[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] Newsletter

MY GIFT TO YOU

2011-06-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

As a faithful follower of the [Subversive Underground] e-newsletter, it's my honor to share with you a free e-book version of "This Is My Body:Ekklesia as God Intended".

This book reveals the radical difference between church as we know it and ekklesia as God intended.

You can download a free e-book version for Kindle, Nook, iPad or other e-book reader, or the free PDF version at this link
HERE

The book features a foreword by Jon Zens. I hope it blesses you.

You can also read more reviews of the book and find out more about it at
www.WeAreTheTemple.com

Peace,
Keith

End Transmission

2009-03-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]
Article #180

End Transmission
By Keith Giles

A few months ago I hinted that the [Subversive Underground] would be ending at the 200th article post, which would be sometime in August of this year. However, as I continue to hear from God and evaluate where I'm at right now, I have to confess that I cannot imagine continuing that distance with the energy I have left within.

Honestly, my desire to set these things aside is growing stronger every day. I'm feeling that maybe it is time to lay down the tools of the trade and lie still for a moment so that I can hear God's voice more clearly.

Looking back, over my shoulder, down the road behind me where I have travelled and meandered these last few years, I can count victories, savor a handful of joys like crumbs that have fallen from the table, and I know that this is where I needed to be. This is where I was going. Now that I am here, I need to rest along the path, take a deep breath, allow my soul to be restored in this valley, beside this green grass, near enough to touch those still waters and be renewed.

I find I have no patience anymore for any of this. I am so weary of being accosted for holding opinions which differ from the status quo. I am weary of endless comment wars between people who should be working hard at loving one another and who, instead, take great delight in tearing one another apart from the soul to the heart, inside and out.

In the future you can read my thoughts and articles over at my main blog. I will keep this blog open as an archive for anyone who wants to go back and read what has gone before. After all, there are 180 articles here on the subject of the Gospel of the Kingdom, Discipleship to Jesus, Compassion for the poor, and House Church. If you're reading this via email you can reach the [Subversive Underground] archives HERE.

For now, I want to close up the shop here and be done with this for a time. Maybe a year, maybe a week, maybe forever. I don't know just yet. It's possible that, in the future, I may decide to re-launch the [Subversive Underground] and this may restart again somewhere down the road. For now, I need to lay this aside and take a break.

I've felt like something needs to die before the new life can flourish within me again. In many ways I think the death has already begun. I cannot stop it from coming. I have to release my tired grip on this thing and lay it down into the ground. I have to bury it. I have to let it go. I think it has already released its grip on me. I must return the favor.

If there was ever any doubt, let me assure you that all I have written here over the years has been out of a sincere love for God's Bride and out of a burning, irresistable desire to see the people of God rise up and live it out. I still have that same desire, thankfully. Although my attempts to turn the ship have been largely unsuccessful, I take heart that there are new voices ringing out the same call to awaken the Body. Maybe it is because of this great cloud of witnesses that I can give myself permission to let go of the wheel and rest a while.

These voices are stronger than mine. Their reach is greater. Their passion is the same. They are trustworthy men and women who will run this race faithfully.

Brant Hansen
Alan Knox
Lionel Woods
Mark Main
Daniel & Heather Cosby

I gladly point you to them for encouragement and inspiration along your journey to follow Christ and live a more subversive life. Perhaps one day I will resume the chorus and join them again? I sincerely hope so.

It has been a joy to share my heart with you. I am so thankful to God for blessing me in this way. You have been a significant part of my own spiritual growth over the last three years and I am grateful that you have stood with me this long. Many have not. Perhaps you wanted off the merry-go-round but couldn't find the spot to jump off? I don't know. But, I am thankful that God allowed me to speak to so many of you for so long and to encourage you to take up your cross and follow Jesus.

Please, don't let me stop you. I'll catch up with you soon.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

**
If you want to keep up with me elsewhere online I'll be here:
PovertyInTheOC.com
OCHouseChurch.com
MissionHouseChurch.com
KeithGiles.com

My email contact is at "elysiansky" at hotmail.

Thanks for the encouragement and support you've given me over the years.

"Conversatio Morem!" (Death to the status quo/Constant Conversion)

Peace,
Keith
**
[END TRANSMISSION]

ONE MAN'S STORY

2009-03-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

I want to share a story with you about a pastor who had the courage to put his convictions ahead of his career.

It was just bout five years ago that God opened his eyes. He started to see that the way the modern American Church was doing things had very little to do with following God. As he began to learn more he realized that his new beliefs and convictions were at odds with his job as the lead pastor of a local church.

After a lot of agonizing soul searching and praying he made a hard decision. He went before his church one Sunday morning and told them that he thought the church as a whole, himself included, had been doing things all wrong. He even said he was to blame recognizing that he himself had been their leader.

After doing his best to provide a brief explanation of what God had been putting on his heart, he also communicated his understanding that this would mean the end of his tenure as their pastor and he would expect them to start searching for a replacement. In the meantime he promised to fulfill his duties, as he had promised when he took the job, if they wanted him to do so. He even told them he wouldn't show up for service that night to give the church a chance to talk about what they wanted to do.

As he finished speaking that morning there was only dead silence. Although he felt liberated that morning, he knew he had just sacrificed his only means to earn a living for his family.

The next morning their head deacon and one of their more prominent church leaders walked into his office. He was prepared to hear the worst, but he was informed that they wanted him to stay on until the church could find a new pastor. It was what he had expected and he was honestly a little relieved since it gave him a paycheck while he tried to find another job.

A month went by and during that time there didn't seem to be any progress made in hiring a new pastor. Their congregation just didn't seem to like any of the candidates. Another month went by and still no progress. During this waiting period he began to share sermons that explained his newfound convictions regarding what the Biblical Church should look like. Week after week he shared as much as he dared with his congregation, careful not to provoke them, but simply to share from God's Word the things he had become convinced of over the last few months.

Finally one morning he was sitting in his office when the same head deacon and church leader walked into his office again. He knew his time was up. What he heard next shocked him to his very core. They told him that the church had voted and they wanted him to stay on. They told him they couldn't promise what would happen, but the people in the church had been convicted and moved by his sermons. For the time being they wanted to try and walk this new path alongside him.

Even though he had communicated his intentions to find another source of employment, the church decided to continue to pay his salary. That was five years ago. These days his role has changed. He is more of a discussion leader. Their services are more informal. Everyone is allowed to participate. As their pastor his time is largely spent leading discussions on Sunday mornings and ministering to people around town, wherever God directs him. He rarely invites any of the people he serves to attend his church because he doesn't want them to think that's his goal. He simply wants them to see Jesus.

Today the church is active in the surrounding neighborhoods. They actively serve others and take time to love people. They don't invite them to church. They just demonstrate the love of Christ to them.

When another friend recently spoke to this pastor about wanting to start a house church in his home, this pastor gladly referred a few people from his congregation to come alongside him.

The fact that I'm blogging about this person is only possible because I have agreed to honor his wishes to remain anonymous. Much of it wasn't even written by me, but by another friend who sent me an email about this man's story. Once we convinced this pastor that his story was certain to inspire many other pastors who were in the same boat as he once was, he agreed to allow us to share his story. By his request we have withheld his name, the name of his church, and even the name of the State in which he lives.

I found his story encouraging. Hope you do as well.

Peace,
Keith
www.KeithGiles.com

**
MUST READ THIS
by Lionel Woods
An excellent post on the difference between being right and being loving. Or something like that...
HERE

CHRISTIANITY OR PAULIANITY?
by Brant Hansen
Another one of those "I wish I'd written that" articles by the always amazing Brant Hansen.
HERE

[END TRANSMISSION]

BUSINESS AS USUAL?

2009-02-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]
Article #178

BUSINESS AS USUAL?
by Keith Giles

On Tuesday of this week I received an email from someone who had a question for me regarding the mounting debt issues at their church.

The email read:

"Our church is in debt. We owe the bank thousands. We now need the debt to function. We have become dependent on it. My spouse challenged the finance person, in private, about this and got no where. We suggested we stop doing stuff and paying so many people to run the church. These suggestions feel on deaf ears."

Now, my perspective may be different than most in this situation, but since the question has been asked, and since I believe that many other Churches will soon find themselves in the same boat very soon, I wanted to take the time and respond here on the [Subversive Underground] newsletter.

For a bit of background on my personal situation, let me make it clear that my wife and I have fairly radical views when it comes to the Church, and especially when it comes to church finances, offerings and tithes. For our family, it is our conviction that the offering belongs to the poor and not to the Church to spend on herself and her own comforts. This is why, 3 years ago, we left our on-staff, paid pastoral positions and started a house church where 100% of all offerings could go to the poor in our community. I do not take a salary. We use every penny received in our basket to buy groceries for needy families and to help people in need.

However, many churches, if not most, do not operate in this way. Most churches in America today are operating as a business. Because of this, these churches, like every single other business, are suffering financially and facing economic hardships that force many to make difficult decisions about staff, expenses and programs.

Like every other business, Churches around the nation are laying off workers, cutting back on programs and down-sizing to make it through these uncertain economic times.

Could it be that God might be allowing the Church as we know it to go out of business so that she can realize that He has never intended her to operate as a business in the first place?

Most Christians today cannot imagine Church without a paid professional clergy, a large building, a state-of-the-art sound system, and programs for youth and children. However, the historical evidence is that people have been operating without these things for literal centuries. These churches have been making disciples and preaching the Gospel and serving the poor and worshipping Jesus just fine, thank you. All without a building, a paid professional clergy, or programs or a thousand dollar sound system. Seriously.

Furthermore, the New Testament tells us that Jesus refers to His Church as a Family, a Body, an Organism and a Bride. He never treats her as a business and, in my opinion, the Scriptures reveal a very different DNA for Church than we've adopted here in the West.

One pastor friend recently shared that he had approached his board of directors at his church about not continuing to take a salary for his services. He wanted to take a job in the real world and not be a burden to the Body financially. This, I thought, was a wonderful idea. However, they wouldn't allow him to work for free or to take his salary elsewhere. This response puzzles me in many ways, but sadly, most cannot conceive of running the Church in any other way than as a business.

Over the last few years I have met three different pastors, here in California, who have found it necessary to let go of their church building and their paid staff due to financial hardships. In each case, these pastors made the decision to re-organize as a series of house churches. All of them have since discovered the joy and the freedom of "Being the Church" rather than asking their people to attend one. None of them would ever go back. None of them would have taken the step towards House Church if their bank accounts were bursting either.

Now that they have made the leap towards organic forms of "being Church" these three pastors have also discovered that, instead of shrinking in size, they are growing, in maturity and in numbers. Instead of hurting for money they cannot help but generate money, because they have little to no expenses. Instead of spending thousands of dollars a month on utilities and bills, they now spend hundreds of hours in community and in fellowship with one another and have discovered what it means to really be the Family of God.

Our house church, The Mission, has been together for just over 3 years now. I have been very blessed to grow alongside others who share our passion for living outward-focused lives of love. My family has been blessed to open our home and discover true Koinonia fellowship and community with people who have a sincere desire to follow Jesus. We've all been blessed to encourage one another in our faith and to spur one another on to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do.

We've been blessed to share our finances with one another, and with those we encounter in the community, who are in need. We've been amazed to connect every dollar we give with actual people whose lives are blesssed because of what we share.

Of course, this is no way to run a business, and that's the whole point. Our passionate desire is to live our faith and share what we have been given without allowing profits or corporate strategy or ROI to muddy the waters.

Perhaps God has other reasons for allowing financial pressures to put the Church out of business? Perhaps our economy will rebound soon and all of this will go away? Who knows?

I just cannot help to see God at work in all of this, especially when I hear joyful reports of pastors who are seeing growth and maturity in their church as the walls come down and the people discover what it means to be the Church they were always meant to be.

My hope and prayer is that the people of God here in America would really begin to fully understand what it means to operate as a family, and to share what they have, and to embrace one another, and the poor, no matter what the cost.

Peace,
Keith
**

[END TRANSMISSION]

THE CULT OF CHRISTIAN PERSONALITY

2009-02-21T16:05:00.001-08:00

[Subversive Underground]
Article #177

The Cult of Christian Personality
by Keith Giles

"For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." - 1 Cor 3:4-9

One thing that concerns me was I see this growing house church movement flourish is the celebrity effect.

When I first stepped into this there were a few books out there to help me get my bearings and for those books, and to those authors, I am grateful. Some of them even made themselves available to me and those who were local even took time to meet me for coffee.

Now I see us selling books on organic church that are topping best-seller lists, and our annual house church conferences are selling out early (better get your tickets now before they're all sold out), and our spokesmen and women are now becoming minor Christian Celebrities.

I suppose I fear that, if we're not very intentional about all of this, we risk becoming the thing we're raging against.

I was reminded of this when reading Lionel Wood's excellent interview with author and house church leader Jon Zens over on his blog this week. Zens urged those who are new to the movement to remain humble to not allow people to cluster around them.

If we really believe in this peer-led, leaderless concept of "being Church", and if we really are convinced that God's Spirit is active in each of us just the same, then I would love to see us model something different at the highest levels of our movement...something really unique and refreshingly inclusive.

Each of us can also check our own hearts and do our best to avoid hero worship and the fan-club mentality around our favorite author or speaker or blogger.

We would do well to heed our own advice, and the commands of Jesus when he instructed his disciples:

"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."- Matthew 23:8-12

If we put our hope and our faith in men, they will let us down. They are all as weak and as fickle as we are. None of us is righteous. No, not one.

Instead, let us place our hope and our eyes on Christ alone. Let us consider one another equals, and brothers, and let us not exalt one over the other in the Body of Christ.

Peace,
Keith
www.KeithGiles.com

THE HUMAN TEMPLE

2009-02-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

Article 176-
"The Human Temple" by Keith Giles

"In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD', and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts." – Jeremiah 3:16-17

In this passage from Jeremiah, God speaks of a time that is coming when no one will speak the name of the ark of the covenant, nor will it be remembered or missed or rebuilt. Why? How? What could possiby bring such a thing to pass?

The ark of the covenant was the place where the Holy Presence of God rested. Behind the thick veil of the tabernacle, and within the temple in Jerusalem, it was placed. Only the priest could enter in at specific times to offer the sacrifice for God’s people. No one else was permitted to stand before the ark of the covenant, and even the priest who stood near it was in danger of falling dead if he failed to deal with his own sin accordingly.

Yet, God tells us that the day is coming when the ark, and all it represents will be forgotten, and never remembered or spoken of again among God's people.

This is the significance of the tearing of the veil at the crucifixion. Because of the finished work of Christ upon the cross, the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant sat was suddenly wide open to any who would receive Christ and allow Him to enter in and dwell (tabernacle) with them.

In 1 Chronicles 28:2, we read, "King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it."

The ark was considered the footstool of God, the place where His presence rested.

However, God clearly says in Isaiah 66:1 - "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?"

God's response to David regarding the need to build Him a temple is:

"I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" - 2 Sam 7:5-7

Clearly, God never asked for a temple to be built for His presence. He wants to be "the God who is with us", Emmanuel. Not kept in a structure built by human hands.
Yet, we continually insist upon building great structures and temples for God.

In Daniel 2:44-45, King Nebuchadnezzar's dream about the future is interpreted for us:

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces."

This prophecy reveals that God's Kingdom will be established, first as a small stone, cut from the rock "but not by human hands" and that it will grow to destroy every earthly kingdom and it will "never be destroyed" but "it will itself endure forever."

Jesus came as a stone, a small child that grew and became "the stone that the builders rejected" (Psalm 118:22). The Gospel that Jesus came preaching was about God's Kingdom, and Jesus gave rise to a nation of people who were once not a people, but through Him would become a "chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God," who "were once not a people but (who) now (were) the people of God." - (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The prophecy of Jeremiah is in harmony with God's promise to David; that God Himself would build the house of God, and that this new temple would be one "not made by human hands" but made up of "living stones (who) are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:5

The Temple God has always dreamed of is the one He Himself is building. It is a building of living stones, it is a spiritual house. His resting place is within the human heart.

As Dr. G.K. Beale writes, concerning the Jeremiah passage:

"The reason the ark in the temple is not remembered is that a greater temple than the more physical one will encompass no only all of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 3:17) but the entire world. This future temple will be so incomparably greater than the former that God’s people will not even "remember it nor shall they miss it" (Jeremiah 3:16). Furthermore, a physical ark within a small temple will "not be made again" because everything to which it pointed has been realized.

In this light, the verse in Jeremiah 3:16 is affirming that once the greater glory of the eschatological temple comes, one will not focus on the lesser glory of the earlier temple, much less should one ever desire to rebuild it."
-(From the book, “The Temple and the Church’s Mission”, page 140, InterVarsity Press)

As Jesus said, "I tell you that one greater than the temple is here." (Matt 12:6) and when Jesus had fulfilled the role of the High Priest and offered himself as the final Lamb of God, and the veil in the Temple was ripped in half, from top to bottom, He made a way for us, the people of God, to become the new temple, not made with human hands, but spreading out over the whole earth, and living as the new priesthood of believers, to make known His Glory among the nations.

We do not need a temple because we are the temple. We do not need a priest, or a pastor, because we are all priests of God, empowered and filled by His Holy Spirit. We do not need an animal sacrifice to be made, because He was our final blood sacrifice, and we are now the living sacrifice, daily dying to ourselves and carrying our cross to follow Him.

Let us not return to the rubble and rebuild the man-made temple. Let us not take up needle and thread and repair the veil that was torn. Let us not commission special priests and clergy who will stand before God in our place.

Our identity, as followers of Jesus, runs deeper than brick and mortar. It transcends a building. It goes beyond ceremony. Our identity as disciples of Christ is defined by a relationship between a Loving God, and a Living Temple made of people who love God, and love others.

-kg
**

[END TRANSMISSION]

SEVEN MISTAKES EVERY CHURCH SHOULD AVOID

2009-02-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

Article # 175

Seven Mistakes Every Church Should Avoid
by Keith Giles

1) Embracing the building - Regardless of the fact that the New Testament emphasizes a Church made "not by human hands" but composed of people (who are themselves the Temple of the Holy Spirit), many churches in America today get very distracted by the need for a building. In fact, most christians couldn't imagine the possibility of church without one.

More on this topic HERE

2) Misrepresenting the tithe - Nearly everyone who finds out we lead a house church asks me if we at least make sure everyone tithes. When I say we don't they usually begin to cock their heads to one side and look at me funny. However, the Biblical mandate for tithing is purely an Old Testament concept intended to maintain the Jewsish Temple system and support the Levitical Priesthood. The New Testament church neither taught it, nor practiced it. In fact, the Christian Church didn't mandate a tithe until the 7th Century. Imagine, over 700 years with no tithe? How could that be? To begin with, offerings in the early, New Testament church were voluntary and freely given out of love. In fact, most gave more than a tithe, they sold everything they had and shared it with those around them who had need. Still, this offering wasn't a law or a command of the Church, it was freely shared out of love. Tertullian, in his "Apology" (2nd Century) affirms that no offering was taken out of compulsion but says:

"Even if there is a treasury of a sort, it is not made up of money paid in initiation fees, as if religion were a matter of contract. Every man once a month brings some modest contribution- or whatever he wishes, and only if he does wish, and if he can; for nobody is compelled; it is a voluntary offering…to feed the poor and to bury them, for boys and girls who lack property and parents, and then for slaves grown old." (Read the entire quote HERE )

Under Constantine, the clergy were paid for their services (for the first time in Church history), but that payment was provided by the Roman Government, not by the Christians themselves.

3) Ignoring the poor - There are over 2,000 verses of scripture in the Bible about God's heart for the poor and His expectation that we, the people of God, should also love and bless their poor among us. The strongest verse, in my opinion, comes in Matthew 25 where Jesus tells us that, at the Judgment, He Himself will separate the sheep and the goats based on how much they cared for the poor and the outcast they encountered in their life. A few other verses include:

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."
- Deut. 15:11

"All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." (Paul being sent out as the first missionary by Peter, James and John in Galatians 2:10)

God is speaking of King Josiah and says: "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" (Jeremiah 22:16)

Much more on this subject HERE

4) Over-emphasizing the role of the pastor - Contrary to popular opinion, and American culture, the pastor was not the head of the church in the New Testament. The word "Pastor" only appears once and none of the epistles to the churches are addressed to the pastors, they are addressed to the church; the people themselves.

In the New Testament Church, no one could point to a single man and say, "There is my Pastor" even as none of them could say, "There is my priest". Why? Because everyone understood from Peter, Paul and the rest of the Apostles that THEY THEMSELVES were the Priesthood.

No Christian today would think it was Biblical to start offering lambs for sacrifice as part of Sunday morning worship, would they? Why not? Because Christ fulfilled that upon the cross and became the sacrificial lamb once and for all. Why then do we so easily embrace a priest and a temple? Didn't Jesus offer the sacrifice as our High Priest? Didn't Paul and Peter tell us that we were the Temple of the Holy Spirit?

Certainly, the temple and the priesthood and the sacrifice are all important to the worship of God, however in the New Testament Christian Church the people themselves are the temple, the priesthood and the daily sacrifice.

More on this hot topic HERE

5) Yearning for political power - Nothing underscores the frustration of the American Church more than the current lust for political influence and power. Because "Plan A" has failed to create the result we desired, we have now reverted to "Plan B" which is to attempt to Christianize the society around us and to legislate our Christian values.

The New Testament Christians lived under an oppressive pagan government. They were killed for sport and persecuted horribly. Instead of attempting to reform their government, they obeyed Jesus and loved their oppressors. They did not take up the sword and fight back. They did not verbally abuse the pagans for their sinful lifestyle. They did not attempt to form a coalition or a lobby group to force legislation that aligned with their views. Instead, they simply loved the people around them, shared all that they had with others and, in time, they turned the world upside down by imitating Christ Jesus our Lord.

We should do the same.

More on this topic HERE and HERE

6) Business-minded ecclesiology - Nothing has gotten me in more trouble than this topic, but it is something I feel passionate about. The New Testament never refers to the Church as a business. That's not my opinion, it's just the plain fact of the matter. The Church is described as a Body, a Bride, a Family, a Spiritual House, and an Organism where Christ is the head.

More on this HERE

7) Conversion-focus instead of disciple-making - So many Christian Churches today are focused on making converts with elaborate Easter dramas and Christmas Pageants and Outreach events that gather large crowds, ask for a show of hands from those who do not wish to burn in hell forever. Ask them to repeat a prayer and then count raised hands of those who repeated it.

One Church I visited recently did this exactly and cheered on Sunday morning that 500 people had surrendered their lives to Christ. This same church spent over $40,000 just to produce this event. Yet absolutely zero time, money, energy or thought was placed into making disciples of those 500 people.

For me, and I believe for those who follow Jesus, conversion isn't the touchdown, it's the whistle that starts the game. Jesus commanded us to go and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and to make disciples and to teach them to obey all that He commanded. He didn't tell us to go out and make converts and count hands.

My sincere prayer and hope is that every Christian Church in America would repent of these seven failures and return to a more Biblical, New Testament form of Christian life.

Many of these practices above involve repairing the veil that was torn at the crucifixion and returning to an Old Testament form of religious worship where an elected priesthood offers spiritual guidance within an elaborate temple on behalf of the common people.

This is why the church we read about in the New Testament bears little to no resemblace to the church on the street corner, or the one we attend.

Can we hope to return to a Christianity based on freedom? Can we hope for the day that every believer is a priest of God? Can we pray that followers of Jesus begin to embrace the idea that they are actually the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that they are the ambassadors of Christ to the world?

Yes, we can hope, and we can pray.

And I do...

Peace,
Keith

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

And They'll Know We Are Christians

2009-01-31T09:17:00.000-08:00

[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]
Article # 174

And They'll Know We Are Christians
by Keith Giles

"If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. - 1 Cor 6:1-7

The church in Corinth was rebuked by Paul for a litany of failures. They had failed to love one another, they tolerated gross sexual misconduct in their fellowship, and they abused the Lord's Supper table.

In the passage above, Paul is rebuking them for taking one another to court and airing their disagreements publicly. His appeal to them is to consider their witness to the world around them, and to prefer being wronged and mistreated over tarnishing the Gospel of love and peace.

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you." - JESUS (Matthew 18:5)

Over the last year I have been saddened to see Christians spew hatred and bitterness towards one another on public forums like Facebook, blogs and message boards. One brother in Christ recently called me a swine on my Facebook page simply because I suggested he read something for himself rather than accept a cut and paste quotation at face value. My attempts to respond in love were rebuffed with more name-calling and public attack. This is not the first time I've been the target of such venomous dialog, obviously, but the ongoing, relentless stream of hatred from brother to brother has started to wear me down.

"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment." - JESUS (Matthew 5:22)

Can we not see what this sort of behavior is doing to the Bride? Can we not pause for a moment and consider how our hateful words are damaging the Gospel, our witness, and especially, our own brothers and sisters in Christ?

I would rather be wronged, and wrong, than to continue this sort of online dialog any further. We, as ambassadors of Christ must return to a posture of humility and respond in love to anyone and everyone (whether online or in person) for the sake of Christ and in obedience to our Lord's command to be known by our love.

There are several people who I know read these words of mine and feel that I have been the one who is guilty of speaking hateful words here, and in my articles about God's design for His Church. Let me respond to this in advance by saying that my motivation for writing about the church has always been to share what I've learned with others. I will confess that at times I have intentionally crafted a headline or a paragraph to provoke a response, but my hope was to provoke a response which was thoughtful, not hateful or angry.

For those who have read my articles and felt offended I sincerely apologize. My desire is to teach my brothers and sisters in Christ (whom I love) about the exciting things I am learning about God's plan for His Church and how the New Testament reveals something many of us (including myself for many years) have missed.

I have done my best to take Scripture at face value and study and teach what it says to anyone who will listen. My aim has not been to offend or to attack or to harm anyone. I have also done my best, both in the articles and in my response to detractors, to avoid insult and refrain from name-calling. If anyone can show me where I have failed at this I will respond to their rebuke and repent publicly.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." - JESUS (Matthew 5:23-24)

In the last several days I have also attempted, to the best of my ability, to make peace with those who have something against me. Some have responded favorably to my attempts to make peace, others have not, and some have simply ignored me.

My hope is to communicate the truth without harming anyone. I pray that I can shed far more light than heat and, in the future, I will go out of my way to avoid public arguments on this blog, or in response to my articles. If a brother or sister in Christ begins to publicly insult me or to become abusive I will end the conversation publicly and seek reconciliation privately.

I do understand that a discussion of ecclesiology can be difficult between brothers in Christ. Last week I went to lunch with my dear friend Bill and over lunch we had a spirited discussion of this very issue. He had many of the same questions and objections that many others have brought up and we had a very stimulating dialog together. Afterwards, Bill and I prayed for one another, blessed one another, embraced one another and made plans to meet together again soon.

Therefore, I know it is possible for brothers to discuss these issues without resorting to bitterness or name-calling or personal attacks. It is possible if we do our best not to forget that we love one another and that we are part of God's Family.

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" - Psalm 133:1

Peace,
Keith

**

ARTICLES TO SHARE:
LET'S JUDGE EVERYBODY
by Brant Hansen

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

2009-01-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]
ARTICLE # 174

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
by Keith Giles

"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." - 1 Peter 2:13-17

More and more I find that there is a blurred line in American Christianity between "The American Way" and "The Kingdom of God".

The Kingdom of God and the American Dream are not the same thing, and in fact, they are two opposing viewpoints which are in conflict on many levels.

The American Dream is founded on the concept of every person's right to the pursuit of happiness. Whatever you can imagine would make you happy you are free to pursue it with all your heart. That's your right.

The Kingdom of God is founded on the concept of laying down your life, your idea of what will make you happy, in favor of receiving what Jesus knows will really make you happy.

Following Jesus involves laying down your life and giving up your rights. It means full and complete submission to God because you recognize that His perfect will for your life is a million times better than anything you could ever dream up, or pursue, on your own.

Jesus didn't ever instruct any of his disciples to fight for their God-given, "Inalienable Rights", and neither did Paul the Apostle. In fact, they both encouraged their disciples to live humble lives, serving others and not demanding more because they deserved more. Paul even specifically told those followers of Christ who were slaves to remain slaves, even if they were being mistreated.

Historically, the early Christians didn't fight for their rights as citizens, they took it on the chin, and in the Lion's den, and in the arena. They literally would rather die than to take another person's life.

Simply put, they followed their Lord and Savior, Jesus and they followed His example of non-violence and submissive service to those who hated and mistreated them. Does that sound like the American Dream to you?

STAY FOCUSED
We cannot afford to become distracted by nationalism or led astray by politics.

As followers of Jesus, He must be our one and only priority and influence. This is what it means to make Jesus our Lord.

As Christian pastor and activist Jim Wallis has said, "God is not a Republican or a Democrat. God is not partisan. God is not ideologically committed to our Left or Right. God's politics challenges all of our politics. It includes the people our politics regularly leave out; the poor and the vulnerable. That's God's politics."

OUR WITNESS
It would have been virtually impossible for an unbeliever living in those first three hundred years of Church History to ever reject Christianity on the grounds that it lacked compassionate people or failed to teach loving kindness.

In fact, we have testimony from many of the most hostile pagans who lived during the first three hundred years of Christianity who were put to shame because of the overwhelming generosity of the Church. Julian, the Apostate wrote of this frustrating situation when he said, "..The godless Galileans feed not only their poor, but ours also."

Christian philosopher Aristides (125 AD) wrote about the radical charity of the early Church also, recording the fact that, "…if there is among them a man that is poor and needy and they have not an abundance of necessities, they fast for three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food."

For a Christian, killing our enemies is not acceptable. If being a good American citizen means you need to cheer on a war that kills innocent people then you must lay aside your Christianity.

