What is God doing today?

God is very consistent. He is busy today doing what He has been doing for thousands of years. God is restoring His Spirit to mankind. Why is God doing this? His reasons are clear throughout Scripture. He is calling His people to be set apart from the rest of the world. Not in some weird – we can’t be near you because of your cooties – kind of way. He is setting his people apart as a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and His own possession. He is restoring His Spirit to man so that man can live and walk in holiness.

When God chose Abraham He promised to make him a great nation. When God called Israel out of Egypt He was setting them apart. Throughout the nation’s history they repeatedly strayed from God’s commands and let the practices of the nations around them corrupt His chosen people. They became intertwined in practices and lifestyle with the people around them that did not desire to know or follow God. Each time this happened God brought judgement or correction to His people. The people would recognize their error and eventually would embark on a new effort to obey their God.

Today we see God doing something in America. He is calling to His chosen people. He has seen the modern day Asherim poles of this corrupt society. They have crept into church practice over time and just like the false gods of yesteryear, they have corrupted God’s chosen people. In ancient Israel the people would dance around their idols and then come before the Lord. In modern America the people dance around their idols of pleasure and excess then come before the Lord. In times past the people would lower the requirements of God’s commands and allow things that He would not condone. Same thing happens in America today.

Do you think you can continue in your self-indulgent lifestyle and still proclaim that God is your Lord? Do you think He will tolerate that charade forever? I understand that you may “like” your church but what does God think of the way your church operates. Does God command or permit unbelievers to enter the worship gathering? He certainly doesn’t instruct us to invite them there or to hold special events to attract them there. Show me that in scripture. Does God ordain one man to be hired to a position to lead the church or a plurality of leadership gifts that come from the Holy Spirit? Does God tell us to separate our families on Sunday morning or does He tell the parents to train their children and equates the church with a family?

Have you been trained to personally make disciples, overcome the attacks of the enemy, how to use your spiritual gift(s), strengthened in your personal spiritual disciplines, encouraged to baptize your new converts, or to pray and fast with the rest of your church family? If you have not then you should ask yourself why your church has not done this when these practices are so clearly laid out in Scripture.

Or does most of your encouragement from church leaders revolve around giving money to them and using your time to serve the “church” in one of the programmed ministries that they chose to offer? Take a serious look at Scripture. Does you see your church practices described there? Or do you see in your church a very different structure and practice that God may be ready to reform or bring judgement upon.
1 Peter 4:17 - “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

The Reformation is Coming!

No words strike more fear into church leadership. Standing against opposition from the outside is a part of the job. Standing against a work of God from the inside is a different thing. Reformation is about God taking His elect out of the corruption that has distracted them from His true calling. In Martin Luther’s day it was about church doctrine that had overstepped its bounds. Luther felt the church leadership was putting itself in a place that God did not ordain. The theology had resulted in certain practices that he felt were contrary to Scripture.

Could you imagine being Christian in Martin Luther’s day? To stand against the church leadership meant excommunication and possibly even death. If you complied with the institution you were “in”. If you did not then you were “out”. Today the church leadership structures deal in a different way. In America there is no death penalty for opposing the doctrine of the church but there is still that “in or out” mentality.

Let’s make it clear that I am definitely “out”. I left the organized American church in 2009. I turned in my credentials and followed after the reformation I saw coming. In America our doctrine of secularism has lead the church to certain practices that are indeed unbiblical. The average American Christian does not know the basic doctrine of their faith nor do they ever examine the organizational structure of the thing they call church. Many church leaders have never read the Bible from cover to cover. Think your leader is an exception? Ask them if they have and when they did it.

The reason I refer to the church in America as the thing “they call church” is because what I see described as church in the bible is very different than what I see represented as church in America. The church in the bible is comprised of only those who have received Christ as their Lord and savior and now possess the Holy Spirit of God as a guaranty of their future inheritance. What I see described as the church in America is the building where people gather on a set day of the week. These people can include anyone without regard to their spiritual state. Sorry folks but you are not a part of God’s church unless your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and there is only one way to get there. It is not the attendance roll call at your local church.

So if Martin Luther reformed church doctrine then what is God reforming now? God is doing what He has been doing since the time of Abraham. He is calling out His chosen people and setting them apart as a royal priesthood, His own possession. The Baal’s and the Asherim may look different today but they are no less offensive to God. When the church is conformed in its methods and practices to the corrupted society around it then correction is needed.

“Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you”

The time for reformation in America is here. Come out and join it. Let’s talk.

Hard to Put in a Box.

I am taking many inquiries lately from potential missionaries to America. The questioning is always fascinating as the candidate tries so gracefully to assess what kind of a group this is that is calling for new missionaries. The questions reveal their understanding of ministry in way that I am not sure they even understand. Our methodology in the American church has so engrained our brain with “the way” ministry is done.

I am here tell you that what we are doing is outside the box and will stay there for some time. Here is why our adventure is so different. The first main difference is that we do not have an official state sanctioned or organized church. That is right, no corporation, no paid positions in the church, the church does not and cannot own property, and most importantly the only thing to join is our worship gatherings where only our disciples are invited to attend. We don’t exclude people we just don’t invite them. If someone is gifted to lead we recognize that and empower that person in their gifting. These gifts that lead the church are found in Ephesians 4. If someone makes disciples then it is right and biblical for that person to receive gifts from their disciples for their ministry to them in the Word. Everyone is empowered and released to make disciples and minister in their spiritual gifting. The congregation as a whole recognizes wise and spiritually mature men among the group and turn to them for counsel when needed. They also help people through crisis and protect the doctrinal integrity of the group. We recognize and affirm spiritual gifts, deacons, elders, and leadership gifts.

The second main thing is that we have an organized incorporated 501(c)3 non-profit that facilitates our ministry on the ground. It owns property and has payroll but it does not run the church. Some disciples may work for that non-profit but others may not. The non-profit is a tool God uses to provide the physical aspects of our ministry. The church and the non-profit run separately but also are dependent upon each other. The non-profit has a Board of Directors and an Executive Director and it reports to the IRS each year. It runs under the laws that govern non-profit organizations.

What difference does this make? The non-profit has, by its very structure, a focus on serving the public interest or benefit. It must do its social mission. The non-profit does not hire pastors or church leaders to do those jobs. The assets of the non-profit can’t be controlled or manipulated in order to control the church. They hire people to do jobs within the non-profit. This separation is incredibly helpful if you want a church that is free to operate in Spirit and truth at all costs.

The church on the other hand keeps its spiritual focus and is not bogged down with facilities and employees that can slow it down, cause divisions, and distract its focus onto physical things that it sees as growth indicators. The church in America is measured for the most part by facilities and budget. These things are non existent in our church. The church leaders operate in the church free from financial manipulation and leadership structures that can use their paycheck or ordination paperwork as a tool to pressure certain behavior.

Our missionaries can do what God has called them to do. They can apply to work in the non-profit, hold a full or part time position with another employer, start or operate their own business, or live off the support of their disciples. The non-profit manages facilities that help the missionaries to minister in the target areas. It can help the missionaries start their own ministry and provide training and relocation assistance to new missionaries. We are truly working outside the box. If you want to learn more just email me with the subject line – Missionaries to America. Click Here