Why I'll be Focusing less on the Kingdom

I've been mulling this over for a while...

...and I'm concluding that the church/Kingdom of God focus, well, argument...

...really is a trap which has the effect of making shepherd dominated thinking the center of the Christian universe.

It's true that, in the Gospels, Jesus talks Himself hoarse, going on and on about the Kingdom of God...

...and that He almost never talks church...

...and that when He does talk church, it's always in passing.

I've had an insight recently,  which came about, eventually, after reading a brief article, on prophecy, by Frank Viola.

And, it is this:

To talk about Kingdom over church is, nevertheless, to talk about something other than Jesus. 

I've been convicted lately that, even as I call others to be true to the spirit of what Jesus taught and did, in doing so, I focus so much on the idea of the Kingdom of God, that I focus too little on God, and, especially, on Jesus.

The Shepherd Mafia wants always to focus on church. So many of us, me, especially, fall into trap of arguing that it's proper to focus on the Kingdom.

It's not the right thing to focus on the Kingdom.

The correct thing is to make everything about Jesus.

So, go ahead, shepherds and institutionalists. Talk church.

From now on, for me, the focus will be on Jesus. On Him. Not church and not Kingdom. Not on it.

Our Lack of Spiritual Emotion

Following up on the proto-repentance stuff:

(And, I also got this insight from someone writing off the blog.)

There are many ways that the CGGC today is different from the Church of God in its, dynamic, thriving, growing movement days.

Among the most important is that we were once a people of spiritual passion. We are now a people who define moderation.

Today we are cautious, reserved, temperate and lukewarm to the extreme.

The people who served our body in the Church of God movement days, were passionate people. They were radicals, extremists. Remember Lance's recent eNews highlighting Richard Kern's address to the General Conference in the 1960s?

Now,...

Ask yourself what the people who have desks in CGGC General Conference or regional offices are passionate about.

What, is it that Lance, for instance, sees in the CGGC that obviously causes him to weep like Jesus wept?

What is it, do you suppose, that your Conference Executive Director sees in your region...which is declining, as we all know...that makes him want to fashion a whip with his own hands to drive people away, as Jesus did when He entered the temple to drive out the moneychangers?

These people, whom we call leaders, live daily with the reality of our numerical decline and spiritual decay.

What do they do that suggests intensity? Passion?

Emotionally, we are lumps.

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Yet, the Gospels and the Book of Acts vibrate with emotion, as do the letters of Paul.

The people of the Church of God movement certainly were men and women who valued doctrinal truth but they ran on emotion. They were driven by passion. Read Winebrenner's 14th and 15th points if you have any doubt!

Perhaps you don't think about our demise in these terms, but who can deny it?

.....................

The most important teachings of the Word demand passion...strong emotion...from God's people.

Love the Lord with all your heart...

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love one another...as I have loved you.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

"I hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans."

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So, what do you do when you don't feel...or, don't feel what you are supposed to feel?

The truth is that feelings happen.

Can you MAKE yourself feel? Can you manufacture passion for something or someone you're neutral about?

How do you manufacture love? Or, joy? Or, fear? Or, when appropriate, hate?

How do you create, within yourself, the emotion required to obey the command to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?

How do you make yourself work out your own salvation with fear and trembling if you are not already awed by the reality of the incarnation of God in the man Jesus of Nazareth?

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I have some thoughts about these things but no definite answer.

(Perhaps, it the role of the prophet..or, me as a prophet of proto-repentance...to note this problem and that it is the role of the shepherd, one who's living in submission to the Lord and to apostles and prophets, to provide the answer.)

Here's what I do know: We need to be honest with ourselves about ourselves. We are emotional lumps, and we need to acknowledge that truth about ourselves.

Emotionally, we're not what we could...should...MUST...be.

Let's face up to that truth.

Let's confess it...to the Lord...and to one another.

The Lord of all authority and power and blessing isn't blessing us.

And, a basic reason for that has to do with a deadness in our moderate, temperate, passionless, lukewarm hearts.

We must feel.

Evie's Heart Surgery is Scheduled

Thursday we met the surgeon. It was a grueling day.

Evie decided, from the beginning, that she wanted the best surgeon she could get to.

