What do you think?

This particular line- is something I have been saying for 'years'.....


Second, we charismatics still seem to have a habit of elevating 
gifting above character.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

THE TRAGIC SCANDAL of GREASY GRACE
-by J. Lee Grady.

This week's announcement about evangelist Todd Bentley's hasty
remarriage and restoration is sending a confusing message to the church.

I groaned when I learned early this week that Canadian preacher
Todd Bentley, leader of the controversial Lakeland Revival, had
decided to divorce his wife, Shonnah, and marry his former
ministry intern, Jessa Hasbrook. The news surfaced after almost
nine months of silence and speculation, during which time the
board of Bentley's Fresh Fire Ministries in British Columbia
publicly scolded him for committing adultery.

In a statement released March 10 by Rick Joyner, the popular
author and minister who is overseeing Bentley's restoration
process, we were told that (1) Bentley married his new wife several
weeks ago and moved to Joyner's base in Fort Mill, S.C.; (2) Todd
and Jessa agree that their relationship was "wrong and premature"
and that it "should not have happened the way it did"; (3) Bentley
will remain out of public ministry while he seeks healing; and (4)
Joyner will oversee the healing process with input from Dallas
pastor Jack Deere and California pastor Bill Johnson.

"Many of us have rejected biblical discipline and adopted a sweet,
spineless love that cannot correct."

It was also announced that Bentley plans to relaunch his ministry,
called Fresh Fire USA, in Fort Mill, and that Joyner is now
collecting donations from supporters to help rebuild it. (The
Canadian ministry Bentley started has now been renamed
Transform International, and it has severed ties with the evangelist.)

In a few places in his statement Joyner expressed tough love,
especially when he said: "We know that trust has to be earned
and that Todd will have to earn the trust of the body of Christ for
future ministry, which will not be easy, nor should it be." He also
made it clear that true repentance and restoration "can only come
if we refuse to compromise the clear biblical standards for morality
and integrity."

But there were some glaring omissions in the statements released
this week that indicate a fundamental weakness in our freestyle
approach to "restoring" fallen leaders.

First of all, it is outrageous that Shonnah Bentley, Todd's first wife,
does not seem to be an issue in the current discussion. Her name
is never mentioned in Joyner's statement-while Todd is mentioned
18 times. We are never told how Shonnah is handling the divorce.
How will she manage to care for the three children she and Todd
share? She and the kids seem invisible in this process. Yet if
anyone needs healing and restoration, is it not the other half of
this broken family?

Second, we charismatics still seem to have a habit of elevating
gifting above character. It's almost as if the end justifies the means.
(So what if a preacher ruins one marriage and makes a hasty
decision to marry a younger woman - the important thing is that
we get him back in the pulpit to heal the sick!) That is a perversion
of biblical integrity. God can anoint any man or woman with the
Holy Spirit's power; what He is looking for are vessels of honor that
can carry that anointing with dignity, humility and purity.

What is most deplorable about this latest installment in the
Bentley scandal is the lack of true remorse. In his own statement,
Bentley apologizes for his actions and says he "takes full
responsibility for my part for the ending of the marriage." But how
can he be taking "full responsibility" if he willingly chose to have a
girlfriend on the side-and then married her immediately after his
divorce was final? Why did he hide for several months when he
should have been listening to counsel and seeking reconciliation
with his first wife?

Many Christians today have rejected biblical discipline and
adopted a sweet, spineless love that cannot correct. Our grace is
greasy. No matter what an offending brother does, we stroke him
and pet him and nurse his wounds while we ignore the people he
wounded. No matter how heinous his sin, we offer comforting
platitudes because, after all, who are we to judge?

When the apostle Paul learned that a member of the Corinthian
church was in an immoral relationship with his father's wife, he did
not rush to comfort the man. He told the Corinthians: "You have
become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one
who had done this deed would be removed from your midst" (I Cor.
5:2). Sometimes we must draw a ruthless sword in order to bring
genuine healing. The "wounds of a friend" are faithful to bring
conviction and true repentance (see Prov. 27:6).

Paul actually delivered the unrepentant Corinthian man to Satan
"for the destruction of his flesh" (5:5) so that he could be saved.
That does not sound very nice. Many today would call Paul's tactic
harsh and legalistic. But that is because we have lost any true
sense of the fear of the Lord - and we don't realize that our laxness
about God's standards is a perversion of His mercy. When the sin
is severe, the public rebuke must be severe.

In all the discussion of Bentley and the demise of the Lakeland
Revival, I am waiting to hear the sound of sackcloth ripping into
shreds. We should be weeping. We should be rending our hearts -
as God commanded Israel when they fell into sin (see Joel 2:
13-14). To give guidance to a confused church, our leaders should
have publicly decried the Lakeland disaster while at the same time
helping both Todd and Shonnah to heal.

We have not mourned this travesty. We have not been shocked
and appalled that such sin has been named among us. We act as
if flippant divorce and remarriage are minor infractions - when in
actuality they are such serious moral failures that they can bring
disqualification.

