The Anti-Jesus Question

The Lord has been rocking my boat for the past few weeks and I am going to attempt to gather some of these thoughts and give them enough order and structure to make sense. If I fail at doing that I'm sorry. Bear with me and join in the conversation.

I've recently been thinking about some of the things that Jesus was "against," and therefore some of the things that were against Him. I've had a lot of help, so don't think that I'm coming up with all this on my own. Some of the books that have contributed to this discussion I'm having with the Lord are Jesus Wants To Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment by Robert Farrar Capon, and The Jesus of Suburbia by Mike Erre, as well as some messages by Ronnie Walker of FBC Belleview.

Some of the things that were "anti-Jesus" were the evil one, the Roman empire, and the Jewish kingdom. The evil one is obvious. Even before Jesus entered the public spotlight He was tempted by the evil one to take the easy route, opt out of God's plan, and corrupt Himself in the process. One of His chosen disciples was lured away by the evil one and betrayed Jesus into torture, humiliation, and death for just a few coins. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Jesus was also against the Roman empire. I doubt I can do justice to this discussion in this short summary, but everything about Jesus was anti-empire. Caesar was the incarnation of power through intimidation, fear, and domination. Jesus was the incarnation of power through humility, love, and submission. The Jewish people were waiting for a Messiah who would come and destroy their captors and restore Israel to an eternal empire, conquering the rest of the world. Jesus was the Messiah who entered the world in a manger, and conquered the world through His own death. He told His disciples, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life —a ransom for many."

Jesus wasn't anti-kingdom, but He sure was against the established religious kingdom of the Jews. Some of Jesus' harshest language is directed at the religious leaders of His people. He flipped tables and chased people with whips. He did things (like heal on the sabbath) and said things (like call God "my Father") just to aggravate the religious leaders. In fact, in one passage in Matthew, Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites, sons of hell, blind guides, dirty dishes, whitewashed tombs, descendants of murderers, and snakes. That's harsh.

But Jesus subjected himself to the temptations from the evil one, to the laws of the empire, and to execution at the hands of the religious leaders. He was subject to them, but He was also sanctified, set apart, sacred in spite of them and within them. He was subject to them, and yet totally subverting them at the same time.

And that is where we live. Subject to temptations and attacks from the evil one, to the laws and culture of the empire, and to the hypocrisy and blindness of religious institutions. None of us are exempt from these forces around us. We can try to ignore them, but that changes nothing. The real question is one of whether we are going to follow Jesus, or whether we are going to follow an anti-Jesus. If we submit where Jesus subverted... if we live this life subject to, but not set apart from... we are choosing an anti-Jesus over the real Jesus.

If we find ourselves constantly giving in to temptation, over and over, again and again, we have chosen the evil one, an anti-Jesus. If we love our country, our economy, and American Idol more than Jesus, we have chosen the empire, an anti-Jesus. If we are so busy doing things at a church building that we don't have time to spend with our families or with our neighbors who don't know Jesus, we have chosen the religious kingdom, an anti-Jesus.

Maybe this doesn't rock your boat as much as it does mine. My boat is being ravaged by this storm and is just about to be swamped and I'm trying to wake Jesus to calm the storm, but I realized He is out there walking on the water and beckoning me to come with Him. Will I follow? Will you?

Shiloh

the discipling continuum

Hey guys,
You may already browse through the links I have listed for other blogs that I regularly read, but just in case you don't I wanted to encourage you to check out the latest post at Jason Dukes' blog, "as i live sent daily". He's got lots of good stuff on his blog, but this latest one called "the discipling continuum" is a really good one. I encourage you to check it out.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Where is Your House Built?

One of the interesting things about living in Florida is that houses here are by and large built on sand. Yes, they do pour concrete slabs on top of the sand and that does help, but it is very common for sink holes to open up near or even under your home and mess everything up. Even if a sink hole doesn't swallow you, every home I've ever lived in here in Florida has settlement cracks proving just how stable that foundation really is.

Case in point, my wife and kids all go to the same school which is relatively new (this is the third year it's been open). The stress of the first week of school this year was heightened when two sink holes opened up on the school grounds. One was in a retention pond and another was in the parking lot. Ever since then our school parking lot has looked like a cross between a crime scene and an oil-drilling expedition. Needless to say it has been an adventure getting the kids to and from school this year.

Anyway, back to where our homes are built. You probably remember Jesus talking about being careful about the type of soil to build your house on. In Matthew 7:26, Jesus says that a foolish man builds his house on sand. Now I'm not trying to make a commentary on building practices here in Florida, but I do want to comment on the comparison that Jesus made here and in Luke 6.

You see, I don't know what I used to think about this parable, but recently something jumped out at me. Both the wise and foolish builders are hearing the words of Jesus. The difference is that the wise man is actually doing what Jesus said to do. The difference is obedience.

There are a lot of good people who listen to the words of Jesus today and have absolutely nothing to show for it. They are living in houses built on sand. Jesus said in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" That's a really good question. Do you think that there may be people in our churches today who hear the words of Jesus and call Him "Lord" that are going to end up in complete destruction? I sure hope not.

James says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." There is a really big difference between hearing Christ's words and doing Christ's words. Psalm 112 says, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands." It goes on to talk about everyone else who is blessed by someone who hears the Lord and obeys Him; his chidren, his household, the upcoming generation, the poor. "Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever... His heart is secure, he will have no fear."