If being a faithful member of a political party trumps over 2,000 verses in the word of God about caring for the poor, then you need to make a choice.

A few years ago I had an opportunity to speak to Jim Wallis on this very subject and his response has stayed with me ever since. He said, "The Church today is more American than Christian. The Kingdom of God is not the same as the American Empire. When we are more American than Christian we confuse the meaning of the Body of Christ with any nation state. This notion of the Church as a counter-cultural movement is Biblically obvious. There's no doubt about that. We're in the world to transform the world for the sake of this new order that has come in Jesus Christ. If Jesus' vision of the Kingdom was so threatening, why is our vision of the Kingdom so safe?"

The Gospel of the Kingdom is not the American Dream.

It saddens me to see Christians more passionate about their political party than they are about the Kingdom of God.

Conversatio Morem!
(Death to the status quo/Constant Conversion)

-kg
**
26 ARTICLES REMAINING
**

[END TRANSMISSION]

And The Winner Is...

2009-01-16T17:50:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

And The Winner Is...
by Keith Giles

Spiritual epiphanies can sometimes come from the most unexpected sources. For example, after watching the Golden Globe awards last weekend I realized that I am a Pharisee at heart.

I've known for quite a while that my "Love Language" includes Words of Affirmation, so in a way it really all makes sense. But as I sat watching Steven Spielberg tell stories about filming the demolition of his Lionel train set I realized how much I crave recognition. In my heart of hearts I really do want people to honor me and give me awards.

I confess that there are times when I wish people would celebrate my great achievements (whatever they might be) and beg me for my expert opinion. On the positive side, my desire for words of praise does inspire me to work hard and strive for excellence in my work, but I must admit that there is still a part of me that does things so that people will see it and take note of my artistry.

That's when I realized that I am, at heart, a Pharisee.

Jesus pulled his disciples aside and made a point of discouraging the sort of behavior I am confessing to you now.

""Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matt 6:1-4

So, I am condemned by my own sinful heart. I admit I carry the gene for pride and I struggle with selfishness. However I also realized something else this week as I continued to reflect on this disease of mine. Do you want to know what it is?

I realized that, for a long time now, I have thought of this sort of behavior as being a Pharisee. However, I now realize that this behavior is actually just part of being a human.

My humanity is what makes me selfish, and sinful, and hopelessly pathetic, not my "Pharisee-ness" (whatever that might be).

Realizations like these keep me humble and small. I cannot escape the truth. I must admit that I am not an expert on anything except sin and pride and selfishness. Without God, I am worthless and hopeless.

To the degree that I am in touch with my humanity, my weakness, my failure, I can appreciate the wonder and the majesty of God's amazing love and grace.

So, from one human to another, please join me as I kneel on the ground and submit myself to our awesome savior and king. He alone is good. He alone is worthy of praise and recognition.

"And now I know the secret that only losers keep, and I wallow in the hopeful tears that every finder weeps."

-kg

[END TRANSMISSION]

I'M BRINGING JESUS BACK

2009-01-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

I'm Bringing Jesus Back
(with apologies to Justin Timberlake)
by Keith Giles

Let us stop making Jesus in our own image. Let us embrace the Jesus who washed feet, and turned the other cheek, and forgave his torturers. Let us lay aside the false "Kick Ass Jesus" who could beat us bloody in a full-contact Ultimate Fighting Tournament (See Mark Driscoll quotes).

Let us put away the cash-minded, wealth-obsessed Jesus who wants us to be rich and embrace the Jesus who urged his followers to sell everything in order to get the Kingdom.

Let us burn our "Wild At Heart" books with the gun-slinging, bare-knuckled adventurer Jesus and go back to the Red Letter Jesus of the Gospels who was "Mild At Heart" and loved people until it killed him.

Let us lay aside the Republican Jesus who seeks to give us political power instead of leading us to love our actual neighbors, no matter who they vote for.

We need to stop making the version of Jesus we are more comfortable with and accept the Jesus who makes us uncomfortable and asks us to love and forgive and share like no one has ever seen before.

Those who mock Jesus for turning the other cheek have never realized how much strength and courage it takes to actually fight your own flesh and allow Jesus to crucify your ego for the sake of others.

I'm bringing Jesus back. Who wants to join me?

-kg

"May the tame God of relevance be replaced by the God whose very presence shatters our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person within. The Church needs to become a gloriously dangerous place where nothing is safe in God's presence except us. Nothing-including our plans, our agendas, our priorities, our politics, our money, our security, our comfort, our possessions, our needs."
- Mike Yaconelli

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

PEACE ON EARTH

2009-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

Article # 167

Peace on Earth
by Keith Giles

I know a great many Christians today who are full of anguish and frustration as they survey what's occuring in our world today.

A Democrat has been elected president of the United States. Gay marriage has been legalized and currently pending review by the Supreme Court in California. Israel has retaliated against Palestine with a devastating military response leaving hundreds dead in Gaza.

As a result I hear these Christians express varying degrees of emotion. Some cheer when they hear that Israel has blown up entire city blocks in response to rocket attacks by Hamas. Some wring their hands in anguish over Obama in fear that he will turn our nation into an Islamic state and introduce a socialistic government. Others wag their heads over the gay marriage issue and say, "Please Lord, just come back soon and judge this Nation and take me to heaven."

These responses are quite far away from what the Word of God instructs.

When I read Romans, chapter 9, starting in verse 2, I hear the heart of Paul the Apostle as he looks upon a nation that has turned its back on God and rejected His Gospel and their Messiah. He does not call for God to come down and judge them and to take him home to Glory. Intead, his prayer is the exact polar opposite. He says:

"I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." - Romans 9:2-5

Paul actually desires for God to judge himself so that his Nation might be saved. He doesn't ask God to save himself and judge those hard-hearted sinners. He is so filled with love and compassion for these hateful, stubborn people that he is willing in his heart to loose his own eternal salvation in order to see them come to Christ.

Where are the Christian leaders of today who are expressing a similar heart for the lost? Why are Christian TV and Radio stations filled with the refrain "Come soon Lord and judge this evil Nation and take your Bride home to be with you."?

It's no secret that God's people have forgotten to be known for their love. It's no secret that the Church in America is known more for what she is against that what she is for.

Our hope is in God alone. He is still in control of time and history. The Gospel of the Kingdom is our salvation.

God will not hold the sinners accountable for the judgment our nation receives. He will hold us responsible.

"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Our response to the distress in our world is to humble ourselves and pray and confess our own sins to God and cry out for people to be healed and saved - not judged and condemned.

In I John 2:6 it says, "Whoever claims to be in Him must walk as Jesus did."

This means that we, as representatives of God's Kingdom and as followers of Christ, are called to respond as Jesus would respond.

We are called to be peaceful and peace loving. Why are there no Christian churches, schools or universities teaching courses in peace making? Why isn't this one of our primary values? "Blessed are the peace makers for they will be called the sons of God" - Jesus, (Matthew 5:9)

As those who walk as Jesus did we are called to be forgiving. Jesus forgave those who were in the act of murdering him saying "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Most of us have never had to forgive someone for attempted murder, and yet we find forgiving those who have insulted us or hurt our feelings difficult, even though we have freely received forgiveness for our sins - sins which put Christ on the cross in our place.

We are called to humble ourselves as Jesus did. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant..." - Phil 2:6-7

We are called to be like Jesus and to serve those around us in love. Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist and took on the role of a slave and washed the feet of His disciples. Then he instruced them, and us, to do the same. "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you....Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them." - John 13:14-17

We are also called to touch the poor and the needy around us. Jesus told us that whatever we did for the least of these was the same as doing it to Him. (See Matthew 25:35-46)

When it comes to people suffering in war, whether at the hands of Israel, or America, or anyone, our response as followers of Christ should be to weep and to pray for peace. We are called by our Lord and Savior to be peace makers, not war mongers. Peace is our goal. Reconciliation is our ministry.

When it comes to issues like Gay Marriage, let us remember that we're all sinners and we all need the same Jesus and the same mercy and grace. Let us be dispensers of grace, mercy and love, not hate, judgment and bitterness. God is still in control and our calling is still to be people who are filled with the radical love of God.

Peace,
Keith
www.KeithGiles.com

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

THE TIME IS NOW

2008-12-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

THE TIME IS NOW
by Keith Giles

What is Subversive?

It’s a systematic overthrow of one system or power by those working from within. Jesus said the Kingdom of God was immediately accessible to all who follow Him. This is the Gospel message. This is subversive.

Since this is the final [Subversive Underground] for 2008 I thought I'd take a moment to bring everyone up to speed about the newsletter and provide a bit of background on things, as well as offer up a few hints about what's in store for 2009.

This is the 166th edition of my weekly e-newsletter. Some of you on this e-newsletter subscription have been here from the beginning, some of you have only recently jumped on board. There are approximately 276 of you on the Underground signal. Welcome.

THIS NEWSLETTER
My reason for starting this e-newsletter in December of 2005 was so that I could create an audience for my various articles on faith, discipleship, social justice, spiritual transformation and missional life.

For me, all those things are wrapped up into one interconnected glob. I can't think of discipleship to Jesus without confronting the need to love and serve the poor, and this is part of my ongoing spiritual formation and an attempt at an outward-focused life.

This newsletter also provides me with a reason to write something every single week. I hope it has been a blessing to you in your walk with Christ.

WHAT'S NEXT?
A few months ago I felt like God asked me a question: "What would you do if you didn't write the Subversive Underground each week?"

It was a question that I am still grappling with. As I've struggled to answer this question one thing that has intrigued me has been the idea of ending this newsletter at the 200th issue which will be in August of 2009.

What happens after that? I don't know. Will these weekly newsletters end completely or will they take on a new focus and direction? Again, I am not yet sure.

This newsletter and my main blog have always been about inspiring others to become subversive. Largely I have attempted to do this by writing about my own attempts at being subversive, freely sharing ideas, provoking the comfortable, asking hard questions and stirring up the waters as much as possible.

I've done my best these last three years to challenge the status quo and to encourage you to do the same. What I don't know is if I've been successful in this or not.

I've written a series of articles about how to start a ministry to the poor in your community, but I have no idea if anyone actually took these ideas to heart or implemented any of them.

I've written at length about our journey into house church, but only a handful of you have written to me about your own desire to do the same. For those who have I am blessed beyond words to hear your stories and to encourage you on your way. Thank you for allowing me cheer you on.

I've written about the importance of standing against the false security of the Christian Subculture but I have no idea how many of you have actually taken steps to do this in your own life.

For the last 3 years I've written an article each week to inspire and encourage Christians to resist the culture, be the Church and touch the poor, but has it done any good? I have no clue.

As I've considered what to do after the 200th article, one possibility I've entertained has been to shift my focus from sharing what I've been doing to live a subversive life and start reporting on others, perhaps even on your attempts, to live a subversive life. Maybe reading about how others are being subversive in their own community and workplace will inspire the rest of us to step out and make a difference?

Another idea is to write articles aimed at those who do not share our faith. Instead of writing to inspire the Church to be the Church, maybe I could write articles to engage the culture directly and find avenues for addressing Christianity in contemporary America by speaking to those who oppose or misunderstand our faith?

Honestly, I still don't know what to do. Perhaps when we reach the 200th article in August of '09 I will simply decide to turn out the lights on this weekly newsletter and take some time off to listen to God's voice?

It's taken me 3 years to build this list up to over 275 subscribers. It's such an honor and a blessing for me to be able to speak to a group of people like this via the Internet about the Gospel of the Kingdom, Justice, Discipleship to Jesus and the Church. The idea of wadding it all up into a ball and tossing it away is very frightening for me, and yet, at the same time, it's also very exciting. Letting go of this could actually be the best thing possible in the economy of the Kingdom.

As much as I love telling my stories about being subversive, none of it means anything if you, the reader, doesn't also decide to live your life outside the box and engage your culture in a subversive way with the tangible, living power of Christ.

We have to do more than intend to be subversive. We have to actually live our lives in such a way as to provoke action, inspire others and engage the poor. We have to become agents of change in a world desperate for an end to the status quo. Reading about it will not bring change. Thinking about it will not bring light. Talking about it will not make others thirsty for living water. We must be the change we hope to see in our world. We must fulfill our God-given calling to change our world, even our small part of it, so that the subversive Gospel of the Kingdom can take root and grow.

For the last 3 years now I have written an article a week to inspire you towards that end. Now I am asking each of you to discover your own calling. I am asking each of you to live a subversive life in your neighborhood. I am asking each of you to creatively use your talents to make people consider the Gospel message. I am asking you to take up the torch and run with it.

Will you start your own blog? Will you use your talent to engage the culture? Will you organize others to serve the poor? Will you take that step that you know God has been calling you to take?

Now is the time. We can't afford to just talk about it any longer.

For now I will continue to pray about what our next steps should be, but August is a long way away and I know that God still has a lot in store for each of us in the meantime.

Thanks so much for each of you who have faithfully read this newsletter and encouraged me over the last few years.

We're not finished yet.

Conversatio Morem!
-kg

**

FEEDACK:
I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can email me here:
"ELYSIANSKY" (at) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "COM"

**
MY GIFT TO YOU
My first two books are currently available for free download over at my main website and you can also purchase the actual print versions there too.

Happy New Year!

Peas (on Earth),

Keith

***

[END TRANSMISSION]

The Church of One Another

2008-12-19T13:51:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]
Issue # 165

The Church of One Another
by Keith Giles

As I've studied the New Testament Church one thing that overwhelms me is the fact that the Body itself was always encouraged to minister and serve everyone else within the Body.

In the book of Romans Paul exhorts the community of believers to:

"be devoted to one another" - Romans 12:10

"honor one another" - Romans 12:10

"live in harmony with one another" - Romans 12:16)

"love one another" - Romans 13:8

"edify one another" - Romans 14:19

"accept one another" - Romans 15:7

"instruct one another" - Romans 15:14

"greet one another" - Romans 16:16

What is also amazing is that Paul never instructs Pastors to do these things.

In the New Testament Church the ministry to the Body was done by and through the Body, and in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Todd Hunter recently said that "In the early church the Holy Spirit was not a controversial subject. It was simply the continued ministry of Jesus being released to the Church."

As we, the people of God, begin to embrace the notion of being a priesthood of believers, we can start to use our God-given gifts to bless and serve and instruct and edify "one another" for the Glory of God.

Perhaps part of what's wrong with our churches today is that we've shifted the "one another" aspect of Church life into a system where one man, or one team of people, is expected to perform all of these various functions alone. Clearly, this isn't the way God intended His Church to operate, and yet we've become complacent with a man-made system of church that allows many to opt out of ministry and sit back to be fed by the chosen few.

If we look through first and second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, and all the other new testament epistles we'll see a continuing list of "one anothers" where the Apostles spurred the people of God onward to be the Church that God always dreamed of.

I would echo that same encouragement to all of us today.

Let's become the Church that actively and enthusiastically embraces our calling to be the people who minister to, and love, one another.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth" - 1 John 3:18.

Amen.

-kg
**
Only 35 issues remain. What's after that?

We all find out on 8/28/09

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

UNREST

2008-12-13T22:35:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

UNREST
by Keith Giles

For the last several weeks I have struggled with an inner sense of unrest that I cannot quite shake or define. I'm not sure if it's related to my own personal "three year itch" or if it's something deeper, more psychological or even spiritual in nature.

Every three years something changes in my life. In the 15 years we've lived in California I have changed jobs approximately every 3 years. People who look at my resume can discern the pattern for themselves. It's nothing I've done of my own volition, but certainly God has established an almost circadian rhythm in my life where every three years I change jobs, or a door closes, or an opportunity arises.

Our house church, "The Mission" is in its 3rd year now. This makes me wonder if changes aren't around the corner, although I cannot anticipate what those changes, if any, might entail.

I also can't discern whether my sense of unrest is related to this or if it's something God is doing in me, or to me, or in spite of me.

Our house church is very strong. Everything continues as it always has, and people are continuing to grow and mature and learn to love one another as we move along. It's not a sense of dissatisfaction with any person or any aspect of the house church at all. Yet, it is a sort of dissatisfaction within myself that I cannot quite name.

This afternoon I had some time to myself to pray about this and allow God to search my heart on this matter. I tried to hear God's voice on this and trace the feelings of unrest to their source, but all I came up with was this- Maybe the empty feeling I have is God?

Maybe I've been looking for people, or experiences, or activities to feed my soul when I should have found my sustenance in Christ alone?

The more I meditated on this the more it seemed to resonate. In fact, it was the only thought that brought me any sense of hope or comfort or relief. The empty feeling inside me is God.

Or better yet, the emptiness I feel is the gaping hole where God longs to find His home and settle within.

I've been working hard lately to finish up my book about God's heart for His church and His vision from the beginning to have intimate fellowship with His people. I've marvelled at verse after verse where God promises that a day will come when no one will ever refer to the Ark of the Covenant again, or even remember it again, because all of creation itself will be the place where God dwells.

I've been astounded to see God's plan to tear down the Temple made with human hands in order to build for Himself a new temple made of people who love Him and embody His very Holy presence throughout the Earth.

Even as I've studied and pondered and considered these amazing things, God has been whispering to me in a deeper, almost imperceptable voice - "I am here"

If there's one thing I've learned over the last few years it's that there's a great difference between knowing something is true in God's word with your mind and knowing that something is true with your life.

Practicing the astounding truth of God in your actual life is so much more amazing than knowing that same truth in your head.

Now that I know these things, I know that I will be blessed if I do them, and live them, and declare that they are true by the way I put them into practice.

"Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?" - Isaiah 66:1-

The only cure for unrest is rest and I long for God to find His resting place in me.

Shalom.

-kg
**

THE END IS COMING. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

We'll all find out on 8/28/09

[END TRANSMISSION]

FOR THE RECORD

2008-12-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

FOR THE RECORD
by Keith Giles

I am the victim of my own convictions. I hold opinions that most do not agree with. I am often insulted and ridiculed for my positions and attitudes.

Do not feel sorry for me. I have made my own bed and so I must lie in it. I fully understand that if I write the things I write and if I say the things I believe that many will not like what I have to say. I say these things anyway.

Still, I do struggle within myself on many of these issues. It seems the more I learn about church history and the more I discover about God's Word the more painfully I suffer outside in the cold.

The other day I was having coffee with a friend and I told him that, in my opinion, I am a fundamentalist. The things I believe about Church and the Gospel and God's heart for the poor are the most foundational and Biblically supported views possible. For me it's everyone else who is "emerging" or "creative" in their practice of faith. Yet many look at me, and at our house church, as if we were the "new" form of Church. To me we are the most ancient and Biblically authentic form of Church possible.

My struggle comes mostly when I consider how many good friends and family members are still involved in traditional church. Not because I feel that they're wrong and need correcting, but because I don't want to damage my relationship with them because of my views. In other words, I hope that they will love me even if I don't agree with them.

Yesterday I had coffee with a local Presbyterian minister. He was writing a book on the emerging church and he wanted to interview someone who was doing the new "house church" thing. As we spoke together and shared our different viewpoints he said something to me that blessed me deeply. He said, "You and I have very different opinions about Ecclesiology. You think you're right and I think I'm right, but that shouldn't prevent us from being friends or loving one another as brothers in Christ."

I wish that everyone felt the same way as this man did. However, I am also cognizant that many who hold me in contempt do so because of the articles that I write. I suppose if I stopped being so vocal about my convictions they might accept me. Or if I kept quiet about what I've learned they might embrace me more as a brother in Christ and love me. Maybe. Maybe not.

As I have affirmed numerous times in this weekly newsletter, and on my main blog (www.KeithGiles.com) the traditional church is still a place where God's Kingdom is advanced, the Gospel is preached and lives are transformed by the Holy Spirit. Many who criticize my articles respond to me by itemizing for me all of the wonderful things that their traditional church is doing for the Kingdom. These are all awesome works of God and I take nothing away from the ways that these Churches are reaching out and using their resources for the good of others. I also have no contempt for pastors who have responded to God's call on their lives and serve faithfully seven days a week.

However, just because those churches and those pastors are filled with love for others and are motivated to share their resources with the poor and serve the Body faithfully (all very good things), says nothing about how much better their ministry could be if they empowered every believer to be a priest of God and allowed every member to fully use their spiritual gifting for the entire Body, and disposed of the professional clergy who is expected to do most of that work in their place.

Again, these are not my ideas. If they were I would fully expect everyone to dismiss me and turn away and have nothing more to do with me. However, these grand ideas are not my ideas. They are God's ideas. It was God who created Adam and Eve to walk in fullness of fellowship with Himself. It was God who spoke directly to the people of Israel out of the cloud. It was God who told Israel that He would be their King. It was God who told Isaiah and David that no man could build a house for Him, but that He would build a house for Himself and that it would be the heart of man.

It was Jesus who destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. It was Jesus who tore the veil of the Temple. It was Jesus who became the ultimate sacrifice so that no further blood sacrifice would be required.

Jesus made each of us His Holy Temple. Jesus called each of us to be priests of God. Jesus called each of us to become the daily, living sacrifice. Not me.

So, when I see us rebuilding the Temples, and I see us reconstituting a priesthood, and I see us returning to an Old Covenant system of tithes to pay for a place of worship and support a priestly hierarchy I cannot help but scream and cry and shout - "This is not what God wanted for His Church!"

Because it's not.

So, I will continue to speak and to shout and to cry and to write these messages to God's Church, for as many who will listen, that God's plan for His Church is something radically different and profoundly more astounding than anything mankind has dreamed up on its own over the last few thousand years.

God has a plan for His Church. It's a good plan. It's the best plan. It's the only plan that fully realizes His long-standing dream for His people to encounter Him personally and know Him intimately and relate to Him as a Father and to one another as brothers and sisters in the Family of God.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." - 1 Peter 2:9-10

-kg
**

THE END IS COMING. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

We'll all find out on 8/28/09

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

The Glorious Now

2008-11-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

The Glorious Now
by Keith Giles

What if you knew you only had a few months to live? Are there any people you'd call one last time to apologize to? Are there any places you'd travel to see before you passed away? What are the things you would do that you always intended to do but never got around to? Maybe you'd paint a picture or finish your novel? Maybe you'd teach your children a story, or take a vacation with those you love and soak in every last ounce of their presence while you could?

Wouldn't food taste more exquisite? Wouldn't laughter be deeper than before? Wouldn't color and sound and simple moments take on new significance?

Just holding a dear one's hands in your own would resonate with meaning. Just looking into the eyes of your children would bring you to tears. Just drawing a breath deep into your lungs and exhaling slowly would seem like drinking in the universe and exhaling your soul into the sky.

But what if you really only have one more week here on this Earth before you're gone? What if tomorrow you discover a lump, or get sick, or suffer a heart attack or a stroke? Do you know for certain how many days you have left upon this Earth?

None of us does, of course. So, we try not to dwell on the thought because it makes us uncomfortable to pause and listen to the clock over our head as it ticks down the remaining hours of our life. We are happier, more at ease, when we imagine ourselves to be invulnerable to the effects of entropy.

Yet, this is not the truth. We are not immortal. We are not immune to time. Death may have lost its sting, but death still retains its bite and every one of us alive this very moment will one day breathe our last.

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
- Psalm 90:12

When we face the reality of our own mortality and accept that we are finite and limited, it gives us freedom to love and to forgive and to share with glorious abandon.

If we really understand that nothing we have will come with us to the grave, then we can open our hands and share what we have with those in need.

If we truly understand that in a few days our time here will be over, we can freely forgive those who have offended us and set ourselves free to enjoy the time we have left on this Earth.

All things created by God have a beginning and all things created by God have an end. Our time here is limited. Every one of us will come to the moment when we know our life is done. What matters is that we accomplish what we have been placed here to accomplish. What matters is that we live today as if it were all we have to live.

Our focus should be, not on yesterday which is over and done, and not on tomorrow which may never come, but on this glorious gift of now we call "today" where we live by the grace of Almighty God to love and share and reflect His Glory.

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days
a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man's life is but a breath. Selah
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you." - Psalm 39:4-7

Peace,
Keith
www.KeithGiles.com
**

**
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END. BUT WHAT COMES AFTER?
8/28/09 - "Behold, all things are made new!"

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

FROM EDEN TO EDEN

2008-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

FROM EDEN TO EDEN
by Keith Giles

In the beginning God revealed His pefect will for mankind by creating a universe where every man and woman could walk with Him in the cool of the day and have intimate communion with one another.

We know that sin entered the heart of mankind and that this original plan had to be scrapped and a separation between God and man was formed because of this sin.

As God blessed Abraham and his descendants, the chosen people of the Earth, He again revealed His perfect will for mankind and loved them and led them as their King, leading them out of bondage to slavery, appearing to them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

But the people rejected God's intimacy and hands-on approach. They asked if Moses could be their go-between. They were frightened whenever God spoke to them directly out of the cloud. So, God allowed another degree of separation to come between Himself and His children because of their sin.

Later, the people grew tired of being unlike all the other nations around them and asked if God would give them a King to rule over them. Again, God's people rejected Him and so God allowed another degree of separation because of the sin of man's heart. He gave them a King to rule over them as they had asked, but even in doing so He was grieved.

When King David, a man after God's own heart, wanted to build a house for God to rival his own palace, God's response recalls his word from Isaiah, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?" and in fact He takes it a step further and says, "When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son." - (2 Sam 7:12-14)

God made a promise to David that a King would come from his own seed who would build a house for God not made with human hands, where once again He would be our God and King and we would be His people.

When the angel announced the birth of this Messiah, he called his name "Emmanuel" - the God who is with us. When Jesus came he opposed the man-made religious systems of the day. He threatened the status quo and he fulfilled the promise by building a temple not made by human hands; a people who were themselves the living stones of an eternal household of God.

Jesus restored God as the King of every human heart and invited all who wanted to live under the rule and reign of the Father to come. The doors of God's Kingdom were now open wide.

Jesus fulfilled God's original desire to have intimate, daily communion with Him. He tore the veil of the man-made temple and made it possible for the Holy of Holies to spill out into every human heart and to encompass all of planet Earth with the tangible presence of God.

Because of the work of Christ upon the cross, all of the Earth is now potentially the Eden of God where mankind can walk with the Creator and know His presence and hear His voice. Because of Jesus, God's new temple has a heartbeat, and hands that can help and feet that can travel and a voice that can proclaim His goodness a million times each day to hundreds of millions around the Globe.

God has broken ground on a new temple for His glory, one not built with human hands. We are that temple. We are the house He has built for Himself. His Holy Spirit is within us. We are carriers of God's Presence.

The Good News that Jesus proclaimed announced access to God's Kingdom. We know that this Kingdom is still growing. We know that it has not yet been fully embraced by every heart and mind, but we have received the Good News that the door to this reality is now wide open. Every single person who has the desire to enter this Kingdom, and to live under the rule and reign of a loving, intimate God and Father can do so at any time.

Today the door to the Kingdom of God stands open. The opportunity to return to Eden is available. God wants to be your God. He wants to be your King. He wants to walk with you. He wants you to become the Temple where His Holy presence will rest and breathe and find a home.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" - 1 John 3:1

This is the Gospel. This is Subversive.

-kg

**
MORE ARTICLES BY KEITH GILES ONLINE NOW

READ "More Love, Less Politics" over at Next-Wave Magazine
HERE

READ "Women as Pastors, Elders, Deacons and Overseers" over at TheOoze.com
HERE

**
BLOGS YOU SHOULD BE READING

*Mark Main's "The Untried"
HERE

**
THE END WILL COME. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

We'll all find out on 8/28/09

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

What Is An Apostle?

2008-11-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

What Is An Apostle?
by Keith Giles

As I've been studying the early church the question came to me, "Where did the word 'Apostle' come from?" Looking at the New Testament the word simply appears out of nowhere as the twelve disciples are suddenly, without explanation, referred to as apostles. I started to wonder, "What was the origin of this word? What did it mean to those first century followers of Jesus who heard the word? Was it foreign or strange to them? Did it carry the same meaning for them that it does for us today?"

A quick search online revealed the following over at Wikipedia:

Apostle - Ancient Greek: (ἀπόστολος) or "apostolos", which is translated as "someone sent out", or "missionary".

According to the Bauer lexicon, Walter Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the NT: "Judaism had an office known as apostle (שליח)". The Friberg Greek Lexicon gives a broad definition as one who is sent on a mission, a commissioned representative of a congregation, a messenger for God, a person who has the special task of founding and establishing churches. The UBS Greek Dictionary also describes an apostle broadly as a messenger.

With this we can understand a little more about how the early church viewed the apostles. They were church-planting missionaries who preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and continued the ministry of Jesus, the Messiah.

When we look at the New Testament we see plenty of evidence to support this. Peter, James, John, Paul and the other apostles were primarily concerned with traveling to share the Gospel, plant churches and establish a framework for what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.

Christians today seem to hold the apostolic gifting as one above and beyond the common persons of Christendom. Many even go so far as to suggest that there are no apostles in today's church Bbody, which is to suggest that there are no longer church planters or missionaries who are called by God to evangelize the nations and establish the Church of God in the community.

When we read passages like Ephesians 4, verse 11-13 with this in mind it should give us a new perspective on the term "apostle" and the way the early church thought of these people within the Body itself - "It was he (Jesus) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Apostles (church-planting missionaries) were necessary to communicate the Gospel of the Kingdom and establish the Church in Jerusalem, and Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the Earth. They were "first" in a chronological sense because, unless there is someone to go out and preach the Gospel and do the work of an evangelist or missionary, the Church couldn't be established. Once the Gospel is preached, people respond, groups are formed and the Church is established within a community, THEN the Holy Spirit provides for some to become their teachers, their shepherds, and to do the works of service.

