Sunday, 13 December 2015

CHURCHIANITY: The New Religion of Corporate Idolatry


There is a new and dangerous religion sweeping through the "mainstream" Christian community. It has many names but perhaps the most descriptive and accurate is "Churchianity". It is dangerous because to the unwary it looks so deceptively and seductively similar to Christianity that it can covertly invade even well established churches virtually undetected but its final effects can be very destructive. But first a brief history lesson…

In 70 AD The Lord allowed the Temple in Jerusalem to be destroyed for the second and final time. He put mankind on notice that He was done with bricks and mortar and with "doing church". Something new was coming, something huge. Something that didn't need buildings, didn't need corporate structures and corporate hierarchies, job descriptions, intricate rituals, elaborate vestments, etc.. That which was but a poor shadow of things to come was being replaced by the real thing. The people of God were about to enter the decidedly unworldly, and indeed unearthly, Kingdom of God. The legalistic and physical "do this and do that" ways of the Old Covenant were about to be replaced but Grace and the spiritual "BE this and BE that" ways of the New Covenant. God's Church was about to be born again!

The power and unity of the Church of Christ Jesus would not come from big buildings, accumulated wealth, fancy robes, elaborate organisational structures, corporate strategies, policies and procedures, etc.. Its growth would not come from slick, popularity seeking marketing and promotional campaigns, psychological profiling and consumer surveys. It would come from God Himself by the outpouring and infilling of His Holy Spirit on all of His people. Church was no longer something you belonged to for all in it belong to Christ alone. It was not to be about church ownership and control, it was to be about relationship and fellowship among those who are owned and controlled by Christ.. A place where the children of God met together and worked together as brothers and sisters, equal before God and fellow servants of Christ. A believer no longer belonged to a church, they were the church, each and every one of them. Their power and authority did not come from those in the church, it came direct from Christ Himself. The Holy Spirit of God no longer dwelt in a place or in an organisation, He dwelt within each and EVERY believer. Even if only 2 or 3 believers gathered in His name Christ Himself would be there, working in them and through them.

From that time on God's only place of worship was to be in the redeemed souls of men and women. Men and women born of the Spirit were now the living stones of His living Temple as befits a living God. To those who believed, God gave the power to be more than merely the Sons and daughters of men . He gave each and every one of them the power to become the Sons of God. In this world but no longer OF this world or its ways. As Jesus had told the Samaritan woman at the well over 30 years before, the time had come in which those who belonged to Him would worship Him neither here nor there but in Spirit and in truth wherever and WHENEVER they may be.

But let's go back a little further and ask the question, whose temple was really destroyed in 70 AD? The truth is that by 70AD it was ... yet again ... no longer the Lord's temple. The Temple that was destroyed was in fact HEROD's temple. (And here is something to ponder for all "millennialists", pre-, post- and "A-" as well as all who may have succumbed to the teachings of the 70th Week of Daniel Theology.)

To stamp HIS mark on Israel the Rome appointed King Herod embarked on an ambitious project to totally rebuild the Temple to HIS own flamboyant design complete with the golden Eagle of Rome mounted on a WING of the Temple. The Abomination that causes desolation mounted on a WING of the Temple as spoken of in Daniel 9:27 "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven'. In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a WING of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

Significantly this brand new, extravagant Temple was officially opened with all sorts of pomp and ceremony in 63AD just SEVEN years before its total desolation and a mere 3 and a half years before the daily sacrifices on behalf of Caesar were stopped due to severe provocation by the Roman procurator Gessius Florus. It would seem reasonable to me that among the pomp and ceremony of the opening of a rebuilt Temple Rome might be expected to renew its special covenant with Israel that allowed the Temple to be used exclusively for the worship of the God of Israel and not for Caesar and the Gods of Rome as was required in most countries ruled by Rome at that time. Part of that covenant was the offering of daily sacrifices on the behalf of the Roman Emperor. But I digress…

The Temple at Jerusalem had once again ceased to be dedicated to the reverence and worship of The Lord alone and had become nothing more than a stage and a backdrop upon which Herod and the self styled "representatives of God" could dress up and "strut THEIR stuff" before the nations and the eyes of men.

Sadly this propensity for men and women to use God to bring glory upon themselves and THEIR "church" was not destroyed along with the Temple. Ever since 70AD we have been adept at building our own temples, be they big or small, old and ornate or sleek and modern. But what is it that causes believers to constantly build temples and religious empires God neither wants nor asked for?

