Parable Series 1 – Parable of the unmerciful servant, and its preamble

[Abbreviated article at http://defleuriot.wordpress.com]

“He has preserved our lives, and kept our feet from slipping” Proverbs 67:9

The preamble to the parable of the unmerciful servant

Matthew 18:1-21

Interestingly, the parable of the unmerciful servant is preceded by five values, which are almost exactly replicated in the parable. They are first, Jesus’ teaching on the value of childlike humility and gratitude; Second, Jesus’ teaching on what God thinks about us seeking out one broken human life. Third, Jesus teaches them how to challenge and to account for actions in a godly way, four, the value of unity among brothers, and the power it can generate; and five, with Peter’s question about forgiveness, we see the value of forgiveness and gratitude. Through these five heavenly principles, Jesus provides an ideal setting for the parable of the unmerciful servant, so that we might be less likely to reject its importance. Before beginning these themes, it should be plain to everyone that the hero of the parable is not the servant, but the King who forgives and keeps forgiving. The parable will show that none of these values are sustainable outside of a relationship with the King of Kings. This was a lesson that the servant had to learn and one that God would not want us to forget. These five themes will be re-enacted in the drama of the parable:

1. The value of childlike humility and graciousness

“And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:3

Jesus gives us two of heaven’s clues on how to engage in perfect relationship with Him – first, to humble ourselves as a little child, and second, to welcome little children in his name. The Greek meaning of “child” is pais, and is the same word used for “servant” [quoting Isaiah’s “servant” of the lord in the NT], or slave, or child. An added bonus for the “children” is that their angels in heaven always see the face of the Father [verse 10] – not bad for representation. They could not have it better!

2. The value of compassion

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18:12-14

Jesus moves from the childlike to a description of three kinds of things people do with childlike hearts – first, they are filled with compassion for the disadvantaged, sick, and lost, second, they rejoice over those who are found. They are cheerers. When they hear of how others do well, their hearts leap with joy – God is pleased with such people! They love to see God’s healing at work. Paul showed us that heart when in prison. He had proclaimed a blessing even on those criticizing him [Philippians 1:18].  Third, how well people do is more important to them than the effort or inconvenience they themselves might have suffered in the process. To them, it is better to be selfless than self-aware!

3. The value of honesty and a proper accounting for actions

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” Matthew 18:15-17

Teachings on childlikeness, tenderness, compassion, and a primary focus on those in need might have communicated to the sinners among them that they had been completely let off the hook. Yes, it is true. He had a plan to redeem them, but it would not ignore inappropriate behavior. The way of escape was through Him [in honesty, repentance, and forgiveness], and not in brazen disregard for sin, or through the back doors of concealment and subtlety! Jesus was calling the witnesses to stand up and declare truth about behavior. The great benefit to the proper administration of errors in community relationships would be the synergy and strength of what they would achieve together. We hear the echoes of Leviticus 26:8, “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you”. Jesus’ statement: “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven…” had shown them how everyone could be encouraged to run for gold. Yes, even those treated as “pagans and tax collectors” would be given the opportunity to see their sin and to adjust in order to journey with their brothers. Punishment is not God’s preferred method of motivating his children, love is, patience is, grace is, and mercy is! This example does not advocate that one can lose one’s salvation, but is intended to show how God begins with us: first by showing us His love, and second by giving us his word as a guide to healthy living, then by showing us how to walk with our brothers and sisters as witnesses. Only if these do not work, does he suggest a dealing of sorts, which is designed to induce an adjustment in us, so that we might be more fully sanctified. God is confident that his process will work, and so should we! He is able to teach us both to fear him [the wisdom that He only can teach], and to love him [the fruit of unity with Him]. It is only through the filter of His love that we might understand his disciplining of us. David explains God’s mercy in our saving faith in Psalms 55:22, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall“. This Scripture is a replica of 1 Peter 5:7, which repeats it but leaves out the last line “he will never let the righteous fall”. This is symptomatic of some of the Old Testament Scriptures quoted by New Testament leaders. By quoting it, Peter was not limiting but merely summarizing what was in the old covenant. Thus, to cast our cares on Him implied two things, first, that God would never refuse our need, and second, that His covenant with us is irrefutable – it is unbreakable! He was, and is still, the fulfiller of the promise, and the guarantor of the inheritance. His Spirit is given to us as a deposit guaranteeing the outcome of sanctification. We need to analyze three key words David uses in his verse. First, “sustain”, which is kul in the Hebrew, and means: to hold, seize; to provide, supply, sustain; to bear, endure. The word is significant in that it implies a powerful seizing of us by God [this is an important key of the parable. It shows that it was the King that “seized” his servant, and not the other way round]. The second is “never” – its meaning is made up of three words, which when put together amount to an unshakeable salvation by faith. They are:

• L§- – agency, by means of
• Lo} – no, not
• {Olaœm – everlasting, forever, eternity; from of old, ancient, lasting, for a duration.

In other words, that he does not intend to let us go. Summed up so far, the line “He will never let the righteous fall” is a clear explanation of God’s amazing grace toward humankind. Therefore, it is palpably incomprehensible that anyone would not hurl [“cast” – sûaœlak≈] his or her cares on God. The third is “fall”, which is mot√ in Hebrew, and means to be toppled, to cause to fall, to be continually shaken, or to slip. What makes the third word remarkable is that here we are reminded what it is God is saving us from. That God has a plan to rescue and to keep us is evident in Jesus’ words, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” [John 6:37], but God will not ignore our actions. He will deal with us to prepare us for himself.

4. The value of unity among brothers

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19-20

Solomon writes that a man’s ways are in full view of the lord, and he examines all his paths [Proverbs 5:21]. Jesus is reemphasizing a key of divine success in this passage – that unity commands a blessing [Psalms 133]. The blessing is automatic on those who choose unity with Him. He has already shown by his lifestyle what the unity of the Trinity can produce – a human life lived for God! this principle also purports that if our unity with God is exercised in community, it results in increased blessing

5. The value of forgiveness and gratitude

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times [verses 21-22].

It is obvious by Peter’s question that he, and probably the others, had not understood the depth of what Jesus had been teaching in the first 20 verses of this chapter. The human mind wants to rationalize. It wants to reach for, and make understandable. It wants to believe only in what it understands. Jesus’ response was to set the bar so high that they would say, “Ok, we cannot do it” Peter’s customary boldness had propped him into speaking what was on all their minds. His question is really a disclaimer – he had set the limit of his forgiveness to “7 times”. Jesus’ response puts forgiveness out of the reach of human effort – an infinite number! To forgive [aphieœmi] means to pardon, remit, cancel; to leave, abandon; to allow, permit, tolerate.

The parable of the unmerciful servant

Matthew 18:22-35

Before embarking on the parable, it is important to mention the three things the parable is not teaching. First, “the jailer” that the unmerciful servant is sent to in Matthew 18:34 does not in any way indicate that God is the author of sickness or death. The meaning of “jailer” in the Greek is of “one who causes pain”. Moreover, the “king” in the parable is not God, though we can take some lessons from the story that would indicate some of the things God might do when faced by a disobedient servant. God is not the author of disease, death, or destruction – the wages of sin lead to death. Second, that not forgiving does not take away our salvation, and third, that forgiving does not earn us our salvation. Works does not gain salvation. Salvation is obtained by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ – it is the gift of God [Ephesians 2:8-10].

Peter was usually the one not to pretend. He had just asked the question that was on everyone’s mind – “How will we ever meet God’s standard?” Jesus begins with a ‘therefore’, indicating that the parable story would reaffirm what He had already said. A story well told can summarize complex principles as nothing else can. Any remaining confusion, in Peter, or in any of the others, would be washed away in the clarity, simplicity, and drama of the parable. The king is the hero of this story. The parable would have been better named, “the parable of the merciful king”.

A king that holds us to account

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. [Verses 23]

The word in Greek for “accounts” is – logos, and means, word, spoken or written, often with a focus on the content of a communication. Implicit in the story are prior words spoken and actions carried out that had resulted in a debt of 10,000 talents. Important to the story is that the servant had been directly engaged in incurring his debt. He was aware of it, but whether he was of the consequences of non-payment is doubtful – he had seemingly done nothing up to that time to honor his debt. We are introduced to the king as someone who had decided to settle his accounts, but not yet to his full intent in the process.

A debt that cannot be repaid

As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. [Verse 24-25]

Many today owe their existence to the care, the hours of service, the immeasurable volume of prayers, and to the acts of love of others in their lives, and yet they continue to live on oblivious of those sacrifices. If they were but to stop and take stock of their situation for a moment, they would see the debt of gratitude that they owe to others. They would see that no retort, no quarrel, no slight, no abuse actually measures up to that debt. To add to that the debt we owe God who remains daily silent and protective of both our public and our private sins, must produce in us a life of thanksgiving and gratitude toward him, and toward others. 10,000 talents at a day’s wage of 1 denarius, adds up to 380,000 days of work [equivalent to 6000 lifetimes of work]. If the king’s intent was only to “settle accounts”, and not to extend mercy, we estimate that the servant would still be in jail today. 6000 lifetimes served concurrently adds up to approximately 383,000 years. Jesus had made his point – the debt we owe cannot be repaid!

A King whose mercy knows no bounds

“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.” [Verses 26-27]

The king does not refuse the servant’s plea. He ignores the servant’s foolish claim, and forgives him his debt. He chooses mercy above sacrifice. He sets the standard for forgiveness at the ‘infinite” level. He cancels the debt without preconditions, without reserve, without retainers. He wipes the slate cleans. He blots up the transgression and renders it null and void. He completely removes it from the accounts. The largeness of the debt had revealed the largeness of the king’s heart, and answered any other possible questions the disciples might have conjured up in defense of their sense of human justice. What is more astounding about this part of the story is the servant’s blindness to the enormity of his situation. Having, to some degree, excused himself, he would later accuse another much less guilty than he.

