You Are Past Due

Rom 1:13-17 

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.  I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

 

Paul says, that he has intended to come to Rome to preach the gospel. But up to this point he has not done it. Up to this point he has been hindered.      Every time he decides that he is going to go, something else comes up.  Have you ever been there?  You look around you and you see people who need Jesus, And you have every intent of sharing truth with them, but it seems like something is always coming up.  There is always an excuse as to why we never get around to it.  There are too many people around. The timing isn’t right. The grass needs mowed, the house needs painted, the laundry needs washed, the kids have ballgames, mom is sick, dad is sick, the dog needed a bath, and the list goes on and on.  To excuse means to make an apology, or to remove blame.  Thus making excuses is our attempt to justify our failure; to remove our blame.  Excuses may make us feel better about failing to fulfill our duty, but they do not remove our obligations.

In the above passage, Paul recognizes his failure to do what he knows he should be doing, namely to preach the gospel.  In verse fourteen he says “I am debtor”.  The word translated debtor literally means “delinquent”, or past due.  Here Paul is admitting that he is past due to come to Rome and preach the gospel to the people there.   As Christians we have an obligation to preach the Gospel as well. We have been commissioned to go into the world and preach the gospel; to set the captives free, and expand the kingdom of God.  But we often allow our excuses to keep us from fulfilling that obligation.  The result is groups of people going to Hell, because we were delinquent in telling them about Jesus.  The Bible is clear that as we have been given the opportunity to believe, we are to give others that same opportunity.  Failure to do so not only hinders others from believing, it may even cause us to forfeit our own salvation.  God expects us to take what we have been given and multiply it.  The scriptures make it clear that being debtor, is cause for us to have what we have been given taken away, and we ourselves be cast out (Matthew 25:14-30).  Make no mistake, fruitless branches are will be cut away and burned.

God is not just concerned about us being faithful, he wants us to be fruitful.  Typically when we speak of fruit we think of the fruit of the Spirit; Love, joy, peace, patience, etc.  But here the fruit Paul is talking about the adding souls to the kingdom, the fruit of his labor.  Paul says the reason he wanted to come to Rome was so that he might have fruit among them, even as he had among other gentiles. Paul had been preaching the gospel to others, and his ministry had produced new believers (fruit).   God is expecting us to plant seed, so that fruit can be reaped.  God is looking for us to go forth and make disciples.  Unfortunately too often our own excuses keep us from performing our duty.  It is time that we stop with the excuses, and realize that we have a duty to act.  And we must purpose to not allow other things to hinder us from fulfilling our obligation.  Paul puts it this way in verse fifteen, “I am ready to preach the Gospel to you”.  We too have to be ready to preach the Gospel to everyone we contact. 

Paul admits that he has been delinquent in preaching to both the Greeks and the Barbarians, the wise and the unwise.  Our obligation to preach the gospel spans across gender, race, social category, economic status, sexual orientation, criminal background, or religious affiliation.  We are to preach the gospel to every creature, not just the ones we are comfortable with, or with whom we are close.  We are obligated to sow the seed upon every type of soil.  We are not responsible for the soil, but we must scatter the seed.  The bible tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope that is in us; ready to speak the truth in love.  We live in a society that has tried to shame us into not speaking.  They paint Christians as mean, hateful and intolerant.  And by doing so they create so much opposition that Christians will find it easier to just be silent.  But being silent makes us debtor.

 
Rom 10:13-14 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”  We have an obligation to give people the opportunity to believe.  But how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how can they hear without a preacher?  News flash, we are the preachers.  We are all called to be preachers of the gospel, It is our duty, it is our obligation.  And we have no excuse not to do it.  If there are people that God has placed on your heart to talk to about Christ, and you have failed to do it, realize that you are debtor; you are past due.  Don’t waste any more time, and don’t allow any other excuses hinder you from fulfilling your obligation to preach the gospel. 

Passion

For the last week and a half this word, "Passion", has been burning in my heart and my mind.  What is it about passion that drives people?  We move toward the things about which we are passionate. It is passion that motivates us, and without it there is no action.  So as I was preparing for my Sunday sermon, I decided to do a word study on "Passion".  I discovered that in the KJV, out of the 66 books of the Bible, the 1189 chapters, and 31,103 verses, the word "passion" only appears once.  In Acts 1:3

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

 “Passion” only appears once, and it is used to describe Christ's suffering. 

 

For many, passion means something they love to do.  They are passionate about painting, or hunting and fishing. For others they see passion as an overwhelming desire.  However, Christ did not love to be crucified.   put to death was not an overwhelming desire he had.  In fact the opposite was true.  As he prayed in the garden he struggled with his reluctance to drink of the cup.  "Father, if there  be any other way, let this cup pass from me."  This does not sound like the passion to which we are accustomed.  While the word "passion" only appears once, the Greek word translated as passion in Acts 1:3 appears many times.  It is the word you see every time you read of Jesus speaking about how the son of man must "suffer".  When you read that he must "suffer" many things, he is speaking of passion.  Passion is not about overwhelming desire, or a love of something, it is in reality an unbearable suffering. It means to experience a painful sensation or impression.

It means to be tormented, troubled, plagued, or distressed. 

This truth brings a whole new understanding to the word "passion".  Passion is not something I desire to do, or love to do, it is something that I must do, because the suffering is too great to bear.  As Jesus looked around at the people and there condition it caused him heartache, it caused him internal torment.  It is for this reason that as he entered into Jerusalem he wept.  His stress in the garden was a result of his passion for the people.  He did not want to die, he did not desire the cross, but the suffering that he felt for the people was so great within him that he had to do something to change their situation.  That meant drinking the cup, accepting the mockery, taking the beating, carrying the cross, and allowing himself to be crucified.  He was driven by passion.

I believe this is one reason that the church is not making an impact in today's society.  Christians are sitting in church buildings all across the nation with no passion.  Meanwhile leaders are trying to get them involved by building excitement and trying to convince people that they will love getting involved.  If only we would realize that passion is more powerful than excitement.  Excitement wears off, but passion does not fade.  We may not realize it, or we may not want to admit it, but we are designed to function on a system of negative feedback.  When you breathe it is a response to a negative stimulus.  As your body builds up with too much toxic carbon dioxide, your body gets the message to breath it out.  Touching a hot stove causes a quick and powerful response that lasts you an entire lifetime.  In fact it is the positive euphoria of excitement that leads to destructive behaviors such as addition.  If your breathing was based on this kind of positive reinforcement then your body would crave oxygen so much that you would be in a constant state of hyperventilation in an attempt to get as much oxygen as possible.  Passion is not different.  The negative impact of internal suffering drives us to correct the situation.

 

For me personally it is an apathetic church.  When I see what the church has become, I am distressed.  When I see God's people living so far below their blessing, and failing to realize the kingdom that is available to them, I am grieved. When I see Christians destroyed for a lack of knowledge, I am pained.  When I see people living out their Christian life as if it is a drudgery; with no joy or victory, I suffer.  When I see a church that has given up, I am tormented.  This is my passion.  This is what keeps me up at night.  It is what wakes me in the morning. It is what I think of throughout the day.  It is what drives me to do what I do.   It is why I preach.  It is why I read and study.  It is why I try to live out passion.  It is why I try to ignite passion, instead of build excitement.  It is why I try to think up new ways of getting people to stop and look around at the world around them.  