She researched and decided to try to get to a guy at the University of Pennsylvania hospital.

Her local cardiologist referred her to that surgeon. She had a long wait to get to him but she survived.

Thursday's meeting was good.

The surgeon is very impressive. He clearly understands Evie's unique problem and saw something in her tests that is very concerning which no one else even mentioned.

The surgery is scheduled for August 17.

He told us that he will replace the aortic valve with a bovine valve and will be deciding what to do about the mitral valve and looking into at least one other potential issue.

Evie discussed with him the fact that her brother died on the table during heart surgery and that her mother died of a stroke as a result of otherwise successful heart surgery.

He clearly understands.

Evie's in much better hands with this guy and many advances have taken place since those things happened.

The doctor inspires confidence.

But, still...

We thank all of you who are praying for your prayers.

The Word is APEST, not APESP

One of the subtle causes of the decline of Christianity in the West is the value the church, and individual churches, place on preaching.

Preaching, as it is thought of today, didn't exist in the New Testament.

In fact, our English word, sermon, traces back only to about the year A.D. 1000, as far as I can tell.

Preaching sermons, as the preaching of sermons is practiced today, wasn't a New Testament practice at all and, in fact, is very modern in the 2,000 year plus history of the Jesus movement.

What was central to the building of a dynamic and growing movement of followers of Jesus, is not preaching, but teaching.

When Paul describes the giftings Christ gave, "to prepare the saints for works of ministry," (Eph. 4:12), he mentions apostles, prophets, evangelists and shepherds and TEACHERS, not preachers.

The distinction may seem subtle in this century, but, in truth, it's monumental.

Read Paul's discourse on what happens in gatherings of disciples in 1 Corinthians 14. Teaching is crucially important, as is prophecy.

Yet, nothing like the preaching of prepared sermons is even in that universe.

From the perspective of history, one of the plagues on Christianity today is that the modern phenomenon of the preached sermon dominates, and teaching, especially as it took place in the early days of Jesus-following, doesn't exist.

Preached sermons turn everyone in a place, except the preacher, into a consumer of the sermon. Teaching as it took place in the early days of the movement had the purpose, as the Book of Hebrews describes gatherings, of provoking good works.

Read your history. It did provoke good works.

I honestly can't see how this will happen. But, Kingdom people must repent of the sermon and embrace teaching as New Testament people practiced teaching.

The word, indeed, is APEST, not APESP.

Even I haven't Called for Repentance

If you read this blog, you know that, more often than not, my posts end with the words, "We must repent."

With very few exceptions, I write to my brothers and sisters in the CGGC.

I am a member of a CGGC church. I love the CGGC body and I am very deeply emotionally involved in its life, even if the body itself has excluded me.

So, when I emphasize repentance in those CGGC posts, I always say "we," understanding that, as a part of the CGGC system, I myself must participate in the repentance that needs to happen.

I have never mustered the courage, or audacity, to hold myself apart from the others, as Jesus often did, and as prophets normally do, and command others, simply, "Repent."

Though I'm convinced that I am a prophet, I've never actually called for repentance. I've only announced the need for repentance.

Realizing that startled me.

.....................

Off the blog, my friends sometimes suggest to me what they think my topics should be or propose a theme they believe I should pursue.

And, it was in that connection, some time ago, that I realized that...

...as I reflect on the vision given to me and the Words I receive, that my calling seems to be connected, not to calling for repentance, as is standard among prophets...

...but on highlighting what comes BEFORE repentance. 

.....................

I'm certain that we, in the CGGC won't repent now. We can't repent now because our hearts are not able to produce repentance.

Our hearts are, well, Old Testament Hebrew would say, hard.

We're still, what? too content? too happy? too at ease with ourselves?

We say that we know that we are experiencing numerical decline and spiritual decay but we're still not broken.

We are still creating our own plans. We continue to develop programs. By our fruit, we declare ourselves capable of turning this mess around.

But,...

Jesus really did offer His invitation only to these people: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened..."

His, "Sermon on the Mount" truly begins saying that the people who are blessed are those who are poor in spirit and who mourn and are meek and who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

As I say over and over again here, Paul announced a recipe for salvation that involves godly sorrow producing the sort of repentance that leads to salvation.

Paul instructs that we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

....................