A King that hates ingratitude

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. [Verses 28-31]

Though this king hated ingratitude, he did not take back his love. the story is not really about money, but about mercy. When we judge others, we end up being judged in the same way. The sentence the unmerciful servant pronounced over his own debtor, was fulfilled in his own life. The servant was an ungrateful, unforgiving, and ungracious servant. Ingratitude forgets what others have done. Gratitude is a choice to remember that we could never repay God’s love for us, and perhaps not even that of those who have helped us along the way. Ingratitude is evidence that the size of a debt is underestimated. The seeds of ungraciousness were already evident in the servant’s initial plea. He begged, “Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything” [Verse 26] – he still imagined that somehow his debt could be repaid. Ingratitude is evidence either that our debt to God is completely forgotten, or is being conveniently ignored. Some have anaesthetized themselves against the conviction of the Holy Spirit, presuming that He would ignore their condition. The parable makes two things certain: first that the debt is too big to repay, and second, that God will not leave us where we are. The choice is ours how long or how short the journey to healing is. Oblivious of the state of their true account with God, many live their lives judging others, criticizing others, dissatisfied with their circumstances, and envying what others have. They work a lifetime to get what others have, are constantly looking at the ‘greener’ grass on the other side of their situation; are wishing that they looked like someone else, or even that they were someone else. They are not satisfied, grateful, thankful, or full of the joy of the Holy Spirit, but God wants to bring them into a life of greater gratitude. His power is released through teaching them to thank Him – as Isaiah teaches, “the joy of the Lord is our strength”.

The King sanctifies his servant through discipline

Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:32-35

The mercy God gives, is the mercy he works into those that are in Him. RT Kendall writes, “He doesn’t cancel our salvation, but he does, nevertheless, deal with us” [The parables of Jesus, Chosen Books, 2006, p. 161]. In other words, far from being discouraged, we have the benefit of serving a king who not only set the standard of righteousness for us, but also fulfilled them for us through His death and resurrection. The message of the parable is plain: that the debt others owed the servant was I million times less than the debt he owed the king [10,000 talents at 10,000 denarii per talent, equals 100,000,000 denarii, which divided by 100 denarii equals I million denarii]. Even in the drama caused by the servant’s ingratitude, the king’s mercy does not leave him, since the servant is only handed over to the jailers until… [The Greek word used is heoœs, which means “up to, until”]. The servant’s life had already been redeemed [debt fully paid], but it would need to be restored fully. Even in the face of such ingratitude, we are aware that the King’s mercy would find a way to change the servant’s heart for his eternal benefit. Paul picks up on this valuable principle in Ephesians 4:32 as follows: “And be ye kind to one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” Jesus gave himself for us while we were yet sinners [Roman 5:8], how much more should we love him. Jesus, pointing to the woman who had washed his feet with her tears, said that those who have been forgiven much will love much, and that they who forgive little love little [Luke 7:47]. If the Scripture, “For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” [Luke 6:38], is true, then it is true also to say that everyone is receiving what they are sowing. The lesson the servant was bound to learn was that:

• Unforgiveness produces loss – [anointing, growth, relationships, inheritance, joy…]
• Unforgiveness grieves the Spirit – It grieves the Spirit’s ability to work His fruit in us, and quenches the Spirit’s ability to work His gifts through us [Kendall]
• Signs of unforgiveness causes us not to trust others – they are still present when we refuse to release even the tiniest bit of offense against others, such as that which causes us not to trust them.
• Forgiveness is infinite – It is not tied to the magnitude of the offense. In God, “7 times” becomes “infinite times”
• Our debt is not payable by us – It is as futile to try to pay the debt we owe, as to try to hold another to their debt to us
• Forgiveness is only achievable in a relationship with God – It is unachievable outside of a relationship with the one who forgives, and teaches us to forgive
• Revenge is ridiculous – It is the most ridiculous thing anyone can partake in
• God will hold everyone accountable to how they forgive
• Forgiveness has no fear or guilt – And those who forgive, have no fear, have no guilt, do not need to look over their shoulder, walk in healing, keep in step with the Holy Spirit, are safe, and are able to go forward without baggage. The same is not true of those who, having been forgiven in such a magnificent way, do not forgive others.
• Ingratitude is the source of every sin – at the source of every sin, if one is willing to probe deep enough, sits the shadow of ingratitude

The parable does not tell us the end of the servant’s story. The unspoken future would most likely have shown a king ready to re-cancel the debt when the servant released his own servant from prison. If we were there, might we have seen a glint in the king’s eye? We should not assume him lacking in humor at the ridiculous situation. He had seen his servant frantically beg to pay back a debt that he could not. The debt he owed, if the prison term was served concurrently, could not be redeemed in less than 383,000 years – now that is funny [depending, of course, on who looks at it]! A magnanimous and gracious God could find a lot of humor in such a situation. He had heard that the same unwise servant had seized, choked, and imprisoned someone else for a debt one million times smaller, but that could be paid with only 100 days of extra work. The King could have thought, “let’s see how long it takes for my servant to realize that his prison term depends on the state of his own heart – and on how he forgives?” We are not told the conclusion, but what is clear for us today is that without forgiveness there can no be peace, growth, or success. The extent of God’s forgiveness was seen on the cross when Jesus forgave them, and us! He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” [Luke 23:34]. Yes, even in the hour of His greatest earthly agony, he had not forgotten the heart of His Father, as he had previously taught them, “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost” [Matthew 18:14]. We cannot help wondering at how many relational agonies would be instantly resolved if we would choose [with the help of the Holy Spirit – 2 Timothy 1:14] to see even our worst enemies as one of God’s “little ones”!

Loys

Ps: On the morning I was to preach this parable I opened my computer to find a note from Charisma® Magazine – words written by R.T. Kendall:

Mean what you say when you Pray

Sunday, 06 June 2010

Simply let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No.”— Matthew 5:37

It may seem surprising to some that people who are not Christians can learn to forgive. I believe that there are degrees of forgiveness. A person who is not a Christian could demonstrate what may be called “limited forgiveness” and feel all the better for it. If a person is sufficiently motivated, he or she may achieve a great deal of inner satisfaction by overcoming bitterness. Mahatma Gandhi appealed to a sense of valor and heroism when he said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” On the other hand, President John F. Kennedy said, “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” That is hardly total forgiveness!

The Bible urges us to forgive—totally.

I suppose that the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors”—or, as put another way, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”—has made liars out of more people than any other line in human history. But don’t blame Jesus for that. We should mean what we say if we choose to pray the Lord’s Prayer. And Jesus did not say we had a choice; He said, “This, then, is how you should pray.”

Jesus regarded this as the most important petition in His prayer. “Forgive us our debts” is obviously a plea for forgiveness from God. But then comes the following line (or possibly the big lie): “as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Just after the prayer is finished, Jesus goes on to say, “If you forgive men when they sin against you … ” Jesus intended the meaning of sin when He said the word debt. It means “what is owed to God,” and because you owe Him pure obedience, falling short of that means you are indebted to Him.

Excerpted from Total Forgiveness (Charisma House, 2002)
Read more: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/newsletters/daily-devotionals/by-love-transformed/22134-mean-what-you-say-when-you-pray#ixzz0q68nui2D

Professor R.J. Rummel’s most authoritative book titled ‘Death by Governments’ [1994], estimated that from 1900 to 1987, governments [mostly secular], murdered more than 169 million people, which far exceeded the 34 million deaths estimated to have been caused by both international and civil wars occurring during the same period. He estimated also that Hitler, Mao, and Stalin killed more than 100 million people. Zbigniew Brzezinski, in his insightful book titled: Global Turmoil on the Eve of the Twenty-first Century (1993) estimates that Communism killed 60 million people. He compares that stat to the 32,000 deaths of the Spanish inquisition, and to the 1-4 million deaths of the Crusades. We can add to this the horror of more than 45 million abortions per year worldwide [some estimates put the total number of abortions currently at well over 1 Billion babies – roughly 55% legal, and 45% illegal]. In an article titled “Most teenage pregnancies now end with an abortion,” Steve Doughty of Mail Online highlights the escalating problem of pregnancies by design [http://www.dailymail.co.uk].  To compare all of the above, to the estimated 17 million deaths [each one too costly] caused by so-called professing Christians for the entire 2000 years since the birth of Christ, is ridiculous [http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw01christianity.htm]. In addition, not all professing Christians are true to the Christian ethic. Humankind has the least to fear from those who acknowledge their sin, and who invite Jesus Christ into their hearts to teach them to love others as He does! Born again Christians today do not call purveyors of death of any kind ‘heroes’, even if they are professing Christians. They, on the contrary, repudiate all acts that do not engender love toward others of every culture or faith. Viewed in this light, the issue of abortion has less to do with what a pregnant mother thinks, but whether a new life will be protected, even if that were to produce a twenty-year ‘inconvenience’ for the mother! It should follow that if a fetus cannot choose his/her own lifespan, neither should anyone else [including his/her mother]. Professor Singer of Princeton university, the secular humanist, prefers killing disabled babies and to replace them with non-disabled babies [see MQ, [or moral quotient], p. 50].