 

If you were to ask most people what keeps them awake at night you would be hard pressed to find many that could respond with anything that didn't involve their problems.  We have become numb to the people around us.  Nothing keeps us awake at night. Nothing causes us torment or distress. We have no passions.  The problem is we are often in too big of a hurry, too self centered, to see the needs around us.  We are too busy rushing from place to place, trying to stay on our schedule that we fail to see the family living in their car.  We miss the child abandoned to the street.  We don't notice the elderly left alone, or the woman abused.  We ignore the people going to hell.  We don't see it, and thus it does not burden us.  It does not become a passion.  The result is a people with no drive to do anything about it.  

 

As followers of Christ this should not be.  Christ was a man of passion, and that passion was evidenced in his life.  The burden he carried led him to leave home to share about the kingdom.  The grief he had for others caused him to touch the leper, embrace the sinner, feed the hungry, and welcome the outcast.  It was this passion that caused him to take up his cross.  As his followers, we too should be people of passion.  In fact I would go as far as to say we must be people of passion because without it we will never be driven to take up our cross and follow him.  And Jesus made it clear, that if we will not do that, we can not be his disciple.  We must allow God to give us a passion.  It begins with a willingness to slow down, and start to look at the world around us.  Start seeing those people who are in need.  As we do, we will start to concern us.  It will no doubt cause us to pray about it.  But it will become a passion when we reach the place where we no longer ask God to do something about it, and start asking God what we can do about it.  When we have passion it will drive us to action.  It will cause us to get out of bed.  It will drive us to our knees.  It will cause us to put our hand to the plow.  It will cause us lay down our lives.  It will cause us to be like Christ. 

 

Your passion may not be my passion, and that is okay.  Truth be told the more passion is diversified, the more people will be reached.  A healthy church is one that has many passions working in unity to accomplish a kingdom purpose.  So, if you have a passion for teens or children, and someone else has a passion for the elderly then that is good.  If one person is passionate about evangelism and another about discipleship, that is healthy.   After all the hand does not have the same burden as the foot, nor does the ear bear the same burden as the eye,  but they all work together.  The bottom line is this; you have been created for a purpose.  There is a reason you are here; a reason you have the skills you have, live where you live, work where you work.  There are people all around you that are in need.  They need you to take action, but that will take you having an unbearable suffering within yourself, that causes you to intervene to change their situation.  It will require passion. 

24/7

Without a doubt, the single moste effective tool for reaching a lost and dying world is the testimony of those who call themselves Christians.  Unfourtuanately, it is also the single most effective tool used by the enemy to drive people further from Christ.  People today are looking for something real.  They want to know that there is hope for them.  From my own personal experience, I know for sure that that hope is found in Jesus Christ. It is a very real hope available to whosoever will.  However in todays American church, there are too many "Christians" who cast doubt on that truth, by living a part time Christianity.  They confine their Christianity to the church building, church events, and church projects.  All other times are viewed with little consideration of being Christ-like.  As a result a mixed message is sent to those who are watching our lives.  And the enemy uses that mixed message to convey a very real message; "HYPOCRITE". Christianity is meant to be lived out 24/7, and only in this way can our testimony be used to draw people to Christ.   

We have to take our life of faith outside the church.  We have to begin living the life in front of those that are lost.  We cannot confine our converstaions to only talking about faith with other Chrsitians.  We cannot limit our praise to the church building, or our worship between the hours of 10 and 11. We must let our light shine before all men.  We must be that city on a hill.  We must set our lamp upon the stand so that all can see.  This means that every day must be lived out in a constant state of awareness of God and his His will for your life at that moment.  God may desire to use you to evangelize, or minister to someone's need on your own, without a large group of "church people".  Christianity is a personal faith, not a group mentality.  We must always be ready and willing to obey his voice, and do the work of the ministry.

Most of us acknowledge this, and would even "Amen" such a statement, and yet we do not live it out.  So the question is why?  There are as many reasons as there are people, but I believe all of those reasons boil down to one factor; we have not fully surrendered to God.  We are still too focused on self.  We are too SELFconscious.  When we were lost we didn't seem to care who saw us make fools of ourselves.  But, now that we are saved we act as if we are ashamed.  And the world has taken advantage of this selfconscious attitude to bully Christians into submission and silence.  This is the reason we choose to live out our in the safety of the church.  However if we are going to impact the world around us we have got to start living this life 24/7. We are going to have to begin to praise him outside of the church building.  We are going to have to start worshiping him every moment of every day, no matter where we are or who we are around, and regardless of whether or not the rest of the church is involved.  The 24 hours starts now, get started and live for him.

The Fatherless Ministry

The phrase “fatherless ministry” has become a popular term in recent times, used to describe ministries that have not been fathered properly. Those that preach such things believe that a ministry can only be legitimate if approved by a spiritual leader.  Thus if your ministry does not have their stamp of approval then it is a bastard; born of the flesh.  My own ministry has been described in this way.  And in a way it is true.  My ministry was not properly "fathered".  I guess the question is why?  It certainly wasn't becasue I desired the ministry to be fatherless.  I had hoped that the father would have been around to help.  However, that did not happen.  I must say that it is not the fault of the ministry. Instead the ministry is not unlike a child who is born without a father.  A father that chooses to be absent, makes the child a victim of circumstance.  Likewise a fatherless ministry too is often a victim of circumstance, the result of an affair with a man who had no desire to be a father.

Like most circumstances of this nature it begins with a man who sees someone to whom he takes a liking.  He then seduces them with attention, with kind words. Once he has drawn them within arms length, the seduction turns to get them even closer.  He pulls out the stops to impress them, showering them with gifts, lavish dinners and nights on the town, that is until they decide to give themself to him.  At this point he is willing to tell them whatever they want to hear, and give them what it takes to keep them "in his bed", or ministry in this case.  And as long as they are willing to give he is not put off by the cost.   The problem arises when that someone becomes pregnant.  In ministry being treated to such an extravagant life, exposed to some of the world's best ministries, and to some of the best minds in the kingdom is seductive.  Sitting in a room with men of faith who have accomplished so much for the kingdom, drinking from the well of knowledge and insight that they pour out is at times intoxicating.  All of it heaped upon you with the intention of getting you to give yourself away.  To commit yourself to their ministry.  However being exposed to such things leads to unwanted consequences.  Being around such things often lead to you being impregnated with the seed of ministry.  

And when that seed of ministry is planted, and as it grows within you it gets to the point where you can no longer hide the truth of what you are carrying. The pregnancy becomes evident, and you are forced to confess that you too have a dream and vision for your own ministry.  Unfortunately for many, the one who had a hand in planting that seed has no desire to be a father.  He was just using you to get what he wanted from you. And now that you are pregnant, you are of no use to him. Instead he casts you aside. 

All too often fatherless ministries are brought into this world because the fathers that should care for them are absent.  They are more concerned with their own game.  They are happy being playas, spiritual gigolos, courting as many as they can find that they can use for their ministry.  The last thing they want is a ministry to feed, a ministry to raise. As a result their affection turns to indignation.  Their love turns to loathing.  They stop calling, and eventually they stop caring.  They often results to name calling, questioning your faithfulness, accusing you of cheating.  The tactic is to abuse you into submission.  Make you feel like dirt for what has happened, it is all your fault.  But it can all be fixed, and things can go back to the way they were, all you have to do is abort the ministry. 

For those who choose life, and decide to carry the ministry to term, it is an emotional road.  Often times filled with self doubt, skepticism, and questions of "can I do this alone".  But when the time comes it hits unexpectedly, and it will not wait, it will not stop.  It comes forth, and father or no father, it is staring you in the face.  You are the proud parent of a fatherless ministry.  Raising such a minsitry, nurturing it, caring for it will be harder.  There will be struggles.  And there may even be times when you wish that the father was around.  But know this the ministry will live and it will grow, even without a father present.   All you can do is try your best to be the best parent you can. 

