Bethel Church and the New Age

Lately there have been allegations against Bethel Church in Redding, CA, that the church is, in fact, being used as a vessel of combining the New Age with Christianity, and therefore creating some sort of heretical hybrid. These claims assert that Bill Johnson, the leader of Bethel church, is front and foremost leading in this direction. These are serious allegations, for if true they would also mean that Bill Johnson and the leadership at Bethel is not merely deceived, but also actively promoting a plan of deception which elevates the kingdom of darkness over the Kingdom of God. This would make Bill Johnson and his leadership team false teachers and prophets. Not a charge to be taken lightly.  As a former student of Bethel's School of Supernatural Ministry, I have decided that I would like to address the allegations specifically made in Lighthouse Trails Research booklet entitled, The New Age Propensities of Bethel Church's Bill Johnson.  

Before I continue it should be noted that the majority of these allegations are in response
to writings in the book The Physics of Heaven, written by Judy Franklin and Bill Johnson. It should also be noted that I spent two years learning, serving, worshipping, and being fully immersed in the culture of Bethel's church. I am also an educated minister of the Gospel, I believe fully in scripture as the immutable Word of God, I believe in the Triune God, and I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and as the only way to the Father. I also, before attending Bethel, was a huge skeptic and critically analyzed them well before I ever even thought of attending the school. Therefore I believe I am perfectly suited to respond to these allegations from people who have done nothing but read a book and take quotes out of context to reach a verdict.   

Allegation #1: Bill Johnson believes in "kenosis", a teaching that Christ laid aside His divine attributes and walked the earth as a completely limited, human man.  

The real truth is that Bill Johnson teaches OVER and OVER again that Jesus was both 100% God AND 100% man. I have personally heard him say this close to 100 times. However, Johnson also does teach that Christ limited His divinity in order to walk as man. But is that un-Biblical or even "kenosis" as the writers at Lighthouse believe?   First of all, it's obviously not un-Biblical to believe that Jesus limited Himself as a man.  Jesus was in flesh and bled and died. It's  common sense that He would have to limit Himself in order to live like that. The Bible also tells us that Jesus went hungry (Matt. 4:2) and that Jesus was tempted (Luke 4:2, Hebrews 2:18). So the logic would be that if "kenosis" weren't at all true in regards to Jesus, then God in heaven is also going hungry at times, is suffering pain, and has to fight through temptation.

To argue otherwise is unbiblical, and I would argue that to believe that is actually the heresy.  The verb of "kenosis" actually is used in the New Testament 5 times, including in Phil. 2:7 when it says that Jesus "emptied Himself."  

But let's not stop there. Maybe the writers at Lighthouse mean something else. Maybe they meant "Kenotic Theology." I was unfamiliar with what this was, so I researched and found an excellent article by apologist Dan Musick which broke down "Kenotic Theology" as follows:  

a) It destroys the integrity of the atonement by assuming that Jesus wasn't a perfect sacrifice.

b) It distorts the Christian view of the incarnation. 

c) They deny the immutability of God

d) It undermines the monotheistic distinctive of the Christian faith.       

  The logic here is that if a "kenotic" doesn't believe that Jesus was fully God as well as fully man, the sacrifice of Jesus was a lesser sacrifice, one that couldn't possibly have accomplished what the Bible tells us it did. That a "kenotic" wouldn't understand the divine nature of Christ, and that a true "kenotic" is somehow seeing Jesus as a separate God.   

It is here that I will say from my own experience under Bill Johnson I have never heard anything but awe and wonder when it comes to the atonement. Johnson also fully believes in the perfection of Jesus as God. Here are his own words from Face to Face with God in a chapter titled Jesus: The Face of God.    

 "One of the most important features of the gospel message is that the nature of the Father is perfectly seen in Jesus Christ. Jesus was a manifestation of the Father's nature. Whatever is thought to be in conflict between the Father in the Old Testament and the Son in the new Testament is in fact wrong. All inconsistencies in the revelation of the nature of God between the Old and New Testaments are cleared up in Jesus christ. Jesus demonstrated the Father in everything He did. In short, Jesus is perfect theology. (pg. 106)    

   …The portrait of God the Father, as seen in Jesus Christ, is wonderfully clear. (pg. 107)   

    ... To say that Jesus came both to manifest the face of God and illustrate the quest for His face may sound a little confusing, but both are true." (pg. 108)      

 If that doesn't sound like a man convinced that Jesus was God then I don't know what does. My personal experience testifies that Bill Johnson believes in the full divinity of Jesus, and so do his own written words. This is a false accusation against the man, easily disproved. Bill Johnson, in no way whatsoever, is a "kenotic theologian".   

Allegation #2: Bill Johnson and Bethel believe in a Second Pentecost and are Dominionists       

In two years at Bethel there are two things I never once heard: Second Pentecost, or "Dominion" in regards to modern believers taking over the world. Even the writers at Lighthouse fully reached this conclusion based on three quotes from one book, and only one of the quotes even says the word "dominion" (the quote which didn't come from someone at Bethel, I might add), and none of the quotes contain the words "Second Pentecost." 

 The truth is that Bethel doesn’t believe in a Second Pentecost. It believes we only needed the one. Bethel does believe that each generation has the chance to surpass the previous generation in terms of revelation of God and in terms of how to live in the Spirit. They also believe that as the Spirit moves things will actually get better on earth. So if that is "dominionism" so be it. It's how they interpret Scripture and it's how I interpret scripture, but there's nothing unscriptural about it.      

