Volume 18  Number 1                                 January/February 2007

Blessings for the New Year!

The clock striking midnight on December 31^st reminded us once again that only one second divided us from the old – 2006 to the new – 2007.    As we enter the New Year, let us be mindful that God’s clock is also getting near to the “midnight hour”.  In one second  - we will enter the “new” era.  Yes, God’s Eternal Era that has been in His Plan from the beginning of time. 

 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  I Cor. 15:52

“In a Moment” –

On an Ordinary Day

Opal Reddin – 1999

During the holiday season I was awakened very early one morning. Engrossed in the busy-ness of the season, I began mentally going over my list: “To do today.” For some reason (I guess it should seem reasonable!) I began to think about how really transcendent the Incarnation is and how we do our best to bring it to human terms all can understand.

While I was lying there musing, I heard a sound, perhaps a car horn–not sure. It sounded as if quite some distance away; then the phrase “in a moment” came to mind. I was taken over for a while just thinking about 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed–in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” I reminisced and pondered God’s wisdom and timing. Out of Eternity (and in Eternity”) He has carved what we know as TIME. We don’t know how to define time, but we know we are controlled to a great degree by it: clocks, calendars, etc.

In Eternity...God planned every moment of Time. He promised the One Who would reverse the curse on mankind by allowing His heel to be bruised while He was crushing the Serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15) fatally and forever. Billions of moments passed, centuries passed, milleniums passed. Then a tick of God’s Timeclock and in a moment on a previously ordinary day  Zacharias was informed the Good News that he and Elizabeth would yet have a baby who would be unique in that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born and would be a forerunner to prepare Israel for Messiah.

Six earth-months later, a tick of God’s Timeclock and Gabriel came as unobtrusively as angels can come--to Mary, who was planning her wedding. In a moment on what I presume to have previously been an ordinary day, her life was changed forever. The Eternal Son was united with the human ovum; thus God became flesh, “in the likeness of sinful flesh”-- totally God and totally man but never “sinful” in His essence. Later He would become the sin-offering, but for the time being He was a perfect Little Baby Who would grow in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man. He is the only One to experience Immaculate Conception. He is the only One Who could be the spotless Lamb of God to atone for Adam and Eve’s sin, for His mother’s sin, and indeed for all the sins of all people in all of time. One moment He was with the Father in Heaven; the next moment He was in Mary’s womb; she was “with child.”

About 33 years later, a tick of God’s Clock and on a previously ordinary day, He said, “I have really been looking forward to sharing this Passover with you because I will not do so again until it is all fulfilled in the Kingdom. This is my body; this is my blood....”  In God’s timing He prayed, “Let this cup pass from me–nevertheless Thy Will...” In a moment after hours of torture, He released His spirit to the Father. . .His blood atoned for all sin for all time for all who will receive Him

At some point in God’s Timing (exact details are shrouded for the time being), in a moment His mutilated body with face more marred than that of any other human, His back ploughed in furrows, His heart broken (literally and figuratively) for our sins–that blessed body was changed. He appeared to many in His glorified state, and He appears now before the Father as our Advocate, our Intercessor (and do we ever need Him!). We love Him though we have not seen Him with natural eyes; we adore Him though we sometimes ill-treat Him; we make Him preeminent Lord though at times we ignore Him; when we are faithless, He remains faithul!

As these thoughts thrilled my soul, I pondered the respective schedules of my loved ones and friends. How varied and yet how much in common after all. All of us are involved in the Lord’s work as we pursue our individual callings. This necessitates a lot of mundane things that make days quite ordinary, quite “daily,” even at times rather dull. But–just as surely as God intersected Time two thousand years ago–just that surely Jesus will come again. And–it very likely will be that on an ordinary day, a tick on God’s Clock, and a trumpet will be heard. It may be blown for quite some time, because the sound will encircle the globe and will “wake up the dead in Christ.”This we know for sure: in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye we shall be changed because HE will have come in the clouds. All our Dear Ones whose bodies are now in graves will rise before we all go up together to meet HIM.

