The Next Generation

The above photo shows more than a typical worship set at Church On The Rock in Hamilton (we meet in the pub on Mohawk College's campus). If you look real close -- that's me on the far left, pounding away on my bass, and on the far right, the little guy with the big Strat is my son Caleb, of whom I am so totally proud. As much as I really enjoy participating in the worship community of COTR, to be able to share the stage with my son is a far greater treat!

Wendy is quite a good photographer, and she loves capturing images of our family at worship. Below are pix of Caleb on his Strat, and our eldest daughter Jo performing a hip-hop dance to Kirk Franklin's "Do You Want A Revolution?".
It's really cool being part of such an artistic family!

More Retro Passion

After finding the articles by Leonard Sweet and Gordon Aeschliman in my old Bible the other day, I got to pondering what writings really grabbed my heart-strings even farther back, say around 1980 or so, when I was still a fairly new believer and had first felt a call to step into something deeper than the typically comfortable middle-class evangelicalism of the day.

These lyrics by Keith Green came to mind:

Well, I pledge my head to heaven for the gospel
And I ask no man on earth to fill my needs
Like the sparrow up above, I am enveloped in His love
And I trust Him like those little ones, he feeds

Well I pledge my wife to heaven, for the gospel
Though our love each passing day just seems to grow
As I told her when we wed, I'd surely rather be found dead
Than to love her more than the One who saved my soul

I'm Your child, and I want to be in Your family forever
I'm Your child, and I'm going to follow You
No matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things loss

Well I pledge my son to heaven for the gospel
Though he's kicked and beaten, ridiculed and scorned
I will teach him to rejoice, and life a thankful, praising voice
And to be like Him who bore the nails and crown of thorns

Well I've had the chance to gain the world
And to live just like a king
But without Your love, it doesn't mean a thing

Well I pledge my son, I pledge my wife,
I pledge my head to heaven, for the gospel

("Pledge My Head To Heaven", from the album "So You Want To Go Back To Egypt?", by Keith Green, released 1980)

That Was Then, This Is Now...

The other day, I pulled out my old, well-worn Bible from my college days -- they were published without the usual "Maps" section, so were considered damaged, and therefore Bible college students could buy them for $2 a piece. Not bad! And the concordance was actually really good, so it was a fair and equitable trade-off for having no maps of Paul's missionary journeys. And the price was right.

Inside the front cover of the Bible, I had taped two articles that summed up what got me stoked, gave me juice, was jazz to my soul; the first I had included back in the late 80's, and the newer one around 2001. It's interesting to look back and see what others had written that really resonated with me.

That was then... (1988)

We understand following Him means absolute death to ourselves. It costs everything to be His disciple. [We ask God:]
Don't give us blessings - give us grace to be unquestionably obedient to Your every last command and desire.
Don't give us status - give us a place to serve.
Don't give us a mansion to live in - give us a springboard to take Christ's love to the whole world.
Don't give us good jobs - put us to work.
Don't give us comfort - command us.
Don't give us pleasure - give us perspective.
Don't give us satisfaction - teach us sacrifice.
Don't give us entertainment - enable us.
Don't give us good salaries - give us strength to do Your will.
Our great joy in life is in pleasing our Lord - and there is no other joy comparable. (excerpt from "We Are World Christians" by Gordon Aeschliman)

...this is Now

I am part of the Church of the Out-of-Control.

I've given up my control to God. I trust and obey the Spirit. I've jumped off the fence, I've stepped over the line, I've pulled out all the stops. There's no turning back, looking around, slowing down, backing away, letting up, or shutting up...

I am not here to please the dominant culture. I live to please my Lord and Savior. Sometimes I'm called to sharpen the cutting edge, and sometimes to blunt the cutting edge... I've stopped trying to make life work, and started trying to make life sing.

I no longer live by and for anything but everything God-breathed, Christ-centered, and Spirit-driven...