NOT A HIERARCHY
I've been involved quite a bit lately defending the idea that the early church had no hierarchical form of leadership and this practical understanding of an apostle further solidifies the position that hierarchy wasn't part of the original Christian experience. Instead, we see Jesus commanding the disciples (future apostles) not to be like the secular Romans or the religious Pharisees who love to "lord it over" their followers. Instead, Jesus both commanded and modelled a bottom-up form of servant leadership, not a top-down form of CEO leadership. (SEE NOTE BELOW FOR MORE)

MORE THAN 12 APOSTLES
Another surprising discovery in the New Testament is that the apostles are not limited to just "The Twelve" we usually hear about on Sunday morning. These additional Apostles (or "Missionary Church-planters") include Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7), Silas and Timothy(I Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6, Acts 15:40), and Apollos (1Corinthians 4:6; 4:9; 3:22; 3:4-6).

It's quite fascinating also to consider that many scholars believe that the apostle Junia was female (see Romans 16:7) which gives further weight to the idea that the apostolic gifting was simply about doing missionary work and planting churches.

Even more interesting is that Jesus himself is named among the apostles in Hebrews 3:1 where he is referred to as the "apostle and high priest of our professed faith". In this passage Jesus is identified as the first missionary church-planter who called the twelve disciples to follow him so that he could teach them to be "fishers of men".

While there is a special and unique connection between the original twelve disciples who walked and talked with Jesus personally, and even Paul who encountered the risen Christ in a vision, the actual functional position of an apostle is nothing special. Apostles were very simply and practically the ones who did the work of missionary evangelism and planted churches, and God is still calling His people to be missionaries into the community and plant churches that interact with the culture.

Apostolic succession, then, is simply a continuation of the traditional preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, making disciples, planting churches within the community and raising up others who will continually do the same.

-kg
www.KeithGiles.com

**
NOTE: For an extensive exploration of the subject of church hierarchy please read the following articles and the resulting commentary found within.

Here:
"Where Are The Pastors?"

Here:
"First Century Pagan Talks to First Century Christian"

and Here:
"Biblical Scholarship in Support of Non-Hierarchy in the Church"

**
RUNNING THE NUMBERS
The PDF version of my book "The Gospel:For Here Or To Go?" has been downloaded 506 times so far, and my second book, "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" has been downloaded 424 times.

You can still get them both free of charge
RIGHT HERE

**
THE END IS NEAR?
Stay tuned to this channel for news and updates.

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE RECENT ELECTION

2008-11-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE RECENT ELECTION
By Keith Giles

Our Christian faith was born under the world's most violent, immoral and pagan flag- The Roman Empire. Jesus, our Lord and our example, did not spend any time teaching his disciples to oppose the pantheistic government of the day, nor did he ever cry out against their political policies, their unjust use of force or their sexual deviancy. Not even once.

After His crucifixion and resurrection, the Church that Jesus inspired endured 300 years under this same oppressive, anti-Christian Government. Even as this Empire of Evil arrested them unjustly, tortured them to death, confiscated their property and created an entertainment industry around their public executions by sword and wild animal, the Christian Church remained full of love and continued to preach and live out the Gospel of the Kingdom.

After 300 years of such oppression, these faithful followers of Jesus overcame the darkness - not by violence, not by revolution, not by free elections or political pressure, but simply by the hand of God alone and the power of the Gospel to change hearts and transform lives.

If our DNA was founded under such darkness, and if those first Christians remained hopeful, rejoicing in their sufferings, and living out their faith on a daily basis, how much more should we, in this free country, take a positive outlook on our future and live lives of hope no matter who is in the White House?

Over the last few months I have received an inbox full of email telling me to "Vote Like A Christian" and suggesting that I must pray for God to work a miracle and defeat the "Baby-killing, closet Muslim" who opposed our conservative, Republican values. Since the election I have heard Christians around me saying that "America is being judged by God" and moaning about the horrors of living under the oppressive rule of the Democratic party.

But our faith was founded under oppression much greater than this. We still live in a country where everyone is free to worship, free to speak, free to protest, free to sing and pray and read their Bible without fear of being arrested or killed for sport or thrown into jail. Our New Testament brothers and sisters would hardly be able to contain their joy at living in a nation such as ours where our freedoms abound and our faith is not a death sentence.

Is it really so horrible to live under a Democratic President? If our hope is in politicians, then perhaps I could understand this sense of gloom and defeat among God's Church today. But we do not place our hope in men, or in the political systems around us. Our hope is in Christ. Our God is still in control. The Kingdom of God is still advancing. The Gospel of Jesus is still true. We still have cause to shout and praise and celebrate.

Our New Testament is a story of believers who lived such extravagant lives of love among their pagan neighbors that slowly they turned the world upside down- one life at a time, one family at a time, one household at a time, one community at a time.

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." - 1 Peter 2:11-12

My advice to us is not hang our hopes on any political candidate, party platform, or governing body. They will always fall short of their promise and they will never bring the deep, lasting sort of change we all so desperately need and hope for.

Politicians are people who have placed their hope for a better tomorrow in the political system. They believe that progress will be made primarily in the political arena and therefore they place the majority of their time, passion, energy and hope in effecting change from that vantage point.

I am not a politician. Nor am I primarily focused on a political solution to the problems and challenges that face our communities, our nation, or mankind.

Instead, I have placed my hope for mankind in Christ Jesus and in the Gospel of the Kingdom. Because of this, I do not believe that politics will ever bring about real and lasting change in this nation, or in the hearts and minds of mankind.

I believe that our problems, society's problems, are deeper than any law or policy or proposition or measure can touch or effect. We can change laws but those laws will not change hearts. In fact, every year our nation writes thousands of new laws, and yet we do not see any improvement in our society due to the ever-increasing laws being passed by our legislature.

Does that mean we don't need laws? Of course not. Does it mean we, as followers of Jesus, should not participate in the political process? No, it doesn't. We should vote and speak out wherever necessary, however we should be careful not to forget that the hope for mankind isn't to be found in politics. It's only found in Christ Jesus and in the Gospel of the Kingdom.

This means that God is not a Republican or a Democrat. It means that, although we may continue to be proud citizens of America and participate in the democratic process, our ultimate focus is not politics, our hope is not in politicians or laws. No, our hope is in the Gospel of Christ. Our desire is to bring change to one person at a time, and to campaign for hope in the lives of the broken, the poor, the outcast and the forgotten in our society.

Our participation in the campaign for hope and change does not end at the polls, nor does it express itself in the forwarding of partisan e-mail messages endorsing a specific candidate for office. Our participation begins at sharing our lives with those around us. It begins with loving people as we have been loved. It begins with learning to relate to people; not as a Christian to a Non-Christian; not as a Republican to a Democrat, not as a Liberal to a Conservative, but simply as one human being to another human being.

"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." - 1 Peter 2:13-17

Our calling is simply to love others more than we love ourselves and to demonstrate the power of God's love to transform us from the inside out.

If our faith was birthed in the crucible of oppression and persecution, I believe American Christians can certainly endure four years of unfettered religious freedom to proclaim the Gospel far and wide without fear of attack.

This is a day of rejoicing. Let us give thanks to God that He is still on His awesome throne.
Amen,
-kg
www.KeithGiles.com

**
MY BOOKS ARE STILL FREE
If you haven't yet downloaded the free PDF versions of my books - What are you waiting for?

Both are still available as free, downloadable PDF's
RIGHT HERE

-The Gospel:For Here Or To Go?
-Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)

**
MORE FREE ONLINE RESOURCES
*The Mission House Church
*Poverty In The OC
*OC House Church Network

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

IN WHAT WAY?

2008-10-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

IN WHAT WAY?
by Keith Giles

In what way am I a Christian if I do not follow Jesus?

"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." - 1 John 2:6

In what way am I following Jesus if I don't obey Jesus?

"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching...he who does not love me will not obey my teaching." - John 14:23-24

In what way do I obey Jesus if I don't serve others?

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." - John 13:14-17

In what way do I love God if I don't love others?

"If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
- 1 John 4:20-21

In what way do I love Jesus if I don't love the poor?

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" - Matthew 25:40

In what way do I love the poor if I don't share what I have?

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." - 1 John 3:17

In what way am I saved if I don't know Jesus?

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" - John 17:3

In what way do I know Jesus if I don't know God?

"If you have seen me, you have seen the Father" - John 14:8-9

In what way do I know God if I don't share with the poor?

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" - Jeremiah 22:16 (GOD, speaking of King Josiah)

In what way is my church better than unbelieving pagans if we have no concern for the poor?

"Now this is the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were proud and did detestable things before me. Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen."
-Ezekiel 16:49

-kg
WWW.KEITHGILES.COM
**

THE FAILURE OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH
When Jesus tells his disciples that they will always have the poor among them, many have concluded that this statement is meant to downplay the practice of giving to the poor in order to focus on more important things, like corporate worship and giving to the building fund.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

READ IT HERE

**
FAMILY MAKES $200K A YEAR AND GIVES MOST OF IT AWAY
Who would hunker down in the hood when they can afford the heights? Tom and Bree Hsieh. That's who.

The couple belongs to a club made up of people who donate at least half their salary to charity for at least three years straight.

It's called the 50 % League and it grew out of Bolder Giving, an organization started in 2007 by Boston suburb philanthropists Anne and Christopher Ellinger.

READ MORE AT POVERTYINTHEOC.COM
HERE

**
HOW THE OC BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SPENDS YOUR MONEY
The Orange County Board of Supervisors has voted to spend the following amounts in the new $5.56 Billion Budget:

$54,463 for a company to test fire alarms at Juvenile Hall once during the year.

$45 an hour through 2009 for one man to perform "Rodent Control Services" at the county's flood-control channels.

READ MORE
HERE

**

CHARIS PILATES
My friend and sister in Christ, Alicia Laumann is an amazing dancer who now teaches Pilates in Fullerton. Her innovative approach blends traditional and modern Pilates techniques to create a customized program that's made just for you.

Tell her Keith sent you and receive a free 60-minute private session. (Actually all her new clients get a free session so it doesn't matter either way).

VISIT HER WEBSITE
HERE

**

[End Transmission]

WHERE ARE THE PASTORS?

2008-10-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

WHERE ARE THE PASTORS?

Where are all the Pastors in the New Testament? Why are they absent if they are so crucial to the life of the Body? Why is the word only used once in the entire New Testament? Why are no letters addressed to them from the Apostles? Why are the Elders (plural) the main form of leadership we see in the New Testament? What were the qualifications necessary to be an Elder or an Overseer? What do these words even mean?

First of all, there is no direct correlation in the New Testament to our modern pastors. None. The word only appears once in the New Testament and it is never unpacked adequately for us to understand exactly what a pastor did. However we can extrapolate based on the root of the word which means "To shepherd". Therefore, pastors were to shepherd the flock and care for them, spiritually. Beyond that we have no other instructions regarding a pastor.

Make no mistake, the leaders of the early church were not the pastors. The most common of all of the New Testament references to leaders are either "Elders" or "Overseers" and the two are used almost interchangeably throughout the epistles. The term "Elders" applies to those who were "Old" or "Mature". Essentially they were to be followed because they were wise and they deserved respect. The "Overseers" were simply those who helped to "oversee" or "facilitate" the gatherings of believers.

From what we see in the New Testament, every church had more than one Elder and numerous Overseers who helped to guide the church and lead them to follow Christ.

It's fascinating to me that the letters to the Churches in the New Testament are never addressed to the leaders directly, but instead to the Church as a whole. (Exceptions are letters written directly to people like Timothy or Titus or Philemon. It should also be noted that, although many pastors assume that Timothy is an example of a Biblical pastor, in actuality Timothy was engaged in work similar to that of Paul who was busy travelling and preaching the Gospel and planting churches. Timothy is told to "do the work of an evangelist" – not a pastor. He certainly didn't stay in one place and teach the same people week after week. Therefore, Timothy is an example of an evangelist or apostle, not a pastor as we would know one today).

The church in Corinth is a fascinating example of a church with numerous moral and ethical failures, yet when Paul writes to correct them he doesn't address their Pastor and command him to fix things. In fact, he doesn't even address their Elders or Overseers to respond to this by exercising their authority over the people. Why were the pastors, or for that matter the Elders of the Church, not commanded to exercise their authority and deal with the very serious moral failures within the Church in Corinth? Perhaps because Paul understood that the Body itself was capable of coming together to correct the problem themselves. Something he hints at when he says, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?" – 1 Corinthians 6:3

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUBMISSION
I would like to humbly suggest that "Authority", and "Submission" do not necessarily imply organizational structures are at work in the New Testament Church. Submission is something that all believers are urged to do, and authority is only to be submitted to if it is in line with God’s Word and not on the basis of an office or appointment.

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." – Ephesians 5:21
Everyone is urged to submit to everyone else. It's a shared submission among brothers and sisters in Christ who are equals and who humbly care for one another. Only Christ is the head, or the leader, of the Church.

Many are of the opinion that Jesus actually taught and promoted hierarchy in the Church, something I find alarming and dangerous. But, just for a moment, let me ask, "What would we expect to see in the New Testament if Jesus DIDN'T want His Church to be run like a hierarchy? Wouldn't we expect to see Jesus condemning this practice? Perhaps he would have pointed to a hierarchical system and commanded His disciples not to follow that example?

"Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." – Jesus, in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, verses 42-45.

Does Jesus command his disciples not to exercise authority over people? Yes, he clearly and plainly does. What, then, are today's pastors doing if they are not exercising their authority over their church members? Isn't this a fair question to ask? Am I allowed to point out the disconnect between what Jesus says and what His Church actually does, or does not, do?

Here, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus points to the Roman Government (a secular hierarchy) and commands his disciples not to imitate this system of lording it over people or exercising authority over those who follow.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus points to a religious system of hierarchy and instructs them (again) not to imitate this system of hierarchy where the "Teacher" is exalted over the student. Instead, he says, remember that you are all brothers:

"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." – Matthew 23:8-12

Next, let's look at the Apostles themselves. If they heard Jesus commanding them to avoid the hierarchical system of leadership, wouldn't we see evidence that they obeyed this command? Did they take his words to heart? Let's see:

"Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm." - 2 Cor.1:24

Paul the Apostle obeys Jesus and refuses to "lord it over" those who follow Christ alongside him. Instead he works with them, as a brother, not as an authority figure.

"To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." – 1 Peter 5:1-4

Here, Peter identifies himself, not as an Apostle, but as a fellow elder among the brethren. He then urges these elders (plural) to serve as overseers because they are willing, not because they have been handed a title or an appointment, and especially urges them to be careful not to "lord it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock" – as Jesus commanded him several years earlier.

Having said all of this, doesn't the New Testament ask that we submit to our leaders and their authority? Yes, it does. For example:

Hebrews 13: 17- "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you."

Let me be clear, I am not arguing against leadership here. Not at all. Every church needs leadership, and this is also clearly taught in the New Testament, however I would like to ask us to consider the possibility that leadership doesn't automatically mean top-down, authoritarianism. Jesus modeled something different than this, and then he commanded his disciples to emulate his example.

So, going back to our verse above, you might read this and ask, "What is the basis for our submission to our leaders?" Does their authority rest in the office they hold, or is it found in something else? Are we to submit to these leaders only because they hold an office? Or are we to submit to them as they point us to follow Christ? Hopefully we do not blindly follow people because they are "the Pastor" or because they have a title of authority. Hopefully.

No, the only authority we are to submit to is Christ Himself. To me, this truth is self-evident when we look at the NT as a whole.

Earlier in this same chapter, the writer of Hebrews, in chapter 13 and verse 7 says, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith."

Here we are told to submit to our leaders as they speak the Word of God to us. Not to them as authorities in and of themselves, but as humble servants who lovingly teach us to follow Christ, and who then demonstrate this by their actual lives of faith.

Submission then is to Christ and to the Word of God. If our leaders handle and teach the Word of God wisely, and if they faithfully live lives that reflect Christ, THEN we are to submit to their authority. But only if. Their authority is not automatic and it is not based on the office they hold. Otherwise, we would be accountable to obey leaders simply because they held that office, regardless of whether or not their lives reflected Christ or their teaching of God's Word was true.

If we follow the policy of hierarchy for the sake of itself we can end up with someone holding an office within the Church and exercising authority even if they are not followers of Christ. Such a person should have no actual authority in any spiritual sense over the life of believers. What counts is character, not the office or the position. However, someone with no organizational office may, because of gifting by the Holy Spirit and sincere love for others, have actual authority to speak and teach and lead his brothers and sisters in Christ (who are his equals).

Institutional Churches that employ such a man-made organizational method can only hope to mimic the kind of leadership such as the "rulers of the gentiles" possess, something that Jesus expressly commanded us not to do - "It shall not be so among you!" - Matthew 20:25-26.

The Holy Spirit is the only source of spiritual authority and accountability in the Church through real-life relationships, not titles handed down by men.

Did the Apostles depend upon the authority of men or did they give any weight to the opinions of men? Apparently they did not. For example, Paul says, "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody." - 2 Corinthians.3:1-2

If hierarchy was so important in the early church, why don't we see them exercising it? Why do we see them operating as a Body and not as a business? Perhaps the answers are right in front of us? Are we courageous enough to answer truthfully?

As Biblical Scholar Richard Halverson has said, "When the Greeks got the Gospel, they turned it into a philosophy; when the Romans got it, they turned it into a government; when the Europeans got it, they turned it into a culture; and when the Americans got it, they turned it into a business."

I pray we can help God's people to see that they were never intended to be run like a business, and instead to help them see that, according to the Word of God, they are simply a Family, a Body, an Organism, and a Bride.

-kg

WWW.KEITHGILES.COM

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THE RADICAL CHURCH OF JESUS
"When Jesus established the Church he did not build something with a physical temple or a daily animal sacrifice or a special group of elite clergy. The Church that Jesus built was out of the ordinary. It was radical. It was unlike anything that had ever come before it."

READ IT HERE

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[END TRANSMISSION]

Every Believer a Priest of God

2008-10-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Every Believer a Priest of God by Keith Giles

Chances are that, unless you are a pastor, you don't consider yourself as being qualified to baptize a new believer, lead others in the Lord's Supper, or pray for someone dying of cancer in the hospital. You are not alone. Most people who attend Christian Churches today would not feel it was their place to baptize a new believer or perform any of the functions normally reserved for the clergy.

The sad thing is, your Bible suggests otherwise. In fact, Paul the Apostle says on several occasions that every member of the Body is competent to lead, to instruct, to exhort and to share.

For example, in Romans 15:14 Paul says, "I myself am convinced, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another." and in 1 Cor 14:31 he says, "For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged". This last verse specifies a shared prophetic gifting within the Body, but this shared dynamic is not limited to that specific gifting, especially when compared to what Paul has previously communicated in chapter 12 of this same epistle.

One of the most famous verses of scripture in the New Testament which gives us a clear picture of what the original New Testament expression of Church looked like is found in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 26 which says, "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church."

Here we see a gathering of Believers who all partake of Christ together, sharing their God-given gifts with one another in love for the common good.

The fact is that Jesus gave birth to a Church that was radically different from anything that had ever been known before, or since. It was a Church where every believer was a priest of God and every member was a Temple of His Holy Spirit. The only daily sacrifice was performed by average, everyday people like you and I who were filled by the Spirit of the Living God and empowered to live radical lives of love in demonstration of the Gospel message.

The Doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer is nearly unheard of in today's Churches, and rarely preached on. Mainly, I would suspect, because for any traditional church to follow through with the implications of this doctrine, many pastors would soon find themselves out of a job. Nevertheless, the New Testament reveals an early Church where everyone participated and shared their spiritual gifts openly with the rest of the Body.

In 1 Corinthians 12, verse 4, Paul says, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." Notice here that Paul doesn't say, "...but the same God works all of them in ONE MAN." If he did then we might have a Biblical basis for the all-in-one religious professionals that we currently employ today. Instead, as numerous Biblical Scholars have clearly remarked, the early Church knew nothing of a clergy class of leader we see today.

These Biblical Scholars include FF.Bruce, Gordon Fee, Robert Banks and Howard Snyder who said:

"The clergy-laity dichotomy is a direct carry-over from pre-Reformation Roman Catholicism and a throwback to the Old Testament priesthood. It is one of the principal obstacles to the church effectively being God’s agent of the kingdom today because it creates a false idea that only 'holy men,' namely, ordained ministers, are really qualified and responsible for leadership and significant ministry. In the New Testament there are functional distinctions between various kinds of ministries but no hierarchical division between clergy and laity. The New Testament teaches us that the church is a community in which all are gifted and all have ministry."

Another Biblical Scholar, William Bausch, himself a Roman Catholic, freely admits that the New Testament Church knew nothing of the One-Man-Pastorate that we employ in today's modern Christianity:

"Our survey has shown us that no cultic priesthood is to be found in the New Testament. Yet we wound up importing Old Testament Levitical forms and imposing them on Christian ministry . . . Nevertheless in practice there is no denying that there has historically been a gathering into one person and his office what were formerly the gifts of many . . .[This practice] goes astray, of course, when it translates to mean that only ordination gives competence, authority, and the right of professional governance. It goes further astray when eventually all jurisdictional and administrative powers in the church come to be seen as an extension of the sacramental powers conferred at ordination. In short, there is a movement here away from the more pristine collaborative and mutual ministries of the New Testament." - William Bausch, from his book "Traditions, Tensions, Transitions in Ministry", Twenty-Third Publications, 1982, pp. 54, 30.

Whenever someone suggests that it is unbiblical for the average Christian to teach, preach, baptize, or prophesy on a regular basis they are dead wrong. While the New Testament teaches us that not all Christians are specifically gifted as teachers, prophets, or apostles, (see 1 Cor 12:29) it also teaches that every Christian is a minister, a functioning priest, and is capable of instructing, prophesying, and exhorting in the church.

The truth is that if you are a spirit-filled child of God then the Holy Spirit living within you has already licensed, ordained and empowered you to begin your ministry as a Priest of God in the Name of Jesus Christ, and the function of the Body is to encourage and equip you to walk out that Divine calling every day of your life.

It doesn’t take much digging around to uncover a host of Biblical Scholars who freely admit that our modern divide between Clergy and Laity is not a New Testament concept.

"In the Catholic Church there are two classes, clergy and laity...This structure does not correspond to what Jesus did and taught. Consequently it has not had a good effect in the history of the Church ...Among his disciples Jesus did not want any distinction of class or rank...In contradiction to this instruction of Jesus, a “hierarchy,” a “sacred authority,” was nevertheless formed in the third century - Herbert Haag (a Roman Catholic), Upstairs, Downstairs: Did Jesus Want a Two-Class Church?, Crossroad, 1997, p.109.

Jesus was quite clear when he pulled his Disciples aside (many of whom would go on to become the Apostles who would shape the New Testament Church) and said to them: "(The Pharisees) do all their deeds to be seen by others...But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers." – Jesus (Matthew 23:5)

What did Jesus mean by this? Did He seriously intend to communicate that He was the only head of His Church? Could He really mean that they were not to set up a hierarchical system of Church government?

Let's ask ourselves the following questions:

Where in the Scriptures can we find anyone other than Christ who is called the head of the Church?

Why didn't Jesus name a human leader to take his place before ascending into Heaven?

The truth is, Jesus never relinquished control over His Disciples or His Church, to any human being. But, you might ask, didn't Jesus assign ANYONE to lead the Church in His absence? Yes, He did:

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you...But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." - JESUS, see John 14:7; 13-15

Here we see that Jesus did leave someone in charge in His absence - The Holy Spirit. Therefore, Jesus continues to lead His Church today, as His people (the Body) respond to His leadership in the power of the Holy Spirit.

WHAT ABOUT LEADERSHIP?
Some have suggested that this radical picture of "every-believer-a-priest" goes too far and leaves us with a leaderless Church founded on anarchy and chaos. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Every Church requires leadership and God has not left us without it. The truth is, I believe in a plurality of leadership within the Church because every Believer is a Priest of God. For example, whenever anyone in our house church is sharing he/she is leading us. It may be a seven year old girl, a twelve year old boy, a forty year old man, or anyone in the room. Even so, this is still not the end of leadership. In a larger sense, Christ is still the leader of His Church, not me or anyone else. He might lead through us as we submit to Him and respond to His Holy Spirit, but it is still Christ who is leading us.

So, what is at stake? Do models really matter? Can't God work through us no matter how we gather or who our leader is? Yes, of course. God can, and does, work through any and all means to advance His Kingdom and communicate His Gospel. We are all unworthy vessels and in the end God's perfect will is accomplished no matter where or how we gather.

But, I would simply ask, if you knew that God had something special in mind from the beginning, and if you could see Biblical evidence for a form of Church that did more than give lip service to the concepts of family, and brotherhood, wouldn't you at least want to give it a shot?

If there was a way to enter into the kind of community we read about in the book of Acts, why wouldn't you want to entertain the possibility that it could be within our grasp? Why wouldn't you be willing to surrender anything it took to have a Church like that?

Certainly those of us who have made the decision to worship in our homes and step into the priesthood of the believer are in the minority, for now. But according to Leadership Magazine, Christianity Today, Focus on the Familiy and Rev Magazine, approximately 1,500 pastors a month leave the traditional pastorate in the United States alone, and a recent Gallop poll showed that 1 million adult Christians per year leave the institutional church in the U.S. - and that number is growing.

I believe that God is up to something. I believe that many of the one million people who leave their pews this year are being lead by the Holy Spirit to enter into a form of Church which Jesus inspired from the beginning, and even now is calling some within His Body to experience today.

As author Reggie McNeal, an authority on Church Leadership, has said, "A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost their faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith."

-kg

"As you come to him, the living Stone...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:4-5

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READ MORE:
"Biblical Scholarship In Support of Non-Hierarchy in the Church" by Keith Giles

HERE

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WDJD? - What Did Jesus Do?
by Daniel and Heather Cosby

Did Jesus Say...

A) That the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed.

B) That the Kingdom of Heaven is just like the Roman Empire, only nicer, and with crosses instead of pagan symbols, and church buildings instead of pagan temples.

Read more of this great article:
HERE

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THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS by Charlie Wear

"If we were General Motors or Coca-Cola and had messed up our brand this much, we would change our name and logo and start all over."

Read the full, and amazing article right
HERE

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[END TRANSMISSION]

Permanent Faith

2008-10-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]
Permanent Faith by Keith Giles

I was reminded recently of a story about a young policeman in Virginia who was sent out to warn residents to evacuate their homes just before Hurricane Isabella hit.

The young policeman was surprised to find that most people refused to leave. "We'll be just fine," people said. "We've lived here for twenty years and no Hurricane is gonna make us leave now."

One of the more experienced policeman, a seargant, found out what was happening and invited him to watch as he went to knock on the door of the next house in line. When the person answered the door the seargant explained that they were being advised to warn residents to leave the area because of the severity of the Hurricane which was only hours away from landfall.

"No thanks," the homeowner said. "We're gonna ride this one out, officer."

The seargant nodded and reached into his shirt pocket. He handed the man a Sharpie permanent marker and said, "Not a problem, sir. Just go ahead and write your social security number and a phone number for your next of kin somewhere on your torso for me."

The homeowner stared back at the officer. "Excuse me?"

The seargant explained, "Well sir, when we pull your body from the wreckage we just need a way to identify you and notify your family."

The man paused a moment and then handed the Sharpie back to the seargant. "Hang on while I get my things."

This story was orginally told to illustrate our need to let go of our worldy possessions and embrace the Kingdom of God. However, as I listened to this story I couldn't help but sense another application to the Kingdom of God. I think God is looking for a generation of people who would gladly take that Sharpie and write on their bodies because they have made up their minds to give up their lives for the Kingdom of God.

The people in this story who left their homes in the Hurricane did so because they loved their lives more than they loved their possessions- which is a great lesson for all of us to embrace. However, those who follow Christ are called to love Him, and the Kingdom of God, more than they love their own lives. For us, the followers of Jesus, the only real choice we have is to take that permanent marker, give notice to others who find our bodies, and continue living out the surrendered life in the midst of the storm.

We, the Church, have been called to stand our ground. Jesus promised us that that the Gates of Hell would not prevail against us. We have been called to count the cost and to give up anything - everything, for the Kingdom of God.

We have to be a people who are willing not just to live for Christ, but to lay down our lives and take up our cross, daily, to die for Him as well.

When Japanese Kamikaze pilots took to the air they only had enough gas in the tank for a one way trip. Their last will and testament had already been written. Their funeral was held on the airstrip before they took to the skies.

"When Jesus calls a man, he bids him to come and die." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Those of us who call ourselves follower of Christ have a high calling. Not just to love our lives more than we love our possessions, but greater still to love Jesus more than we love our lives.

Would you be willing to take that marker and sign away your life on this Earth in order to weather the storm? Can we trust God to carry us through it all? Or will we run for cover when they come and knock on our door?

I hope, when they find my body in the wreckage, they will know that I have lived for Christ until my very last breath.

I pray for God's Grace to make it so.
-kg
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GREAT DEBATE
Over at my main website there's quite a dialog going on about the nature of leadership in the Church and God's design for His Church. I welcome you to join the conversation if you're interested.
It's HERE

There's also a bit of the same debate that spilled over into last week's [SU], "Out of Business"
HERE

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HOUSE CHURCH 101 - NOVEMBER
Our first HC101 class was awesome. You can read about it
HERE

Our next one will be on Saturday, November 1st.

Find out more
HERE

**

[End Transmission]

OUT OF BUSINESS

2008-10-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

OUT OF BUSINESS
By Keith Giles

It's time the Church went out of business. Close down the bank account, lay off the pastoral staff, cancel the utilities, sell the building, auction off the sound system and the digital projector and turn out the lights. The Church needs to get out of the business of being in business because it was never intended by its founder to be run like a business in the first place.

The Church as Jesus imagined it has always been a living organism, not a soul-less organization employing a team of spiritual experts. The Church that Jesus died to give birth to isn't a business, it's a family of equals who all love one another in a way the world can only dream of.