The above statistics should conclusively prove that if there is anything to fear it is the secular. By contrast, the secularists have nothing to fear from Christians, since it is the Christian’s godly duty to serve them and love them. Morality is a key factor in determining reasons for deaths. History has shown that life without a standard of values obtained from outside us unravels human behavior into a whole assortment of secular ills such as Racism, Nazism, Nationalism, Imperialism, Secularism, Fascism, Communism, narcissism, fears of miscegenation, and eugenics. All of these are implicated in the lust for power born of self-corruption [Lewis Mumford][see MQ, p. 56]. We can all be thankful today that none of these have yet fully succeeded in gaining the control they desired. C. S. Lewis calls this a kind of Magician’s Bargain – a process whereby ‘man’ surrenders object after object, and finally himself, to Nature in return for power. Those who clamor for unrestricted freedom of expression should ask themselves at what point does the range of their swinging arm hit someone else on the nose [Centore]. Professor Singer has suggested that by 2040 “the traditional view of the sanctity of human life will collapse under pressure from scientific, technological developments” except for “only a rump of hard-core, know-nothing religious fundamentalists” [see MQ, pp. 48-49]. C. S. Lewis’ writes that if one age achieves the power, by eugenics and scientific education, to make its descendants whatever it likes, all men who live after it are patients of that power – they are weaker and not stronger [Abolition of Man, p. 68]!

Marci McDonald, author of “The Armageddon factor” [http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthanalysis/wendymesley/] speaks of the danger of the ‘incremental effect’ of Christian thinking in Canadian politics in a way that makes it sound like a threat to our peace, and a disadvantage to our freedom. By contrast, Christian leaders are more likely to rule wisely through seeking the advice of others, since to be wisely accountable is at the heart of their Christianity [MQ, Chap. 9]. Christians are rather simply people who have acknowledged the futility of living out values that benefit others without the God who gave humankind the values in the first place. It matters not whether they are in government, they simply stand in an intimate relationship with him. They mean to be an example of love by which others may freely choose to follow God. In the midst of such environments of mutual respect and honor may lay the only means the principles of justice for all, fairness to all, and love through all are lived out effectively. Loys [www.loysblog.com]

An Apostolic Adventure – Part 2

What follows is a series of articles on our next steps

2.1 Some Initial Clarification

2.2 Building an Apostolic Future

2.3 The Question of Primary Relationships and other Practical Points

2.4 Pruning for Sustainable Growth

2.5 Building in Accountable Unity

2.6 Defending an Accountable Unity

2.7 Building by Christ’s Inspiration

2.8 A Summary of Raw and Real things about the Apostolic!

2.1 Some Initial Clarification

By the amount of feedback and questions asked, it seems that it would be helpful to explain our recent decisions to step forward into a fluid apostolic future. We are moving forward into multiplied expressions of apostolic households in accountable friendships and relationships. We are still walking in accountable relationship with the very same people that we have always been [with some obvious and practical changes]. All our friendships are still intact as far as we know. Accountable friendships can never be an obligation or imposed from the outside by a system. Accountable friendships can only be something the Holy Spirit does, they are divine, can never be imposed, but are invited, and carry the authenticity of the Holy Spirit. We do not follow a name – we follow people. We are all simply friends that will continue to enjoy together what we already have, some in these friendships, are called perhaps so far to help build in an apostolic sense, but all the relationships in this family [and elsewhere] are important. Various talks and articles can be referenced that will set out where we stand at the moment, such as an article by Chris Wienand – http://defleuriot.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/wienand-from-a-network-to-a-movement.doc. And a talk he gave on transition at the Toronto “Together For Equipping ’09” in Toronto [Session 8] – http://defleuriot.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/210509-tfe09-session-8.mp3 . Also available at http://defleuriot.wordpress.com, are other reference material titled “Apostolic Adventures” and “A theological Emphasis – parts 1 & 2”. Both our theology and ecclesiology are being developed in this transition.

2.2 Building an Apostolic Future

With regard to the future, what does it look like? We will continue to walk in a real and accountable relationship with all those that we now already are. The system has never covered us! Did many of us not already run for our lives from such things? However, let us ask God to increase the circle of our accountability, and we can help each other in this. Some of the initial building blocks of a loosening ecclesiology were covered in a talk given recently at Fredericton, New Brunswick - http://defleuriot.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/300809-a-proper-emphasis-of-leadership.mp3. Our callings are not man made, or system financed/fueled. We serve without allegiance to any system, or hierarchy. The gift to cover apostolically is a grace gift, and it is God given, and never imposed, and certainly not demanded, or even expected. We are all free. In a practical sense, I and others are seeing that we need to continue to train, equip, ordain, and nurture, undergird, support, pray for, and serve all those whom God gives us to serve among our friendships and beyond. In short, Dudley’s “sons” have now grown up, and perhaps there is some hope in all of this for God to use all of us [and many more if we keep our eyes on Jesus first, rather than on what we have built] to reach many more places, and cities and countries, including the 4000 as yet unreached people’s groups!

All that has been built has been legitimate, and God given. Our decision, therefore, strikes at the very heart of what we perceive to be a danger in protecting what has been built, instead of building forward toward a more fluid and expanding future of more Christ and less of us with what has already been built. God alone determines who builds with whom in close proximity and harnessed together! It is fundamentally important for us NOT to do anything at any time that smacks of hierarchy, denominationalism, or that is politically motivated by system or through the subtle pressure of allegiance, or of perceived loyalties. As we stride out with others into a multiplied future that is truly founded on accountable friendships with those ahead of us and with whoever chooses to walk alongside or behind, or even at a distance, we believe that the Holy Spirit will confirm it with signs and wonders following! Moreover, to do it by equipping leaders; by continuing to plant churches; by reaching new cities, and by opening regions with people equipped to go in an accountable fashion, and with all those whom God sends.

2.3 The Question of Primary Relationships and other Practical Points

With regard to the use of apostolic terms, some fundamental things will change, such as needing to clarify what it means to be “submitted to the NCMI team”. For example, we might say that we are accountable to certain leaders As mentioned, We see the biblical pattern shown in the book of Acts, where churches, and leaders were submitted to apostolic leaders [and to those who were functioning on their teams], such as Paul, or Peter’s! We have been asked if we intend to continue to be “an NCMI relating church”. Sadly “being a relating church” carries with it the presumption of systemized thinking, and has placed unhelpful expectations on the churches and leaders. The nature of the apostolic is to pour into a local church until leaders are raised up and it is out of the overflow of that leadership that the kingdom is extended exponentially. In an ecclesiological sense, the apostolic is thus never the focus, but the local churches are. When the focus shifts, what is fragrant becomes compulsive and imposed. The churches must remain the main reason for why the apostles work. We see future events becoming looser in ecclesiology, with base church emphases rather than “single team driven”. Our view of building teams is more base-church centered; raising up other base churches; partnering together with leaders who have trans-local gifting but who are not presently in base churches; and keeping the emphasis on investing in leaders who may themselves be called to lead their own teams. If I were to be asked what it is I am called to do, I would say, that I sense the privilege of being involved in helping any leader to be equipped to lead others – i.e. a “teams within teams” emphasis, rather than leading one team, or of raising up one team. The relational foundation of such service can never be outside the bounds of mutual trust and friendship.

Most of us have been in prior wineskins where people were ‘required’ or expected at events. In the words of a friend, what we want to avoid is the presumption of relationships. In addition, we want to make space for each leader to choose to relate primarily to different apostolic people? What is a primary relationship? It is with those who we [leaders and churches] invite to input into areas of discipline, doctrine, and direction, in the same way that the Corinthian church saw their relationship with Paul and with his team, as probably more ‘primary’ than say, their relationship with Apollos! Apostles serve churches, and care for them. A primary relationship should therefore, be real, and birthed from a place of mutual love, and never imposed as a rule or condition, but out of testimony, trust and friendship. Some have asked, “Who do we say we are submitted/[or are accountable] to?” The biblical answer is simply, to God, and through Him primarily to this or that apostolic leader, and perhaps to others that may not be part of our present friendships! This pattern was very apparent in the churches of the New Testament. Only God gives gifts and callings. Apostolic gifts and callings emerge under His leadership and affirmation. Apostolic callings are, in this way, grace given, and not man driven. They are never imposed by system or succession, but set apart by the Holy Spirit. Loys

2.4 Pruning for Sustainable Growth

With regard to the next steps, we see a season of shaking and pruning that will produce even greater accountability to God, and thus more effective ministry under the Spirit’s [and not man’s] authority. We have realized that a tree that is not pruned at the beginning of every season, might look good, but ends up expending its energy supporting dead wood. The fruit of such a tree is usually small and bitter. Without pruning, we spend our energy protecting. Conversely, a tree that is pruned may look initially bad to an undiscerning eye, but ends up investing all of its strength into new branches [sustainable growth], and to produce fruit that is large and juicy. This may be the very thing needed to produce better apostolic relationships between apostles and churches. Some of these relationships may have grown systemized, institutional, too tightly ecclesiological, too comfortable or uncomfortable, too convenient, presumptuous, immature or ‘expected’, or even perhaps having become merely a token of friendship with little spiritually intentional substance and purpose.

2.5 Building in Accountable Unity

The New Testament does not promote systems; tight ecclesiology structures; obligatory relationships; mandatory procedures, and insistence on allegiances. Neither does it support pressured loyalties that govern relationships. Yet, the main figures were genuinely accountable as far as we could see by the letters written. The churches were completely free to relate with the leaders they felt they were in genuine relationship with, and in fact, they were encouraged by Paul to do so, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” However, to say that the Corinthians church did not have a primary relationship with Paul would be err on the wrong side of proper and necessary accountability [though not imposed, but obvious, fragrant, friendship-based, authentic, and non-systemized].

