Keeping the Faith in NOLA

Monday
(Our trip Blog was witten by Jackie Dorsey)

After eating at New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood we started our week with flavor!

We headed to Zion Traveler’s Missionary Baptist Church for a three-night revival meeting sponsored by the National Baptist’s Layman’s Movement. Dr. Harold Simmons of Kansas City is the President of the Movement and the key speaker. He kicked off the series by asking “What is your Redemptive Purpose?”

As we left the church and went back to our hotel to get rested for our first full day of work we were about to find out.

New Orleans 2008

The mission to help New Orleans reconstruction stretched our faith, showed us new ways to utilize our gifts, and gave us a fresh perspective of our country by moving us out of our community comfort zone. The trip was a work week with evening revival meetings, and some time for sightseeing.

During the trip we

• Met pastors and believers in and around hard-hit areas and discovered the joys and challenges of ministry there

• Visited sites teeming with inspiration, and discovered that "the soul is waterproof"

• Served believers and the lost community in a construction project and praying over their home, church and city

About a dozen people departed Monday, June 9th and returned Saturday, June 14th. We partnered with the Laymen's Movement of the National Baptist Convention to assist with improvements, repairs, and reconstruction to areas of the lower Ninth Ward devastated by hurricane Katrina.

Let Not Thy Hands Be Slack

Last Sunday we took Joshua 14 and broke-out five principles on how to possess your possessions in Christ. Too many Christians are not owning what belongs to them as a result of the cross.

Possession of the promises is according to faith—but we ran into a problem. I did not have time to give you the three things that prevent our possession. Get ready.

Three Problems Preventing Your Possession of All God Promised
1. Slackness, Joshua 18:3

And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?

I did an etymological investigation of the Hebrew word translated, slack. It is comprised of corrupt ingredients. Can I give you three?

A. To be slack means to be slothful. It is when you are lazy, or just idle (check this: Prov 10:4, 12:24; 19:15).

This is the sin of old churches and old Christians. They become satisfied with what they gained earlier. There is no interest or energy in continual spiritual advance, and that grieves the Holy Ghost.

B. To be slack means to fall short of some stated objective (check this: Josh 1:5).

Failure is a word that should fill every Christian with fear. In Christ we have all power. So to fall short in the day of testing is the saddest experience in life.

2 John 8: Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

C. To be slack means to delay. You defer because you get deflected, so you put it off (check this: Exod 22:29; Deut 23:21; Prov 23:30; Eccl 5:4; Hab 2:3).

You know the problem with this third aspect? It implies a good intention. You talk about it, but you don't be about it. There is a second problem preventing your possession.

2. Compromise, Joshua 16:10

And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.

Ephraim could have driven out the Gezers, but it was easier to sign a truce and take their profit. People get paid enough and they are always willing to let the enemy remain in the midst.

Watch! The Devil's attack on Jesus was three times a compromise. Compromise your confidence in God by making your own bread. Compromise your patience by jumping from the temple. Compromise your conscience by bowing to Baphomet. Jesus hurled it back in his teeth every time—no compromise!

Compromise is the besetting sin of postmodern Christians. Hello somebody! We spiritualize the world to make it compatible with us. Cardinal points of carnal compromise. A third thing prevents our possession.

3. Inability, Joshua 15:63 and 17:12

Manasseh “could not” drive out the Canaanites. Judah “could not” drive out the Jebusites. But it’s kind of like my momma used to say: “Can't” never did do anything.

The restriction was in themselves—in lack of faith, in faulty vision, in handicapping hope and therefore power. It is not the will of God that any sin in you should remain unsubdued. Why not change your self-talk in order to change your thinking? Just say,

Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

““Let not thy hands be slack,” live not in vain;
Out on life’s lonely track men toil in pain.
Play thou a brother’s part, strength, love, and hope impart,
Bid thou the fainting heart
Look up again!

“Let not thy hands be slack,” haste to the fray!
Dream not of turning back: life is not play!
Gird thou thy armour on, fight till the battle’s won,
Then shall thy Lord’s “Well done,”
More than repay!

Let not thy hands be slack,” “Fear not! Be strong!”
Cease not to make attack on every wrong.
Press on for truth and right—
Hold high the Gospel light—expel the dirge of night
With heaven’s song!

“Let not thy hands be slack,” the days fly fast.
Lost moments come not back from the dark past.
Then be not slack of hand! Help thou the weak to stand!
Give all thou hast!

How to Spot an Ordinance

Years ago before he died, J. Vernon McGee was doing his program (Through the Bible), and suggested all of his listeners should celebrate communion with him over the radio. He told them that even if all they had was a McDonald’s hamburger and a Coke they could participate. I think that takes the idea of the “universal church” to an extreme.