The mix of my gifts makes me a prophet of...

...and I know that some of you hate when I make up fancy, hundred dollar words, and to you I apologize, but I can't get this word out of my mind...

Proto-repentance. Of what comes BEFORE repentance.

In the CGGC, we bounce back and forth from one failure to another and from disappointment to disappointment...

...unphased...

...with a Forest Gump belief that life is like a box of chocolates and you never know what you are going to get.

And, we go on, always disappointed. Still reaching into the box, hoping that the next piece of chocolate will be sweet and tasty.

It never is.

It won't ever be.

We are unbroken...

...but, the Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Ps. 147:3 and a gazillion other Bible verses)

So, certainly. We must repent. But, we won't. Not as we are now.

We need to allow ourselves to become the people Jesus welcomes.

We need to admit, first of all to ourselves, that we are weary. We are over loaded.

We need to stop striving.

We need to come to Him.

We need to learn from Him.

He is gentle and humble. His yoke is easy. There is a burden with Him, but it is light.

What we need now is what comes BEFORE repentance.

The eNews 2019 General Conference Sessions Announcement

Today, I sent off a comment to the eNews in reply Lance's announcement of the theme for next year's General Conference gathering.

I read and reread what Lance wrote and, as I say in my comment, I think Lance's article contains an incredibly powerful insight.

And, I had a thought about it that felt prophety to me.

My comment has already been published.

If you haven't read Lance's latest, I hope you will.

I will, if God is willing, write up something similar, but more detailed, here. But, I'll leave the eNews comment to itself.

One Week Until We meet the Heart Surgeon

I didn't think Evie would stay healthy enough long enough to get to the surgeon she wanted at the U of Penn.

But, it looks as if she's going to make it.

The appointment is one week from today.

She continues to get weaker. Her stamina decreases. On a normal day, she has energy until about 10 in the morning. Then she rests and moves in spurts.

Anyway, based on what we're hearing from others who've had heart surgery at Penn, it will probably be two to three weeks after the initial appointment that she has the surgery itself.

It's scary but her faith is strong and her attitude is good.

She genuinely covets everyone's prayers. Thanks to all of you who are praying.

The Proof that the CGGC's not Kingdom Concerned

I wish there was a better word than ecumenism...but, I guess that, in itself, is the point.

To be ecumenical is to be demominationally all-inclusive, to set aside theological concerns...

...to dilute passion for truth so that, primarily the hierarchs of, Christian denominational institutions can just all get along...

...and invest energy outside of their own churchly fiefdoms.

I want to say that the proof that the CGGC is not Kingdom focused is that we're not ecumenical.

But I can't because of what the word implies about the setting aside passion for truth.

....................

The fact is, though, that one reality that points to the fact that our leaders are CGGC-focused, CGGC obsessed even, and not Kingdom concerned is that, for them, everything is always all about the CGGC all the time.

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Years ago now, CGGC hierarchs renamed their Church Planting department, New Churches, primarily to divert energy away from our, mostly pathetically failed, church planting efforts...

...to attempt to convince viable churches to join us and to take, for themselves, the CGGC label...

...and (and let's be honest), of course, to pay a church tithe to our local and General Conferences.

Across the CGGC, it's always, these days, all about the CGGC and never about anyone or anything beyond us.

In the CGGC, anything that comes after that, comes waaaaaay after that.

But, if we cared about the Kingdom, that would not be even a little bit true.

In the CGGC, we, based on the fruit we produce, don't love the Kingdom.

When it comes to it, based on the fruit we produce, I'm not certain about our love for the King!

If we do APEST, according to the vision being cast for it among us, it will be so that, through APEST, we can strengthen CGGC churches and, later, at some future time, and in some undefined way, build the Kingdom.

Using APEST as an example, the proof that the CGGC is not Kingdom concerned is that, even in doing things that would naturally lead to Kingdom building, we think, first and foremost, not only church, but the CGGC church.

....................

What we do here, in our own gathering, is very far from perfect.

But, one way what we do here is right where the CGGC's wrong, is that we never, ever act in the interest of our own gathering. And, certainly, we never act specifically in the interest of the CGGC.

What we do is always and only Jesus focused.

And, that truth about us has been true about us for years.