If acting like a business prevents us from being the Family God intended, let us joyfully put ourselves out of business and learn what it means to be the Body of Christ in our community. If operating as an organization holds us back from spending time with the neighbors we are commanded to love, then let us resign our pastoral positions and refuse our stipends so that we can share the vibrant love of Jesus with the people living in darkness right next door to us.

Instead of hiring accountants to handle our books, let us join our hands together and walk outside where Jesus always intended His Church to thrive - among the everyday people, the ordinary citizens, the sinners who would never feel at home in our temples.

Instead of investing in retirement plans for pastors, let us get down on our knees and wipe the dirt from the faces of the impoverished children who live in our very own cities, just a few miles from our own doorstep, and let us love them as Jesus would have loved them.

Instead of raising millions of dollars to buy a larger building with giant flat-panel television screens in the rotunda, let us give of ourselves, our time, our talent, our energy, our passion and our very best in order to bring the Kingdom of God to a world that so desperately needs hope.

It's time for the Church to go out of business.

I QUIT
I quit playing Church. I quit going through the motions. I quit pretending to have it all together. I quit the status quo. I quit denominationalism. I quit trying to convert people. I quit.

I BEGIN
I begin to be the Church. I begin to take up my cross daily. I begin to relate to humans as another human being. I begin to practice my faith. I begin to put the words of Jesus into practice. I begin learning to love people. I begin.

Let the religious professionals have their tax exemptions and their weekly pastor's lunch meetings and their salaries if that's what they want, but I will not contribute to any of that any longer. I will invest in the lives of the broken, the forgotten and the hungry who live in my community, even in my own Church family. I will work with my hands to support my family. I will treat human beings as human beings, regardless of their denomination, or faith, or lack thereof.

I WILL SURRENDER
I will surrender my need to be entertained and embrace the uncomfortable silence. I will surrender my comfortable chair and exchange it for a few hours on my knees in prayer for a friend who is dying from cancer. I will surrender my need for a tax write-off and freely share what I have been given with the stranger on the street corner and the family in the motel. I will surrender.

IT'S TIME
It's time the Church started living like the people of God. It's time the Church started learning what it means to follow Jesus, and how to help others do the same. It's time for the Church to go out of the business of being in business.

Turn that building in to a home for forgotten seniors, or a sanctuary for children dying of cancer or AIDs. Break apart the asphalt parking lot and plow it under to grow affordable food for the families living in poverty downtown. Find a way to use that resource for God's Kingdom and for the people He loves enough to die for instead of allowing it to sit empty between services.

Part of what Jesus was doing on the cross was to provide a quality of life for those who would follow after Him. That quality of life is connected to His vision for His Church.

He died to create a people who would stop meeting in temples in order to be the Temple of God.

He died to create a people who would stop submitting to the man-made authority of an Earthly priest in order to become members of the Priesthood of Believers.

He died to create a people who would stop offering a sacrifice for their sin and start living as sacrifices for the good of others - as loving servants who act as Ambassadors of Christ and His Kingdom.

Why would you trade God's vision of Church for the "sermon and a song" we've made it out to be?

Let the Church get out of the business of being a business and let the Church start being the Church that Jesus intended us to be.

It's time.

-kg
www.KeithGiles.com

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[End Transmission]

MERELY FOLLOWERS

2008-10-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Merely Followers by Keith Giles

"(The Pharisees) do all their deeds to be seen by others...and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others," Jesus said to his disciples. "But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers." – Jesus (Matthew 23: 5)

These instructions from our Lord Jesus are all but forgotten in today's Church. The organizations that dot the fruited plane with His name over the door have not followed the advice of their founder when it comes to leadership.

In fact, not only do we have numerous "rabbis" and "teachers" clogging the airwaves and bookshelves in our modern version of Christendom, we have also become obsessed with the concept of leadership in the Church. We have Leadership Conferences and Leadership Study Bibles and Leadership sections in our bookstores – all devoted to making you and I better leaders.

With all this special attention placed on leadership and raising up leaders, it's almost as if we’re doing all we can to avoid the idea of being merely a follower. Our obsession with leadership suggests to everyone that to be a follower is to be pathetically average. To be a follower is to be lazy. Only those who lack ambition are just followers. It's only the serious Christians who desire to be successful and to be successful in the Body of Christ means being identified as a person with leadership skills and the potential to lead others.

In our lust for position as leaders we've convinced ourselves that being a leader is part of fulfilling our command to make disciples and preach the Gospel to every creature. Yet we cannot truly make a disciple (a follower) unless we ourselves are also disciples and followers of Jesus. This means we must first become devoted to the idea of humbling ourselves daily, taking up our cross, and following Jesus before we dare to instruct someone else in this path.

If our desire to lead is based on the idea that we're a better speaker or teacher than someone else, or if it's based on the feeling we get when people treat us like leaders, then we're in leadership for the wrong reasons.

I can remember being at pastors conferences where the idea of being seen as a great leader in the eyes of all the other great leaders was the only thing on anyone's mind, including my own. All the posturing, the off-hand remarks about the size of my church or the casual references to the innovative approach we were taking to ministry were all calculated to raise my stature in the eyes of the other pastors in the room. It didn't seem so bad to me at the time because everyone else was behaving the same way. Today I realize there's more to leadership than being perceived as the one with all the answers and I fully repent of this self-centered pursuit of man's approval.

Our ultimate model for leadership is Jesus. He demonstrated a leadership style that flies in the face of our popular ideas of what it means to be a leader. Jesus laid aside his great authority and power and humbled himself from the very beginning, taking on the role of a servant, making himself nothing. Our attitude should be the same. (See Philippians chapter 2).

Even in the House Church Movement we have started to fall into this leadership-centric mindset with authors and experts being sought after to speak at large conferences around the country. We're beginning to create our very own house church celebrities now, and this troubles me. If there's anything our movement can contribute to the Church as a whole it's the concept that everyone matters, not just the leaders among us who instruct and guide us.

Jesus was the one who told his disciples that the one who wants to be the leader has to be willing to wash feet, and serve others and put their needs ahead of their own. "The greatest among you shall be your servant," Jesus said. "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (see Matthew 23:5-12)

It may not be sexy to merely follow Jesus today, but it's the main thing each of us is called to be – a humble follower of Jesus who teaches others how to humbly follow Jesus too.

I pray each of us can learn to embrace the simplicity of following Jesus in our daily lives.

More than anything else, I hope I can.

Peas,
Keith

**
CURIOUS ABOUT HOUSE CHURCH?
Find out more at OCHOUSECHURCH.COM

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

BBQ WAFFLES?

2008-09-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

*NOTE: As I am overcome with projects at work, dealing with a broken vehicle, and attempting to prepare for a sermon this tomorrow, this week's [Subversive Underground] will feature a blast from the past. Hope this blesses you.

BBQ WAFFLES ANYONE?
By Keith Giles

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had….There was no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”- Acts 4:32-35

As I read about the early church in the book of Acts I am amazed at their simple devotion to one another, to the poor, and especially to Jesus.

Reading about how “there was no needy person found among them” I am humbled and inspired. As I see their eagerness to share, not just to give an offering, but to take what is their own and give it away to others who are truly in need, I long to know this kind of “koinonia” or “Agape Community”.

How did they do it?

As someone who has been involved in ministry and on staff at various kinds of churches over the last sixteen years, I know first-hand the frustration of reading the book of Acts and then trying every possible program and gimmick available to duplicate this kind of simple Christian life within the congregation I’m helping to pastor.

Anyone who’s ever tried to lead a group of believers, or to pastor a church knows the pain of this same frustration. We attend seminars taught by high-powered business executives turned church consultant gurus. We buy their books, their tapes, and we try every possible way to produce the fruit we see in the book of Acts within our own church body.

What happens is, we get larger churches, we get happier churches, we get culturally-relevant churches, we get hip and cool and slick, but the one thing we don’t get is more like the people we read about in the book of Acts.

Why is that?

Here’s my oversimplified explanation. Let’s pretend that what the early Christians in Acts were great at was making waffles. They made the best waffles known to man. Their waffles were legendary. We read about those amazing waffles and we determine to make waffles like they did. So, we go to the successful culinary experts in our modern world and we ask them for advice. They tell us to buy the biggest Barbecue Grill we can find, the one with dual propane tanks and the built-in meat thermometer. They tell us to get the complete serving dish set, all the chrome cooking utensils and even a chefs hat and matching apron. We buy it all and we even put a cross on it to make it holy. Next we start trying to grill up some waffles, and of course, those waffles are lousy. No one wants our waffles and we can’t understand why.

Why won’t we accept the fact that, unless we start trying to make waffles the way the early church did, we’ll never ever be any good at making waffles?

Very simply put, I feel very strongly that if we don’t do what they did, we’ll never get what they got.

That’s why we’re starting “the mission”, so that we can begin to learn from The Holy Spirit how to actually love, and share, and give, and live out our faith the same way the early church did for over 300 years.

Even the big business executives agree-“The systems you currently have are perfectly designed to give you the results you are now getting” (Peter Senge).

If we want different results than what we’re getting, it means we’re going to have to completely change the system we’re using.

I’ll be mixing up the batter in the kitchen, please don’t forget to bring the syrup.

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”- Acts 2:44-47

[orginally sent to the subscribers of the underground newsletter on Jan 24th, 2006]

-KG
**

[END TRANSMISSION]

Lead, Follow and Get Out Of The Way

2008-09-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Lead, Follow and Get Out Of The Way
by Keith Giles

I've been challenged and inspired this week in regards to leadership.

Last week I shared a little about our house church and how we were entering a critical phase of our development where we need to find a way to grow and plant a new house church or we will die.

After I wrote that article, our house church had a meeting to further explore this issue and as a result we determined that what has been holding us back all this time: It is me.

As painful as it was for me to hear these words, the reality is that everyone needed to realize this truth, especially me, in order for our church to take the necessary steps forward.

How am I holding us back? By holding on to leadership too tightly and not giving away more of the responsibility to others.

In last week's [Subversive Underground] I shared about how our house church isn't all about me because I don't preach or lead a Bible Study and everyone shares in our teaching, including elementary-age children, and no one is attending because they read my books or my blog.

While all of this is true, what I failed to see was that even though people don't come to our house church because of me, our house church continues and survives because of me, and that was a gigantic blind spot.

When we asked our house church members if they would continue meeting this way should my family move away, nearly everyone said that they would not. This was painful to hear, I have to admit. My ego was bruised and I felt like a failure for not seeing this sooner, but at least now we have devised a plan for overcoming this problem of leadership.

Here's the plan: For the next two months I will be taking a vacation from The Mission. Instead of directing our meetings, facilitating our gathering, leading communion time, etc. I will be sitting in the back of the room as an observant guest while the rest of my brothers and sisters in Christ step forward and utilize their gifts for the common good.

So, I feel like God is teaching me a lot about true Leadership and what He expects from those who tend to His flock. What I've learned has humbled me and inspired me to become a leader who gives himself, and his leadership, away to others so that they can grow into the people God has made them to be.

Jesus had a lot to say about leadership. To his Apostles-in-training he said, "The Gentiles lord it over their people. Not so with you. The greatest among you will be the servant of all" (See Mark 10) and when He washed their feet He told them to wash one another's feet. He commanded them to love one another and to be known for their great love.

Jesus established a pattern of leadership in three simple steps: First Jesus modeled the way to serve, then he let the disciples serve while he observed, and then he sent them out on their own. In other words, first Jesus lead them, then he followed them, then he got out of their way. This is what I am only now learning to do.

I am learning to lead by laying down my life for my friends, and encouraging them to spread their wings and fly. My hope is that they will experience what it means to "Be the Church" even more.

Tomorrow I will be leading a session on house church for a local conference. Part of what we will discuss is leadership within organic church settings. I can't wait to share what God has taught me so far.

Peace,
Keith

**
HOUSE CHURCH 101
Saturday, Oct. 4th at Triangle Square
10am to 11:30am - F R E E
Visit OCHOUSECHURCH.COM for more info and to RSVP
HERE

**
Just this week I read a great post over at my friend Lionel's Blog about real Leadership. Here's the part that blessed me:

"If you desire to be in leadership to express your gift, share your vision, have a following, or because you think you are best fit for the job, or because you think you are the better teacher or even if you feel called (which I have issues with) you are in leadership for the wrong reason. However, if you love the people of God and those you plan on leading (remember apart from relationship this is impossible) then I believe your "vision" is in line with Christs."

He goes on to say:

"Our Pastor Calvin once asked us, "How many times does Jesus directly tell the disciples that he loves, them?" Or, in other words, how many times does Jesus have to reaffirm His love for the disciples? The answer is He doesn't. Jesus spends very little time talking about love and all of His time loving. The Disciples have very little trouble understanding this, but we do. If leadership is critical to the local gathering, and if love makes up all of the commandments, (then) these two must intersect or we have a problem."

You can read more of Lionel's article
HERE

Earlier this month another one of my favorite bloggers and friends, Brant Hansen, shared an inspiring list of contrasts between "Servant Leaders" and "Leader-Man" type leaders who take the CEO approach with their congregation.

Here's a brief look at Brant's list:

Servant Leader: Has something to say
LeaderMan: Wants a platform on which to say something

LeaderMan: Wants you to know he's a Leader
Servant Leader: You're not sure he knows he's a leader

LeaderMan: Loves the idea of the Gospel, and the idea of The Church
Servant Leader: Loves God and the actual individual people God brings across his path

LeaderMan: Helps you find where God is leading you in his organization
Servant Leader: Helps you find where God is leading you

LeaderMan: Gets together with you to talk about his vision
Servant Leader: Just gets together with you

LeaderMan: Wants the right people on the bus
Servant Leader: Wants to find the right bus for you, and sit next to you on it

LeaderMan: Invests time in you, if you are "key people"
Servant Leader: Wastes time with you

LeaderMan: Gives you things to do
Servant Leader: Gives you freedom

You can read the whole thing
HERE
**

[End Transmission]

THIS IS HIS CHURCH

2008-09-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

THIS IS HIS CHURCH
by Keith Giles

It was just about three years ago that a few friends gathered in our den to pray with us about our crazy idea to start a house church. Of those twelve people who came on that first night only two of them are still with us today. Our house church has since been populated by various people seeking a more intimate, first-century form of Church who have found us online or by word of mouth.

Today our group is about 27 people, much too large for an optimum house church according to all the books I've read on the subject.

Wolfgang Simson, in his book, "Houses That Change The World", outlines the 5 stages of organic growth that every house church goes through. He indentifies them as:

1) Conception: the spiritual seed of a new church is conceived. The persons are now pregnant with an invisible church.

2) Pre-natal: during this planning time the church of the future is being discussed and everything is made ready for its birth.

3) Delivery: the time of actually planting the church when it begins to function as an organic entity.

4) Viable growth phase: the church grows and matures by addition and finally reaches the time when the organic growth reaches its maximum point.

5) Multiplication: when the church multiplies itself, or if it fails to do so during the appropriate time-span, usually enters a spiritual menopause and starts to die.

Our house church, The Mission, is currently somewhere between phase 4 and phase 5. We are at a maximum point in our organic growth phase. We need to begin praying about when and how to plant another house church out of this one, or we will enter the spiritual menopause phase and die.

My dilemna right now is that I don't know if we're approaching this exit or if we've already passed it a few miles back. What do I do? How do I know? Where do we go from here?

Over the last few months I have been praying about this very thing. I have discussed it privately with several of our brothers and sisters who have been with us the longest. I have sought counsel from people like Frank Viola and I've gone back to read through my house church books to find wisdom and gain insight into what we should do next.

Honestly, I still have no idea what to do.

Earlier this week I woke up around 4am and went into our den to pray about this. As I poured my heart out to God He reminded me of a few basic things.

First, He reminded me that this house church is His Church, not mine. This is not the Keith Giles church. I am very happy to say this, actually. No one who comes to our house church comes here because of my preaching (since I do not preach) or because of my great teaching (because I rarely bring a specific lesson to the group) or because of my books (most of them have not read my books) or because of my blog (most of them don't even know the URL). They're all here because they are hungry for community, for a Spirit-lead Church, and for more of Jesus. Several times over the last 3 years our house church has gathered without me and I know that those are probably some of the best times they've ever had as a church family.

The other thing God reminded me of was that this house church has grown over the last 3 years (almost too well actually) simply because I have done my best to keep my hands off the wheel and allow God to lead His Church and to allow His Holy Spirit to grow His Church as He promised He would.

Sitting in my den this week, at 4am, in the dark, God reminded me of one other thing. He reminded me of the prayer I offered up almost 4 years ago in this same room on that very first evening when our house church was just an idea germinating in the womb of our hearts and minds. I remembered praying that God would do something so amazing in this place that no man would dare take any credit for it.

To this day I look at what God has done to grow this church--His Church--and I am astounded. I see people learning to love others, I see people stepping outside their comfort zones to serve and to share and to give and to forgive, and I am amazed at the way God speaks to us and heals us and changes us and draws us together as a family.

This is God's Church, not mine. He has brought us this far, not me. He will take us through our next phase of organic growth, as long as I can keep my hands folded in prayer, and off of the steering wheel.

Can I ask you a favor? Would you please, pray with me today that I can do this one, simple thing?

I need your prayers and our house church needs a pastor who will continue to allow God to have His way as we navigate these next critical steps in our growth and development.

Blessings,
Keith

**

CURIOUS ABOUT HOUSE CHURCH?
"House Church 101" - Oct 4th, 2008 at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, CA. This is a free class to explore the basics of house church and to provide resources for those who want to plant their own house church in Orange County.
Details:
OCHOUSECHURCH.COM

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

HARD QUESTIONS

2008-09-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground] Presents

Hard Questions by Keith Giles

As I continue to study God's Word on the subject of the Church, I find myself confronted often by the genius of God's design for His Body and His plan for His Church. I can't deny that God had a specific plan for His Bride and He clearly communicated this to His Apostles and they clearly communicated and modeled this from the very beginning. We can see, in the book of Acts and in the Epistles, the way they loved and lived and worshipped. There really is no mystery as to what God had in mind when He breathed on His Apostles and sent them out.

"They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." - Jesus, from Matthew 23:5-12

The Doctrine of the Priesthood of Every Believer begins here, with Jesus. It's also evident when Jesus stoops to wash the disciples' feet, taking on the role of a servant. He humbled himself before them, served them as a slave would serve his master, and then said, "'Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them."You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.." (John 13:12-17)

This instruction by Jesus was intended to teach them the principle of humility and brotherhood among them as equals. It's not just for those who are in leadership, it is for anyone who has made a decision to be a follower of Christ.

ORGANIC EQUALS
Paul gives us an amazing picture of God's Church in 1 Corinthians 12 as a relational, interconnected organism empowered by the Holy Spirit and gifted to administer healing and encouragement and everything the Body would need as it lives out its mission. The only head of this Body is Christ Jesus.

The problem is that our traditional structures inhibit this design and render it useless. In the traditional church we have set up one designated person through whom all the gifts are expected to flow. If we have a need for counseling we call our pastor. If we need spiritual advice or teaching we look to our pastor. If we need prayer or encouragement or anything else we call our pastor. We do not expect that these things might come from the rest of those alongside us in the Body, which is what God intended.

DRAWING THE LINE
This week I discovered a book written in 1956 by a theologian by the name of W.C. Ketcherside called "The Royal Priesthood". It has challenged me and rocked me in unexpected ways. One of the strongest quotes refers to God's DNA for His Church as found in the New Testament and concludes, "Any system which operates to forbid or render impossible the functioning of every priest according to ability is subversive of God's whole system...We are not left to test and experiment with other forms and ideas. God has established a system which is the climax of all his creative genius. The inferior priesthood of the past pointed toward this sublime age of universal priesthood. We are not to go back to the literal and limited ministry of the previous dispensation, but we are to implement and utilize the spiritual and comprehensive priesthood made possible by the one who first became both sacrifice and priest. God's plan will work for us, if we will work his plan for him."

*Read the entire book HERE

To be honest, this quote is stronger than anything I would ever feel comfortable saying out loud. But as I contemplate the quote I can't find a way to refute it.

Ketcherside goes even further to say, "When God had a limited priesthood, (in the Old Testament), Korah, Dathan, and Abiram sought to make it inclusive of the whole congregation, and perished for their evil attempt. Of what punishment shall he be thought worthy who now seeks to install a limited priesthood for the universal one which God has revealed?"

A NEW TEMPLE FOR A NEW COVENANT
God's plan for His Church was radical. He would remove the Temple, and tear the veil separating Himself and the common people. He would fill each disciple of the Messiah with His Holy Spirit and empower them to live transformed lives of extravagant love, communicating the Gospel of the Kingdom with anyone in their path.

In God's new design the people are the new temple of God. The people are the new priesthood. The people are the carriers of the Kingdom message to the World at large.

The Doctrine of the Priesthood of Every Believer originates in the New Testament and was a foundational element in the development of the Protestant Church when Martin Luther argued against the medieval belief that Christians were to be divided into two classes: "spiritual" and "temporal" (or non-spiritual). Luther put forward the idea that all baptized Christians are priests and spiritual in the eyes of God.

*See Wikipedia entry on the Doctrine HERE:

"That the pope or bishop anoints, makes tonsures, ordains, consecrates, or dresses differently from the laity, may make a hypocrite or an idolatrous oil-painted icon, but it in no way makes a Christian or spiritual human being. In fact, we are all consecrated priests through Baptism, as St. Peter in 1 Peter 2:9 says, "You are a royal priesthood and a priestly kingdom," and Revelation 5:10, "Through your blood you have made us into priests and kings." - Martin Luther, from "To The Christian Nobility of the German Nation" (1520).

Two months later Luther would write in his "Babylonian Captivity of the Church":

"How then if they are forced to admit that we are all equally priests, as many of us as are baptized, and by this way we truly are; while to them is committed only the Ministry and consented to by us? If they recognize this they would know that they have no right to exercise power over us (in what has not been committed to them) except insofar as we may have granted it to them, for thus it says in 1 Peter 2, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a priestly kingdom." In this way we are all priests, as many of us as are Christians. There are indeed priests whom we call ministers. They are chosen from among us, and who do everything in our name. That is a priesthood which is nothing else than the Ministry. Thus 1 Corinthians 4:1: "No one should regard us as anything else than ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God."

IN SPIRIT OR IN TRUTH?
Most Protestant Churches affirm this Doctrine of the Priesthood of Every Believer in some way. However, in practice the story is quite different.

In much the same way that Southern Baptists affirm the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit on paper and yet forbid the practice of public healing ministry, or speaking in tongues, or raising your hands over your head during worship, the traditional Protestant Church pays lip service to the Priesthood of Every Believer but in practice forbids the full exercise of this doctrine in their midst.

Essentially, Traditional Churches are uncomfortable with the Doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer because at face value it threatens their structure and their clergy/laity division. It especially threatens pastors who support their families based on the salary they receive from their Church. Even the Wikipedia entry above affirms this point when it says: "This doctrine stands in opposition to the concept of a spiritual aristocracy or hierarchy within Christianity."

MY PERSONAL STRUGGLE
So far I have done my best to avoid this controversy. In my articles and in my public speaking I've gone out of my way to be gracious to the Traditional Church and to point out that God loves His entire Bride, not just those in the House Church. I really do believe that, by the way. God has shown me time and again that the Gospel is preached and the Kingdom is advanced through the Traditional Church. I cannot deny that, and I have no personal grudge against my brothers and sisters in the Traditional Church.

In fact, God has also made sure to place me in several ongoing relationships with traditional churches and pastors. For example, every other week I meet at 6am to pray with the pastor of a large, local Lutheran church. He's my friend and my brother in Christ and I have been very blessed to pray with him and I am honored to know him.

For the last year I have also been invited to preach once every quarter at a local traditional church. This is a church I love dearly. I love their pastor and I love those people very, very much. I am honored to know them and to cheer them on as they follow Christ and advance the Kingdom and live out the Gospel in their daily lives. Many of them are personal heroes of mine, in fact. They are a church full of remarkable men and women who live incredible lives of service and devotion to God and to the Kingdom of God.

So, when I say that there is a tension between the house church and the traditional church, I am speaking very personally. I am sharing with you that I am the one who is feeling pulled in two directions at once. This tension is painful to me, and it threatens to harm my friendships with people I love very, very much. This is not easy for me to talk about. Not at all.

REFORMATION, REVOLUTION, OR RECONCILIATION?
So, honestly, what am I to do with this? How do I respond? What do you think the implications are for us as believers if we willfully ignore God's clear intention for His Bride to operate as a family of equals with every member a priest, and every priest a member?

On one side we could say that we need to repent and to make every effort to reform the Church from within. Others might suggest that we should simply "Be the Church" as God intended and let God sort out everyone else in His own time and in His own way.

TWO EXAMPLES FROM HISTORY
If we look at Martin Luther we see a man who publicly opposed and confronted the established Church of his day in order to bring a reformation whereby each Believer could have a Bible and study God's Word without the permission of a priest. He also condemned the selling of indulgences (forgiveness of sins) by the clergy. Without Luther's actions we'd never have known the religious freedoms brought about by the Protestant Reformation.

Should we follow his example in this case? Should we raise our voices and publicly debate and defy the established Church of our day as well?

What about St. Francis of Assisi? He felt a strong compulsion to embrace the plight of the poor and gave away everything he owned in order to follow Christ in radical poverty and service to others. His reaction to the extravagant, excessive wealth of the Catholic Church in his day was to simply embody the change he longed to inspire in others. Rather than write letters to the Pope condemning the excesses of the Church, or standing on the street corners shouting sermons against the Catholic leaders, he simply and quietly lived out his convictions and inspired a movement.

Granted, Francis didn't change the excesses of the Organized Church in his day, or in ours, but he did model another way of following Christ that involved embracing the poor and touching the least in our community. To this day people are discovering his story and following his radical example of Christian compassion.

Perhaps our best course of action in this situation would be to live out the convictions we have in full view of those we love, whether they agree with us or not?

Do we need a public reformation or a quiet revolution? Or maybe just a softer reconciliation within God’s Family where Brothers and Sisters in Christ embrace one another in love?

What do you think?
-kg
**
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**
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**
THE PARADOX OF FREE WILL (article)
At TheOoze.com HERE

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

Shine

2008-08-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Shine
by Keith Giles

The Bible uses several metaphors to describe the Church. We are called the Bride, the Family of God, and the Body of Christ.

We are never referred to as an organization, a weekly meeting or a business.

In God's heart, we are a living organism. We are a Body made up of interdependent parts with Christ as our head.

We are a family, adopted sons and daughters who are blessed beyond measure to call the Creator of the Universe "Papa".

We are a Bride, the fiancee of the Son of God, radiant by His Glory, madly in love with the Groom, being made ready for a wedding feast at the End of Time.

We are carriers of the Kingdom message, empowered by His Holy Spirit, called from the four corners of the Earth, on a mission of love and service and daily sacrifice.

We are sons and daughters. We are fathers and mothers. We are housewives and computer engineers. We are musicians and artists. We are mathematicians and scientists. We are poets and truck drivers and marketing executives and elementary school teachers and airline pilots.

We are the global ambassadors of God's love to a hurting and dying world.

We are the Church when we are awake and when we are asleep. We are the Church when we are driving on the freeway and when we are talking on the phone. We are the Church when we are in line at the Grocery Store or eating a cheeseburger in the food court.

We are the Church - Agents of change who have one simple command to fulfill; "Love one another".

If we could really understand this. If we could really see who we are every minute of every day, there is nothing that could stand in our way, not even the very gates of Hell.

Can we defend the cause of the orphan and the widow? Can we speak up for the abused and the enslaved? Can we share what we have been given with those in our own community who have nothing? Can we lay aside our petty differences and learn to forgive and love and befriend those who are right in front of us?

Can we learn to love others as Jesus loved? Can we give the way He gave? Can we lay down our lives, our wants, our needs, our comfort, for the good of someone else?

All of Heaven holds it breath in anticipation, awaiting the outcome of this drama of life we find ourselves in.

The Kingdom is in motion. Your assistance is required.

Don't miss your chance to shine.

-kg
www.KeithGiles.com

**
NEW HOUSE CHURCH NETWORK - OCHOUSECHURCH.COM
This week I set up a website and a dedicated email address for people here in Orange County who are curious about house church and want to learn more. The website is OCHouseChurch.com and my hope is to connect local house church leaders with one another, and with people here in our community who are looking for a house church family to join.

I plan to host a free, monthly "House Church 101" class to answer questions, provide info and equip people to start their own house churches.

Pray that other local house churches will join me in this effort. I would love to have their help in coaching, training and welcoming new people into the house church movement.

**
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
Last week I set up a little survey over at SurveyMonkey.com to find out a little more about the 250 or so people who currently subscribe to this little weekly e-newsletter.

If you haven't taken the survey yet, I'd appreciate it if you took some time to do so. It's only 10 questions long and it's
RIGHT HERE

[END TRANSMISSION]

ONLINE CONFESSIONS

2008-08-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Online Confessions by Keith Giles

This week I ran across a blog entry that I felt misrepresented the words of Jesus on the subject of forgiveness. I attempted, as lovingly as possible, to ask the author a few questions and explain why I disagreed. This person eventually deleted all of my comments to their article and removed all trace of our debate.

I felt angry that my voice hadn't been heard and felt that I had no recourse but to post my arguments and make my case over at my own blog.

FORGIVENESS DEFECIT
I did try my best, at the time, to be fair and loving and use language that veered away from outright attacking him or condemning him. But now I realize that I could have gone a bit further towards extending this person a little more grace. I know that if this person had been my best friend I I would probably have said something like, "My friend and I were having a little disagreement about a difficult passage of scripture this week. Here's my interpretation of what I think Jesus really says about forgiveness."