My face is upward, my feet are forward, my eyes are focused, my way is cloudy, my knees are worn, my seat uncreased, my heart burdened, my spirit light, my road narrow, my mission wide... I am organized religion's best friend and worst nightmare. I won't back down, slow down, shut down, or let down until I'm preached out, teached out, healed out or hauled out of God's mission in the world entrusted to members of the Church of the Out-of-Control...

My fundamental identity is as a disciple of Jesus -- but even more, as a disciple of Jesus who lives in Christ, who doesn't walk through history simply "in his steps," but seeks to travel more deeply IN HIS SPIRIT.Until he comes again or calls me home, you can find me filling not killing time so that one day he will pick me out in the lineup of the ages as one of his own. And then -- it will be worth it all -- to hear these words, the most precious words I can ever hear:

"Well done, thou good and faithful... Out-of-Control Disciple." (excerpt from Leonard Sweet's "A Magna Charta of Trust")

Someday, I'll have to write one of these in my own words!

Post-Charismatic?

I've been alluding to the fact that I'm researching historical and theological backgrounds on the Pentecostal/Charismatic/Third Wave movements, and seeing how people that I know who were once happily part of these movements, but now describe themselves as "post-charismatic", would see their charismatic roots being played out in a postmodern world.

Post-charismatic should perhaps better be labelled "post-HYPE" -- it is definitely NOT my intent to write anything that would be NON-charismatic or ANTI-charismatic. A recent post, Room For Giftedness, basically addresses the beginning of the journey on being post-hype but still pursuing a supernatural God who works supernaturally in the midst of a mystical community called "The Body".

I've ordered some of the books that people have been recommending (it sure would be a whole lot easier if we all lived closer geographically and I could just borrow the books!), because I don't want to deal simply with the current issues that I hear about (Ie. the issues of "covering", "being under authority", etc.) without properly delving into the history and theology that gave rise to these practices. It's already proving to be a fascinating study, and the more I dig into the historical & theological roots, the more I find myself saying "oh, now I see where that came from and why people accepted/put up with it".

I'll be posting my writings on this in the Drydock section of this website, but it will be a few weeks yet before the first installment. It will likely be posted in sections as I finish them -- and as a disclaimer, let me be clear that I'm writing as a sympathetic insider who wants to examine the roots and fruit in order to see the wheat separated from the chaff, for the good of the Kingdom and the sake of the world (to paraphrase Todd Hunter).

Primary Sources?

I'm knee-deep in researching historical documents on pentecostalism, the charismatic renewal, the Wesleyan Holiness movement (from which a lot of the early theology of the Pentecostals came), the "Latter Rain" movement, and the Shepherding movement (where a lot of the teaching on "covering" and "being under authority" originated).

All this as background to writing some extensive stuff on what being "post-charismatic" might entail in our present era.

Here's my dilemna: I'm looking for good "Primary Sources" for all these things. Primary Sources are works written by the people who actually taught particular doctrines or were/are part of these groups -- there's no shortage of websites denouncing certain teachings or groups, but they also tend to denounce just about everybody short of Jesus Himself, so I can't trust their input because they don't have credibility.

Conversely, for example, even some of the pro-Latter Rain sites are highly suspect -- one in particular lists links to the Vineyard and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as supporters of Latter Rain! I was a part of the Vineyard for over a decade, so I'm very aware that Latter Rain is NOT endorsed by the Vineyard. And I almost laughed out loud when I saw the link to Billy Graham's site! As IF!!

So, end of mini-rant. Can anyone help me with links to credible sites? I'm also looking for recommendations of good historical books on the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, the Latter Rain movement, and the Shepherding Movement (not that I'm lumping these groups together). I've already got some books on the history of the Apostolic Churches of Pentecost (a denomination that started in Winnipeg but is now worldwide; originally it was "Jesus-only" but moved to a Trinitarian view within the last 15 years), and also the Vineyard movement.

Thanks in advance! As Brother Maynard mentioned in a recent comment, it's a lot of time-consuming work to properly research a large topic, but I'm really wanting to do my homework before I take a stab at talking about issues surrounding the growing number of people who could be described as "post-charismatic".