If all the music of all the greatest could be orchestrated in one sound, it would not equal what we shall hear. If all the LOVE of all the Mothers-and-Fathers could be bundled in one heart, it would not equal the love we will know and share with all. If all the sweetness of all the babies ever held near could be congealed in one drop, it would not equal the sweetness of life together in Heaven. If all the bliss of all the honeymoons of all human history could be distilled into one essence, it would not compare with the pure bliss of seeing JESUS at last and being welcomed into His Home forever. If all thrills of winning games, of perfect banquets, of gorgeous clothes, of clean, organized homes, of good nights of sleep, of getting well after flu, of getting mail from loved ones–et cetera on to infinity...the composite of all of these cannot compare to that moment

In a moment on a previously ordinary day it will really, actually, totally happen just as He has promised. Why do we not contemplate it all more often? Good question--I asked myself. I think one of the main reasons is that it absolutely seems too good to be true. And yet–if it is not true all of us are, as Paul said, of all people to be pitied. We could be just “doing our thing” with no thought of judgment or any such. But happily it’s too late  for us to so exist. We know HIM, and we know HIS WORD is true. Hallelujah! Even so come Lord Jesus!

The Opal Reddin Research Library

   Since dear Sister Opal’s homegoing in November, 2005, the library has been progressing slowly at the Pinebrook Assembly of God in Naugatuck, Connecticut.  Volunteers have processed the many books, study notes and articles which in turn have been scanned into a data base on a dedicated server.  In the next few months the library will be on-line.  The notification will be on our website.   Mrs. Lyn Tenny has accepted the position as Librarian.  Lyn was born a daughter of an Assembly of God pastor in New England. She was saved at an early age and received solid Bible training from her parents. After graduating from Houghton College with a B.A. in French, Lyn earned a M.S. degree and teaching certificate.  She taught in public schools for 35 years.  Lyn and her husband, Les, have three children and have been members at Pinebrook Assembly for over forty years. Lyn has served as pianist and in many other positions there.  She and her husband now live in Derby, CT.  We are grateful to have Lyn working in the library as she has the qualifications to understand the nature of the rich ministry of Dr. Reddin and to appreciate her work and calling. 

Monday, October 30, 2006

HERESCOPE

For those who do not keep up with the HERESCOPE BLOG which is produced by the Discernment Research Group, you may have missed the “blog” for the above date.    These updates can be accessed on the www.discernment-ministries.org website or www.herescope.com . 

Rick Warren - Is He Scary?

"Do secular liberals who applaud and enable Warren know that he aims to recruit '1 billion Christian foot soldiers' who are willing to do 'whatever it takes' to turn the entire planet into a purpose-driven Kingdom of God? That his Purpose-Driven Ministries, he says, has trained more than 400,000 ministers and priests in 162 countries?
"Typically, demagogues who dream of making the whole world conform to their single, uncompromising vision wear gaudy military uniforms that give them an immediately threatening veneer. Rick Warren, on the other hand, favors Hawaiian shirts decorated with large pineapples. Be very afraid. "
[Mary Reinholz, "The Thirteen Scariest People in America, October 30, 2006, Old Trout Magazine][emphasis added]

The quote above comes from the left of the spectrum. Now why would Rick Warren be scary to them? Maybe for the same reasons he is scary to us. Did you know that these things were part of the Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan?  "…armed guards, biometric palm scanners and steel doors that guard the facility…"
The Orange County Register, the newspaper of note in "Saddleback Country," California, has been doing a series of stories this Fall on Rick Warren -- his church, his fame, his programs, etc. Most of these pieces haven't been notable. But yesterday's article was another matter. For the first time we get to peek behind the scenes at the Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. And what we learn is downright scary!