I would say that if one does think there is something unscriptural about it, then stop helping people, because you shouldn't be trying to improve the world if it can't be improved. Also, put down your C.S. Lewis book, because Lewis couldn't possibly have revelation that you couldn't get from the Bible, could he? The truth is, inside we all believe what Bethel teaches on this, we just don't allow ourselves to say it. Otherwise no Christians would ever work to improve the world, nor would we ever listen to a preacher or read a book to further our understanding of God.      

This twisted logic is a waste of time and fully displays how far the writers at Lighthouse are reaching to attack someone when they really don't have much to attack about.   

Allegation #3: Bethel believes that God will use sound to impart power on believers       

What is the big deal here? Sound is somehow now New Age? Sound is actually a very biblical representation of God's work. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien both wrote in their fiction that God used sound to create the universe. Last I checked no Christian had any problem with those guys.  

  Lighthouse's writers assert that in The Physics of Heaven the writers are making God a "cosmic quantum force" instead of a "Creator separate from His creation." They base this assumption on the fact that the writers of the book talk about God using sound to impact creation, and that maybe there are some keys in that sound.      

It should be noted that the BIble is full of verses describing the power of sound. Joshua wins the battle of Jericho with sound. The sound of the trumpet announces battles. The sound of the Spirit at Pentecost was "like a rushing wind". God's voice was like the "sound of many waters" (Ezek. 43:2). God sends His angels with trumpet sounds (Matt. 24:31). David wrote that "deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls" (Psalm 42:7). The raising of Ezekiel's bones are preceded by a great noise (Ezek. 37:7). 

    There is nothing anti-Biblical about the notion of sound carrying power in it. In fact I would argue the opposite. The notion that this idea comes from the New Age is simply wrong. It predates New Age beliefs by thousands of years! If anything, this belief originally comes from the Bible. If the writers at Lighthouse actually used history while researching these things, they would realize that. This is the biggest issue with what the writers at Lighthouse are trying to assert. They claim that these are New Age beliefs, but that claim doesn't hold up historically or Biblically. 

    Bethel does believe that the New Age has stolen many ideas from Biblical Christianity. If the readers of Lighthouse had ever read anything by Christian mystics from previous generations (writings recognized by many traditional churches both Catholic and Protestant) that pre-dated New Age beliefs, they would learn that Bethel is actually correct in this, and they are the ones who are wrong.     

Allegation #4:Bethel believes in Contemplative Meditation

This allegation is 100% true, kind of. What isn't true is the heart of the allegation. The heart of the allegation is that Bethel believes in New Age meditation, which requires the emptying of one's mind. Bethel does not endorse such meditation in any way. Bethel believes in "Contemplative Meditation" which is taking scripture and then meditating on it. 

    You know, just like Isaac did (Gen. 24:23) 

    And Joshua did (Jos. 1:8) 

    And David did (Psalm 4:4, Psa. 63:6, Psa. 77, Psa. 119) 

    And Malachi (Mal. 3:16) 

    And Paul (Phil. 4:8, 1 Tim. 4:15).  

I studied under Bonnie Johnson (no relation to Bill) for a class. She was specifically teaching upon the mystics and she EMPHATICALLY taught about how Christian meditation is about filling the mind and not emptying it. Bill Johnson and Beni also taught the same.  

This allegation is once again one made by people who have taken things out of context and have actually no idea what they are talking about. This is a very clear example of their desire to attack Bethel simply for the sake of attacking it, when the truth is that with just a little more research they would have found that they are wrong.  

Conclusion:  

   Finally, there are other smaller allegations made, but it all comes down to one thing, do Bill Johnson and Bethel really believe in pursuing the New Age and marrying it with Christianity?  

The answer, flat out, is NO. What Bethel does believe is that the New Age belief system has taken parts of truth and twisted them. It also believes that the church has grown so afraid of these things because of this that the Church is avoiding reclaiming much of what God meant for us.  

Bethel, in this case, is absolutely right.  

I can attest personally that Bethel would never pursue something that is against the words and nature of the Bible. I can attest to that as someone who was there for two years and spent as much as 50 hours a week in their school and church. I got to know many of the leaders as well as other staff members. To make such a terrible claim against them is actually offensive to me, as many of them are some of the most amazing, wonderful, caring, and honest lovers of God that I have ever known.  

When it comes to New Age things such as meditation, energy, and sound, who is the uneducated person who honestly thinks those ideas originated in the New Age movement? The Bible and the writings of believers (many of them saints in the Catholic church) for hundreds of years spoke of such things in connection with God long before New Age beliefs came along. Bethel is merely making the attempt to reclaim them, rightfully so, for the church.  

This is not something new in the Church, it is simply something that has been forgotten. At one time Christmas and Easter were pagan holidays, but that turned out pretty good for us didn't it? 

My conclusion is that the writers at Lighthouse have been intellectually dishonest in their slandering of Bill Johnson and Bethel church. I say this as someone who is both historically and theologically well-educated, as well as someone who actually knows the people being slandered. I find the pamphlet written by Lighthouse to be terribly lacking in any real research. It has no journalistic integrity either, as it made no attempts to either interview the people it is attacking, nor to interview people with actual experience with Bethel church or Bill Johnson. The pamphlet also shows that writers either blatantly ignored or simply do not know well their scripture or their history. Things that should be well researched before attacking the reputation of others.  

  Bill Johnson, and others at Bethel, are amazing people who have a lot to teach us. Before you make your decision based upon some angry, poorly researched blog, do what I did, and go to the source. You won't be disappointed.

