, a clergy system was created to defend against errors and deception. This was man’s plan to defend the truth. God’s plan was to make everyone responsible for and experts in the truth.

We are all priests. Moreover, we are all high priests, because we are all allowed into the holy of holies. We can approach the unapproachable light. The Jewish high priest was allowed to enter the holy of holies once a year. We can enter it at any time.

We are all responsible for doing the priestly stuff. And either we have gotten used to spectating, and for some reason cannot get out of the rut. Or the leaders who should be doing the equipping, don’t realize they are equipping priests and all that that means.

UPDATE: The command to make disciples involves baptizing and teaching. The teaching involves obedience. So, in reality, it is probably a command both “to baptize” and “to be baptized.”

As priests, we promote a change of allegiance, accompanied by a public declaration of that new allegiance. As disciples, we need to understand and take steps of obedience – including this declaration.

Systems - II

Lest people start tearing down all churches, denominations and associations, because of what I said in my last post, systems are not necessarily evil. The church of God is a group of people called out from the general populace to complete God’s mission, to demonstrate God’s nature, to love one another and to love the world. Anytime a group of people function together, there has to be an agreement of how the group, whether it is a family, a club, a church or a business, should act as a group with those on the outside of the group and with those within the group. As a result of these agreements, formal and informal policies and guidelines are built, based on the common, organizing values and principles of the group. And a system is born. It is inherent in the agreements that bind the group together.

The danger of systems is that policies established for good and profitable reasons get cast in stone. They can last unchanged and unchallenged long after the reasons that caused them to be formed have ceased to exist.

As followers of Jesus, we use the Scriptures as the basis for all such policies. They should be tailored to the conditions of the culture and society. Which may mean that a policy set up in one context may have a hindering effect in another context.

For example, there are groups of Christians that hold that “dancing” is an inappropriate and bad activity. Does the Scripture say anything about dancing? There is no command against dancing. There is no teaching about dancing. It is mentioned:

• In celebration of a deliverance.
• In celebration of an important event.
• Encouraged as an act of worship.

Scripture hardly paints this human activity as inherently evil. Why do these groups have this policy? I do not have definite information regarding this. So, I assume/deduce that a policy was formed, because dancing was associated with something definitely bad. It was something that interfered with God’s mission, or that hindered people from living out a life that agreed with God’s design. So, these groups agreed to avoid this area, not because it was evil per se, but it tended to have a countering influence in other important areas. In this context, it hindered things that God considered vitally important. Therefore, it was a wise, God-honoring decision.

But, as I stated earlier, these policies can become cast in stone. They attain a status almost equal to Scripture. They persist long after the reasons for their existence, no longer exist.

(I am not taking a pro-dancing position. I am using it as an example of a gray area that Scripture does not condemn, but has been abused in certain contexts. In those contexts, it was wise and God-fearing to avoid. I am hoping to make a point about systems.)

Things like these take on a life of their own. They develop a momentum that makes it difficult to shift direction. It becomes much easier to find other motivations, other reason, to perpetuate the policies. And a refusal to change can dishonor God.

One of my assumptions is God communicates to me in all my current situations. God does not just direct me through a book with an historical context. His Spirit illuminates this book in my current context. He whispers to my heart about where I am right now.

He is more than able to direct policies – to initiate, to cancel, to reformulate. It takes effort, self-denial, honesty and humility on our part to approach these policies, give them to God, and ask what does he want done with them.

Systems

The Bible says that God established Israel to obey him and to demonstrate to the world his nature, his heart and his desire for everyone to come into relationship with him.

Israel has always seemed to have a problem giving their hearts to God. In the time of the judges, if they obeyed God, they lived in peace and prospered. But they consistently chose to disobey, and they were oppressed by the nations around them. Then, they would turn their hearts to God, and cry out for deliverance. And God would rescue them.

There were definitely people among them who would lament the people’s unfaithfulness. And they sought with honest hearts to understand God’s ways and keep them. Usually that meant proscribing rules or practices. “God said we should do this. So, if we do this, we follow what God said.” It is hard to find fault with people trying to solve problems in this way.

There is a prayer type invented by Ignatius called the “examan.” The examen is a way of reflecting on the day and applying prayer to it. Imagine reviewing your decisions and actions at work. Imagine reviewing all your interactions with people throughout the day. Then, imagine asking god for his wisdom confirming each decision. You beseech God to bring his will to each action. You invite God’s Spirit and grace into the life of each person you met, to apply his live into the issues they face and to draw them to his presence, to embrace his family and a relationship with him.

It is really hard to argue against such a practice. If I encouraged everyone to carve out time each day, many would give it a try. And if many became excited with the concept, and received benefit from it, it could become an expectation that everyone practice this type of prayer. And given the power of agreement, maybe we should expect everyone to practice it at 10:00 PM every day. And given God’s desire for everyone to pray, and his desire for us to invite him into every situation, maybe we really should establish this as a rule for all followers of Jesus. And maybe we begin to get an inkling of how easy it is to create a system of religious practices.

No one can argue that being disciplined is not good. Followers of Jesus agree that spending time praying, reading and meditating on Scripture are profitable to us. (One could argue that these practices are not only good for us, but they are good to the world around us.) And one can certainly see the wisdom of beginning the day with such a discipline.

But is there a command in Scripture to begin the day with such a discipline? I haven’t found it. (I do agree with the fact that there is wisdom with having this type of discipline. I have not found a command for it.) But how many people are there who seek to follow God, who would regard someone not having an early morning quiet time as being apostate? In many ways, just like the Pharisees, Christians have created a system with practices that someone invented for good and profitable reasons that have gotten included in the “must” column.

The “call forward” was invented in the 1800’s as a way for people to express publicly their inner convictions and a change of heart allegiance to Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is not a bad thing. Even Jesus instituted something for this purpose. It’s called “baptism.” But, whole revivals have occurred without one “call forward.” But in some churches this has become an essential practice. A meeting is deemed a failure if there is no “call forward” of some sort.

To some people, a church is not a church if it does not have a building, a seminary trained professional leading it, a certain number of people attending, and certain practices and programs. At one point in this country, Sunday School was an evangelistic tool. No self-respecting, God-fearing person would send their children to Sunday School, because it meant you were failing in your job as a parent. Now, you are almost a failure if your children don’t go.

There is nothing with Sunday School as a means of educating children in the ways of God. There is nothing wrong with a group of Christians corporately owning and using a special building. But neither is there anything wrong with three people meeting in a coffee shop or under a tree praying, worshiping and sharing together.

We have quite often interpreted our system, devised to help us obey God, as God’s system. And sometimes, that system, in time, can hinder our obedience.