1. There is a strangely SECRETIVE "Internet-based PEACE plan training."   This is for the short-term missionaries who become part of the billion-man army to implement Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. The article states that:
"The fledgling 'e-missionaries' depend in turn upon a $3 million Internet-based training platform the church is building to educate and track its PEACE plan participants. When finished, the Web site ( www.thepeaceplan.com) will constitute the main – if not only – source of information many PEACE missionaries will have about the troubled places they visit." [emphasis added]

2. This uses a mammoth databanking facility.This use of Internet technology which is unprecedented in the way in which it will manage, control, direct, monitor and databank the emerging Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan -- its recruits and its activities. The article reports that this databank is an:
"…expression of Warren's lifelong fascination with the evangelistic possibilities of technology and the first test pilots of his belief that the Internet is, like the printing press, an epochal invention that will multiply the message of Christ and transform the future church.
"'Every time God's word is put in a new technology, there's a spiritual awakening,' Warren says. 'We are in a very exciting age where technology is allowing me, and allowing other people, to have far greater impact because it shrinks distance and time, and it multiplies the message.'" [emphasis added] …

…"The computers run a portal that allows Saddleback small groups to log on to the Web site, download training modules and upload reports on their own PEACE trips for the following wave of PEACE missionaries to read."…

3. This is a MAXIMUM SECURITY databank!   This next part of the article should be read in its entirety. Here is what Rick Warren is doing with his technology according to the article:
"Today, Saddleback's information technology department has morphed into a multimillion-dollar 'research and development department of Christianity,' says Warren (paraphrasing management guru Peter Drucker).
"Case in point: Saddleback's new PEACE 'platform,' a Web site built upon original software written by the church's 'pastor' of technology, Eric Busby, and about two dozen engineers and experts around the world.
"Busby wants the PEACE platform to be a full-service Web site to which any church group anywhere in the world can connect and be matched not only with a destination in which to do missionary work, but with training appropriate to the mission.
"That means, Busby says, writing scalable software capable of allowing the Web site to expand as thousands – potentially tens of thousands – of churches sign on. Busby says the Saddleback PEACE site is designed to grow to the size of leading Web sites, such as eBay.

"Already, the platform's electronic brain – the 8-foot racks of hundreds of servers needed to store the site's growing database (14,000 articles in English alone) – is housed in a warehouse-sized, MAXIMUM SECURITY "Tier-1" Internet data center in Irvine.

"'Such centers exist in several dozen locations around the world to host the electronic information of the world's largest companies, which explains the ARMED GUARDS, biometric palm scanners and steel doors that guard the facility,' Busby says." [all emphases added]

4. Only the INITIATED may enter into this WEBSITE.   The Orange County Register article includes a link that lets one TOUR Rick Warren's website. By all means, take this tour. Note the opening statement that says: "The PEACE plan home page and login site. Only church groups that have been screened by Saddleback Church and accepted into the PEACE plan program are currently allowed to use the site." The article then explains:

"In at least one respect… Saddleback does control the PEACE platform. Although Saddleback says it will make training materials available to the general public at some point in the future, for now, the site is proprietary, which means that Saddleback DOES NOT PERMIT nonmembers to view the site. (The Register was allowed to see the site only once, and in the company of a church staffer.)

"Church teams who want to use the materials must register (and attend a conference) under the PEACE program umbrella. Saddleback can, consequently, track and lay claim not only to the 142 PEACE teams that have gone on mission so far, but also to the potentially thousands that will do so in the future and that will become, in the process, indirect partners in the PEACE 'movement' – and brand." [all emphases added]

5. All of this is done with strict controls.    The TOUR says that once "a region is selected, missionaries can research a particular country before choosing it as their destination. They must then have their trip approved by both Saddleback and their own church's leadership" [emphasis added]. The article explains:

"A church is like a business with branch offices," Busby says. "If you start saying we got 2.5 million branch offices – nobody has that." [emphasis added]

6. This is a PROPIETARY, logo-branding, public-relations and merchandising campaign.   The article explains how this works in the marketing world, including a reference to Larry Ross, the P.R. (public relations) firm that handles Saddleback, Warren, etc.

