Monthly Archives: July 2010

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 and Part 11.

In early 1994, I drove back to Illinois to attend a high school friend’s funeral. It was held in a small church and I sat with my parents in a middle row of the sanctuary.

As I sat there on the wooden pew,  listening to the pastor, the Holy Spirit interrupted my thoughts and blanked out all noise from the service and the people around me. I was there, but I wasn’t. Then, He spoke to me:

“My Church consists mainly of a bunch of nice losers,” He said. “They pray for the sick, and if the person dies, they aren’t angry and don’t really feel that bad about it. After all, they did their religious duty.

“Now, in Major League Baseball, both the winning teams and losing teams want to win; it’s a part of each player’s make-up. But after a while, the losing teams’ players don’t really mind losing anymore. They still receive large paychecks and enjoy all the fantastic benefits of just being a Major League player. So, losing is not such a big deal to them.

“But this is not true for the winning teams’ players. Each of these players hates to lose and will do anything and make whatever sacrifice is needed to win games. They absolutely hate losing!

“I want My Church to hate losing!”

The conversation ended and I began weeping so hard I thought I was going to vomit. My sister leaned over. “Don’t you think that you should get a hold of yourself? You’re making a scene,” she whispered.

I shrugged my shoulders. There was nothing I could do, nor did I care what others thought of me at that moment. I was devastated by the Holy Spirit’s description of the Church:  “a bunch of nice losers.“

Now, what’s funny is that I was upset with God for allowing my friend to die. I had witnessed to my friend over the years. Prayed for him. Fasted for him. Invested time in his healing. But still, he died and I was mad at God as I sat there in the pew!

So, wouldn’t you think that God would have corrected me about my anger at Him? And yet, He didn’t. Instead, He redirected my anger toward the Church’s losing attitudes.

From whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)

(Continued in Part 13)

This is a continuation of the nine-part series,  I’d Like to Prophesy, But…

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. (Luke 6:46 – 48)

For years, I looked at the above verses and believed Jesus was talking only about His written words which are contained in the New Testament, and especially the first four books of the New Testament.

And this was because the Greek word logos is translated words in verse 47.

Now my thinking went along with Kenneth Hagin and other Charismatic teachers who taught that there was a difference between the two Greek words, logos and rhema, which are both translated into our English language as word.

These Charismatic teachers believe that the Greek word logos refers mainly to the written word as found in today’s Bibles, while the Greek word rhema refers to an uttered word.

These teachers would use the following examples to prove their beliefs:

For the word [logos] is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

And take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word [rhema] of God. (Ephesians 6: 17)

There are many other scriptural examples these teachers would use to explain their beliefs, but to be honest, there is a major flaw in their teachings. And the flaw is that there are more exceptions to their teachings than there are examples of it being valid.

Now, I am not saying that there is not a difference between the two Greek words, logos and rhema, but I would guess that it is a subtle nuance which has been lost (so far) to us over the centuries.

Strong’s Concordance defines both logos and rhema as being spoken words or utterances.  And if you want to study more on logos versus rhema, Theo-Enthumology has a great study on them.

So, as we continue on in this series, I will be looking at Luke 6:46 -49 as also referring to prophetic words or Jesus’ now words.

(Continued in Part 2)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 and Part 9.

Rather, the present-day pastor was born out of the single-bishop rule first spawned by Ignatius and Cyprian. The bishop evolved into the local presbyter. In the Middle Ages, the presbyter grew into the Catholic priest. During the Reformation, he was transformed into the “preacher,” “the minister,” and finally “the pastor” – the person upon whom all of Protestantism hangs. To boil it down to one sentence: The Protestant pastor is nothing more than a slightly reformed Catholic priest. (Again, we are speaking of the office and not the individual.) (Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna, Tyndale Publishing; pp. 141)

To have pastors in a church is Scriptural, but the present-day pastoral system is quite unscriptural; it is an invention of man. (The Normal Christian Church Life by Watchman Nee)

No expression of a New Testament church is ever led by just one professional “holy man” doing the business of communicating with God and then feeding some relatively passive, religious consumers Moses-style. Christianity has adopted this method from pagan religions, or at best from the Old Testament. The heavy professionalism of the church since Constantine has now been a persuasive influence long enough, dividing the people of God artificially into laity and clergy. According to the New Testament (1 Timothy 2:5),  “there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” God simply does not bless professionals to force themselves in-between people and God forever. (Houses That Change The World by Wolfgang Simson, pp.10)

“Larry is a stubborn believer,” says my wife, elongating the word stubborn so that it echoes off walls.

Okay, admittedly, I’m stubborn. But my stubbornness pertains mainly to when I believe I’ve heard the voice of the Lord.  And if I think I’ve heard the Lord, then I will hang on until something happens or the Lord loosens my grip.

Have I ever erred in thinking it was the voice of the Lord when it wasn’t? Yes, I have my share of wrong presumptions under my belt…and the scars to prove it.