    

God Didn't Give You Your Sickness

"Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?"
"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" - Matthew 7:11 NIV

It's amazing how many parts of our belief system come from Greek tradition and not from the Bible. The Greeks, being brilliant philosophers and rationalistic thinkers, fully inspired the Rennaissance, which birthed the modern style of thought in western society. The Rennaissance was the full embracing of classical antiquity (namely Roman and Greek art and thinking) and was mostly a wonderful thing. After centuries of the western world picking up the pieces of the fallen Roman empire, the re-introduction of these ancient cultures (which in many ways were far more advanced than medieval Europe) spurred a new excitement of discovery and free-thinking and ushered in the modern world we know today. Mostly a good thing, I'm sure everyone who enjoys electricity, modern health standards and modern plumbing would agree.

After a couple hundred years of seeing some of the most beautiful art, breathtaking architecture, expansive discovery, and major scientific advances the western world came into a new age, the "Age of Enlightenment". This period was a direct progression of the embracing of Greek thinking, albeit with a new wrinkle; reason, logic, criticism and free thinking now had no more room for faith or the mystery of the supernatural. Whereas the Rennaissance incorporated faith freely, the Enlightenment now made it so there was no more room for the unexplainable. Faith over reason or logic was now to be criticized until it could be explained. Man had no more room for a God who was beyond understanding. God was now to be understood on man's terms.

It is no coincidence then, that the western church now has little room for the mysteries of God. Everything must be explained satisfactorily, for it is very uneasy for us to admit things we cannot understand, things we cannot explain. This is our history, it is emblematic of where we came from. It is why Protestant churches have so much trouble embracing the supernatural in comparison to the Catholics, whose history includes a great deal of the supernatural and goes much further back than the Enlightenment. The Reformation occurred just before the Enlightenment, and so the churches that came out of the Reformation were still in their infant stage when the Enlightenment way of thinking swept into the west. This directly affected the way many churches began to view their faith. As a result these churches began to scramble about and find a way to be both rational and full of faith.

The church suddenly found itself creating answers for questions, answers we didn't, in fact, really have.

One of the greatest of those questions was, and still is, "If God is good (which we believe), and He loves me (which we believe) and He can heal (which we believe), then why am I not being healed?"

And when that question evaded our grasp we created our own, and it usually goes along the lines of, "He must have given it to me to refine me. It's my cross to bear. He would heal me if it was His will to do so."

So acceptance sets in, and we make up reasons for why the Bible doesn't say what it actually says. We let experience and reason determine what we know about God.

I know this, because I was that person who made that argument. Again, and again, and again. And frankly, after I actually studied the Bible and then SAW WITH MY OWN EYES over and over again how I was wrong, I came to one conclusion:

Enlightenment, you suck.

Now the fun part. Now I get to dispel one of the biggest lies in the Christian world. A lie so pernicious and disgusting that it is ruining the lives of countless people. A lie so evil that it actually is convincing Christians, people filled with the SPIRIT OF GOD, that they are powerless.

It's time to send that lie right back to hell, where it belongs.

Here's the truth: God did not make you sick. God's will is not for you to be sick. Jesus died and broke the power of sickness and death. The Holy Spirit gives us power to heal ourselves and others.

I know you probably don't believe me yet, and that's good. You shouldn't believe me if I can't back it up Biblically and experientially. I wouldn't believe me either! So let's do just that.

Biblically:
Let's start with God's will. Do we even know it?

The Apostle Paul sure thought so, "He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ." Ephesians 1:9

"For 'Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:16

And then Jesus made it clear that everything He did was God's will, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me." John 6:38

So Paul says we know the will of God, and Jesus said that He did the will of God. So what did Jesus do with sick people?

"News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and He healed them." - Matt. 4:24
"When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick." - Matt. 8:26
"Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill." - Matt. 12:15
The word healed, in reference to Jesus' actions in the Gospels appears 39 times. Times that He made someone sick? 0. Hmm...

Ok ok. That WAS Jesus after all. I mean, what about AFTER He goes back to heaven?

Good point. Well let's see what He instructs His disciples.

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Matt. 10:8

"and He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick." Luke 9:2.

"Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'the Kingdom of God has come near to you." Luke 10:9

Yeah but those were the DISCIPLES, they walked with Jesus! He couldn't possibly mean for US to do that, could He?

"Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well: the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven." - James 5:14-15

You tell me, did we get the same Holy Spirit that the disciples got, or didn't we?

"Alright, ALRIGHT! I get that we are supposed to pray for the sick, and maybe even expect healing. But you still didn't answer the question of whether or not God ever makes someone sick. What about Herod?"

Ah yes, the famous death of Herod, who build himself up as God and then was struck down by a worm in his stomach in Acts 12. The Bible is clear it was God who made it happen. And I believe it.

So what about that? Well first of all, Herod wasn't saved. He was antagonistic toward God. He also didn't suffer long-term. So our merciful, loving God, even when He takes someone out He doesn't leave them in suffering, because He's not cruel.

So why do we think He'd be cruel enough to make us suffer with a long-term ailment when He wouldn't even when He wouldn't make someone as evil as Herod suffer? Does that sound like a loving God to you? And even worse, we treat is as a gift! Like He's doing us a favor by making us suffer!

Where is THAT in the Bible?

The Bible is clear we will suffer for His name. But a) it never says that suffering comes FROM Him, and b) it never gives any indication that suffering is from sickness. Go look. I WANT you to. You can't find it.

By every indication in the New Testament sickness is an evil that is never to be accepted as ok. So why do we do it?

Because the truth is, not everyone is healed when they get prayed for. None of us have yet learned to be as close in relationship to God as Jesus was, and therefore none of us have ever gotten to the point of faith where all sickness would wipe away in front of us. But could it? Jesus was fully man as well as God right? We have the same spirit now as He did right? So I believe we could get there. I believe we were meant to get there. Even Paul got so close to God that even the cloths that touched him would heal others. Why is Paul more qualified than us? He wasn't. He just said yes.