Instead, I got pissed off because he was deleting my comments and trying to deflect any and all criticism. That made me feel like I had to find a place to display my side of the story publicly. Where else but my own blog, right? Oh, yes, yes, it also bothered me that he was twisting the words of Jesus and misleading those people who follow his teaching, but in my mind I think I was more upset that he had dared to delete my comments and silence my voice. I mean, who does he think he is, right?

LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT ME
My chief complaint and greatest offense was personal. My secondary offense was that he had twisted the words of Jesus. I don't honestly think I realized that at the time, but now at the end of the week I have to confess that this is much closer to the truth.

So, I need to confess this to everyone and admit that I have re-discovered the Pharisee inside of me who cares more about what people think about him than he does about what people think about God or His Word. This is a painful thing to admit about myself, but I can't deny this is true. I ask for your prayers and for your help in putting to death the Pharisee in me. I am praying that God would help me to see these sorts of things more and more so that I can identify my hypocrisy and pride and submit these areas of my life to Christ, the Great Physician, who (I hope and pray) will be merciless as He cuts this infectious, evil junk out of my heart.

WE'RE NOT DONE YET. OH NO.
On a similar note: On the way to work this morning I realized that I really needed to forgive someone. I was angry at them for something they did and I was keeping it inside.

Last night at house church I sat there and talked about how God has been speaking to me about forgiveness (due to my exchanges with the offending blogger) and how I've been reminded that forgiveness is something I need from God daily, and how I need to remember the "Conversatio Morem!" (Constant Conversion) principle of coming daily to Jesus to bend the knee and confess my sins and lay myself at His feet.

I sat there on the floor last night and said, "It's not like I have anyone in my life I need to forgive right now". Honestly, at the time it really didn't occur to me that I needed to forgive this person. They had hurt me and I was a bit angry at them for the decisions they had made, but I didn't think that I needed to forgive them for anything. I guess I just thought they needed to apologize or change their behavior. Maybe I was hoping that if I just stuffed it deeper inside my heart that eventually the pain would subside. I mean, it hasn't ever worked before but you never know when these acts of futility might eventually start paying off. Right?

HERE'S THE GOOD PART
Anyway, on the drive to work today I was praying and asking God to put His finger on the place in my heart that needed healing and comforting (because I feel kinda sad about some of the things I'm seeing in our house church, and I'm feeling like a bit of a failure in some ways because I can't be all things to all people and I don't have the time I used to have to be there for people I care about, and I'm not sure I know how to lead our church through our current growth phase, etc.), and as I pulled into the parking lot He spoke to me and made me realize that I do have someone I need to forgive. And then He took me back to last night, sitting on the floor and saying "I don't think there's anyone I need to forgive" and helped me to see that I really do need to forgive this person. I need to set them free. I need to set myself free. I need to have this relationship healed and I need to be healed myself.

I'VE BEEN SET UP
When I back all the way up from the events of this week I almost wonder if God didn't allow me to trip over that wacky blog article and respond to his post and get into this drawn out online argument and post a rebuttal on my blog and ask six mentors and friends about their opinion on the issue, and share last night about the need we have for forgiveness...just so I could drive into the parking lot this morning and realize, and admit, and accept, that I need to forgive this person and love them and set them free and allow God to heal the wound in my heart.

STARTING WITH THE MAN IN THE MIRROR
God is showing me so many things about myself these days. Some of them are hard to accept. Some of them are just reminders of things I've known for years, but have recently forgotten. But all of them are for my good. All of them are because He loves me so much it's beyond ridiculous.

I don't know if this confession helps anyone else or not. I just know that, as I let go of my hurt feelings and set this person free in my heart, I am suddenly, incredibly set free myself. The weight is lifted and the chains have fallen off. I have wings. Why didn't I do this a long time ago?

It's good to forgive and to be forgiven.

Try it sometime.

www.keithgiles.com
Email me directly at "Elysiansky" (at) "hotmail" (dot com)

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-kg
**

[END TRANSMISSION]

MY SUBVERSIVE JESUS

2008-08-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]
"My Subversive Jesus"
by Keith Giles

This Sunday morning I was very challenged to read about how Jesus very directly and intentionally confronted the empty traditions of the Pharisees by what He said and did.

HEALING WITH MUD AND SPITTLE
In John chapter 9, Jesus sees a man born blind. His disciples ask if this blindness is due to sin from his parents or his own sin. Jesus responds by saying that it is not because of anyone's sin but so that God's power may be displayed in his life.

What Jesus does next is very subversive. He spits on the ground, makes a cake of mud and smears it on the man's eyes and tells him to wash his face in the pool of Siloam. When he does the man is healed.

If you're like me you've probably always wondered why Jesus healed this man in such an unusual way. We know he could have simply spoken to him and restored his blindness, yet for some strange reason he performs this miracle in a very weird and, frankly, disgusting way.

Want to know why? The answer reveals some of the intentionally subversive methods of Jesus. In the Mishnah, the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism, it says "To heal a blind man on the Sabbath it is prohibited to make mud with spittle and smear it on his eyes." (Shabbat 108:20)

When Jesus decided to heal this man, on the Sabbath, using this exact same method prohibited by the Mishnah, he was publicly opposing this section of the Rabbinic Law and making a statement about the foolishness of a rule which prohibits healing someone from blindness.

His actions are a deliberate attack on the established religious system of the day.

If you read the entire passage in John 9 you'll see that this healing prompted an investigative tribunal by the Pharisees to determine how this person was healed, by whom and why.

"They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." - John 9:13-16

Clearly the Pharisees were upset over this and did all they could to undermine the miracle and to condemn Jesus for his actions.

NEGLECTING TO WASH HANDS
In Luke chapter 11 we read of another direct encounter with the Pharisees where Jesus publicly opposed their teachings by his acts of subversion.

"When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you." - Luke 11:37-41

Again, the Mishnah clearly says, "One should be willing to walk four miles to water in order to wash your hands rather than to eat with unwashed hands" (Sotah, 4b) and "He who neglects hand washing is as he who is a murderer" (Challan, J, 58:3).

Jesus knew he was breaking this rabbinical law when he and his disciples ate without washing their hands. He didn't forget to wash his hands, he intentionally walked past the line of people who were engaged in the religious hand washing ceremony and went over to the table and started to eat.

Jesus pointed out how foolish it is to go through an outward ceremony of cleanliness when inside our hearts we are filthy. Jesus urged the Pharisees to give what they had to the poor rather than engage in outward displays of holiness.

WHY SO SUBVERSIVE?
Jesus could easily have healed on another day of the week, and he could have easily healed without the spittle and mud cakes, and he probably should have washed his hands before he ate, but these were opportunities to demonstrate how foolish these laws were and how much more God cares for people than he does for rules and laws.

MY TURN NOW
It made me wonder, what are the modern traditions that I need to oppose by my actions? How can I follow Jesus by standing against the ways of man and, at the same time, declare my allegiance to the things of the Kingdom?

Quite honestly I haven't yet worked this all out, but I do feel that there may be a short list of things that I could do and say in my every day life that could condemn the empty religious rules of men in favor of the values of the Kingdom of God.

Can you think of anything?

-kg
**
NOTE: Many thanks to Frank Viola for enlightening me on the Mishnah teachings in his excellent book, "Pagan Christianity".

**
GREAT CONVERSATIONS
Over at my main blog there are some pretty cool conversations going on. You should take a peek
HERE

**
ARTICLES TO SHARE
THE POVERTY OF WEALTH

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO UNSCREW THE CHURCH?

2008-08-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]

HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO UNSCREW THE CHURCH?
by Keith Giles

Over the last few months God has been leading me down a path that I have somewhat reluctantly agreed to travel. There was a moment when I was offered a chance to stop and turn back. Almost like Morpheus offering Neo one last opportunity to remain in Wonderland before unzipping his mind and allowing reality to spill inward.

I was standing in the bathroom a few weeks ago, getting ready to brush my teeth and roll into bed. My wife was turning off the lights in the house and locking the front door and so I had a moment to myself. Looking in the mirror I felt as if God were asking me if I wanted to continue to follow the path I was walking or not.

DEEPER IN, FURTHER ON
Isn't it enough that I've left the traditional church to plant a house church in my home, I wondered? Isn't it enough that I publish articles on the internet to provoke a complacent American Church to awaken from slumber? How much more radical can I be? Why can't I just stay right where I am?

Standing there in my bathroom, looking at my face in the mirror I knew there was a way out. "You can stop now and everything will be alright".

Even though a part of me was longing for the comfort of blissful ignorance, I knew there was really no choice at all. In my bathroom that night, as I unspooled a length of floss from the carton and wrapped it around my finger, I willingly stepped over the line that had been drawn in the sands of my mind.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
At that point in my life I was reeling from a myriad of realizations concerning the development of the early Christian faith. The slim stack of books in my canvas bag sat like loaded clips of mental ammo and page by page each one was shooting holes in my reality. My universe was slowly unraveling, and by more than one thread at a time.

Today, just a few weeks later, I can look over my shoulder and barely make out that line in the sand. This journey has been brief, but it has taken me further down the road than I ever imagined I would come.

THE JESUS CODE
I know that Jesus had something amazing in mind when He designed His Church. It wasn't meant to be a burden to His people. He modelled and inspired a family of faith where everyone was gifted to serve and empowered to encourage and heal and edify and inspire the rest. Of course, the problem is that we have chosen to try it our own way and this is what we get - tired and empty and run down.

Very simply, Jesus came to abolish the daily sacrifice. He became the Lamb of God and there is now no need for any further blood sacrifice.

Jesus came to destroy the Temple. He became the Temple and destroyed it, raising it again in three days. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and it remains so to this day.

Jesus came to abolish the Jewish Priesthood. He became our ultimate, final High Priest and lives to intercede for us to this very moment. The Jewish Priesthood today remains an empty shell of its former self, mainly due to the loss of the Temple and the ceasing of the daily sacrifice.

TRANSFORMATIONAL PATTERNS
Why did Jesus do these things? To establish His Church. To give birth to a people who would become the Temple of God, who would daily lay down their lives for Him and who would become the new royal priesthood of God.

This was not an accident. This was the intentional work of Jesus. He tore down one system in order to give birth to a new, vibrant, living organism and His Apostles understood this completely. This is why they did not establish a new priesthood within the Church. Instead they taught that everyone who was in Christ was of the priesthood of the Believer.

It's also why they didn't continue to offer a daily blood sacrifice. They understood that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and that our response should be to surrender our lives as living sacrifices to honor Him.

The Apostles also demonstrated their understanding of what Christ had accomplished by not building a new Temple or place of worship. Instead they taught that the people of God were the building made up of living stones- the only building God had ever asked for.

RELATIONAL ORGANISMS
God's design for His Church was specific. He intended that each person would use the special gifting imparted by the Holy Spirit to relationally encourage, strengthen, exhort, heal, inspire, edify, and counsel one another.

I must point out that it was never God's intent that all of the encouraging, teaching, healing, counseling and exhorting come through only one or two members in the Body. Instead, God's plan was to equally distribute the workload so that everything the Body needs is available to the Body, through the Holy Spirit which is implanted in the Body for the common good of the Body.

God also displayed His genius when He decided to distribute the gifts of the spirit to people throughout the Body. This means that a relational structure is necessary to keep the organism healthy. Because one person has the gift of encouragment, I must be encouraged by that person. To receive the healing I need it must come from the sister in our Body who has been given the gift of healing, and so on.

If God had wanted to, He could have given the gift directly to the person who needed it. Instead, He built into the organism a relational structure that acts as a delivery system for the gifts of the Spirit.

As I begin to see these things in action here in our own house church, and as God continually shows me His vision for His Church through the Scriptures, I am in awe.

At the same time, I have to admit a great sadness when I see how we have adopted our own method of gathering together that effectively unravels nearly everything that God had in mind for His Bride.

THE DESOLATION THAT CAUSES AN EMPTY NATION
In our modern day traditional American church we have abandoned a relational, family structure and embraced a corporate, business model for the Church. We have shifted to an organizational model and not an organism model.

Do models matter? Yes, they do. If you attempted to run your family like a business it would change the dynamic of your family. Decisions would be made to benefit the business first and the concept of family would become lost in the new corporate structure of your home.

"Sorry son, you know I love you- like a son- but George here has doubled his last quarter sales goal so I'm giving him your room. If you get your sales up next quarter I'm sure we can get you back in the top bunk."

God's design for His Church is important. If we are dying for community it's because we've abandoned a relational form of Church. If we see our pastors burn out and fall away it's because we've twisted God's relational plan for His Church into a one-man show. If our churches are unfriendly and cold it's because we have forsaken a family approach and embraced a corporate structure.

If we're really interested in following God's Word, it's important for us to listen to what it says, and to put these things into practice.

So, today I know that I have come too far to turn back. I can no longer remain silent. I have to ask, "How many Christians does it take to unscrew the Church?"

What scares me is, I have no idea what the punchline is.

-kg
http://www.KeithGiles.com

[END TRANSMISSION]

STEPS OF FAITH

2008-08-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]

STEPS OF FAITH
By Keith Giles

This morning I did something very important. I got out of bed, got down on my knees and surrendered my life to Jesus.

I bowed my head and said, "Jesus, you know I've not loved my neighbor as myself, and I'm not very good at considering others as better than me, but I confess to you my sins and my failures and I ask you to help me to follow you with all my heart. I want to hear your voice and I want to live my life for you, Lord Jesus."

After that I felt like a load had been lifted from my shoulders, and my heart felt lighter than usual.

The air outside was crisp and brand new, the way I felt inside. The day was just beginning and I knew that my life in Christ was just beginning too.

I must admit, this isn't the first time I've bowed my head and bent my knee to ask God for forgiveness. I do it all the time. In fact, my goal has been to make repentence and confession a daily occurence. Not a ritual, but a very real and honest admission to God of my weakness, my failures and my great need for more of Him in my life.

I used to think of salvation as having taken place when I first prayed that prayer of repentence and confession as a 9 year old boy in Eagle Pass, Texas at the Lighthouse Freewill Baptist Church. That was certainly a very important day in my journey with Christ, but it wasn't enough, unfortunately. I soon learned that I needed a daily shot of God's Grace and a constant infusion of His Holy Spirit to fill me and change me and empower me to be like Jesus.

"For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." - 1 Peter 1:9

Today was a very important day in my spiritual life too. It was yet another opportunity to lay down my life and surrender my heart to Jesus.

Taking up my cross, and letting go of my life, is part of my daily obedience to Jesus. I need a constant conversion experience in order to place my feet into the footprints of the One who is ahead of me, blazing a trail of love and forgiveness and mercy and grace.

Today I gave my heart to Christ. Did you?

-kg
**

THE RELUCTANT RADICAL

2008-07-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]

THE RELUCTANT RADICAL
by Keith Giles

I really don't try to act like a radical. If anything I am trying as hard as possible to remain normal. The problem is I'm having a very hard time defining what normal should look like.

Being a radical means that you can't ever really just come out and say exactly what you mean. I have to choose my words carefully. I have to lead people to the same discoveries I have made, like clues to the scene of a crime no one is investigating.

Being a radical means I can not be comfortable with things that seem to delight everyone else. I cannot tolerate certain points of view without fuming inside. I cannot engage most people in conversation without biting my tongue for fear they may discover that I am a raging radical beneath this skin.

Please, don't become a radical. There's still hope for the rest of you to remain normal. Stay as you are. Do not read the words of Jesus. Do not take them seriously. Do not attempt to live them out. It will change you beyond recognition. Soon you will know the pain of trying to love someone who will not ever love you back. You will experience the agony of serving someone who will only go on to destroy their life, in spite of all that you have poured into them.

Do not read "Jesus For President" or "Pagan Christianity" and do not watch "What Would Jesus Buy?" or go to Just4One.org, for goodness sake. These things will only make you sick of corporate America and our endless lust for consuming goods and services at the expense of the poorest people in the world who work as slaves to create the things we purchase.

Do not, under any circumstances, download the PDF article by Ray Mayhew called "Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of American Christianity" or you might also find yourself leaving your safe office as an associate pastor at a traditional church to start a house church in your home where you can give 100% of the offering to the poor. (But if you insist on reading this I will send it to you for free. Just email me at "elysiansky" at hotmail (dot) com).

Please, whatever you do, do not become a radical like me. It will cause you to be forever dissatisfied with this World. It will forever erase the fantasy world that most of us cling to for safety in the dark of night.

Once you become a radical you cannot simply exist. You cannot be a radical and still blend in with the culture ever again. Instead you will be driven to press forward, out of your comfort zone, compelled to put the commands of Jesus into action.

Being a radical means you can not ever rest until you have done everything in your power to awaken everyone else around you to the poverty, the sickness, the violence, the horror and the injustice of this fallen world. It means placing your foot into the footprints of the One who was called the Man of Sorrows, who was acquainted with suffering and who knew that the secret to changing our world was only found in death to self and seeking first the Kingdom of God.

Trust me, it is so much easier to belong to a predictable movement where comfort is the goal and the radio is tuned to safety.

Stay the way you are.

Do not become a radical.

You have been warned.

-kg

**
LORD, SAVE US FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS
This is one indie film worth seeking out.

"Lord Save Us From Your Followers" is not a slam against Christianity by non-believers, it's an honest look at Christianity in America that we need to take seriously.

This film hopes to reclaim the heart of the Gospel and to restore the concepts of relationship and love for people, as Jesus commanded us.

Secondly, the film hopes to inspire dialogue between political or ideological extremes, particularly Christian and non-Christian; Liberal and conservative.

WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE FILM
HERE

MAIN WEBSITE
HERE:

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

THE POWER TO LOVE AND FORGIVE

2008-07-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]
THE POWER TO LOVE AND TO FORGIVE
by Keith Giles

Love isn't an easy thing to do. If you do it right, it will cost you everything.

To love someone you must lay aside your wants and focus on their needs. Their happiness takes precedence over your comfort, and their joy becomes more important than your own.

To be honest, I do not often do it right. Often I am too overcome by my own desire to be comfortable or happy to love someone else in this way. Love is difficult. It is challenging. Love is not for the faint of heart.

In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus gives us a glimpse into the future. We get to see what will count for Eternity when we stand before Him at the end of our lives. Surprisingly, what counts is how we have loved others.

"Whatever you have done for one of the least of these, my brothers, you have done it unto me."

Many of us will be surprised at how little weight Jesus gives to church attendance, tithing, drinking alcohol, using swear words, or wearing Christian t-shirts. In fact Jesus makes no reference to any of these things when it comes to the final Judgement. He seems to only care about one thing: How did you love others?

It's not a shock really, since the main command he gave to his followers was to love one another as he loved them. (see John 13:34)

So, in the end, it's all about the love we show, not the outward acts of power and service in the name of God.

Jesus was also clear that we are called to love those who don't love us in return.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Don't even sinners do that?" (Luke 6:32)

Our calling, as followers of Jesus, is to love not only those who love us (our parents, our wives, our children, our best friend, etc.), but also those who do not love us (the guy on the freeway who cut us off, the family member who infuriates us, that annoying guy at church, our co-workers, our stupid boss, etc.).

Love, as I said before, is not an easy thing to do.

That's why we need to be changed, from the inside out, so that we can become the sort of people who love unconditionally and extravagantly.

"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - 2 Cor 5:16-17

As far as impossible things go, forgiveness is no walk in the park either. I'm reminded of a great quote from the film, "Into The Wild" where one character says to the main character, "When you forgive you love, and when you love God's light shines down on you."

Another thing that happens when you forgive is that you set yourself free.

"Forgiveness is giving up the right to retaliate. Forgiveness is the willingness to have something happen the way it happened. It's not true that you can't forgive something; it's a matter of the will, and you always have the choice. Forgiveness is never dependent on what the other person does or does not do; it is always under our control. Forgiveness is giving up the insistence on being understood.... Jesus forgave those who crucified him. This is a radically new way of thinking. For those who accept and practice this discipline, there is a release of energy and a sense of freedom." - Pixie Koestline Hammond; For Everything There Is a Season

Evil is overcome, then, not by force or by destructive power but by the amazing love of God. Only His perfect brand of love - without strings attached, where only the good of the person being loved is taken into account- can overcome a world of hate and violence and pain.

Like it or not, you and I, the followers of Jesus, have a mandate. We are commanded to love. We are compelled to forgive. Our only hope is to become like Jesus so that we can love like Jesus loved. This is the only hope possible for our troubled world.

Do we really believe that the greatest weapons against hate are love and forgiveness? Do we really put our faith in towels and basins of water as instruments of change? Do we actually trust in the power of daily dieing to ourselves so that Christ can live through us?

"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." - Colossians 1:27

-kg
www.keithgiles.com

**
EMBEZZLEMENT: THE CORPORATE SIN OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
This out of print, hard to find PDF booklet written by Ray Mayhew is available for free if you send me an email at "elysiansky" at hotmail (dot) com with the subject line "EMBEZZLEMENT".

**
SLAVERY IS STILL PRACTICED AROUND THE WORLD
FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP
RIGHT HERE

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POVERTY IN THE OC - WEBSITE AND INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION
I've set up a new web resource page to educate people about poverty here in Orange County, California.

It's at
www.PovertyInTheOC.com

Several local pastors have met with me and are interested in having me come and present a free, interactive workshop on poverty in Orange County. If you know of anyone in this area interested in something like this, please have them contact me via the info on this website.

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

The Cyprian Influence

2008-07-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

The Cyprian Influence
by Keith Giles

For most of his life, Cyprian was a distinguished and wealthy pagan who lived in a luxurious villa which sprawled across much of the hillside of Carthage where he was born.

Born Thascius Cyprianus, he later took the name Caecilius in memory of the man who introduced him to the Christian faith. Due to his great wealth and influence in the pagan community, Cyprian was ordained as a deacon in the Christian church soon after his baptism and in very short order he was named as Bishop of Carthage, to the protest of many of the faithful in that region.

In spite of the very vocal opposition to Cyprian's fast track to Bishop-hood, which continued to plague him throughout his tenure in that office, his talents as a pagan orator and teacher of rhetoric, along with his great wealth, afforded him great influence within the 3rd century Christian church.

ON THE RUN
Early in his career as Bishop of Carthage, Cyprian was ordered to offer sacrifices to the Emperor or face persecution. He fled to a secluded village and maintained contact with the Church via an appointed contact. As more persecution came upon the members of his church, many others fled as well. However, Cyprian felt very strongly that the Church should not welcome back those Christians who escaped the sword by running away, as he had done. Instead he argued that they should be treated as unbelievers and not be welcomed back into fellowship.

Of course, when he eventually returned from hiding to resume his public office, he wrote a compelling letter explaining why his escape into seclusion was for the strengthening of the Church and that he should, therefore, be allowed to continue as Bishop of Carthage. None of the other Bishops opposed his return to his diocese and he was allowed to continue as if nothing had transpired.

RE-WRITING THE NEW TESTAMENT
Cyprian's greatest influence on the Church was introducing the concepts of priest, temples, rituals, altars and sacrifices to the faith. Until his writings, the Christian church had operated under the New Testament system, largely influenced by Jesus and his Apostles, which held firmly to the notion that the temple, the priesthood and the sacrifice were fulfilled in Christ at His Crucifixion and further that His Followers were also the temple of God, the royal priesthood and that their sacrifice was expressed in the way they lived their lives each day.

Because of Cyprian's skill as an orator and his prominence as a Bishop in Carthage, his pagan ideas of worship were given serious acceptance within the larger Body of Christ. In his writings Cyprian argued for a return to Old Testament Jewish practices which closely mirrored the concepts he had grown up with in a paganized culture.

Sadly, the Christian faith adopted Cyprian's ideas of spiritual covering, the special clergy caste, the importance of ritual and the need for a temple and sacrificial system of worship within one generation, effectively undoing the revolutionary concepts of Church found in the New Testament.

THE CHURCH JESUS BUILT
Inspired by Jesus, the Apostles established a community of believers, a church, based on the revolutionary concept of People-as-Temple and a corporate body which depended not upon a special clergy class, but upon the Holy Spirit Himself.

"...the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." - Jesus (John 14:26)

Under this radical new concept, the Church was built upon the foundation of Christ as our ultimate priest and sacrice and temple so that each of His followers could also become a temple of the living God, a daily sacrifice and a priest of God.

No one was more vocal about this concept of a living temple of God than Paul the Apostle who wrote prolifically on the subject in nearly every single epistle.

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" 1 Cor 3:16

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own." 1 Cor 6:19

"What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." 2 Cor 6:16

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." - Eph 2:19-22

THE TESTIMONY OF PETER
Peter himself was also very clear on the concept of a living temple made up of people who were also the new priesthood and the daily sacrifice.

In his first epistle he clearly outlined this very concept to those early Christians:

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." - 1 Peter 2:9-10

THE CYPRIAN SWITCH
Sadly, in the third century, Cyprian came on the scene and unraveled the tightly woven tapestry spun by Jesus and taught by His Apostles in the New Testament by someone who clearly did not fully understand the genius of this design.

Jesus himself spoke clearly on this subject when asked by the woman at the well about the location and method of proper worship to God. His response was that the temple in Jerusalem was no longer the "special" place to find God. Instead, one could find and worship God wherever they stood, as long as God's Spirit was within him or her.

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." - Jesus (in John 4:23-24)

The very fact that the early followers of Jesus did not adopt a system of priesthood, or continue to offer daily sacrifices in a special temple bears witness to the fact that, as evidenced in the Apostolic writings, there was a new temple, priesthood and sacrifice now, and they were it.

Under Christ, the priesthood was now more than just one man overseeing a congregation of several hundred people, the priest was now every single one of those people. It was an exponential multiplication of priests who were also temples of God's Holy Spirit where a daily sacrifice of will and self took place.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
- Romans 12:1

"Then (Jesus) said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." - Luke 9:23-24

JUST IMAGINE
When Cyprian re-wrote the New Testament to fit his own ideas about temple, priest and sacrifice, he effectively introduced a doctrine into the Church which continues to pervade our concepts of worship and church to this very day and hour.

But, what if we could return to the ideas of the New Testament? What if we could learn to live as if God's Holy Spirit lives within every single follower of Jesus? What if we could begin to think of ourselves as priests of God who daily offer themselves as living sacrifices so that Christ could live through us?

What if?

kg
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BLOGS YOU SHOULD BE READING DAILY
CRISSY BROOKS

MODERN CHURCH TRANSLATIONS

THE COSBY FAMILY BLOG

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION

2008-07-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]
"The Ministry of Reconciliation"
by Keith Giles

My friend Mary Anne has cancer. She's sixty one years old and she's been part of our Mission House Church family for almost exactly one year now.

When I first met her she was living at the Salvation Army Hospitality House for the homeless.

For many years Mary Anne had been a school teacher here in Orange County. She loves children and loved teaching. Even today she still misses her classroom and her students.

For a time Mary Anne slept on our sofa. She had a son living a few blocks away, and a brother who lived nearby in a large mansion of a house on the hill, but Mary Anne, after years of caring for others, found she had to take care of herself at the age of sixty.

Even though she had a retirement pension from her many years as a teacher, she had cashed it out early to care for her son in his time of need a few years ago. When it came time to retire she found herself out of a job, and out of a house and home.

Mary Anne spent a few weeks on our sofa but eventually God opened a door for Mary Anne at a local retirement home. It was just down the street from us so we got to see her often and she continued to come to our house church gatherings each week.

About a month ago Mary Anne had a 3 inch tumor removed from her brain. You wouldn't believe how quickly she's recovered from her surgery, but there's still a network of melanoma tumors spider-webbed throughout her brain mass.

So, last Sunday our church family gathered around her and laid hands on her and prayed for God to heal her. Children and adults gathered around her and cried out to God for mercy, for healing and for restoration of health.

Afterwards we listened as Mary Anne shared with us about God's peace and how even though the Doctors say she is terminal, she feels fine and full of life. Better yet, she's witnessing God's ministry of reconciliation as her son is restored to her after years of estrangement, and her daughter is being reconciled to her father, and Mary Anne's brother is seeking out a renewed relationship with her after years of separation.

We reflected on how God seems to be using this sickness in Mary Anne's life to radiate healing through her life to heal relationships. Because of this terminal cancer God is restoring a son to his mother, a brother to his sister, and a daughter to her father.

Only God can do this. Only God can heal these wounds and restore these broken relationships.

One of our leaders in the house church, Kelly, remarked on how God's desire is to heal us completely. Not just physically, but spiritually and emotionally and psychologically. God desires to heal us and nurture us inside and out. He delights in making us whole and complete.

We shared together from 2 Corinthians 5, verses 17 through 20, where Paul reminds us: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."

Each of us in the Body of Christ has been given this same ministry of reconciliation. We are to be peacemakers. Even as Jesus encouraged us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9), we are to be people of peace, people who bring reconciliation in our wake.

So, for today, Mary Anne basks in the peace of God, knowing that He is in control of her life. She knows that God is at work through her sickness, and that for now He is using even this to reconcile her family and restore these relationships. Her hope is that each of them will come to know Jesus as she knows Him, to love Him as she loves Him, and to trust Him as she trusts Him...with her very life.

In time, we pray that God would heal her cancer. We will continue to pray together every time we gather for God's mercy and healing in Mary Anne's body, and until then we will rejoice for the ministry of healing and reconciliation that is radiating out of her in every direction to soften hearts and restore her family.

As Mary Anne said to me last Sunday, "God is faithful."

Amen.

-kg
**
SOUL SURVIVOR PODCAST - CRISSY BROOKS
Do yourself a huge favor. Go to ITunes and download the most recent podcast sermon over at Soul Survivor USA. It's a message by one of my heroes in the faith, Crissy Brooks. I promise it will bless you.

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
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[END TRANSMISSION]

Jesus Is Our Blueprint

2008-06-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Jesus Is Our Blueprint
by Keith Giles

"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" - John 1:29

I've often referred to Jesus as our blueprint for living the Kingdom life because Jesus lived a Kingdom life for us to follow. He showed us how to humble ourselves and serve others, how to love those who are outside our comfort zones, and how to forgive those who hate us.