I do wonder if that non-CGGC, Kingdom-focus at the root of the reason that the ERC expelled us?!?!?!!!

At any rate, we all know that the Lord of all authority and power and blessing isn't blessing the CGGC.

The Sad Truth about the CGGC eNews Blog

I don't want to be in the position that I'm considered to be a fawning sycophantic follower of people of CGGC leadership.

Probably few people actually think that.

And, I doubt that Lance is embarrassed very often by my gushing devotion.

But, I have an observation to make that I think has some value.

Lance can only do so much and, after a certain point, the CGGC body has the responsibility to act.

Lance made the eNews a blog.

He, at least occasionally, uses the blog to bring important and relevant issues of truth before us.

And, the opportunity is present for the people of the CGGC to engage in discussion of truth with Lance, our Executive Director, and sometimes a member of his staff, on matters of the truth that binds us.

And, with almost no exceptions, the body lets him down.

Occasionally, some will tell Lance that he's written his article well.

But almost no one ever engages in conversation about truth in that most public of settings.

What a loss.

What a waste!

In our movement days, our people were bubbling over with enthusiasm about the truth that saves us and joins us together and the pages of The CHURCH ADVOCATE could barely contain it.

We are so dead. But, thanks for trying, Lance.

We must repent!

Lance and the Bureaucrats

I've written in the past about the problem that cynicism creates in the CGGC and, for me in my Conference, the ERC.

When leaders in Findlay, or Harrisburg, actually do attempt to make a difference for the future of our body, there are many who simply nod and roll their eyes and never, for a moment, consider following denominational leadership.

So, we never move forward.

We are in the midst of numerical decline and spiritual decay and the lesson of recent decades is that, even when the people at the top of the institutional hierarchy attempt change, too few follow.

....................

Here's what I've only recently begun to understand:

The cynicism that's killing us is not the one I normally describe, that of anti-conference pastors and congregations, or of the larger number of apathetic pastors and churches,...

...though their numbers are large, perhaps even a majority and they are a problem...just not THE problem.

No.

There's a small number of CGGC people who are still in touch with me an engage me in regular and serious dialog.

And, several of them are people of CGGC significance,...

...members of important Councils and Commissions.

Here's what I'm realizing, based on what I'm hearing about what goes on in those places:

It is in the CGGC bureaucracy, among the Councils and Commissions, where a cynicism powerful enough to kill us resides.

Please understand that I'm not suggesting that the people in conversation with me are cynical. They're open enough to listen to a voice as out of the norm as mine. They're minds and hearts are open, not closed, not cynical.

I admire Lance and Brandon for casting a vision for APEST-oriented, uh, leadership as the future of the CGGC.

And, I really don't know how the vision they're casting for APEST is being received among anti-conference pastors and churches. I have no data on that. Those people don't talk to me.

What I have heard from people who are involved in very important places in the CGGC bureaucracy is, well, silence.

It's as if the series of APEST articles in The CHURCH ADVOCATE and The CGGC eNews don't exist.

(I've been told that I'm among a small handful of people who read those things and, based on what I'm hearing about the response to the vision being cast by Lance and Brandon, I may be the only person who reads them.)

When I hear from people with seats in the important Councils and Commissions of the CGGC, I hear about attempts to tweak and refine traditions that have been in place for generations.

Here are two things I'm not picking up:

1. Concern for following the vision being cast by our body's leadership. And, it's not as if Lance and Brandon are being disagreed with. It's that they are being ignored. It's as if those two guys don't matter. It's as if they don't exist. Talk about cynicism!

2. References to any biblical truth. For years, since the days when I was on a Commission and was a regular invitee to participate in Task Forces and Symposia, there has always been one authority to which CGGC bureaucrats bowed. That authority is not the Word. That authority has been CGGC tradition. Never once, in my experience, has there been even a passing exchange over how Scripture informs what we do or might do, or not do.

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Lance,

Brandon and you are up against it, as far as leading the body to embrace the APEST vision you are casting.

Your enemy is deeply-entrenched cynicism.

And, for now, forget the dozens upon dozens of anti-conference pastors and churches that we usually think of when we talk about a cynical opposition to CGGC leadership.

It's the bureaucrats who are your first problem.

