innovation ministries: new orleans

I'll Be Back

2010-10-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

I have just started my first semester in a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Counseling, at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I have some intriguing ideas to toss around. I'll write something over Thanksgiving Break. Later . . .

The Social Gospel Movement & Too Tall Paul

2010-05-01T22:52:00.001-05:00

Mark Steyn was attempting to wake us all up about a year ago when he wrote;

Most Americans don’t yet grasp the scale of the Obama project. The naysayers complain, Oh, it’s another Jimmy Carter, or It’s the new New Deal, or It’s LBJ’s Great Society applied to health care. You should be so lucky. It’s all those multiplied a gazillionfold and nuclearized — or Europeanized, which is less dramatic but ultimately more lethal. (National Review 2009.03.23)

The personally invasive changes of Barak Obama's administration have caused many to forecast a socialist overhaul in our executive and legislative branches. That may be true.

I think the most frustrating element of all this fervor is the feeling that those of us who know better were too busy pampering ourselves to notice that hurting people were seeking radical change. Morning after morning, we watched perky financial advisers on Fox and Friends tell us if we just cut back on five dollar caramel macchiatos from Starbuck's we could make up for some of the hit we took on our 401K.The single mother of two, serving us at Starbuck's needed real change. Please don't assume I think she got meaningful assistance or sustainable reform from this regime. My only goal with this diversion is to re-frame your thinking enough to be objective about how we end up creating environments where destructive social and political change appears credible to the majority.

Let this next quote sink in for a minute or two,

The highest expression of love is the free surrender of what is truly our own, life, property, and rights. A much lower but perhaps more decisive expression of love is the surrender of any opportunity to exploit men. No social group or organization can claim to be clearly within the Kingdom of God which drains others for its own ease, and resists the effort to abate this fundamental evil.

This excerpt from A Theology for the Social Gospel by Walter Rauschenbusch could be quickly tied to the current administration's political realities. Except for the fact that this particular book is considered the confession of the Social Gospel Movement and was written in 1922. Another quote from the book reflected upon a significant legislative change from the end on the nineteenth century. "This involves the redemption of society from private property in the natural resources of the earth, and from any condition in industry which makes monopoly profits possible."

The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890. Teddy Roosevelt put teeth in the act when he took over the U.S. Presidency in 1901 following the assassination of William McKinley. He launched a series of lawsuits against what were deemed offensive business combinations. Such giants as J.P. Morgan’s Northern Securities Company, John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust and James B. Duke’s tobacco trust were targets of the government’s attorneys. Is this bringing on an overwhelming sense of deja vu?

The Social Gospel Movement marked a dramatic shift in Christian philosophy at the end of the nineteenth century. Not unlike the political shift we are experiencing today. The North had won the civil war, freed slaves, and began reconstruction. The new "negros" were poor immigrants from Europe coming to America for a perceived opportunity of a success that seemed inconceivable in their homeland. The industrialized Northeast churned through this hopefuls and their children. There is certainly no argument regarding the abuses they endured. Many of the labor laws and regulations in place today remain as a result of the attempt to legislate a minimum standard of ethics in the workplace. The minimum wage has its roots in these reforms. Northern Episcopalians, Methodists, and Lutherans, began to unite over these social injustices as well.

In this socially conscious environment a real Christian would not and could not tolerate this evil. Moreover any true Christian must make it their mission to end these heinous oppressions. To that end prominent Christians began to work through the political engine to accomplish social reform. Inevitably that resulted in some deterioration of the separation of Church and State; an acceptable concession at the time. The Scriptural basis for the movement is anchored in the Beatitudes.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-12)

There are also obvious ties to deistic patriotism. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (U.S. Declaration of Independence)." The real philosophical shift here is from an emphasis on individual sin and personal evangelism to a battle over societal sin and cultural reform. One of the observations of the Social Gospel Movement was that other churches had become too Pauline, and they were not preaching enough Jesus, or discipling toward Christlikeness regarding social justice.

