the Prodigal Project -- once a voice on the Haight

The Summer of Love

By Lambert Dolphin

Early in 1963, when I was in the early phases of becoming a Christian, one of the many things I tried was a heavy-duty experiment with high-test LSD and full-strength mescaline. That legal, medical experiment changed my life forever, no doubt about that. (See What LSD Did for Me). But as usual, God turned that disastrous bad choice into an opportunity for me to know and help a whole generation of dropouts, street people, acid-heads and hippie freaks. I found it was easy to identify with the experiences of young people who were on mind-altering drugs, and with those in the anti-Establishment cultural wars of those days. To this day I’d say I am more at home around the poor and disenfranchised than any other group.

the apostle of LSD

It was natural for me to want to get involved with the hipper movement, first, during The Summer of Love (1967) in San Francisco The Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco runs into the panhandle of Golden Gate Park. It was a convenient place for the vast crowds from out of town to gather in ‘67. Summer days in the City can be very pleasant as well The droves of young people who came to San Francisco “with a flower in their hair,” were able to sleep in the park, scrounge food from the “Free Store” and enjoy some weeks of continuous partying–with the help of booze, pot, and acid–quite a bit of it free or easy to get.

I remember those days as if they were yesterday. My former secretary and her new husband, newly married, had rented a big three story Victorian house in the Haight in order to help people in that part of town with housing and spiritual help. In the fall of 1967 when the weather turned cool, the huge summer crowds left for home in Iowa or Nebraska. The long hair got cut of, the flowered shirts vanished, and droves of summer drops outs from society went home to get a job or go back to school so mom and dad would feed them.

The Jesus Movement followed in short order after the main wave of the Hippie Movement–but the latter movement did not last very long. Ted and Liz Wise were very active is those days. Calvary Chapel was born. Body Life flourished at PBC. Rock Bands sprang into existence out of nowhere. Art and fashion changed radically. Recreational drug came in to stay. At the time some of us thought a great revival might be underway, among the Jesus People–but it is surprising how few lasting converts to Christ stayed on with the Lord after the initial momentum of those days died away. When us old-time “hippie-Christians” get together to talk we have many fond memories though none of us applauds the downward spiral of American culture since World War II.

SOS Ministries reaches dislocated young people

In 1983 I got acquainted with a wonderful street evangelism group in San Francisco, SOS Ministries (still going strong). Larry Rosenbaum founded this outstanding street-Christian work in 1970 and has been at it ever since. What out-of-town visitors may not know about San Francisco is that there are virtually zero of the mainline churches in San Francisco still faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ in any way, shape or form. Many very small churches (quite weak and ineffective) are scattered through San Francisco, but the real life, I believe, is in the street Christians.

During the day, the streets of San Francisco are filled with nicely dressed white collar workers who occupy luxury offices in the city’s many high rise office towers. At night these high-income people disappear into the suburbs where living is easy.

This means that San Francisco at night is far different than San Francisco by day. The city has a large community of poor Hispanics–whole extended families living in a single apartment. The black community is large and generally also a very low income group living in sub-standard housing for the most part. The Chinese community in SF is also very large, though generally more thriving and industrious–as it has been since the Gold Rush days. The City and County of San Francisco does not have room for more people so the population has stayed fixed for many years at around three-quarters of a million people. The surrounding suburbs add up to over 5 million people. (But, church attendance in the entire Bay Area is under 1%).

A person with spiritual discernment who enters San Francisco will soon sense that the unseen angels who rule the City from behind the scenes are a very different group from their fellow angels resident in the heavenly places outside of San Francisco. Big churches are found in the suburbs, as well as lots of affluence, and a more traditional American culture, in general all very liberal politically. The Bay Area big suburban churches are mostly country clubs and cultural ghettos so they don’t add up to much influence on the overall society of the Bay Area, the state, the nation, or the world.

street people reading the New Testament, led by a Christian brother

San Francisco has a huge gay population–thought to number 100,000 or more. The members of this community were not (mostly) born in San Francisco. They have moved here from the Midwest. San Francisco goes out of its way to be tolerant and does nothing that might drive away the tourists or further alienate the minorities. It’s a mecca for all manner of outcasts. Of course the large fraction of gays in the City has helped build up a strong gay political caucus with lots of clout across the country, well out of proportion to their overall numbers in the country as a whole.

San Francisco has a huge homeless population which no visitor to the City can overlook any longer. There was very big homeless group visible on the streets in 1983, the last time I really did any (Bible teaching) work in San Francisco.

So, I was very excited earlier this year to be invited back to the Haight-Ashbury!

Right down on old Haight Street there now exists a fantastic community of street-Christians who call themselves The Prodigal Project. After nearly two decades of being mostly out of touch with the Haight-Ashbury I was suddenly back in a culture that had hardly changed since the ’60s. The quaint shops and eating places are still there. The homeless are still there–but now they are everywhere–and the majority of these are very young. This is the heart-breaking part about getting involved in San Francisco as it really is. Kids on the street are everywhere. No homes, no families, no jobs and not much hope. Virtual orphans waiting to be adopted by friend or foe.

A Christian introduces two gays into a relationship with Jesus (SOS Ministries)

Out of this generation of street Christians some wonderful men women and kids are discovering Jesus Christ and his eternal family.

Having now seen first hand the quality of Christian living at the Prodigal Project, I can say that I would trade any one of those former ex-homeless new followers of Christ for a hundred apathetic, indifferent church-goers from down on the Peninsula where I live. My new Christian friends in the city are full of God’s love. Their worship is genuine and spontaneous–all day long. They have nothing the world considers valuable but the quality of their lives is unmistakable. Most of all they eager to learn all they can from the Bible. At first I felt like an outsider on my initial visit there. (I was dressed a bit differently for instance). After an hour and a half together in Romans they said I could come back. What an honor that is!

Back home in Santa Clara, a mere 40 miles from the Haight, I find myself back in the illusory world of staid Peninsula living, longing for life in the city with Jesus on the streets–just like one sees in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. A big part of me wants to move to the Haight and rent a room with my new friends there. Were I tad bit younger I probably would do just that.

My wonderful friends who took me back to the Haight Ashbury have sent me the following short diary of our grand adventure there.

Our First Visit: Thursday, February 5, 2004

It was dark by the time we arrived in San Francisco. With little hope of finding a spot on Haight Street, we parked near Kezar Stadium. The four of us strolled through the last 100 yards of Golden Gate Park on foot. We made our way gradually with Lambert, now almost 72 and attended by his faithful companion Arthur Itis. The park birthed us at the intersection where Haight Street begins. Here a stone patio bulged into the grassy park where a ragtag party of about 25 people and four or five dogs loitered, some standing in groups and some sitting in circles on the cement and grass. Two dogs were barking at each other. A homeless-looking youth yelled at one dog to stop. The crowd looked to be mostly in their early twenties, some wearing black leather and bracelets with spiky silver studs, others sporting long dread locks and wearing bright Jamaican colors. Their talking, laughing, and jeering mixed prominently with the din of city traffic. Puffs of smoke arose from the gathering and the smell of marijuana seemed to drift along with us as we started down the Haight. Lambert chuckled and made a joke, implying his remembrance of events decades past when he had worked in this scene before.