From what I'm hearing, the people on the Commission and Councils, here in my ERC, have been newly restructured...

...but they are still trying to solve the problems of generations with the same mindset that failed to solve those problems generations ago...

...and AS IF YOU AND THE VISION YOU'RE CASTING DOESN'T EXIST!

....................

It's likely that Lance and the other people casting a vision for a new future for the CGGC think of me as an opponent.

But, in truth, it may be that I'm the best friend they have.

I listen to what they say and read what they write...and I care.

Based on the fruit being produced by the Councils and Commissions I know about, Lance, the vision you are casting doesn't matter and, for all practical purposes,...

...you are a non factor.

You don't, in any practical way, matter.

We are so broken.

Is it any wonder that the Lord of all authority and power and blessing isn't blessing us!?

We must repent.

Don't Let the Sound of Your own Wheels Drive You Crazy

Here's a micro update on Evie:

She continues to slowly decline. Her aortic valve is deteriorating but, thankfully, the heart itself is healthy and, so far, undamaged.

She has little strength and almost no stamina.

But, she's a person who naturally pushes herself as hard as she can.

So, I got to the place that everyday, when I'd leave for work, I'd give her a smooch and say, "I love you. Take it easy."

Then,...

...as I drove to the store, that song by The Eagles would go through my head.

I love The Eagles but this one's not my favorite song.

So, now, I give her the smooch, tell her I love her and say, "Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy."

The song still runs through my head.

And, I suspect that she's beginning to find it annoying.

I'm standin on a corner in Winslow, Arizona...

I'm not Jesus but I Play Him in the World

At the first moment I thought about blogging this, I was going to say that apparently, surprisingly, I do it fairly well...

...but, as I think it through, that's not true.

What I do think, is that I do it waaaaaaaay better than most church-goers in my world, at least.

Most church-goers in my world, most, but not all, buy into the, "If I'm a church attender, I'm a consumer of religious products and services provided by the pastoral staff of the church I attend," understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

Virtually all the Christians I know are either consumers of religious products and services or members of the 21st century version of the clergy class which provides those religious products and services.

I'm neither.

I have a job in which I consider myself to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of God, yada yada.

I, intentionally, go through the work day attempting, moment by moment, to be, as best I can, Jesus.

It's hard work, for me, at least.

To do what I do, I do apply two strategies.

1. The less helpful of the two: I imagine Jesus being where I am and ask the WWJD question and, often, I don't get a clear answer.

2. I focus on a few of the teachings of Jesus that are important to me.  One of those is that anyone who doesn't deny themself can't be His disciple. During a typical work day, I do a ton of self-denying. I work in customer service!
Another of those teachings is that it is the merciful who will receive mercy. And, I need to receive mercy.
Two others come into play. They are the "turn the other cheek" and "walk the second mile" teachings. Many days, I wish Jesus hadn't'a said those.  But, painful as it is, I, at least try. And, most days, that second cheek is sore, as are my feet from going those second miles.

What I've noticed is that difficult customers AND coworkers gravitate to me and, as much as they can, seem really to like me. And, occasionally, are nice to me but, really, are mostly still difficult.

And, I want to say, "Lord, why, because I obey you, do I get saddled, with the scumbodies more than other people!?!?!!!?"

But, then, that's the point, isn't it!

Through repentance and faith, poor Jesus took on me.

Every time one of those hard cases picks me out...because they know I'll give them a chance to slap both cheeks and that I'll go the second mile, even if I'm not always smiling...

...I am reminded that He did more for me than I could ever return.

And, from what I know of the first generations of the Christian movement, and most revival movements...when they were still movements, the self-denial, showing mercy, cheek-turning, second-mile-walking values ruled the Christian culture.

You want to know why the church is declining in the West today?

I'm not really very good at playing Jesus in the world. But, I consistently attempt to play the role in the world.

Some believers I know attempt to play the role of Jesus. But, far too many seem to think they do their bit for Jesus by attending an occasional Sunday morning show.

My Humdinger of a Response to Lance's latest eNews

It was perfectly cordial and polite.

But, I doubt they'll publish this one.

My most Compelling Leadership Quality

What follows is something I've been working on, off and on, for at least a month.