Why is his heart secure? Because he was wise enough to build on a firm foundation. A foundation of hearing the words of Jesus, and then doing what He says. May God bless your house as you build on a foundation of hearing Jesus and doing what He says.
Shiloh

Spiritual Reproduction: The Kingdom is Spreading

In case you didn't know, I've been working on a "workbook" describing spiritual reproduction for the past few months. Most of the material in this workbook comes from the 15-week long 2x2 Training that I take members of local churches through. It isn't exactly a companion workbook though. I've had a few requests for material from people who can't come to these training sessions either because of proximity or time constraints and so I decided to try to put the training in a stand-alone format.

I'm at the point now where I feel comfortable sharing this workbook with others who are interested in reading it, exploring it, using it, and sharing it with others. I wouldn't say that it is finished, but it is ready to be consumed, digested, and edited based on feedback. Therefore, there is no copyright at all. It is completely open for use, reproduction, propogation, etc. Use anything you want from this workbook and if your conscience allows you can even take credit for it.

All that I ask is that if you read it, please send me feedback. If you use it, please, please send me feedback. If you like it, please share it with others. And if you don't like it, please let me know why. You are my editors and I really appreciate your input.

So how do you get a copy of the book? Email me at FellowshipProject@gmail.com and I'll send you a copy. Many blessings,
Shiloh

Balance & Alignment

It's hard to believe that a month has passed since I was in Chattanooga and got to enjoy being with my former supervisor, some close friends that I don't get to see very often, and many staff members from churches all over the southeastern US. I enjoyed this trip for a whole bunch of reasons, but one of those reasons was that I got to share about what I am doing now and how it has its roots in what God taught me while I was preparing for and living in Africa. What I am sharing here is a synopsis of what I shared with them a month ago.

I have learned as a follower of Jesus that there are two critical areas to keep an eye on when it comes to a personal journey with God and intimacy with Christ: balance and alignment.

Balance is about keeping things in perspective and in order - a healthy balance - and it involves all sorts of things like time, money, excercise, study, prayer, family, work, and on and on. If my life is out of balance in one area, everything else is affected.

Alignment is going in the same direction as God's will for my life. As God reveals Himself and His plans and purposes for my life, I have to choose to align myself with His will, or be in a constant struggle against Him.

The decision to go to Africa was one of alignment. I felt like my life was fairly balanced at the time and Kim and I knew that it was God's will for us to go, but it took a lot of prayer and determination to keep aligning ourselves with His plan over the course of time that it took for us to actually be on our way. What I didn't realize at the time was that I needed more than an alignment. I needed a whole new set of tires! In the years of 2005 and 2006 God took off my old tires and gave me a new set, and plenty of opportunities to balance and align them with His will.

My old set of tires took me on a journey that focused on church activities for myself, my family, and the people that I met and spent time with. My new set of tires took me on a journey that is all about intentionally bringing Christ into all of the normal activities that me and my family and friends and neighbors are already involved in. There's nothing wrong with church activities, but if that's the only place to find Jesus, then we're in big trouble.

The journey I'm on now still needs balance and alignment just like before, and still requires corrections just like before, but the journey looks and feels a whole lot different. For example:

• I don't "go to church" any more. I take Christ with me wherever I go and if there are others who know Him gathered together, we are the church in that place.
• I don't evangelize people any more. I take the Presence of Jesus with me and look and listen for God-ordained opportunities to share Jesus with people through my prayers, presence, actions, and words.
• I don't rely on books or classes to disciple people any more. I look for people who are hungry for Jesus and His Word and I invest myself in them and invite them into my life, knowing that together we will grow more and more like Him and can help each other when we fail.

There are many believers, pastors included, who are flying down the highway totally oblivious to the fact that they are out of balance and out of alignment. They are numb from the constant vibration and tired of pulling the wheel one way while God is trying to steer them off the highway and into a service station. Some know something is wrong, but have no idea what to do about it. Many are awakening to that feeling all across the US.

The Fellowship Project is an invitation to followers of Jesus to pull off the highway and into the service station. It is an invitation to get a new set of tires that will allow them to see the Church and the world differently and will allow them to naturally reproduce their faith in others and to see God's Kingdom expand as a byproduct of that.

Is your relationship with the Lord out of balance? Is it out of alignment? Are you ready for a new set of tires for this journey with Jesus? If so, pull into the service station today.

Many blessings,

Shiloh

Live Sacred, Live Sent

This article was written Adam Hammond, a staff member of FBC Belleview. The Lord is doing some great things among the people there and I loved what Adam wrote here. It really challenged me and stretched my thinking about what living sent means. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Shiloh


Living Sent, at its core, is about expanding the kingdom of God by bringing glory to the Father. When Jesus walked the earth, His mission was to do the will of the Father, to be obedient to the point of death. ("I glorified Thee on the earth having accomplished the work which Thou has given me to do." Jn 17:4) Thus, if we are to use Jesus as our example, we must first understand our objective. Jesus said in John 17:18-19 "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth."

The important point here is to notice that Jesus does not send us out "any ole way." The word "sanctify" in verse 19 means to hallow, to treat as holy. Jesus understood that He was from the Father sent to do the Father's work... His instruction and holiness lay in His oneness with the Father. We receive our instruction as verse 19 says, in truth. This truth is what sanctifies us, it is what sets us apart in holiness. It is truth that sanctifies us and enables us to live sent.

Living Sent is not about going anywhere. It is about "walking Jesus" among whoever and wherever you are. It is not a program or prayerwalk, as good as those things may be. It is about Christ in you. We cannot live sent if we are not living set apart. We cannot look to culture for was to witness to others, we must look to Christ. He is the difference that others are looking for and in Him you get the opportunity to display the Holy among the profane. Jesus will draw them, you just follow Him. Live Sacred, Live Sent.
Adam