My interest in this topic was generated in the Church History class I'm taking to wrap up my undergraduate degree in a couple weeks. Then I will have time to share with you my personal wrestling with the question generated by the liberal protestants of the Social Gospel Movement. Is there such a thing as too much Paul and not enough Jesus? If anyone has created a "Too Tall Paul" in his ministry and approach to discipleship it is me. I regularly elevate and illuminate the Pauline epistles. I know the "Emerging/Emergent/Simple/Organic" church exists because of the "Country Club" congregations of the last fifty years. I believe the church has a role in social justice. Am I missing something? Is there such a thing as a "too Tall Paul?" Please sound off.

In WAY Over My Head

2009-10-26T11:18:00.004-05:00

I know you’ve heard people say, “God will never give you more that you can handle.” Lately it seems the proclamation of this nugget will become an everyday occurrence. My current circumstances understandably promote this well meaning sentiment. A few weeks ago I was let go from my ministry position and the church will seek a new direction for their student program. The decision has been an emotional event for many and on many levels. I hope and pray that all involved will seek the Lord and do exactly as the Holy Spirit leads them. I don’t want to appear unmoved; I am very disappointed, and I will miss my brothers and sisters. However, the Lord has stirred a fresh wind for Riverside, and for me. God has given me something I can’t handle and I love Him for it.

I need to clear up something important. “God will never give you more than you can handle” is not in the Bible. The actual verse that draws out this misinterpretation is 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” There is a wealth of simple truth in this verse. First, Satan is not luring you into to some new craving over which Jesus doesn’t already have the victory. Most importantly, God is faithful to you personally. He assures a limit to Satan’s testing. And finally, He shows you the way out of the snare. There is a caveat. You must receive His Son Jesus Christ, for it is by His shed blood that you are set free.

It is quite clear in Scripture that God will give you more than you can handle. My favorite instance is found in John 14. Jesus is finally getting through to the apostles that He is going away and they are sure they cannot handle the earthly ministry. Jesus both challenged and encouraged them, saying, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

Peter’s letter to exiled Christians contains this divine principle: “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I believe setting your hope fully on grace is achieved by accepting the Lord's challenge to engage in what He has planned for you. It will be an adventure where you are in WAY over your head; attempting things that will crash and burn if God doesn't show up to carry you through it, and living your life with the absolute certainty that He will.

Now, go do what you are called to do. And smile this is the fun stuff!

Now What?

2009-10-19T11:08:00.010-05:00

As I embark on this new adventure with God, I have decided to do something different, something ancient. I have sensed a calling from the Lord to step out of the boat. I haven’t abandoned ship because of the storm or the rough seas. Like Peter, I heard Jesus say “come,” to experience Him in a new way. I have opted out of the institutional church; not in protest or bitterness, but spiritual necessity.

I am not alone; a faithful band of brothers and sisters asked me to walk with them. “Origins,” a simple church, was born. Our first worship gathering was last night. We broke bread together. Actually we had Taco Soup, but you get the idea. We sang and prayed together. Then we finished up with a discussion series on life lessons from Peter. You can engage in this discussion titled, “OK, We’re Out of the Boat! Now What?” at www.originsnola.org.

It is exciting to look into the face of Christ and step out. Thank God, when I focus on the storm, He will immediately reach out, take my hand, and rescue me.

(see Matthew 14 for the first hand account of Peter’s experience)

A Silence Broken (originally posted 08.29.2006)

2009-09-04T00:10:00.000-05:00

An old Selmer tenor sax cuts the thick air along the river behind Cafe DuMonde with a melody from deep in the heart of Coleman Hawkins. The Canal Street Ferry blows a low tone as she returns from Algiers, and the big engines of the river boats fill out the bottom of the harmony that is the French Quarter. The rhythm is tapped out by the metal shoes of the carriage horses that escort visitors down Toulouse past Royal and Bourbon Street. The Quarter has a song unique in all the world.

