I am pro-church. I am pro-body. Pro-bride. I am excited for the existing church and I’m excited for the up and coming church. I am pro both of them.
I think many people will agree that there is a new wineskin already evident around the world. It is especially very obvious in Christian blogging circles as people – men and women, not just women – rally around one another.
The new habits we are learning and developing online will shift offline as we reach out to people in the physical world around us. Our skills are being born online where there is no existing way/rule to keep our thinking bound to the past ways we learned to do things. We are free to experiment here, so we do. Shortly, as the Holy Spirit leads us, we will do the same offline.
The defining characteristic of this movement is this: we are Jesus to one another. What do I mean? We let Him shine through us to the other person, by offering them our love and support.
In this way, we are keeping His command and what’s more we are keeping many suggested ways of helping one another.
I believe that there is also a counterfeit wave happening, a false delusion occurring, which is marked by signs and wonders. But I’m not concerned by that because it’s God’s church. He is doing what He is doing. My focus is on encouraging people to get into relationships, to heal, to love, to support.
If you’re involved with a formal church and you don’t like my lassaize faire approach… consider this: Jesus Himself said that anyone who is used to the old wine will prefer the old way. Check it out: The wineskin proverb.
I think that Jesus loves both the old and the new – and as an act of my will, so do I. I prefer the new, but I’d happily and glady worship and serve and love in the old.
As I drove around today I was thanking so many pastors of churches. (I was thinking of one in particular actually.) They have helped me immeasurably. I would not be who I am, where I am, today, without their input. I can thank God for bringing me into their “sphere of influence”. How could I have gone forward without their input?
But now it is time to go forward again. The question then is… can a church go forward into this new wineskin?
The wineskin proverb indicates that they probably won’t. But still… what if an existing church WANTED to go forward into the new wineskin?
It would take a lot of change. No doubt. The thinking is so different. The new leaders have been trained up over ten or twenty years. It’s not just something to absorb overnight.
The whole starting point is different. There are no metrics. No human goals. Just the guiding principle of loving God and loving one another.
only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love. – Gal 5:6
Here is an example. My good friend is considering starting a Christian biker group. That is the new wineskin right there. To make a place where people can join, belong, connect, heal and recover.
What would happen if we all took His command seriously, to love one another? Just pause for a moment and imagine the world we’d live in. Picture this:
Two billion Christian living lives in which they live out their dreams! Living to their capacity, encouraged along by other Christians. As a result each one is loving one or more people. Each one is helping in some teeny tiny way.
Some are pastoring (meaning, healing and fathering or mothering the lost), some are prophesying (meaning, sharing the gospel and good news), some are evangelizing (introducing new people into this loving web of people), some are inviting others into their homes, some are… there’s no end of ways you can love.
Just figure out who you are and what you’re good at… and use it to LOVE someone. That’s all that Jesus really asked of you. So just do it!
It’s the parable of the talents! Only got 1 talent? Use it, He will give you more. Got 10? Use them!
Men love differently to women. Both are good. Some people are pushy, some are quiet. Both are good. Some are bold, some hang back. IT IS ALL GOOD.
No love is wrong. No type is better. No way is higher.
In this Christian world that I am describing…
Do we need metrics? Nope.
Do we need formal programs? Nope. Our lives ARE the program. We will combine and recombine as we need to.
Do we need to have goals and performance targets? In most cases no, but it depends on what we are doing.
Do we need training? Yes, in some instances.
Do we need a building? Sure, that would sometimes be handy!
Do we need rules? Society already has rules, but we can combine the morals and standard that we see in the NT and integrate them too.
Do we need elders? Yes.
Do we need to recognize who are natural leaders and learn from them? Absolutely!
I know that it kinda looks like a modern church with cell groups… but it doesn’t function anything like it.
The reason for the vast difference is because this move is where each person listens to the Holy Spirit, or for new babes, they listen to the command to love which is in the bible.