If we truly love Todd Bentley, we will not clamor for his quick return
to the pulpit. While we certainly want him to be fully restored to
fellowship with God, we cannot rush the process of restoring a
man to ministry. Leaders must live up to a higher standard. We
must demand that those involved in Bentley's restoration not only
love him but also love the church by protecting us from the kind of
scandal we endured last year.

-J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.

~SOURCE: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones

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Dirty Laundry Day

Currently Reading When Bad Christians Happen to Good People: Where We Have Failed Each Other and How to Reverse the Damage By Dave Burchett see related

Welcome to my dirty laundry day. I thought today should be the day I take a theraputic look at some of the major mistakes I and the church at large have made while representing a loving God.



*Breathes deeply*

Okay, let's get on with it.




Turn or Burn




I have an ever growing disdain for the arm of Christianity that continues to represent Jesus in this light. I can not find ONE biblical example of where he used this type of evangelism with people. Yet over the years 'many' Christian groups have used this in order to frighten people into the kingdom of God.

I myself have been guilty of it as well.

I now understand a little bit of Why I did this.

Many of us Christians have been brought up hearing this kind of thing over and over again. Because those that have gone before us have not properly understood the love and grace of God, they too have not been able to represent Him in that light either.

It is a bit like the child of an alcoholic becoming an alcoholic. You become what you hate, and you become what you know.

Of course this is not not an excuse for it happening nor the misbehaviors or consequences that ensue, but it may explain a little of why it does.

It is only when you begin to KNOW God as grace and love and experience it, can you really begin to be His representative of it. Otherwise it just becomes another far off 'characteristic' of God that glimmers somewhere behind the legalism and religiosity.
If you had been brought up in the type of church that focused on rules, 'laws, appearances and behavior then you get the distorted view that this must be how God operates.

Unfortunately this point of view usually keeps people wrapped up in fear and not really able to experience true freedom in Christ Jesus.

Does this mean that you can just become a follower of Christ and just 'do' whatever you like?
Ahh we will deal with that another day.



The Marketing of God





After all aren't Christians His sale's reps on earth? Well yes in someways they are. When you look at a Christian we consciously or unconsciously start to measure them up, to see if they are worthy of the label, almost like suddenly God reached down from heaven and gave the job he had reserved for Jesus to us to do on his behalf.

We have all done it. Often we can make the decision to investigate Christianity on the behavior of the Christians that we know. Likewise we may decide to stay away for the same reasons.

But this is not really what I am talking about. Some churches have become mega corporations that 'sell' God very well. Unfortunately they don't always sell an accurate view of God or the Christian life. Often taking a soft sell approach to make and keep converts.

What happens usually in this scenario, is when your life does not turn out as perfectly as you are told it will, you become disenchanted with it. This may leave you feeling a couple of ways.

a. That God has failed you
b. Maybe you are just not good enough for God and therefore not worthy of the kind of blessing you have been promised.
c. You simply don't have enough faith.

God doesn't need His people to market Him, it wasn't what He asked them to do and He certainly never asked anyone to distort the truth of His message in order to do so.

If you want to know exactly what Jesus did ask us to do you can read it here...


Disciple making is very different, it requires mentoring, a deeper level of relationship and committing to journey with someone towards authenticity. It is NOT becoming the voice of conscience in someone's life. God already gave that job to the Holy Spirit. But it 'may be' offering advice and wisdom appropriate to the relationship.

Because becoming a true follower of Christ starts with a personal revelation of Jesus, and because it is a relationship, God really can't be marketed. People can explain to you how to enter into that relationship with God, but at the end of the day a relationship is just that- a relationship. Something YOU do with someone YOU love (or at least care about) and something YOU are responsible for. No church or other individual can do that for you.

The church is not some multi-million dollar marketing machine (or at least it shouldn't be) the Church = the Body of people that have a relationship with God through the son Jesus Christ.

I know I certainly have been guilty of treating God as a product to be marketed before, and for this I greatly apologize.


Emotional drive by shootings





You know the type I mean. Those sharp shooting accusations by well meaning people just 'speaking the truth' that end up being more like bullets in our heart and soul.

You may have heard, or experienced some of the following bullets:

'Look at those tattoo's and you call yourself a Christian'

'Well, I could have told him it would end that way, she was a bad seed to begin with. It's his own fault'.

'You're pregnant? We just can't have you here any more imagine the example you are setting for our daughters'

'Dear, you simply CAN NOT come in here dressed like that'

'Young man tuck your shirt in, don't you know you are in the house of God and where is your tie?'

'My son Johnny saw your Bruce smoking behind the sheds at school the other day. And you call your son a Christian? I have spoken to the pastor and he can't come back to Youth until he has quit that evil habit'

'AIDS? You do realize that is the judgement of God don't you?'

'You like to raise your hands in worship? I just don't think you are going to fit in here'.

'You never really had any hope did you, alcoholic father, loose mother, it's no wonder you turned out this way'.

And even worse, tragically there are those that found themselves mistreated by people in positions of authority and power within the church. Abused sexually, emotionally, mentally and spiritually by shepherds who are supposed to care gently and tenderly for those under their care.