The piercing cry of a baby, curled up hungry and alone, lofts above the roar of the bus that takes her young mother to work. The audible and enveloping drone of hopelessness moves through the Desire Street Projects. The rhythm cuts deep as the rapid report of a Glock 9mm drops another grandson to the blood stained ground of the 5-4. The Lower 9th Ward has a song unique in all the world.

New Orleans is a bitter sweet symphony where carefree and hopelessness awaits a tragic crescendo. Katrina, long anticipated, always feared, shattered this tension filled orchestration. Her deafening wail so out of tune. When her excruciating solo was over the band was gone and a global audience sat numb and confused. New Orleans had a silence unique in all the world.

The distinct tone that is New Orleans has resonated across the land. A season has passed and the chorus builds one voice at a time. The horns are muted, the baby’s cry faint, but the silence is broken. The leader of the band stands ready to arrange, to harmonize. The Great I am is our Conductor. While the Composer sits in a place of silence, He is the one who forms a collection of monotone elements into a masterpiece of meter and harmony.

New Orleans we must trust our song to the skillful hand of the Almighty Maestro.

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his Temple; praise him in his mighty heaven. Praise him for his strength; praise him for his greatness. Praise him with trumpet blasts; praise him with harps and lyres. Praise him with tambourines and dancing; praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. Praise him with loud cymbals; praise him with crashing cymbals. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. (Psalm 150)

Go and Sin No More (originally posted 05.14.2007)

2009-09-03T00:20:00.000-05:00

I have been labeled, at best a troublemaker, at worst a heretic . . . again. But, to know me is to love me. I am a 45 year old undergrad at Leavell College on the Campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, a lover of grace, and one who has great disdain for the law. I want so much for all Jesus went through to mean something to the people around me. After all, if the law had been effective in perfecting the sinner, I am quite sure a loving God would not have asked such a thing of His one and only Son. Focus on the scourging and the crucifixion if you must, but I think the thing worth sweating great drops of blood over was the act of a sinless man bearing the weight of the world's sin upon himself. The least I can do is accept this great thing, done for me when I didn't deserve it. Man, my sins hadn't even been carried out yet. The "paid in full" voucher had been sitting there waiting for me to pick it up. I didn't get some kind of starter kit, I'm 100% forgiven! I'm a new creation!

That said, I was so bold as to suggest, in a doctrinal theology course, that after someone is saved it is possible to finish out your Christian walk without sinning. Wow! You would have thought I was suggesting a dance contest with Jello shots. Now, before you draw your label gun, consider this, in order to disagree you must believe two things; 1) that you are a NOT a new creation, and 2) that God's not big enough to pull it off.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

Now in my personal experience it is improbable, even inconceivable, but I believe the Holy Spirit that dwells in me can do it. That is what gives me abundant life. I can't image what it is to live life anticipating your next transgression, so focused on inevitable failure that you miss the great adventure the Almighty Creator has planned just for you. Have I missed Christ's message altogether? Have I become a heretic? . . . Or the renegade I long to be.

The Holy Spirit: Just a Ball and Chain?

2009-05-14T17:31:00.000-05:00

One of the most fulfilling elements of my life is my education. After four and a half years, (Katrina sabotaged my 3 year plan) I must be close to achieving my Bachelors in Christian Ministry. My “BaCMin” as it’s referred to around Leavell College. Leavell College is the undergraduate program on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I have learned biblical history and ancient languages. I have learned about Postmodernism and contemporary Christian counseling. I have greatly expanded my knowledge, understanding, and application of God’s Word and His promises. I have had the pleasure of studying under some of the best theological professors anywhere. I have been richly blessed.