Another vast difference is that they take SERIOUSLY the statement that Jesus said… we are ALL priests now, we are ALL called… we are just called to different things!
Once again I would like to say that I completely understand that some people might look at this post and say… but this will end up just like a church with home groups… but it really isn’t.
Instead of the monolithic organization (like a battleship), we instead have a flotilla of small speed boats zipping and zapping, every which way. People jumping onto opportunities as they see them come up. People maturing everywhere. Making mistakes. Learning. Becoming stronger. Healing.
At the moment in many churches there is one sheep up the front following God and 5000 lambs following that sheep. This model of church is broken. It is not going to go forward. Jesus wants 5000 sheep. Learning to be a sheep means walking and trying and jumping and pushing and biting and… growing!
Some might say that this cannot work because humans need leadership. Yes they do. It’s God’s church right? Jesus said He will build His church. It’s His bride.
And besides that, I already see the leaders – they are scattered all over the place. As Jesus said, they are the unseen people, the rejected perhaps, the ones washing the feet of others. The ones running the school feeding project. The one delivering food to the elderly. The pastors (I’m referring to the gift mentioned in the bible).
These leaders didn’t do the work they are doing because someone told them to. They did it because they saw a need where someone needed love or God or provision… and they filled that need.
These leaders didn’t need anyone’s approval then, and they don’t need the formal church’s approval now either. God is their exhorter and encourager. You watch and see.
The one who will serve others – THAT is what Jesus said He is looking for in a leader, THAT is the type of person He will raise up in this new wineskin. He said it 2000 years ago… and the time is NOW.
What Martin Luther did was take away the barriers between us and God. He reminded us that everyone is a priest before the Lord. Now we will finally complete that, because everyone is a priest before the people too.
A good piece of reading about this type of contrast is found in this legendary open source writing: the cathedral and the bazaar. (Not recommended reading, but good if you’re into IT/computing!)
So if modern churches are battleships, this new wineskin is like a flotilla of speedboats.
Some speed boats will co-operate, some won’t. Some need to be together, some don’t. Some will be more powerful, some will specialize in speed. As long as you’re expressing your faith as love… you’re right in the heart of it.
only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love. – Gal 5:6
Where the speed boat goes and what it does is not centrally commanded, not delegated down, not flowing like “oil” from some bearded guy up the chain of command.
Instead the driver of the speed boat uses five criteria to decide where to go and how to go:
- according to the command in the bible to love
- according to any further commands (rhema) given to the driver by the Holy Spirit (and this ability to hear comes over time, by walking, learning and trying!)
- according to the “degree of faith” that the driver has been given as a gift from God (but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him – Rom 12:3)
- according to the emotional healing, social skills and ability to lead that the driver has
- according to the spiritual gifts given to that driver
All five things influence the success of the speed boat. All five things can shift and change. For example we can’t actually raise our faith level, but if we use what we have got and He can give us more!
For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance],
but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. – Rom 12:3
Use what you have and more will be given. It’s what Jesus taught.
Fortunately, Jesus isn’t into success and He’s not performance driven. He was born into a dirty, filthy and stinky manger and he got the money to pay the taxes from the mouth of a fish and He died with nothing… but He never lacked anything (thank You Father!) because He spent His life loving God and loving people.
He certainly was not performance driven, I hope you can see that. He is the one who is capable. Not us. He is the one who has the ability. Not us. He wants to do His work through us.
So can a church make this quantum leap? Well… yes! It’s so simple… His command is to love one another.
Any church CAN grip onto this teaching of Jesus and create an affirming church infrastructure in which the attendees can SEE that they are commanded to go and find a way to love… and they then GO and get into action.
A church CAN remodel itself, be a meeting place, a facilitator, a connector, a loving home, a family, encouragers, a place of healing for the community.
And the people who attend the church?
Well… you make a biker group. I’ll write my blog and volunteer for Fusion. Someone else runs a Christian Coffee club. Someone else starts a church. Every one of us determined to love and we’re determined to be the anti-Donald Trump.
