In Regards to Discerning the Working of God in a Person's Life, the Church, or a Movement as a Whole: A Declaration

I went to a Christian College where we were continually reminded that we were attending "The Miracle College".  Of course, there were stories of sacrifice and God's leading, but I always got the feeling that they seemed to have a need to bring this fact up...a lot.  The idea communicated was: "God is blessing us, so watch, listen and learn...we have the answers....we are the miracle college, you know". 

The reality is that God does work and move in and through us, and this should be a source of joy for us.  It is a blessed thing when we see people respond to the gospel message, experience healing in their lives, or be blessed with a financial wind-fall.  However, it is easy to see God's moving because we want to see it, and it takes disciplined hard work to "wait on the Lord" and "be still" after the emotion of a service or "movement of the Spirit" has passed.  If in time the "converted drop away", those healed get worse, or those financially blessed seem unconcerned with their poor stewardship, one must question whether the witnessed occurence was, indeed, the moving of the Spirit.

When the dust settles we will see the lasting fruit of our spiritual labors as God's people.  I submit that a hopeful, discerning, and patient approach to evaluating God's moving in a church or organization should be the norm.

Below is a statement that I have crafted to remind myself what I believe.  I am also hopeful to use it as a tool to explain to others why I may not seem ecstatic or giddy at the declaration of a supposed miracle, conversion or moving of God.  In the end, I want to have joy when I see the Spirit move in his world and among his people, but I also know that I might not gain the Lord's insight instantaneously.  In the end, this might mean that I have to leave the giddiness to others.

In Regards to Discerning the Working of God in a Person's Life, the Church, or a Movement as a Whole: A Declaration

Father Tom Reeves, Summer 2012

Something being reported as the Lord's moving, blessing or judgment should not be fully (spiritually, emotionally, intellectually) supported if it cannot be qualitatively evaluated. Any discernment of God's lasting work in his church requires that we have the time, relationships, and exposure to wisely and accurately discern the work of the Spirit of God as understood by his Word and the historic church. If we are looking to find “what we want to find”, we will find it. The route of wisdom, however, is often a slow, messy, and relational road.

The notion prevalent in some Christian groups at home and abroad that short-term “decisions for Christ” are lasting and real because they occur in a certain place and time, seems short-sighted at best and manipulative at worst. An honest reading of Holy Scripture teaches (as a pattern) that commitment to Christ will be followed by “real depth” (parable of the sower), lasting growth (Jesus as the True Vine), and perseverance (Hebrews and Revelation among other books).

The numerical and monetary success of a certain church or movement (whether, local, regional, or global) should not automatically precipitate a following of similar methods for the discerning, Spirit-led believer. A church that is growing through the direction of the Word and Spirit, the Gospel, and Kingdom of God teaching, will desire to see not only converts but disciples that are constantly growing to be conformed to the image of the Son. It is a neglect of Spirit-led discernment (and the teaching of discernment to Christ's church) that talks of “success” without qualifications, brushing aside the reality of those who fall away and neglecting real problems and failures that often comes with much of “church success”.

It will be a weak church which values the impressive spiritual gifts to the neglect of those more mundane gifts of Spirit-Word discernment. The importance of a long-term, God-centered approach to church which enables it to persevere (Paul thanked God for the Spirit's work in his church plants, while directly confronting their need to address their weaknesses, cultural influences, and outright sin) is easily lost to that which produces quick, exciting, short-term results.

A short-term success oriented approach to evangelism (and the group-think that only talks of the positive), encourages the development of an anemic and weak church that is unable to weather the storms of trial, disagreements, or cultural appropriation. Such a church can survive indefinitely as an “orthodox institution” with a “revolving door” attendance creating the phenomenon of an American Church described by many as being “a mile wide, and an inch deep”. While there has been much discussion among popular Christian leaders, pollsters, and church growth specialists regarding the decline of the American church over the last 20-50 years, the solutions offered by the aforementioned experts have been largely methodological (as opposed to spiritual, theological, or historical). The focus has seemingly been on short-term¹ fixes instead of addressing the characteristics that have led to long-term problems² systemic to the American way of thinking.