I have chosen not to abort my ministry, but to let it live.  I am not willing to kill it, just because the man who impregnated me refused to be a father.  Instead I have chosen to continue on as a single parent, raising this ministry in the admonition of Christ, determined that it will not be like its father. I refuse to continue the cycle of dysfunction of dead beat dads, unwilling to be responsible for what they create.  Yes, you could say that I have a fatherless ministry.  However I guess that is what they may have said about Jesus as well.  With no earthly father, born to a maiden out of wedlock, one may have labeled him a bastard as well, but we know that this is far from the truth.  Jesus was a miracle, born of a Heavenly Father.  That is how I view my ministry as well.  It is a miracle, birthed not of man, but by a Heavenly Father.  And it too will grow and wax strong in spirit,  be filled with wisdom, and the grace of God will be upon it. 

This Blog is dedicated to absent fathers everywhere

Dealing with Laban

Genesis 24 introduces us to Laban, who was the brother of Rebeckah. From this passage and the ones following we learn a lot about Laban.  The first thing we see is that though he is a brother, he has placed himself in the role of father.  He was the one in charge, he was the one that did all the speaking, he was the one who owned it all, and he was the one with whom the servant had to deal.  Thus the first thing we learn about Laban and people like him is that they usurp the role of father.  They often view those around them as their children; children who are perpetually 7 years old.  As a result they deal out  constant correction and punishment in an attempt to “teach the child a lesson”.  This “father complex” ensures a never ending “father knows best” scenario, where free thinking and asserting one’s mind is viewed as rebellious and out of order.  This complex lead Laban to  feel that he has the right and privilege of being treated as the father; demanding the respect and honor.  In many cases this father complex extends beyond the natural leading the person to view their self as Heavenly Father, and to act as God in the lives of those over whom they exercise authority.  In their own eyes they are omniscient, and thus they know your future and what you should do and what you should not do, where you should go and where you should not go, with whom you should associate and who you should not.  The worse part about this father complex is that failure to follow the leading of the almighty puts you into the realm of condemnation and public stoning.

Another thing one will notice about Laban is that at first meeting he is often welcoming and loving.  Laban will give generously, but rarely without an ulterior motive.  In verse 29 Laban runs out to meet the servant, and in verse 31 offers him and his camels room.  But the reason for this hospitality is found in verse 30.  It was the earring and bracelets, and more specifically the value of them that caused Laban to become so excited. The thought of all the riches he would receive for the hand of Rebekah was the real reason for the hospitality.  When dealing with Laban he is always looking for what he can gain.  This causes him to treat warmly those who can help with his cause, while showing little to no affection for those who do not offer such treasures.  Those that can add talent or skill to the mix are often given special or preferred treatment.  They are taken on special trips or treated to dinners or showered with gifts, but only because he knows he will benefit from them.  We see this again in Genesis 29 that Laban is overjoyed to give his daughter Rachel to Jacob, but only after he exploited him to build his house, and building  his house is always more important than building your house.  

Laban, whose name comes from the root word for brick maker, is always looking for bricks or “building material” that he can use to build his house.  And when he finds those that can benefit him he exploits them to keep them as long as possible.  When the servant of Abraham came to him, he not only desired the treasure from him, but he also wanted to keep his sister; after all she was a brick in his home.  He tried to get the servant to stay for another 10 days, and maybe longer, but the servant desired to leave with Rebekah.  Laban was insistent, but relented only after Rebekah herself expressed the desire to leave.  Laban would not make the same mistake when it came to his own daughter.  When he saw how Jacob desired Rachel he would simply ask Jacob to stay for a while.  Laban kept his new brick on the line for seven years before Jacob no doubt ask about what had been promised.  But Laban, ever the manipulator, would alter the deal by offering Leah instead.  Laban would offer Rachel, but only if he could get seven more years of labor from Jacob.  After all Jacob had caused Laban’s house to be blessed, he could not let him part yet.  There was still so much to gain.  In all, Jacob would give Laban 20 years of service: a long time for someone who intended to stay only for a few days while his brother cooled off.   

Another characteristic of Laban is that he often takes on the victim persona.   Genesis 31.  Laban has no conscious when it comes to manipulating others, but quickly becomes the victim when his plan backfires.  As you begin to prepare to leave his house, he is often offended; after all it was in his house that you prospered.  In his eyes you have taken advantage of him, and his generosity.  It is he that has been wronged.  He starts to look at you differently (Gen 31:2) His joy turns to disdain, and his doting turns to distrust.  He often will not confront you about this change of heart, but instead will pout and sulk.  In Jacob’s case it was three days before Laban realized they were gone, three days without speaking to the one he once welcomed with open arms.  Why the silent treatment?  Because for Laban it is ALWAYS someone else’s fault.  The hurt and the wrong is always perpetrated by someone else, so he mopes waiting for the person he has exploited to come and apologize.  He may even send his sons to point out your alleged wrong (Gen 31:1) .  This is just an extension of the father complex where he demands an apology, or rather repentance, even if you have committed no sin.  It is just another manifestation of his manipulation.

Laban is a user.  He discovers the desire of your heart, and then uses it to manipulate you to do his will.  And understand that his will is to keep you and exploit you as building material to build his house.  Like the children of Israel those who encounter Laban are welcomed in only to become servants, and then slaves to him.  And like Pharaoh he has built his kingdom on the backs of those he has enslaved.  And the last thing he wants to do is let them go.  Even if God himself requires it of his servants, he will not let them go, but instead will harden his heart.  Let’s not forget that it was God who instructed Jacob to leave Laban’s house.  However, any attempt to leave leads to more heavy handedness and a heavier burden.  Thus the only way to deal with Laban is to walk away.  To take your family and leave.  This is what Jacob does.  Without ceremony, without permission, without blessing, he packs up his family and his household and escapes back to his home.   Some will scratch their heads, and wonder what happened.  Others will hear Laban’s lament, and join in Jacob’s condemnation. 

Even in your leaving, Laban will try to do all he can to keep his influence over you.  When Laban learned that they had gone, he chased Jacob in hopes that he might guilt him into coming back.  ALWAYS the victim, Laban accused Jacob.  The charge, “You didn’t leave the right way.” Jacob had tried to sneak out without Laban’s blessing (another way of saying permission), and the only way to make amends was for Jacob to return with him and do it the “right way”, and maybe get his blessing when and if Laban thought it appropriate.  Laban shifts blame off of himself and onto Jacob, in an attempt to make Jacob feel sorry for his decision.  Laban tries to point out that it was Jacob’s fault that he could not bless him, and could not send him off with a celebration and even help ( Gen 31:27).  However from experience, Jacob knew that those promises were empty, and designed only to trap him, and his family, again under Laban’s oppression.  Thus Jacob does the other thing that is necessary when dealing with Laban, he draws a line in the sand.  Dealing with forceful people requires you to be forceful.  You have to make it clear to Laban that you are not coming back, and that you are leaving, and that nothing he says or does is going to change that.  A clean split is the only way to escape Laban.  Allowing any ties to remain will only give him a foothold with which to exploit you.   The separation will be ugly, it always is with Laban.  He will spread falsehoods about you.  If others leave it will be because you have forced them through your lies and deceit (Gen 31:26).  There will be no reasoning with Laban.  He will never be able to see the true reason behind his children wanting to leave his house.  This is the worse part of dealing with Laban, in his eyes he is the perfect father, but in the eyes of his sons and daughters he is a manipulator that they only hope they can one day escape. 

