What is God doing in 2015?

What is God doing in 2015?

My friend David Fredrickson wrote a blog on this topic recently but I felt like throwing in my

two cents.  Like him, I’m seeing tons of posts and articles from various “prophets” predicting what God is doing this year.  They all pretty much fall into one of three categories: 1. Those who say bad things are coming.  2. Those who say wealth and wonderful things are coming.  3. Those who say bad things are coming to the world but wealth and wonderful things are coming to believers.  So here is my in-depth look at what God is doing in 2015.

 

What is God doing in the government: I don’t know.

What is God doing in the economy: I don’t know. 

What is God doing in Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and Israel:  I don’t know.  

What about A.I.D.S, Ebola, ISIS, terrorism, etc.? I don’t know.

What is God doing in the church?  I think I actually have some insight on this one.

 

I see Him doing three things in this season in the church and always. 

 

First, He is awakening us to His love.  Yes, we all know God loves us…mentally.  We’re supposed to believe that.  It’s Christianity 101.  But the fact is many, many believers don’t truly believe that.  His love has been mixed with obligation and a whole lot of nonsense that is anything but Him.  Love has been treated as merely one of many attributes God has rather than being His defining characteristic. God is opening the eyes of the church to just how much He loves each one of us.  As people are beginning to see that He is indeed an affectionate and loving Father their entire lives are changing.  They’re reading their Bibles differently, praying differently, and living differently.  Many of the beliefs they clung to for years are falling by the wayside as they’ve proven not to line up with what they now understand about their Father’s heart.  For the first time, many are truly enjoying their relationship with their heavenly Father as they are discovering that He is indeed their Abba.

 

Second, the church is discovering the liberty we have in Christ.  This is directly linked to the growing revelation of our Father’s love.  As the many in the Body of Christ are growing in His love they are realizing that much of their activities were rooted in trying make themselves worthy of His love, trying to make Him happy, trying to please Him, and/or trying to remove their guilt.  They were attempting to make themselves feel better about themselves by following rules to gain approval or perform well to be “more spiritual” or “better” than others.  It was all based on being “in” or “out.”  Lines were constantly drawn to determine who’s “in” and who’s “out.”  It was all shame based. 

 

But as the Body of Christ has been discovering how loved they are by their Father their shame has been disappearing and along with it all the drivenness that accompanied their attempts to deal with it.  The need to perform for approval has been fading as they’ve been discovering they’re already accepted by their Father.  The sense of having to add to themselves something that is lacking has been diminishing as many in the body of Christ have been finding they are already complete in Christ.  The church is discovering they’ve been trying to earn points with somebody who is not keeping score.  As believers are growing in the love of their Father they’re also discovering that He doesn’t place burdens on people, rather He removes them.   

 

The bottom line is the truth is setting the church free.  Jesus is the Truth.  And as people are seeing who He is all the religious additions are falling off.  They are discovering they are free indeed and no longer obligated to perform or do anything to prove they are His followers.  The proof is their lives not in religious activities. This is a big reason why many congregations are finding their numbers dwindling.  This is a mark of what God is doing, not Satan.  This doesn’t mean belonging to a congregation is wrong.  To say so would mean the church doesn’t have liberty.  But that’s the point.  Jesus is freeing His people to live in His life and joy.  If attending a congregation builds you up and helps you live in His life and joy, then more power to you!  It’s just for many it does not.  In this season they are discovering they’re free to abandon that which they don’t find life giving.  Many in the church are discovering a new freedom they have never known before.   

 

Third, the church is learning how to love one another.  This builds on the foundation of knowing Father’s love for us and living in His liberty.  As we are growing in His love we can’t help but reflect Him and love others.  And because believers are growing in His liberty they are able to truly love others, free from agendas with hearts to lift their burdens.  The body of Christ is learning the true meaning of words like friendship and family.  Through liberty the expectations we used to place on one another are being removed so we can accept one another as we are, function as we were built to function, and truly be family. It is here where the world will be changed.  As we love one another the world will see we are His and be drawn to Him. 

 

This is what I see Father doing in 2015 and beyond.  For some of those who haven’t yet come to understand the Father’s heart, this season is quite disconcerting.  They’ll continue to throw around words like “heresy” and accuse those who are living in Father’s love of “following the empty philosophies of men.”  But that’s to be expected.  And for those with vested interest in man-made kingdoms this season will be particularly problematic, not because God is “out to get them” but because they’re “kicking against the goads.”  It’s a tough place to live.  Having been there, I actually feel for them.  He’s building His church.  Jesus’ work never goes forth without resistance.  But I think this is such an awesome time to be alive!  The church is finally coming back to what really matters – Him and one another. 

Community

A new episode of Untangled is up! We were created for community. We have within us a God-given desire to connect with others. Many have found that Sunday Morning services don't meet that need. What is genuine community? How do we find it? These are some of the things David and Loren discuss in this podcast.

Done with Church

There is an article titled “The Rise of the 'Done with Church' Population” that has been sweeping across Internet. The writer simply discusses the increasing trend of people who were highly active in church, including leaders, that are exiting and not coming back. Of course, this subject matter is nothing new to me, having tackled it in the four part video series I co-produced with my friends David Fredrickson and Bob Humphrey titled Church Outside the Walls. I can't believe it's been eight years now since we produced the final video in that series and the topic is still completely relevant. In fact, it seems there has been a sudden resurgence of interest in this subject recently. I'd like to put in my two cents about the article. 