"It is another example of both a core concept and key critique: Warren's knack for synergy. Using technology, a broad vision, an expressed desire to evangelize and, perhaps, a keen sense of market share, Saddleback may create a platform for both the kingdom of God and for itself.

"Influence, however, is something Warren says he courts. It is Larry Ross' job to explain why." [emphases added]

COMMENTARY:

After reading this some key questions come to mind. Why is this secret? Several reasons come to mind, and none of them are very fun to think about. Here some possible reasons for the secrecy, and we exaggerate intentionally to make the point that this is strange and scary:

1. Warren is setting up a cult, complete with entry-level rites (must undergo preliminary training, sign covenants, etc.), indoctrination (in-depth training, including post-mission trip training), monitoring (via high-tech internet feedback loops), databanking (personal, psychological and corporate information), love-bombing (awards and accolades for high performing "healthy" examples), etc. Check out the TOUR pages just to verify all of this.

2. Warren's missionaries will be spies, working at a high level of geo-political intelligence gathering which is so sensitive that it requires armed guards, surveillance and steel doors to protect sensitive information. If this is the case, for whom is he working -- multi-national corporations and/or the United Nations?

3. This is the world's largest marketing gimmick, done in the name of Christ. Proprietary information is being carefully guarded, patented, and branded to protect the corporate intellectual capital and image. If so, this is the indicative of building an empire, a sad example of one man's egotism gone globally amok.

4. This is the world's largest multi-level marketing project, and as such needs tight security to ensure that the product is uniform and consistent, that the field representatives are trained in the exact terminologies, sales pitches, product lines, etc. If so, this is not the humble biblical Gospel message, which is transmitted by God's grace, one-on-one, through no power other than that of the Spirit of God.

5. The secrecy is to keep true believers out. True believers wouldn't sign up if they knew what they were in for. They might discover parallels to, or worse, working relationships with other utopian global peace plans, such as the ones touted by New Age Theosophists. They might find out who Rick Warren's hidden partners are. They might discover the money trails and learn who is actually financing this massive project. They might object to the psycho-social indoctrination (brainwashing?) they must undergo before, during and after the mission trips. They might learn which partners (corporate or state) have access to their private information which is being collected at this secret website. The list of paranoid possibilities here could go on and on….

Is this how the Gospel should be presented? Is this what it means to do "whatever it takes" to bring the Gospel message to the unsaved peoples on this planet? Or, is this one megalomaniac's giant plan to "advance" a "kingdom" of "God" on earth?

The Truth:

Rick Warren could take a lesson from Jesus:

"Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple; whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing." (John 18:20)

* * * * * * * * * * * *  *

A NEW BOOK !

In view of the sobering issues the Church faces today, books, tapes and CDs are available through this ministry.  For a complete list, order the catalog.  In the next few weeks a new book will be printed.  Place your order so that you can receive one “hot off the press”. 

Professor Arthur Song from South Africa says this about the book:  How was the early church governed and organized? On what basis were the early church leaders appointed? Moreover, by whom were they appointed?  This book may well be the book that you have been searching for and hoping for someone to write.

Anton Bosch “unpacks” the vexing and often intriguing question of WHO constituted the leaders of the early church at the different levels and HOW they were appointed. These two major questions are dealt with at length in an academic yet highly readable fashion. The Bible is carefully examined for the teachings surrounding these two issues in contrast to the presentation of a few “proof texts”.

With the growing emphasis on Apostles in some of our modern churches, a careful reading of the chapters dealing with Apostles, Prophets, Pastors/Elders, Teachers, Evangelists and Deacons will readily provide useful material for academic digestion. This book will clarify many issues in many pastoral hearts in search of excellent biblical teaching.

Chapter One

Sola Scriptura

I shall, for the most part, rely on the New Testament text in order to understand what Jesus and the Apostles taught on these matters and what the Apostles practiced. It is my view that we cannot use sub-apostolic teaching or practice, or that of the Church Fathers, as a basis upon which to discover the New Testament “pattern.” This is because the second-generation churches had already begun to deviate from the practices and teachings of the Apostles.

    These deviations had already begun to take place by the end of the first century. Ignatius, for example, who was probably a  disciple of the apostle John and who may have known several of the Apostles,^[i] had by the end of the first century begun to separate bishops and presbyters into two separate offices.^[ii] He also began to speak of monarchical bishops and thus of himself as the Bishop of Antioch.^[iii] Some of these deviations were a response to false teaching and others a result of pride, ambition and a lust for power on the part of early leaders. The greatest influence away from the Apostolic pattern, however, was not primarily a result of any of the many attacks upon the church, but rather a result of endeavors to protect the church from these attacks. “These countermeasures, much more than the heresies themselves, were responsible for the changes which eventually were to lead the assemblies far away from the simplicity of church life as it was in New Testament times.”^[iv]

    These initial deviations continue to this day, and have given license for many worse deviations than that which were originally practiced by the Apostles.

    As was the case during the Reformation, the debate among evangelical Christians today is not about the infallibility of Scripture but rather about the sufficiency of Scripture.^[v] Most Christians fully accept the infallibility of Scripture, yet many feel that Scripture is not sufficient for all of life and godliness in the 21st century. They add to the Bible personal opinion, tradition, the teachings and dogma of their denomination, extra-Biblical prophecies and revelation, etc. Many modern teachers who speak and write on the structure and practice of the church only partially base their theories on the scriptural record. To the Bible they add subjective opinion, management theory, psychology and a host of man-made philosophies. We must accept that Scripture is complete and adequate and testifies to its own sufficiency: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”^[vi] Perfect means complete, whole, entire and sound.^[vii] “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”^[viii]

    Many of our beliefs concerning church life are based on an accumulated tradition of the past 2,000 years. When modern developments in psychology and advancements in management methods are added to this, we end up with a view of church structure and function which may be very far from that intended by its Founder. Our perspective is even further distorted by the almost universal assumption that the Reformation was a complete overhaul of all facets of the church, and that what emerged from the Reformation was a fully re-born New Testament church. While the Reformers restored some of the most critical fundamentals of the faith, many aspects of church practice that had evolved within the Roman system were left unaltered.^[ix]

    In order to rediscover how the New Testament church was structured and functioned, we need to return to the text of the New Testament.^[x] But even here we have a problem, as our reading of these texts is colored by our own background and experience. So, for example, when we read about baptism, one visualizes a baby in a pretty dress with a few drops of water on its forehead. Another sees a naked baby being dipped into a gold encrusted font. And yet another sees an adult being immersed in a river or a stream. All these pictures from one word!

    Thus both the Papist with his hierarchical structures, and the individualist who sees no need for meeting with other believers, claim that they have arrived at their unique understanding of the structure and function of the church through the teachings of the New Testament. It is therefore imperative to look at the New Testament with an unbiased view as much as is possible. Even then, with the best intentions in the world, it remains very difficult for one’s reading not to be colored. And it is difficult to avoid falling into the trap of reading into the Scripture one’s pre-conceived ideas.

    Coad devotes an entire chapter to the problems associated with interpreting the Scriptures in an unbiased way when trying to understand the structure and function of the church.^[xi] He sums this up as four factors:

First, we must recognize that each mind, by its very nature, operates within a range of ideas and modes of thinking which are the product of past experience and of individual personality, and that this must to some extent color every conclusion which is drawn by that mind.

Second, allowance must be made for the effect of the framework of Biblical interpretation which lies (often unconsciously) behind any man’s approach to Scripture. Tradition is an inseparable element within Biblical interpretation.

