Category Archives: Emergent Church

May 13, 2009 · 10:35 am

Swimming Upstream: “New Davids Replacing Old Sauls”

Did you know David was King Saul’s armorbearer before David fought Goliath?

So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. (1 Samuel 16:21)

Not only did David strum his harp for Saul when the king was distressed, but David was also Saul’s personal servant or amorbearer. Now, this brings up an interesting question?

How come King Saul loved David when the lad was a peon, but hated David when he became a national hero?

In 1 Samuel 9:2, it states that Saul was the most handsome and tallest man in all of Israel. He looked good! He looked like a warrior! He probably even had a deep, booming voice!

And yet, when it was Saul’s duty to fight Goliath on the battlefield, he cowered and stayed away, and allowed a fifteen-year old youth to be his combat substitute.

Then afterward, how did Saul treat the victorious hero?

So Saul eyed David from that day forward. And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit came upon Saul…So David played music with his hand, as at other times, but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall with it”…(1 Samuel 18:9-11)

So, how is this relevant for us today?

Every David that the Lord is raising up to fight the Goliaths who are ruling over cities, inner cities and regions in America needs to remember spiritual truths do not change.They remain the same down through history.

So, these Davids (spiritual warriors) should expect to fight principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual hosts (Eph. 6:12), as well as taking on the Sauls of our generation at the same time. Many of these Sauls will be respected church leaders.

Sounds exciting, right?

Swimming Upstream appears at this blog site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s a little of this and a little of that, all written to encourage and exhort believers in their Christian journeys.

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May 11, 2009 · 9:20 am

Swimming Upstream: “”Here’s The Rest of the Story”

I grew up listening to Paul Harvey on WLS Radio every morning before I went to school. So, borrowing on his theme, this article tells The Rest of The Story for my Mother’s Day article:

A week before Officer Fred Cannon stopped Mom for speeding, a confrontation between him and her had occurred in his office at the town jail. The occasion? Three other boys and myself were accused of overturning an outhouse on Halloween.

You have to understand that this scene did not take place in an interrogation room at LAPD with a good-cop, bad-cop routine attempting to break apart a gangbanger’s alibi. It took place in a small, stuffy police office in the middle of a town with a population of 1,150 people.

The accused – us four boys – sat on wooden chairs lined up in front of Officer Cannon’s desk. Our parents stood directly behind us. Cannon sat in a swivel chair behind his desk. A bright light shone over his left shoulder into our faces. No other lights were on.

Cannon laid out our despicable crime to everybody. He summed up by adding, “I know these boys are seniors in high school. They have high hopes of playing basketball on the school team this winter. But who knows? A crime like this could make them ineligible. What do you parents think?”

“Officer Cannon, whatever you decide, I’ll back you,” said one parent. Two other sets of parents nodded in agreement.

Cannon turned toward my parents. “What about the Nevenhoven’s?”

Mom glared at him. “Freddie, this is so stupid. I don’t really care what you do. We’re going square dancing!”

Mom and Dad turned around and left. The door slammed behind them.

The other three sets of parents began laughing. The accused – including me – laughed so hard we almost fall out of our chairs. The meeting ended moments later.

So,where’s the scriptural principle in all of this, right?

A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word. (Proverbs 15:23)

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May 8, 2009 · 12:42 pm

Swimming Upstream: “Ouch!That hurts!”

There are times when God’s words do not comfort [us], they sting! This is because we want God on our side. However, He has no side but His own! To be truly comforted, we must see our situation from God’s angle. Comfort will come not by understanding God’s perspective, but by adjusting to it. Real comfort comes through submission. (Graham Cooke, Permission Granted)

Ouch! That hurts!

Where’s America’s Most Important Church Located?

Christ Church Stellarton

Is America’s most important church located in Lake Forest, California? At Pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church.

Or in Houston? At Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church.

Or how about South Barrington, Illinois? At Pastor Bill Hybel’s Willow Creek Church.