But as Graham Cooke says, “I’d rather err on the side of presumption than to not step out in faith when I believe the Lord has spoken to me. Presumption isn’t a sin, but fear is.”

I agree with Cooke.

And yet, when the Lord asked us to walk away from the traditional church system, I really struggled with it. I felt as though we were the only people in the whole world doing something as ridiculous as this.

Thanks to the internet, I soon learned that millions of believers in the United States were doing the exact same thing. I read books by Gene Edwards, Frank Viola, Wolfgang Simson, Watchman Nee and others. All of these encouraged me on my journey out

In a nutshell, Edwards, Viola, Simson, Nee and others proclaim the royal priesthood of the believers (1 Peter 2:9) and denounce the unscriptural clergy-laity separation in the traditional church system.

Though I agree with the teachings of the above men, I have a different passion for encouraging people to exit the tradition church system, especially on the West Coast.

(Continued in Part 11)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

What was Jesus’ main problem with the Pharisees? Most of us would answer, “Hypocrisy.” Right?

Yet, when I look in the mirror every morning, I see the biggest hypocrite in the whole world, the one who I intimately know inside and out better than any other possible hypocrite. And guess what? Every believer, without exception, has this same problem at sometime or another.

Hypocrisy cannot be the answer. So, what was Jesus’ main problem with the Pharisees?

And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. ‘ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7: 6 – 8)

Did you know the Pharisees had ushered in a Judaic revival just before John the Baptist and Jesus arrived on the scene? Josephus, the historian, who estimated the sect at 6,000 strong, stated that the Pharisees were considered “the hope of Israel” and were the dominant spiritual influence for the Jews.

In fact, the Pharisees held many beliefs in common with Jesus. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, the Messiah’s soon arrival, angels, a day of judgment, a person’s free-choice and God’s sovereignty. They taught that God was a loving, all-knowing, just and merciful Creator. They called for Jews to live a life of obedience.

And yet, Jesus found fault with them.

Can you imagine how shocked the people were when they heard Jesus rake these so-called holy men over the coals?

For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

What was it about these traditions that bugged Jesus so much?

In their zeal for God, the Pharisees came up with rituals and programs to protect people from disobeying the Torah, and thus, reaping the wrath of God. For instance, the Sabbath Day’s Journey or just how far could a Jew walk on the Sabbath without sinning against the Law.

At first, the Pharisees determined a Jew could, in good conscience, walk within the boundaries of a city, especially to a synagogue or the Temple. Then, later Pharisees, determined they could walk 2,000 cubits (cubit = approx. 18 inches) outside the city. Later, this was upped to 4,000 cubits, or about one mile.

This minuteness to detail was carried over by the Pharisees into every area of daily life for the Jews. It became known as “the yolk of the Torah.” It was an impossible burden for anyone to carry.

Jesus exposed the traditions for what they were: a man-made religion filled with rituals, programs and traditions.

Now, what if Jesus visited the American traditional church system today, what would be the first thing He would point to as a man-made tradition? Maybe, the office of the pastor.

So, what about the separation of clergy and laity? Is it scriptural?

(Continued in Part 10)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14 and Part 15.

Thank God for Women, But now is a new season when the Lord will be emphasizing men in His Church. This will not mean a return to legalistic systems whereby women will be forced back under male dominated systems and a return to second class gender status.

But instead, the anointed men of  this move of God will understand the importance of women and their callings, and will not be jealous about the uniqueness of female Christians nor worried that femininity will ever infringe upon their masculinity.

These men will stand guard over the Church so that it is not  divided against itself again because if it is, the American Church will not stand against the evil winds which will soon be blowing against it.

This new season is a time of war.

And men, by their unique God-created designs, are aggressors and warriors, not suited for pew sitting, but rather to be on battlefields, advancing the Kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness.

Even though men have been seemingly lackluster in their hunger for God over the last twenty years, the Lord is going to send a spirit of breakthrough which will deliver men from their apathy, lethargy and compromise. With the spirit of breakthrough will also come an Elijah anointing to fight the spirit of religion which hovers over America and dominates our traditional church systems.

This new move of God will not be a stylish, politically correct one. It will be messy as religious systems are confronted and fought against by men who are willing to lose their lives to advance the Kingdom of God.

You can expect the media to hate these anointed men of God, but the media will be as straws in the wind to these men who have been especially prepared for this season.

So what can women do?

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (Revelation 22: 17)

(Conclusion of this series.)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7.

Have you ever had a prophetic word spoken to you which made you grit your teeth and hope it was wrong? As in…really wrong?

“You’ve been searching for a home, and the one you’ve found, is not it,” said Jim Goll to us at a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

If Honey and I could have chosen any prophetic word not to hear, this would have been the one. At the time, we had moved  eleven times to seven cities in six different states in less than two years of marriage. We were feeling like the lost tribe of Israel, looking for the path to the Promised Land.

Our response to  Goll’s words: “He could be wrong, right?”

But he wasn’t!

