This latest and greatest grand idea is rooted in the key phrase which Ed said would "pervade the [General Conference sessions] gathering, i.e., "ONe Mission."
Ed said, "During the sessions, God’s call from Isaiah 6:8 will figure prominently: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'"
Ed tells us that during the last year the CGGC church planting team took Isaiah 6:8's question and "sought to address the leadership issues it raises."
He continues saying that before a disciple or the church today can echo Isaiah's words, "'Here I am. Send me!'...certain realities must exist in our hearts and lives." They include the following four "priorities:
- Always we must hold to our first love, namely Jesus. This will require a radical commitment of heart, mind, soul, and strength to the message and ministry of Jesus (Mark 12:30). It is possible to be busy about many things, and neglect that which is better (Luke 10:42). Sadly, a disciple, or even the Church, can loose sight of its “first love” when engaged in ministry and thereby lose sight of its calling.
- We must be ONe Mission in the world, seeking the lost and serving the least. Jesus ministered to people’s spiritual and temporal needs. As his disciples the Church can do no less (John 20:21). The CGGC has but one mission: to help people everywhere experience life abundant in Christ Jesus. This means walking in the way of Jesus and sharing his gospel in ways that bring deliverance from bondage (Luke 4:18-19).
- We must work together and stand against the adversary. His attacks often come externally, but sometimes he works from within. Always the Church must be ready to stand! (Ephesians 6:10-13) Since his tactic is to divide and destroy, unity of the Spirit is a must (Ephesians 4:3) as is the love of Jesus in all things or all is naught. (1Corinthians 13)
- We must pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Philippians 4:6). Without the prayers of God’s people nothing of lasting merit can be accomplished. Prayer has the power to unleash the forces of heaven against the forces of darkness (Matthew 16:19). The Bible is replete with examples! May the CGGC pray prayers that shake the cosmic order, seeing lives and communities delivered and transformed (Matthew 7:7).
Typical of past shepherd-oriented solutions, Ed and the planters ignore what the "New Testament plan" always places as the first step (and first priority)--as well as what it places as the second step/priority--in obedient discipleship:
In the Word, the first step always is Repentance. (If God is willing, I will describe the second step in obedient discipleship at a later time.)
According to Matthew, the call to repentance was always the core demand of the preaching of Jesus: "From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (4:17)
According to Mark, the truth is, essentially, the same: "The time has come,” he (Jesus) said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news." (1:15)
According to Luke, repentance must always be the foundational act and foundational message of disciples of Jesus:
"Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (24:45-48)Peter proclaimed repentance as the foundational act of discipleship when he preached on Pentecost:
"Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)And he repeated that call shortly thereafter,
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus." (Acts 3:19-20)Paul claimed always to have preached repentance:
"I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus." (Acts 20:21)More relevant to the CGGC's sad story in 2013, when the Corinthian church had lost its way, Paul wrote a letter intended to break that church's heart and to create, in those people, the godly sorrow which produces repentance:
" Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter." (2 Cor. 7)And, on point with the declining CGGC today, John--claiming to be writing words dictated to him directly by Jesus--absolutely pollutes Revelation 2 and 3 with calls to five churches to repent.
Yet, again in 2013, as they have done repeatedly, our shepherd leaders presume to suggest that the CGGC can move forward and reverse the decline that has defined us for generations by ignoring the most foundational act of discipleship--the universal New Testament call to repentance.
Our leaders suggest that we can turn the CGGC mess around without godly sorrow over past and current sin.
Our leaders tell us that we can set priorities for the future that don't begin with the act of repenting of our attitudes and actions which have grieved the Lord in the past and continue to grieve Him today.
They also seem to suggest that we can move forward in obedient discipleship without preaching repentance.
But, that is not the truth proclaimed in the New Testament.
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My friends, I think the time has come for the people of the CGGC to take stock of the import of the message I have proclaimed these past few years.
How many new grand ideas have come down from the leadership mountaintop during those years, ideas which our leaders have told us would bring blessing and growth but which fizzled miserably?
How many times have I said boldly and with certainty, "This won't work! This doesn't please the Lord. He will not bless this."
How many times have I denounced, in the Name of the Lord, the latest grand idea coming out of the same shepherd-dominated value system that has forged our decline?
How many times have I said that until we practice macro-repentance of our Shepherd Mafia's values and plans, we will only continue to decline?
How many times has this cycle repeated itself?
How many times will it have to repeat itself in the future?
My message to the CGGC is as old as the message of Elijah incarnated in the person of John the Baptist who told the religious elites of his own day, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." It is as old as the core preaching of Jesus and of Peter and of Paul. It is as old as the message Jesus dictated to John for the churches of Revelation.
It is the core and foundational message of the "New Testament plan" which the CGGC claims as its mission.
My message from the Lord to the CGGC is as old as the Gospel itself. It is a core element of the Gospel.
And, defiance of that message in the CGGC--proclaimed by others long before I spoke it--is as old as the shepherd dominated leadership culture which the Lord has always cursed with spiritual and numerical decline.
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And, so, we have a new latest grand CGGC scheme to grasp victory from decline through a human plan. As always, it is steeped in the traditions and values of the Shepherd Mafia and not on the proclamations of Jesus and the Apostles.
Like all the previous latest and greatest CGGC schemes, this one, too, will fizzle and, unless we repent, it will soon be replaced by yet another latest grand idea from the mountaintop.
Why will our religious elite not open their eyes to the teaching of the Word, read the message of the New Testament and obey it?
Why?
Because they are a Shepherd Mafia whose primary characteristic is to demand that the Lord do things their way and not to submit to Him or to the diverse giftings He gives to His body.
We must repent.
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