God gave two ordinances to regulate and order local church membership: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. So inasmuch as the Lord’s Supper is a local church ordinance it should be administered by the pastoral leadership (with the assistance of the deacons or elders) in a local church setting (this is not to say it cannot be administered to shut-ins in their living quarters). For some churches a house may be their local church setting.

Since the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance (not a sacrament) designed to regulate and order a body of people, one side of its function is that it ties them together with simultaneous remembrance of the Lord’s death and communion with him. But the other side of its function is examination of your life before you enter His presence so that you can correct any irregularities in your self, and especially between you and any other member of the body. That is easy to imagine happening if the full body is assembled together for the service.

So just from a practical/scriptural standpoint, I don’t know if “cell groups” outside the local assembly really fulfill the function of the ordinance. Certainly a meal of fellowship can be had without calling it the Lord’s Supper. But it’s kind of like trying to fulfill the commission to make disciples outside the complete local church experience. Have you really made disciples if they are not established in the fellowship of a local body, scripturally defined, and anchored to its structure (including membership, giving, and the accountability of church discipline)?

How to Spot an Ordinance
1) There is sovereign institution and authorization
2) It symbolizes spiritual truth
3) There is a specific command for its perpetuation
4) There is Biblical evidence of historical fulfillment or practice

Four requirements should be fulfilled for someone to take part in the Lord’s supper:
A) Being regenerated
B) Being scripturally baptized
C) Being a current church member (someplace)

Requirements for membership were
1) A credible testimony of regeneration, Acts 2:41
2) Baptism by officers of the local body, Acts 2:41

D) Having an orderly walk

Some churches practice open communion. That means they do not check the credentials of anyone who participates. Some churches practice closed communion. That means they say you have to be a member of their particular local church to participate. We practice close communion. Any other baptized believer from a church of like faith and practice—who is living as he or she should—can participate.

There are multiple evidences of organization of local church membership in the New Testament. Organized membership
1) Met at stated times on the first day of the week, Acts 20:7; Heb 10:25
2) Had officers, Phil 1:1
3) Designated ministers, Acts 20:17,28
4) Recognized the authority of the local church and its pastors, Mat 18:17; 1 Pet 5:2; Heb 13:7,17
5) Exercised discipline of members, 1 Cor 5:4-5,13
6) Recorded contributions of members, Rom 15:26; 1 Cor 16:1-2
7) Granted letters of commendation when changing localities, Acts 18:27; 2 Cor 3:1
8) Had order, 1 Cor 14:40; Col 2:5

Dexter and the Fraud of Freud

The New York Times says the best show on TV is Dexter. Typical. All the best shows (in the world's eyes) box God out.

Dexter is a Showtime series based on the Fraud of Freud. The premise (of the first season) is that two little boys witness the chainsaw death of their mother, and then are left in two inches of blood in a cargo container for two days. The first policeman on the scene adopts the youngest boy, three year-old Dexter. The other child is never adopted and left to rot in foster care and psych wards.

So the older child develops into a psychopathic serial killer, while Dexter works for Miami police as a blood splatter specialist. Oh he also kills, drains blood, and keeps their specimens on slides. However (and this is a big difference in the world's eyes), he only kills those who deserve it.

The Fraud of Freud says that these adults act according to childhood trauma. But the one is adopted into a loving family, and taught a "code" by his adoptive father. His serial-killer tendencies are channeled into becoming a hero, because he only "puts down" the really bad guys. The other child grows up to kill without reason or regret.

What a simple explanation! It ties up loose ends how we like them. When we hear about some heinous murder on the news we ask, "How could somebody do that?" But this show comforts us by boxing God out so that the answer cannot be "for all have sinned...ye are of your father the Devil." Freud's psychoanalytical method of examining the "subconscious" says the answer is the thing(remembered or not) that impacted you as a child. Examine the Fraud of Freud.

1. Freud says you are sick and therefore not responsible, while God says you are a sinner and therefore sick

You don’t get depressed because your momma made you eat black eyed peas. You get depressed because you've been drinking, and alcohol is a brain depressant. So if you want to look for something else to blame for your problems, you need to remember to blame the conditions that you control. We are all sinners in need of God’s grace, but

2. Freud says you need psychotherapy, while God says you need to repent

And I know you don’t like that, because what you want to do is talk about it but not be about it. Oh, you say you want "change you can believe in," but you are not willing to change your mind, your heart and your attitude so that you can believe in change! See,

3. Freud says to diagnose your problem by looking within, and find the solution to your problem by looking outside to a therapist, while God says the diagnosis of your problem is found outside of you in your Bible, and the solution to your problem is made by changing those things within

How’d you miss that, all these years? You need to look outside of you to find the diagnosis, because the Bible is an owner's manual on the human life. The only people that don’t recognize that are Oprah and Eckhart. But once you get the diagnosis from Bible principles, you have to apply those principles within you as your prescription. Oh, I’m going to help somebody out, because

4. Freud says never preach or moralize because you will get guilt, while God says, preach, reprove, rebuke and exhort because what you need to get is forgiveness!