Since that prophetic word in 1997, Honey and I have moved at least eighteen more times to nine different cities in three more states.

Now, in each city, we have attended some awesome churches. Metro Christian (Kansas City, MO). All Nations Church (Charlotte, NC). Vineyard Churches. Four-Square. Baptist. Friends. Non-denominational and countless others. We’ve met and fellowshipped with numerous believers. All of whom we would have enjoyed to stay around forever and ever.

Yet, while I drove my pickup truck on West Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia, I had a quick vision. In it, I saw a white iron lung. It resembled the machines which were used in the 1950′s to help polio victims support their breathing, during acute polio infections.

There was not an individual lying in the iron lung, but instead, the American traditional church system was on life support. It was barely breathing. I looked toward the back of the iron lung, and what I saw there shocked me. The unit was not plugged into a normal electrical outlet, but rather, it was plugged into bags and bags of money.

As I looked on, a voice spoke to me: “Pull the plug!”

Then, the vision ended.

Later that day, Honey and I prayed about the vision. We felt that we were supposed to leave the traditional church system, and we did.

Now to be honest, Honey and I thought (like Elijah) that we were the only ones who were asked by the Holy Spirit to leave the American church system. But thanks to the internet, we soon learned about millions of others who had similar experiences.

Hey, what about the separation of clergy and laity? Is it scriptural?

(Continued in Part 9)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13 and Part 14.

So, what can women actually do in church?

If your idea is that a church is a “house of God” or “a house of worship,” an institution or place where believers come together to celebrate programs, rituals or traditions which are set in place by professional leaders, then your beliefs on what women can do in a church will probably be limited to the rules of the church or institution which you attend.

Phew! Lots of words, right?

But if your belief is that a church is a living, breathing organism with Jesus as the Head, then your view on what women can do in the church will be unlimited.

After all, we Christians, without gender limiting differentiations, are the temple of the living God. And since there is no exclusivity in Jesus, how can there be any limits placed on a woman in His body or church? If there are limits, wouldn’t this be an example of a house divided against itself? Then how can the church possibly stand?

Now, I know there are all kinds of believers who will point out various Bible passages which seem to limit a woman’s role in a church, right? But to them, I suggest that they read Frank Viola’s excellent teaching on the woman’s role in the church, and especially his summary:

So dear sister, I implore you: We need your part in the church… We need the texture of your personality as you share Jesus Christ with us. We need your wisdom, your good sense and your unique insight. We need the frangrance of Christ that you so beautifully emit. (Woman’s Role in the Church, Frank Viola, page 19.)

So, can a woman be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher? All of the five-fold callings are chosen by the Lord. He determines who He calls (men or women) and who He ordains, not some sanctioning board.

For example, Junia, a woman, is mentioned as an apostle in Romans 16: 7. Philip, the evangelist, had four daughters who were prophetesses (Acts 21: 9)

Now, if you think that Jesus is going to call women just to be apostles and prophets only, but not evangelists, pastors and teachers, then you will have to do some scriptural gymnastics to make your beliefs work.

But as for me, I believe that women can fulfill all the callings and the functions in the church without limits.

So, why did I add the “but” in the title of this series, huh?

(Continued in Part 16)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.

The Easter Sunday crowd packed the seats at the school gymnasium where the young church was holding its service. The worship team led off with some awesome music. One song, Hungry, seemed to capture the assembly’s attention, especially its chorus: “So, I wait for you…So, I wait for you.”

As the worship team finished, the young, good-looking pastor walked over to the microphone. He was clapping his hands in appreciation for the great music. Then, he turned toward the assembly, winked an eye and said, “Maybe by now, you’ve realized that we’re a little different than all the other churches in the city…”

The pastor continued on, but I did not hear a single word that he said for the next five minutes or so. I was in a different zone, one where the Holy Spirit had my full attention.

“No, this church is not a bit different than the others,” said the Holy Spirit. “Not one bit different than any of the other churches in this city. If you were, right now, attending a Catholic Church or a Baptist Church or a Pentecostal one or any other church in the city, it would be no different than this one. You would be still sitting like a bump on a log listening to a head frog croak to you. Your only input into this service will be the check you toss into the offering plate when it is passed under your nose. Is this the church Jesus hung on the cross and died for?”

I sat there, stunned by His words. I wanted to weep. I wanted to run. I wanted to vomit. I wanted to quit.

But I did nothing and continued to sit there like a bump on a log.

On the way home, I told my wife about the experience. She sighed and stared at me. “You’re sure different, aren’t you?” she said. “I really like this church and now this happens.” She looked away.

Now, just so you know, the Holy Spirit was not referring to the doctrines of the different churches. If that were the case, each would be different. But instead, he was referring to the wineskin, the particular format that all traditional churches follow in their services. Basically, they are all the same, in that there is a definite separation between the active few (the clergy) and the passive many (the laity).

So, what about the separation of clergy and laity? Is it scriptural?

(Continued in Part 8)