(Here it comes) But! One of my favorite professors trampled on a primary pet peeve of mine. “We are all just sinners saved by grace”- spoken with that defeated drone so common to the ball and chain dragging Christians I know. They talk a lot about how hard the walk is, and frequently moan over the challenges we all have in this life. They drag the Holy Spirit around like a ball and chain, hoping their Heavenly Father will throw them a happy bone once in a while. Usually what they are looking for is a financial blessing for all the burdensome toil and hard earned tithe they have agonizingly laid at the altar. A common thread among these melancholy brothers and sisters is the tendency to measure God’s acceptance of them by their circumstances.

It’s no wonder some of God’s children fall into this joy smothering abyss, preachers preach it, bands sing about it, and twelve step programs rely on it. The simple truth is that our humanness is too fragile to sustain the hope of glory, which is Christ in you. When we finally acknowledge our great need for the Savior we must be reborn in order to obtain this divine capacity to love.

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27 ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

The Bible is overflowing with teaching on grace and mercy and abundance. God’s Word also cautions us not to fall back on our own inadequate abilities. The Scriptures never model a life still lived as an improved sinner. Paul clarifies the antithesis of such belief.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

We may experience failures, of our own doing, in our walk with the Lord. Those stumbles don’t make us sinners. We have the Holy Spirit to pick us up, dust us off, and put us back on the path of a saint. Paul encourages us not to even keep track of our offenses.

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. (1 Corinthians 4:3,4 ESV)

It is heartbreaking to see how many miss out on the abundant life (John 10:10) because of this common teaching.

I have been richly blessed to be called to the Lord’s ministry with the charge to represent a radical life changing relationship. Jesus is the kind of friend you just can’t wait to introduce to everyone you know. He laid down his life for a friend (John 15:3) and that friend is you. Jesus didn’t die so you could be a new and improved sinner, who drags the Holy Spirit around like a ball and chain. He died for the forgiveness of your sins and rose to give you abundant life.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1 ESV)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13 ESV)

Infallable Colbert

2009-04-11T19:16:00.000-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Bart Ehrman

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
(1 Peter 3:15 ESV)

Or do it the Colbert way.

Let Jesus Win This One!

2009-03-17T17:04:00.000-05:00

First - read this article.

Kelley: Southern Baptists are the new Methodists

Wow! Kelley is right when he says "we don't know who we are." The truth is we have spent the last 50 years making sure people know what we are against. I would be deeply saddened if our denominational solution is anchored in returning to our prominence as the moral authority we were in the 50's. Rolling up our sleeves, beating down our flesh, and marching out to fight for our right to make the rules will only widen the chasm between Southern Baptists and those we truly long to reach.

"The conversion of a soul to Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit. The stirring of a church and community in revival and awakening is a work of the Holy Spirit." Kelley is correct again. May we never find ourselves urging God to bless our works again. It will be our surrender not our grit that grows the Kingdom, and possibly our denomination. I want to be part of a Spirit-led revolution for Christ, not a battle to save the SBC.

The aforementioned has not squelched my appreciation for the positive principles that make up the legacy of Southern Baptists.

We are equipped with the best theological educational available, founded in the truth of God's Word, in which there is "no mixture of error." We are blessed to serve in an autonomous body of believer's who have every opportunity to be culturally relevant through the leading of the Holy Spirit. As Southern Baptists we are uniquely venerated to start a revolution of the heart.

I pray each and every one of you will give up your personal battle and let Jesus Christ win this one through you.

I love you brothers and sisters!

It's Time to Bang Out Some More Profundity

2008-10-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

I've missed my blog time. So, check back often or subscribe
because my sage wisdom is on the way.

A New Earth – Mocking Your Life’s Purpose Observations and Opinions Part 2 of 2

2008-04-29T07:18:00.002-05:00

King Solomon, son of David, was often praised for his wisdom. As the inspired author of Ecclesiastes the reality he reveals is

That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NASB95)

And so it is with "A New Earth." Original sin and salvation from the spiritual death it brings has been on the hearts and minds of man since Adam and Eve sought to be like God.