Or maybe it’s your personal church where you go an hour or two each week to hear a sermon that may change your life?

No. No. No. No to all of the above.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31-32)

The most important church in America is your home … with you and your spouse as the main members.

So, is your home a house of prayer?

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May 6, 2009 · 9:21 am

Swimming Upstream: “Hate Crimes Legislation…Ho-Hum! Bring It On!”

“Oh no! The sky is falling!” said one Christian blog after another about the new Hate Crimes Prevention Act. “What shall we do? What shall we do?”

If you haven’t been paying attention, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 1913 which will provide federal money to train law enforcement officers to identify and criminally prosecute speech and thought offensive to homosexuals.

What does this mean? Specifically, it means that preachers and Christians will be not be able to legally open their mouths and say, “Homosexuality is a sin!”

Now, what if preachers and Christians ignore the law and speak up anyway, then what? They could end up paying fines or serving jail sentences!

So, what’s my take on H.R. 1913?

Ho-hum! Bring it on!

The Lord God of Hosts before whom I stand has not been caught off guard by H.R. 1913. He had a plan readied and set in place before these idiots even had a glimmering thought about this heinous bill.

And guess what?

This is a battle the governmental Ahab’s and Jezebel’s can never win. I repeat: this is a battle the governmental Ahab’s and Jezebel’s can never win.

Why?

The Lord hates sin…and loves homosexuals. In fact, the Lord loves homosexuals so much that He is willing to send an army to set them free. Not just any army, but rather, he is sending in His special forces…the hidden-away, unknown Elijah’s.

So, sit back. Relax. Grab some popcorn. The show is about to begin.

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May 5, 2009 · 9:55 am

Hey, Listen Up!

The wife of a missionary couple from the Philippines visited our church. Like most good evangelical groups, we held a potluck supper in her honor.

After the meal, I was in the kitchen scrapping and washing dishes. The lady visited the kitchen, saw what I was doing and wept. Her heart was broken by the huge amounts of food we threw away.

Just that morning, she had talked to her husband on the phone. He and the twenty orphans they housed and supported had eaten the last of their food. They were hungry.

And we were throwing food away. We called it waste; she saw it as life-giving.

What a paradox, right?

Mark and Christine Pedder, a couple of Aussies with a heart for God, have an awesome ministry in one of the worst slums of the world, BASECO. If you want your heart broken, check out the pictures on their blog site. Pictures don’t lie, they tell the story.

At this moment, they have posted this post asking for sponsorships for BASECO school children.

So, if you can, help them out.

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May 4, 2009 · 8:19 am

Swimming Upstream: “Casting Stones At Fallen Brethren”

In the late 1980’s, the ministry of Jimmy Swaggart was involved in a scandal that rocked the Christian world. And of course, the media had a field day exposing the scandal. It was ugly!

But out of this, I learned something that has forever changed my life.

My revelation came from hearing how two Christian leaders reacted to the news about Swaggart’s scandal.

The first man told how he jumped up and down, called his friends and said, “Isn’t it great how God has finally judged Jimmy Swaggart?” He was elated.

The second man said that when he heard the news, he pulled the curtains in his living room, laid on the floor and wept for hours. The only words he could say were, “Have mercy on him, Lord.” He was devastated.

I made up my mind to be like the second leader, and not the first.

…Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13)

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May 1, 2009 · 9:23 am

Swimming Upstream: “Disagreement In My Home…For Now!”

“I’m not you,” Honey said as she sipped her morning coffee. “It’s great that you have a passion to change cities, such as San Francisco, but that’s not for me. I don’t want that demonic principality stomping all over me.”

I shrugged. “Well, sudden death also means sudden glory, right?” A gentle cliche sometimes (not always) helps in a disagreement with Honey.

“Yeah, sudden death sudden glory – right!” she said. “I’m just like the Church. I’m selfish and I only care about me.” She shook her head.

As you can see, my number one fan periodically disagrees with me.