It started out as a comment on the tension between institutional church, uh, hierarchs' aspirations to lead and develop leaders and the teaching of the apostle Paul that the church is a body consisting of interdependent parts with Jesus alone as the head of the body and of Paul's admonition that all disciples "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

And, it is that.

But, as this post developed, it became something like a journal entry containing reflections on my life as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God on my job where my job is to be a leader. And, on how Jesus informs how I lead.

I hope you'll read it for what it is.

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I am committed to living under the lordship of Jesus and, to the best of my ability, to function in the world as a subject of the Kingdom of God.

I gave up the role of pastor/parish priest in the institutional church many years ago.

And, while I am part of the church, I rarely think about that because I'm trying, as best I can, to live as a subject of the Kingdom as a servant of the Master.

I reject the idea that any human being can be a leader in the Kingdom of God, yada yada yada.

As a man of the Kingdom, I live in the world, though I do my best not to be of the world.

I have a job.

In that job, I'm paid to be a leader. And, I do lead, according to my job description, to the best of my ability.

But, in truth, my ultimate purpose in putting in time on my job, is to serve the Lord as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God.

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I work very hard to complete the duties contained in my job description, but I work even more diligently in my ambassadorial role.

And, I'm constantly evaluating what I do in the role of Kingdom ambassador.

(What follows in this blog post is the result of my self-evaluation.)

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As a Kingdom ambassador, I had been befuddled by one reality:

I choose to behave on the job in the world in a way that people gifted to be shepherds function in the church.

During my church days, when I was being paid to be a pastor, I chafed at doing the work of a shepherd.

More than ten years ago, I declared on Brian Miller's Emerging CGGC Blog, that I don't have a shepherd bone in my body.

So, in my role as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God, I befuddled myself.

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Since I was a kid, I have loved being on a team.

I never have been even a decent athlete, but, as a kid, I played baseball and football and basketball...all rather poorly...but well enough to make the team and warm the bench.

And, I absolutely loved it...because I had the opportunity to work toward a common goal...

...among people with gifts and abilities different than mine!

I've realized that, even to this day, I yearn to be a team member in anything I do.

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So, on my job, I befuddled myself because I did what a shepherd would do.

After a long struggle for self-understanding, I realized that what I did was nothing more than attempt to be a team member.

I did that even before I was invited to join the leadership team.

I believe that my yearning to be a source of support and encouragement to everyone...to behave like a member of a team...prompted the owners of the store to elevate me into the leadership position.

And, I've been stunned by the affection I am shown by the people I, uh, lead...people from 16 to 80 in age.

I am absolutely convinced that they respond to me in the way they do because I bond myself to them as their servant.

I support their success and celebrate their success as if their success is my success because, for the member of a team, we win...and lose...lose together.

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Here's why I say all of that:

My life working in a grocery store is one in which it is easy, even natural, to function as a member of a team...

...but, in my life in the institutional church, I never, personally, experienced team work.

In the institutional church, I never knew life in the body as Paul describes it.

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Paul speaks of the community of the followers of Jesus as a body.

He points out that we are all different from each other and that we all have our own function and that each member of the body must depend on the other members of the body.

And, he points out that the head of the body isn't one of the followers of Jesus.

The head of the body is Jesus.

Paul says that Jesus leads all of the members of the body who are, in turn, entirely dependent on Jesus... and on one another.

The members of the body exist in a state of interdependence and mutual submission.

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That state, in which all members of the body submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21), existed in the first days of the Kingdom of God.

Paul says that Jesus gives apostles, prophets, evangelists and shepherds and teachers, not to lead the church, but "to prepare the saints for works of service." (Eph. 4:12)

As a student of Christian revivalism, I believe that that spirit, dominated by a commitment to servanthood and mutual submission, existed in every era of awakening or revival.

It certainly existed in the movement days of the Church of God when John Winebrenner and his brothers and sisters served, not led, our body.

Sadly, that commitment to servanthood and a life of mutual submission, is absent in our CGGC today.

The people who work out of offices in Findlay and, for me, in Harrisburg, want to be leaders developing other leaders.

They themselves want to be followed.

They don't ever say, as Paul did, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Cor. 11:1)

They want to lead and raise up other leaders. Or, they want to coach and recruit other coaches.