In addition, our theology and methodology of evangelism cannot biblically be separated from our ecclesiology,³ and when it is, an unscriptural form of pietism emerges. Thus, evangelism is not our mission alone as if it is the sine qua non of being the church, but is one “mark”⁴ of a Gospel-centered ecclesiology which sees the “marks” of the church as her complete mission. I submit that these marks primarily include:

• The Worship of God (as a way of life, and in disciplined gatherings)
• The Preached Word of God (thoughtful, disciplined and creative preaching and teaching)
• The Centrality of the Sacraments (it is God who initiates, sustains and empowers on his terms)
• Authentic Passionate Prayer (corporately and personally)
• Biblical Community (we are redeemed together, we live together, we submit to God-given authority together, we are an ancient community together)
• Ministry Training and Support (pastors equipping and discipling - not doing all the work)
• Reaching out with the Gospel of Christ (love without reciprocation, evangelism as the first step of discipleship, the way we live, what we proclaim)

1several decades

2multiple decades or centuries

3Our theology of church

4A term borrowed from Cannon George Kovoor in a discussion regarding ecclesiology

"Blessed While in the Dark"

“Blessed While in the Dark”

September 2011

I have had the privilege over the last three years to work with “at-risk” foster teens. Two of the teens that I meet with are brothers, and although both of them have some cognitive limitations, they both function very well. Over the years these two boys (nineteen and twenty respectively) have shown an interest in the gospel and have often attended worship services with our family. Both boys were baptized when they were young, but had yet to really commit their lives to Christ. As of today, both boys have put their faith in Christ and our able to see God's faithfulness in their lives.

Both of these young men have experienced challenging times in their lives. The boys were removed from their home in early elementary due to neglect, and later lost their father to a heart attack. They have to date been in at least four foster homes, and because of their developmental challenges will likely have to spend the rest of their lives in assisted living. They have had little relational stability in their lives.

While the organization I work for is not of a Christian persuasion, I am able to share my faith if the teens are interested. This offers me an opportunity to do scripture studies with the boys from time to time, and currently we have been reading in Daniel. Last night we discussed and looked over Daniel chapter six. In this chapter is contained the very familiar but poignant story of “Daniel in the Lions Den” (can't you just see the flannel-graph?). This story involves many great elements contained in any good story. You have the hero and the villains; there is jealousy and betrayal; there is power and corruption; and there is a miraculous deliverance. Of course, for us Americans, we are missing a damsel in distress, but as we say in the Chicago area: “What are ya gonna do?”

For me one of the most interesting parts of the story is when Daniel is actually thrown into the lions den. I think it would be naive of us to think that these lions were just kept as pets and were just handy when a good punishment was needed. No, these were most likely lions that were kept hungry and angry for the very purpose of striking fear into those that would defy the orders of King Darius. The lions den would not have been a clean, bright zoo cage but a dark, scary place of death. It would smell of death, and would strike fear into any one that looked into it.

So, Daniel, without any guarantee of escape or release from the Lord is cast into this hellish place. His crime: seeking and knowing his God. He stays there all night. He has only one hope: His God.

I will be meeting with the two teens that I mentor soon. I will be sharing with these two brothers how this story relates to their own lives. Daniel did not have an easy life. He had likely watched as most of his family and friends had been killed in front of him. He was dragged off to a distant land in captivity, asked to risk his life to stay faithful to God's commands, put in other life and death situations, and now at an older age is cast into a place where numerous large ferocious carnivores have been anticipating a visitor. Not only this, he has gone from the pinnacle of career (being second in command of the largest empire on earth) to lion kibble. And yet, with the aid of his God, he chooses to trust this same God anyway. Would you have blamed Daniel if he would have asked God, “Lord, really...haven't I had enough trial?” Yet when Daniel trusted God he knew that there would be great reward. He might have seen his reward as his death and an eternity with the Lord he loved, but in this life it ended up to be a mighty deliverance that gained the Lord's name glory and praise.

21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

And king Darius goes on to say....

26 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."

So the next time I meet with my guys, I think I will have plenty of things to talk with them about. There are no guarantees that things in life will turn out the way we want them to. Challenges and hurts will come; difficulties and frightening situations will present themselves. However, when we trust in the Lord, we know that in the end we will be blessed, and that his name will receive glory. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, people can see in our lives the same kind of real integrity and devotion to our God that Daniel displayed even as we go through brutally difficult situations. The question is: Will we respond in trust?

With his help, we are promised that the answer can be “YES”.

Father Tom

A Very Scary Situation

A Very Scary Situation

October 2011

The fall season is probably my favorite time of the year. The cooling down of temperatures, the changing of the leaves, the wearing of sweatshirts, the eating of homemade donuts (and, of course, good coffee)...and, also, on the negative side (for me)....Halloween.