Third, Scripture, in matters of church order, arose from the living and immediate circumstances of the early churches. This has two results. It allows a wider room for the operation of those personal idiosyncrasies of understanding which the first two factors have emphasized: and it also means that Scripture contains much that is the result of the application of general principles to particular contemporary and local circumstances. If I, in my highly different circumstances, simply copy the results of that application, I may well find that I contradict the basic principles of Scripture…

Fourth, the question as to whether and to what extent the ordering of New Testament churches forms a precedent for later churches, is not one to which Scripture itself gives a direct answer, but one which must be answered according to our general understanding of the scope of Scriptural and apostolic authority.^[xii]

Hermeneutical Issues

    One of the traps into which the unwary can easily fall is the incorrect use of the book of Acts in order to formulate doctrine. This becomes a particularly difficult issue when Acts is used to establish norms for the post-apostolic church. Thus we need to spend a few minutes examining what hermeneutical rules can be applied to the book and to what degree we can use the experiences of the Apostles as “rules” for the church today.

    In his chapter on the “practical use of the Bible,” Ramm lists five guidelines that may be applied in using Biblical examples as normative.^[xiii]  It is important that these be borne in mind as we approach the book of Acts.

    “We must make a distinction between what the Bible records and what it approves.”^[xiv] Not everything that is recorded is necessarily good or right. Sometimes the context clearly indicates such approval or disapproval. Sometimes it is more difficult to differentiate. As an example the Apostles cast lots in order to select a replacement for Judas.^[xv] Does this then mean that we must use the casting of dice in order to determine the will of God? Certainly not.

    “We may take direct application from all those incidents that the Bible directly censures or approves.”^[xvi]  Thus we are not to follow Ananias and Sapphira’s example of lying to the Holy Spirit,^[xvii] yet we are to follow Paul’s example of perseverance in the preaching of the Word.

    “Express commands to individuals are not the will of God for us.”^[xviii] Paul’s trip to Arabia^[xix] may not be God’s command to everyone, nor would Peter’s receiving a vision on the rooftop.^[xx] Peter’s resultant mission to the Gentiles is binding upon us because many other Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, support the evangelization of Gentiles.

    “In the lives of men in the Scriptures determine what the outstanding spiritual principle is.”^[xxi] This will protect us from bestowing too much meaning on minor details of the historical account and losing out on the opportunity to learn some vital principles.

    “In the application of examples to our lives we do not need a literal reproduction of a Biblical situation.”^[xxii] Baptism need not be in the Jordan to be valid, nor do we have to meet in an upper room to break bread.

    Particular attention needs to be paid to the cultural and historic setting of certain accounts. Some churches have based their practices on examples found only in the Jerusalem church. Great care needs to be exercised when citing Jerusalem as an example, especially when other scriptural accounts do not support this example. For instance, some may teach that money must be given to apostles^[xxiii] and that believers should “hold all things in common.”^[xxiv] These were practices unique to the church at Jerusalem. We have to be very careful about which aspects of the Jerusalem model we carry forward, as the situation in Jerusalem was unique in the following respects:

·         It was predominantly a Hebrew congregation.

·         There were twelve apostles resident in the church in addition to many other ministries.

·         It lasted only a few years before it was totally dispersed.^[xxv] (It was reconstituted later.)

·         Only in Jerusalem is it recorded that very large numbers were saved.^[xxvi]

·         The founding members (120) had all seen the Lord.

·         Of the initial 3,000 that were saved, many came from abroad^[xxvii] and seemed to stay on in Jerusalem in spite of not having made financial provision for such a prolonged stay.

·         No other church in Acts was founded in the same way.

This does not mean that the record of the church at Jerusalem must be discarded as a purely historic account. But we need to be careful that any practices from this church be supported by other examples and texts before we accept them as standard practice in all churches of the first century and normative for today.

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