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To be honest, the people who work out of offices in our denominational headquarters are in my experience, nice and good and gentle (mostly) men. And, they aspire to be nice and good and gentle leaders...

...but, they don't imitate Jesus.

They are not men whose attitude is the same as that of Christ Jesus who being in very nature God,...made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. (Philippians 2)

They, without recognizing their sin, seek to lead, to be the head of the CGGC body...

...to coach the team, not to be a members of the team.

And, of course, in the CGGC especially,...

...the more they aspire to be leaders developing other leaders, the more it is true that we experience numerical decline and spiritual decay and...

...the more it becomes obvious that the Lord of all authority and power and blessing isn't blessing us.

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My most compelling leadership quality, I am convinced,...

...as I work on my job as a manager in a grocery store, where my real task is to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of God, is that...

...I never aspire to lead. Ever.

I try to be who Jesus was, from the manger to the cross.

I serve. I encourage. I celebrate the success of my team members. And, when they fail, I console them and comfort them and encourage them, even teach them.

Never as their leader. Never even as their equal. But, as that bench-warming teammate (a role I played often in my younger days)...

...as their servant.

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And, and this, for me, has been the stunner:

...they follow...

...what I do.

Stunningly, many of them seem to genuinely care about pleasing me...

...serving...me...

...and, as a result,...serving the purpose of the team.

Because they trust that I would never, ever presume to lead them, that I don't think of myself as being superior to them, or as having authority over them...

They trust that I will all-but-kill-myself to work with them and to serve them to support their success...

...and, ultimately, our victory as a team.

In the end, they follow.

And, for most of them, that comes easily, even naturally.

It stuns me that I am followed.

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In the institutional church today, there is so much talk about leadership. And, in my denomination of the institutional church, there is so little following.

Yet, in the world, in the world where I work at least, there's no talk whatsoever about leadership, even among the leaders...

...but there is the doing of what-turns-out-to-be leadership, and in my small world, people do follow.

Without caring about leading or being a leader, our leadership is followed.

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Based on my honest self-evaluation: I'm not particularly competent in doing my job. There are many ways I need to improve in my job performance. Several of the people who follow me, do the job better than I do.

But, curiously, my incompetence doesn't seem to matter...at least as far as my ability to be followed is concerned.

Could it be that being followed is the fruit of serving?

What I'm learning is this:

I am followed ...

...whether I aspire to lead, or not.

Update on Evie's Upcoming Heart Surgery

All the testing's been completed.

Evie's determined to have her surgery performed at the University of Pennsylvania hospital in Philadelphia, the place nearby most highly regarded for cardiac care...

...and, to have it performed by the most highly respected surgeon there, who, understandably, has the longest waiting list.

We live in a condo community peopled mostly by geezers. We are still among the youngest of our neighbors.

Evie's heart problem, a bicuspid aortic valve, is very serious but it's also fairly common. About 3% of the population has that condition.

Evie's actually the fifth person in our neighborhood to go to Penn to have this operation.

She's the only one among our neighbors who may be able to hold on long enough to get to the surgeon everyone here wanted.

She's, the second youngest of the five and has been under care for the condition the longest.

Thanks to good doctoring earlier in life, she was diagnosed far sooner than most people are and, now, that seems to be paying off.

Also, she's under the care of a very good cardiologist in our area. One who goes out of her way to keep us apprised of what's going on with Evie's heart.

The cardiologist called Evie last week to explain what can be known from this last round of tests.

The bottom line is that the value is in bad shape and is deteriorating rapidly...

...but Evie's heart...

...and her aorta itself...

...seem to be healthy.

This is unusual and one advantage in the fact that Evie is comparatively young to be this ill.

And, it means that she'll probably be able to get to the surgeon everyone here wanted.

The first meeting with the surgeon isn't until July 26, still three weeks out.

I can see her energy level decline by the day.

We've had a horrible heat wave here for the past week and she's really struggling.

So, we'll see.

It appears that she'll get a tissue valve: pig or cow, perhaps human.

We're told that mechanical values last forever but would require Evie to take the blood thinner Coumadin, and there are possible issues with that.

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One final note: Evie's a very private person but she is convinced that there is power in prayer...

...and she wants everyone in the world to be praying for her.