DC Talk writes on Jesus Freaks

Lambert came alive as we maneuvered through the mob on our way up Haight street, a nightly circus of obscene tattoos, insanity, spikes and leather. A filthy, swollen-faced man slept bundled in a sleeping bag along the walkway. Several young hippie-looking “swinger kids” eyed us as we passed by, screening for undercover cops and scoping for customers to buy pot and an assortment of other illegal narcotics. Puffy-eyed heroine addicts sat slumped against the wall, human trophies displaying the skillful work of the deceptive one who seeks only to steal, kill, and destroy. In the midst of such darkness the light brighter shines, and Lambert was more than happy to invade. In Santa Clara where he lived it seemed just foggy all the time, with neither light nor darkness manifesting itself too clearly.

A block up Haight Street and we were at our destination: an inconspicuous flat above Rockin’Java Cafe neighboring Amoeba Records. We turned down an alley covered in bright graffiti murals and ascended a steep staircase leading us through the back entrance into a vastly different world from the street below. Here we were met with hugs and great sighs of joy, delight, and reunion. Dreadlocks and piercings abounded, yet the peaceful smiles and bright eyes made clear they were not of this world. This was the flat occupied by the Prodigal Project.

We had come for a Thursday night staff Bible study which Lambert was to teach, starting in Romans 1. This community of believers lived here for the sake of Christ’s love which compelled them to shine in this dark corner of Haight Street. Some of them had once wandered that very street themselves, lost and plummeting the downward spiral of rebellion and deception and addiction. The Prodigal Project has had a presence in the Haight/Ashbury scene for over 10 years. Through sharing the gospel, their home, and their lives with wandering seekers from the street, they have seen many lives gloriously transformed. After several years of discipleship and training, a number of these young people are now back at the flat on Haight Street with a passion to share the good news which has been their saving grace.

The epicenter of cultural change

The Prodigal Project’s mission is simple: to reach every nomadic traveler in the world with the truth of Jesus’ love, to watch God transform their lives, and to see them turn and freely give the same good news to others. First Thessalonians 2:8 holds the key to their method: “We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel but also our very lives, because you had become so dear to us.” They build relationships through spending time on the streets getting to know their people whom they love. A bountiful red wagon greets the Haight several times each weak offering a warm meal, home-made cookies, eternal hope, and a listening ear. The flat is often open for worship and Bible study and Spirit-led hospitality.

The hippie culture for which the Haight/Ashbury district is famous has now expanded its influence and woven itself through many other scenes and locations throughout the world. In North America, the Prodigal Project engages the new age community, university students, and “house hippies” by establishing Christian communities in key cities and attending environmental conferences, major concerts, festivals and rainbow gatherings. Beyond North America, there is a growing scene of global travelers and spiritual explorers seeking their own experiences within the world’s cultures and religions. To engage these wandering seekers, the Prodigal Project births nomadic communities bringing the good news throughout Israel, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Central and South America. The Prodigal Project is passionately driven to see the Biblical gospel communicated clearly, powerfully, creatively, and globally in both word and deed…

After a tasty meal of lentil soup and sweet fellowship with the “family”, we nestled into couches in the living room where the meeting opened with prayer and worship. African and Nepali drums kept rhythm while the guitar and a chorus of passionate voices sang praises. Lambert held a captive audience and brought home the first chapter of Romans with much humor and storytelling. The meeting ended again with prayer and worship, the life-line of this vibrant, evangelistic community. Spontaneous songs and heart-felt prayers rose as incense, and intercession tolled for the city and the nation.

None of us wanted to leave, but the long drive back to Lambert’s house beckoned us to bid farewell to our beloved brothers and sisters. We descended the staircase toward the chaos below, strengthened by joy. God is at work within us and the darkness.

May the light of God continue to dawn on the Haight.

Christine Huff, Christy Kiefer, Ian Brown and Lambert Dolphin
Contact Ian Brown: ian at sundance dot cse dot ucsc dot edu

It all happened in San Francisco, during the rise of the Jesus Movement in the late 60s and early 70s.

As farm kids, Ray and Elaine Stedman were unlikely candidates to bring Jesus into the psychedelic world. It was scandalous, unorthodox, profane, and a huge waste of time, they were told. But newborn Hippie Christians loved Ray's radicalviews of "church", which he later published in "Body Life", and soon the Jesus Revolution spread everywhere!

What is a Christian Revolution?

As Elaine tells the story, it sounds like a blast!

But Revolution never works as we might imagine, she said at the 50th Anniversary of Peninsula Bible Church (PBC) in San Francisco:

God invests his message in a man, which becomes his ministry. Then the ministry becomes a movement, implemented by machinery. Then a monument is built to an institution. And finally it becomes a mausoleum. (Listen Online to Elaine’s Teaching Here)

The late Ray Stedman was caught up in a firestorm of a spiritual revolution which brought explosive growth to PBC (then called Peninsula Bible Fellowship). Their ministry was located near Haight-Ashbury, the epicenter of the Hippie revolution. It was a cultural revolution marked by LSD and a hoard of radical musical groups of epic fame: The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and countless others. Kids were drowning in LSD, the new “Counter-Culture Drug” heralded as salvation of America from “a Monster on the loose!” (Famous words from a song by Steppenwolfe, another Haight band.)

Check it out - taste Haight music on a virtual online world! (Warning: some sensory confusion may result.)

Elaine never took LSD, of course, but somehow Elaine and the Christians at PBF could “put away our hats and white gloves” and get on the same level as the red-eyed, tripping, barefoot hippies who come to hear the Word of God every week. Countless numbers were saved and became dedicated leaders in the Jesus Movement, which eventually coalesced into the huge network of churches today called The Vineyard. (Numerous other Christian movements were hatched at this time, like Xenos Christian Fellowship! Read Christening a Zine for more on that scandalous era.).

One amazing revelation in her story is the scripture passage Ray Stedman used in his very first teaching at PBC to kick it all off:

It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare [or equip] God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ [perfection found in Christ].

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Jesus made the cover of Time magazine at this time! (Did you know Jesus was a hippie, too?)

And guess what? The same passage qualifies as the most-quoted passage around here at Xenos! (What are the odds?)

Guess what else?

This passage just happens to be next at our next Central Teaching at Kent State’s Bowman Hall!

What’s the point?