Repent & Do The Things You Did At First...

Brother Maynard's post "To Clarify This Journey" got me thinking, as he eloquently put into words what I -- and many others -- have been trying to say. And I wonder: Would it be fair to question the current state of the church by applying the following passage (Revelation 2:2-7)?

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (emphasis added)

The first part of this passage reads like a good, solid, Bible-believing church, doesn't it? Good deeds, hard work, enduring hardship for the faith, not tolerating false teachers, not glossing over sin -- sounds pretty impressive!

But all of this hard work, perseverence, doctrinal orthodoxy was for nothing, because they'd lost their first love. Losing that love was so heinous that the only word that could be applied was "repent". WIthout recovering that love, Jesus is warning them that they are about to lose their lampstand (ministry) completely.

Bro Maynard's post is, if I could sum it up, a heart-cry for "going back and doing the things (we) did at first". Well said, Bro.

Room for Giftedness

One of the questions that can't be ignored in our discussion about less hierarchical "level playing fields" of the Body is: how exactly DO we see people functining in their giftedness?

In our attempts to see the structure of leadership levelled so that, to quote John Wimber, "everyone gets to play", what are some of the assumptions and uncomfortable questions?

Assumptions

1. That everyone in the group actually wants to discover, and share with the group, their spiritual gifts.
   
2. That the group is in a healthy enough space (depending on where in the "detox" they find themselves) to be a "safe place to take risks" in discovering spiritual giftedness and to begin to express those gifts.
   
3. That the group is not so turned off to excesses they've seen under the banner of "spiritual gifts" (particularly those who feel they are "post-charismatic"), that they recoil from the journey of discovering and growing in their own giftedness.

(Potentially) Uncomfortable Questions

1. Is there a common theological grid to understand how the gifts function and can be developed/exercised within the group?
   
2. What if some of the gifts (I.e. prophecy, teaching) mean that some members of the group seem to get more time & attention than those with differing gifts -- do we expect these people to squelch their giftedness in order to preserve the status quo of the level playing field?
   
3. To restate the previous question in a less volatile manner, how do we make room for gifts that function more publicly, without creating another hierarchical structure?
   
4. How do we balance between (A) pursuing spiritual giftedness and (B) NOT becoming another insulated/isolated subset of Christendom?

Perhaps one of the most difficult things, as people work through their time of detox, is re-learning (or re-inventing) ways of building positively a healthy DNA for a community of faith. And one of the beginning steps of rebuilding needs to be an honest, careful evaluation of how spiritual giftedness is understood, encouraged, and allowed to function.

Level Playing Field

We spent three of the last four weekends putting on retreats for over 1400 teenagers. One for over 600 junior high students, and two back-to-back retreats for senior high students. There were over 40 staff -- almost all volunteers -- who worked for months in advance to make these retreats a reality, and we all worked our tails off all weekend long.

There were several things that I was particularly impressed with over these three weekends:

• The worship band for the two senior high retreats, The Pennymerchants. This five-member band was incredibly talented, but there was something else that impressed me even more: all five members were on a level playing field when it came to spiritual maturity and their motivation for being there.
  
  I'm a little jaded with the whole worship industry at times -- I've often seen some really sincere worship leaders who have band members who range from spiritually mature to egotistical / aloof, like it's "just another gig". The Merchants were like a breath of fresh air -- all really down-to-earth, spiritual, and servant-hearted. I'd highly recommend them to anyone.
  
  
• The focus for the team of older teenagers and twenty-somethings who poured their all into making the hard work of these weekends happen was "servanthood". We talked a lot about Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, and as a gift to them for their work with us, we gave them each a copy of "Practicing the Presence of God". It was encouraging to watch so many of the emerging generations happily working, enthusiastically worshipping, and becoming friends with the rest of us.
  