Now, why didn’t the Lord hitch me up to a mate who would at the drop of my hat, jump on her faithful charger, pick up her lance and gallop off to joust with demonic principalities in far-off cities while shouting, “Hi Ho Silver” over her shoulder at family and friends?

Two words will suffice here: death and timing.

Death. The Lord gave me the vision about certain West Coast cities, not her. It is my responsibility to die daily for it.

Timing. Marital government, like the church, is not supposed to be based on democratic votes or dictatorial edicts, but rather, on consensus. And consensus only comes via agreement. ..and this takes time.

Thus, when we finally reach agreement on this issue, I will be a lot deader than I am right now and it will be the proper timing for us to move forward.

REMEMBER: It is the Lord’s responsibility to make a calling and vision come to pass and He is well able to change all parties involved in the plan.

Failure! Not Me! Not Ever!

“Go and serve God. Make all kinds of mistakes and learn wisdom from your errors,” I advised the young preacher.

“Failure!” the young preacher replied, her eyes connecting with mine. “Not me! Not ever!”

I smiled, hoping to lessen the chill in the air between us. “Nobody wants to make mistakes, but we do. It happens to all of us. It’s one of the ways that God teaches us wisdom,” I said.

“No, I don’t have to ever fail,” she said. “All I have to do is spend time in prayer, do some fasting and study the word. His Spirit will guide me.”

I shrugged. “Who knows, maybe you are the exception. At least, I hope so.”

This conversation actually took place in a students’ union at a large university about fourteen years ago. We were celebrating her nineteenth birthday by shooting pool.

Why are eighteen or nineteen-year old youths the best soldiers? They do not think they can lose. They believe their youth, their strength and their zest for life will be more than enough to defeat their enemies.

But of course, the first battlefield experience quickly shatters their naivete. Machine gun fire ripping through a soldier standing next to them and bullets ricocheting near their heads open their eyes to reality. They are not immune to death after all. They could die!

What happens to soldiers after their first battlefield experience? If they survive, they are wiser, smarter and better soldiers; and are labeled veterans. Then, each battle makes them even better.

Battlefield-trained young soldiers win wars. Period.

Now, let’s compare this to spiritual warfare, okay?

Who makes the best Christian soldiers? Young, hungry believers. By the word young, I am not referring to chronological age, but rather, to those Christians who consider themselves as young David’s waging battles with a present-day Goliath.

These hungry Christians – if they do not hang around worn-out, tired, defeated, fearful believers – will win spiritual wars if they never quit fighting. Period!!

I’m a sixty-three year old man who still considers himself to be a David. The Lord has delivered me from the paw of the lion and the bear, so bring on the Goliath’s (1 Sam. 17:36)

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April 29, 2009 · 9:43 am

Swimming Upstream: “Need Encouragemnt?”

Bad economic news. Terrorism. Abortions. Same-sex marriages. Illegal aliens. Swine flu. Yuck! Double yuck! Where’s some good news for us Christians?

Order is always proceeded by chaos. Whenever God restores order, something is birthed out of the chaos He allowed in the first place. Everything is part of the whole with God. We look at the chaos and say, “This is not of God.” The Bible, though, points to chaos and disagrees with us. In chaos, God disenfranchises the old order and births the new! (Permission Granted, 2006, by Graham Cooke and Gary Goodell, published by Destiny Image.)

God works His own brand of order in the midst of chaos. (ibid)

The Lord operates from stillness. Whatever boat you are storming through at the moment, He is on that same boat wanting you to grow up enough to call on His peace. God does not create order out of order; He creates order only out of chaos. (ibid)

The Lord is sharpening the Church at this time. He is putting a cutting edge on what we are doing…On the surface, it looks chaotic because God is not a manager; He is a facilitator. Underneath the action, though, there is a calm order that arises out of God’s character and nature. (ibid)

Hey, something good is about to happen and I”m going to hang on until it does. So, what about you?

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