It begins when a group of people want to belong to something other than just God. The Bible encourages believers to come together often, but not to build temples or create corporate empires. The purpose of coming together is to encourage and support one another as people and fellow servants belonging to God. How is it then that our coming together does not unite all who belong to Christ but rather divides and separates them one from another in an endless parade of denominations and parochial, isolationist or empire building churches and "movements"? Especially when the writer of Hebrews says:-

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10: 24-25)

It is because we have forgotten that in the Kingdom of Heaven there is one, and only one, "body corporate". There is only one church, one body. We are not a body of churches, we are a single body of individual BELIEVERS in a single church with only one Father, only one teacher and master, only one Spirit, and only one Word. And in that church all members are equal before God. No earthly church stands between a believer and God. No earthly church will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, only individual believers accountable for their own actions, not those of their churches. There is one and only one name by which ANY man or woman comes to God the Father and that is through Christ Jesus. There is no other name, not even the name of a church or denomination by which a person can be saved. The judgment of God is not about your church, - it is about you.

So what goes so terribly wrong?

It happens like this, when a group of people get together they will at some point feel the urge to create a vision, a purpose and a plan for themselves in addition to the vision, purpose and plan Christ has already given them in the word of God. So no longer are they merely a group of believers in and followers of Christ Jesus abiding in and obeying the Word of God together, but they are also now joint believers in and followers of a corporate vision, a purpose and a plan for the group. As those who do not believe in or follow the vision, the purpose, and "the plan" (or perhaps the methods to achieve them) leave the church, those who do stay to pursue the vision, purpose and plan progressively enshrine it as their corporate identity. They are now a people who have come together with a plan for the purpose of achieving a vision, of their own making. They are now a people with a corporate identity that has a corporate name and a corporate plan, purpose and vision other than simply being children of God in the corporate identity of Christ Jesus Himself. And like Nimrod and the very first Babylonians they begin to seek to make a name for their church and to measure themselves by the size and "success" of the church they plan and build for themselves.

Pretty soon you find that the sermons are all about the church and seldom about Christ and the Word of God, or the mission of God. The focus subtly changes away from Christ and onto the church itself. It ceases to be all about Christ and becomes all about the church. How to make it bigger (more bricks and mortar and more flesh and blood), "better", more inviting, more financially successful, more influential, more prestigious, more socially active, and on and on. Pretty soon you end up with a church that is caught up in itself rather than caught up in Christ. Self centered rather than Christ centered. Even those who boast about how “Christ centered” their church is are actually still focusing everybody's attention on their church, not on Christ. The very boast of being Christ centered is, in reality, self-centered.

Corporate identities also have a way of eventually taking control and demanding obedience and subservience. They have a way of claiming ownership and control of those who "belong" to them. And pretty soon they begin to demand that those who serve them create for them ... A corporate image! And before long will have everybody serving it, and sacrificing to it. For now their church has an image to maintain, a reputation to upkeep and the bigger the image and name becomes the more will be sacrificed to maintain it. Like Nimrod and the Babylonians they have made a name for themselves and they want the world to love it. They want to grow it, promote it, protect it, raise it up as high as they can, draw as many people to it as they can, be an example of success for others to follow and emulate. But it is THEIR church they are serving, devoting their life to and lifting up, not Jesus. It is the leaders of THEIR church they look to for the vision, purpose and plan for their lives, not Jesus. But as Jesus said we cannot serve 2 masters. Those who are in Christ have only one master and they will serve Him alone. For those who are in Christ BELONG to and obey Christ wholly. A church is where they fellowship with others who equally belong to and obey the same master. Those who are in Christ follow Christ, they do not follow each other. As Paul said

1 Corinthians 1:11-13 (NIV)
"My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
.
To those who dream of building and leading large "multi-site megachurches" or even just large churches a word of warning. The Lord does not measure success by size or by numbers or by achievements. He measures us by repentance, by the love and mercy we have, by the truth of our teaching, and by faithful obedience - to HIM. The Lord does not care how many people are in YOUR church, He cares about how many people are in HIS Son and in His Son's Church.