Elaine nails it:

The foundational message and the primary focus of PBC has been from its inception that the church, which is Christ’s body, has but one Head, the living Lord Jesus Christ. All the members of the body take their direction from that one Head. That perspective was clearly stated in the theme adopted by the five businessmen who started PBC:

“To know Christ and to make him known.”

It’s simple, but it has profound implications.

You go, girl! Does anyone else agree? At 89 years old, Elaine is still filled with a spiritual fire that just won’t calm down!

Listen to Elaine’s amazing story of how God brings “New Covenant Living” into a dark realm and draws crowds away from the likes of Jimi Hendrix! (It seems almost blasphemous, but it’s true!)

Her greatest burden? “Passing on the torch,” she says, and this is a godly perspective we often miss in the hurly-burly of life’s busywork:

There is a great hunger in my heart to pass the torch to a new generation. If you’re looking for a ministry, may I suggest that you can do nothing better than to pour your life into the young. If you are young, give yourself to someone younger. If you are older, retire into loving servanthood!

Then, quoting Hendrix (not Jimi, but Howard, the famous Christian leader at Dallas Theological Seminary):

You spend your life climbing the ladder of success only to find when you reach the top that it’s leaning against the wrong wall.” Then Stowell adds: “Most of us have been so busy building a life, we’ve forgotten that life is really about building a legacy.”

Indeed, God designed us for spawning new life and new generations. This is the heart of Christian ministry, Elaine says. This is what governed her late husband’s mindset, and it’s a good measure of a life:

On that little plot of ground where Ray Stedman’s body rests, waiting for the redemption, there is a little plaque that says simply, “He was a faithful steward.” That is his legacy to the body of Christ. I trust it will be your legacy and mine to another generation.

Elaine Stedman offers a great perspective on the rise and fall of Christian movements. (Click the picture to hear or read her speach online.)

]]> http://neozine.org/inside/3325/feed 3 http://neozine.org/inside/3279 http://neozine.org/inside/3279#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:48:35 +0000 NeoZine Staff http://neozine.org/?p=3279 A new book called "Already Gone" reveals startling, new statistics about the growing irrelevance of American Christianity for younger people. There are solutions, however.

See more reviews at Library Thing

I just read the book Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer. In it, Ken Ham and marketing researcher Britt Beemer seek to understand the plight  of American Christianity as we see more and more young people leaving the church, and in most cases, never returning. They do some exhaustive surveying of those who have left the church and discover some startling statistics.

Of the kids raised in a Bible-based church interviewed who no longer attend church regularly:

• 95% attended through middle school,
• 55% attended through high school,
• only 11% attended through college.

It means 90% were Already Gone by the time of college!

From their findings, much of this loss is due to doubts these students have about the Bible. In addition, about two-thirds of the youth leave the church by the time they are a young adult.  Their exhortation is for the church to wake up and be the church (body) it was intended to be, faithfully adhering to and teaching from the authoritative Scriptures in a way that is relevant (defensible) to culture and history.

There is much that I think is very true and that I agree with:

• The dismal state of the church in America and how it is losing it’s youth
• How the authority of the Word has disintegrated in the church today
• The church really can’t change culture (105)
• Music is a minor element to the church at best – truth is relevant and needs to be the emphasis (110). In fact, much of the emphasis and approach for music in the church has no Biblical basis at all (127).
• Hypocrisy and the institutionalizing of church is a major reason why young people leave (110ff)
• The need for more interactive ways of teaching the truths of Scripture and apologetics, e.g., small group settings (125ff), similar to the early church
• Focus on youth and young adults (135) — in fact a major priority should be to equip and let them lead and reach out to their own generations (160-161)
• The need for revolution (141)
• The opportunity to win some of those back who have left the church

Click the picture to visit Dr. Morscher on Library Thing.

I applaud the authors for their uncompromising view of Scripture as authoritative and the need to quit being lame in the way it is presented or glossed over in favor of “worship”.  I also appreciate their candor and critique of the way we do church. Not only the worship service but also Sunday school — which is not getting the job done.

The modern emphasis on Bible stories and entertainment rather than the real and historical Bible undoubtedly plays into the doubts raised in the minds of teenagers and young adults who encounter sophisticated arguments in school. They also properly cite the reliance on Sunday school to be the source of Bible teaching, while leaving the Bible out of the home.

The Young Earth Problem

However, I must disagree with the Young Earth view advocated by the authors and a missing element to their view of reaching the younger generation.

First, their emphasis on a Young Earth apologetic overshadows much of the good things they have to say. They might argue such a view fails to uphold the historical truth of the Bible.

But the Scriptures do not mandate a Young Earth view. There are several, valid interpretations of creation account in Genesis 1 which do not hold that “days” refers to 24 hour periods.  It may be true that science has influenced these alternative interpretations, but the interpretations are still sound.

The fact is that Genesis 1 compresses all the vastness of creation into one page with few details, but what details are given are highly compatible with what little is known from science. The point of Genesis 1 is to explain the creation and fall of humanity and how God is dealing with it, and it is not an attempt to explain everything about creation.

There is a need for effective teaching and training in handling the God’s Word accurately, as well as understanding modern skeptic’s assault on the historical reliability, inspiration and veracity of Scripture. But Genesis 1 really is not the biggest stumbling-block, as the authors believe, and there are several reasonable answers which resolve this issue.

But other issues are far more common and hit at the heart of people’s antagonism towards Scripture, God, and/or the church history, and these require intelligent defense. Some of these issues were was addressed  in Chapter 6 of their book, but they truly require a much bigger stage.  (I’m curious if the age of the universe is something we could “agree to disagree” on. I could easily do so, but the Young-Earth apologetic appears to be so foundational in their view, I’m just not sure.)

Missing the Point

The book is missing or under-emphasizing significant reasons for the exit young people from Christianity. Most notably, the church is not merely an agent of teaching and emphasizing truth, even though this is important. But Jesus came to earth for a purpose: the ministry of reconciliation to the world. Christians are to be God’s ambassadors in this cause, which is a great purpose.

When young people find a worthy purpose, their faith becomes much more relevant. Since Already Gone lacks an outward focus to reach the lost, the book really fails to address this vital issue.

“Speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:16)  requires balance and proper emphasis on both issues.  We are surrounded by people who need to see and experience the love of God in the church, people who are touched by the gospel in a life-giving way, and not merely “converted”. The authors touch this at the end by saying students can be equipped to reach their own generation, but this “ministry of reconciliation” is so much more than that.

For the young, most churches seem stifled by institutionalized, worship service-oriented practices. Students need the experience of the living Body Of Christ where they can learn to wield the Scripture with competency. The real love relationships which should be evident among Christians are seen by the world, people are drawn to Christ and that age group turns from  a declining population to one of vibrant growth.  This remains the greatest hope for younger generations, bar none.

Sourced from: Morschmellow

Love the books!

“The Library Thing” is a non-profit, open community for sharing knowledge about books. It provides a great way to promote reading, which is so highly-neglected in today’s MTV world of fast-paced “blurbs” and disjointed Twitters.

Intellectual decline is a well-documented phenomena today, as measured by the ability to read:

• 50 percent of American adults are unable to read an eighth grade level book.
• The educational careers of 25 to 40 percent of American children are imperiled because they don’t read well enough, quickly enough, or easily enough.
• More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level – far below the level needed to earn a living wage.
• 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.

Proclaim the Revolution!

It is no coincidence that God used the Bible (which means, “The Book”) to communicate with humanity. Unlike word-of-mouth, the written word lends itself to widespread distribution, which makes it our most-powerful weapon for inciting Revolution. Even more important, the written word is subject to verification and objective truth, unlike other “scriptures” people are trusting around the world.

Especially today it is vital for Christians to stand out as Revolutionaries with literate thinking (as opposed to illiterate speculation), which gives our Revolution a respectable intelligence. Postmodern American minds are confused with imaginary religions lacking any literature to support their positions. These New Age religions are so fragile, they can’t be defended. By contrast, as Christians we have a long recorded history of God’s activities and revelation to humanity, and nobody has been able to punch a hole in it even after thousands of years and hundreds of thousands of scholars devoting their entire lives to finding a weakness. Still “The Book” stands, unspoiled and completely intact.

I dare anyone to offer any proof that the Bible contains any errors. I’ve spent a lifetime tracing these so-called errors which everyone supposes to exist, and I have yet to find one with any credibility. But if I wasn’t well-read, my own claims would be quite ridiculous. Reading makes it possible to take strong stands based on facts.

This is what the Bible calls the Kerygma, a Greek word translated “the proclamation”. Our Revolution is not an idea and it’s not a speculative philosophy like the crazy imagination of Karl Marx. Rather, the Kerygma is an historical fact, and its history is recorded for us in “The Book”.

What a difference it makes to be able to make a bold proclamation rather than a weak suggestion about Jesus Christ! Weak suggestions don’t change lives or challenge the deception and ignorance that alienates humans from their Creator. And all these Postmodern attacks against Jesus Christ are so flimsy to an educated mind–educated, that is, in the broad literature and histories of humanity, which also must include Christian literature. Postmodernism is woefully ignorant of the Christian worldview. These new, imaginary religions are attractive only in the absence of the Kerygma.

Check it out!

Join Our Reading Group!

Winter is the best time to curl up with a book and get armed to proclaim something worth listening to! Join us at The Library Thing and start sharing your library and knowledge of books with the other brothers and sisters.

Join us at The Library Thing and you can:

• Add The NeoZine as a friend.
• Join our reading group called Revolution of Joy and make contact with other Christian Revolutionaries!

No, God has not revised His Incredible Plan. But our book reporting that plan is now revised and published free, online, for your ministry’s use. It’s our Christmas gift to you, our readership!

See the NeoXenos Library for the Web pages, or download the ePub format (used in the new generations of eReaders like Amazon’s Kindle).

The Christian Language

We call it the “New Covenant” or “New Testament (the terms are equivalent), but who knows what a “covenant” or “testament” is? Most people think this Old and New Testament-business is all very complicated. After all, “testaments” are the domain of lawyers or judges (they deal with “last will and testaments“), and theologians fight over “covenants”. Whatever a New Covenant or New Testament is, it doesn’t pertain to real life.  “Dispensation” is sometimes given as an alternative, but is this any better? The Christian language needs an update.

Have you ever wondered what New Testament means? And if you don’t care what it means, you’re not alone. Ask someone what “New Testament” means and see how many don’t know and really don’t care.

“Protocol” conveys the same idea as “Testament”, and people care about protocols. Concerned spouses remind us of the right protocol as we’re driving to the in-laws (“Don’t take off your shoes under the dinner table, OK? My parents think you’re a pig!”), or the Christmas office party (“Don’t drink too much, it’s not that kind of party!”). Your conversations may be different, but we must recall the change in protocol as we go from one place to another.

There are a plethora of protocols we follow everywhere we go, but one protocol is The Protocol overshadowing all the others.

The Protocol For Peace

The dictionary says “protocol” means “the terms of a treaty agreed to in conference and signed by the parties,” and this is precisely God’s intention—to bring all parties together by His treaty, which is a Protocol of Peace.  This is the anchor of God’s plan on earth:

And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together through Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Ephesians 1:10

“The plan” is God’s “terms of a treaty” for peace—a God’s Protocol of Peace. God desires peace, contrary to the fears of many:

And He came and preached peace to you who were far away , and peace to those who were near; for through Him [we all] have our access in one Spirit to the Father.  Ephesians 2:17-18

God does not compel. He only wants a fair hearing, and this is where the dictionary definition of “protocol” is tremendously helpful: God goes “in conference” deep in the human heart. He wants an agreement “signed by the parties” of our heart and His heart. God wants a peace treaty, established in our hearts.

Amazingly, God makes all the concessions in this peace treaty:

Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Romans 5:1

Will you trust in God’s peace? This is what “faith” means, in biblical terms—trust. Since Jesus Christ “came and preached peace to you who were far away,” the Bible says the only question is whether we will put our trust in His peace.

Put another way, do you want peace with God or not? It’s really that simple. It’s the only great divide between God and man: will you sign the peace treaty Jesus freely offers?

Proclaim!

Tell this to your friends or family! We make it so complicated, but this is what the Bible is all about from beginning to end: God’s Protocol of Peace. Let’s drop the testaments and covenants or dispensations and talk about this instead.

They proclaimed it with loud voices one dark night in the hills of Judea, 2000 years ago:

Suddenly there appeared a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”  Luke 2:13-14

Rembrandt's depiction

This is a peace unlike any. God’s peace shattered the calm night and terrified the shepherds. But after they investigated it:

The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.  Luke 2:20

God’s peace always brings joy in the hearts of those willing to listen. Nothing is the same afterward, just as it was for those shepherds who could never forget the night they discovered God’s “peace among men, with whom He is pleased.”

The Christian Application

So who caresw about “testaments”, “covenants” or “protocols” anyway?

Imagine living in a Communist country, or a fascist state–when all your freedoms are repressed, suddenly the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights seem very important.

Our freedoms and privileges are protected by the American Constitution, yet most of us really don’t know what it says. Fortunately, judicial system of judges and lawyers understand the Constitution, so we can afford to ignore it.

The New Testament defines and protects Christian freedom, but there is no “system” to help us take advantage of the privileges. Christians who live without the privileges guaranteed in our Spiritual Bill of Rights become fatalistic, their hope diminishes, and they fall back into the slavery that characterizes life in the World System.

Every Christian must grasp this framework of privileges guaranteed in “The New Covenant”. This is different from knowing some Bible verses. The Covenants are like the hidden framework of a house which tie together all the walls, windows and visible details we live with every day. That framework is quite unimpressive until covered, but it is the framework that distinguishes between a mansion and a shack! Understanding “The New Protocol” enables a Christian to grow increasingly thrilled with the scope and majesty and genius of God’s Word.

Are you thirsty? Do you feel the desperate need for the Holy Spirit in your life and ministry? Do you want to learn how to lean on Him more?

“’If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’” –John 7:38

Brother Yun told the story of his persecution as a church planter and evangelist in China in The Heavenly Man. He suffered brutal beatings, electrocution, malnourishment, and repeated imprisonments for the gospel, and he considered it all joy to join in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.

Brother Yun told the story of his persecution as a church planter and evangelist in China in The Heavenly Man. He suffered brutal beatings, electrocution, malnourishment, and repeated imprisonments for the gospel, and he considered it all joy to join in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.

Living Water

His new book Living Water is collected from his teachings, many of them given to Western churches. Some of the principles may seem basic to Western Christians with theological knowledge, but his challenging calls to obey the Bible’s teachings are anything but boring.

Brother Yun is the only Christian I know of today who is writing in a radical way about the necessity of persecution for Christians. Listen to these quotes and consider how they apply to your walk with the Lord, our fellowship as a whole.

Quotable quotes:

“Do you want to follow God and do something great for His kingdom? If so, then good. But first you must realize that the pathway to bearing fruit for the Lord is strewn with much opposition, slander, criticism, false accusation, and pain. People will misunderstand you and doubt your motives, and Satan will throw many roadblocks in your path in a bid to thwart your progress. This has been my experience over the years, and it has been the experience of every person I have known who has been used by God, from the apostles to the present day.”

I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty that you don’t need any more church buildings.

“The true gospel, when it is preached with power, always results in either revival or riot. Just read Paul’s experiences in the book of Acts.”

“Did you ever consider that Jesus sent His own followers on suicide missions? He knew His disciples would be killed as they attempted to take the gospel throughout the world.”

“We need to get our minds off man-made temples, churches and buildings and realize that God no longer dwells in structures made by human hands.”

“When I’m in the West, I see all the mighty church buildings and all the expensive equipment, plush carpets and state-of-the-art sound systems. I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty that you don’t need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more possession will also fail to bring revival.” Instead he says we need teachings that contain the “sharp truths” of Scripture, and obedience to those truths.

“In China we always teach five things that all disciples need to be ready to do at any time. We need to be ready to pray, regardless of circumstances. We must always be ready to share the gospel and always ready to suffer for the name of Jesus. We also teach every disciple in China that they must be ready to die for Jesus Christ, and finally they should be ready to escape for the gospel if the opportunity presents itself, for Jesus said, ‘When you are persecute in one place, flee to another’ (Matthew 10:23). There is great power when we suffer for the gospel.”

…the most fruitful times of ministry have come [with] great opposition and persecution… [so] we can laugh and rejoice!

“I have found over the years that many of the most fruitful times of ministry for the Lord have come at the same time as great opposition and persecution. There seems to be direct correlation between effective work for God and intense opposition. We can grow to such a place in Christ where we laugh and rejoice when people slander us, because we know we are not of this world, and our security is in heaven. The more we are persecuted for His sake, the more reward we will receive in heaven.”

“China is not being transformed for Jesus because we sit around thinking and talking about God’s work. No! We invest all our energy, time, and resources in reaching the lost. The church prays hard and works hard for the Lord. Many thousands of Christians have willingly endured brutal treatment and imprisonment in order to see the vision of a redeemed China become a reality.”

“Have you ever felt you would die unless you shared the goodness of Jesus Christ with others? If not, it is time to kneel down and ask God to give you a fresh revelation of the joy and presence of the Lord.”

My Take

I still have a few chapters left to read so more quotations may be forthcoming. I do recommend the book for if you are willing to look past the “basic teachings” and question whether you are really following them. In other words, be forewarned: contains highly convicting material.

Some pop writers are targeting Millennial-generation Christians with such an innocuous definition of “revolution”, it is a wonder anyone is interested.

Watch the video below on “Everything Must Change!” to see what I mean.  The speaker imagines “Christian revolution” without the crucifixion or resurrection of Jesus (primitive stories, he says). The Christianity that remains is drivel–a Jesus-fool who yapped too much and got himself killed.

Christian Students across the country are restless for a faith with substance, something that matters. Products like “Everything Must Change” are marketed to meet this demand. What a rip-off. These “Emergent” guys are slick wordsmiths with timid ideas that won’t change anything.

Jesus, on the other hand, launched a credible Revolution. He proposes to “Burn it down!” It’s looks like this:

…in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2 Pet. 3:10)

That’s the Jesus Revolution we all know and love — Disestablishment on a universal scale!

He isn’t crazy, because He’s God and He doesn’t “disestablish” anything except to establish something so beautiful and breathtaking, he calls it His Kingdom!

The Jesus Revolution requires a little study because it’s a real plan, not hot air. It’s a clever strategy that topples regimes and despots without armies or big budgets. Study this Revolution. The freedom and transformation it delivers is unparalleled, it’s real, and it’s highly-contagious!

The Essential Struggle

Listen to this teaching on-line:

The following scripture reads like a Handbook of Revolution, a road-map for radical Christians:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor . He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives , and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.. Luke 4:18-19 (NASB)

What Jesus read is called ministry in the Bible, but ministry is so institutionalized today, its biblical definition barely remains. Ministry to the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed sounds like social concern on the surface, like Do-Good Christianity. Most people think ministry means wearing a backward collar and talking in genteel tones. Ministry seems impotent and highly irrelevant in the face of real-world evil, much like using band-aids to patch the rip in the Titanic.

Do-Good Christianity versus the Jesus Revolution: a video about “Peace”

What’s the point of Do-Good Christianity? To be helpful? Consider its weakness:

• Pagan charities do this: they care and they try to help. What is the difference?
• Hospital Churches arise from this definition of ministry. Hospital Churches cannot grow. Today the great cathedrals of Europe designed to hold thousands are now Hospital Churches filled with a few dozen old and dying Christians. (It is better than nothing, but what an impotent model!)
• Christ’s ministry was much broader than a Hospital Ministry. He helped the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed; but he did much, much more!

No, the Jesus Revolution is not so lame, but it is mysterious, and Jesus emphasizes this mystery:

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.. Luke 4:20

What is Jesus doing? Quite simply, He is preparing them for a bombshell:

And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  Luke 4:21

Jesus proclaims the advent of the Kingdom of God! What joy this would bring! What promise, what hope, what relief!