But just because not everyone is healed right away through prayer does not mean it's God's failure. It also does not mean it's God's will for that person to stay in sickness. God CAN use it for good, because He is good and ALWAYS blesses us no matter our circumstances (Romans 8:28), but that does NOT mean it's His will. Just like it's not God's will that babies are dying, or girls are being raped, or people are being murdered. Just because something bad happens even when we pray against it does not mean it's God's will. God's will gets frustrated by the fact He gives us free will all the time, and by the fact that we are in a spiritual war every day. Peter writes, "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Pet. 3:9.

Do people still perish? Does everyone come to repentance? NO. When it comes to us, God gives us power to go against His will.

So what about those who fight for healing in full faith, and still don't get healed? I don't know. But what I do know is that it's not God's will for them to stay that way, because there's nowhere in the Bible that I can draw that from (and don't get me started on the thorn in Paul's flesh, or we'll be here for another 5 pages. Let's just say there's nothing that says it was a sickness). I also know that none of us have gotten to the full relationship of God that Jesus had yet, and as a result not every physical battle in our lives will be won, for there have only been two perfect men free of all illnesses that we know of; Jesus and Adam before the Fall. But both of them, in their perfection, were never sick. Physically the only difference between them and us was that neither of them had experienced sin (until Adam did). I'm not saying it's our personal sin that causes sickness in us, because I know innocents who are sick while wicked people prosper, but I am saying that the only cases of perfect health in the world history were from those who had never known life apart from God, and there's a key in that somewhere.

Notice God never made Jesus sick, even though He had to grow in favor with God before He was ready to fulfill His mission (Luke 2:52). God didn't use sickness to grow that favor with Jesus, why would He with us?

The Bible ultimately is clear; sickness is never a part of God's will for us.

My Experience

This has gone on long so I'll keep this short. But I used to believe that God allowed sickness in order to grow His children up. I believed that because my mother was sick most of my life. I believed it because it hurt so bad and I wanted to find good in it. I believed it because that's what the Christians around me taught me. I believed it because, in some sick way, I found comfort in it.

But now looking back from a place of much closer relationship with God, I know His heart was never for my family to suffer the way it did from her being ill. I should never have accepted it for her. I should never have let myself think so poorly of God. Did God sometimes bring good out of her sickness? Absolutely. But overall that sickness almost ripped my family apart. We all went through seasons of depression from it. Three of my siblings were bitter at my mom for years because she couldn't be a full mom to us most our lives, and they resented that, even though it wasn't her fault. People often believed she was faking it for attention. People were cruel.

And I'm supposed to believe that was God's will for us? For her?

No offense but, that's a big ol heap of crap.

God is good. He is loving and amazing. And He only knows how to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11). A brother who turned to drugs because he was depressed at home, a sister who struggled with anorexia because she needed more attention, and a father who dealt with his own church congregation gossiping about his wife for 20 years was NOT God's will for us. I don't know why we had to endure those things, but I know that believing the disgusting lie that it was God's plan for us didn't help.

I know this battle. I have lived it. I have struggled with the questions and pleaded with God for answers. He has given me one; "It's not My will." Everything else that tells me otherwise is a lie from satan.

Since I have overcome that lie in my life I have seen amazing things. Now that I believe God always wants to heal I pray with faith for everyone who comes across my path with sickness or injury. I have personally seen dozens of healings occur by God through my own hands. I have now seen thousands of healing total at the hands of others who refuse to believe this lie.

I have watched as a teenage boy's legs grew out to be equal size. I have personally seen the tears of a girl as her deaf ear popped open for the first time ever. I have been there as a woman who couldn't bend over because of back pain started twisting and shouting and running. I have lived with a wife who had celiac disease and would get violently ill every time she had even a grain of wheat seasoning; she now eats gluten products daily without fear.

These things happened in places where the lie of God allowing sickness was not allowed to take hold. Because it's a lie that isn't true. It's time for it to die, and for the church to start becoming the healthiest place on earth.

That, is God's will.

5 Keys to Healing the Church (and Bringing Her into Her Destiny)

Nearly every day I'm coming across ideas, whether spoken or written, about how the church needs to reform itself in order to become relevant again in the world. So many people, with so many ideas, some of them good and some of them pretty ridiculous. I love the heart of these people, for most of them truly are writing these things out of genuine concern and love. They want the world to be a better place and are frustrated that the church seems to be coming up short in helping that occur.

So what is going on with the church? Why has cultural relevance seemed to be dampened? Why is attendance down in so many places? Why has the "other side" grown more and more hostile?

I propose that the answers are much simpler, but much more profound, than most would expect. The following ideas are what I believe would set the church up to be more impactful, more influential, and more beloved than it has ever been in world history.