I close with this thought.  Don’t let Laban keep you from going where God has called you to go.  Despite his heavenly father complex, Laban is not God.  He really isn’t even a father, at most he is a brother.  If God has called you, then pack up and leave, and don’t worry about blessing.  Because Laban’s blessing is but dung compared to the blessing that the Heavenly Father is able to give you.  And rest assured that He adds no sorrow to His blessing.  Remember God is your source, He is your provision, not Laban.  God may prosper you in Laban’s house, but even there it is God who prospers you.  After all the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous.  If you ever have to deal with Laban, just trust God.  He will judge both you and Laban, so know your heart and commit to do what God has instructed, and in the end you will find that you will be blessed beyond measure. (Gen 31:53)

Separation of Church and State

It has been quite a while since my last blog. While I have been busy preparing and presenting thought provoking issues, I must admit that I have not been as diligent posting them here. So what is it that brings me back to this blog with such urgency? The topic of the Separation of Church and State. With all the political talk happening around the country, I have engaged in much debate and discussion myself. And in those debates, it has been made abundantly clear that many people have believed the lie of Separation of Church and State. And not only have they believed the lie, but they have allowed their selves to be bullied and blinded to the truth of the matter. In keeping true to the nature of this blog as a Christian Resource designed to encourage growth and maturity, I feel the need to tackle this issue from that perspective. What role does religion have in the political process? And more so what role do we as people of religion have in the process?

First let us begin by realizing that our founders never ascribed to the idea that religion had no place in politics. In fact by reading our founding documents, published papers of the time, as well as the personal letters and journals of our founders’ one will quickly see that religion had a very integral part in politics. God was not only consulted, but credited with our foundation and the formation of the new political system. According to the founders it was God’s providence that led to the formation of these United States. They not only acknowledged God, but glorified God who they viewed as king, lawgiver and judge. It was this belief in God that led them to form a triune government. It was their acknowledgment that none but God should reign, that led them to separate the powers that only God should hold. Thus the divisions of our government, king (president), the lawgiver (congress) and the judge (Judicial), and in so doing no one person or group would take the position of “god”; a situation with which they had become far too familiar.

No doubt that our country’s heritage is not separate from religion, but rather immersed in it. And while that religion was primarily on the Christian religion, our founders did not seek to create a “Christian Society” but rather a “Free Society”. A society that would allow the practice of other religions side by side. They did not seek to limit religion, but to encourage it. It was for this reason that the first amendment, which is so often credited with the idea of separation of church and state, was written. The amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” It was the founders desire to limit government, and not religion. The first amendment interferes with congress’ ability to hinder the free exercise of religion. And that means all religions. Whether one would choose Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Alienism or even Atheism, the founders were intent on protecting the right of one to practice their religion free of interference from the government. Not to separate religion from government.

The founders were well aware that religion of all types would have to be integrated into politics if the country were to remain free. In fact the primary belief was that without religion, the moral fabric of the society would lead to bondage. This belief is echoed in nearly every early leader of this country. However, they also knew of the problems associated with religion. For it was their own experience when Christian rose up against Christian based on theological differences. This was the reason for a democratic republic, rather than a true democracy. Rather than giving power to the majority, elected representatives were given authority to represent the people of a particular area. So an area that was heavily represented by Christians could have Christian representatives. Those that were represented by Atheists could have Atheistic representatives. They would then carry out the will of the people through delegated authority. But again the experience of the founders, realized that this would lead to the system of nobility that was just as tyrannical as the king himself, and for that reason true power would remain in the hands of the people. And yes many if not most of those people were religious.
It is the truth that the people were religious and that many remain so, that makes this separation of church and state so absurd. Those who perpetuate the lie would have you believe that “the State” means government, but this is not so. Real power, the sovereigns, of government was retained by the people, and not the government itself. The branches of government are balanced between their selves, but all are balanced and controlled by the people. In other words the “State” is not government, but the people; people who are very much religious. Thus the State itself is religious by nature. For those that are what we might consider “devout” in their faith, their religion is central to who they are. Their beliefs, their morals, their values and even their politics are formed and effected by their religious views. Thus to think that one can or should put on and take off such a central part of who they are only adds to the vileness of this lie. One could no more remove their life experiences; their childhood, their relationships, their victories and defeats, for they are so deeply ingrained in who you are that to remove them would make you void of humanity. Our country is made up of religious people, who elect representativesThus the ability for one to separate religion from the State is an impossibility. Instead faith and religion should to be encouraged and brought to the table of discussion. All faiths are protected and given a say at the place of debate. We are even free to, and encouraged to, elect our representative based on how they will represent our social, economical, political, and religious views.

The very phrase that has been propagated and propitiated is in itself a reflection of the true intent of those that seek to perpetuate this lie. The words “church” and “state” never appear in the first amendment. But they are words that have been used for years to justify pushing God out of public life. And not every god, but specifically the Judeo-Christian God. Ultimately the goal of the campaign is to separate the church (Christianity) from the state (the people); to remove it from public life and even your private life. The desire is to get us as Christians to the place where our Christianity no longer plays a part in your personal life, but instead we buy into the multicultural universal view of the progressive agenda. And herein lays the motivation for such a plot. The progressive agenda, with its morals, vices and views fly in the face of the Christian world view. They are in direct opposition to one another. The progressives promote every aspect of self through the religion of Humanism. They preach a gospel of godlessness. And without a god there is no expectation, there is no accountability, there is no morality, therefore one may do and say as he or she pleases, thus the venomous language that flows so freely from their camp, thus the open promotion of promiscuity and immorality, and thus the ability to commit atrocious acts against children without blinking an eye.

Neither time nor space will allow for all the stomach turning examples of the progress of this agenda, so I devote the remainder of it to the purpose of speaking to the devout, and what we must do to prevent our religious freedom from being taken away. Separation of church and state is a lie. It is sleight of hand and doubletalk. The progressives have claimed that religious people violate their right, while at the same time violating the rights of the religious. The freedom from religion is not a right, only freedom of religion. And yet our right to exercise freely has been limited to the confines of our church buildings. Our right to freely proclaim the message of Christ has been limited to speaking only what is not offensive. Our right to publish faith has been limited to those places outside of the public arena. Our right to assemble in the name of religion has been limited to private gatherings. And even our right to petition for redress has fallen on apathetic ears. The only way to separate the church from the state is to separate you from your faith. We as people of faith must recognize it and fight against it. We must not allow the Humanists to bully the religious into submission. We must not allow them to separate us from our faith. The first amendment does not limit your faith, but instead protects your freedom to exercise that faith, publicly and openly. We must bring our faith out of the private confines of our churches, and bring it into the public arena. We must stop checking our religion at the door. We must begin to exercise our religious freedom, by speaking of our faith with boldness.

People of Evangelism

Luke 2:49 “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” Even from at 12 years old Jesus understood that he was here for a purpose, and that his purpose was to be about his Father’s business. And then in Luke 4:18-19, at age 30, we again see him expounding on his purpose, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Jesus was a man of purpose, and we too must be people of purpose. Like Jesus, our purpose is to be about our Father’s business

As a church and as Christians God has commissioned us to take the gospel to the world. Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
That means that we must be purposeful in our evangelism. Every one of us have within our circle of living (all the people with whom we have contact), we all have non-Christians. We have people that for whatever reason have not yet given their lives to Christ. Maybe they have rejected the invitation, but more than likely they have never been given the invitation.
Statistics show that the majority of people who don’t attend church say that they have never been invited. If we have trouble inviting people to church, then I can guarantee that we have an even harder time evangelizing them. Let’s be honest, most of the time the only people we invite to church are people we know are receptive to those invitations, (i.e. people who are already saved, or who are already attending another church.)