Dexter gives a simplistic explanation for evil in people. And it's an incorrect one because it ignores the sin within all of us, factory-equipped at birth.

Where is the preacher on that show? Nobody is destined to become a serial killer because of what they witness as a child (no mater how traumatizing it is). And anyone, even a preacher or preacher's kid, can turn out to be a murderer if they get far enough away from their Bible.

Oh, I almost forgot. Every really popular show wraps itself around a grain of truth. Dexter gets it right when it says that obedience to the right code can change your character, behavior, and ultimately your destiny.

Black Cab Cuties

Having trouble keeping up with British pop culture? Check this!

I just thought the concept was kind of cool. The Kooks' second song later in the film is better than the first.

In each episode of “The Black Cab Sessions,” a different indie artist gets one car ride and one unedited take to perform a song. The cab becomes a mobile stage for acoustic Dylan-esque performances. Spoon’s Britt Daniel plays a stirring version of “I Summon You” all alone; I’m definitely no fan of Baby Dee, and Daniel Johnston is a weirdo, but you don’t have to tip the driver.

Maybe we should start KC Cab Worship. One ride and one unedited take to perform a praise song.

All Religions Lead to the Same Place

People have sent me links to Oprah’s next big thing. She is pushing a book (and turning it into an online course) by Eckhart Tolle. In the mold of the typical Christ-during-the-Millennium counterfeit, he calls it A New Earth. It’s sort of a spiritual-but-not-Christian Purpose Driven Life.

The hook is on the sixth page: This book can only awaken those who are ready. You may not be ready. So if you don’t get awakened by this book, then you are obviously a SPED, not even in the same league as O and E, and should never, ever consider contradicting the concepts in the book. You just don’t understand.

Eckhart is a non-aligned spiritual teacher who says there is a way out of suffering and into peace. Like Buddha and the Maharishi before him, it has to do with denying the ego and swaying collective consciousness (by becoming conscious of itself).

Now there’s an irony for you. Your self-consciousness is supposed to become more conscious of itself, and yet “you don’t live life; life lives you.” There is no such thing as “my life.” There is just life, and I must lose myself in it. I cannot “lose my life” (despite what Jesus said in Mark 8:35 and Matt 16:26), therefore I am eternal. But after I die, it’s not just that no one knows what is there—nothing is there.

“Thinking isolates a situation or event and calls it good or bad, as if it had a separate existence.” So stop thinking—or else you’ll fragment reality into an illusion. The illusion is anything you can think about. To get to reality, just align yourself with the “higher order” (want fries with that?).

Okay, here’s the hypocrisy. His Holiness (HH) the 14th Dalai Lama is the principal incarnation of Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara in India), the patron deity of Tibet. That makes him god on earth to his people, someone who had finally escaped the wheel of death and reincarnation, and voluntarily chose to be reborn in order to teach humanity. So he is supposed to be enlightened and understand these things, yet from what I have seen, he is not “in alignment” with what the Chinese are doing to his people. In some interviews the DL gets pretty pissed. He must not really be a “Master,” because ET says “the Master responds to falsehood and truth, bad news and good news, in exactly the same way: ‘Is that so?’” To the Master there is only “this moment,” and this moment “is what it is,” so he does not go tripping on drama. He is at one with whatever happens. Only if you resist what happens are you unhappy. (Try telling that to any holocaust survivor.)

Surf the sitori. Zen is knowing what Zen is without knowing what it is that you know. So increase your consciousness, but decrease your responsibility. Take away your own free-will, determination, and freedom of choice (like the freedom to choose the right path) and replace it with introspection. That is why spirituality in A New Earth

• Values being independt from religious hierarchy
• Crosses social boundaries
• Deals with absorbing each other’s worship, rituals and myths
• Mistrusts authority at the same time it opens itself and willingly submits to some higher power

The Old Spirituality said there was only one right path and all other ways were wrong. On A New Earth all religions lead to the same place. You can take one of the traditional religions, or string a necklace of your own personal religious preferences.

I guess I don’t see what the controversy is. I totally agree with Oprah and E (in their most pluralistic selves). All religions do lead to the same place (Psa 9:17)! They always have (1 Chron 16:26). All religions lead to Hell. There was never any other place for them to go to. And no matter which religion you choose, all people are on the same path. Who didn’t know that?

The universe is not god. The God who created the universe negates all pagan Zen, because he contends neither with a higher realm, nor with competing powers. But, if we defy God, then we deify self. Always.

A MUCH BETTER BOOK to recommend to your friends who say they are spiritually “awakening” is Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus. Somebody needs to tell Oprah’s book club.