1. Make Love the Priority.
  "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16
   Somewhere along the way the western church decided to make Truth the priority. Ideally, there is nothing wrong with this. Jesus is the Truth. Truth is what we stand on. Truth protects us and feeds us. Truth is loving, for real Truth is in God, and God is Love.
   But in practice, Truth has taken the place of Love and relationship in the church. In its quest to protect the Truth, the church has often become combative and judgmental. The church has turned to believing it needs to protect the legacy of Jesus instead of following it. As if God needed protection! The beauty of Truth is that it cannot be defeated, and so we need to leave our fear of that happening down.
   It is time for the church to make Love the priority again. Loving others, no matter what they believe, will change everything. This does not mean we stop preaching the Truth, it does not mean we lay down our morals. It means that we stop trying to convince others that they're wrong, and instead love them into an encounter with God. It's time for the people of the church to remember that it wasn't argument that brought them to Jesus, but meeting Him. It's time to remember that, and to stop believing that what didn't work for us will work for them.
   "We love Him, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

2. Stop Playing the Victim and Embrace Thankfulness
   "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9
   We all fall short here because life is hard, and it's not always our fault. But the church as a whole needs to reclaim it's identity. It's time the church stopped complaining that no one is listening and instead rejoice in who we are. Every person in the church has access to walk this life hand-in-hand with the Living God. We are His chosen children and we have eternal life. All of our sins have been forgiven. What about that is worse off than the rest of the world?
   The church has become so fixated on what it doesn't have that it is missing what it does. The church should be the standard bearer for thanksgiving and praise! It should be the church that lives in joy no matter how hard things get. It should be the church that rejoices in knowing it has the keys to life, even when finances are tight or in losing a political battle. A church full of joy and thankfulness will be a church that people will not be able to avoid while a church full of victims is one nobody wants to attend. We are to acknowledge the problems we are struggling with while also constantly remembering the blessings we have received and will continue to receive.
  A thankful church will always be a thriving church, and the world will wonder what makes us so different.
  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phillippians 4:6-7

3. Encourage Generosity and Learn from the Rich Instead of Shaming Them
   "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." 2 Corinthians 9:11
   One thing most of the church is actually pretty good at is giving money. Western churches are masters of fundraising, and any time the church gets behind an issue there is plenty of money to go around. This is to be celebrated!
   Yet while the church is good at collecting gifts in its own walls, much of the church is failing at being generous in their daily lives. It is well known at restaurants that the Sunday rush after church brings with it many of the poorest tippers. I know, I've worked at four of them. This should not be! Christians should be known for their generosity, and not just out of excess. True generosity is giving something that costs us! This includes being generous with our time, something much of the church is loathe to be. Too many people are willing to put their tithe in the offering and then feel they shouldn't give anything else.
  But that is to their loss, for even in sacrifice we are rewarded. That is the justice of God. The more we give out of sacrifice, the more He blesses us. This is affirmed by many verses in the Bible (Malachi 3:10 is my favorite), and by the lives of many people I've known.
  The church also must stop shaming the rich. They are often the most generous people in the church, and even if they are not their wealth alone is not a sin. It is the love of money which is sinful, not wealth itself (1 Timothy 6:10). It is the love of money that prohibited the rich young man from being Jesus' disciple, not his riches. Much of the church has fallen into a place of constant judgment on the rich and powerful, and as a result have disqualified themselves from ever moving into those same positions of influence. If the church is ever to gain the prominence it once had again, it must teach people how to stay in wealth and power while still putting Jesus first. The shaming and judgment must stop, for we are pushing away those who understand most the keys to being influential.
   "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
    Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"  Luke 16:8-11

4. Unify"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe you sent me." John 17:20-21
  I'm going to be blunt here, we the church are prohibiting the prayer of Jesus from being answered. We have been split so many ways by so many things that we are in no way acting as one church. So much of the time of the church is focused on its differences when it should be focused on its agreements.
  When Martin Luther instigated the Reformation with his 95 Theses, he never intended for it to cause secession from the Catholic church but rather for the Catholic church to reform. His heart was for the church to remain unified.
  This is not a call to all go back into the Catholic church, but to celebrate and unite with anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, even if we disagree with them strongly on other issues. We are a family! We are the children of God! Children grow up and have disagreements, but they are still family. It is time for the church to open up its arms and embrace one another. It's time to celebrate the things we agree on and disagree in love without separation. So much of what has broken up the church is based on perspective, not on actual Biblical truth. It's time to humble ourselves and admit that even though we believe something the Bible is not 100% clear on, we could be wrong. It's time to value relationship over doctrine, just as Jesus did.
  Imagine a world where Lutherans and Charismatics worked together! Imagine a world where Catholics and Pentecostals spoke honorably of one another! How much more could we teach the world if all the churches in every town loved one another as family despite disagreements? We are called to be the light of the world, but right now that light is a flicker of small lights barely shining. So many more people would embrace the church if only it embraced its own parts. Who would choose the fractured family over the whole one? It's time to come together, and see Jesus have His prayer answered.
  "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:6

5. Embrace the Miraculous"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8
  This will probably be the most controversial of the points, which is why it is last.
  Some years ago a very destructive philosophy entered the church, the philosophy of cessationism. It states that miracles stopped being a part of our regular lives once the Bible was put together. It is a lie from the devil, used to neuter the church in its spiritual power. It is such a powerful lie that many good men and women have fallen into its trap. Many Bible-believing Christians have completely ignored the command of Jesus to perform miracles because they are duped into believing a lie, and that lie completely changed how they interpreted the Bible. That lie caused them, and causes many still, to make excuses for much of the New Testament while ironically fiercely defending the Bible's relevance and perfection.
   This lie has infiltrated most of the western church. Even where miracles are still believed in, they are mostly believed in with the addendum "I believe it will happen... if it's God's will."
   Yet the New Testament is clear that God's will has been made known to us (Ephesians 1:9). There is no mystery about whether or not Jesus wants to heal sick people or cast out demons. He demonstrated His desire to do so when He healed or delivered every person who came to Him. Are we not also disciples of Christ? Then why are we ignoring His command?
  The word "Christian" literally means "little Christ." It's almost comical that the same people who so vigorously defend the authenticity of the Bible also seem to think the authors of it made so many mistakes. It would be comical if it wasn't so sad. It's sad for them, but also for all the people who are fooled into thinking that their disease or affliction is somehow God's will for them. Did not Jesus tell us that it is every good gift that comes from God (Luke 11:13)? If we, who are evil, He says, would not give our kids scorpions when they ask for an egg, then why do we expect God to? Couldn't you make the argument that a sickness is even worse than a scorpion? So why are we ignoring the very words of God and telling people that their physical suffering is God's will for them?
  Jesus used miracles to display God's love for people, and many came to Him as a result. The church, full of "little Christs" is meant to do the same. It's time we embrace the miraculous again and fulfill the will of God. We will be amazed at what happens.