These are the kind of emotional drive by shootings the world and the church can do without.

In fact if we are honest with ourselves we all have done it to someone else at some point in our lives in a similar way. And we have all had these happen to us at some pointing our lives. Christianity doesn't have a monopoly on these kind of behaviors but it certainly has it's fair share of participants.

Asssumptions, critical statements, or accusations without ever a shred of empathy, compassion or a deeper understanding of the whys behind behavior.

Jesus did not operate in this manner with people. In fact from what I have read of the gospels, the only people he ever did react too was the religious of his day who set themselves up as being judge and jury on people's behavior. Make no mistake, Jesus sees what goes on in the church in His name, and He will deal with it, in this life or the next. Thankfully though we have the ability to change our behaviors before it is all too late. That is the wonderful thing about Jesus and the power of the Cross.

I have certainly been guilty of participating in drive by shootings.
And again I sincerely apologize.

Before I go I just want to leave you with one of my favorite bible passages from the Message bible.

1 John 4

17-18God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

19We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

20-21If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both.

When Bad Christians Happen to Good People

Quote from the above book':

Sinner-Sensitive Church

"The sinner-sensitive church (SSC) is my proposal for a new church movement toward making everyone feel welcomed and loved. The SSC would model nonjudgmental attitudes. Issues like having tattoos, body piercings, weird hair, or ugly shoes would not necessarily denote demon possession. The SSC would pledge not to gossip because we would realize that it is only by the grace of God that we are not the current targets. The SSC would value every spiritual, physical and financial gift, no matter how big or small. This church would appreciate but not elevate the person who built the new wing with the large financial endowment. The SSC would make it a practice to reach out, touch and care for one another sacrificially because we know that we all fall down in life and in our Christian walk. At the SSC we would have executives holding hands in prayer with laborers and not thinking twice about it. Blacks and white and Hispanics and others would break bread together because we are all sinners in the eyes of a color blind God.

The SSC would give freely out of profound gratitude to a God who some how saw fit to give us an undeserved chance. The SSC would practice the prodigal son ministry, running to welcome those returning from mistakes and bad decisions and sin. Ou members would get involved in other people's lives. We would hold our brothers and sisters accountable to godly standards. Marriage would be cherished. Families would have a community of support during problems and trials. The congregation of the SSC would not be self-centered that we would demand the undivided attention of the pastor at every little crisis. Other believers would help meet many of those needs that we now prefer to leave to the 'professional Christians' on staff. The people of this church would come with hearts ready to be fed but also realizing that God has provided resources beyond any available in history to meet our spiritual hunger. And should we walk out the church doors still needy, we would know we can draw from the marvelous resources of Christian books, music, radio, video, tapes, Internet and studies to meet our needs. Anyone of us could be filled to overflowing if that were our desire.

The SSC would also delight in the company of other spiritual travelers and make it a priority that no one ever felt alone. We would make each other feel valuable but on occasion a little uncomfortable. Being comfortable in church is not the primary goal. I am not always comfortable at the dentist's office. I often arrive home in pain because I have neglected to do what I should have done. The staff always make me feel welcome and even cared for. Then the dentist confronts me with the truth; "You have let this go too long, and I must hurt you (a little) in order to heal you. You will have to pay a financial price and spend time recovering before you feel completely well". Those are the facts of my dental hygiene sin. The sinner sensitive church would not back off the truth either. Decay in the enamel or soul must be addressed. We will tell one another the truth and explain that the process might be a little painful. We would participate in ongoing preventative maintenance and help one another deal with problems as soon as possible, before they become even more painful and expensive to fix.

The SSC would worship with enthusiasm, whether singing hymns or praise choruses because God is worthy of that praise. The SS fellowship would have a sense of profound reverence because we have received God's grace, the most amazing gift ever offered. The SSC would be so excited about this grace that the incredible news of the gospel would be as much a part of who we are as our jobs and our families.

SS was the ministry style of our Lord. He was always available to people who realized their need. Merely being a seeker did not merit his time. The wealthy young man came to Jesus seeking what he lacked to receive eternal life (Matthew 19:16-22). However, the jarring truth of Christ's answer to sell his possessions and give to the poor revealed to him that he was not ready to follow Christ. But when sinners came with a humble confession of need and a willingness to obey God, Jesus never turned them away. The church of Acts was SS and functioned much in the way I have described above (I am not sure about the praise choruses though).

Frankly, sometimes we try a little too hard to "attract" the unchurched. A church that functioned like the one descried above would be such a societal miracle that you couldn't keep people away if you barred the doors. And while the majority of my idealism has been beaten out of me, I still believe that such a church will be possible when we finally reach a point of actually wanting it. That will not come until we decide we are willing to pay the price for such a church. The harsh reality is that most of us are afraid to commit to this radical type of fellowship because we aren't sure what it requires of us. My own natural reaction is "Praise the Lord but keep the Lexus"! I'll hazard a guess that you are the same. When the young rich man in Matthew heard Jesus' words to him, "he went away sad, because he had great wealth."

"When Bad Christians happen to good People" Dave Burchett pgs 25-27

Thoughts?