Searching Together

Jesus loves a free atmosphere where He can flow through His people with no hindrances. Amazing revelations happen in an open, Spirit-led gathering. This happened to us recently on a Sunday morning when we were eating together and remembering the Lord. Our sweet time together shifted gears suddenly. We each had sipped some wine from the pewter goblet. Dale picked it up, poured some wine out onto the table, and said with conviction, "His crucifixion was not neat, it was very messy." We were all … [Read more...]

America is one big celebrity culture. Big names. Big followings. Big money. One expects celebrity worship and big money in the culture of the world, but we can also see it in what calls itself church. Truth is, there has been a religious system in place since 250AD that has elevated church leaders in an extremely unhealthy way. In the early church there was no “clergy” and “laity” as these words have been used traditionally for centuries. In fact, the Greek word kleros (“inheritance”) – from … [Read more...]

  I am amazed by all the resources available to the twenty-first century reader. Some I find “accidentally” in the course of internet searches, while others are sent to me. Below I’ve written a synopsis of some I’d recommend. If any strike a chord, pursue them!   THE POWER OF WEAKNESS, Keith Giles, 2012, 96 pages. I’ve read this book twice. It is a needed salve in the strength-driven, celebrity-based religious culture that surrounds us. Keith emphasizes that the Gospel is … [Read more...]

I've known Frank Viola, my friend and brother in Christ, for many years. Our close friendship has continued to grow in the love and depths of Jesus Christ as we work together. It is an understatement to say that Father blessed my life with Frank. It seems that the more I know Frank, the more I am focused upon Christ and His body. Father has used Frank to unveil the glorious riches and heavenly treasures of Christ in each person within His body. Christ in Frank remains to be a powerful example to … [Read more...]

One of the most fundamental misunderstandings, in what calls itself church, is the notion that somebody in the church – usually the pastor – has to be “in charge.” Jesus taught just the opposite. He made it clear that He was in charge, and each person in His body on earth has a unique Spirit-driven contribution to make for the building up of the ekklesia. Closely linked to the mistaken idea that there has to be one leader, where the buck stops, is the tradition that males are to have center … [Read more...]

I remember well in 1964 when Barry Goldwater was running against somebody. Scott Chesley and Anita Anderson (Howard) had come to my door in Canoga Park, California, and presented the “Romans Road” to me. That was the first time I’d really heard anything from the Bible, and I was 19 then. After a week’s worth of meetings with Major Ed Bundy of the Church League of America, I ended up being increasingly involved in Faith Baptist Church, a fundamentalist Baptist church in Canoga Park, pastored … [Read more...]

I don’t know what reasons #1 and #2 are, but I know this one ranks way up there. As Frank Viola pointed out in Reimagining Church, there is one source that for sure impedes God’s purposes in Christ – human traditions. One tradition that has a stranglehold in most of what calls itself “church” is the notion that the buck stops with “the pastor.” This so-called “office” is, as was unfolded in chapter five of Pagan Christianity, the biggest “obstacle to every-member functioning.” As this all works … [Read more...]