The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5 NASB95)
For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 NASB95)

Over time there have been thinkers who have impacted our perspective with their ability to effectively communicate this mental wrestling match with those of their day. Most have been led of the Holy Spirit to interpret and apply God's Word to those who seek spiritual life through Jesus Christ. A growing roster of those who seek salvation in themselves are being taken seriously. A look at how we got to this point includes well meaning men who over time lost contact with Jesus Christ as Savior. Jesus became a historical figure worth quoting. A thank you to Dr. Scott Drumm - New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as the following chronology is drawn from my class notes in Contemporary Theological Issues.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

-instilled a negative view of man within the church

"With love for mankind and hatred of sins "

"God will not suffer man to have knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience of his prosperity, he would be careless; and understanding of his adversity, he would be senseless."

Anslem of Canterbury (1033-1109)
-faith over reason

“I believe that I might understand”
"God could do it, it was appropriate, therefore he did it"

Peter Abelard (1079-1142)
-reason over faith

“I understand that I might believe”

Thomas Aquinas (1225-74)
-Deductive Reasoning
-start with a general statement and then make
conclusions based upon that general statement

"Reason in man is rather like God in the world."

John Duns Scotus (1265-1308)
-denied that reason alone can understand God
-existence of God must be based on faith alone

"The divine will is the cause of good, and so a thing is good precisely in virtue of the fact that he wills it."

William of Occam (1288-1347)
-human reason cannot understand God
-foundation of Nominalism
-knowable reality is ultimately material
-provable/empirical facts
- Occam's razor presumes the following:
"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct."

Thomas More (1478-1535)
-denied Augustine’s negative view of man
-in his Utopia he portrayed man as essentially good
-this fundamental shift in the way man was viewed spurred new theological ideas

"Our emotional symptoms are precious sources of life and individuality." (Key to Tolle's philosophy)

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
-Descartes described the self as a thinking substance
– I know I exist because I can reason and can understand

“Cogito ergo sum” "I think therefore I am”
(Key to Tolle's philosophy)

John Locke (1632-1704)
-Deism held that a God had created the world and instilled within it laws to govern it. However, that God is utterly unknowable and is not engaged in the matters of the world. Man, thorough his reason, can determine what the natural laws are and then can live within them to attain utter happiness.

"Any one reflecting upon the thought he has of the delight, which any present or absent thing is apt to produce in him, has the idea we call love."

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
-denied the provable existence of God through propositions
-God cannot be known because all knowledge of God is based upon symbolism and analogy
-denied the existence of general revelation for it relies upon a rational interpretation of the world and thus is rooted in man’s interpretation rather than the world itself

"All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason."

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
-Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883)
-In the work he declared that “God is Dead”
- When Zarathustra was alone, however, he said to his heart: "Could it be possible! This old saint in the forest hath not yet heard of it, that God is dead!" . . .
-He also questioned the validity of religion (and metaphysics)

"All sciences are now under the obligation to prepare the ground for the future task of the philosopher, which is to solve the problem of value, to determine the true hierarchy of values."

Michael Foucault (1926-1984)
-denied the validity of the “thinking self”
-the multiplicity and utter uniqueness of each individual violates the idea of a universal “human nature” shared by every individual
-self and identity are individual constructs used to shape our reality
-Knowledge is a struggle for power
-Truth does not exist- it is a fabrication aimed at consolidating the power which accompanies knowledge
-Knowledge, ultimately, is violence

"As the archeology of our thought easily shows, man is an invention of recent date. And one perhaps nearing its end."
(Key to Tolle's philosophy of man's evolution to a spiritual being)

Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)
-all language is symbolic (of objects which themselves are symbolic of the multiplicity of forms of that object)
-all language uses signifiers (words) to express ideas (source of meaning)- thus a separation exists between the meaning and the vehicle which is supposed to carry it
-meaning is based not upon what an object is, but what it isn’t