  
• There were "titles" that some people wore for the weekend: producer, emcee, director(s), coordinators -- but once the weekend was over, all the positions and titles evaporated into one common designation: servant -- as we all began working hard and long to disassemble everything, clean up, pack the vans, and drive several hours back to Toronto and spend another hour or two (A) unloading the vans and / or (B) driving the various team members who didn't have their own cars home.

I just thought it would be fair and balanced to mention that such a large, programmatic event could actually be used of God to impact the lives of youth and their leaders, to see servanthood modelled and matured in by the emerging generations, and to see that "having a position/title" didn't preclude anyone from rolling up their sleeves and working hard alongside anyone else. Even the guest speakers and band members helped stack chairs, sweep floors, and generally model a servant attitude.

Nice.

The Pay's The Same

Jesus told His disciples this -- no matter how long or hard they worked, the pay was the same. It doesn't really matter who gets the credit, it only matters to hear "well done, good and faithful servant".

I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to visit a new church plant, started by a former youth group member who I'd invested a lot of time with -- we'd gone out for breakfast once a week for three years.

The former youth group member, now the planting pastor, pointed me out to his congregation and said to them "I wouldn't be in ministry today except for my friendship with Rob" -- wow, how can one comment be simultaneously so encouraging and humbling at the same time?

The pastor then addressed me directly, "Man, I don't remember a thing you taught me, but I'll never forget the relationship."

Here's the punch line: he then went on to quote me (almost verbatim) in his sermon -- TWICE!! He just didn't remember that it was me that taught him those things.

Which is my point: It's not important that this young pastor remembered that it was me that taught him those things -- it was important that he learned them and was passing them on to others in his church.

And it occurred to me that morning, that the old saying is true: "It's amazing what can be accomplished, when nobody cares who gets the credit".

But it's still encouraging to realize that you've made a difference somewhere.

Ministerial Martial Law

I've always found legalism to be repulsive and death-dealing, but if I were to adopt a "rule" of some kind, maybe even declare ministerial martial law...

(sort of along the lines of "don't ever do this or you will be shot for treason")

...it would be this:

Manipulation has no place in ministry, period. No matter how good your goal may be, it's always completely, absolutely, unquestionably sinful to use manipulation to achieve some end.

Last year, I ran into a "ministry" that used manipulation to "get people broken down so we can build them back up" -- the way it worked was that they would run a retreat, break people down through some pretty heavy tactics, and then love-bomb them into accepting a new paradigm. Some of you are now pulling at your hair and screaming "that's what cults do!", and you're absolutely correct.

Back in my Providence College days in the mid-80's, I wrote a paper for our Cults class entitled "Cultic Aspects of Fundamentalism" (NOTE: this did not make me popular with certain students and faculty, but the professor of the class gave me an "A"). I wrote it after reading a check-list in Moody Monthly's magazine that listed "eight sure-fire markers of a cult" and I couldn't help but notice that six of the eight markers could be applied to many youth ministry models that I had seen. So, I wrote the paper to point out that, if we really believe that what we believe is the Truth, then our methodology had better be on a much higher level of integrity than the cults on which we are looking down.

The ministry that I encountered last year was an eye-opener. I had quite a long discourse with the pastor who was leading these retreats. He told me that half of his congregation had been through them, all of his leadership team, and -- here's where I get upset as a 20-year veteran of youth ministry -- all of the youth. It was basically an ingrained part of their church culture. Near the end of our two-hour dialogue, he admitted, "Yes, it's highly manipulative, but it's to a good end, so that's okay."

Wrong.

Stories of Wonder

Someone recently -- I think it was Jason Clark -- wrote something to the effect of "where are the stories of wonder?"

We spend a great deal of time pondering and writing on issues of leadership, church (de)structure, ecclesiology in general, being post-everything -- but where are the stories of wonder, of discovery, of encountering God in profound and meaningful ways, maybe even in the midst of Christian community?

Many would agree that we need to build from healthy DNA, not basing new models of community and leadership in the wounds and disappointments of the past. So, please help out here.

Does anybody have a story of wonder that you could tell?