But he gets the most amazing reaction:

And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. Luke 4:28-29

Why such a violent reaction? What a strange scenario unfolds in Luke 4:

1. God’s Kingdom comes, empowered by love, to end human suffering.
2. People are enraged by it and reject it violently!

How does #1 cause #2? What an unlikely cause and effect! The verses we skipped make the connection for us:

And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:22-27

Notice they were not upset by his declaration that he was their Messianic hope. This is a terrible misinterpretation of the passage. They were encouraged by such a prospect: “What a good ol’ home-town boy that Jesus is!”

But Jesus said, “No, I’m not your hometown boy at all! I’m more like an Old Testament prophet, never welcomed in his home town!”

He cites Elijah, the most famous Old Testament prophet, who only healed in foreign lands among the despised Gentiles. But at home, in Israel, Elijah struck them with draught! Such renegades are unwelcome in their hometown, and so every time Elijah came back into Israel, the King and Queen groaned.

Here is the full scenario:

1. God’s Kingdom comes, empowered by love, to end human suffering.
2. But first, he expects people to sever their attachment with Home Sweet Home—or no help!
3. It is the heart of Fallen Man to resist the coming of God’s Kingdom, and to embrace their manmade kingdoms, even with violence.

God places only one condition on those who would enter the joy of His Great Work: leave your kingdom!

This passage depicts the struggle between the heart of God and the heart of fallen mankind. It’s not about helping people who need help, per se, but a much broader picture which goes beyond “Do-Good Christianity”:

1. It is the heart of God: He loves His creation, and moves into it, no matter how broken it is. This is foundational for understanding God’s Kingdom, God, His work, and His motivations. It describes what God is doing in this Present Age, and it must be very, very important.
2. It is the heart of Fallen Man to resist God’s Kingdom, even with violence.

To receive God’s healing means to come out and leave Home Sweet Home. It isn’t a cruel demand. It is a necessary precondition, because God’s Kingdom is utterly at odds with human kingdoms.

Here is the essential struggle: God moves, but Fallen Man squats! God’s presence is expressed in great, phenomenal movement, in a great struggle with Counterfeit Kingdoms.

The Necessary Disestablishment

This is why “The New and Living Way” (Hebrews 10:19) stirs so much controversy wherever it goes. God’s Kingdom brings healing, but it necessitates great upheaval.  The promises of God’s Kingdom is accompanied by Disestablishment.

Observe how God manifests Himself: by kindness and severity, by comfort and upheaval.

Behold then the kindness and severity of God! Romans 11:22

Isaiah 40 is a study in this duality. First, He proclaims the kindness of His Kingdom:

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended… Isaiah 40:1-2 (NASB)

God loves His creation, and moves toward it:

A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.  Isaiah 40:3 (NASB)

But now, look! As God’s Kingdom comes, what upheaval comes with it:

“Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:4-5 (NASB)

All the great and powerful kingdoms of man are so very frail and easily-crushed by the eternal rock of God’s Word, he says:

The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:7-8 (NASB)

Our kingdoms are pretty, but so flimsy and trite:

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust…All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless…As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter.
Isaiah 40:19-20

Yet God’s Kingdom is so vast and beyond containment or challenge:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Isaiah 40:21-23

God’s Kingdom is outside of all human kingdoms. These two kingdoms cannot co-exist. They are fundamentally incompatible:

• God’s Kingdom is full of momentum: always forward, towards creation and creating life.
• Human Kingdoms stagnate, by necessity: they are established within clear boundaries that shut out uncertainty. Although some kingdoms may expand their boundaries, they still must erect boundaries around themselves. Kingdom boundaries can only expand until its boundaries collide with another kingdom’s boundaries.
• God’s Kingdom is life: He creates and grows life everywhere He goes.
• Human Kingdoms are systems: organizations, bureaucracies, rules and machines. These are the things we make naturally. All day long we work to make things in exchange for things.
• God’s Kingdom grows by love: a widening network of inter-dependant relationships between loving human beings.
• Human Kingdoms are governed by rules and all our glorious red tape. God calls it “works”, or “the Law”, and it’s a different governing principle.
• God’s Kingdom is built with small seeds stuck deep in the heart (see the sower in Matthew 13).
• Human Kingdoms are built with massive organizations, budgets, plans, and resources (see the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13).

Thus, the coming of God’s Kingdom necessitates the uprooting of human kingdoms.  This is the summation of Isaiah 40:

Lift up your eyes on high… Isaiah 40:26 (NASB)

The Living, Growing, Moving Kingdom of God

No matter what condition creation falls into, and no matter how creation moves away from God, He still moves toward it.

Gen. 1 – “In the beginning, the Spirit moves across the face of the deep, filled with the chaos of rebellion…”

• He moves to recreate from the ashes of death and rebellion a world teeming with new life.
• He creates moving things of all sorts…
• He gave humans the authority to create and move (Gen. 1:26f).

The Pentateuch: His throne, the tabernacle, is always moving.

The Prophets: Men “moved by the Holy Spirit” (1 Pet. 2) were brought into the secrets of God and saw the future coming of Jesus Christ.

He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God… Ezekiel 8:3 (NASB)

Re-Creation in the New Testament: it is The Spirit which moves across the surface of the earth.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going;” John 3:8a

He is busy creating a “new humanity.” You can see the Holy Spirit’s presence when you see “the wind blowing,” Jesus says, in the lives of people:

“…So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8b

The Prophets of the New Testament: God pushes and pulls and directs (Acts 13, 15, Macedonian vision).

• He commands movement from His people: “Go! Make disciples…” (Matthew 28:18)
• He spreads fires of freedom and breaks down restrictions: “for where the Spirit is, there is liberty…” (2 Corinthians 3:17)
• He moves into people’s lives (Rev. 3:20).
• The walk of faith is a commitment to move forward, out and beyond the familiar: “we are not of those who shrink back to destruction…” (Heb. 10:1)
• Body Life is a movement of people in and out of your house (Acts 2:42ff).

In Discipleship and Love

Discipleship means growing beyond the current Cell Group and small group of friends.

• Jesus was always moving, and “foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” Was he complaining? Not at all! He was inviting: “Are you ready for this? It’s crazy-fun, the ultimate Rave, all over the place!”
• The first lesson in ministry for his disciples: “Take nothing with you…” (Matthew 10) And how excited they were when they returned!
• Love means moving beyond our tribal barriers: “Love…does not seek its own” 1 Corinthians 13:5.
• It is “the way of Life” (Jeremiah 21:8) and “The New and living way” (Hebrews 10:15).

The History of Immobility

Contrast God’s Kingdom with human kingdoms. Our desire is to stay and die.

• The Tower of Babel: the first example of rebellion against God’s injunction to move out. They clumped instead.