As we have said, accountability is not a technique, it is a trust, and it is sometimes hard to tell the difference. We go back to our relationships to discover trust, and we learn to shun the techniques in which we have identified. For example, we sometimes look for pat answers when we should have been looking for a Person – and that Person is God. However, accountability does not stop with God, it is worked out in humility with those God gives us. The Acid test is: If we are in trouble, which apostolic leader will we call first? In the Book of Hebrews, we are told to ‘obey’ our leaders [Obey [peitho], means to be convinced, to be persuaded, to trust in, to have confidence in]. This kind of ‘obedience’ is not demanded, or imposed as a requirement or duty. Our submission is therefore a choice that we should be free to make at all times, and cannot be legislated to by a system, or by allegiance or by any kind of pressure whatsoever.

At the heart of our DNA is the pulse of unimposed accountability. This cannot be systemized. The signature truth of “accountability” was brought to me in a dream on the 21st December 2000, after I had been feeling that people and church leaders were generally struggling to build genuine friendships and accountable relationships. In the dream, I was abused, and woke up weeping, and saying to God “surely they want me Lord, and not just my revelation”! He replied loudly enough for me to hear it clearly, “Go and look in the Gospels and you will see, that they all had a relationship with their revelation, that was bigger than their revelation of relationship with me.”

We have to say that God has always sought to place us under proper accountable relationships with various people whose purpose was not to control us, but to facilitate God’s blessing over our lives. We truly believe that this has helped us [and those that have walked with us also], to stay in a humble place, and hopefully in a submissive place, which should not be confused with weak, ineffectual, or subservient. It is a place of true power, authority, where we are discovering what Jesus meant when he compared the Centurion’s understanding of the strong connection between “submission and authority” to great faith. Incisive words written by Nic Davis clarify this subject, “Is it possible in truth to control a man’s heart by controlling his behavior, his office or his geography? Is this what “accountability” has boiled down to? That if a man be part of a church or a “team” or a “pastorate”, it suffices for him to be “accountable”? Joab, Lot, Judas, Demas were not accountable. Controlled maybe. They were all “in team”. A man’s heart is what guides him. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. No-one else can guard it. Only God’s Spirit and sentry in me. The heart is either soft or stone, good or bad, becoming better or worse. It is either Spirit-controlled or under compulsions. An offended man is like a walled city – polite, but indifferent. An ambitious man knows exactly how to tow the line and coo with the doves. A passive man knows how to look holy. A yes man always looks good to a driven leader. A sinful man knows how to give away the smaller sins. An impressionist knows exactly how to turn the facts into something more palatable. An unteachable man always has a fine-sounding argument. A grumpy man will still laugh when everyone else does. A weak-willed man will go with the flow and not cause a ripple. And what of “loners”? A loner on team is a subversive. A loner off team is a secessionist. A loner in point position is a benign savage. A loner in retirement is sour… “What’s your point??”. Mmm, the point is that only intimacy, mutual love and respect can create the bridges for covenant “accountability”. I am not speaking here of “warning the divisive man”, or “handing the grievous sinner over to Satan”, but the realities of invited counsel, the pains of disclosed shame, the heights of vision and the depths of despair. Stuff that makes for great bands, bound and binding themselves to one another in love. Either one Tuning Fork is raising up a symphony, or many instruments are playing a few careful and cautious notes together, to avoid a cacophony. Laws of compulsion introduce sterility, cowardice and imitation, and pillage our entrepreneurship, courage and blazing adventure. In one, we wear masks until our dying day. In the other, we peel off the veneers and find God in each other through the shock of seeing the “warts and all”. Under legislated accountability, people are either heroes or zeroes. Under covenant love, we all have strengths and weaknesses; we can accept all men, even sinners, and enjoy their strengths while covering over much nakedness.”

2.6 Defending an Accountable Unity

In settling disputes, it is important to draw the distinction between the relational and the theological [without forgetting that they are linked as well]. We are for example, never told how Paul and Barnabas resolved their personal difference in the matter of Mark, although the letter to the Corinthians seems to suggest that they did ‘re-find’ each other after some time [1 Corinthians 9.6] [God did it]. Paul, on the other hand, takes matters more firmly in hand when it concerns a point of theology. He makes it quite clear to the Galatian churches what he thinks of Peter’s theology. I say this, to say, that there is much more leeway to let the Holy Spirit reconcile a personal difference [or even ones that may affect a circle of others], but the Holy Spirit seems to allow much less room in the body of Christ for leaders to continue to flow in erroneous theology. Theological differences carry an “urgent to resolve” tag as we saw in the Acts 15 discussion at Jerusalem. Then there is the difference attached between what is theologically fundamental and what is theologically peripheral, such as in the matter of “not eating food offered to idols” [Paul agrees in Jerusalem but then writes against it in Romans 14]. A point of discussion might be how does this all relate to accountability.

Accountability is first to our Christ [and to the Holy Spirit's work in us], and to God’s Word, and second, to the household of believers [including God's offices’ of leadership administration both inside and outside of the local church]. An imbalance [or shift of priority] in any of these, leads to multiple problems, such as, first, to the law creeping into our theology under many guises, and under many names [where "submission", "obedience", "service", and even "the cause of Christ" are wrongly emphasized]. We are not lessening the authenticity of God’s law, but only that it is irrelevant to a Born-again believer. Second, accountability leads to an ecclesiology that becomes too systemized and thus begins to eclipse our Christ [love measured by loyalty, faithfulness measured by allegiance], and third to relationships that become presumptuous [friendships measured by function].

When an ecclesiology is shaken up [as it was in Antioch - as seen through the letter to the Galatians], it is usually related to a theology that needs to be re-examined, but is it not folly to describe the molting of an eagle as a dying eagle? I believe that these are the same issues we are now facing, I believe that the years we spent building an apostolic ecclesiology, were not matched by a deepening and developing theology. This is what has caused a lessening of true accountability toward a presumption [or familiarity] of apostolic relationships, and a presumption of support from churches by the apostolic [hence the "systemization"]. Even speaking of the “apostolic” may have the tendency to distract us away from the face-to-face friendships, and spiritually intimate relationships needed for the apostolic to be authentic [see Galatians 2]. Substitute forms of ‘accountability” have slipped in under our noses, and in many guises. The level of reaction against those who have moved forward is some evidence of this [i.e. a leader, who had been asked to consider a church plant, was told recently, that he would not be allowed to walk in primary relationship with someone in our tribe he felt an authentic connection to]. Happily, though, overseas the guys seem to have moved forward, and are now mostly all functioning with honor alongside each other, and without this “camp” mindset that we see is still being fueled by some in Canada – Wow, is God not good that he is helping us to mature.

What is the theological point of development? I believe God is calling us into a deeper Christ focus, and into a fresh revelation of God’s sovereignty in all we do. God is getting us more conscious of the Trinity. Any sense of self-justification adds to the cross and obscures our Christ. We all need a ‘grace on grace’ experience of the Holy Spirit’s nearness, and of His intimate and personal love for each of us. Let us think of Barnabas’ testimony about the Antioch church, “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.“ The writer of Acts goes on to testify that Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. I heard in a time of prayer this morning, “The Lord who loves His bride, uses very dear men to preach his Word”. It is only this revelation of Christ that enables us to accept each other’s faultiness, and not to go about on a witch-hunt against the so-called ‘unfaithful’ behavior of others. We should ask perhaps:

a.     Has there been too much judgment of others who do not do things in a particular way [see Paul’s response to even those who preached out of “envy and rivalry”]?

b.    Have we gotten too arrogant about what “we have built”?

c.   Have we gotten too comfortable with our “vehicles”?

d.     Has the enemy subtly crept into our language, our relationships, our preaching, our apostolic initiatives, and into our friendships with each other,

e.    Have our expectations of one another risen above Christ’s expectations of us?

Such things will drive us to man’s authority, and away from the Spirit’s authority. Moreover, the Lord may be requiring that we let go of all that we have built, in trust of Him. If we do not, loyalty will precede love, and allegiance, the Lord! Is Christ not looking for more love-struck ministers? These ones will do the most to resist becoming brand-builders! Therefore, yes, a proper understanding of accountability does come down to our theology in the end [especially the ‘Theos’ in our theology], since only a proper view of Christ can generate a proper view of our relationship with all others.

I would agree with Nic Davis, that when the focus is on the piano being in tune, instead on the tuning fork that tunes the piano, we drift into the “governmentally obsessed” stuff that we have been into. Setting anything up as “important” seems to lift it up to our view of Christ, though actually it conceals a lessened-Christ view of our various situations. I am realizing more how quickly a wrong theology can think to make Christ our servant rather than our Lord. Here’s what I think: let us live in the passion that flows only from Christ, and let us live from that passion into all that he has set for us, rather than relegate our freedom to the self-preoccupation [includes “our” church], myopic, and reductionist attempts to prevent and protect. As Nic says, one battle right now is “between romance and the theory of romance” – let us choose the romance! I conclude with an appropriate comment he sent to me recently, “I have at times definitely made lesser things equal with Christ, in my zeal for the church and her mission. Christ owns and builds the Church. He leads and fulfils the mission. He has all we need. He is all we need. The more we can focus our minds, lives and people on Him, the more power, maturity and unity we will see. He is the Word of God, the fullness and power and consummation of the word of God.”

2.7 Building by Christ’s Inspiration – a cry for the future!

A recent concern has been the outcry against the decision of some to step away from a “systemized apostolicity”, but I ask the following questions:

Questions about the name “NCMI”:

Dudley never wanted a name. We supposedly chose one for the sake of “administering finances etc”, and that is what we have preached all over the nations. However, the need for “administration”, “finances”, and “legitimacy in certain nations” could very well have been undertaken by base churches, and without the need for more global systemization.