"No one gets angry at a mathematician or a physicist whom he or she doesn't understand, or at someone who speaks a foreign language, but rather at someone who tampers with your own language. "

"I became the stage for the great argument between Nietzsche and Rousseau. I was the extra ready to take on all the roles. "

Derrida sets the stage for Tolle's lengthy oration on labels, which I find both interesting and applicable. Most of the teaching in "A New Earth" most closely resembles Bramin caste Hinduism with an emphasis on clairvoyance. Tolle's philosophy is far from the "reason over faith" proponent's above. "A New Earth" moves on to a purely metaphysical existence through an evolutionary leap of inner consciousness. Future posts will focus on my observations of Tolle's specific teachings. The intention here is to add Tolle to the philosophic chronology.

Eckhart Tolle (1948 - )
- Humans are on the edge of an evolutionary leap that will transcend physical boundaries
- There is no tangible difference between the divine and the human
- All matter is life form - mineral, vegetable, animal and human
- You are God!

"Any life-form in any realm - mineral, vegetable, animal or human - can be said to undergo 'enlightenment'." (page 3)

"Can human beings lose the density of their conditioned mind structures and become like crystals or precious stones, so to speak, transparent to the light of consciousness?" (page 5)

"A new heaven is the emergence of a transformed state of human consciousness, and a new earth is it's reflection in the physical realm." (page 23)

"The ultimate truth of who you are is not I am this or I am that, but I Am." (page 57)

It is out there. Just as bold as Nietzsche proclaiming God is dead, Tolle teaches you are God.

Solomon goes on to say

What I've finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless - nothing but spitting into the wind. Much learning earns you much trouble. The more you know, the more you hurt. (Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 The Message)

And Jesus said . . .

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6 NASB95)

A New Earth – Mocking Your Life’s Purpose Observations and Opinions Part 1 of 2

2008-04-24T16:34:00.001-05:00

Oprah Winfrey’s latest overnight success is Eckhart Tolle. Tolle is a contemporary spiritual teacher and the author of the record setting bestseller “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.” Almost four million copies of the manifesto have been sold on Amazon alone, following its celebrated adoption into the Oprah Book Club. Two million seekers from all over the globe login each Monday night for a ninety minute webinar featuring Tolle and Winfrey (mostly Winfrey) discussing, and attempting to clarify, the books principles of awakening to a new state of inner consciousness – Heaven.

I have read the book. I am not basing my opinions on You Tube video clips. I have also endured the first four Monday night webinars. My exposure to Tolle’s teachings is not inappreciable. This series of blogs will be difficult for me because it is against my philosophy as a Christ follower to spend any time at all ranting about what I am against. It happens, and it is inevitable in this case, but I’d much rather tell you what I love about Jesus. That said, I believe this book and the substantial attention it is garnering is a stunning indictment of the western church. Tolle’s success would not be probable if humanity’s pain had a vibrant, culturally relevant, loving healer in the western church.

Has the state of western Christianity become so compromised that fringe ideologies can not only profit the promoter, but sweep through the field of shallow believers like a wildfire? Before I point out the speck in someone else’s eye, I want to examine the plank in my own. We have finally reached the point where the living organism that is the True Church has been all but replaced in western culture with a behavioral management institution with the same moniker. The environment created by this epidemic of hypocrisy has left three distinct types of people in need of intensive care.

First there are the purveyors of moralism. They are the modern day Pharisees. They usually have considerable Bible knowledge and hold important titles in the institution. They work hard and everyone is well aware of their works. They are quick to inform you of the infirmities of our society. They see the message of the cross as a behavior management program. They have put a stern, judgmental face on the church.