Human-controlled kingdoms are defined by clumping:

• Nations (and companies!) are either great or insignificant, and how is this measured? Square mileage, population, wealth, and conquest.
• Church history: the “one, True Church” controlled by Roman Emperors.
• Success lies in claiming land, buildings, members, wealth, resources…

“You say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Jesus Christ, in Rev. 3:17

Kosmos-values adopted by the church: the Jerusalem church was influenced by its culture, and could not reach beyond their “dividing walls”.

• The first one to realize this was Stephen, whose background as a Hellenistic Jew undoubtedly made it easier for him to see. But Acts 7 is, from beginning to end, a diatribe against the many dividing walls the Jews created: their temple, their land, their people.
• Ironically, the man who killed him was drafted to take his place, and Paul became a great spokesperson for Stephen’s cause: breaking out of the Jewish culture & geography defined Paul’s ministry.
• Peter moved out (finally!) after much prodding, pushing and pulling…

Tear It Down!

This is Revolution, pure and simple: stampeding across the empire, it stirred confusion, it incited a backlash of persecutions and filled the Coliseum with martyrs.

The Revolution tore down the Dividing Walls of human kingdoms and brought freedom to helpless people trapped in the prisons of the Roman Empire.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall. (Eph. 2:13-14)

By the thousands, they emerged: dazed but elated from dark, social prisons erected by the elite dynasties of the Kosmos. They entered God’s Kingdom where God denounced the sacred rules of the culture. Slave or master, male or female, Greek or Jew, these distinctions were despised by God.

The Movement of Defiance

The Great Mystery of Christ means social defiance: we are the recipients of God’s radical blueprint for Revolution, and it begins in the Heart. God’s Kingdom, the Ekklesia, spread through Revolution prophesied long ago:

“And those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” – Zech. 6:11

Paul brings these words into the New Testament, talking about the Ekklesia:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” – Eph. 2:11

How does God gather far-flung, divided people? In Zechariah’s prophecy the person is Jesus Christ:

AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR…So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household…” – Eph.2:17-19

Such is the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy – “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD!”

What a glorious movement it is, and you and I are part of it:

…you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. – Ephesians 2:22

It means God is moving in a direction that Disestablishes our comfortable kingdoms. We get uprooted.

It means movement outside our manmade “Dividing Walls” which are nothing but prison walls. Older Christians who develop the maturity to love and sacrifice will crash through geographical, racial, socio-economic, and political dividing walls.

Observe how rebellious churches grow self-enclosed, complacent, and finally spiritually dense! These are Christians at odds with the leadership of Jesus Christ, living in a crisis of Laodicean proportions:

“You say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” – Jesus Christ, in Rev. 3:17

The Laodiceans were trapped inside their little Dividing Walls of personal peace and affluence, blind to the real world, spiritually impoverished by their materialism. The American Way is built upon the formidable Dividing Walls of social status and material gain, so that far too many Christians identify themselves as Americans and Republicans or Democrats, but not as Christians.

There is no such thing as a Christian Democrat or a Christian Republican. We are all members of a new race of humanity. To die to the old identity rooted in old-world geopolitics was the scandalous outcome of the Jesus Revolution for Gentiles and Jews (far more sharply-divided  in the 1st Century than Republicans and Democrats are today).  So Paul says:

in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace. Ephesians 2:15

This is why God says, “Come out from among them!” He wants us to escape the prisons we know as “my comfort zone.” Until this happens, spiritual growth is lethargic and incomplete.

Disestablishment

Returning now to the original discussion about ministry: the biblical definition of ministry does not resemble the lame vocation called “ministry” in today’s world. Biblical ministry means Revolution, to use a modern term.

With the benefit of hindsight we know the scope of Jesus’ ministry and his later descriptions of it. From Luke 4 he read a list of the victims of the World System who were to be liberated by his Ministry of Revolution:

• The poor are those who “are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The World System is flooded with spiritual poverty, and Jesus came “to preach the good news” to those “poor in spirit”. For those who know their poverty, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” So ministry disestablishes the economics of poverty by raising poverty-consciousness and bringing poverty-relief.
• The captives are those “who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews 2:15; see also 1 John 2:17). The Kosmos runs on the Economy of Death, fueled by the fear of death! Desperate consumers try to purchase their way out of the depressing onset of death! But Jesus brings “good news” and “release to the captives”. Revolution disestablishes the economy of death-fear because Revolution is anti-fear. The fears of legalism are counter-Revolutionary, so legalists either find ministry distasteful or become terribly ineffective at it.
• The blind are those “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds” of everyone (2 Corinthians 4:4). Revolution is so difficult because the World System steals “that which is known about God,” and that which “is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” (Romans 1:19). But Revolution disestablishes the Economy of Deceit which drives Madison Avenue advertising, and so ministry brings “recovery of sight” for the blind.
• The oppressed are the countless victims of the Economy of Oppression which benefits the rich in the World System. The Jesus Revolution waged war against the powerful and greedy: “I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles” (Matthew 12:18). “The Gentiles” were outsiders to the religious institutions of Israel, “without God and without hope.” (Ephesians 2:12) His Revolution was popular among the oppressed, so the oppressors conspired to kill him.

The Ministry of Revolution is a spiritual war against the Kosmos-Economy with its components of poverty, death, fear, deceit and oppression. The Jesus Revolution brought a whole new economic reality, as Paul says:

He made known to us the mystery of His will…with a view to an economy suitable to the fullness of the times…  Ephesians 1:9-10

Without the component of Disestablishment it is difficult to understand the Ministry of Revolution.

Through Disestablishment we can actually live what Martin Luther King only dreamed about. His famous speech actually came straight out of God’s Word. It was a prophecy given about Jesus, announcing the upcoming Revolution that would bring great Disestablishment:

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
- Martin Luther King, quoting Isaiah 40

Jeremiah- offended by cussing.

When I first starting coming to Xenos, my biggest point of conflict with the group was not the smoking.  My problem did not lie with the group’s condoning of alcohol or the absence of a singing worship meeting.  I already was a smoker and took an occasional nightcap, and in my former church I sang enough worship choruses and hymns to  fill my mind with a loop tape of “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” until the day I die, so I wasn’t mourning that loss either.

My singular biggest problem with the Xenos fellowship was the cussing.  I mentioned this to my wife on several occasions.

“They might be OK in everything else they do,” I allowed, “but they cuss.”  On that point all their planted seeds and the harvested fruit was swept away in one wave of my fundamentalist-hand.

Her response was one of grace tempered with logic.

“Well,” she began, “when someone comes around who has never heard of Christ or does not know how to love, we focus on the way they relate to people, not whether or not they cuss.”

I had to buckle on this point.  What rational person would not?  However, I still secretly maintained my stoic attitude that “Christians mustn’t cuss.”