Micah 6:8 (NIV)
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

There will always be many large churches and "multi-site megachurches" in the world. Some have been around for Centuries.  Others rise and fall like the grass that is here today and gone tomorrow. BUT there is only ONE multi-site megachurch that will stand for all eternity and outlive this world, and it already has a name. It is THE Church of Jesus Christ and it does not lift up its own name but the name of its one and only head, Christ Jesus. It does not need a name, it does not need to create a body corporate, it does not need to create a corporate identity. We ARE a body, we HAVE an identity, we ARE Christ Jesus for it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives and breaths in us. Our unity, our power, our strength, our achievements and our growth does not come from ourselves or corporate and marketing plans and strategies. It all comes from The Lord Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in all who are His. Empowering them enabling them, uniting them.

The bottom line is that those in whom Christ dwells are not driven by a purpose, corporate or otherwise. They are wholly - CHRIST DRIVEN - and always will be.

Provided it is done freely and without charge
"Churchianity: The New Religion of Corporate Idolatry" may be copied, used and distributed
(in its entirety only, including this notice)
by brothers and sisters in Christ
to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)
By special permission of 
D.J. Ludlow copyright 2015

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa



Wednesday, 2 December 2015

Staying "On Mission"



"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be" (2 Peter 3:10-11 (KJV))

When you are a soldier the most important thing you must do when you are in the field is "stay on mission". That is the whole reason why you are out there; to complete the task you were sent out there to do. If you deviate from your mission it does not matter how many enemy you take captive, it does not matter how much territory you win, it does not matter how many fortified positions you establish. If you do not complete your mission you have failed to accomplish the very thing you were sent out to do. You may never know the cost of your failure but those who sent you will. You get no praise, no commendation, no medal and no victory, for going off mission. Therefore the most vital piece of information a soldier enters the battlefield with is knowing and understanding what his or her mission is. The very thing they were sent to do.

There is a lot of discussion going on in our church at the moment about mission and discipleship. But as I am listening to it the Lord keeps bringing me back to the passage above (2 Peter 3:10-11). If we are here on a mission for God we need to be very clear on what that mission actually is in a world marked for imminent total destruction. The Bible makes it very clear nothing we can do will stop it. Stopping it is not our mission.

The ultimate "fire sale"' - everything goes. All buildings, cities, farms, oceans, all churches / cathedrals / synagogues / temples / mosques etc. All orphanages, hospitals, schools, trees, grass, crops, etc. and all people and all nations - all gone.

Love will always compel us to help those in need wherever we find them, as it should, but it is not our mission here in this battlefield we call the Earth. Anybody can provide material support to the needy but there is something only those in Christ can offer -  the only way to escape that fast approaching destruction. No matter how well fed, well educated, well clothed, well housed, and healthy they are, without belief in Christ, repentance from sin, and baptism of the Holy Spirit they all perish.

But we ourselves cannot save them. Christ alone has that power for man (flesh and blood) cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. To be saved we have to be something else entirely, not sons of man but Sons of God. The only way to become Sons of God is to be in Christ and born again of the Spirit (Romans 8:14). The Lord has declared only those who are spiritually in Christ, who are born again a new creature, beyond mere flesh and blood, escape the destruction and inherit eternal life.

Our mission is to help people become born again as Sons of God before the coming destruction. Only then will they have eternal life and not perish. Not just to "make disciples" who are imitators of us but who are true followers of Christ Himself. That do not obey and abide in our word or the word of our churches, but obey and abide in the word of God alone. For neither we nor our churches can make people a new creature born of the Spirit. Only God can do that and He has declared that only to those who repent from sin, and believe in, give their lives to, and obey His Son Christ Jesus does He give the power to become the Sons of God. (John 1:12, Rom 8:14, Gal 4:6)

Even Paul rebuked those who said "I follow Paul" (1 Cor 1:11-17). For when he said imitate me he meant imitate me and follow Christ as I do. As Adam, our trainee pastor, preached a few weeks ago, WE are John (the Baptist). And like John once we have brought a person to repentance and water baptism we must point to the Lamb of God and say "I must now grow less in your life and He must grow greater, for I did not die for you nor can I give you eternal life .... But He did and He can. Follow HIM and He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit of God Himself."

THAT is our mission.


Provided it is done freely and without charge
"Staying ‘On Mission’" may be copied, used and distributed
(in its entirety only, including this notice)
by brothers and sisters in Christ
to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)
By special permission of 
D.J. Ludlow copyright 2015

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa