“Now is the time for concerned Jews to reach out to their Evangelical friends…”

Fascinating… 

(Jerusalem Post: By ABRAHAM COOPER AND YITZCHOK ADLERSTEIN, the dean and director of interfaith relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center)

Now is the time for concerned Jews to reach out to their Evangelical friends and expose the Palestinian assault on the lovers of Zion of two faiths.

Evangelical and conservative Christians – Israel’s most important allies – are increasingly targeted for conversion from Christian Zionism to Christian Palestinianism. 

One of the most troubling purveyors of this stealth theo-terrorism lies within sight of Jerusalem. In 2010, Palestinian Christians convened the Christ at the Checkpoint (CATC) conference under the aegis of the Bethlehem Bible College, aimed specifically at Evangelicals. CATC repudiated Christian Zionism as a false teaching, an erroneous misreading and manipulation of Scripture….

The “affirmations” representing the beliefs of the organizers have already been published. They include the supplanting of Christian Zionism with a supersessionist understanding of Scripture that leaves no room for Jews. In other words, all Scriptural covenants with the Jewish people, as well as its religious dignity, have been replaced and abrogated. While most Christians have always believed that the New Testament fulfilled the Hebrew Scripture, many Evangelicals found room for a continued relationship between Jews, Divine promises, and even the physical Land of Israel…

Another affirmation deals with Jewish Zionism.

“Modern Zionism is a political movement created to meet the aspirations of Jews around the world who longed for a homeland,” it begins, quickly growing ugly: “It has become ethnocentric, privileging one people at the expense of others.”

So, Zionism wasn’t always equal to racism, but it is today, according to CATC’s organizers. The UN’s debunked “Zionism is Racism” has been reborn in theological garb, absorbed and preached by some who a few years ago were among Israel’s greatest allies.

Complete article, Palestinians To Evangelicals: Zionism is a sin

Evangelicals Flocking Toward Newt Gingrich

Surprised? I’m not. (HT) 

Like many evangelicals in Iowa, Steve Deace, an influential conservative radio host, is wrestling with the possibility that Newt Gingrich may be the most viable standard bearer for family-values voters in the next election. It’s a conundrum, he says, that many others are also grappling with. “Maybe the guy in the race that would make the best president is on his third marriage,” he says. “How do we reconcile that?”

One senses him trying. “I see a lot of parallels between King David and Newt Gingrich, two extraordinary men gifted by God, whose lives include very high highs and very low lows,” Deace says. David, after all, committed adultery with the ravishing Bathsheba, then had her husband killed, among other transgressions. The Bible makes room for complicated, morally compromised heroes. Now Christian conservatives, desperate for an alternative to Mitt Romney, are learning to do so as well.

“Under normal circumstances, Gingrich would have some real problems with the social-conservative community,” says Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council. “But these aren’t normal circumstances.” 

After all, it’s not just that Gingrich is on his third marriage. He famously divorced his first wife while she was suffering from cancer—a cancer he’d previously used to garner sympathy in campaign speeches. He cheated on his second wife with congressional aide Callista Bisek, now his third wife, while leading the impeachment battle against Bill Clinton. Like Sen. Larry Craig, he of the attempted airport-bathroom tryst, Gingrich’s personal life has become a liberal punchline, proof of Republican hypocrisy on family values. How can voters whose main priority is the restoration of the traditional family rally around him?

Full Article

Lobbying for the Faithful: Religious Advocacy Groups in Washington, D.C.

The Pew Research Center has posted an interesting report. The report can be viewed  HERE

The number of organizations engaged in religious lobbying or religion-related advocacy in Washington, D.C., has increased roughly fivefold in the past four decades, from fewer than 40 in 1970 to more than 200 today. These groups collectively employ at least 1,000 people in the greater Washington area and spend at least $390 million a year on efforts to influence national public policy. As a whole, religious advocacy organizations work on about 300 policy issues. For most of the past century, religious advocacy groups in Washington focused mainly on domestic affairs. Today, however, roughly as many groups work only on international issues as work only on domestic issues, and nearly two-thirds of the groups work on both. These are among the key findings of a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life that examines a total of 212 religion-related advocacy groups operating in the nation’s capital…

This report is based on a systematic examination of the websites, mission statements, tax documents and other public records of religious advocacy groups spanning the years 2008-2010. Researchers also relied on responses to a written questionnaire that was sent to 148 separate, active groups included in the study and completed by 61 of them. Additionally, lead researcher Allen D. Hertzke conducted in-depth interviews with leaders of 36 groups and observed the advocacy efforts of many other groups at congressional hearings, lobby days, press conferences and other Washington-based events.

 

The Ridiculous, and The Weird

Is your Thanksgiving Turkey a Muslim?

How well do you know your turkey? 

Anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller is warning Americans to be on the lookout for “stealth halal turkeys” this Thanksgiving.

It may be dead – and poultry – but that won’t stop your Thanksgiving turkey playing its part in jihad.

Geller decided to incite some festive hate with this post on Monday, in which she repeats her accusations that the US meat industry does not separate halal from non-halal meat, and accuses popular turkey supplier Butterball of sneaking birds prepared according to Muslim requirements onto non-Muslim tables.

Geller claims halal slaughter methods are “torturous and painful” for the turkeys, and an assault on everyone else’s freedom to have them killed in whichever way they choose:

“Across this great country, on Thanksgiving tables nationwide, infidel Americans are unwittingly going to be serving halal turkeys to their families this Thursday. Turkeys that are halal certified — who wants that, especially on a day on which we are giving thanks to G-d [sic] for our freedom? I wouldn’t knowingly buy a halal turkey — would you? Halal turkey, slaughtered according to the rules of Islamic law, is just the opposite of what Thanksgiving represents: freedom and inclusiveness, neither of which are allowed for under that same Islamic law.” 

More at LOONWATCH

Herman Cain and the Holy Land Experience 

Cain made a campaign stop Friday at The Holy Land Experience, a Christian-theme amusement park in central Florida where visitors pay $35 to watch a reenactment of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ just minutes from Disney World. In the park, which is run by the religious television station Trinity Broadcasting Network, employees dressed as shepherd boys, pharisees, Roman soldiers and merchants from first-century Israel lead the faithful on tours through the re-created streets of old Jerusalem, perform re-enactment shows and serve as baristas in the coffee shop.

Over the course of a day at Holy Land, you can take communion–fed to you from the hand of a bearded actor playing Christ with flowing brown hair–browse an impressive collection of early Bibles, rock out to praise-song karaoke, get baptized and,

…even have your picture taken with Jesus on a Harley. 

And on this day, you can meet Herman Cain.

Entering the park, I’m greeted by a girl in her 20s wearing a traditional Jewish headdress tapping away on a computer keyboard with freshly painted nails. A poster with Cain’s face is taped to the front window. She rings up my ticket and I stumble upon a first-century city street swarming with actors dressed in ancient garb.

“Crucifixion’s at 2:30,” a robed disciple/greeter says as I walk in, pointing toward an amphitheater. “You’ll want to get there early to get good seats.”

“Will we have time to see Herman Cain?” I ask.

“Definitely,” he replies. “Cain won’t start until Jesus returns, which will be after the resurrection.”

The presentation that follows, which takes the audience through the scenes of the Passion story–Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas’ kiss of betrayal, the trial in front of Pontius Pilate, the flogging, the placement of the crown of thorns, the walk down the Via Dolorosa, the crucifixion, and finally, the resurrection–culminates in front of a life-sized model of Herod’s temple in Jerusalem. On the steps of the temple for the grand finale, angels wearing capes prance to the sound of trumpets that welcome the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus emerges from the back and strides triumphantly toward the temple wearing a flowing robe and a gold crown of rubies. Meanwhile, another angel lassos Satan with a gold chain and hauls him away by the neck.

After Jesus disappears into a cloud of smoke at the temple door, a plain-clothed man directs the crowd to a nearby theater…

Inside the auditorium, shepherds escort people to their seats. There’s a lectern on stage surrounded by a wall-to-wall painting of landmarks from ancient Jerusalem with Herod’s temple in the center. A singer kicks off the program with praise and worship songs, and Cain enters through a side door with TBN founder Jan Crouch and his new Secret Service detail. Cain, a layman pastor and gospel singer, appears right at home as he walks up to the stage in his suit and signature gold tie. “You all have to forgive me, but this feels like a pulpit and I am a preacher,” he says during the talk. “It’s just a natural thing when I get into this setting, ya know?”

Cain speaks for nearly a half an hour and despite a couple fleeting “999″ mentions, keeps his speech to topics of faith and his recent battle with cancer. He begins with a story about how he knew he would survive when he discovered that his physician was named “Dr. Lord,” that the hospital attendant’s name was “Grace” and that the incision made on his chest during the surgery would be in the shape of a “J.”

He did have a slight worry at one point during the chemotherapy process when he discovered that one of the surgeon’s name was “Dr. Abdallah.”

“I said to his physician assistant, I said, ‘That sounds foreign–not that I had anything against foreign doctors–but it sounded too foreign,” Cain tells the audience. “She said, ‘He’s from Lebanon.’ Oh, Lebanon! My mind immediately started thinking, wait a minute, maybe his religious persuasion is different than mine! She could see the look on my face and she said, ‘Don’t worry, Mr. Cain, he’s a Christian from Lebanon.’” 

More at YAHOONEWS

Paul Washer, The Gospel. The most terrifying truth of Scripture…

FRC’s Tony Perkins: Christians Who Voted for Obama Should Repent

If you receive the daily emails sent out by FRC’s Tony Perkins like I do, then you know how hypocritical his call for others to repent truly is. Like his claims in this article, his emails are filled with fear mongering, distortions, half-truths, and at times out-right lies. And all perpetrated for political reasons, 

“Any Christian that voted for Obama in 2008 should be repenting [and voting differently] in the next election. This administration has been the most hostile toward religious freedom.”

I’m in agreement with Kato Mivule of  Yesu Mulungi ministry,

Perkins, Dobson, Focus on the Family should be the first to repent for all their politicizing (of) the Church, bigotry, hate speech, and (the) misrepresenting of Jesus Christ… If Obama voters have a speck in their eye, PerkinsDobson, Focus on the Family have logs in their eyes…

Sorry Tony, not all of us are drinking the poison anymore. We’ve stopped being “puppets for politicians”.

An Undercover Muslim Attends TheCall Detroit

This is a fascinating read. 

I’m the one they’re after. I’m “the enemy,” the believer in the “false idol,” “the darkness” Jesus needs to cast out of America, the reason they’re spending all night in Detroit’s Ford Field, sending prayers over Michigan mosques “like sending special forces into Afghanistan.” And there are thousands of them, come because Pastor Lou Engle asked them to.

Founder of TheCall, Engle warns that an Islamic movement is rising in Dearborn, Michigan—“Ground Zero” for America’s spiritual future..When I heard the goals for TheCall Detroit—healing America in a time of crisis, accomplishing racial reconciliation, and (here’s where I come in) bringing Jesus to Muslim hearts—I figured a Muslim in the crowd could be a nice twist.

I’d observe firsthand what goes on at a gathering like this. I’d try to understand how such Christians understand Islam. Lou Engle’s world is alien from my New England roots and New York life. I’d attended churches before, but nothing like this. We need to know where this fear and hate come from, what its intentions are, and who it appeals to.

But as the day approached, Engle’s connections to a network of right-wing activists and political Christians came into focus. From the involvement of US Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin, to a Michigan Call coordinator named Rick Warzywak (who believes that Christians should “go back and occupy or take back the land” of American Muslims), to a particularly weird twist on the theme of racial reconciliation (involving sending Detroit’s African-American Muslims, or ex-Muslims, to the Middle East), it was clear that this might be an uncomfortable assignment.

Continued here

To Cut off the Sinner from All Hope in Himself

 One of the most prevalent motifs that runs through the whole Bible is its constant reminder of the insufficiency of man. While this may seem all too obvious, we need constant reminding of this critical truth in our everyday lives. This goes for the non-Christian, because he has no hope apart from Christ’s mercy, and for the Christian who has no hope, save in Christ alone. This is not only clear in those parts of the Scripture which are propositional but are also quite pervasive in the gospel narratives. If you read closely about the events associated with Christ’s earthly ministry, it becomes clear that deliverance occurred in individuals only when the they were so desperate that they came to an end of themselves and were reduced to begging, if you will. Grace works salvation in us, not as we are, but first humbles our pride, revealing our brokenness, spiritual bankruptcy and impotence, which none of us naturally (apart from grace) appear ready to confess. For our true condition before God is that we cannot even lift a finger toward our salvation, and can bring nothing to God except that which He first grants us in Christ, which includes both the humility to acknowledge our captivity to the yoke of sin and our desperate need of the Savior Jesus Christ and a new heart which trusts in Him.

It seems that Jesus brings about events in our lives that will reveal our insufficiency so that we might find Him. For as long as we pridefully think all we can help ourselves (even a little), He remains hidden. But take note, it is by the grace of God we are what we are, which means that even the very humility needed to recognize the truth and excellency of Jesus does not come naturally. It is a gift of grace. When Peter acknowledged Jesus was the Son of the living God, Jesus quickly quenched any pride that might rise up in Peter by reminding him that even his very understanding of this was not revealed by flesh and blood but by His Father in heaven. This strips man of all possible hope in himself, even to understand or lift a finger toward God. Christ is awakened, as it were, when he hears us pray, for then we no longer are looking to our own resources nor think we have the ability in ourselves.

Jesus said, “If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” We are not quick to learn this lesson, i.e. that we are a dependent people and have nothing in ourselves and can do nothing apart from Jesus. That which we can do, we can only thank Him for. God reaches us when we find ourselves in desperation because we so often wrongly trust in our own boasted self-sufficiency. But Jesus calls us to pray always .. because prayer is a posture of looking away from ourselves for help to the only One who can provide it.

It seems that Jesus brings about events in our lives that will reveal our insufficiency so that we might find Him. For as long as we pridefully think all we can help ourselves (even a little), He remains hidden. But take note, it is by the grace of God we are what we are, which means that even the very humility needed to recognize the truth and excellency of Jesus does not come naturally. It is a gift of grace. When Peter acknowledged Jesus was the Son of the living God, Jesus quickly quenched any pride that might rise up in Peter by reminding him that even his very understanding of this was not revealed by flesh and blood but by His Father in heaven. This strips man of all possible hope in himself…

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 138:6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:”I dwell in the high and holy place,and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,to revive the spirit of the lowly,and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isaiah 66:2 But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Matt 5:3 3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

This humility is the first essential thing pertaining to the true faith – to renounce all natural self-exaltation, and glory only in Christ. How does this affect our preaching to unbelievers. In every way. Ichabod S. Spencer once said,

“To cut off the sinner from all reliance upon himself, his merits and his powers; and throw him, naked and helpless, into the hands of the Holy Spirit to lead him to Christ in faith; should be the one great aim of the ministry.” 

If a preacher (or a doctrine) nourishes a good opinion of man, he is spawning a dangerous error, for all men naturally are a god to themselves. They need little further encouragement to think even more highly of themselves.

Consider this: if the carpenter working on your house tells you that your entire house is rotten and eaten through with termites, and thus must be torn down and a entirely new house buit in its place, but a second carpenter tells you that’s its ok, you don’t need to worry, that the house will probably stand and only needs a little reinforcement at minimal cost … most people would be naturally willing to listen to the later. The first carpenter’s advice is too drastic, you think, but you know the first one is right. Likewise, Christ comes to us and, in love, informs us that our natural state is rotten and and the old frame of the house must come down so that a new one can be built in its place. its devastating news. But the synergist comes in with his corrupt doctrine which inflames the pride of man by telling him that he is not as far gone as the other asserts. God merely need superadd grace to what you already have.

No, says Christ, “unless a seed falls to the ground and die, it remains a single seed” … and “he that would save his life must lose it.”

(Excerpts from: To Cut off the Sinner from All Hope in Himself by John Hendryx)

 

The Christian Post asks, “Jerry Sandusky: Is He a Christian?”

On more then one occasion the past year I’ve wondered who in the world is now operating the Christian Post. Maybe they have a new staff of writers or “something”…because more and more of their articles are becoming down-right strange. 

Case in point:

Jerry Sandusky: Is He a Christian?

I agree with one of the people who commented,

This question reveals the state of the soul who asked it

 

Phony Ex-Terrorist Kamal Saleem at TheCall Detroit

Just last night I read an article from 2009 about this guy (The Three Stooges Coming to a Campus Near You).

TheCall Detroit ended it’s 24-hour event at Ford Field last night. I watched about 18 of the 24 hours and will post a more extensive follow up article tomorrow (Monday). In an article posted in local media since the event, an attendee said there were about 2000 people in the stadium. It did appear that the seats were almost empty. Participants also reported being impressed with the repentance of a former Muslim terrorist. That was Kamal Saleem, one of several debunked “ex-terrorists”, who claim to be experts on counter terrorism and speak to groups on the “Islamization of America.” The “reconciliation ceremony” was part of a choreographed ritual that is widely used by the apostles and prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and does appear quite impressive if you don’t know more about the underlying agenda.

TheCall and other NAR events mask a Christian supremacist agenda with elaborate rituals of repentance between races and ethnicities. These include emotional ceremonies that they call “Identificational Repentance and Reconciliation,” a key component of their brand of “spiritual warfare” against what they view as competing faiths and belief systems that are controlled by demonic spirits.

On Friday evening, a series of reconciliation rituals began with repentance by a man described as a former Muslim terrorist. This was Kamal Saleem, aka Khodor Shami, who has traveled the country with two other discredited “ex-terrorists” Walid Shoebat and Zakaria Anani. They all claim to have been part of the Palestine Liberation Organization and present themselves as experts on counter-terrorism….

In addition to Lou Engle and Mike Bickle, leading apostles and prophets at the event included Cindy Jacobs, Che Ahn, Rick Joyner, Will Ford, Mark Gonzales, and Barabara Yoder.

Full article by Rachel Tabachnick at Talk2Action

‘Let’s play cowboys and Iranians’

A poster on the wall of a barbecue restaurant depicting a hanging Iranian has sparked outrage and accusations of racism. The sepia picture in Nonmacher’s Bar-B-Q in Katy, Texas shows armed men surrounding the hanged man and includes the caption: ‘Let’s play cowboys and Iranians.’

See Story and Poster

Favorite quote,

“…the poster was simply meant to be humorous”

I apologize up-front if any Texans are offended, but I have to say you guys seem to have more then your share of nuts…   

Things That Make You Go Hmmm….

Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain says that God told him to run for president, National Journal reports.

“I prayed and prayed and prayed,” Cain told about 100 members of the Georgia Young Republicans in Atlanta on Saturday. “I’m a man of faith, I had to do a lot of praying for this one, more praying than I’d ever done before in my life. And when I finally realized that it was God saying that this is what I needed to do, I was like Moses. ‘You’ve got the wrong man, Lord. Are you sure?’”

Cain isn’t the only Republican candidate who says God convinced them to run, however.

In May, before officially announcing her candidacy, Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said that she felt a “calling” to seek the GOP nomination. “I’ve had this calling and tugging on my heart that this is the right thing to do,” Bachmann said. In June, in an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Bachmann reiterated her comments about God telling her to run for political office

Herman Cain: God Convinced Me To Run For President

Walid Shoebat “jokes” about sending Muslims to hell

How can a Christian even joke about such a thing? 

How to Send Muslims to Hell Without Them Even Knowing It!

Joyner: Satan Behind Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Cain, Who Is Like Jesus, “plus”…

A few of this week’s on-going news stories have greatly disturbed me. We truly live in an evil world… 

Anyway, moving on, it looks like Rick Joyner has changed horses in the middle of the primary race:

Rick Joyner of MorningStar Ministries and the Oak Initiative has regularly provided his “prophetic” analysis of the Republican presidential nomination race, and claimed to have met with at least one candidate, Michele Bachmann. But today, Joyner focused on the accusations against Herman Cain that have drawn immense media scrutiny not only into Cain’s background but also his campaign management skills, as he and his chief of staff have since blamed everyone from Rick Perry to the “Democrat machine” and even a reporter who they falsely accused of working for Politico and being the son of one of his accusers. But Joyner is rallying to Cain’s defense in a “special bulletin” he sent to members today. The “prophet” portrayed Cain as the victim… More Here

So help me, I think these dominionists would hitch their horses to any wagon carrying anyone they thought would help them reach their goal of taking over government.

Received this newsletter today from the website, Reclaiming the 7 Mountains of Culture: 

The Mountain of Government, or politics, is a mountain that the Lord is beginning to position His children to invade and take. As with media, we’ve virtually given this mountain over to the devil. Entire denominations have been known to prohibit their people from being involved with politics because of the corruption that always seems to infect it. The reason politics are considered “of the devil, of course, is because we have abandoned this mountain to him.

Because of the enemy’s firm grip on this mountain, it’s a very dangerous mountain to take if one is not spiritually prepared for it. Yet we must take it. The Elijah Revolution will begin to displace the forces of darkness from this mountain and establish righteous government on its top.

True apostles will play a unique role in the taking of this mountain. I have to say “true apostles” because most of those now calling themselves apostles aren’t – and won’t be anytime in the future.

We have a good number of such “liars” bursting on the scene, thus muddying the waters for true apostles. That’s not really a problem, because a basic trademark of a true apostle is that he doesn’t mind not being recognized as one. The low profile helps his “cover” – he can access more grace from God (because God gives grace to the humble), and he’s more overlooked as a target of the enemy that way. The temporary downside of less-than-apostles is that they are influencing many who want to properly honor true apostles.

Before we can fully displace powers and principalities, apostles will have to be properly positioned on the tops of the mountains. Again, an apostle is someone who has been given authority to displace top-of-the-mountain demons and bring the reign of heaven in their place. We will not fully take the Mountain of Government without this gift in place…

It will take true prophets and “wise men” to uncover true apostles. Whether or not the title comes into play, God is now preparing and raising up apostles to possess the Mountain of Government….This apostolic positioning will increase more and more among the nations of the world as the mountain of the Lord’s house is exalted above all others. One reason we haven’t advanced as far as expected in this area is that “Christians” who have come into power in various national governments haven’t always been apostolic Christians. By apostolic Christians, I mean that they have made it to the top of the mountain without carrying apostolic authority… More, Girgashites and the Mountain of Government

A Message to His Holy Highness the Worshipful Bishop Rev. Dr. Apostle Grand Poobah

Love it!  

From Lee Grady,

I am often asked if I have a title, and my answer doesn’t satisfy some people. I travel a lot, so I don’t consider myself a pastor. All kinds of labels have been pinned on me: Reverend, prophet, apostle … even bishop. Once I was introduced to a church as “Dr. Grady” and I almost crawled under my seat. I only have a college degree. There are no letters after my name. I tell people: “You can call me Lee. Or if you want to sound formal, you can say, ‘Brother Grady.’”

Today it seems we’ve developed a title fetish. For a while everyone in charismatic circles was becoming a bishop (and some were installed into this office with rings, robes and funny-looking hats). Then the same guys with the pointy hats started calling themselves apostles. Then the prophets got jealous and started calling themselves apostles too! I knew one lady who, not to be outdone, required people to call her “Exalted Prophetess.”

Now the latest fad is requiring church folks to address certain people as apostles. (As in, “When Apostle Holy Moly arrives, please only address him as, ‘Apostle,’ and then make sure he is seated in a private room while his two adjutants, wearing dark glasses, guard his door.”) They’ve even invented an elaborate theology to go along with this ridiculous rule. It suggests that you can’t receive the true anointing from a man of God if you don’t honor him with the right title.

Sounds so very ooo-ooh spiritual to the naive. But it’s garbage.

Jesus didn’t play this religious game, especially when he was around the Grand Poobahs of His day—the long-robed scribes and Pharisees. After accusing them of loving the best seats in the synagogues, He pointed out that they loved to be called “Rabbi” by men (see Matt. 23:7).

Then He warned them: “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. … the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (v. 8-12, NASB).

People have quibbled over these words for centuries, insisting that ecclesiastical titles are not the problem; pride is what Jesus was rebuking. I would agree that Jesus was going to the root sin. But He was also asking these title-crazy guys if they’d be willing to ditch their labels and act like normal people.

When I was in China several years ago, I met some amazing leaders who had planted thousands of congregations. They had also spent a lot of time in jail for their faith, and they’d been beaten with iron rods for preaching the gospel. They were the bravest apostles I’ve ever met. But when I asked them if they used “apostle” as a title, one guy said: “We believe in those roles in the church. But we prefer to call each other ‘brother’ or ‘sister.’”

That settled it for me.

A few years later I met Iftakhar, a Pakistani apostle who has oversight of 900 churches. He also has two scars on his arm from gunshots fired by Muslim extremists who have put a price on his head. When I asked him how I should address him, he smiled and said, “Iftakhar.”

If these two giants of the faith—and true apostles—don’t require to be addressed with titles, then Your Worshipful Grand Master Rev. Dr. Bishop Jones (who claims oversight of maybe four churches) shouldn’t wear his ministry role around his neck like a tacky neon name badge.

If people can’t see the anointing on your life through your character, then don’t cheapen the gospel by wearing a title you don’t deserve.

I’m not saying people shouldn’t use reverend, minister or even bishop to identify their roles in the church. But can we please dispense with the insecurity, and the childish “I’m more important than you” appellations, and get back to the simplicity of the gospel? Let’s get over ourselves!

Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Son of David, the Prince of Peace and the Apostle of our Confession. Yet when He came into this world He laid aside His heavenly glory and took on the lowly name of Jesus. He wore no fancy robes. He demanded no titles. He did not come to be ministered to, but to minister. If we want to serve Him honorably, we must forsake our need for fame and cast our crowns at His feet.

Does Jesus exercise His divine will upon the earth?

“God’s kingly rule over the hearts of men and over the world may be thought of as having a number of phases. The first is the prophesied kingdom, such as that foretold by Daniel. The second phase is the present kingdom, the one that existed at the time of John the Baptist and that he mentions. It is the kingdom that both John and Jesus spoke of as being at hand (cf. 4:17). The third phase may be referred to as the interim kingdom, the kingdom that resulted because of Israel’s rejection of her King. The King returned to heaven and His kingdom on earth now exists only in a mystery form. Christ is Lord of the earth in the sense of His being its Creator and its ultimate Ruler; but He does not presently exercise His full divine will over the earth. He is, so to speak, in a voluntary exile in heaven until it is time for Him to return again. He reigns only in the hearts of those who know Him as Savior and Lord”

See: Jesus does not presently exercise His full divine will over the earth

The nut’s guide to media attention

All I can say is ‘amen’ to this analysis from Get Religion,  

Want to make headlines? Do something nutty. Better yet, say something nutty. And it would be particularly helpful if the nutty thing you said fed into all kinds of stereotypes about intolerant, uneducated hicks who live in the sticks.

Please allow me to introduce today’s Exhibit A, a fellow by the name of Crockett Keller.

Here’s the nutty thing that Keller said in a small-town Texas radio commercial advertising a state-certified concealed-handgun course he was teaching:

If you are a socialist liberal and/or voted for the current campaigner-in-chief, please do not take this class. You’ve already proven that you cannot make a knowledgeable and prudent decision as required under the law. Also, if you are a non-Christian Arab or Muslim, I will not teach you the class. Once again, with no shame, I am Crockett Keller.

Continued Here

Hypocritical Quote of the Day….

 The prize goes to Richard Land, Pastor and president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission:

The faith community needs to be a check against political vitriol in the 2012 election, which two religious leaders say has the potential to be the “ugliest campaign” in decades. Jim Wallis, the progressive CEO of Sojourners, and Richard Land, the conservative head of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, are two religious scholars with opposing political views. But at their joint event at the National Press Club in Washington Wednesday, they agreed on some issues as they discussed and debated faith and the 2012 election.

According to Wallis, while he disagrees with Land on most political issues, they were able to have a civil debate – something Wallis hopes politicians can learn from. …

Land agreed, saying that the faith community in America must lead by example,

“Instead of attacking the person  we deal with issues and we call people when they start straying from that,” Land explained. “We are going to have to be very watchful. I think the temptation for this one to get down and dirty is going to be overwhelming.” 

Ha! This is the same Richard Land who declared that Obama’s healthcare reform effort is exactly the same as what the Nazis did and proclaimed that Ezekiel Emanuel (the President’s chief healthcare advisor) was just like Josef Mengele: 

“I want to put it to you bluntly. What they are attempting to do in healthcare, particularly in treating the elderly, is not something like what the Nazis did. It is precisely what the Nazis did,”

“We are faced with what I call ‘biological bigotry’ and it is every bit as pernicious, every bit as evil, every bit as destructive as the racial and ethnic bigotry that has plagued us in the past,… The Nazis said people should be euthanized when they had lives unworthy of life. … Well, at the very least Dr. Emanuel, [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi, [Sen.] Max Baucus and President Obama are saying that some people have lives less worthy of life”. (2009 -  Christian Coalition, Orlando Florida) 

Thats some example there Mr. Land.  

Source: Lessons In Civility From The Man Who Said The Democrats Were Nazis

The Institutional Church: Is it Time to Leave?

Rick Frueh’s question strikes a chord with many believers today.  

It is time to reevaluate our status with everything on the table. Perhaps God is calling those who will listen to come out from that religious system and into a spiritual gathering that is based upon the New Testament and that exalts the Lord Jesus. It is a very sad spectacle to see the millions of professing believers caught in a system that accentuates things like finances, politics, buildings, activities, and a laundry list of other things designed to keep westerners with short attention spans interested for the moment. But the spiritual practices that take time and passion and sacrifice that are designed to pursue the redoubtable knowledge of the Lord Jesus, well those have long since passed off the scene.

See, The Institutional Church: Is it Time to Leave?