 

First of all, let me say, it is well written. I appreciate the author bringing up the subject because I think it's an important one. One thing I really don't like is the author's use of the word “church.” But he is not alone in his usage of the word. When the Bible speaks of church it speaks of those who are called out of this world to follow Christ, period. So how can one be “done with church” unless one is done with Christ? But today, for many, church is a building where one goes to attend meetings. Attending those meeting and being involved in activities held in those locations is viewed by many as being a requirement for those who follow Christ. This concept was completely foreign to the writers of the New Testament, but sadly it is the widely accepted definition of church in our culture today. 

 

My family and I are some of those who could be classified as those who are “done with church.” But I can't tell you how much I hate that phrase. It completely misrepresents the reality in which we live. We are actually not done with church, but chose to embrace it. We stopped attending because we wanted Jesus plus nothing. We grew so frustrated and tired of all the added baggage. 2 Corinthians 11:3 became so real to us. “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (NASB, emphasis added.) We wanted to be able to build genuine relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ but found it was such a challenge to do so with all the meetings and agendas. Most of the things done in those settings became distractions from loving Christ and one another, rather than motivators. We actually left not because we were done with church but because we hungered for the reality of church! 

 

We discovered that you don't find the reality of church by trying to come up with the best way to do church. Rather, we experience the reality of church by growing in relationship with Father and loving others. As we do so, we discover the reality of church springing up all around us. Church is not a program or organization but something we are. You don't need any man-made structures or add-ons to make you more of what you already are. We just need Jesus and some people to love. We truly believe Jesus meant what He said when He stated, “I will build my church.” And we believe His lifestyle while He walked among us showed us everything we need to know about being the church. (How many organizations did Jesus start? How did He live daily?)

 

The writer of the article made this statement:

 

For the church, the phenomenon sets up a growing danger. The very people on whom the church relies for lay leadership, service and financial support are going away. And the problem is compounded by the fact younger people in the next generation, the Millennials, are not lining up to refill the empty pews.  

 

It is so strange that the writer refers to this trend as a “growing danger.” Danger to what? The church of Jesus Christ? So Jesus didn't mean what He said when He stated that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church? The writer sounds as if he thinks Jesus stopped building His church and left it in the hands of humans. Could it be that what is being referred to is not the church Jesus is building but man's? I find it interesting that this statement alone contains the very reasons for which people are leaving. First of all, notice that the writer states that the people who are leaving are those who were relied on for “lay leadership, service, and financial support.” In other words, they were resources to be used to keep the machinery going. Is that really the way God views us? Do we have a loving Father who desires relationship with us or do we serve a user of people who views us as cogs needed to keep organizations running smoothly? Is our purpose to serve organizations or to love and be loved? 

 

Also, the writer uses a phrase that is poison to me and my family, as well as many other who have left; “lay leadership.” I can't tell you how much I despise the word “layman.” Why not just call us “second class citizens?” That phrase is in direct opposition to the priesthood of all believers that is our God-given place clearly taught in the New Testament. That disgusting word strips us of our identity in Christ. It's usage reveals that there are humans who are better and superior to others in the body of Christ. It reveals a belief that there are those who are truly spiritual and those who are just kind of spiritual. I would rather be in a bar full of drunks where I can function in my priestly role of connecting people to God than be in an environment where I am denied my God-given function. Hierarchies and ranks in the body of Christ are a big reason why people like me have left. I venture to say the only danger that exists in people leaving is to those who have vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

 

The writer goes on to state that it would be “better for churches to focus on not losing people in the first place.” But there is a problem with that mindset. What if God is leading them out the door? Isn't it kind of a bold assumption to think that people are supposed to remain in that environment? That it's a requirement? Do seasons never change? If God is the One leading them out are you going to position yourself between Him and them? Is there some kind of secret code you're supposed to crack to keep people hanging around? And don't you find it the least bit strange that when they stop attending your services you view them as gone? Think hard about that one. When I grew up and moved out of my parents' house they didn't by any means view my relationship with them as being done. When friends of mine moved to other locations my relationship with them didn't end. So, why is it when somebody stops attending your services you view the relationship as done? This reveals something very ugly. There really was no genuine relationship. The relationship was entirely based on expectations. You were in relationship as long as they did what you wanted them to be doing. When they stopped, so did the relationship. Guess what? That's not love. I don't care how many times you say in your service “We're family!” the reality is you're not. That's not how families function. And did it ever occur to you that the very reason they walked out that door was they sensed this? Something deep within them was telling them they were living in a fake environment where words like “love,” “family,” and “relationship,” are tossed around but not lived. 

 

Let me say bluntly, I do not believe people who are done with “church” are better than those who still attend. I also don't believe there aren't godly people who are desperately in love with Jesus in those environments. But why not just call a spade a spade? For those who choose to belong to these organizations, it's nothing more than a matter of preference. Please don't take this wrong way, but in truth, these are just Christian clubs. There is no sin in being a part of one. But it's a matter of choice. And don't confuse them as being the body of Christ. Yes, the Body of Christ may be present, but the reality of the church extends far beyond those four walls.

 

Also, we have been praying for years for revival. We've even made statements like, “Do whatever it takes Lord!” Do we think God has been ignoring us? Could it be that revival is happening but it looks nothing like we expected and God is doing whatever it takes, including tearing down many of our man-made systems? 

 

Speaking to believers all across this country, I've found that many, many, of them are finding their relationship with Christ and love for one another is indeed being revived. We can either embrace what God is doing in this season or we can stand in opposition to Him. But make know mistake about it, He is building His church. He never stopped.

Loren Rosser 

Avoding Blindness

 A new episode of Untangled is up. You can hear preachers of very religious groups talk about how "unreligious" they are. Other people will talk about how loving they are while they live in callousness, pride, and arrogance. These people are spiritually blind. They can't see their own condition yet they love to go around pointing out the flaws in others. How do we avoid falling into this trap? This is what Loren and David discuss in this podcast.