We should all be doing what Todd is doing in this video. I've personally seen these things as well. They are real, God is doing them.
"Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven." James 5:14-15

ConclusionThe church is meant to be the embodiment of God's will for the earth. We are meant to show the world what Jesus looks like in order that they may know Him. Somewhere along the way we got lost. We forgot our identity and what we were called to do.
But the good news is that God is calling us back. He is giving us the keys to a new reformation. A reformation that this time will focus around unity, love, and the explosion of the Holy Spirit's power. God is marrying the best of the modern church with the best of the original church, and all the church has to do is embrace it to get healthy again. If it does, the world will never be the same.

"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 3:10-11

We're Meant for More

The other day I let myself be pulled into a debate. Thankfully, no one was hurt, which isn't always the case in debates I've been involved in. A lot of time the wounds have been my fault, a lot of times it's been the other participants fault. As a result, I really try to steer clear of debating unless I know my relationship with the other person is strong enough to overcome offense at differing, strong opinions. It's a lesson I've learned after years of licking my own wounds and patching up the wounds of others, at least when they let me.

And while I believe the debate was ultimately somewhat fruitful for both of us (including giving me inspiration for what I think is a decent blog), there came a point where it just kept going, for no other reason than we both kept trying to change the one another's mind and so just kept repeating ourselves in different forms. When debates get to that point it's time to run away. A good debate presents both sides and then the parties say, "ok, I've heard you. I'm open to looking into it," or, "I still disagree, but I see why you think that." A bad debate goes on forever because one side is trying to win. Listen, even if you "win" the debate, very few people will change their mind in the heat of the moment. Like, 1% of people. So present your opinion, your ideas, and get the heck out of there!

Anyways, I say this because it seems like everywhere I look my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are simply debating everyone. They're debating each other, they're debating others, they're debating thin air hoping someone will join in (if you've been on Facebook in the last minute, you know what I'm talking about!).

I mean, really?

Is this what disciples of Jesus are supposed to look like?

Is this what the children of God have been reduced to? Talking heads?

I write this as someone who is just as guilty as anyone else. I used to love the opportunity to tell people why they were wrong. I really did, and sometimes that ugly side of me still wants to showcase itself. Don't misunderstand me, it's a strength of mine to teach and the desire to share truth is actually a very good thing, but what's not good is using those strengths in a way that is not beneficial to others.

Unfortunately most of us don't have that filter on.

Instead we're bickering over our disagreements instead of finding ways to unify.

Instead we're judging the world instead of loving it.

It's time to stop telling the world why it's wrong and start simply showing them why we have the better way.

The western church (and yes, that means you too America!) has become a church of more talking and less doing. We were never meant to spend our days in debate and judgment. We were meant for more.

Today I sat down to read the Bible, and while I was praying I heard clearly "Ephesians." I felt like I was supposed to read the entire book (it's only 6 chapters so it's not some great feat). I wasn't sure why but I followed the prompting. When I came to chapter 4 things started to really stick out to me. Right away in chapter 4 verse 1 Paul writes, As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Ephesians is a letter of guidance and encouragement for mature Christians. It's the only letter Paul writes where he's not addressing specific problems in a church. Why? Because the Ephesian church gets it. They're not having doctrinal or heresy issues. They believe the gospel 100%. So Paul isn't doing any fixing here, he is guiding them to the next level.

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Christians, we are the ones called. He's talking to us. He goes on,

v. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.How many times have we failed this? Completely humble and gentle? Yikes. It's a good thing Paul didn't have social media. Instead of being patient with others in life, we've gotten too busy trying to convince them to change immediately. You know what will eventually bring them to truth? Bearing with them in love. Coming alongside them and loving them until they stop and think, "how could someone love me so much without selfish motive?" Jesus, and only Jesus. If we did as Paul wrote they couldn't ignore Jesus if they wanted to.

v. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Christians, we need to stop bickering about petty differences and instead embrace the fact that we are all family as God's children despite our disagreements! Not only are we to embrace it, but we are to FIGHT for that unity! I have heard people say so many times, "You Christians can't even love each other." What a slap in the face to our Lord, who prayed right before He was led to death that we all would be in unity. If you have let Jesus become your savior you are a Christian, even if you don't take communion every week or you like drums in worship. Get over it people! We need to come back together!

v. 29. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up others according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Somewhere along the road the western Church decided that the only way to make followers of Jesus was to break people down into submission by making them feel terrible about themselves. This is the EXACT opposite of what the Bible says to do! We are to tame our tongues and use our words to love and encourage others. We are to hate gossip. We are to hate anything that destroys a person's confidence or self-worth. We are to be the most inspiring, encouraging, loving people in the world, and much of that happens through our speech.

v. 31. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every kind of malice.
 How many of us have fallen into the trap of letting our words and actions be carried out because we are angry? I have done it far too much. Staying in anger is one of the biggest doorways to sin. That's why in this same chapter Paul says, In your anger do not sin. If a person is perpetually angry they will fall into sin. Christians, far too many of us have been living in anger because we have been hurt by the world or by our own. It's time to overcome that bitterness and re-enter peace.

v. 32. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 
Just as Christ forgave you, and me, and anyone who has come before Him ready to repent. We are so quick to forget our lives before we received His love and salvation. We are so quick to judge those who have not yet experienced it. We are so quick to forget what it was like the first time we realized we were loved. If only we would remember, we would stop wasting so much time judging others. We would stop wasting so much time holding onto offense. Jesus forgave us, even though we were unforgivable. What gives us the right to not extend the same love to others? The same unearned gift? This is part of our CALLING. If you said yes to Jesus, you are CALLED to forgive.