The life of Jesus was intended to show us that, in fact, it really is possible for us to obey His commands and live as He did.

This is what Jesus meant when he said "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing" - John 14:12

If we trust in Jesus, if we really believe in what He taught us, we will put His words into practice and we will do the things we saw Him doing.

A few verses previous to this one, Jesus lets the Disciples know that all He has ever done is what the Father told Him to do- "The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." v. 10

So, if Jesus accomplished all that He did by listening to Father, and doing what the Father was doing, then we also can, and will, do the things that Jesus did when we submit our lives to God in the same way.

A few verses later Jesus is asked a question: "Why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the World?"

The disciples are wondering why Jesus doesn't reveal His Glory to the entire planet at once. Here's what Jesus says in reply, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." - John 14:22-23

Did you catch that? The Disciples want to know why Jesus only shows himself to the twelve and not to the whole World. Jesus answer? I'm showing myself to you and when you obey my teachings you show me to the World, then they will see me, and the Father.

Our obedience to Jesus allows the Gospel to be proclaimed in our lives each day.

The point of a blueprint is to read the plan and to duplicate it in the real world. Jesus death on the cross was intended to set us free and give us a new kind of life in the Kingdom of God, here and now, where we live and breathe.

His sacrifice gave us life. His death gave us access to the Kingdom. And now, our daily sacrifice not only allows us to follow after Him, it is intended to put to death our flesh so that He can live in us.

Because Jesus died, we can live. Because we die daily, Jesus can live through us.

Do people around you see Jesus in you? Are you daily taking up your cross to follow Him? There's still time to start living for the One who died to give you life.

"Behold, the Lambs of Jesus who die daily so that their Shepherd can live through them."

-kg
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THE CHURCH JESUS BUILT - Free Podcast
If you use ITunes be sure to download the new podcast sermon, "The Church Jesus Built" over at [Subversive Underground] podcast.

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This is too good not to share.
Read it and bookmark it. It's solid gold.
MODERN CHURCH TRANSLATION

Excerpt:
James 4:17

17 "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."
-New Living Translation

17 "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. Unless, of course, you instead give money to some type of organization that will do it for you. In this way you will be absolved from all responsibility to do anything and can sleep at night with a clean conscience."
- Modern Church Translation

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[END TRANSMISSION]

THE CHURCH THAT JESUS BUILT

2008-06-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

The Church That Jesus Built
by Keith Giles

In 2 Samuel, chapter 7, we read where King David looked around his opulent cedar palace and concluded that it wasn't right that he should live in such splendor while God lived in a tent outside the city, hovered over the Ark of the Covenant.

When David tells the prophet Nathan that he intends to build a house for God the prophet enthusiastically tells David that he is certain God will be with him no matter what he plans to do.

That night God nudges Nathan awake and lets him know that it's usually better to ask God what He thinks before you just go ahead and endorse someone's impulsive idea.

God tells Nathan to let David know that He doesn't live in that tent, and that He can go wherever He wants, and that He has never asked anyone to build a house for Him. Not ever.

Instead, God tells David, in verese 11, to sit back and allow Him to build a house for David. "The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you."

What follows is a beautiful prophecy concerning the Messiah. "When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son." - (2 Sam 7:12-14)

I am amazed to see how God not only promised to build a house for David, but that this promised Messiah would be the only one to build a house for God.

Yes, we do know that Solomon was allowed to build a temple to God, but God was always clear that He did not reside in Temples built by men, nor did He require a special building to house His Spirit.

As I read this prophetic passage I have to wonder, "What house did Jesus build for God?" We know that Jesus didn't commission any buildings. We know that His Disciples didn't build any temples either.

The only thing that Jesus ever built that could qualify as a "House for (God's) Name" is the Church. This means that you and I are the fulfillment of this prophecy.

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." - 1 Cor 3:16

What is the purpose of a Temple? It's a Holy Place. It's where people can go to find God, to approach Him and to enter into His presence.

If you and I are now the Temple of God on this Earth, this means that whenever people come to you, whether they know it or not, they are standing in front of the Temple of the Living God.

"But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." - Hebrews 3:5-6

Even though we often think of the Church as a building, it is not a building. The Church is a organism, not an organization. The Church is made only of living, breathing people who carry around with them the Holy Presence of the Living God in their hearts.

"In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." - Ephesians 2:20-22

God lives in you. He has made His home in you, by your faith in Christ Jesus and the finished work of Christ on the cross. This is not a small thing. In fact, the ripping of the veil in Solomon's Temple, the cloth separating God and man, was ripped from top to bottom the very instant that Jesus accomplished His work on the cross.

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." - Matthew 27:50-51.

God didn't wait even one second longer than necessary to remove the veil which separated us from Himself. Let's be careful not to hang up a new veil in its place.

We are the only House that God has ever asked for. We are the only Temple ever commissioned by God to house His Holy Presence. That's who you are. That's who I am.

The True and Living God has built for Himself a living, breathing Temple on this Earth and we are it.

Meditate on this today. Realize that this is who God has made you to be.

-kg
**
POVERTY IN THE OC
I've set up a new resource website/blog over at
www.PovertyInTheOC.com
Check it out
HERE

[END TRANSMISSION]

NO COMPROMISE

2008-06-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

NO COMPROMISE by Keith Giles

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me." - Jesus, John 15:18-21

ESCAPING THE SWORD
Jesus promised his followers that the world would hate them, even as it had hated him. Resistance was to be expected. Living counter to the culture was an inherent element of God's Kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus was to be lived out in the midst of a society that was bent on snuffing the life out of it.

What happened to us?

How have we become a Church where the World doesn’t hate us the way it hated Jesus? Sure, some people do hate us, but many of those, at least in America, only find us horrifically annoying. They might hate being around us, but not enough to kill us. And those that do hate us don't hate us the way the Pharisees hated Jesus. They hate us because we're hypocritcal, hateful, intolerant and judgemental. The Pharisees hated Jesus because he was radically inclusive, spent time with the wrong sorts of people who were unclean and dirty and poor and sick and sinful. No one hates the Church for any of these reasons.

MODERN DAY MARTYRS
I know that Christians around the world are hated, and even persecuted and killed because of their devotion to Christ and the preaching of the Gospel. For those who endure this daily I offer my prayers for safety and for faith to continue sharing Christ in the midst of suffering.

Here in America, and most of the free, Westernized World, being a Christian carries no negative connotation or expectation of brutality other than being shunned by hipsters and perhaps mocked openly on prime time television.

FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD
Jesus said that the World would hate us because we "do not belong to the World". Perhaps the World doesn't hate us the way it hated Jesus because we're just like they are? Instead of being "In the World, but not Of it" we have become the Church who is "Of the World, but In it".

The Gospel of Jesus was subversive and controversial. It challenged the status quo of an entire society. It held up the mirror to the Church of the day and convicted the actions of Kings and exposed the injustices of self-seeking Government. In America our Gospel is not dangerous. It is safe, safe, safe for the whole family.

The earliest followers of Jesus were constantly persecuted because of their commitment to a Jesus way of life which cloned the subversive nature of Jesus and multiplied it across the fabric of society. They loved extravagantly, sharing all things in common with the poorest among them and held defiantly to the Gospel of the Kingdom which declared that God's rule and reign had indeed come to each and every one of their lives. When they were enslaved they served their masters respectfully, as if they were serving God Himself. When they were arrested and beaten for refusing to renounce Jesus the Messiah they did not fight back or demand their inalienable rights as human beings. Instead they went quietly to their deaths or sang hymns of praise to God for the blessing of martyrdom. They were a people who loved others so much they would rather die than shed another person's blood.

LIKE LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER
For over three hundred years the followers of Jesus, the citizens of "The Way", took it on the chin and held on tight to their faith with perserverance because they knew that the enduring of trials and difficulties meant that God was working in them the character of Christ Jesus and depositing a quality of faith that would not let go of God, even in the face of imprisonment, beatings, persecutions or death itself. They also knew that their uncommon, radical posture of love and compassion for others, even those who beat them, persecuted them and put them to death, was having an impact of nuclear proportions in the lives of those outside the faith. The power of their love created ripples in the fabric of humanity that changed hearts and turned the world upside down.

SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY
When Emperor Constantine lifted the persecution of the Church in 313 A.D. it came with a caveat: The Church would have to submit to his vision of what Christianity should look like and how the faith should be practiced. For the first time in history a person could claim to be a follower of Jesus and still take up a sword and strike a man dead. Under Constantine's new rules of faith the Christian Church would take on the pagan practices of the day, worship in their converted temples and submit to the authority of a select Clergy wearing the robes of pagan priests and adopting the language of paganism.

Some might wonder if the price we paid for escaping the sword was too high. Some might wonder if we had forgotten the promise of Jesus that those who followed him would be hated and persecuted because of how they were unlike the world. Some might say that the Church befriended the religious system and practices of pagan Rome in order to save themselves any further persecution, rather than remain loyal to the same Jesus who said that we were to be set apart from the World and its systems.

There were some within the Christian Church in that day who refused to comply with Constantine's compromise. They attempted to continue gathering together in their homes as they had done for over three centuries, but Constantine issued a new law that made it illegal to continue this practice. Their choice suddenly became crystal clear; they could either submit to the Emperor's rule or face further persecution. In effect, Constantine's compromise was a mandate, not a friendly suggestion.

MAGNETIC NORTH
Around the world and throughout history, as the Church has been persecuted she has flourished. Whenever threatened she finds her inner compass and that always leads her back home, to the organic nature buried indelibly in her DNA.

In Soviet Russia, or Communist China or oppressive Korean regimes the Church of Jesus has not only survived, it has thrived and exploded as it remembers to be the church and reverts to the home-based, family model of worship revealed in Scripture.

So, even as the Church shifted slightly under Constantine and adopted a more relevant and culturally acceptable format of worship, these instances of persecution throughout history have revealed what essentially makes us the Family of God. It is at these times that she remembers her original mandate and reverts to the form once assumed in the very beginning.

OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE
So what do we do about this today? How do we reconcile the promise of Jesus that the world would hate us because we are not of it as He is not of it?

Rather than focus on getting the World to hate us, perhaps it makes more sense to turn our energies towards being a people who love like Jesus loved. If we expect people to treat us they way they treated Jesus, I think it makes sense for us to do the things that Jesus did.

Whether or not you embrace the house church is irrelevant. You can be someone who follows Jesus with your everyday life whether you worship in a multi-million dollar building or under a tree in the park. The calling on you is the same as the one that is on me- to follow Jesus.

DANGEROUS FAITH
When we stay safely insulated inside our customized Christian comfort zone, our need for Faith is diminished. In fact, surrounded by hundreds of other Believers, from the safe vantage point of my padded pew, Faith is irrelevant. Faith seems to only be necessary for those who are in a dangerous place, outside their comfort zones, engaging the enemy, embracing the diseased, loving the poor, serving the least and the last. Faith is only necessary for those who choose to live a dangerous life outside their comfort zones.

Perhaps this is why Jesus wonders out loud if he will find any on the Earth who have faith when he returns? If we insist on remaining in our safe places, our zones of comfort, then our faith will grow weak and limp and useless. We can barely use it to generate personal wealth and unending health, much less to heal the sick, cast our demons, comfort the afflicted, or love the unlovely.

ADVANCING THE KINGDOM WITHOUT RETREATING FROM THE CULTURE
"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." - James 4:4

This verse doesn't intend to drive us into the monasteries or to seek refuge among our Ahmish Bretheren, nor does it compel us to create Christian version of this world with cross-emblazoned products and holy goods and services. We are not called to retreat from the culture or to create a better, private version of the world we're supposed to change. Those first Christians didn't retreat from society, instead they obediently lived lives of such love among the heathen that people began to change from the inside out (see 1 Peter 2:11-12).

Simply put, if we would consider it our daily practice to serve others we might start to resemble those people who were so much like Jesus that they began to be persecuted for living lives of astounding love.

Jesus made no room for us to compromise our calling to be a peculiar people. We have no right to surrender our calling to love others in exchange for a better, more comfortable life in this temporary existence.

"Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." - Jesus (John 15:20)

I pray that the Church would rise up again and become the people who are known for the way they love others, even those who hate them and who would stand for Gospel of Jesus, no matter what anyone else may say about us, or do to us.

"If you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you? for even sinners have love for those who have love for them." - Jesus, Luke 6:32

-kg
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HOW TO START A MINISTRY TO THE POOR IN YOUR COMMUNITY
This five part series is now running every Thursday over at TheOoze.com. Be sure to drop by and check it out if you haven't already.

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ONE CHURCH UNDER GOD
I'd like to invite you to join me on Sunday, June 22nd as part of a special joint service between our "Mission" House Church and Soul Survivor Church.
John Thomas, who lead worship for us at the Non-Con, will be our worship leader and I'll be bringing a message about what the Biblical concept of Church is all about. If you're in the Orange County area be sure to drop by!

Details:
The Mission and Soul Survivor Church Celebration
on Sunday, June 22nd at 11am
at Soul Survivor Church in Triangle Square
1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92627
*Directly underneath the Edwards Cinema, on the corner of Harbor and 19th.
Parking is free inside the structure.

There's a google map over here:
http://nonconsched.blogspot.com/

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PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME DIRECTLY VIA EMAIL AT:
"ELYSIANSKY" (AT) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "com"

**

[END TRANSMISSION]

THE RADICAL CHURCH OF JESUS

2008-06-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

The Radical Church of Jesus
by Keith Giles

When Jesus announced his ministry and proclaimed his Gospel of the Kingom it was like setting off a bomb in the heart of the city. People got excited. The religious leaders of the day got nervous. The political leaders took notice.

Jesus entered a religious society that was permeated with Jewish tradition and influenced by Pagan practice.

Both Judaism and Paganism share three commonalities: The Temple, The Sacrifice and The Priesthood.

What is the Temple?
It's the Holy Place. It's where God's Spirit dwells. It's where those who are hungry to meet with God go to connect with Him.

What is the Sacrifice?
It's intended to atone for the sins of the individual and to provide access to God.

What is the Priest?
These are the ones who perform the sacrifice. They are the ones who are worthy to enter the "Holy of Holies" and approach God. They hear God's voice. They relate the message of God to those who are outside the Temple. They are concerned with the Spiritual health and education of the people of God.

THE CHURCH THAT JESUS BUILT
When Jesus established the Church he did not build something with a physical temple or a daily animal sacrifice or a special group of elite clergy. The Church that Jesus built was out of the ordinary. It was radical. It was unlike anything that had ever come before it.

The Church Jesus built effectively destroyed all three conventions of Judaism and Paganism.

Take that in for a moment. Consider the implications of this fact. Jesus inspired and established the first system of religion without a physical temple, an animal sacrifice or an elitist priesthood. This was something brand new.

IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
When Jesus came he told the woman at the well that the time was coming, and indeed had already come, when those who seek God would not worship Him in the Temple, or on the Holy Mountain, but in Spirit and in Truth.

Jesus told the Pharisee that if they destroyed the Temple he would build it again in three days. Of course, we know that he was speaking of the Temple of his body, but we also know that the actual Temple was destroyed in just a few short years following his crucifixion and it remains so to this very day.

JESUS - THE SACRIFICE
On the cross, Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. There is now no longer any need for a daily sacrifice to be made, which is why the Temple was, and is, unneccessary to the one who seeks intimacy with God.

JESUS - THE HIGH PRIEST
On the cross Jesus became the High Priest (see Hebrews chapter 4 and 10) who once and for all made the sacrifice for us and lives forever to intercede for us.

JESUS - THE TEMPLE OF GOD
As Jesus suffered on the cross, an earthquake rocked the city and the veil (all 300 pounds of it) was ripped in two, destroying the Temple and rendering it obsolete.

Why did Jesus do this? He did this in order to announce a new Kingdom. A Kingdom where you and I would become the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19, 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:19-22).

He did this so that you and I could become the new priesthood (1 Peter 2).

He did this so that you and I could become the daily sacrifice (Romans 12, Luke 9:23).

In this new order, in this new organic, vibrant and thriving organism called "The Church", Jesus gave birth to something the world had never seen before. He said it would require new wineskins and that the old wineskins or systems of thinking and living would not be able to contain it.

YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD
If we are God's new temple what does that mean?
It means we are now the Holy Place. Our souls are now the place where God's Spirit dwells. We carry around with us the immediate presence of God where those who are hungry to meet with Him can come and connect with Him.

YOU ARE THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
If you and I are the new priesthood it means that we are the ones who perform the daily sacrifice. We are the ones who are worthy to enter the "Holy of Holies" and approach God. We can hear God's voice. We have the honor of conveying the message of God to those who are outside the Temple. We now play an active role in the spiritual health and education of God's people.

YOU ARE THE DAILY SACRIFICE
If we are the daily, living sacrifice it means each of us have special access to God. Because of His ultimate sacrifice on the cross, our daily sacrifice bears witness to our desire to follow Jesus, surrender our lives to Him, and worship God with our entire being.

UNDERSTANDING WHO YOU ARE
You and I are this same Church. We are the people of God. We are part of something more unique and fabulous than any of us could have ever imagined.

Who are you in Christ? You are a new creation. You are the Temple of God. You are the Priests of God. You are the daily, living sacrifice to God.

We are a people unlike any the world has ever seen or imagined before. We are the Church.

"Conversatio Morem!"

-kg
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SPECIAL THANKS: I want thank Frank Viola for bringing this amazing insight into focus for me. See his book, "Pagan Christianity" for more inspiration.

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PRAY FOR CHARLES AND DIRK
My buddies Charles and Dirk are currently attempting to lead a traditional church into the house church arena. As you can imagine, it's not easy. Please join me in lifting them up in prayer as they humbly and obediently step forward into this exciting and uncertain new frontier.

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HOUSE CHURCH IN SEATTLE
My two dear friends Heather and Daniel Cosby are looking for families and individuals in the Seattle area who are interested in meeting together to form a new house church. If you or someone you know lives in or near Seattle, Washington and might be interested in joining them, please contact me with their info at:
"ELYSIANSKY" (AT) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "com"

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ONE CHURCH UNDER GOD
I'd like to invite you to join me on Sunday, June 22nd as part of a special joint service between our "Mission" House Church and Soul Survivor Church.
John Thomas, who lead worship for us at the Non-Con, will be our worship leader and I'll be bringing a message about what the Biblical concept of Church is all about. If you're in the Orange County area be sure to drop by!

Details:
The Mission and Soul Survivor Church Celebration
on Sunday, June 22nd at 11am
at Soul Survivor Church in Triangle Square
1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92627
*Directly underneath the Edwards Cinema, on the corner of Harbor and 19th.
Parking is free inside the structure.

There's a google map over here:
http://nonconsched.blogspot.com/

**

TODD HUNTER'S "THREE IS ENOUGH" BLOG HOME PAGE
One of my mentors over the last several years has been a guy nanmed Todd Hunter. He is the former National Director of the Association of Vineyard Churches, the former President of ALPHA USA, and currently starting his own non-profit group - "The Society for Kingdom Living" which will also coincide with something called "Three Is Enough".

Be sure to go to the link below and read more about what Todd's up to and prayerfully consider starting a group like this in your sphere of influence.

FIND IT HERE

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WITH THIS RING
My buddy Ken Eastman is the pastor of a series of six house churches locally called "The Well". His wife Ali started an astounding non-profit group called "With This Ring" where women are encouraged to donate their wedding rings, as she has done, to dig wells and provide safe, clean drinkng water for hundreds of impoverished children and families in Africa.

Find out more
HERE

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

GOD CALLED. HE WANTS HIS CHURCH BACK

2008-05-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

God Called. He Wants His Church Back
by Keith Giles

For far too long men have wrestled with God for control over His people.

Jesus modelled a servant leadership style for His disciples, and today our leaders emphasize a CEO brand of leadership patterned after the world of big business.

The Apostle Paul told us that we were the Temple of the Holy Spirit, yet Ministers today insist on collecting millions of dollars from their flock to build a temple where people can worship.

The Apostle Peter told us that we are the living stones God is building up to become His Church, and instead we are convinced that building the Church involves putting butts in the seats on Sunday morning.

Jesus commanded us to make disciples, those who would follow His teachings and apply them to their everyday life. Instead we have become experts at entertaining the Saints each week and occasionally converting a few to our denomination.

A SPIRITUAL HOUSE
The other day I read a familiar verse of Scripture and it hit me in a new way. Here's what I read:

"As you come to him, the living Stone...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:4-5

What struck me about this verse was the simplicity of the promise here. As we come to Jesus, who is the Living Stone, we are also built into a spiritual house (The Church). Coming to Jesus doesn't involve coming to a place, it simply means coming to Him. It means seeking His Face and falling at His feet. As we come to Jesus, we will become like Jesus and He will build us up into a people who will reflect His character to the World.

OLD WINESKINS
A few weeks ago I visited a protestant church where there was actually a Holy of Holies at the front of the church where only the Priest and the ordained ministers were allowed to enter. It made me sad to think that Jesus had come and suffered so much, even torn the veil of the Jewish Temple in two, only to have His people create a new version of the same thing when they built the Church and named it after Him.

Why do we insist on returning to a place where professional clergy interact with God on our behalf? The Children of Israel begged Moses to speak to God for them because they were not comfortable hearing His voice or being in His presence. The Pharisees and other Jewish Leaders of Jesus' day created rules and regulations and barriers to the Temple so that very few people had access to God.

SAME OLD STORY
Have we built a Church today where our structures and rules have kept God's people from Him? Have we knowingly participated in a system of religion where only a select few have access to God on our behalf? Are we more comfortable being in the background while a paid clergy seek God for us?

YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE
God calls us a "royal priesthood." He has put His Holy Spirit within each individual believer and follower of Jesus. He has called every single one of us to be His Ambassadors to a fallen and broken world.

I believe that God is in the process of tearing down the man-made barriers we have built in order to get His Church, His Bride, back.

HE HAS A DREAM
God's plan has always been to have a living, breathing, active, passionate people on this Earth who will live out His Word and demonstrate His incredible love to those in darkness. He is a jealous God, according to His Word and "the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely" (James 4:5). God will not share us with a system built to keep Him out or us away from Him.

UNREALIZED POTENTIAL
God is calling all of us to step into the destiny He has bought for us with the blood of His Son. We are a royal priesthood. Each of us has the Spirit of the Living God within us if we have surrendered our hearts and lives to Jesus. We are empowered to preach. We are deputized to serve. We are qualified to love. We are energized with His power to accomplish all that He has called us to do.

Maybe that's why we prefer the safety of the pew? We are afraid to believe that this amazing promise of God could really be true. It's so much easier to send Moses to speak for us, or to build a Holy of Holies where only special clergy go and minister, or to pay a professional to go and preach and serve and love for us.

Like it or not, God wants His Church to step into the freedom and destiny He has called Her to. God will have His way. We cannot deny Him. Even if we deny it, we are still priests and kings who have been called upon to serve, and love, as Jesus did.

Will you believe God? Will you accept your place among the living stones who are being built into the temple of God?

Step forward. Accept your ordination into the service of the King.

You and I have a job to do.

-kg
www.keithgiles.com

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

RIGHT WHERE I WANT YOU

2008-05-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Right Where I Want You
by Keith Giles

(NOTE: This article is exercepted from my forthcoming book "The Power of Weakness")

Chapter 5 - MOSES

He was the chosen one. Pulled miraculously from the river by the daughter of the Pharoah, this promised messiah grew up among royalty. He had the best education possible in the greatest Empire of his day.

If the rest of this story were up to us, we'd probably have Moses assume the throne of Egypt through some Shakespearean tactic or strategic maneuvering and, voila, the oppression of the Jews would have ended as Moses took political power with the crowd cheering him on.

Moses himself probably assumed this was where things were going to end up. Why else would God have allowed him to be found and raised by the daughter of the King if it wasn't to have him use his influence to gain political favor for his people?

God had a different plan for Moses' life, however. One that would take him through the desert and strip him of his power, favor, wealth, influence and authority, leaving him with nothing more than a curled walking stick and the simple clothing of a common shepherd.

WHERE IT ALL WENT WRONG
In the beginning we meet a young Moses who is impulsive, presumptuous and headstrong.
Moses reveals his arrogance when he attempts to take control of his own destiny, as he understands it, and takes the life of an Egyptian soldier in the process of settling a simple dispute. In his own strength, Moses demonstrated how easy it can be to get in God's way.

Failing to successfully liberate even one Jewish man from a street-side argument, Moses is soon wandering in the desert alone, thirsty and disillusioned. He's almost nearly where God wants him to be.

CHANGE OF HEART
As Moses begins to let his assumptions die, God slowly unravels His plan for how Moses might liberate his people from their oppression. Again, God's plan isn't thrown off by Moses. God's plan, all along, was to have Moses rescue his people through a demonstration of God's power, and the weakness of Moses would have to be revealed before anyone, especially Moses, could recognize that power.

After forty years in the wilderness, a smaller, more humble Moses encounters God for the very first time. When he is given the call to return to Egypt to rescue his people from their slavery, it's the heart of Moses that is revealed when he responds, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

Now we see a changed man. Moses has lost his youthful bravado. He no longer believes that he has the big red "S" on his chest. He's older, wiser, and more humble now. You can almost hear God saying to Himself, "Ah! Now he's right where I want him."

God's answer to Moses is simply, "I will be with you."

GRACE TO THE HUMBLE
It's no coincidence that God came to call Moses to this task at a time when this man's heart was humble and soft. It's no coincidence that God's Word assures us that, "God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble."

If we're truly wise, we know that we don't ever want God to be opposing us. To tangle with a being like God is to play with your own eternal destiny. However, the good news is that Grace is freely available to the humble, the weak, and the sincere of heart.

When you see a person who is supremely confident in themselves, ready to take on the world, you know that there's a disaster coming soon. "Pride," God tells us, "Comes before a fall." (Proverbs 3:34)

Before God humbled Moses in the wilderness, he was on his way to becoming a powerful, headstrong, failure. With all the political power at his disposal, with all the influence of the Egyptian Empire, Moses' story would no doubt have had an entirely different ending. Moses may have ended up with a legacy more akin to that of Samson or Solomon than to the events we see recorded in Exodus.

MILD AT HEART
The truth is, the best a man can do is the best a man can do, and in the end, that's not very much. One of the most amazing truths I have discovered is that the person who waits for God to fight his battles is far more influential than the one who takes matters in his own hands.

It's more popular today to talk about men being adventurous and created for battle than it is to suggest that a real man's character is more like that of Jesus, who turned the other cheek and stressed love and forgiveness for enemies, rather than violence.

The man who follows the example of celluloid heroes like John Wayne or "The Gladiator", is in reality a very small person. The man who acts aggressively, who confronts the bully in the school-yard, or the work place, or lays down the law in his own home, is only able to hold influence over those within his own limited grasp.

Using his fists, or violence or intimidation, such a person might appear, at first, to be a natural leader, a hero, or a "Real Man". While this "Man of Action" might be the king of his castle, the most feared person at work, and win the admiration of those other men who personally love him because of his "take charge" attitude, the truth is, according to God's Kingdom, such a man is no different than the pagans around him. "If you only love those who love you, what credit is that to you?" Jesus asks in Matthew 5:46.

Not only is this kind of person small, he is also in direct opposition to all that Jesus stood for. The Gospel that Jesus came and died to proclaim was the Gospel of the Kingdom. He proclaimed that it was to be entered by way of obedience to God. "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of God, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 7:21).

THE LOST ART OF FOLLOWING JESUS
For many of us, the words of Jesus seem to be for another place and time. We can hardly imagine anyone living by the commands of Jesus on a daily basis. What good could it possibly do to turn the other cheek when we're assaulted? Or to hand over our wallet to the thief who wants to steal our Ipod? Surely Jesus doesn't actually expect us to put these insane ideas into practice? Maybe these are meant to illustrate a delicate matter of theology far removed from actual life? But, then again, maybe not.

Jesus very simply called people to follow Him. This meant, in a very practical sense, living a life here and now where we put His words into practice in our actual lives.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." - Matthew 7:24-27

Over and over again Jesus makes it plain that the one who loves him is the one who does what he says:

"If you love me, you will obey what I command." - Jesus (John 14:15)

"You are my friends if you do what I command"- Jesus (John 15:14)

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me." - Jesus (John 14:21)

"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching."
- Jesus (John 14:23)

"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love.."
- Jesus (John 15:10)

He who does not love me will not obey my teaching."
- Jesus (John 14:24)

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven"- Jesus (Matthew 7:21).

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
- Jesus (Matthew 28: 19- 20).

The rest of the New Testament continues to echo this idea that to be a Christian is to be one who puts the words and teachings of Jesus into practice"

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him." - 1 John 3:21-22

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16).

"Those who obey His commands live in Him and He in them."
- 1 John 3:24

"This is love for God: to obey His commands." - 1 John 5:3

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands."
- 2 John 1:6

WHO WEARS THE CROWN?
So, a person who chooses to live their life by the words of Frank Sinatra, "I Did It Myyyyy Waaayyyy", cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus is clear on this point. We cannot wear the crown and still maintain that Jesus is our King. Either Jesus is the King, and we are humble, obedient servants of His Kingdom, or we wear the crown and then we can do whatever we want. But we cannot have it both ways. We cannot be humble and obedient, while at the same time kicking butts and taking names in order to impose our own territorial empire.

"This, then, is how you should pray...'Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven'" (Matt 6:9-10) It's God's Kingdom that must come to earth, and it's God's will that must be done here as well, not our own.

REAL POWER
Where is real power? Where is real influence? Even taking a look at our own human history we can see that the greatest among us, those who stand head and shoulders above the rest, are those who stood for the least and defended the oppressed.