Her attitude's been amazing, especially recently. And, she often talks about feeling the power of people's prayer.

If you've been praying, thanks and please continue. If you haven't, it's not too late to start.

Lance's Three Year Anniversary

July 1, 2015.

On that date, Lance Finley became, according to the Constitution of the CGGC, the CEO of the denomination.

Three years.

Certainly enough time to assess.

The fact that that anniversary was approaching simply popped into my mind a few weeks ago and I actually had to do some research to determine the precise date that the Finley era began.

It began on the first day of July, 2015.

Since doing the research, I've reread Lance's first few eNewses and found, in them, what I recalled.

In his very first eNews, Lance actually wrote, in bold type, "It's time to repent."

In his second article, Lance described, in bold language, the decline of the CGGC.

I recall praising that first article here, and recommending it, to the readers of this blog.

I said, in those days and since, that I've known Lance for a long time and that I love him, and that I even like him.

I still do like, and love, him.

Lance is big into leadership. During these three years, he's written often about leadership and leadership development.

And, clearly, Lance thinks of himself as a leader. Would it be unfair, since Lance sought the position of CGGC CEO, to assume that Lance considers himself to be THE leader of the CGGC?

I think it is fair.

In recent days, I've been putting together a list that would consist of three to five words, or brief phrases, that would describe Lance's leadership during these three years...

...and, I've found the project to be interesting.

I'm still working on the list.

Many of you have expressed opinions to me about Lance during these three years...always privately. And, almost always qualified with, "You know him better than I do, but..."

So, I'm curious.

How would you describe Lance's leadership as CGGC CEO in 3-5 words or short phrases?

Please feel welcome to respond here on the blog if you wish but, as always, I welcome private, confidential responses.

Despite the Constitution's assertion that the CGGC can have a CEO, we are, and always have been, a presbyterial body, an eldership.

As such, it's not gossip to have these conversations, either publicly or privately. We are, in theory, at least, a vibrant and dynamic community of men and women collaborating, in the Spirit, to do the work of the Kingdom.

I'd love the conversation and I'll gladly share my descriptors when I have them.

My Reply to Brandon's First eNews article on Prophets

I had intended to put a note here saying that I had just submitted a reply to Brandon's eNews article, Helping Prophets Relate to Their Community, but I submitted the reply and went out with Evie to run a few errands and, by the time we returned, the reply had already been published.

So, it's there for you to read.

In my reply, I praised Brandon for his references to Scripture. And, noted, as I so often do, that We Believe and our Statement of Faith, as I said it, "dictate" that the Bible be our only rule of faith and practice.

They do...and so often our leaders ignore that truth. So, good for you, Brandon!

Beyond that, I provided a survey of New Testament truths about the importance of being called to be a prophet and of the gift of prophecy that, at least in this first article, Brandon ignored. Among them:

The story of the ministry of Jesus actually begins with Jesus's prophet forerunner, John the Baptist.

The "Sermon on the Mount" includes instruction on how to deal with prophets and prophecy.

The Book of Acts contains many references to prophets travelling from place to place in groups or as individuals and speaking to individuals and churches and even the apostles.

The Book of Revelation contains letters dictated word-for-word to John functioning as a prophet.

...............

And, I focused on one of Brandon's Scripture references, 1 Corinthians 14:29:

"Two or three prophets should speak and others should weigh carefully what is said."

Brandon didn't quote the command, but did emphasize the importance of the body weighing carefully what is said.

I pointed out that Paul commands that, when disciples come together, a minimum of two prophets speak and that no more than three words be given.

In a church world that cherishes its sermons, preached by members of its clergy class for its laity to consume, becoming people who live in the Spirit and who embrace prophets and prophecy and allow for two or three prophets to prophesy and, as Paul does, allow one prophet to interrupt another...

...will be one of the "great challenges" facing the CGGC as we seek to be obedient to the Word.

...............

Anyway, I knew this eNews article was coming.

What Brandon says reflects the APEST literature available in the last 20 years or so. Honestly, to me, its more church, and less Kingdom, focused than it should be.

It's about prophets functioning within the church, not above and beyond it, as more frequently portrayed in the New Testament.

But, at least, it brings prophets and prophecy into our conversation.