What a wonderful world in which to bring a child up in.Where the child will receive love from so many directions and be encouraged to give what he/she has and become loving themselves.
Many many church leaders have taught about the coming generation of David’s. Well… you can stop teaching now. They are among you right now.
Will you reject them? Or will you find it in yourself to let them go on and do what they are destined to do. They do not want to work inside your group, they do not want to tamper with what you have built. You’re safe.
Just let them alone to go their merry way.
I leave you with this
Now in the present case let me say to you, stand off (withdraw) from these men and let them alone. For if this doctrine or purpose or undertaking or movement is of human origin, it will fail (be overthrown and come to nothing);
But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop or overthrow or destroy them – Acts 5:38-39
God bless you.
Filed under: Church
Wow, that is a mega post Mark! You really put so much hard work and effort into your posts.
I think it’s fantastic that you are constantly stirring people to love others, to be loving to one another, to build the Church with love. We really need more of that in our day and age, when selfishness and autonomy rule. And I’m glad you are so pro-Church – me too! The Church is God’s purpose on the earth, it’s where it’s all at.
You share some really interesting points about new churches and building our own. There definitely needs to be unity within the Church though, rather than people just going off and creating their own churches. But I think you already said that when you talked about loving one another. We also need to build our churches the way the Bible instructs, and not because of our own ideas but through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Hmm, it is a big subject! One that my own church is really big on – totally committed to the Church as God’s purpose on the earth and building them like in the New Testament.
Anyway, good job Mark, keep toiling away for the glory of Christ!
In His care,
Emily
Hi Emily. thanks for your encouragement. Writing is not hard for me, it kinds just flows out and I just type and type and look up verses that spring to mind. So God must get the glory for all of this. God bless you! Mark.
Hi there….
Thanks for writing and sharing this post. I love how you continually piece your thoughts together and tie them all into one big truth at the end. Good job.
There was one part that stuck out to me and it was the part about signs and wonders. Its interesting because I’m seeking God about that. I know that S&W were used to prove that God was real to unbelievers, but in my walk right now, I think there’s a bit more to it than that. I think that a sign is that…a directional point that points us to a greater destination..IE, when you travel from Wherever, USA to Atlanta, GA, you’ll see signs along the way. By no means are the signs meant to be worshiped. I certainly wouldn’t expect to stop my car, get out and unpack my stuff at the location of the sign, because thats not the point of the sign.
On a God/Kingdom level, signs and wonders are meant (and this is totally IMHO) to maybe show you something or expose you to something that you might not have known before. For me, and my understanding so far, s&w are miracles and moves of God., IE, healings, deliverance, etc. And I look fwd to embracing what God has for me to learn in that arena.
HOWEVER, as it was in the bible days…(ha, I love that term: bible days) there were false actions that mimicked or resembled moves of God. (Case in point, the magicians vs moses with the staff that turned into snakes).We all know how that ends – Moses’ staff gobbles up the other snakes….
But before I get off the subject, out of line, or confused in my own thoughts…I just wanted to put that in there. I know there is much that needs to be learned on that subject.
And to make a long story short, yes, I agree that there are false spirits, false illustrations of signs and wonders, but I hope that doesn’t harden your heart to all of them. I know you’ve been thru so much, and have experienced awesome life changing things by the hand of God in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord and Savior.
I just wanted to get the ball rolling there…tell me what you think. I’m interested to hear what you wanted to say there.
Hiya Abiding. I think signs and wonders could be better described as… “signs in a Christians life that make others wonder!” So if you’re a non-believer and trying to heal someone and I can… you’ll ask me WHY I can and I’ll introduce you to Jesus. And the same goes for lost believers and believers who are gifted by God with signs… the lost one should hopefully come to the one who is close to the Lord and ASK him or her HOW do do you that? And the one who is closer to the Lord can lead them to Him. I hope that makes sense? God bless you! Mark.