Evelyn's sister, Ruth, and her husband Rich, lived in a house built on land once part of the family farm. After their youngest child left home, they adopted Jasper.
One afternoon, Ruth noticed that things were too quiet in the house and said, "Honey, where's Jasper?" They searched the house but Jasper was gone. They rushed outside, frantically calling his name. Then they noticed that all of the cows that had been grazing in the meadow beside the house were standing in tight formation. Jasper had herded them into a flock and was watching over them.
It didn't matter to Jasper that none of the animals
he'd shepherded actually were sheep.
This is Jasperism.
Jasper is the patron saint of 21st century American Christianity which cares about creating and maintaining flocks more than winning souls.
Jesus didn't send His followers to create flocks; He commissioned them to make disciples.
Gang,
ReplyDeleteI receive amazing replies to these posts in emails. Why the responses are off the blog I don't know. Below is a response to the JASPERISM post. I enter it because I believe it is perceptive. I also include comments I made in reply in bold.
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Poor Jasper was only doing what he was trained to do the best he knew how.
The thing is, Jasper was never trained. He did what he did out of instinct. That's actually going to be a point I will develop in future posts. What the shepherd mafia does, it does out of giftedness that comes from God. However, Jesus created a 'temple' made of 'living stones' with apostles and prophets at the foundation with Himself as the chief cornerstone.
The shepherds have taken over and demand that all the church must submit to values and passions that are in their heart from the Spirit.
Their error is to presume that the whole body--and even the mission Christ itself--must submit to their God-given passions.
So today, we read the Great Commission as, "Therefore go...and plant churches in all nations." That's Jasperism. It doesn't come from Jesus.
Aren't we doing what we're been trained to do? Are we?
I think that the reason that I stand out so much in the CGGC is that I insist on attempting to live in what I feel the Spirit is empowering me to do.
Certainly, even 30+ years ago, I was trained, in seminary, to be a parish priest but, at the times I walked in the Spirit, I found myself chafing against that bit.
Certainly, Jesus doesn't train us to be Jasperites. Nor does the Word teach Jasperism.
We were trained to shepherd flocks, not make disciples.
By the shepherd mafia, yes. (But, that will be no excuse on the Day.)
What we need is a few good Eliot Nesses with a passion to for Christ's vision of the church until the shepherd mob is broken up.
And after all, the folk scripture, "you can't teach old dogs new tricks."
Have you ever seen the BBC series, "New Tricks"? Pretty good in the early years.
Good name, Bill.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dan.
ReplyDeleteIt does pack the wallop of truth, eh?
I believe, like the term "Shepherd Mafia," it came to me as a word of prophecy. I spent MONTHS looking into that cloudy mirror of 1 Corinthians 13 before I put it into print.
Gang,
ReplyDeleteThis continues the dialog about Jasperism that I am having in private communication.
My friend's questions are in italics. My comments are in bold. My comments are slightly abridged and edited to address typos.
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bill,
"Why do there seem to be many more shepherds?
It doesn't seen like apostles and prophets would be easily trampled on and shut up."
Good questions and, actually your previous email got me to thinking about that. I've thought a lot about it over the years.
(A very high ranking CGGC leader) told me that during the time, in the 90s, when leadership across the denomination realized that we had to change, they brought some big name in--I think he said it was Barna--and (whoever it was) told the assembled brethren that when a body loses vision, as ours had, that the first to leave are the prophets.
I think that one reason that there are so many shepherds today is that the Shepherd Mafia elevates its own and defines success in terms of the fruit shepherds produce. Hence, for example, it elevated Ed as GC ED and Kevin and ERC ED. It gives staff positions to people with strong shepherd gifts and achievements, e.g., Don Dennison in missions, Lance in, well, whatever they're calling his area these days, Dave Williams in "Church" Renewal and Chuck Frank in Church Planting in the ERC. All of these people are extremely flock-focused.
So, if you want to haul in a big check in the CGGC, embrace the shepherd way--and the people who do that best, do it from the heart because they are genuinely shepherds by their giftedness.
The reason that there are so few prophets is, I think, theological.
In my younger days, I saw many people with strong prophetic gifts come and go in the CGGC. They'd speak strongly for truth, press an issue but, in the end, the shepherd culture would prevail and the prophets would take their ball and move on.
In my opinion, while those people were genuinely prophetic, they didn't have APEST theology and, therefore, didn't understand that it will be their lot to have their message rejected--even post-Christ. (Mt. 23:29-32)
They were frustrated that the mellow, lukewarm, tolerance-focused ways of the shepherd won the battle. I believe that they should still be speaking truth to us.
Where might we be if all of them were still in the CGGC?
The difference between those prophets and me is that I do have APEST and I understand that it is likely that the shepherd-dominated church culture will reject my call to repentance.
Success for me is in still speaking the message in face of opposition and in believing that there may be a remnant that appears through what I say and do.
I also think that the leaders of the prevailing CGGC culture are frustrated with me because I have not left quickly like all the recent prophets to the CGGC have. (I know for an absolute certainty that one of the members of the ERC Standing Committee is advocating that my credentials be questioned--if not removed.
I have not left and have no intention to leave.)
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteThe Shepherd Mafia is used to winning one or two battles and watching the prophet leave.
For me, based on what I understand my call to be at this moment, to leave would be for me to surrender my salvation. And, I won't do that--under any circumstances. So, as long as I feel called to speak to the CGGC I will--no matter what the Mafia wants.
BTW, I sense that I am increasingly ignored by the Mafia but listened to with increasing care by those who see truth in my message.
Oh, and I think we still do have some apostles. However, all of out apostles--as far as I can tell--have allowed themselves to be charmed by our shepherd leaders, who have a use for them in planting churches--i.e., creating FLOCKS.
Paul talked about planting the gospel (the message of the cross) in 1 Corinthians 1-3. The Shepherd Mafia has apparently convinced our apostles that he was really talking about planting churches.
And, our remaining apostles have abandoned their calling--to go to all peoples making disciples--to carry the shepherd's banner and to go and plant churches.
Now, as good Jasperites, they, instead, go here and there creating flocks.
Gang,
ReplyDeleteMore dialog on this thread. My correspondent's comments italics. My replies in bold.
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You have given it a lot of thought.
The first thought that came to my mind when you said that the prophets left or are the first to leave is...
...Prophets don't get to leave.
You are correct. This is a big problem to today's Western church.
What happens is, without APEST, they just go from denomination to denomination--and the denominations are happy about that. If all of our prophets had stayed for 20 or 30 or 40 years, how much influence would they have by now! And, how much difficulty would the Mafia have in prevailing against the movement of the Spirit!
It's not their prerogative to decide to leave if The Lord has directed them with a message to a people.
And, this is why correct theology is so important. Truth gives a person a rudder to steer him/her away from self-service to truth-based service.
You are both wise and gracious though in the admission that there was not the understanding there to think through their calling and ministry.
Well, I had my own struggles before I discovered Ephesians 4:13 and was able to see how it fit with the rest of the New Testament.
I think there's probably plenty of people that would be happy if you'd go away.
Right. I've even been threatened by one of the CGGC regional EDs with legal action if I send him another email! Now, that's APEST for you!
When they want to kill you though - that's when you're really making an impact.
Want to? Or actually attempt to. I suspect that, based on Matthew 5, some of them are already guilty of my murder.