The person who chooses to turn the other cheek like Jesus, or to love instead of to fight back like Ghandi, or to heal instead of condemn like Mother Teresa, or to march instead of to take up arms like Martin Luther King Jr., is the sort of person who is able to influence entire nations and to inherit a legacy that will live beyond the grave and inspire others to do the same.

What sort of person do you want to be? Do you prefer to rule by your own two hands? Do you feel more at ease when others tremble before your influence and power? Or do you long for a life that inspires others to do great things?

THE GIFT OF WEAKNESS
When Moses is finally called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, his response is that he has a weakness which inhibits him. He complains that he is "slow of speech," yet God's answer to him is most revealing; "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him site or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (Exodus 4:11)

According to God, in this passage, the weaknesses we have are given to us by God. He created Moses with a speech impediment. Why would He do that? Perhaps so that Moses would learn to lean on God, and not on himself, when it came to speaking to the people and to Pharaoh?

Moses was a man who, with God's help, was able to realize the true secret to power through humility, and his own God-given weakness. We also can learn to find the power of Christ at work in us when we submit ourselves to God, lay down our agenda, and simply say "Yes" to His perfect plan for our lives.

-kg

http://www.keithgiles.com
**

[END TRANSMISSION]

MORE THAN A MANIFESTO

2008-05-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

by Keith Giles

You probably had no idea, but recently several key Evangelical Christian leaders gathered together to write an Evangelical Manifesto.

In this document the authors (Os Guinness, Dallas Willard, Rick Warren, etc.) admitted that the title "Evangelical Christian" has lost its original meaning due to years of poor behavior on the part of those who carry the name. They say, "the confusions and corruptions surrounding the term Evangelical have grown so deep that the character of what it means has been obscured" and admit that those who wear the label Evangelical "have become known for commercial, diluted and feel-good gospels of health, wealth, human potential, and religious happy talk."

They go on to admit that Evangelicals have strayed from their initial practice of loving people, showing compassion to the poor and protecting the weak and the innocent, all of which I whole-heartedly agree with.

IT MEANS SOMETHING
When heavy-weights in the Evangelical Christian Community come together to identify a problem of this magnitude and speak out in solidarity against the failures of the Christian Church it should give us all pause to reflect and take notice.

This Evangelical Manifesto goes a long way towards admitting where the Church has gone off track and pointing the way forward for those who have wandered off the path.

I cannot find myself disagreeing with anything these men of God have to say regarding the state of the Church today and the need to reform ourselves in practice. I applaud them for seeing what many of us have seen for years now and for taking the time and energy to pen such a unified statement of confession.

There's just one problem: It won't make any difference.

How can I say this? Well, to begin with no one in the Evangelical Christian Community will do anything different tomorrow because of this Manifesto. Your pastor will not preach a sermon on this on Sunday. Your Christian friends will not be buzzing about this document. They will not read it. They will not do anything different tomorrow because it has been written.

While I agree with the Manifesto, and I highly respect the men who took the time to write it, I have to admit that it will do absolutely nothing to change the way Evangelical Christians live out their daily faith.

THE BASIC PROBLEM
The real problem is revealed in the Manifesto itself. We who call ourselves "Evangelical Christians" are largely unconcerned with actually following Jesus on a daily basis and have no intention of living out the commands of Jesus in our actual life.

If we were committed to those things we wouldn't have need of a Manifesto. If our Pastors were teaching us to follow Jesus on a daily basis, we would not have such a bad reputation in our land. If our airwaves were filled with teachers and preachers and evangelists who communicated the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus preached, we wouldn't have churches filled with people who think that being a Christian means saying a prayer so you can go to Heaven when you die.

The reason why people are not following Jesus today is because we are not asking people to follow Jesus, we are asking them to become Christians.

JESUS AND HIS CHURCH
Warren and Willard and Guinness are correct: The term "Evangelical Christian" is one that refers to someone who is more interested in being right than in daily following Jesus. My solution is to stop asking people to become Christians. My solution is to encourage people to start following Jesus.

"It's not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; it's that it has been found difficult and left untried." - G.K. Chesterton

Whenever you identify yourself as a "Christian" in today's culture you align yourself with someone who looks like anything but the imitation of Jesus.

What was Jesus like? Let's look at some of his qualities:
*Compassionate
*Loving
*Caring
*Comfortable around sinners (drunks, prostitutes, tax collectors, etc.)
*Concerned for the poor, the sick, the outcast
*An advocate for peace
*Radically Inclusive
*Interested in the lives of others
*Introduced a spiritual solution to society's problems

What is the Christian Church like? Here's a short list:
*Intolerant of those who are not like themselves.
*Uncomfortable around drunks, prostitutes, sinners, etc.
*Concerned for their own personal success
*Not very concerned with the poor, the sick, or the outcast
*Obsessed with a political solution to society's problems
*Defined more by what they hate/dislike
*Largely supportive of war against our enemies

NOT A CHRISTIAN
The reason why Christianity in America is toxic to most people is that those who are called to be representatives of Jesus have done a terrible job. This is why I cannot bring myself to be indentified as a "Christian" to someone outside the Church. They hear that term and they equate me with the big-haired, money-hungry, gay-bashing, waiting-for-the-rapture brand of Believer. That is not who I am. That is not the Jesus I follow.

What needs to happen is that those who call themselves followers of Jesus begin to actually follow Him. Each and every day, one at a time, we must begin to live out the calling of Christ to take up our cross, die to ourselves, and follow Him.

There is no other way.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" - Jesus, Matthew 7:24.

-kg
http://www.keithgiles.com

**
TO REPLY PLEASE EMAIL ME DIRECTLY AT:
elysiansky (at) hotmail (dot) com

**
MIKE PILAVACHI - "The Ministry of The Holy Spirit"
When: Saturday, June 28th 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Where: Soul Survivor Church at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa
Cost: $8.00 (includes lunch)

REGISTER ONLINE NOW (Seating will be limited and this will fill up quickly)-

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS
HERE

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

Exploitation or Empowerment?

2008-05-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]

Exploitation or Empowerment?
By Keith Giles

Just imagine for a moment that you could be part of a church where the one thing they were extremely good at was to help everyone discover what their calling and gifting was. Then imagine that the one thing they always did next was to set you free and encourage you to follow that dream and live out that God-given calling. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Wouldn't it be so incredible to be part of a church that was passionate about helping others realize their hopes and live out their dreams? Can you just imagine how others would speak of a church like that to their friends?

"Do you know what these people did for me? They loved me, they supported me, they encouraged me, they gave me confidence, they cheered me on and they put their resources towards making my life-long purpose a reality."

Wouldn't you want to know how to get to a church like that? Wouldn't you be excited to get in line and have your turn at being empowered and loved and supported and set free to live out the calling and utilize the talents God gave to you?

I just have to wonder, why isn't every Christian Church on the face of the planet like that?

Wolfgang Simson, author of "Houses That Change the World", put together a fascinating list to help us see the difference between Church as God intended it and Church as we so often experience it.

HOW TO EMPOWER OTHERS vs HOW TO EXPLOIT OTHERS
*Give people something to do OR *Give people something to attend
*Believe in people OR *Make people believe in you
*Delegate authority OR *Require submission to your authority
*Further God's plan for their life OR *Make them part of your plans
*Invest in them OR * Use them
*Love them and show it OR *Love the task more than the people
*Give them what you have OR *Take what they have
*Provide resources for growth OR *Harvest their resources for your own use
*Discuss with them OR * Preach at them
*Spend time freely with them OR *Require appointments that suit your schedule
*Give them the keys now OR *Hold back until you retire
*Serve them OR *Get them to serve you
*Praise them OR *Accept their praise graciously
*Transfer masterhood to them OR *Demonstrate your masterhood to them

APPLE TREES, NOT JUST APPLES
Someone once pointed out to me that the goal of an apple tree is not to produce more apples. It's to produce more apple trees. This is the organic purpose found in nature, and it's the organic purpose of the Body of Christ as well.

When an apple tree produces apples that's important. You can't really be an apple tree and not produce apples, of course. But if everything ended there the apple tree would not have achieved the purpose for which God designed it. The apple tree must produce more apple trees in order to realize its full potential. Otherwise, when that tree dies, so does the potential for creating more apples.

In the context of the Christian church I see too many pastors and church leaders who are terrified of taking their brightest and most talented and releasing them into the world. They feel that losing those gifted, intelligent, talented individuals will somehow make their church poorer and weaker. So they expend a whole lot of energy trying to keep those people busy and connected and plugged in to what they are doing instead of encouraging them to discover their gifting and calling and releasing them to go and to do whatever it is that God has created them for.

A church that practiced encouraging growth like this would be responsible for spawning ministries and providing good fruit for the community on an exponential level. It would also be living out the command of Scripture to seek the good of others around us rather than selfishly seeking our own good. (Philippians 2:3)

Usually the only way someone with talent and vision ever leaves one church to start another is when they leave under protest and start something all by themselves. Why? Because most pastors will tell you that they are not ready to start planting a church until they reach 500 members. The problem with that is when you realize that the average church in America is only about 250 to 300 people. Most never reach the 500 mark, and honestly when they do reach that milestone few of those churches ever actually plant another church because they have not planned to do so.

JUST IMAGINE
If we go back to my imaginary Church above, you know the one where everyone is encouraged and empowered and released to live out the calling God has placed on them? Any church that actually lived that out and practiced this sort of extravagant empowerment wouldn't be able to contain the people who flocked to their doorstep. They also wouldn't be able to survive the flood of people unless they were continually sending people out and giving away their brightest and best to fulfill the destiny God had placed on them.

I can't help but feel that this was what Jesus had in mind all along. When he commanded us to love one another and share everything we had with others, Jesus was deputizing us to do the work he started. Jesus trained a handful of men to be salt and light in the world and then he cut them loose and set them free to live out the things he had taught them. He also commanded them to repeat that pattern over and over again. "Go into the world and make disciples of all nations...teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you..." he said. And that's exactly what they did. Over and over again. They followed Jesus and they taught others how to follow Jesus so that they could go out and teach others how to follow Jesus too.

A SCHOOL THAT YOU NEVER GRADUATE FROM
My friend Brent once said that traditional Churches today are like an eternal school full of people who will never graduate. Everyone has to sit through essentially the same lecture each week and there is no homework (so the pastor doesn't test who is putting things into practice or not), and worst of all no one ever graduates and becomes an instructor themselves.

Here's a great solution: Teach your people to become teachers. If you are in the habit of training others to become trainers of others (this is a very basic principle of discipleship), you will eventually end up with a church full of teachers and trainers who are training others to also be teachers and trainers. Over time your church will become so full of mature ("Graduated") leaders and disciple-makers that your small staff will act mostly as facilitators and not the one's who must always be "hands-on" for every single event/class/lesson/bible study, etc.

LACK OF TRUST
I have personally been shocked to see a lack of basic trust among most lead pastors to "give away the ministry" in this way. Many pastors are too afraid to actually empower and release others to do their job. Why? Well, it's pretty obvious that this threatens their authority and job security. But, it doesn't have to. I believe any pastor who actually put this into practice would quickly become the envy of other pastors in their community. They'd get phone calls from other pastors asking, "How do you do it?" and "Can you show me how to do what you're doing?"

RETURN TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF BELIEVERS
Most pastors and on-staff ministers can relate to the fact that only a handful of people do all the work and ministry in the Body while 80% to 90% sit back and do nothing. This creates frustration, burn-out and, honestly, a large group of underdeveloped disciples.

What happened to the Priesthood of the Believer? What happened to opening the Word of God and trusting the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth?

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
– 1 Peter 2:9

The liberty offered to us in Christ Jesus was meant to empower every believer to become a committed and devoted disciple who, then in turn, goes and creates other committed and devoted disciples. The early church was not full of seminary trained Bible teachers. Most of those who lead the weekly gatherings in their homes were average, ordinary people like you and I. They were lead by the Holy Spirit as they prayed, studied the Scriptures and met together with other followers of Jesus each week.

In my experience as a house church pastor I can testify to the truth of the scriptures where God promises that He will build His church. He doesn’t need our help. He is also true to His word and promise that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all Truth. (John 16:13; 1 Cor 12)

THE POWER OF LETTING GO
We have a tendency in our traditional churches to centralize certain people as leaders and, in turn, we disqualify everyone else from participating. I believe that this is not the way God intended things to be. We were not saved and filled with the Holy Spirit to simply remain spectators as a select few act out their calling and live out their purpose.

Each of us in the Body of Christ has a specific calling and gift. If we are not set free to use it as God intended not only will we suffer as individuals, we will suffer as a Body, and the Nation will suffer due to our unrealized potential.
(See 1 Cor. 12)

Let me encourage you to discover your calling as a valued member of God’s Family. Once you’ve heard God’s voice and you’ve understood the purpose God has for you as an agent of change within this culture, let me be the first to urge you to step outside the nest and spread your wings.

If you feel called to start a Bible Study in your home, do it. If you feel called to go out into the streets and reach out to the homeless, or the prostitute, go for it. If you have a passion to start a new kind of church that facilitates community and reaches a new generation, make it so.

Don’t allow anyone to hold you back. The Kingdom is wide open. Take that first leap...and soar!

-kg
**
MIKE PILAVACHI: THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Mike Pilavachi, the founder of Soul Survivor Ministries, will be coming to America and speaking here in Orange County at a special one day conference on the Holy Spirit.

Mike Pilavachi is a powerful, and inspiring speaker. I've been very blessed by Mike in the past, as he shared at Soul Survivor events over the years and I am thrilled to be able to invite everyone to be part of hearing him speak on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit next month.

Mike will be sharing on Saturday, June 28th, from 10am to 2pm at Triangle Square on the Holy Spirit and provide practical training on how to pray for people, how to minister to one another, how to operate in your spiritual gifting, etc. Registration is just $8 and lunch is included. This date will fill up quickly (only 100 seats are available). If you can make it please register today, or at least sometime this week.

I will be at this event with my family. I encourage you to join us.
Please- Don't miss it!

When: Saturday, June 28th 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Where: Soul Survivor Church at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa
Cost: $8.00 (includes lunch)

REGISTER ONLINE NOW (Seating will be limited and this will fill up quickly)-

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS
HERE

**
SEND GAP A MESSAGE

My friend Jarred's SENDGAPCLOTHESBACK.COM initiative continues.

In order to protest the use of child slavery to produce clothing for the Gap Inc. store chain (which includes Old Navy and Bannanna Republic), my friend Jarred set up this website and activist initiative to send Gap, Inc. a message.

Phase 1 saw hundreds of people returning their Gap clothing en masse at stores in Miami, Orange County, New York (Times Square) and San Francisco.

Phase 2 is a little more...subversive.

Find out more and participate
HERE

**
TODD HUNTER: THREE IS ENOUGH MP3

Todd Hunter gave a great talk last Thursday concerning the state of Christianity in America today and what he feels we can do to change things for the better.

This was a very inspiring session and it's now available as a free MP3 download over at my podcast page on ITunes.

IF YOU USE ITUNES: GO TO [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] PODCAST
You can find Todd Hunter's "Three Is Enough" mp3 for free on ITunes under my [Subversive Underground] podcast page (which also has all 3 Non-Con messages).

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

SUFFERING AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

2008-04-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Suffering and The Kingdom of God
by Keith Giles

"What do we do about Suffering?" Larry asked.

My good friend Larry has been part of our house church now for over a year. In this time I've seen him grow spiritually and take radical steps in his faith. Recently he started meeting early on Sunday mornings to disciple a co-worker and on Tuesday's he helps to lead some of his family members in weekly Bible Study. The discussions spinning outward from these have sent him back to his own Bible to understand more of God's Word and to answer the hard questions being thrown at him.

As we sat at a local coffeeshop one night, Larry admitted that he really didn't have an answer to the question of suffering in the world today. "It seems to be one of the hardest things to explain to people," he said, "Because they wonder how God could be good and still allow innocent people to die."

Larry is right. The problem of suffering is one of the most difficult questions to answer for most of us who believe in and follow Jesus. For some the question is a smokescreen. They really don't want an answer to the question, it's more of a challenge to a faith they've already dismissed as irrelevant. To them the question of suffering is more like a slap from a leather glove across a believer's face, intended to end any further discussion of faith in a personal God.

For others, the question of suffering is a serious stumbling block. They want to have faith in a God who loves them and is good and who has a wonderful plan for their lives, but the suffering of innocent children due to poverty, or natural disaster or violence leaves them puzzled and full of doubt.

SORTING IT ALL OUT
There have been numerous apologetics written to address this problem. Most point out that no one is truly innocent, or that God has an eternal perspective that transcends our finite, mortal existence in this physical world.

While I do acknowledge that suffering is difficult to endure, on some level I have to confess that it's always puzzled me why people get hung up on this question so often. Part of me wants to ask what world they were born into? Don't they live in the same world we all live in? Aren't we all very acquainted with the fact that people die, accidents happen, sickness is real and tragedy strikes all of us sooner or later? Why do we expect God to step in and prevent every accident, tragedy and act of violence? What has given us the idea that this is God's job function?

As Larry and I discussed this I realized that our desire to have God intervene in our suffering, and the suffering of others, is connected to the eternal Kingdom of God itself. Why? Because for us to live in a world where God prevented every accident, healed every sickness and averted every natural disaster on every continent twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, we would have to live in a world where God was the absolute ruler and King of every minute detail of our lives.

When people genuinely cry out for a world where God prevents suffering and manages natural disasters and eliminates pain, they are revealing an inner desire to live in the Kingdom of God itself. Any world where God plays the role of cosmic policeman and perpetual rescue worker is also one where we are fully submitted to His rule and reign.

A BETTER WORLD IS ON THE WAY
Of course, it is doubtful that most of those who complain the loudest about the problem of suffering would really want to live in a world ruled completely by God, and obey His rules and submit to His absolute authority. If they did, then they would have already submitted their lives to Him and placed their hope in God.

Yet, this is the sort of world that Jesus invites all of us to enter- a world where God is our King and His perfect will is always done in every aspect of our lives. Jesus called it the Kingdom of God and his message, his good news for all of us, was that we could enter this Kingdom immediately, on the spot.

Admittedly, the world we live in today is not a pain-free world. Suffering is part of our daily experience and reality. But this does not mean that God isn't working, even now, to bring mankind to a better reality. He really does have a plan to take us to a place free from suffering.

FROM EDEN TO EDEN
It has been said that all of creation is from Eden to Eden. In the beginning God created an Eden where He and mankind were co-laborers together in the creation, where He was King and there was no sin, or pain or death. At the end of the story we see that God will bring everything back again, ultimately, finally, eternally, to a place where we are co-laborers with Him in His renewed creation, and He is King and there are no tears, and there is no pain or death.

In the meantime, we are invited to step into the story and join with God in His plan. We can become co-laborers with Him in advancing His Kingdom here and now. We can submit to His rule and reign in our actual lives today.

When Jesus announced the Kingdom of God at the beginning of his ministry he invited those who were ready to enter to follow him. He provided the blueprint for all of us who were eager to enjoy the Kingdom reality. His message, his Good News, was that this Kingdom was at hand, even near enough to reach out and touch.

Sadly, even those who call themselves after his name today are largely unaware of this message. In churches across this nation, week after week, this message of Jesus is rarely spoken. Many who consider themselves followers have yet to take up their cross daily and pattern their life after the teachings of Jesus.

If those who are most familiar with Jesus are ignorant of his message, we should hardly be surprised that no one else has heard the Gospel.

The world we live in now is one where suffering and pain and evil are continually present. As we live our lives, day by day, we wait for God to complete His plan and establish His Kingdom in every heart, and in every nation. Until then, we can take heart that God has a plan to use even the suffering we endure as a tool to shape our faith and inner character after that of His own son, who was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with suffering. We can even partner with God to comfort those who are suffering and extend to them the compassionate heart of Jesus in the midst of their pain.

PERSONAL PAIN
My wife and I have been through a lot of suffering over the last few years. We've endured financial hardship, persecution, miscarriage, and uncertainty. Yet, even as hard as all of that was for us, I wouldn't take any of it back. God taught me things during those times that I could never have learned from a book, or a sermon, or a seminar.

Better still, God has taught me about suffering and enduring hardships so that I can help and encourage others who find themselves in similar places.

"But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;" - 2 Cor 1:16

So often the popular Christian message is that God wants you to be wealthy and healthy and happy all the time - but when we discover that this isn't the Gospel, and that God's Word actually teaches that God works through our suffering and pain to make us like His Son, we can more fully understand why God allows pain and realize that He is "the God who is with us" in the midst of our suffering.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

So, I just wanted to encourage each of you today that your pain isn't for nothing. It's meant to give you a faith that won't let go, a perserverance that will cling to God in all things.

No matter what suffering and pain you've been through, all of it is (in some strange way) part of how God reveals His love to us. (see Hebrews 12:5-11).

During the darkest times of my own personal suffering, I have often repeated these words to Jesus in the dark, remembering the words Peter spoke when he felt the urge to abandon his faith, "Where else can we go Lord? You have the words of life."

-kg

**
TODD HUNTER - "Three Is Enough" MP3
Todd's talk last Thursday was very inspiring and it's now available online now as an MP3 download at [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] PODCAST on ITunes.

You can find it on ITunes under [Subversive Underground], my podcast page (which also has all 3 Non-Con messages). Whether you use IMac or Ipod or PC it will work on your computer. You might have to download ITunes first, but there's no charge.

In this message Todd has some great things to share about the state of Christianity in America and his vision to help people to re-imagine their daily life in a Kingdom perspective. Worth a listen to two.

**
"WHAT ABOUT THE RAPTURE?"
We can get so hung up on the signs of the times and our version of the Rapture, the End Times, etc. that we forget to live our lives here and now.

FULL ARTICLE
HERE

**
CONSTANTINE: THE FATHER OF OUR FAITH?
Why did the Church allow a man who held the title of High Priest in the Pagan Temple to influence the way they worshipped and practiced their faith?

Maybe it was because he was their largest financial supporter? Or because he ended the brutal persecutions of his predecessors? Or because he gave them non-profit, tax-exempt status in the Empire? Maybe it was because he promoted several of the clergy to high-ranking offices within the Empire? Or because he built large temples for them to worship in?

FULL ARTICLE
HERE

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

JESUS FIRST

2008-04-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]

JESUS FIRST
by Keith Giles

I recently read a thought-provoking post on a friend's blog that has set me off.

My friend posted a list of the Top 10 Most Influential People on American Christianity. Top of the list was Paul the Apostle and tied for last place was Jesus (and John Wesley).

This list made an excellent point, which I must say I agree with. (Except that maybe I would have put Constantine on there somewhere, but whatever). American Christians are much more students of Paul than they are students of Jesus.

How can I say this? Well, to start with, whenever I speak to people about the words of Jesus, most look at me with blank stares, or quote something that Paul said back at me to clarify what Jesus must have meant.

A few years ago I taught a series on the words of Jesus (along with two other pastors at Soul Survivor church). It was quite refreshing and, surprisingly inspiring to spend several months meditating on the parables and the beatitudes and the radical statements of Jesus, our Lord and Savior and King. His words seemed fresh and powerful and, strangely, brand new to me.

Many of those who attended these services came up afterwards to express their shock and surprise about the words of Jesus. Several had never heard a sermon on these subjects in their life. I was among them.

As I sat down last week with several of the men from our house church we discussed this subject over coffee. I asked them why they thought American Christians were so enamored by Paul and so ignorant of Jesus (the one they are supposed to be following).

One of my friends, John, responded by saying that he felt like Paul was very methodical and logical. It was his theory that Americans want answers and love details, so Paul was more within our comfort zone in a way. Jesus, he said, was much too mystical. He told stories that were difficult to understand. He expected his followers to put his words into practice. He challenged his disciples to live radical lives of inclusive love, to be agents of change in their homes, and in their communities. In short, Jesus was a little scary. Paul was someone we could study and that made us feel as smart as he was.

As we continued to discuss this I made an observation- American Christians would rather ask Paul to explain Jesus to them than to go to Jesus themselves. It's like sitting down with both Paul and Jesus and insisting on only speaking to Paul while ignoring Jesus the entire time.

Many American Protestants criticize Catholics for getting to Jesus via Mary or by praying to the Saints. Are we doing the same thing with Paul the Apostle?

I want to be careful to say that, in our discussion about America's fascination with Paul, we are not down-playing the importance of Paul or his teachings. Both Paul and Jesus are authoritative and their words are meant to be taken as Scripture, we are not cutting the letters of Paul out of our Bibles.

However, both Jesus and Paul are represented within our New Testament. Why would we skip those four Gospels and ignore the very person whom we claim to follow and worship?

Paul himself argues that it is Jesus whom we should follow and obey as our Lord in his first letter to the Corinthians:

"One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas (or Peter)"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name....For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." Paul the Apostle (1 Corinthians 1: 12-17; see also chapter 3).

If we are truly Christians - which means "little christs" - and we are serious about following Jesus, then we cannot deny that Jesus is our first and main example, and teacher and Lord. Paul is a great teacher and theologian. God certainly called him and used him to shape the early church, and the development of the Christian faith, to this very day. But let us not forget Jesus. He is God in the flesh. He is the one we are called to follow and to emulate. His words should hold weight with us. We should daily seek to learn from Jesus, to seek His face, to follow in His footsteps.

Becoming experts on the letters of Paul and ignoring Jesus is like studying travel guides for exotic tropical paradises and never actually going there ourselves.

When Jesus walked this earth he called people, one at a time, to simply follow him. He laid out very clear and specific instructions regarding what it would cost to follow him, and what he expected of those who followed him, and the scriptures themselves (including the writings of Paul, and Peter, and James and John, etc.), elaborate on what following Jesus is all about.

Let us not just read about following Jesus, let us actually follow Jesus.

"This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did" - 1 John 2: 5-6

I would encourage everyone who reads this to begin studying the red letters in Matthew. Let the words of Jesus nourish your soul like warm bread from the oven. Let the wisdom of Jesus refresh your life like cool water on the tongue.

Become students of Jesus. Apprentice yourself to Him. Put his teachings into practice in your daily life. Answer His calling on your life to follow after him.

"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Jesus (Luke 9:23)

At the end of your life you and I will stand before Jesus. Make sure that you have a cross in your hand when you get there.

-kg
http://www.keithgiles.com

**
WHAT REMAINS ART GALLERY
Photos are online now from last Saturday's opening night with Scott Laumann, Heather Wright and Bill Burgess...plus a few surprises.

CHECK IT

**
THE KINGDOM REALITY
by Keith Giles

The Kingdom of God is the present reality which breaks into this illusion of ours intermittently, like very bad cell phone reception. It's God's way of saying, "Can you hear me now?"

ARTICLE HERE

**
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
Read Brant Hansen's Amazing Blog

HERE

**
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
by Keith Giles

The truth is, all anyone can do is to join the movement, no one can actually start one. At least, not on purpose anyway.

Most of the time, whenever you hear someone say, "I want to start a movement" you can bet on one thing: They will not start a movement.

READ MORE

**
CONSTANTINE: THE FATHER OF OUR FAITH?
By Keith Giles

Why did the Church allow a man who held the title of High Priest in the Pagan Temple to influence the way they worshipped and practiced their faith?

Maybe it was because he was their largest financial supporter? Or because he ended the brutal persecutions of his predecessors? Or because he gave them non-profit, tax-exempt status in the Empire? Maybe it was because he promoted several of the clergy to high-ranking offices within the Empire? Or because he built large temples for them to worship in?

Whatever the reason, Constantine was allowed to dictate to the Church how and when and where they would worship God.

READ MORE

**
WANT TO TALK? EMAIL ME DIRECTLY AT
"ELYSIANSKY" (AT) HOTMAIL (DOT COM)

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

Feed My Sheep

2008-04-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

Feed My Sheep
by Keith Giles

"We've never heard these things," he said sheepishly, adding quickly, "Before today, that is."

Everyone in the room quietly agreed with his sad confession. The facilitator's mouth dropped open in shock for a moment, and then closed silently as her eyes moved around the room.

I involuntarily clenched my teeth from the back row and nodded silently to myself. It was true. Thousands of people in churches across this nation are ignorant of the basic message of Jesus and the Gospel that he came and died to proclaim.

We were in our final session of the Non-Con and Jackie Pullinger, who had flown in from Hong Kong, by way of London, was sharing with all of us about the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus preached and how the call to care for the poor in our midst was woven into the very fabric of His message. Most of those in the room, just over 100 people from all over the United States, had never heard this message before.

In my mind I went back over my own Christian experience. Raised in the Church after my initial conversion experience at age 10 and eventually licensed and ordained as a minister of the Gospel at age 22, I myself had been largely ignorant of the Gospel that Jesus proclaimed and had no concept of His heart for the poor or how my love for others reflected my love for God.

After spending over thirty years as a pastor, teaching others the Scriptures, mostly regurgitating what I was fed to others, being careful to stay within the bounds of doctrine and acceptable religious language, my own epiphany had come with a shock that literally took days to recover from. Now, years later, at 41 years of age, I am like a new convert to my own faith. Learning for the first time what was there all along in the Bible I kept at my bedside table.

How can it be that we have become a nation, and a generation, of Christian Americans who have no idea what the Gospel is all about? How can it be possible that we can be good Christians and yet still not be familiar with the teachings of Jesus or the basic elements of his message?

Can you imagine a Muslim who knew nothing of the teachings of Muhammed? Or a Jew who wasn't familiar with the words of Moses? How then can we be a generation of Christians who are unfamiliar with the words and the teachings of Jesus?

If our pastors across this land are not preaching about Jesus, are not communicating the Gospel of the Kingdom as He did, then what are we preaching?

A quick flip through the television stations and you'll know. It's mostly about getting what God wants to bless you with. It's about giving your money to this person or that ministry so that God can adorn you with money and success and material wealth.