1. Where in the scripture does a “name”, or following a “name” take precedence over following the Lord?
2. Where in the Scripture is the apostolic described by a name?
3. Why is there such reaction against those who choose not to follow a name, or who choose not to describe what they do by a name? Is it not obvious that when we give what we do apostolically a name, that we lead each other and those who follow into protecting what we have named?
4. What would everyone’s relational response be, if we were to say that we no longer believe in an “NCMI system”, or even that our family of friendships does not need to be called anything? Do we actually have authentic relationships that can sustain what the Holy Spirit is doing without a name, and without a church list?
5. Have we honestly asked ourselves what we mean when we say we are “NCMI”, or “the NCMI team”, or part of “the NCMI tribe”, or “we have three circles” etc.? As a friend wrote recently, “Maybe we should look back, and maybe we will find that in trying to control and manage domains, we lose our status as darlings of God. We “name it and tame it”.”
6. If we are willing to accept and embrace many apostolic leaders within our present relationships, are we not saying also that “NCMI” as we have known it has actually ceased to exist as an intentional apostolic endeavor, and if so, is that not very good indeed?
7. Is calling our new apostolic ecclesiology “a tribe of many apostolic spheres”, not just more of the same thing? Is replacing “one team” with “spheres”, not simply a multiplication of the same?
8. Has not our language of “relating churches” become our trap? Since when does a ‘family of churches’, take precedence over the call to go; to reach; to encourage; following the Holy Spirit to wherever he chooses, and to let in the apostolic “surprises” of God, like a “Damascus Road” experience, or Cornelius’ household?

Questions about the “apostolic team” or “teams”:

Dudley was against even having a team list. We supposedly chose to use “team” to describe our friendships and service together of the churches that we relate to as apostles, and that is what we preached all over the nations. It is interesting that we used the word “team” at a time when “team” was the secular buzzword. However, team has become a line that we are either, in, or out, or off, or on [it does not describe fragrant relationships, it describes the boundary]. It has become systemized, an expectation, and a presumption!

1. Where in Scripture does “an apostolic team” take precedence above individuals who flow apostolically?
2. Was what we were called into ever more about an “apostolic team” than about the churches we serve? What, indeed, do we have to lose by going back to the basics of New Testament apostolic ministry?
3. Has “primary relationships” [a word I cannot find in Scripture] not become impersonal and presumptuous, when it was perhaps intended to affirm a special God-given, and accountable friendship between an apostle and a church leader, or church?

Questions about a proper attitude in our transition:

Dudley always taught that what we do “shouts louder than what we say”, and that, in fact, “what we do shouts so loud that people cannot hear what we are saying.” Dudley also taught that what we were building was not for us, but for the generations to come. We began this endeavor in humility, tenderness, honor and respect, can we do otherwise as we forge together [under the Holy Spirit] the way for those who will follow.

1. Are we not hypocrites, if we recognize the need for change on the hand, but protect the past on the other, as if we somehow need to?
2. Do our reactions not sound out the warning of what we have fallen into? Impatience, judgment, and fear all grow from the desire to control!
3. Would not God’s compassion flow more freely through us if we were to disengage from systemized thinking? Would we not hunger more for the significance that comes only from God? Would we not be even hungrier for the Holy Spirit, and for Him to take us into the more of God?

There is health in the fact that we cannot build something God is not building, and that we cannot be someone the Lord does not want us to be. Therefore, we are doing more than merely “loosening our ecclesiology”, we are summarily [and without delay] abandoning all that does not line up with Scripture, to make room for our Christ… we are not retreating back to protect what is ours. We are adding breadth, and space, and length, and width to both our situations and to the future, and to our next steps by being willing to let go and to let God. May they be humble and tender steps? May they be steps that bring glory to God? We are stepping ahead.

Everyone expects something of others, and if we yield to that first instead of Christ’s Love, we live in the guilt of expectation, rather than in the grace of Christ’s inspiration. Imagine, if having fought for many years not to build camps, that we would now be forced to choose camps. Whenever we place our camps, or our Christian culture, ahead of our Christ, we place what we build under man’s authority, and begin to look for our satisfaction and justification from the wrong places. Our reason to be involved with anyone is not because we have to, but that God wants it [which should amount to loving to], and that they want to. Solomon when faced with two women, found the one thing that would reveal the real. The one whose child it was, was willing to give up the baby… it mattered more to her that the baby would live than that the baby would be hers.

We dare not speak of others in ways that makes them look bad, lest we forget that RT Kendall line: “But by the grace of God, goes I”. Then what we have done is to have turned our face from our Christ to other things, and from what is beauty, to the beast. What context we minister in and who we team with is secondary to four things: What God wants for us personally, what is the fruit that is grown in us, is it ready to be given away, is it personally invited/recognized, so that we do not live by our agenda but by God’s will and God’s way. As we are seeing the inroads of systemized thinking amongst us more clearly, we have understood the simplicity of a true apostolic wineskin – personal relationships between an apostle and with individual church leaders. Wanting something more than God might open the door to getting it without Him.

What we do or do not do is less important than whose we are… We are His, first [the True Apostle]! Here is a test: dismantling the system in our ecclesiology will reveal the props, crutches, and blind spots, and will show whether we are paying lip service to the system, and are bound by any obligation other than to Love! If we live by any system, we begin to either idolize it, or are enslaved by it, and our leaders take a place in our hearts that is more causal than our Christ. When we step out from a team we discover whether what we were doing was through the system, or through the Spirit! Denominationalism has arrived when our language changes from love to loyalty, from intimacy to allegiance, from expression to exclusivism, and when “primary relationships” are with a system, and not with the particular apostolic individuals that God has used to serve and help us!

Have we become marketers of the things we do well, or do we ask this important question: what are the things that we are not doing well! We cannot repeat the mantras, and at the same time live without the substance of it. It is plain that the pendulum swings one side at a time. Our human tendency is, therefore, to prefer the place we are at above the place God is taking us to, but those who cast themselves on the Lord lose nothing! Only God makes us comfortable in our own ‘skin’! In this transition, there is such a potential for misunderstanding. So, it is predicated on us to be gracious, understanding, patient, and to let God do it whichever way He chooses – to make room for His freedom and diversity without losing our unity!

2.8 Summary of Raw and Real things about the Apostolic

A friend said recently that the biggest thing that Jesus is doing on the earth is that He is taking the preeminence again. He is in a very strong way preparing His bride for His return… we pray the Lord helps us to stay humble… this is what ought to be preoccupying us, and not church or apostolic politics. When we are distracted from Jesus, personal conflicts begin to grow, and we see how quickly we can slip into systemized thinking, and away from the Spirit’s leading. When we slip into system we come under man’s authority, and from that point on, we can only build what will accrue to man.

When we walk in our father’s arms, we walk without debt to others [except to love], and without unhealthy expectations from others. Our paradosis is that we will not build in obligation to any system, but by submission to the Spirit. Why would anyone be afraid to cast himself or herself on the Lord?

The system has no power to keep what we have safe! The system is an illusion that will suffer in times of shaking. It happens. When we trust God with what we do, ministry is enhanced, and it is transformed. We get into the more of God. We get to see a different facet when we cast off the shores of our conveniences and of our comforts. We discover we are not walking away from friendship and accountability by walking into his arms. Our cry is for more of him and less of us. We should not be afraid to allow situations where function has gotten ahead of friendship to be challenged! We have each invested extensively into a rich and mutual inheritance. Nothing in that sense has changed, but what we have can never be more than the Lord who gathered it, or more than the voice that tells us we are to co-labor together in that field! If that is where the Lord has called us to be, there needs to be the freedom to express our uniqueness and diversity with honor and respect to all in it.

Loys

Part 2

I do agree with Donne, who stated that we either confess all Christ or no Christ. Let us continue to flesh out this truth. It is precisely a greater revelation of God that releases us to effective lives. As we have journeyed everywhere, we have noticed a common theological thread – it is that in every case, abuse of some form always results when a revelation of Christ is lessened by those who have mingled their efforts to God’s Gospel; have preached a justification++ Gospel, and added circumcision to the cross. By lessening Christ, they lessen the cross. To some, the cross has even become an enemy. Focusing on Christ is walking by the Spirit, and is the very essence that produces a proper faith and life [we could not achieve it by rules, or by the law - we live by a higher standard - a better covenant]. The Holy Spirit honors God’s Word, and not our opinions. Focusing on Christ is not ‘an exercise’; it is an intimate, and personal relationship with Him. To drift from Him leads to many perils fueled mainly by various fleshy compulsions, resulting in guilt and despair. Recognizing that we need a much deeper revelation of Christ is not oversimplifying the Gospel, or complicating it. It reveals rather the need for humility, and more honesty in how we approach the throne of grace.

Focusing on Christ can never be an overemphasis, nor cause anything else of God to be oversimplified, or ignored. If there has been one ailment [sin] that has consistently dogged the churches of our country, it has not been “too much of Christ” but “too little of Christ” and, too much of everything else, yes, including our view of leadership and structure. I wrote that some “fear the risk of abandoning themselves totally to the Spirit”. They do, and will sometimes go to great lengths to justify their deeds before God. Sadly, these are all but thresholds placed alongside God’s as Ezekiel warns. Conversely, men who humble themselves in seeking Christ are more likely to manage their families well. People who are kissed by God in worship, and intimacy, can no longer view the world the same way – not the lost; not those who oppose them, and not anyone else. Christ is the motivation for like-mindedness, and having the same love and attitude. Getting the cart before the horse complicates the process made simple by Jesus. As we put Him first, then we may perhaps not need the Ephesus rebuke [that "they had lost their first love"].

There is a prevailing condition among believers today of focusing more on the imperatives of God than on the indicatives. Anguish grows in those who focus on the imperatives [what we need to do], instead of on Christ who freely gives a growing love and grace for others. Lovers of God are not dislodged from their secure position by the behavior of others. They let the peace of Christ prevail in all their thoughts and actions. By standing firm, they let their view of Christ preside over all situations. Believers should ask for a faith that moves mountains, and not only for one that is just “trying to get by”. There can also sometimes be a fear of surrendering fully to the Spirit, as if to say, that it would lead to excessive behavior. A reduced view of Christ is seen in a reduced faith, and to the absence of “works” that bring glory to God’s name [Matthew 5]. It is a lie to say that what we need is somewhere ‘out there’, or in some other situation! There is actually enough in what we each have, to take on the world, to build God’s kingdom, and to transform our generation. Those who see Christ will see this, and their words will be: “let us do it, Jesus is the answer”.

Everything is in his hands, and is thus in our hands. Only a focus on Christ will grow those two radical extrospectives: faith and love! In Christ is hope, faith and love! In Christ is release from the pressure and fear of what we have to do, to the privilege of what we get to do in Him and through him to others. In Christ every step is filled with peace, yes, a peace that passes all understanding, and that defies every attack. A Christ-only view of life is a love-fully view of all – it is all we need! A Christ-only view settles the heart, and releases peace and love, and faith, and hope! It removes distractions, and identifies the value of all things vis-a-vis Jesus Christ. Believers realize by revelation that because of the increase of wickedness the love of many will grow cold. Christ-focused believers carry a “let the love of God permeate our souls” attitude. They know that only Christ can deepen theology; only Christ can carry their burdens; only Christ can light the way ahead; only Christ can release a genuine love for others. It is only to Christ [who does it through us] that we surrender control of our lives [what we need to do]. It is only to Christ that we surrender control of our time; of our resources; of our marriages; of our relationships; of our children; of our friends; of our jobs; of our schedules, and of our future. Only He can be trusted with the reins of our lives. Those who have given over themselves to Christ no longer need bit and bridle. When a group of us surrendered the angst to see a young girl healed recently, faith rose, and Christ healed her. When we surrender control of our need to build church, Christ brings the broken and the lost to be fed and nurtured. When we surrender control, of our leadership, Christ leads the people in our communities to a radical faith in Him. He is awesome. He silences the tongues of our accusers, and emboldens those surrendered to Him to acts of great faith and love. All anyone needs today is Jesus. Jesus IS everything! It is only with Jesus that we can come out of our prayer times with more faith and love. At those times, any sense of what we have done recedes. We see God’s people as being His rather than ours. Our prayers are less for what we would like to see them do for us, than to whom they run [to Him, of course]. It is only in a place of intimacy that we can truly release people to be all that Christ desires them to be. A hunger for deeper intimacy with Christ protects leaders from unhealthy responses to others in community, and their words do not become too loud in the ears of those who walk with them. Only Christ is Christ, and we are His! Only Christ can bring the disciples to hear a revelation of freedom. Without intimacy, all religious activity is illegitimate in some way.

We need to ask ourselves, what is our view of Christ? Did Jesus give us revelation of himself yesterday so that we would do it today without Him? Only intimacy in Christ produces right actions. We can discuss the balance in our theology [i.e., faith and works], but never a balance in Christ – it is all Christ or no Christ! Paul explains,

“Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.“

When Christ fills human hearts, all issues are cast out! When they have gazed at the pearl of great price, they are able to understand all other things from His point of view, and to see everyone through his heart! We pray that God’s peace and grace will be on everyone that are His so that their souls would not be troubled by the lies of the enemy. Jesus spent entire nights when he drew himself aside to the Father! We could ask, “How do we do that?” But if we see that God’s grace finds each of us exactly where we are, and gives us that revelation bit by bit, then we let the Spirit in us lead us to living lives that are more filled each day with the joy and privilege of walking with him. His grace does that and not our efforts. His grace prepares us for sacrifice. His grace increases our revelation of both those extreme opposites: sin and godliness. His grace grows us to surrender all that we have for all that he has for us. Our focus is not activity but intimacy. This means that if we do not have a revelation, our best action is to run to God! This might be the most valid thing that a new Christian can do. Legalists have turned things around and made the desirable external evidences more essential than the internal inspiration of the Holy Spirit. How could new Christians be new in God is they are not inspired by the Holy Spirit to worship God. Indeed, if Christ inspires them, they will also love the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

In Christ, faith precedes works, and works follow faith. He who asks only “what about the works?” may be more afraid of the power of disobedience to destroy a life, than of God’s sovereign grace at work to make it effective and productive. One could not be given to Christ and not do the works of Christ. In God, inspiration, instruction, and action flow in the same direction. To the quickened, the Holy Spirit’s instructions are honey on the tongue, sweetness in the belly, oil to the ‘gears’ of life, and light to the path. The lie is that if we do not preach works we lessen Christ; the truth is that we could never lessen works by preaching Christ. When they asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires”, Jesus’ answer was, “the work of God is this: to believe in the one that He has sent”. That is why preaching all Christ can never lessen Christ, or his kingdom and his works. All of Paul’s instruction came only from his intimacy in Christ. Paul taught the duties with as much divine inspiration as he did the doctrines of God. A lack of focus on Christ increases a noxious focus on works, which can then either result in the rejection of works to passivity and insensitivity, or to its unhealthy embrace into a life of pressure and guilt. To defend works per se is to push people toward compulsive behavior. Frankly, we do not need to do this. Let us instead preach Christ crucified, and Christ resurrected. Let us want, as Paul, to know nothing more than Christ and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. Any shift from Christ first and only, invites subtle encroachments on our freedom, our peace, and our love of God’s works. God, who is sovereign sought us out and found us when we could not possibly have known Him. What God began through the Holy Spirit, cannot continue without his continued grace upon us to respond. Nothing, absolutely nothing, outside of Him is worthy of our attention. All things outside of Him were created to worship him and to serve him, but for anyone to pursue such things, at His expense, is to substitute those things for Him.

Any focus away from Christ causes a myriad of problems. The evidence of this in a person is an increasing dissatisfaction with the behavior of others, rather than an increasing revelation of the depravity of self. Paul said, “I am [and “I was”] the worst of sinners” not because he was sinning, but because he had seen Christ. His revelation of Christ ended all comparisons. From that moment on, he would not prefer himself above others. Those who have seen Christ are more joyful, and do not carry agendas against others, no matter what transpires. They encourage themselves in the lord. No one, who presses in deeper into Christ can fail to benefit and bless others, and to walk humbly before others. Without losing wisdom on how to live and to relate with those under their care, they become more patient, more gentle, and kind. Such lives tear off offense as one would cast off a dirty garment!

Be kind. Loys

Part 1

A theologian stated that heresy rarely starts with outrageous falsehoods, but with one doctrine elevated above another – i.e., from over-emphases [We are generally more predisposed to resist something blatantly presented, than what is subtle and counterfeit]. The first symptom of a drift from our Christ to our various systems of religion is to focus on what we do more than on whose we are! The subtlety of the enemy is sometimes seen in the assumption that Christ must surely agree with our values and their application. However, in responding to areas of overemphasis, we do not want to go into a ditch, nor do we want to back off from the good in it. For example, leadership is crucial to what God builds, but it cannot be preached as essential – only Christ is essential. Some might say: you are making an unnecessary point? I disagree, since I have seen that leadership preached too loud can produce works that place ecclesiology ahead of Christology. Leadership should be neither over emphasized nor de-emphasized [The greater problem today, is that any de-emphasis or overemphasis of leadership, will lead to either the abandonment of community on the one hand, or the control of community on the other. We should want neither]. Even a cursory look at the New Testament shows the areas of proper emphasis. Jesus preached about the Father mainly, and how we should relate to Him. Paul spoke about the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit mainly, and again about how we should respond to God, as both leaders and people together. The same goes for Peter, James, and John. Any drift from Christ is an improper emphasis on what is illegitimate, and on what will fail to restrain our indulgences and carnality. If we cannot preach the whole New Testament within our theology then we have again slipped into an overemphasis of one kind or another. A theological overemphasis on the grace-conscious Gospel has led to very ungracious words spoken from pulpits, and in certain instances, to consequent ungracious and divisive behavior. Other examples of overemphasis are of the prosperity gospel [pursuit of wealth at the expense of living in all of Christ], and the holiness gospel [men cannot attain holiness by focusing on holiness, that just leads to arrogance]. When we hear of carnal behavior among those who are beset by their systems [or other areas of overemphasis] we know two things, first, that God cannot be pleased about it, and second, that we should let such things remind us to keep our eyes on Christ.

Our identity is not found in systems but in the Spirit. We ought to learn not to covet the love of others above the love of God. Overemphasis can also be seen operating in the realm of friendship before function. God is not looking for friendship partners, nor is he looking for servants, He is looking for worshippers – those who would worship him in spirit and in truth [doctrine is part of our worship]. These are sons and daughters, and not servants and slaves! Their cry is “Abba Father”, without in any way lessening His Holiness and Awesomeness into a libertine familiarity! To pursue friendship excessively makes the friendship an idol in our lives. For example, friendships that undermine peace in God’s house may have to be abandoned in favor of fulfilling our call. The subtlety of the enemy is seen in how any overemphasis shifts one priority to another, such as making seeking God more important than God. We have seen how even the cause of Christ can become a substitute of priorities, and results in making the cause more important to us than Christ. We have seen also how preaching the imperatives of Scripture [the duties], has allowed the law [legalism, control, rules etc] to come in under many guises to get us to focus on ourselves, and away from the distinctive of Scripture [a Christ-indwelt life]. Many, sadly live out their Christianity in self-awareness [instead as Christ-conscious], in introspection [instead of in inner reflection under the Spirit], and in compulsion [instead of in response to the voice of the Holy Spirit]. Any substitute of priority changes our reality away from Christ who is our only reality. All things, such as our ecclesiology, our missiology, and our values, should point to Christ, and to serve Christ, and are less than Christ! Any lessening of our Christ lessens our humility and our peace. Lifting up our Christ, increases joy, and Joy is precious since it is the strength of the Lord in us which enables us to prepare for the more [sanctification] of God in each of us and through us to others in Godly works.