If the the “celebration” of Halloween disappeared, I would not shed a tear. While we don't have the space to develop it here, Halloween is loosely connected to the earliest of pagan holidays, and focuses on death, fear, and (in America) gore. Now, I don't want to be misunderstood here. I am not “anti-Halloween” completely as we celebrate it in the states either. My children have always gone “trick-or-treating” with an emphasis on fun and a kind of “scary ghost story around the fire” atmosphere. However, whatever one thinks of Halloween, it does highlight a few realities that many people would rather push out of their minds: death is real, fear often permeates our lives, and the Spirit-world...well...exists.

Not surprisingly, the Scriptures contain a story where all three of the above mentioned realities come in to play. It is a scary witch story, which God uses to teach a King (and us) some valuable lessons.

King Saul was given the difficult task of being Israel's first King (the nation of Israel wanted a king “like the other nations”). Unfortunately, for the people, Saul was a lot like them. I Samuel 13 tells us that he was impatient with God's timing and felt that he needed to step in and help God out to make sure he didn't loose too many troops before an important battle. In I Samuel 15, Saul believes that when God says: “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey (NRSV), it is just a general command that needed some “tweaking” so as to be more culturally relevant. I mean, hey, any smart king of that day would keep the best of the spoils of war (including the Amalekite King as a trophy), as this helps a king build up his treasury and gives him something more to give to God at worship...so if it is doing some good, it must be OK, right? I mean, God needs our help, doesn't he?

Interestingly, when Samuel rebukes Saul for his wickedness and self-idolatry in I Samuel 15:23, he likens his sin with...wait for it...divination. Divination is used by those who are separated from God and his Kingdom yet still wish to connect with the spirit-world and with those that have died. Instead of a relationship with the Lord, these persons, through witchcraft and “magic”, take short-cuts in the hopes that they will attain great power and knowledge.

In I Samuel 28 we find King Saul in a miserable place emotionally and spiritually. He no longer has the prophet Samuel in his life, and is cut off from gleaning any wisdom or direction from the Lord. In his desperation and fear, King Saul decides that he will try to glean some insight from those who are connected to the dead and the demonic.

In going to the Witch at Endor in I Samuel 28, King Saul continues his pattern of “going his own way” as reflected in I Sam 13 and15. Saul is so desperate and full of fear that he goes to dark magic to try and communicate with Samuel for help. The witch is shocked when she actually does bring Samuel back from the dead, revealing that whatever her connections with the underworld, she has never seen something this graphic! On top of this, God actually allows Samuel to talk with Saul! Saul's attempt to contact Samuel works, but his fear and desperation do not dissipate.

There are several lessons that we can glean from the story of King Saul. One of the most glaring is that we don't know better than the Lord does; as simple as this sounds, we constantly get this wrong. We the people of God, and the greater church in general around us, still think that we have better ideas in regards to what it means to be “successful” or “important” rather than “patient” and “faithful”.

Secondly, just because something seems to work, doesn't mean that God is honored by it or that it is his ideal for our lives or our churches. This is a big one for the American church. We American's are pragmatists at heart: If it works, then it is true. We often worship the successful, large, and the rich. We love assembly line efficiency, and mass production. We are short-term thinkers, giving little thought to long-term results or consequences. As Americans we don't need to be taught these things because they are “in the air” and all around us. We breathe it, hear it, watch it, and accept it.

Before we get too critical of Saul, we should take a hard look at ourselves and our own decision making as believers and as churches. The scary part of this story has little to do with the Witch at Endor. The most frightening part of this story is how easy it is for us to place our plans ahead of the Lord's plans; to rely on our wisdom and cultural assumptions, before relying on the lived-out gospel; to hold on to our own fear instead of embracing a courageous trust in him and his ways.

My desire for St. Peter and St. Paul is not that we become a huge, exciting church that everyone wants to come to, rolling out disciples at a fever pitch. Nor do I want our church to be a safe place to come where everyone gets what they want out of life. My desire for St. Peter and St. Paul is that we love the Lord and others so much that we test everything that we do by a Gospel and Kingdom of God perspective as laid out in the scriptures and handed down to us from the early church. God 's desire is that we live out a patient, long-term faith focused on what he has called the church to be. When we go ahead of God, thinking he needs our help, we will do nothing but hinder what it is that he wants to do in our lives individually and in our church corporately.

Will you join me in praying and seeking to be a people who strive toward these Gospel ideals? The journey will be hard and long, but as we focus on and listen to our Lord, it will be an adventure that we will never regret.

Father Tom