The word “evangelist” comes from the Greek euaggelistes (yoo-ang-ghel-is-tace) which means a preacher of the good news. Before the invention of twitter, e-mail, the world wide web, television, telephone, telegraph and even the postal service people depended on the evangelist to carry good news. For example, if the country was at war, and a battle was won, the captain would send an evangelist back to the city with the good news of victory. As an evangelist, we have been commissioned to carry the message of victory. 2000 years ago Jesus Christ won a decisive battle. As he hung on the cross he said it is finished. When he died he defeated the enemy. The bible says in Colossians 2:13-15, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Jesus defeated the enemy, he took the spoil and has paraded the enemy through the city as a sign that the people need no longer to worry or be afraid. The trouble is, not everyone has heard of the victory.
The enemy knows that he has been defeated, but he is willing to take advantage of those that are ignorant to the fact.

As the evangelist would run with the message of victory they would tell everyone. They would run through the streets, shouting the message for all to hear. As an evangelist it is your job to simply sow the word of God; we should share with everyone. We should sow the seed at home, at the store, at work, at school, while walking down the street, while riding the bus, while on vacation, everywhere we go. What they do with the message is not your concern, your only responsibility is to share it.

What happens if we fail to sow the seed? What if I just keep the good news to myself? Luk 12:16-21, “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” This man’s field brought forth much fruit, and he built bigger barns to house his fruit, but God rebuked him. He rebuked him because within his fruit was seed that should not have been stored up for him, but sown. Fruit stored up, begins to decompose, to rot, to stink, to cause infestation

Or we could consider the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The master was going away so he called to his servants and gave to each of them talents. To one five, to another two and to a third one. The first two invested their talents and gained more, and were rewarded when the master returned. The servant with one talent instead hid it and upon his master’s return presented him with the one talent. This servant had his talent removed and was cast into darkness. Some people are blessed with great revelation, and then there are some who only know one thing: That Jesus died for their sins. If you can’t invest that one thing into the life of another, if you can’t teach someone else that Jesus died for their sins, then based on this parable, the thing that you value, can and will be taken away. The message must be shared.

And let me take a moment to remind you that the message you are sharing is one of Good News. When I was in college there was a man who would preach in the middle of campus.
I have no doubt that his intentions were well intended, and it was his desire to evangelize
But his message was anything but good news. His entire message was about how God hated the homosexual. How god hated the drunkard. How god hated everyone that didn’t go to church.
I can honestly say that in the four years of listening to this man preach; almost weekly, I never saw one person come to Christ. Instead I saw lost people walk away, with a bitter taste in their mouth concerning God, Christians and the church. The heart of an evangelist is one of compassion, not condemnation.

When you function in the role of evangelist, you must remember that your ministry is focused on the lost; the non-Christian. That means that more than likely they are not going to live like you do. They may not be model citizens. They may be drunkards, prostitutes, or drug addicts. They may curse, they may be offensive. We must have compassion for them. Look at how Jesus dealt with the sinner. To the adulteress he stooped to her level, and refused to condemn her. To the tax collector he ate in his home. To the leaper he reached out. To the hungry he offered food. To the murderer he offered forgiveness. How far have we come when we see the adulteress and we talk about her. We see the tax collector and we shun him. We see the leaper and we avoid him. We see the hungry and we walk by. We see the accused and sentence them. How much more effective would we be if instead of waving signs of intimidation and hate in the faces of the homosexual, we decided to cross the line and offer them a hand of friendship and share with them out of a heart of love the truth of God’s love for them? What if instead of gossiping about the girl that just got pregnant, we reached out to help her?

What if instead of trying to keep hell out of our church, we took the church into hell? This is what Jesus meant when he said He would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail. It means that hell will not be able to stop us from entering in and conquering the land. But instead of conquering, we have resorted to barring the church doors and doing all we can to keep the sinner out. Don’t let them in they might infect the whole church. Jesus said, I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinner to repentance. He said it is the sick that need a doctor, not those that are well. As Christians we have the medicine, we have the cure, and his name is Jesus. We want people to taste and see that the lord is good, not make it so bitter that no one is willing to take it.

The evangelist would share the message with everyone along the way, however his ultimate destination was to arrive at the throne room of the king. He was the one who the ultimately wanted to hear of the victory in the battle. So too it is with us. Our ultimate destination is to arrive at the side of our king, The Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who ultimately wants to hear of the victory. Thus we are to share the message from now until we reach that place, which ultimately means until we enter into eternity. We never cease being the evangelist. And upon entering the throne room of the king, the evangelist would receive his reward. The whole reason he was willing to carry the message was for this moment, when his job had been completed, the king himself would bestow upon him treasure. Likewise, when we finish our course, when we fight the good fight and keep the faith, and we stand before him as those who have carried the message, we will bow before him with the news of our victory, and he will place upon our brow, a crown of righteousness.

The Art of Spiritual War

In this time of spiritual warfare, I though it profitable to read the authoritative work on warfare, “The Art of War” by SunTzu. While I realize that this book is about physical war, I have found that much of it can be applied to the Spiritual Battles we all face each and every day.

According to Sun Tzu the art of war is governed by five constant factors: Moral Law, Heaven, Earth, The Commander, Method and Disipline

The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless o their lives, undismayed by any danger. For the Spiritual battle, God holds the moral law. It is to him that we must be dedicated. We must be in complete accordance with Him and His Word (the Bible). We must be so dedicated that we are undismayed by any danger that may befall us due to our willingness to fight for Him. We must stand when others will not, even if it costs us our reputation, our position, or even our life. We must be willing to charge through the gates of Hell in order to set free those that have been taken captive. To do this we must heed his voice as He gives direction, realizing that any hesitation on our part could lead to failure on the battlefield. When the call is sounded we must follow Him with unquestioned obedience, with no thought of self.

Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. In other words it represents the external conditions that must be considered in battle. Realize that there are times and seasons when conditions are right for attack and when they are not. Knowing these conditions is helpful when deciding when to attack or when to expect an attack from the enemy. The enemy knows when you are tired, when you are weary, when you are spiritually hot or cold. He knows that you are more susceptible to his devices when you are alone at night, or after a fight with your spouse. He knows when you struggle spiritually, and we too must be aware of these times and seasons in order to foresee the coming attack. Victory goes to the one who is able to discern the times.

The Earth comprises distance, great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death. Knowing your terrain will determine your chances of victory or defeat. Recognizing when you are in range of the enemy, or knowing the place he may hide in ambush is important in avoiding a conflict with the enemy. A fight leads to casualties and loss of supplies, so avoiding a frontal attack is wise. If you know that the enemy attacks you when you are around certain people, stay away. If you know that he uses the internet to trap you, stay away. If you know that he uses that person at work to tempt you, stay away. Know the lay of the land and plan accordingly. Avoiding these areas will lead to victory.