Next are the shallow believers, hurting souls who turned to the institution for help managing their behavior. The early, emotional success has passed and they don’t want to admit that they have failed at the Pharisee’s system. They don’t have a craving for the things of God like prayer, reading Scripture, and loving their neighbor. They wouldn’t have time anyway; they are too busy keeping track of their trespasses and sins. They put a confused, defeated face on the church.

Last is the hurting soul who has no relationship with Jesus Christ. His pain is real. His longing to fill the spiritual emptiness he was born with is overwhelming. The world is closing in on him and he turns and looks into the face of the church, where he sees judgment, confusion and defeat. A quest is born. Where will he go now?

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron
(1 Timothy 4:1-2 NASB95)

Pharisees and Drums

2007-10-06T09:22:00.000-05:00

A Google search of "Christian+drums" dug up this paranoid, moralistic, caustic, fodder for twenty first century Pharisees. I usually let these things go, but this is maddening.
What do you think?

www.av1611.org/cqguide.html is the source of all this proof-texting.

An excerpt from "Bible Guidelines for Christian Music."

THE DRUM
The Bible lists many kinds of instruments: Psalms 150:3-5 says:
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Psalms 150:3-5
With all the many references to musical instruments, there is one instrument that is NEVER mentioned! The DRUM! Why is that? The drum was a very common instrument in Egypt and the lands around Israel. And yet the DRUM is NEVER mentioned in a King James Bible.
Did the Lord just forget to include the DRUM or is there another reason?
Is it because — drums are associated with voodoo, shamanism, paganism and magic rituals?
"[Drums] represents the beat of the heart and is played to summon up magic powers." (Miranda Bruce-Mitford, The Illustrated Book of Signs & Symbols, DK Publishing, 1996 p.80)
"The shaman was the original 'long hair', the first rock star draped in leather, dancing POSSESSED to a rhythm banged out on A DRUM." (Danny Sugerman, Appetite for Destruction, p. 208)
In Siberia, in northern Asia, drums are used in shamanic rituals to heal people. It is believed that the shaman can communicate with the spirit world THROUGH DRUMMING. (Louise Tythacott, Musical Instruments, Thomas Learning, 1995, p. 37)
"Pagan dances and rituals are always accompanied by the incessant BEAT of DRUMS. Rhythm plays a major role in these demonic activities." (Hart, Lowell Satan's Music Exposed, Salem Kirban Inc., 1980 p.71)
Robert Palmer is a contributing editor to Rolling Stone and other rock magazines. Palmer has also taught courses in music at Yale, and many other universities. Palmer was the chief advisor for the highly acclaimed "History of Rock 'n' Roll" that aired on public television. Palmer, an advocate and lover of rock music, is among the leading authorities on rock music. Here's what Palmer says about rock and the drum:
"Bata drums [drums used in voodoo], sacred to the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Cuba: Their push and pull provided a template for the inner rhythms of rock and roll." (Palmer, Robert Rock & Roll An Unruly History, Harmony Books, New York, 1995 p.46)
"The idea that certain RHYTHM patterns or sequences serve as conduits for spiritual energies, linking individual human consciousness with the gods, is basic to traditional African religions, and to African-derived religions throughout the Americas. And whether we're speaking historically or musicologically, the fundamental riffs, licks, bass figures, and drum rhythms that make rock and roll can ultimately be traced back to African music of a primarily spiritual or ritual nature. In a sense, rock and roll is a kind of 'voodoo' . . . ," (Robert Palmer, Rock & Roll, An Unruly History, Harmony Books, New York, 1995 p.53)
Palmer describes how drums are used in "voodoo" possession — and the same drum patterns are part of the basics of rock 'n' roll and CCM!
"Bata drummers tap out their toques, or rhythm patterns, like signals to the realm of the gods, inviting and enticing them to come on down and mount or POSSESS their horses, or devotees. . .The specific drum patterns or toques include some riffs and licks basic to the rock and roll vocabulary." (Palmer, Robert Rock & Roll An Unruly History, Harmony Books, New York, 1995 p.62)
