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MentorNet
#62 MOVING
OUR CHURCHES ‘UNDERGROUND’ Copyright
© 2009 by Galen Currah, Edward Aw and George Patterson Jesus
predicted, “They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and
you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And
then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of
many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the
end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed
throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end
will come.” Matthew 24:9-14 Whence we have come The
messianic Jewish movement that would come to be called Christianity was born
in a dusty back-water of the It is
certainly a pattern, if not a law, that the messianic movement grows fastest
and farthest when persecuted. In Where we are at At
the present moment in world history, Christ-obedient, Bible-oriented
Christianity remains the fastest growing faith movement on earth, if not the
most powerful. Every geopolitical country now has a Christian movement, even
if no chapels, Bible schools or vernacular Bible translation. However, this
growth is happening at a cost. That cost is growing in the West, too, where
public displays of Christian and biblical themes have become illegal and
Christian organizations are systematically being excluded from participation
in public, government and scientific forums. Hate-filled atheists publicly ridicule the Bible, journalistic media
have become almost entirely evolutionist, eastern mystical beliefs have
become the majority belief propagated by cinematographers, homosexuals taut
their disgusting practices in some public schools, infanticide of the unborn
has surpassed 50 million abortions, and scholars hold public seminars with
one objective: to reduce Jesus to the status of a dead, deluded, first-century
rabbi.
Portions of the Bible are banned in Within
a decade, some public officials predict, churches and religion-based schools
will lose their tax-exempt status, and Christian clergy, already despised,
will be subject to arrest for “corrupting” youth. Whither we are going In
the near future, messianic Christian faith in the East and the West, the
North and the South must prepare for legal, social, religious, governmental
and financial opposition. Jesus ordered his followers, “Behold, I am sending
you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent
as doves.” “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next.” We who
love Jesus more than our lives and seek to obey his commandments above and
before all else, may soon be plunged into indescribable confusion, if we are
caught asleep. Deprived
of all privilege, respect and legal protections, followers who take seriously
their Bible, their faith and their relationship with Christ, may soon have no
chapel in which to sit comfortably, no cleric preaching monologues to which
we listen passively, no admission to schools and jobs without signing away
our convictions, and no loudly amplified worship music. Believers should not
be surprised when denied jobs and education, their children seized by the
state and recruited by antichristian religions, legally powerless to protect
them and to defend themselves. What to do? Learn
from our brothers and sisters in Commit to love and obey Jesus Christ. He is more than the object and centre of our
faith. He is our very life, both our loving Saviour and our sovereign King. Too much so-called Christianity has replaced loving
obedience with abstract ideas, popular psychology, frivolous emotionalism,
institutional structures and rugged individualism. Reaffirm biblical faith. Abstract theology, fascinating as it is,
generally fails to inspire faith, motivate godly living, or provide spiritual
power. Rationalistic beliefs about creation, God, baptism, communion, prayer
and the life to come, must give way to trusting the Bible as literally true,
spiritually powerful and entirely reliable in all that it teaches. We must
become devoted to knowing the Bible and to obeying the New Testament, relying
on the Holy Spirit to enable us. Worship in spirit and truth. We must continually seek a balance between
big worship “services” and little worship gatherings in which seekers and
believers can practice community by serving one another in love with their
ministry gifts. Pray one for another to lay hold of Jesus’ strength to
overcome personal and social evil while undertaking endless ways to serve
families and communities. Learn, obey and teach the Word of God. Let the New Testament of the Holy Bible
serve as believers’ guidebook that they may freely follow in ways that they
and their God-given leaders agree. Accept persecution with joy. Jesus promised that our joy will always prove greater than the persecution, opposition
and ridicule that unbelievers and other religions may heap upon us. Whilst we
should never seek to be persecuted or abused, when it does happen, let the
Spirit of Grace rest upon us. Many others will abandon their unbelief and
hatred for Christ because of our godly reaction to injustice. Plant and multiply little churches. Keep on making disciples of all who are
willing, baptizing them, teaching them to obey Jesus’ commandments in love,
and forming them into little communities that worship Jesus, love one
another, and serve their neighbours. Intentionally seek ways to help such
little communities to start new ones, in turn. Train leaders by mentoring them. The hugely-expensive
Christian educational institutions cannot produce enough Christian workers.
Unfortunately, many schools abandoned biblical faith for rationalism while
majoring in abstract ideas. Gladly, the New Testament teaches a method of
mentoring new leaders that can and must keep up with a rapid multiplication
of new, little churches. See MentorNet
articles 4, 6, 7, 17, 19, 23, 37, and 42. Saturate society with believers. Do so by continually and
quietly planting new little churches in every social group and inside
every institution. Perhaps the clearest New Testament promise for
effectiveness in evangelism is found in 1 Corinthians 14:24 & 25, which
urges us to worship in gatherings that are small enough for all to
participate actively, where visiting unbelievers will be convinced of their
need for Messiah. The greatest ingathering of new believers in the history of
the West is about to begin. It is already underway in the East and the South. Resources P. O'Connor, Reproducible
Pastoral Training, www.MissionBooks.com Free CP software
“Come, Let Us Disciple the Nations” from www.Paul-Timothy.net/dn Free mentoring
tools and materials for new leaders from www.MentorAndMultiply.com
Train &
Multiply® church planting and pastoral training course from www.trainandmultiply.com Order Church
Multiplication Guide from a bookshop or at www.WCLbooks.com To subscribe to MentorNet
or to download earlier messages, visit: www.MentorNet.ws |