Brothers and sisters, we have been missing the mark. All of us, definitely myself included. This petty infighting, this bickering with the outside world, this slander of our leaders when we disagree, it all needs to stop. We are meant to love the world even though it is often unlovable. We are called to love those who don't know Jesus because that's what HE would do. Why are we wasting so much time casting judgment on a world that is already dead? We are to be showing the world what life is so that they will want it.

We are meant to take the higher path, the one of love. Our ways should not look like the world's. Each of us should be the most gracious, safest place any person could ever turn. Christian means "little Christ." Not one person was ever meant to see a Christian as a person of judgment or hate. Not one person was ever meant to see a Christian as bitter. We, Christians, are meant to be reflections of Christ. We are meant to spread good news of salvation and love. We are meant to live in joy and peace, and in UNITY! When someone is hurting, no matter what it is, we are to bear with them and come alongside them, not lecture them about how small their problem is.

If we want the world to listen to us, we must first love it back into relationship with us. It's time for us to be something better than what the world expects us to be. It's time for us to embrace the "more" that we are called to be.

It's time for us to remember how wretched, how lost, how hopeless, and how dirty we were before Jesus came into our lives and redeemed us. It's time for us to start looking at others the way Jesus looked at us. It's time for us to show the world that we are different because He first loved us, and that love changed us forever.

We were meant for more, and the world needs us to realize it.

WWJD: Time to Bomb ISIS

It never fails, people start getting slaughtered in the world and Christians in the west rise up... to debate whether or not Jesus would use violence to save the innocent. It is a tired, lazy debate that only happens because it is not our children in America forced to drink our blood in order to avoid dying of thirst. But hey, someone has to enforce turning the other cheek. That's what Jesus would want, right?

I'm just going to come out and say it. I hate this debate. I think it is stupid. I think it comes from those whose idea of suffering is working outside of air conditioning. I think it comes from a place of postmodern intellectualism disguising itself as Christianity. It displays a form of lazy theology, which takes one verse of the Bible and uses that verse to explain everything while ignoring larger context. I really hate it, and I'm tired of this going around while people are actually suffering until we decide to stop debating and actually go do something to help.

That's how I feel, and yet I keep getting dragged into it, which frustrates me even more. So instead of having to explain my thoughts 100 times over the next few years, I'm just going to write them down here, where now anytime this debate comes up again and someone asks, "what do you think?" I can point to this and say, "here you go!"

So bear with me. Here we go!

The Problem

As Christians we're called to be peacemakers. Jesus says in Matthew 5:9 that peacemakers are blessed and shall be called children of God. John writes in John 3:1 that we (saved by grace) are the children of God. Therefore we can assume that all who choose to be adopted by God through Jesus' blood are also called to be peacemakers.

War and violence, even in order for a good cause, are not peaceful.

Jesus further emphasizes our call to a life of peace in Matt. 5:39-41 (turn the other cheek, go two miles if asked to go one, etc...) and in Matt. 5:44 (love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you). In doing so He clearly lays out what our attitude should be toward those who hate us. He also overturns much of Jewish law and tradition that the Jews had known to be straight from God for thousands of years. He also was teaching against the violent, sinful nature man knew innately. Not a small deal.

This theme of peace and loving others, even those who hate us, continues throughout the New Testament in far too many references to list here. So it's clear that what Jesus said here was not simply a one-time thing to a specific group. His teaching on love and peace here is for all of His followers, now and forever.

And finally, to complicate matters further, Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil.

All of this leads us to The Problem. What do we do when others are suffering heavily and the only power we have to stop it immediately is brute force? Does Jesus really just want us to sit by and watch and pray without intervening?

... Well?

The Solution

Now is where I try not to rant but to actually approach this scholarly. But then again, where's the fun in that?

Look, I've been a Spirit-filled Christian now since I was a teenager. I've graduated ministry school and I learned for years under my father who was a Spirit-filled priest with a Master's in theology. I have served in church in some form since I was 17. I have been an elder at age 24 and a pastoral intern. I love Jesus with all my heart, I love the Bible as the Word of God, and I do my best to love each and every person in this world. I believe 100% word for word all the passages I quoted above.

And still I would drop bombs on ISIS until every single one of them were nothing but dust on the earth.

You see, I believe unequivocally that we are to live in peace and love with all mankind. But I also believe that there is evil in this world that often manifests itself physically through human beings. I believe God gave us the Bible to guide us, but I also believe He gave us the Holy Spirit to help guide us through what the Bible is teaching us. I believe the Holy Spirit, as we grow in it, gives us wisdom. I believe wisdom often manifests itself as "common sense." And I believe that common sense wisdom says that when you see an innocent child, woman, or man being assaulted you do something about it, in the physical.

It's easy to be a pacifist when you don't have any fight in your path. It's easy to quote Jesus in a way that I believe is out of context when people are dying thousands of miles away. But the truth is this:

If you don't believe in helping people with violence when violence is called for, you are a coward. Plain and simple.

If you saw someone attacking a child and you stopped to pray about it, you're a coward.

If you had the chance to stop a woman from being raped and you simply prayed about it, you're a coward.