To all of us this has been a shaking time, but God does that, and it has been an incredible time too, because it has brought our focus back to Christ, and it has taken us deeper. A proper theology teaches that Jesus is Lord, and does not purport to add our works to Christ’s work already done at the cross. The work of the Spirit in us produces hearts that are tender, like-minded, having the same love, preferring others above ourselves, having the same attitude as Christ, and laid down for others as He did! Without withdrawing from the daily disciplines that the Spirit teaches, we have learnt that the Christian does not live by self-effort, rules, or by systems, or even necessarily by the past. If we drift away from our Christ, we will end up defending our past at the expense of fighting for a greater future together [i.e., fighting one another rather than for one another, or holding onto allegiances that repel true intimacy]. Moreover, Christ trains us to works produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope. If there is one thing we have learnt in the last 30 years it is “but by the Holy Spirit!” Rule or system bound religion leads to a loss of peace and to increased self-awareness and human effort! An introspective Christian lessens God’s sovereignty, and multiplies carnality. Only the strength of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit gives us the passion and power to obey, and to surrender ourselves to those two increasing radical extrospectives: faith and love! A friend said God gives us the Holy Spirit to move us from Romans 7 to Romans 8. We have been quickened; the Holy Spirit is our Guarantee. We intend to continue to preach on social issues and on the duties of a Christian life. However, our main aim, through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, is to center people on Christ, and to preach from that place of spiritual liberty, and not from the law, for Christ exceeds the law, and Christ is the end of the law. Though the law is good, since it leads the lawless to Christ, it is powerless to save us. Being in Christ should cause us to resist the error of needing to focus on the law. Some do so because they fear the risk of abandoning themselves totally to the Spirit. The true aim of apostolic ministry is first to delight in Jesus Christ and to walk in the Holy Spirit, and second, to let the works grow out from a place of intimacy with Him. Any ecclesiology and missiology that is not rooted first in intimacy in Christ will falter and be shaken. We believe that the Gospel does not put the same standard on us as the law does. The Gospel’s standard is infinitely higher. We believe that instruction, advice and counsel is not the law, it is what the Spirit does in us to help us, and therefore cannot be excluded from our daily walk with Him. We believe that all the instruction, advice, and counsel given by Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John, were given from the Holy Spirit, and are not given as behavioral shopping lists. They can therefore not be fulfilled but by the Holy Spirit, and are only applied through the Royal law of Love! The Holy Spirit works God’s works in and through all who believe in Him. We believe that speaking the truth in love makes the truth much clearer. We believe that the God-breathed Word of God, is still God-breathed to us, and any attempt to achieve any of it outside of intimacy with Christ is futile; impossible, and will increase anxiety and sin. We believe that any ministry not focused first on Christ, will invariably be judgmental, accusative, self-protecting, selective, exclusive, hypocritical, arrogant, imposing, insensitive to the Spirit, quenching the Spirit and prophecy, finger-pointing, self-justifying, negative, divisive, subtle, agenda-filled, ungracious to differences in others, self-excusing, and less joyful and kind. A friend recently wrote with regard to true Gospel preaching, “To quote an old favorite, do we comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable? To those sick with sin, broken, enfeebled, powerless, hopeless… do we offer them Christ, truly, His love, power, total forgiveness and sure hope of heaven (how can I if I still believe I can lose heaven somewhere?). To those at the front of the temple, thanking God for their prowess and success, does His word in us call them to die, that they might live? And herein, the “law” does not feature”.

We believe that those who are walking in intimacy in Christ, will please God, and will be used by God to encourage others. We have sought to do so in our NCMI tribe. However, if we were to ask what are the first thoughts people think of when they think of us, would they be, “These are they who have built friendship, team, the apostolic, reached the nations and church planted well”? Or, “These are Christ-filled; Holy Spirit led, and they have caused a great disturbance everywhere they have gone, by healing the sick; preaching Jesus Christ; and whose faith has become known everywhere”. Finally, we believe that by the fruit of the Spirit, we will see those that are Christ’s, the fruit of: kindness, gentleness, goodness, godliness, self-control, peace, love, faithfulness, and patience! Indeed, does His Love not call us to pick up our cross, and to lay down our lives for one another?

Be His. Loys

In all spheres affecting human affairs, the need for the balance that God brings to the “laws of order” cannot be underestimated. Life, if described as a three legged tool, comprises of intelligence, emotions, and of the morality that God brings – see the Youtube video on “History of three legs” at http://www.moralquotient.com . The first two attributes of social behavior without the third, deconstructs life, or at the very least, hinders it. This applies even to those who understand the need for moral discipline, even if they do not acknowledge the God who initiated it. We see, for example, the struggle between the need for discipline, on the one hand, and the cry for deliverance on the other in the Malaysian situation: Quoting the NY Times: “BANGKOK — Soon after coming to power four months ago, Najib Razak, the Malaysian prime minister, vowed to temper the country’s repressive laws and respect civil liberties in a country where they have often been ignored. But Malaysia’s honeymoon of liberalism hit the rocks over the weekend when the police broke up a large rally in Kuala Lumpur, arresting nearly 600 people…” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/world/asia/03malaysia.html?src=twt&twt=nytimes

A recent article discussed a facet of Chaos Theory [described as "Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" (SDIC)]. SDIC is more commonly known as “the Butterfly Effect“[ 1]

We can have some fun with this concept by asking ourselves the question “what if?” What if I had slipped on the bath mat, and missed the phone call giving me that opportunity to hear about an offer to fly free to Acapulco? Or, what if I had looked down just as my future wife walked by on the street, and had never known the desire to meet that ‘woman’….

Frankly folks, it is all too far-fetched. Natural and human life are much more constant and corroborated than to be dependent on the random vibrations of butterfly wings in ‘China’.[ 2] As the all-so-important wing vibrations came from a very real butterfly, and did not govern the butterfly, so all human response [random or otherwise] will continue to be governed by very real humans and not vise-versa [irrespective of who influences them].

In sociology, no decision actually emerges alone, but is rather the outflow (and consequence) of the many checks and balances (moral or otherwise) embodied in every context. And even if a decision was to be entirely original or random, a whole nation of social ‘policemen’ awaits it to shape it and to channel it to either current or to eventual order or judgment. Let us not forget that if a random act was to produce chaos, it usually pronounces its own death sentence, namely, at the hands of those who have the benefit of scrutiny (objective or subjective)! For example, even if these have tolerated it, they would be compelled eventually by an undergirding morality (True or residual) to exercise their respective authority in deciding to bury it… and so went the cold war, Nazism, revolutions, and the egos of almost every demagogue or power that sought to abuse others. We ought to wonder what Victor Hugo would say if he knew that his personal abode, the place of his invectives, would one day be used to distribute bibles throughout Europe. Likewise, the same can be said of those religious institutions that failed to live out the Gospel they preached – their ‘houses’ are today converted into marketplace edifices. There is a warning to all modern persons from history’s scrutiny! Recklessly random acts rarely escape its judgment. In an ultimate sense therefore, neither secular sociology (through reckless randomness), nor institutional religion (through imposed rules), will prove their power to permanently affect human affairs, and yes, they may in the interim cause extensive agony, but the previously mentioned ‘policemen’ do exact an appropriate justice in the end. This applies to the world of behavior as it does to the world of science such as in the Anthropic principle put forth by Carter (He scuttled the ‘randomness’[3] in science by explaining the presence of unexplained coincidences (such as gravity etc.) in physics –- see MQ, p. 177).[4 ]

There is a better point to be made for the presence of an Absolute morality guiding human affairs through a personal relationship with humankind (as MQ purports [see www.moralquotient.com ]). This is seen in the influence of morality (both True source and its residue) over the spiritually awakened human conscience. It is true to say that the choices we make determine the courses we take. To develop his wisdom the scientist reaches for the technique in his tool kit, the Christian reaches to his God in trust for the wisdom to understand. Hence, the scientist has but his techniques, but the Christian has His God and his techniques. The pillars of morality and their influence in the spiderlike networks of human decision-making, connecting one act to other acts in any context is much more active in the mechanics of sociology than some would like to admit.[5] As a married man, I have come to appreciate the outstanding value of walking with a wife whose scrutiny edits the ‘randomness’ out of my leadership. Thank you women everywhere for your eye on the practical. You see the children, and will bear the chores for them. You smell out the irresponsible in every ‘brilliant idea’ – I salute you! C. S. Lewis, in his book “The Abolition of Man”, takes Plato, who would have every infant “a bastard nursed in a bureau,” and Elyot who would have the boy see no men before the age of seven and, after that, no women, and compares them to the “obstinacy of real mothers, real nurses, and (above all) real children.” He stated that it is to the latter that “we owe our thanks for preserving the human race in such sanity as it still possesses” (MQ, p. 22).

Any scientific satisfaction from scrutinizing a butterfly’s behavior pales when compared to but a glimpse of the God who created it. An Absolute Creator personally involved in human affairs makes the exercise of free will not only possible but also safe. It takes precisely a loving creator to administrate to free will without outside coercion. Free will develops circumspection. Conversely, all alternative theories of life do not inspire any confidence… Cut loose from the safe boundaries of God’s love and of Divine order, secular humanists and scientists have limited their explanations of the ever-expanding adventure of living to behavior dependent on deterministic chaos.