The Commander stands for virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. You are the commander, and must there for operate in wisdom. Getting council from those that you trust and seeking God’s council will aid in this wisdom. You must operate with sincerity or honesty. Love, courage and self discipline are also required. Failure in any of these areas will cause us to lose the control of our lives. Failure to be wise makes us easy targets for the deception of the enemy, causing us to march headlong into his trap. A lack of honesyt will lead to a life of lies causing us to lose sight of who we really are. Love; a willingness to put others before our selves is what keeps us humble, and allows us to lead properly. A loss of love leads us to use others as shields or steps to protect or promote our selves. Without courage we retreat to the back to allow others to lead our battle, or worse we surrender to the devices of the enemy, and quit serving God. And without self discipline we fall into a mindset that desires to win the fight, but is unable to do the fighting.

Lastly is the method and discipline. These are to be understood at the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank amoung the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army and the control of military expenditure. As Christians we must understand where we fit in the army, and be faithful to be in that place at the expected time. We must recognize the authority of those over us and follow their lead. We must maintain our relationship with Christ through routine fasting, prayer, and study. During an attack is not the time to realize you have not maintained your roads. This means we must make good use of our time and resources. We must be about our father’s business at all times. Attack is imminent, and we must be prepared.

Sun Tzu says, “These five heads must be familiar to every general; he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.” Let him who has ears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying.

What Part are You?

In 1 Corinthians 12:14-27 Paul speaks of four members of the body; the foot, the hand, the ear and the eye. He relates these to the different members of the church, and draws out the fact that all members are needed for the Body of Christ to function.

In the Body of Christ some people are feet people. These are the people who move the church. They get us from point A to point B. They are the ones with the workhorse mentality that says no matter what we are going to get us where we need to go. They are the ones who are not afraid to get dirty to accomplish the task. It doesn’t matter if it is muddy, dusty, dirty or rocky they are determined that they are going to get the body to its destination. They may get hot, they may get sweaty, they may even get stinky, but they will do what needs to be done to get the church to where it needs to be.

Then there are hand people. They don’t like to get as dirty as feet people
They are more touchy feely people. They are the friendly and inviting. They are often more approachable than feet people;(That’s why we shake hands and not feet). They may not take you where you need to go, but they help you have fun on the way. They allow you to play the game,or hold the burger. They like to give pats on the back because they are encouragers. TThey make the trip enjoyable, more so than stinky feet people

Then you have the ear people. They are the listeners. They may not get involved directly, they just kind of hang out on the side. They are often compassionate, and caring. They want everything to be in harmony. Anything out of tune hurts them. They are the ones who always have an ear out for someone in trouble. They desire unity in the body.

Then there are the eye people. These people are detail oriented. They are the visionaries. These are the ones who see which way the body needs to go. They are planners. They are calculating. They are discerning
Unfortunately they can get tunnel vision, and get so focused on the plan that they forget to start the work.

Realizing that people are different, Paul points out that we can‘t function without all the parts. We can’t have a church full of feet people any more than we can have a church full of hand people.

Can you imagine a church that is only focused on the goal. All they care about is getting to the destination. And as a result they walk all over people to get there. They get to the goal and say, "We did it! We trampled everyone in the process, but we made it!" That isn’t God’s church
Or if everyone was a hand person. Where it's the friendliest church in the world, but we never go anywhere. We have fun, but we never make it to the destination. We haven’t accomplished anything, but we sure are having fun. The same with ear people, who would only be concerned with pleasing everyone else. Eye people who were so focused on vision and plans that they never accomplished the plan.

As a body, we need all parts working together. We need eye people that can see and plan. We need feet people that can walk out the plan. We need hand people that can make the journey fun. And we need ear people to keep us in harmony. That is the picture of God's church. A body tempered together into one unit capable of accomplishing great things for His kingdom.

Listen to the full message on the Media page: "The Body of Christ".

Perpetuating the Need to Rescue A Generation part 2

In my previous blog I spoke about how we may be perpetuating the need to rescue a generation, by focusing so much of our time, energy, and resources on rescuing teens from the pit. I also asked the question if it would benefit more if we focused on keeping them from falling into the pit to begin with. We do this by focusing more attention on them as children. In this blog I want to turn the spotlight of criticism on my own ministry to children, and ask the question are we as children’s ministers perpetuating the teen problem?

Research has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that children are most receptive to the gospel. 80% of all first time conversions occur before age 12 compared to the 6% of adults. But we also realize that 75% of those children will leave the church as teens. Why is it that so many people give their heart to God as children, but then walk away as teens ? I propose that we in children’s ministry do a great job of introducing children to Christ, but we do a poor job of bringing children to maturity in their relationship with Christ. We are experts at telling the stories, but novices at explaining the lesson behind the story. We are masters of fun, but amateurs of application. An examination of most children’s ministries in America, whether in small rural towns or in major metropolitan cities, will reveal this common bond.
It is this deficiency in our ministry that is contributing to the need to rescue a generation.

This need to rescue a generation is also being perpetuated by conditioning that children are receiving in children’s ministries. Some children are being conditioned to believe church is boring. This conditioning is typically accomplished in ministries that are behind the times. In a world where kids are inundated by technology they are very sight and sound oriented. Television, video games, internet and media of all sorts are fast paced, energetic and instantaneous. So when a child of today enters a classroom with very little stimulation they are bored. When they ask them to sit and read a piece of paper they are bored. And when we pull out the flannel graph, they are really bored. As a result they are conditioned to think church is boring. This conditioning leads them to continue to view church as boring as teens and even adults. And because there is no relationship with Christ to ground them, when they are able to escape the boredom they do.

Some churches have realized the truth of this boredom factor, and have gone to great efforts to prevent it by making every service fun, exciting, energetic and stimulating. Loud music, bright colors, singing, dancing, games, prizes, televisions all come together to create a theme park atmosphere that kids are more than happy to come to week after week. But by time they move on to teen ministry they have been conditioned to think that church is all about fun, games, and excitement. So when they are faced with real challenges, and the real expectations of Christian life it is culture shock. It is like a bait and switch scheme where we have conditioned them to think, “Church is supposed to be fun and games and videos and entertainment; it’s supposed to be about making me feel good. “ However on their thirteenth birthday we pulled a switch and now we want them to change who they are friends with, who they date, what they watch, where they go, what they read, how they spend their time. This is not what they are used to. This isn’t what church is supposed to be like. And as a result they are overwhelmed, they walk away, and they fall into the pit.

“But we are planting seeds!” is the excuse of most children’s ministries that function like this. It is as if it has become expected that children will walk away. We are planting seeds so that while they are in the pit someone else might be able to water them and nurture them enough to give them a foothold out. Now if that happens, great, but shouldn’t we instead plant the seeds, water the seeds, tend the fields, and nurture growth while they are still children? Shouldn’t we want to help them grow now? Shouldn’t we want them to have fruit now, so that they can taste and see that the Lord is good? Shouldn’t we want them to be firmly established in their relationship with God now, so that they never have to be pulled from the pit? If the answer is yes, then we are going to have to start evaluating our ministry to children, and ask ourselves the tough question, “Are we producing Christians that go into the world, or are we producing worldly kids that go to church?”

Are we producing children who are like Christ? Do they understand who they are? Do they understand who ‘s they are? Do they understand their purpose? Are they equipped to fulfill that purpose? If a child is going to stay out of the pit, then they are going to have to be prepared before they reach the edge of the pit. We must train them to watch for the pit. We must teach them how to avoid the pit. We have to show them that they have power over the pit. To do this we must start looking at children as being able to achieve this maturity. We can’t just get them saved, we must disciple them. This means that we must start conditioning them to live for Christ. We must point them to the Word (not just the stories, but the principles). We must instill in them the expectations and responsibilities of being a Christian. We must correct wrong thinking and wrong behavior. We must teach them accountability. We must teach them what it means to carry your cross. We must teach them the whole truth. It is only as we do this, with a balance of fun and substance, that we will begin to see the teen crisis turn around.

Perpetuating the Need to Rescue a Generation

Without a doubt, the youth of this world are in great need. They face pressures and temptations that are unprecedented. They are not only bombarded by their peers, but by adults that are in places of authority over them. God has been pushed out of their world view and replaced with secular humanism, atheism, and counter culture. This has lead to teens turning to alcohol, drugs, sex, depression, cutting and suicide. And for this reason they are in fact in need of rescue. It is this need that has lead to such an emphasis on "youth ministry". We invest time, energy and resources on rescuing teens. However, our focus on rescuing teens is perpetuating the crisis.

In crisis, decisions must be made that will benefit the greatest number. On September 11th, 2001 such a system was used. As rescuers made their way through the rubble they found people who were near death, their injuries and condition statistically pointed towards poor chances of survival. The rescuers had to make the decision to leave that person, and attempt to find those who had greater chances of survival. Failure to make that decision would have lead to even more casualties, as time and effort and resources were used to rescue the one, while others who may have made it were not reached in time, grew worse and eventually died as well. We are in the midst of a mass casualty crisis, and triage must be implemented. We must start investing in an area that will save the most people.

All the research shows that the greatest impact in a person's life occurs before they are 13. A person learns more in the first five years of life than they will the rest of their life. Personalities are developed in childhood. Social skills are developed in childhood. Moral foundations are set during childhood. 87% of first time conversions occur in those under 13. Of those in ministry, the majority say they knew they were called as children. Statistically children have a better chance of spiritual survival than teens or even adults, yet we spend all of our efforts, energy and resources on trying to rescue those with grim chances, and while we do the children of today are growing worse and dying spiritually. The church has developed tunnel vision on rescuing teens, and while I don't diminish the need, we must broaden our vision, to not only rescue them, but prevent the next generation of teens from also needing rescued.
We can't stand around the pit focusing our efforts on pulling people out, at some point we must turn our attention on keeping them from falling in the pit.

The children of today are the teens of tomorrow, and we need to focus on them just as much if not more, than the teens of today. We must invest just as much of our time, energy and resources to developing them into mature believers with a firm foundation of faith, before they become teens.
This means that we have to take our efforts off of rescue, and put them into prevention. We have to take of our resources away from getting them out, and put them towards keeping them from falling in. What if the money invested in teens was placed into children? What if churches looked for children’s pastors the same way they did youth pastors? What if ministers spoke with the same passion to children as they did teens? What if instead of reading Bible stories, children learned that they had purpose and a calling? What if instead of entertaining them, we challenged them? What if children were placed front and center rather than in the back corner? What if nurseries were more than just places for babysitting?

This does not mean that we forget about the teens in crisis, we will still rescue them, if we can. However we must deal with this crisis in a way that does the most good for the most people. Most churches have more children than teens within their congregations. If we would invest more in the children, then we would find less people in the pit; the crisis would be averted. As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” If we will invest in raising up the children of today we will save the teens of tomorrow, and end the perpetual need to rescuse a generation.

Elijah: Spiritual Father or Dead Beat Dad?

Many have focused on the relationship between Elijah and Elisha when speaking about father/son relationships. The fact that Elisha refused to leave Elijah’s side, and that he cried out, “My Father, My Father” when Elijah was taken into heaven by the whirlwind, have caused many to focus on the sonship of Elisha. His willingness to serve as a son gained him the double portion anointing. However very few people, if any, focus on Elijah’s fatherhood.

We know that Elisha served Elijah for several years, even though the Bible only makes a brief mention of them together. In 1 Kings 19 we see Elijah casting his mantle upon Elisha. However we do not hear any more of them together until 2 Kings 2 when we see them just prior to Elijah being taken in the whirlwind. Elijah alone is mentioned in 1 Kings 21 and in 2 Kings 1, but Elisha is not mentioned with him. We assume from scripture telling us that Elisha ministered to Elijah, and the description of Elisha as the man who poured water on the hands of Elijah, that they were together constantly. I mention it only to point out the scriptural pattern of the servant, though present being left out of the narrative. This is important when looking at Elijah’s fatherhood.

At the end of his time on Earth we read about the interaction between Elijah and Elisha. We see in 2 Kings 2 that three times Elijah tries to get Elisha to stay behind while he went ahead, and three times Elisha refused. It was after they crossed the Jordan that Elijah finally makes the statement to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.” We know that the request Elisha made was for the double portion. The thought that causes me to ask the question about Elijah’s fatherhood comes from his reply to the request. He says, “Thou hast asked a hard thing:” The word translated “hard” also means grievous, cruel, hurtful, and stiff necked. It is almost as if Elijah despises the request; feeling that such a request is hurtful and cruel; causing him to grieve. After all such a request could only be made by a stiff necked individual. Perhaps Elijah thought, “I thought you stayed with me because you cared, but now I see you had ulterior motives.” This then begs the question, why would Elijah be upset by such a request? Especially when in reality of the picture of father/son relationships that so many preach from this passage, Elisha shouldn’t have had to ask. He should have already been entitled to the double portion. Knowing his time was coming, Elijah should have offered it, laid his hands on him and blessed him, as fathers had done for centuries. But Elijah did not do this.

The question then becomes, Why? I believe it is because while Elisha saw Elijah as a father, Elijah never saw Elisha as a son. To him, Elisha was only a servant. As a result he felt no obligation to him, he felt no tie to him. For Elijah, he was just there to do his bidding and help his ministry. Elisha was to fix his meals and pour water on his hands. And when Elijah was ready to move on, he would simply abandon his servant. This was Elijah’s pattern. Few people focus on the fact that Elisha was not his first servant. 1 Kings 18:43-44 we learn that Elijah had another “servant”. While on Mount Carmel, Elijah sends his servant to look for the rain cloud. He then sends his servant with a message for Ahab. Until this point there has been no mention of this servant. How long had he been with the prophet? We do not know, because as I mentioned earlier, often the servant was left out of the narrative. It is possible that the servant was with Elijah when he made his first recorded proclamation that it would not rain in 1 Kings 17? What about when he fled to Cherith to be fed by Ravens? Was the servant with him when he asked the widow woman for a cake, or when he stretched himself over her dead son? Was he with him when Elijah stood before Ahab? How many years did this servant serve Elijah? And what did he give up? Did he leave his family, his business, his land, his inheritance? Truthfully we don’t know. But what we do know is that when Elijah was ready to move on, he abandoned this servant ( 1 Kings 19:3).

Elijah was without doubt a man of God, but his role as spiritual father is questionable. He had no desire to be a father, which is probably why he never married and never had children. Elijah was concerned about one thing and one thing only, and that was his thing. He treated those that ministered to him as servants, not sons. Their relationship was a servant/master relationship. He used those who served him to support his ministry, with no intent or thought of investing back into them. A father does not use his sons to build his kingdom, but rather builds his kingdom so that he can bless his sons. A true father/son relationship is one where a father with all that is in him desires to bestow blessing on his sons. In a true father/son relationship, a son need not ask, or beg, for a blessing, because the father, knowing the son’s heart, has offered it freely.

Theoretical Leadership

Many people speak about things, based on theory. There is the theory of evolution, musical theory, string theory, game theory and type theory. All of these deal with the way things “Should” work, or might work, however all of them run into concerns or roadblocks when it comes to looking at them in the “real world”. In other words when examined outside of the realm of theory, they have trouble standing the test. The same is true for those who practice theoretical leadership. They know how things should work, but when you examine them in the real world, you see that they don’t stand the test.

A theoretical leader is one who has a desire to be a leader, and as a result reads books on leadership, attends seminars on leadership, listens to tapes on leadership, and reads articles on leadership. As a result they know a lot about leadership; how a leader should act, and speak, and lead. However, when you examine their leadership, you realize that it is all theory. What they have heard and read is not lived out in their leadership. They may get on an occasional kick to do something. For instance they read a book that talks about the importance of “Team Building”, and they will get on a team building kick, where getting the team together to share in experiences together is important. They plan retreats and meetings and team building opportunities. But in time, it is no longer as important, and months or years go by without any consideration of team building. But by that time they have read a new book or attended a new conference that told them that a leader must separate himself from the group to maintain respect, and so now they are reclusive. No matter what the newest kick is, in a theoretical leader they are never enduring. The lessons heard, and the lessons read never become lessons learned. The lessons never get internalized; they never become a part of the leader’s core values and leadership philosophy.

Those who lead in theory are difficult to spot. They are so full of leadership principles, ideas and clichés that they can easily hold their own in a theoretical debate. They have the information necessary to converse with the greatest leaders. What they lack is the transformation necessary to walk with them. I knew a kid in college who was a wiz at physics. With a piece of papers and a scientific calculator he could figure out anything physics. He could tell you the force and trajectory required to throw a fifty yard pass. He could tell you how to make a free throw. He could tell you the spin needed to cause a tennis ball to bounce left after a serve. However he couldn’t do any of them. His small stature and less than developed musculature did not permit him to perform all that he knew to do. The same is true for a theoretical leader. They may know all the ins and outs of leadership. They may know all that you are supposed to do. They may even be able to tell others how to do it. But their own underdevelopment as a leader leaves them unable to do what they know to do.

This underdevelopment comes from the failure to internalize the lessons. They read the book, write it in their journal and then teach it to the masses. They never allow it to infect their own mind and heart. They never integrate it into who they are. As they read or as they listen, a phrase or an idea catches their attention, and they make note of it, but instead of meditating on it, and absorbing it, and learning it, and committing to do it, they simply resolve to wait for the next phrase or idea to be presented. They may go back and commit the things written to memory, but it never makes it to their heart. The idea remains theory, rather than becoming reality.

This underdevelopment leads to deceptiveness. The theoretical leader wants to be recognized as a leader, but also knows of the truth behind their leadership. So they cloak their selves behind their leadership rhetoric, and ability to draw from their vast amount of leadership theory, allows them to pretend that they have a firm grasp on the practice of leadership. This can also lead to manipulation by the theoretical leader, as they use their theoretical knowledge of leadership to make others feel small and inadequate. Confrontation is also a byproduct, as the theoretical leader seeks to put away anyone who may blow their cover. Anyone who questions, or points out the inconsistency becomes a target for ridicule and attack. A theoretical leader is all too aware of the fragileness of their masquerade.

How can you determine if you are a theoretical leader? First ask yourself the question, “Am I a leader?” Are you leading others? If so, then do you practice what you teach? Do you say things like, “If I were doing it I would do it like this.” Or can you say, “When I do it, I do it like this.”? When you teach others about serving, do you serve the way you tell them to serve? When you teach about giving, do you give the way you tell them to give? When you teach about communication, do you communicate the way you tell them to communicate? You can then ask, “Do I do it consistently?” Is it something that you have think about, or make yourself do, or is it something that is so ingrained in you that you do it without thinking? Do you lead through manipulation? Do you see trash on the floor and think to yourself, “I ought to pick that up to show others that they should pick up trash.” Or do you just pick it up? Is your motive to build others for the kingdom, or to build others so they can build you? Can you receive criticism from those you lead? In theory every leader would say, “Yes”, but what about in reality? How did you respond the last time someone pointed out an inconsistency in your leadership? Did you win them over, or did you run them through?

The cure for theoretical leadership is a simple one, in theory. All you have to do is take the time to learn the lesson first; internalize it. Make it yours before you attempt to teach it to others. Integrate it into your leadership principles. When you do you will find that you consistently perform the lessons you learn in your leadership. You remove the mask from your leadership, which removes the need for manipulation and confrontation with those that are following. In reality this is a process that takes time. And the more theory you have, the longer it takes. That is because the process is one of applying what you know. It is one of meditating, accepting, learning, strategizing and implementing all the lessons that would otherwise be pure theory.

The Single Portion Anointing

Much has been said and written and preached about the double portion anointing. Much of it is good and accurate, however I believe it has led to a erroneous mindset within the kingdom of God. In 2 Kings 2: 7-15 we read about the double portion anointing.

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

Here we see that Elisha requested that he receive a double portion of the anointing that was on Elijah, and we also see that he received it. However, what does that mean? Often times we think of the double portion as Elisha having twice as much anointing as Elijah; two times more power. However is this accurate?

To understand this concept of double portion we must first realize that it is a concept born from the tribal system of inheritance. When a father, having more than one child (especially male children), was ready to divide to those children his possessions as an inheritance to them, he would divide it in this manner. If he had two children, the possessions would be divided into three. If he had five children, the possessions would be divided into six. If he had twelve children, the possessions would be divided into thirteen. The reason for this is because the firstborn son was to receive twice as much as the others. He would receive two portions, and everyone else would receive a one portion. He did not receive twice as much as the father had, only twice as much as his brothers and sisters. Nonetheless, the brothers and sisters did receive a single portion. They were not left without. They were not neglected. They were given an inheritance.

So I ask, “What about the single portion anointing?” In 2 Kings 2 we see that after Elisha picks up the mantle and strikes the water, that the “sons of the prophets” recognized the spirit of Elijah resting on Elisha. But they failed to recognize the spirit of Elijah that rested on them. Instead of operating in their single portion anointing, they bowed down to Elisha.

I see this as a picture of today’s church. We have so focused on those that have received a double portion, that we fail to acknowledge what we have received. We fail to realize that we too have an anointing, we too have power, we too have the Spirit of God resting on our lives. And instead of operating in that anointing, we instead bow down to others. We watch in awe at the preachers and ministers. We run from prayer line to prayer line trying to get deliverance from the one with the double portion. Do we not realize that the same Spirit rests on us? When Jesus spoke in John 14:12, he did not say that those with the double portion would do greater works. Paul did not say in 1 Corinthians 12 that the diversities of gifts were dependant on your portion of anointing. Instead he pointed out that is was by the “Same Spirit”. A single portion anointing does not mean you are inferior. It does not make you an also ran. It is confirmation of your status as a child within the family.

The fact that Elisha did twice as many miracles had nothing to do with his double portion, but rather what he chose to do with his portion. Elisha invested the anointing he had; he put it to use, and by doing so he increased his anointing. The others who failed to recognize their anointing did little if anything. In the parable of the talents Jesus speaks on this principle. It doesn’t matter if you receive five, two or only one the expectation is that you will invest it and gain more. The reward or punishment did not come because of what they were given, but because of what was done with what they were given.

Are you a child of God? Are you a Christian? If the answer is yes then you have been given an inheritance. The same Spirit that abode in Christ now abides in you. It may only be a single portion, but it is an anointing none the less. God who gave it to you, now expects you to increase that anointing by investing it into the service of the kingdom, so that you will have an inheritance to leave to your sons and daughters.