If you wouldn't do everything physically in your power to stop one human being from brutally killing another one you are a coward.

I know one thing about Jesus, He was no coward.

It is true that Jesus told us to turn the other cheek when someone struck us. This same Jesus told His disciples to sell their cloaks and buy swords the night before He was betrayed (Luke 22:36). This same Jesus took the time to fashion a whip and then cause havoc in the temple because He was defending the honor of His Father's house (John 2). He was a friend to soldiers and never encouraged them to find other employment. In Revelation Jesus is described as the leader of heaven's armies (Revelation 19). Jesus is clearly not a pacifist.

So what about the teachings quoted earlier?

If we take the full context of Scripture, even just the New Testament, we are given a much clearer picture of what Jesus meant is these teachings. So let's break them down.

1. "Blessed are the peacemakers."

I think this is where we ask ourselves, what is a peacemaker? Some would say it's someone who always chooses non-violent solutions. But this goes against everything the Bible teaches us. First of all, while the question of physical violence is in debate among Christians, the question of spiritual violence is not at all. We are quite comfortable doing battle in the spirit realm often. We pray in earnest (or "violently") for healing, or salvation, or for deliverance. We are constantly in violent battle over our thoughts. And yet we still can live in peace. So what's the difference between contending in the spiritual or in the physical?

I would contend that the word "peacemaker" means someone who contends to make a place for peace. That contention is often violent. A peacemaker, therefore, is a warrior. Either in the spirit realm or in the physical. They are someone who clears away evil so that peace may reside.

Which naturally brings me to when Paul says...

2. "Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual."

Dangit. He just totally ruined my last answer... or did he?

The same Paul who wrote this also writes in Romans 13:2-5-

 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

Hmm, I'm pretty sure he's talking about physical punishment here. So apparently Paul was either really confused or he knew that truths held in tension bring us to deeper truth. I'm going with the latter.

On one hand Paul is telling us not to fight in the physical, and on the other hand he's telling us that God gives us authorities to physically punish wrongdoers. So which is it?

Let me say that I believe what Paul writes in Eph. 6 is the higher truth. I believe that we are to see everything as a spiritual battle. We are not to look at the physical first and foremost. We are to believe that it is not actually people spearheading the evil happening but the spiritual forces behind them. Man was created good, it is when man chooses to worship either himself or darkness that he becomes an instrument of evil. We are to always be aware of this and spiritually battling against it.

But at the same time... sometimes a good physical butt-whupping is needed. Sometimes a physical battle is going to be part of the spiritual one. Paul, in his wisdom from the Spirit, recognized this. So did Jesus, as is clear from the larger context of the Bible.

Of course, there's still...

3. "Turn the other cheek."

Ah yes, the most popular oft-quoted verse of any pacifist, whether they are Christian or atheist. This phrase is the mantra for people who love doing nothing when others are in need of intervention.

So it seems pretty clear doesn't it? Yes, I would agree. It's very clear.

It's clear, but it's not simple.

First of all, what's the context here? Jesus is talking to Jews who were raised "eye for an eye!" If someone hurts you, you hurt them back the same way. But the time for that way of life was over, and so Jesus is teaching them the exact opposite of that way of life. He needed to be extreme in order to reset their religious mindset that was based on revenge and not love.

He follows the "turn the other cheek" teaching immediately by telling us to love our enemies, and to bless those who persecute us. Further expanding the notion of loving those who wrong us. And I believe all of it. Every word. I believe even in loving the Islamic extremists, and I pray for their salvation and their repentance that they may know something more than the hate they live in.

But I also pray that if they don't repent, that they are physically stopped, by whatever force necessary.

You see, one thing constantly missed about the larger context of what Jesus is teaching here is that He is teaching an enslaved people. They are not free, they are not powerful. They are under the rule of Rome. They have no hope of overcoming Rome with power, and yet many of them were seeking to rebel anyways, and such plans would eventually lead to Jerusalem being destroyed in A.D 70.

Jesus is telling people who have no physical power how to still be spiritually powerful. Through love. He is teaching the persecuted how to endure persecution and ultimately win the spiritual battle.

This teaching is also a personal teaching. Notice He never says, "when you see someone being raped and are in position to stop it, turn the other cheek!" No, He is talking to individuals about their own personal experiences. On our own, when we are the ones being persecuted, we are to turn the other cheek, and let the persecutor see our spiritual strength, our love. This teaching has NOTHING to say about what we do in times of defending others. Why?

BECAUSE THE PRINCIPLES FOR DEFENDING OTHERS NEVER CHANGED!!!

When it comes to defending others, we have the guidelines for instituting justice in the Old Testament. Paul talks about this when he talks about authorities in our lives. Authorities are people in positions of power. They have the power to institute justice, often through physical punishment.

Don't agree with me? Try finding these phrases in the Bible:

"Don't defend your family. Leave them to suffer."

"Allow the evildoer to hurt as many as he can."

"Toss out all laws and just love others."

"Never allow someone to be punished."

The Conclusion

There is nowhere in the Bible that tells us to avoid defending the defenseless, in fact there is quite a bit that advocates otherwise. There is also nowhere in the Bible that says that violence is never to be an answer. Not even in the New Testament.

Pacifism, the belief of never using violent force to intervene, is a cowardly and ultimately destructive belief system.

Using the Bible to condone pacifism shows a huge lack of contextual understanding by the reader. Either that or it displays a blatant attempt to use the Bible to validate one's personal beliefs with no regard for what the actual truth is.

Debating this ultimately is wasting time when action is needed. Western Chrstians, it's time to grow a spine and help out our brothers and sisters who are being killed by the millions worldwide, and if that means using force, so be it.