Loys

[ 1] “The Butterfly Effect can be defined as scenarios where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes… The term “butterfly effect” itself is related to the work of Edward Lorenz, and is based in chaos theory and sensitive dependence on initial conditions” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect].

[2 ] Chaos Theory stands juxtaposed to Intelligent Design. When order is redefined as ‘deterministic chaos’ the ball of string begins to unravel. Without True morality as the compass to science, absolute values are redefined as functioning relativistically in a chaotic state. In contrast, the uncertainties in location, velocity, and other uncertainties (called the Uncertainty principle) that occur when objects interact with other objects prove that life could never have been self-determined. This principle is evident by the fact that even the weather cannot be predicted more than three weeks in advance [MQ, p. 160]

[3] Randomness is not a bad thing. It is a vital part of the process of exercising and administering free will in human affairs. The error in randomness is to assume that because it is ‘random’ that it is more determinant of the future than the morality that will judge it and correct it. This is precisely the problem in secularism: to explain away the involvement of an external source in human affairs, it propels itself to reductionism. Ferdinand Deist defines Reductionism as follows, “The systematic practice of explaining complex phenomena in terms of a few simple principles and then elevating this to the one and only explanation, e.g. explaining man as being simply an animal” [Ferdinand Deist, A Concise Dictionary of Theological and Related Terms, J.L. Van Schaik, 1984, pp. 214-21]

[4 ]  True chaos would exist if there were the slightest microscopic variations to myriad constants evident in everyday life. I quote from MQ, “The existence of our universe depends on the checks and balances embodied in the laws of physics, such as the constants of gravity, electromagnetic force, nuclear forces, and the regular cycles of day and night. These constants act as crucial restraints (or checks and balances) in life. God maintains the presence of constants for the benefit of his creation.  Human hope for the future comes from the absolute certainty of these constants” [ MQ, Victory Fields, 2008, p. 33][see also page 177]

[5] The miracle of Wikipedia’s growth [in 2005 reputedly already 12 times the size of Encyclopedia Britannica] is overshadowed by the standard it has maintained. Working mostly with a ‘small’ and low-cost base with spread-out volunteer input structure, Wikipedia can be read in 229 languages, and is free. In a study carried out by Nature magazine in 2005, a random sample of entries revealed that despite its larger size Wikipedia had only slightly more errors [Moisés Naím, article in Foreign Policy® titled: “Megaplayers vs. Microplayers,” July/August 2005, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, pp. 95-96]. Wikipedia stands as a stunning current example of the self-regulating work done by True and residual morality’s presence in current sociology.

In 32 years of ministry I have never met a woman who did not appreciate her man loving God, and being a genuinely accountable person. This must be the world’s best-kept secret – a secret that every guy and girl that is single should know about!!

In a recent discussion, a friend correctly pointed out the dangers of the two polarizing ‘extremities’ in the principle of accountability. First, that the recipients of our accountability can take advantage of our gift, and Second, that we might deprive ourselves of its benefits if we withhold it. It is exactly those two potential outcomes that keep most people in the indecisive middle ground. I asked myself what am I looking for in “accountability?” Wisdom says that it should be neither unrestrained submission, nor unaccountable autonomy. The first could make me a slave to the ideas of others, the second, someone entirely fulfilled in his own opinions.

Something my wife said when asked by a group of American leaders as to why she had followed me to Canada. She had said, “I went because I knew that my husband was not a lone ranger on his own mission, but listens to and invites the counsel of his leaders before he makes up his own mind”.

Accountability springs from love (measured by MQ) and not from duty

Truthfully, she was much more kind than I deserved. I needed God to lead me in this by his grace and love. Accountability is the result of a Christ indwelt life, and not the reason for it. Accountability is only possible in the very real presence of an externally received morality (measured by MQ – see www.moralquotient.com for the uploaded chapter on “Leadership Accountability”). It comes from God’s inspiration, and not human instrumentality. My view of accountability springs from a belief that the “two” commandments of Matthew 22 are really one, since Jesus said, “the second is like the first” – in other words – that the Love of God and the love for man are inseparable in God. We could not, for instance, say that we love God whom we do not see, if we do not love man whom we do see, nor could we attempt to be accountable with any measurable success outside of a relationship with God.

The Secret

There is a “secret,” something very special to us on our journey so far – that even when “authority” had been excessive or misguided I have never actually lost ground, but taken more ground instead. For instance, our adventure to Canada was initially suggested by our leaders. We did not initially choose it, but said we would go to God about it. After some fasting and praying we began to examine books of different cities, and felt nothing until we read a book on Toronto. The Spirit’s presence was strong over us at that time and the decision was made. Thus, our final choice was only made when our accountability to our leaders was met by God’s affirmation. I do not know what we would have done if the Holy Spirit had not confirmed it. All I know was that our hearts were tender toward our leaders and toward God and he spoke loudly. When we arrived here, I was asked to speak at a gathering of leaders. Afterward some prophetic types came up to me and said that I was not God’s first choice, but because I had been obedient, that had changed it. This told me that the pressure was off, since I was not even “God’s first choice” – I had nothing to lose, God would cover me with his mercy and grace, and make up every shortfall. In effect, I would need His mercy more than I ever imagined, since I was totally unqualified for the task before me.

Accountability is directly linked to “Great Faith”

A deeper revelation of accountability was brought to me in a dream on the 21st December 2000, after I had been feeling that to build genuine friendships and accountable relationships with people and leaders had become too big a struggle. In the dream, I was abused, and woke up hearing God say, “They want your revelation, but not a relationship with you”. I was weeping, as I went downstairs. he then said to me, “Go and look in the Gospels and you will see, that they all had a relationship with their revelation, that was bigger than their revelation of relationship with me.” I began to write a book that day which I completed in a few days.

With regard to Charismatic papacies and other world controls, we ought to have nothing to do with them, but for us, it has been true that God has always sought to place us under proper accountable relationships with various people whose purpose was not to control us, but to facilitate God’s blessing over our lives. I truly believe that is one of the main reasons for the change that I have seen first in me, and then in the things that God has called me to build. It has helped me to keep pressing into a humble place, and a submissive place, which should not be confused with weak, ineffectual, or subservient character. Rather it is a place of true power, authority, where we are discovering what Jesus meant when he compared the Centurion’s understanding of the strong connection between submission and authority to “great faith”.

Loys

“…That he (the Savior) might turn again to incorruption men who had turned back to corruption, and make them alive through death by appropriation of His body and by the grace of his resurrection (the presence of MQ). Thus He would make death to disappear from them as utterly as straw from fire.”

If those created think they are ‘God,’ they confine their thinking to what only they can do. On the other hand, if they see themselves as what they are – as created beings under the Creator – the vista of their thinking is opened up to new horizons, and their own limitedness is replaced by God’s limitlessness. Walking with God produces the fruit of the kingdom of heaven: Love, patience, gentleness, goodness, peace, faithfulness, self-control, and joy (eternal fruit).  In contrast, those who trust in themselves produce the fruit of their effort – meat, drink, and material things, which though necessary have little eternal value (temporal fruit). Jesus said that the kind of fruit a person bears reveals the person!  He taught his disciples that they should not lay up treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupts, and where thieves break through and steal!  Paul the apostle wrote to the church in Rome that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

In the words of a friend,  in the battle for Truth, the stakes are high and the goal is to win. This book’s main objective is to establish a more sure-footed standard against which behavior can be measured. It proposes that human behavior and action stands best, as would a three-legged stool, on all three legs: IQ, EQ, and MQ.

This is an excerpt of the Preface to the book…

In the introduction to his book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of how the J. Paul Getty Museum was fooled by a fake Kouros statue.  This was brought to light by a small number of visiting experts who said that it did not look right! As they awakened the sense of what is right, I hope also, in writing this book, that through setting out some clarifying principles in the ethics of sociology, to reawaken the sense of what is right as we face the shifting ideologies of the 21st century. However, the desire to do something needs to be matched by the wisdom to do it well. We have each embarked on some spring-cleaning crusade and discovered that the time it took was vastly different to the time we planned, but we nevertheless persevered until the task was completed. The same might be applied to a standard of values – if something needs a “spring-clean,” it is better to be prepared to stay the course until the job is truly done.
The material is presented in two parts. Part One sets out the concept of moral quotient (MQ), and Part Two supplements and summates various aspects of the presence or absence of MQ in social ethics and action. Morality in current social ethics is probed as to whether it is peripheral or central to decision-making. Modern expressions of capitalism and socialism that ascribe more value to culture than they do to morality are also examined. The morality that finds its source from God is what should underpin proper politics and economics – hence the reason why there is a need to make clear our state vis-à-vis the moral quotient (MQ). The ideas expressed are introductory, and thus I hope to engender further discussion.
I was recently sitting on my deck, which overlooks a storm water dam, and watching through a pair of binoculars a Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding off the feeder. I was struck by the wonder of that creature, which in full flight beats its wings at 75 beats per second, and reaches speeds of 80 kilometers per hour. Suspended in mid-flight at 54 wing-beats per second, it adjusts its flexible body that can bend sideways into an “S” shape if necessary to keep its bill still while it drinks. That little bird, like all of life, brought a very real awareness to me that something within me would stem my joy if I were not connected to its Creator. If we were convinced of that fact we ought to admit to a deep sense of longing that all humankind would know him, and why it is that he invites us to “be holy as He is holy.”  C. S. Lewis writes, “If there is a God, you are, in a sense, alone with Him.”…

Loys.