Why did I think cussing was so important?  Partly because we were not raised around cussing.  Mom and Dad were very strict on this point.  I’m not sure it had much to do with anything biblical.  They felt that nice people didn’t cuss, and we are nice people, so we don’t cuss.

In church I think the attitude was basically the same:  Christians are supposed to be nice people.  Nice people don’t cuss.  DON’T CUSS!  Cussing was called all sorts of scary names to make it sound really terrible, like “foul language,” “obscenities,” “cursing,” and other pseudonyms which really miss the mark for any kind of meaningful description.

We sound like dorks. Christians look at the alienation of people from Christ, and instead of thinking “I’m fucking reaching these people if it kills me,” we say, “this isn’t nice.”  Instead of looking at the real relational abuse so prevalent from person to person, we say, “This stinks,” not, “this is bullshit!”

Paul’s Cussing

The apostle Paul was no stranger to harsh language.  He was of the people, by the people and for Christ.  His attitude was such that he concluded:

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:8)

Do you know what the Greek word is that’s translated “garbage” in this verse?  It’s the word “skubalon,” which, roughly translated to English, means “shit.”

Cuss words, like all words, have the capacity to edify as well as the capacity to tear down.  Cussing is a both-and, not an either-or.

When Christians make a big case out of cussing, it moves the conversation away from grace. It also creates an uptight atmosphere in so many churches. The fucked-up thing is that a lot of Christians don’t take the time to examine for themselves exactly what the Bible says about cussing, and why it says it. Conforming to the status quo exists in the church, too, people!

Ephesians 5:4

The verse frequently given to young Christians to get them away from that terrible, awful, no good cussing-habit is Ephesians 5:4 which says:

“Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes- these are not for you.  Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.”

I don’t see any mention of cussing in there.  And the verse says the goal is to have language that expresses “thankfulness to God.”  I know people who don’t cuss.  Whoopty-fucking-doo.  But they also aren’t thankful, grateful, joyful, or any other kind of “ful” toward God.  Except they do seem “resentful” because they’re so legalistic. Does it really matter if they don’t cuss?

In this much-abused verse from Ephesians 5, I think it’s important to look at the original Greek to understand what the writer was trying to get across.  Do other translations include “cussing” in that short list of things not to talk about? Let’s see:

The three Greek words used in this passage from Ephesians are aisxrothv, mwrologiða and eutrapeliða. Literally, they mean filthy obscenity, foolish talking and ribaldry (sexually suggestive or grotesque), respectively.  Now I’m no professor of language but it seems to me that it just doesn’t automatically follow that all use of cusswords will result in these things,  even though cussing can be used to accomplish all these things. Cussing can be obscene! Cussing can be used to talk foolishly!  Cussing can be used to graphically describe sexuality!

What Really Matters

Some Christians might be preparing gnashing their teeth at me at this point. But  let me just say that I am not arguing that everyone should cuss! And I’m not arguing that cussing is always appropriate!I am not addressing the rules of decorum and socially-appropriate behavior. I’m merely trying to show that, biblically speaking, there is no mandate to claim that a Christian should never, ever, ever cuss.

Sometimes as Christians we need to think about things a little more critically. Are we creating rules about “the rules”?  The battle cry of the Institutional Church seems to be “We need more rules!”

Well I, for one, am very fucking tired of that bullshit.  Now grab your hymnals and turn to page 359, where we’ll sing “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cuss.”

Dr. Francis Schaeffer (Wikipedia Commons)

Back in the 60s Francis Schaeffer spoke here at Stanford, and spent a day with the Palo Alto Think and Pray Group.  I did not understand what he was saying at the time, but now I do! Since then I have watched many of his prophetic insights come true.

For instance, more than once I heard Schaeffer telling Christians that modern-modern man was no longer able to hear truth as we in the Christian church had been presenting it. He said we had to understand how existential despair was rising. Then we could find the cracks and learn how to slip true-truth into those cracks so that it could be heard in the heart. And we also had to be very careful not to alter the content of truth, because truth never changes.

But all of this requires a willingness to forsake the cultural baggage that we consider to be “comfortable” or is deemed “popular” or “important” in our community, the church.

The “Nice” People and the “Rubbish” People

Many church members seem to think that everything is fixed once they are baptized. God will bless us—in fact He owes us big-time because we are the nice people and we put money in the offering plate and we don’t get drunk anymore.

There is a smaller group who can identify with Paul in 2 Corinthians and see themselves as chief sinners, and part of “the off-scouring of the world” (literally, “the rubbish” or the sewage scraped off the roads).

With my scientific background I had plenty of intellectual pride influencing everything I said and did as a new Christian. It was liberating to see the Lord’s sense of humor in saying that he chooses “the foolish things of the world to confound the wise—and the base, and the weak, and…even things that do not exist, to shame the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his presence.”

I have come to believe the really important work God does in a generation is probably very low-profile. Visible leaders or popular teachers may or may not be called from the “bleachers” to sit at a place of honor at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. When Jesus returns, nothing will be hidden. We will see things then as they really are!

Solomon has a wonderful story of a “nobody” who is actually the channel God really uses behind the scenes of history:

There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.  A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. (Ecclesiastes 9:13-15)

But all that praise and recognition which means everything in the World System really doesn’t matter at all, as Solomon concludes:

So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long. [But it is] better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.  [It is] better to have wisdom than weapons of war… Eccles. 9:16-18

I remember well Ray speaking in Southern California on one of those trips he dragged me along on. 1 Samuel 15 was the text:

But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” (1 Sam. 6:5-7)

Ray used this to teach about the “good side” and the “bad side” of the flesh and how the good side of the flesh generally was praised in the church.  The flesh loves to sing in the choir and preach lofty, eloquent sermons. (Ray himself felt so vulnerable, he never greeted people at the back door after church. He was always “Ray” never Dr. Stedman or even “Mr. Stedman.”)

Making a Difference

This past year I have been pondering the ministry the Father gave His obedient Son, Jesus, to carry out while waiting for the exact timing for His crucifixion. There are wonderful hints in Isaiah’s prophesies that our Lord in His humanity must have felt He was a miserable failure at the end of his life, yet he trusted God:

“Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name. He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword…”
I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.”
The Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations, to the one who is the servant of rulers: “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of the Lord, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” Isaiah 49:1-7

From these illustrations I think that we need to get off the bandwagon, and rather than taking our identity from counting converts or numbers, we must be sure we are paying attention to the individuals God puts in our path.

There may be effective evangelistic outreaches out West, but it’s rare that truth gets through to “modern man” around here these days—or so I think. But I don’t know anything, really. I do find that loving one’s neighbor in the same way Jesus loves us is a very safe bet. I really love a low-profile life style

This is how ministry under the New Covenant is: “Nothing coming from us, everything coming from Him.”

Galatians 2:20, Lambert's motto (from Lambert's Web site)

It works! It works better in our lives as Jesus increases and we decrease.