Here's an episode from the occult, new-age magazine, New Age Journal, describing the "possessing" power of drums. Notice, even the devotees of the occult stay away from those drums:
"I remembered a conversation I'd once had in Cuba with a reporter from The New York Times, 'Stay away from those drums,' he had told me, referring to the ones said to call down the gods in Santeria's sacred ceremonies. 'If I ever really gave in to those DRUMS, my life would change in ways I'm not prepared to take on,' he had added. I knew what he was talking about. It was all there in the drumming. Listen long enough, and some energy field, some kind of interconnectedness, became palpable. I was hungry for those drums. Yet I still ran from them." (A Shaman's Story, by Elizabeth Hanly (A Vodoun priest leads the author on a journey of understanding, New Age Journal, March/April 1997 pp.56-57)
Little Richard, the self-professed "architect of rock ’n roll", readily admits Satan’s control and influence in his life and rock music:
"My true belief about Rock ‘n’ Roll — is this: I believe this kind of music is demonic . . . A lot of the BEATS in music today are taken from voodoo, from the voodoo DRUMS." (Charles White, The Life and Times of Little Richard, p. 197)
Danny Sugerman, an authority on rock music, and author of several books on rock, writes in Appetite for Destruction:
"The shaman was the original 'long hair', the first rock star draped in leather, dancing possessed to a rhythm banged out on a DRUM. . . To these people, communication with the gods was synonymous with DRUMS . . .the body can become the conduit for a deity, a deity not necessarily the same sex as the worshiper, and DRUMS are the catalyst for the whole process. The trance of the RHYTHM then begets the hysteria, which begets what Westerners simplistically call 'possession'." (Danny Sugerman, Appetite for Destruction, p.208, 181)
David Tame writes in The Secret Power of Music:
"Today's DRUMMER differs but little from the shaman in his incessant beating out of a rhythm, and likewise often enters into a form of trance while performing." (The Secret Power of Music, David Tame, p. 199)
The DRUM has always been associated with the paganism and the devil. In fact, a little more than a hundred years ago, drums were forbidden (exy th for the military) in America!
"The arrival of African slaves has had one of the strongest influences on North American music. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, millions of African people were taken as slaves to the U.S. to work on plantations in the South. They brought many of their own traditions with them but were forbidden to play their DRUMS." (Louise Tythacott, Musical Instruments, Thomas Learning, 1995, p.19)
Do you know why New Orleans is the voodoo capital of the U.S, and also the birthplace of jazz? Because drumming was forbidden in the U.S. – except in New Orleans!
"This was especially true in New Orleans. African-based DRUMMING, singing, and dancing, discouraged and repeatedly banned elsewhere in North America, had flourished there since the early eighteenth century. This unique heritage has informed and enlivened New Orleans music ever since, as well as distinguishing it from the rest of American musical culture, making the city an ideal incubator for a nonmainstream music as rhythmically oriented as rock and roll. (Palmer, Robert Rock & Roll An Unruly History, Harmony Books, New York, 1995 p.21)
When the first blacks from Africa were converted to Christianity they knew the power and evil influence of DRUMS. And the converted blacks strictly forbid the use of drums! They referred to the drums as "the Devil's drum". (Martha Bayles, Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music, p. 138)
"Historically blacks had drawn the line between particular instruments and practices; They permitted tambourines, for instance, but not DRUMS." (Martha Bayles, Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music, p. 130)
One simple guideline for Christian music is NO DRUMS!
CHRISTIAN MUSIC SHOULD FEED THE SPIRIT — NOT THE FLESH!
CHRISTIAN MUSIC SHOULD EMPHAZIE THE MELODY — NOT THE BEAT!

Well . . . The Bible never mentions the piano or organ either, which happen to be percussion instruments. I wonder if the author owns a gun or a knife since those things, if not used to glorify God, are clearly deadly as well. I look forward to your thoughts.