What shocks me the most is when I hear these televangelists take the words of Jesus and twist them completely around with a great big smile on their faces. "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible," Jesus said, as the Rich Young Ruler walked away from him, head down, ashamed of his inability to let go of his great wealth in order to take up his cross daily and follow Jesus.

"With man this is impossible," says the televangelist with the best-selling book and the largest church in America, "But with God all things are possible." He then proceeds to explain how this proves that God will grant your every wish for a new car, a better job, a larger bank account.

These words from Jesus are meant to give us hope that, with God's help, we can find the grace and power to let go of our material wealth in order to follow Him with our whole life. These words are not meant to express God's desire to load us up with even greater riches and material goods.

What are teaching today from our pulpits if we're not teaching people to follow Jesus or to study his teachings?

Our churches are full of people who are taught to know the right information, and to stand against evil (as defined by the pulpit), and to invite others to attend the weekly gathering. But are we taught to know the words of Jesus? Are we encouraged to daily place our actual lives in His hands? Are ever told that unless we daily die to ourselves and take up our cross we cannot follow Him? Are we familiar with the parables of Jesus or the Gospel of the Kingdom? Do we know that we can enter the Kingdom of God anytime we want? Do we know that God only wants our entire life to be surrendered to Him?

I can't tell you how many times I have heard pastors demand that their flock should feed themselves. "They have Bibles, don't they?", "They can study the Word of God for themselves," they say. But Jesus didn't say, "Teach my sheep to feed themselves" he said, "If you love me feed my lambs". That means it's our job to make sure the people in our pews (or on our couches) know the Gospel and understand the message of Jesus.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" - Jesus, from Matthew 28:19-20

A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Obedience is built into our marching orders.
More and more I am becoming convinced that to be a "Christian" in our culture today, and being a follower of Jesus, are not the same thing at all.

-kg

**
"Christianity is the story of how the rightful King has landed, you might say in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in His great campaign of sabotage."
--C.S. Lewis

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

You're Invited!

2008-04-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

You're Invited!
by Keith Giles

An invitation is a very personal thing. It means someone is thinking of you and they want you to be with them for a special celebration or gathering.

Yesterday I attended a marketing seminar on social media. The presenter made one interesting comment and I wrote it down. Here's what she said, "It's easier to get people to attend a real, physical event than to get them to show up at a virtual, online (social media) discussion."

As someone who has tried, more than once, to assemble an online community I've learned the hard way the truth of that statement. Even when I attempted, most recently, to create an online community for [Subversive Underground] I only managed to attract four people (including me) out of a possible group of 225 subscribers. However, when I recently invited people to join us for an all-day open dialog called "Non-Con" I sold out a month in advance and had to manage a stand-by list for those who didn't make the deadline for registration.

I've been thinking pretty hard lately about the invitation that Jesus offered his disciples. "Follow me" was his only tag line. Simple and to the point, Jesus invited people, personally and to their face, if they would consider living their lives after the pattern he would establish. Those who responded did so with their feet, with their actual lives. They stood up, dropped their nets, left the money on the table, abandoned family and friends, and dedicated three years of daily, continual following after Jesus.

Of course, all but one of them extended that initial three year commitment into an endless, day-by-day surrender of their entire life to follow Jesus to the very end. Thousands more followed their example and soon there was an overwhelming flood of people who were actively following Jesus with their actual, every day lives, and teaching others to do the same.

Sometimes I wonder why we make the invitation so complicated. We invite people to attend our meetings, or to join our club, or to wear our t-shirts, listen to our music, put our bumper stickers on their car and adopt our slang. But all Jesus ever did was to invite people to follow him.

We must respond to this same invitation. Jesus called people to be his disciples, his followers, and his life was a blue-print for each of us to emulate.

When we consider what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and especially when we feel compelled to invite others to do the same, let's keep it simple. Just ask people if they're interested in following Jesus too. Then you can both follow Jesus together, teaching and encouraging and inspiring one another to obey his teaching, to serve others as he did, and to learn to love people with your whole life.

You're invited to a wonderful new pattern of life. I've just started down this road so it's not too late to join me and catch up. We can follow Jesus together, if you want to.

Are you coming?

-kg
**
POVERTY IN THE O.C.
This Sunday afternoon, after our house church gathering, I'll be having lunch and sharing with another local house church about what poverty looks like in Orange County. It's always a privilege to speak to fellow followers about what poverty looks like in our community, alongside what God's Word has to say about His heart for them, and His expectations of us as His Earthly representatives.

Pray for me as I lead this interactive, artistic experience. I'm always amazed at what God does each time I facilitate this discussion. I've done this for small groups, mega-church staff members and our own house church, and each time God shows up and touches people deep down where it counts. I'd love to see that again on Sunday afternoon. Thanks for your prayers.

**
[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] PODCAST NOW LIVE AT ITUNES!
Well, we finally did it. There is now an official [SU] podcast page online now at ITunes. Go and search us under "Podcasts" in the Music Store and be sure to click the "subscribe" button to keep up with our infrequent mp3 uploads.

Totally free, of course.

**
NON-CON ARTISTS GET THEIR OWN ART SHOW
"WHAT REMAINS" FEATURING ARTISTS:
HEATHER WRIGHT, SCOTT LAUMANN, BILL BURGESS AND ANDREW DUNN.

If you're in the Orange County area, be sure to drop by The Artery Gallery (at the Lab in Costa Mesa) on April 19th for the opening of the new 2 week exhibit featuring our very own Non-Con artists.

Come join us on opening night at 7pm on April 19th at The Artery Gallery in Costa Mesa and show your support for these artists of faith.

**
NON-CON PODCASTS NOW LIVE
Whether you were lucky enough to join us for the Non-Con or not, we've got all 3 main session recordings available online now for download.

You can either go online to ITunes and find our [Subversive Underground] Podcast page to download the MP3's to your computer or IPod, OR you can go to
the website link below and download the same 3 sessions as MP3 files.

For those who choose the ITunes podcast option keep in mind that we will be uploading new podcasts to that page throughout the year.

Session 1 - David Ruis
Session 2 - Keith Giles
Session 3 - Jackie Pullinger

Download Here

**
START YOUR OWN NON-CON?
When I first came up with the idea for this "Non-Conference" I wanted it to be something simple, and easy to duplicate.

I'd love to help you start your own Non-Con in your community and I'm willing to help with website, marketing and logistics issues for no charge whatsoever.

If you're interested in finding out more about starting your own Non-Con…
READ THIS

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

The Paradox of Free Will

2008-04-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

NOTE: I debated long and hard about whether or not to publish today's article. It is an attempt to resolve a long-standing and painfully bitter disagreement in the Family of God. I would ask, in advance, for you to extend me a little Grace and to read the following with an open heart and mind. This is an open dialog and my intent is to bring peace to the Body of Christ over a divisive issue. Thank you in advance for reading this with an attitude of love towards me, your brother and friend in Christ Jesus. - kg
**

The Paradox of Free Will
By Keith Giles

As human beings we strive to understand the world we live in. I believe our Creator built into us a healthy level of curiosity which compels us to seek answers and strive for knowledge. Our inquisitive nature is a large part of what makes us human.

However, there are some things we cannot fully know or understand, particularly when it comes to God Himself. In these instances the best we can do is to accept what He has revealed to us about His nature and leave it alone. We cannot fully comprehend a being who has no beginning, or imagine an entity with no boundary or limit. In those areas where our ability to comprehend is challenged we simply have to take some things on faith, whether we understand them or not. In fact, we have to accept these truths as being true even though we know we are currently incapable of understanding at all.

Whenever we encounter an aspect of God's character which defies the bounds of our reason we call this a paradox because it involves one or more seemingly contradictory conditions at work.

This phenomenon isn't limited to the spiritual realm, by the way. In the world of observable science we encounter several examples of seemingly contradictory facts and conditions which we must simply accept as being true whether or not we can understand or explain them in common terms.

One such example is the nature of light. Scientists who were attempting to determine the nature of light tried several experiments with the smallest unit of light (a single photon) in order to answer the riddle of whether or not light was a wave (a frequency within a spectrum) or a particle (made up of many photon-bits).

Their experiment proved that light was a wave. It also proved that light was a particle. Depending on the experiment they performed and the conditions of the test, they got both answers. This lead to the new idea that somehow light was actually a wavicle (part particle, part wave). Of course, no one has a real definition of the properties of a wavicle, and other than light (apparently) nothing else exhibits these qualities or conditions. Yet, we all still believe that light exists and scientists still continue to talk about light and to manipulate it even though they still have absolutely no idea what it really is.

*Read more about this amazing phenomenon
HERE

I share all of that with you so that my next section won't sound like convenient wordplay. There really are elements within our known sphere of understanding which are beyond our comprehension and classification. Paradoxes are common. They are not evidence of some faulty bit of logic or a failure of the mind to connect the dots.

In Christian theology we must become comfortable alongside some paradoxes such as the Trinity (Christ, the Spirit and the Father are all referred to as the One God, and yet they are not each other, nor are they three Gods, but the One). We cannot understand how this can be so, but we must accept the nature of God as He has revealed Himself to us through His Word and declare that, somehow, someway, even though we are powerless to understand or define or comprehend it, God is a being beyond our complete understanding. His very nature defies our limited capacity for apprehending Him. We can only accept what we know by faith.

Alister E. McGrath has a wonderful way of communicating this ineffable quality of God's nature by demonstrating that none of us, using mere language, could ever describe to someone who had never tasted coffee exactly what it tasted like. Unless they were to taste coffee for themselves, the conversation would be endless and our descriptions useless. However, once we have both tasted coffee we can talk all day about it and both us will have a common ground to understand what the other is saying, but our inability to explain the exact quality of the flavor of coffee using human language will remain outside our feeble grasp. (from his book, "What Was God Doing On The Cross?")

One of the oldest, and most bitter and brutal debates that has divided Christendom since around 400 AD is the one surrounding the doctrines of free will and predestination.

On one side we have the Calvinists who represent the predestination side, and the Arminians who represent the side of free will.

Without going into a lot of detail about the history and the various nuances of each side and their arguments regarding the best way to believe on this issue, let me make things very simple. Those on the side of predestination feel that for God to know the end before the beginning, His sovereignty must be greater than our frail human will and therefore God has already determined, before the beginning of time, who will be saved and who will not. Those on the side of free will, the Arminians, feel that God cannot decide beforehand to create beings whom He knows are destined for an eternal hell, and therefore are convinced that man ultimately must decide for him or herself whether or not to accept the free gift of salvation.

Both sides offer copious amounts of Biblical text to support their view. To be sure, the Scriptures contain very plain and direct language to support the theory that God knows the end from the beginning and even that God "predestined those He foreknew" (Romans 8: 28). However, there are just as many scriptures to support the idea that God allows mankind the freedom to choose for themselves whether or not to follow Him and to love Him. We know that God does not create robots who are hardwired to love Him any more than He creates beings for the purpose of destroying them.

Both doctrines are Biblical. Both doctrines seem to contradict one another. We cannot possibly see how one could be true if the other were also true. This leaves us with a conundrum of sorts, or a paradox. Somehow God is able to see into the future and to know, in advance, the outcome of our choices which are based on free will.

However, because God knows in advance what you and I will freely choose to do, it does not necessarily follow that His foreknowledge of our choice is what caused us to make this choice. For example, if I am watching someone from a distance and I know what they are about to do, I am not held accountable for their actions when they carry out the action I predicted.

So, does God know in advance who will choose to follow Him? Yes, he most certainly does. The scriptures support this and we should embrace this truth. But, does the Bible also teach us that we are accountable to God for our own decisions and actions? Yes, it most certainly does. We alone are the ones who must choose to accept or reject the love of God that has been offered to us. The scriptures teach us this and we should embrace this truth as well.

This is a paradox, like many other paradoxes of faith, where we are called upon to exercise our faith in God and take Him at His Word.

For those Calvinists who argue that the doctrine of Free Will encroaches upon the sovereignty of God I would point out that there are many doctrines where God limits Himself for our benefit. For example, God is omniscient (knowing all things), but we also know that, for our sake, He willfully forgets our sins once they are forgiven. He surrenders His infinite knowledge of all things for our sake and tosses our sins into the sea of forgetfulness. Why would we be surprised that, in order to preserve our freedom of choice, God might surrender His power of sovereignty?

For those Arminians who argue that God's foreknowledge of an event determines the outcome, let me point out that knowing something will happen is not the same as making that event turn out a certain way.

As this is a subject where the scripture is less than crystal clear, where those on both sides of the issue have ample scriptural evidence for their position, let us agree that this is not something we should divide over.

"God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, Oh Lord Thou knowest. Those things belong to the deep and mysterious Profound of God's omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints."
– A.W. Tozer

Our love for one another, as brothers and sisters in Christ, should never suffer due to our petty disagreements. Nor should we ever allow differences of opinion over the doctrines of baptism, or the end times, or the way we worship, or speaking in tongues, or what have you, to separate us from one another. We are the Family of God and we are called to love one another, in fact, we've been commanded to love one another. It is not optional for us.

In His Grip,
Keith Giles
http://www.keithgiles.com

**
IF YOU WANT TO EMAIL ME DIRECTLY
Please send all encouraging, thoughtful and constructive comments to me at
"Elysiansky" at (Hotmail) dot (com).

You may also leave a comment on the [Subversive Underground] blog
HERE

**
START YOUR OWN NON-CON?
Find out how right
HERE

**
WHAT REMAINS
Our Non-Con artist panel will be headlining an amazing art show on April 19th at the Artery Gallery in the Anti-Mall/Lab in Costa Mesa, CA.

"WHAT REMAINS" FEATURING ARTISTS:
*HEATHER WRIGHT
*SCOTT LAUMANN
*BILL BURGESS
*ANDREW DUNN.

2 WEEKS EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT STARTS APRIL 19TH AT THE ARTERY GALLERY.

I am so excited to announce that three of the most gifted artists I personally know will all be together in the same gallery space at the same time. This will be so amazing!

Find out more
HERE

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

The Poverty of Wealth

2008-03-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

The Poverty of Wealth
by Keith Giles

When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples in Matthew 10 he gave them some instructions which would seem odd to us today. Among other things, he gave them this command, "Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts."

One thing I've learned over time is that preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, living the life Jesus modelled for us to live, serving others and learning to love people doesn't cost anything at all. At least not in terms of money.

What it does cost you is time. It also means the possibility, and a very likely one, that you will change as a person. Counting the cost means being willing to change, and to allow God to change your heart in the way He wants. You may have to participate in the process of dying to yourself if you decide to take that step towards loving and serving others.

Some of us have to admit that we just don't care about the poor. We'd rather just write a check and be done with it. I can understand that, and I've been there before in fact. For most of my life as a Christian I was comfortable writing the checks so that someone else could step out and touch the poor and serve the lost.

Unfortunately, we are called to do more than write checks.

OUR GREATEST FEAR
What frightens many of us most is the suggestion that Jesus might be asking us to invest something more than just a check.

A check is easy. I don't have to touch anyone. I don't have to look them in the eye, or smell their breath, or become entangled with their problems.

A check is still, ultimately, about me. I even get to write it off my taxes at the end of the year.

But sharing what I have, listening to someone's story, touching another person, loving them the way I would love Jesus? That's frightening. That would take a lot of faith. It would involve trusting God like I've never trusted Him before.

And that would be exactly what Jesus was talking about when He asked us to lay down our lives for one another and take up our cross to die daily to ourselves.

IT'S NOT ABOUT MONEY
For the last five years or so we've been serving families at the Studio Inn in Santa Ana, California. During this time of service I've learned that the less program we have the more Jesus we can bring.

Our monthly motel service costs our little house church just over $100. That covers groceries for about 30 families, renting a bounce house and buying a box of popsicles for the kids. But again, it's not about money. In fact, there have been times over the years where we didn't have a bounce house, or treats, or free groceries. We just showed up, my wife and I and our two boys, and a few others, and we played games, ran relay races, made a craft and prayed for our friends. Those were honestly some of the more amazing times we ever had, actually.

Keeping it simple, and learning to love the people who are right in front of you, is all it takes. That doesn't cost anything. It doesn't take a small army of trained workers. All it takes is love.

STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS
One of the principles of the Kingdom is the power of weakness. Paul talks about boasting in our weakness because in our weakness the power of Christ is revealed (2 Cor 12:9). That's a huge lesson. I used to always believe that the power of Christ was revealed in my eloquence, or in my talent or skill or ability. Instead I've discovered that the more I come in weakness, relying on God's strength, the greater the outcome.

Living in Orange County, California I've come in contact with some very wealthy people. Many of them are paralyzed by their wealth. Because of their great supply of cash they are tempted to lean on that money to save their marriages, or to protect themselves from reality, or to insulate themselves from the poor. I wish for many of them that they were not so wealthy. If they didn't have all that money to make things easier for themselves, I wonder, would they lean more on Jesus to rescue them or challenge them or change them?

FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE
So, what can you bring if you leave your money belt at home? If you have a wallet full of money to give away you'll be tempted to meet physical needs without paying attention to the spiritual poverty. If your focus is on what you can do, or give, or bring, you might just miss what God wants to do.

Jesus announced his ministry on Earth by reading from Isaiah 61 saying, "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favour..."

Even though the annointing that was on Jesus involved the poor, and even though he warned us that we would be judged based on whether or not we had compassion on the poor and the outcast and the forgotten (Matt 25), we cannot miss the fact that Jesus was called to the poor in order to preach the Good News of the Kingdom to them.

We have that same calling.

I've been reminded recently that if we bring the poor free groceries and we put on a big production for them, we can't forget to bring them the Gospel of the Kingdom too.

YOUR PORTION IS SMALL
If you can't bring them money, what can you bring the poor?

"Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." - Acts 3:6

Maybe this is what Jesus had in mind when he sent out the twelve to preach the Good News of the Kingdom? Maybe it's why God told Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver my people from the Midianites"? (Judges 7:2) Because when we are strong, we have no need of God's strength. When we come bristling with our own wealth and talent and power and possibility the best we can do is the best we can do.

Perhaps if we left some of our resources at home and simply went out with nothing in our hands but worship, nothing in our hearts but faith, nothing on our lips but the Gospel of the Kingdom, we would see more of the power of God revealed in our weakness.

I'm eager to find out. Aren't you?

-kg
**
NON-CON PODCAST NOW AVAILABLE
If you head over to my main website you'll see we've got the 3 main sessions worth of MP3's available for free download
HERE

**
DOWNLOAD MY BOOKS FREE
If you haven't done so, there's still time to download my two books for free in PDF format.
HERE

ABOUT MY BOOKS
THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?
The Gospel is a way of life. It's more than telling people that Jesus loves them, it's loving them because He has loved us.

NOBODY FOLLOWS JESUS (SO WHY SHOULD YOU?)
A devotional book for this generation. This 205 page collection contains forty inspirational articles that address what it means to really follow Jesus, not just attend a service or agree to a set of beliefs. If you desire to know more about following Jesus and less about how to join a program or a religious organization, this is the book you've been waiting for.

**
SUPPORT FOR JACKIE PULLINGER AND HER WORK IN HONG KONG
DETAILS
HERE

**

If Your House Was The House of God

2008-03-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]

"If Your House Was The House of God" by Keith Giles

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord'"- Psalm 122:1

The year I was licensed and ordained as a pastor they handed me a key to the church building. I was barely 22 years old, newly married, with a heart full of hope about my calling to pastor God's people.

On Sunday evenings I would unlock the old building an hour early and wander through the dark corridors behind the stage, through the choir room, up through the narrow stairway to the baptistry, quietly talking with God as I moved through the silence of an empty church.

Those were sweet times for me. I remember pouring my heart out to God during those moments, dreaming of the future, wondering where my journey with God would take me, how things would turn out down the road.

Imagine my shock when someone suggested to me that God didn't actually live in that place. He didn't splash in the baptistry when no one was there. He didn't hum His favorite hymns in the darkness waiting for us to return on Sunday morning or Wednesday evening. He wasn't confined to that place as if it were some Holy container for His Glory.

That idea took me some time to process. I knew in my heart it was true. God's word even supported the concept that man could not build a house for him, nor did he ever ask for us to construct a castle for his Spirit to dwell. In fact, the only temple God has ever wanted was you and me.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own." - 1 Cor 6:19

The more this idea permeated my mind, the more revolutionary it became to me. I realized that I could have that same intimate experience with God that I enjoyed in the empty church building on Sunday evenings in my car, or at work, or in the park, or anywhere I went. It was very liberating and empowering for me.

Since we started our house church over 2 years ago, I have had another revelation about the House of God. As we've been hosting church in our living room, our family actually lives in the very place where our church gathers to fellowship and worship.

My own house is now the House of God. I eat in this same house. My family wakes up every single day of the week in this house of worship. We laugh here, we argue here, we cry here, we play here, and we live each day in the same house where the worship and the Bible study and the singing take place every week.

It begins to change the way you think of your house. It starts to affect the way you live. It changes the way you interact with God.

God is not hidden away in a large building somewhere. I do not visit Him each week and catch up on lost time. He does not remain behind when my family leaves to go out to lunch with friends, nor does He sleep on the floor waiting for me to return for Sunday worship.

God has made His home within me. My house is the place where we worship and fellowship each week, but I carry around in my soul the very presence of the living God. Even as I sit at my desk at work, I am on Holy Ground. Even as I pump gas at the gas station, I am in the presence of the King of the Universe. Even as I sit here, typing this article on my computer, sipping my coffee, listening to Snow Patrol, I am not far from Church.

In fact, I am the Church. God has made His home in me and this is simply a foretaste of the day when I move into His house and eat at His table and we are forever, eternally, together.

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” - 1 Peter 2:5

What if your house was the House of God? Would it change what you watch on television? Would it affect the way you treat your spouse or your children?

Welcome to the House of God, my friends- It's you!

-kg

**
NON-CON: DEBRIEF-
Last Saturday just over 100 people gathered together to share an open dialog about the Kingdom, God's heart for the poor and what it means to live an outward-focused life. It was phenomenal.

God showed up with amazing power and His presence was felt from our very first session.

I hope to collect a few testimonials from those who were with us that day and post them over at the Non-Con website (http://www.non-con.com) soon.

Special thanks to our leaders who volunteered their time and talent to make this day so amazing: David Ruis, Jackie Pullinger, John Thomas, Cindy Rethmeier, Crissy Brooks, Marti Clark, Spencer Burke, Scott Laumann, Bill Burgess, Heather Wright, Paul Martin and my wife Wendy Giles who was my secret weapon. She took care of all the food and a lot of the daily logistics so that I could focus on the rest of the day and facilitate our time together. I'll never do another one of these without her help.

**
IT'S YOUR FUNERAL - My article about the last day of your life is now online at http://www.theooze.com
Go check it out and leave a comment if you like.

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

2008-03-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

[Subversive Underground]Presents:
Something Different
By Keith Giles

I want to ask a question, "What if there was a way of doing church that made community easier, facilitated discipleship, and inspired organic growth? Why would anyone oppose something that helped people to follow Jesus in their everyday life, set them free to discover and practice their spiritual gifting in the context of worship, and helped encourage lifestyle of evangelism and personal mission?"

As someone who has been a licensed and ordained pastor for over 18 years now, in denominational, independent and charismatic expressions of church, I've witnessed first-hand the angst and frustration at the pastoral level in the traditional church. "Why can't we get people to give more? Why don't people feel connected here? Why don't these people take the words of Jesus seriously? How can we get people to share their faith and increase community?"

Even as I've agonized over these thoughts myself, I've also heard other pastors lament in much the same way when comparing their church with the one we see in Acts. "Look at the incredible devotion these people had for one another," the pastors say. "Why don't our people give and share and love in the same way?"

After years of struggling to help put butts in the seats, inspire the frozen chosen to serve others and live out their faith in their daily life, I finally did something out of desperation- I tried the method outlined in the New Testament, and what do you know, it worked.

ANOTHER WAY
Our house church has been thriving now for over 2 years and I can honestly say I've not once had to preach a sermon on tithing or giving, and yet our small gathering gave thousands of dollars to the help the poor in our community last year. In fact, we're on track to double last year's amount, and I've never had to beg or plead for our members to dig deep or give more. Why is this? What's the big difference?

The simple fact is that our people can tangibly connect every dollar and penny they give with how it directly assists people in need. We keep nothing for ourselves and give all of the money we receive away to the poor. When our members connect their dollars with actual people receiving assistance they are glad to give all that they can to help others.

I take no salary from the offering. We don't even use it to buy paper plates or coffee. All of the offering, every single penny of it, is spent on the poor in our community, and that inspires people to give hilariously.

THE GOSPEL- TO GO!
In our house church I've also seen people discover their personal mission and start to walk it out in their everyday life. One dear woman had always felt called to be a missionary to children overseas but that door never opened for her. Instead, she discovered that God had given her a mission field with her Fifth Grade class each week at a local elementary school where she teaches. We get to encourage her every week as she loves and serves these dear children God has given to her to bless.

Another woman has discovered that her art can speak to those outside the walls of the church and have a greater impact alongside works of art at local galleries. She's been liberated to take her art to the darkness and allow it to effect people who need hope and light. We get to support her art and encourage her as she encounters people in deep spiritual need who would never darken a church door.

Another man has realized a profound concern for the local homeless and has begun to spend his weekends befriending the homeless he encounters during his weekly job as a security guard. Our house church has helped him to purchase food and supplies to share with these new friends he's made. We get to encourage him and cheer him on as he struggles with how to love and help these people who are in desperate need.

Others in our house church have begun to identify their spiritual gifts and are being encouraged, many for the very first time, to utilize those gifts in the context of the weekly gathering, and to advance the Kingdom of God and make new disciples to Jesus, and live out the Gospel in their everyday life.

NOT PERFECTION
One thing about community is that we quickly realize that none of us is perfect. As our masks fall down we see the beauty, and the serious flaws, inside each of us. We get to learn how to forgive one another, how to love one another unconditionally, and how to extend grace to each other as we grow in Christ.

We know the early church wasn't perfect either. The New Testament makes no attempt to cover up their infidelity, pride and in-fighting. Yet it also makes no attempt to correct these flaws by changing the methodology. Instead, the Apostles encouraged the early church to love more, forgive more, serve more and be a true Family of God.

No, the house church isn't perfect. We are not more perfect people because of house church, in fact, we're probably a lot more imperfect than most, but that's part of how the power of Christ is revealed in us, as we embrace our weakness and cling to the goodness of God. (See 2 Cor 12:9)

SOMETHING NEW?
Someone once said, "To experience something you've never experienced before you will have to do something you've never done before." The same logic applies to the modern church in America. If we hope to experience something we've never experienced before as a Body, we will have to entertain the possibility of doing something many of us have never done before.

THE QUESTION AGAIN
So, if there were a way to take our traditional churches into a new place of life and hope and encourage real community and empower every person to live out their mission and utilize their gifts, why would anyone oppose this? Why would anyone be against putting these New Testament principles into practice? Are we so committed to our corporate-inspired, big business model of doing church that we cannot imagine any other way?

WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
It's very curious to me how Jesus could inspire his disciples to start a certain kind of family-based system of worship and community and fellowship, which had never existed before, and how those disciples could promote and build and encourage a household of faith for over 300 years, only to have the entire thing thrown out in favor of a new model that effectively chokes community, stifles the spiritual gifts and encourages a retreat from the culture at large.

We could go into the history of how it happened, but I won't take the time for that now. I simply want to ask the question, "If we knew a way to fix what's wrong with the Church today and inspire community, family, mission, evangelism and discipleship, why wouldn't pastors be lining up to give it a try?" Why is it we'll try everything else under the sun except for this Jesus-inspired, Apostle-promoted, family-based, Biblical model outlined for us in the New Testament?

I know I'm a dreamer and an idealist, perhaps. But it seems to make sense to me that if we want what the early church had, we should at least be willing to attempt to do what they did in order to get it.

MORE LIGHT THAN HEAT
Even as I write this I know that the vast majority of Christians out there, and probably most of you who are reading this now, are part of a traditional church built upon some of these same principles I am calling into question.

Please know that I do not raise these questions to be divisive. My own parents attend a traditional church that they love and I have several friends who are currently pastoring traditional churches that are doing amazing things for the Kingdom of God.

My aim is not to tear down the good that God is doing within the traditional church, but at the same time I do have to ask these sorts of questions, because the answer to these sorts of questions are necessary to help all of us understand who we are in Christ and how the whole Body fits together in God's Kingdom.

FOR THE RECORD
God is at work in every expression of His Church and no matter what form or model we employ Gods Kingdom is advanced, peoples lives are transformed and the Gospel is preached. I fully acknowledge and celebrate this fact.

However, my struggle lies in finding the best way to communicate the joy of what I've discovered as part of a house church, and affirming that God loves and is at work in the entire Body of Christ, worldwide.

Please extend to me a little grace on this issue, my friends. I know that whenever I talk about the freedom and the excitement I've experienced in the house church, there are some who can only hear it as an attack against those who are not part of the house church movement. This is not my intent and I'm honestly still learning how best to share what good I've seen over the last few years without insulting everyone else.

What I hope to do is to allow the testimony of God's wisdom to be released like the aroma of warm bread from the oven and tantalize each of us to imagine what being part of the Family of God could be like, if we try something many of us have never tried before.

"If there was a way to help facilitate discipleship and community and mission within the Body of Christ, and if that way were clearly outlined in the New Testament and if that same method was proven over a period of 300 years, why would anyone oppose this?"

-kg

**
JACKIE PULLINGER MP3S ONLINE FOR FREE
The Non-Con is only days away now!
For those of you who didn't make the registration deadline, and/or can't wait until this Saturday to hear Jackie Pullinger, my friend Bob Moffat posted a whole host of great sermons from Jackie online.

Here

**
REBELLION OF THOUGHT- DVD
Now available at Best Buy, Amazon and fine bookstores everywhere.

My great friend, Kent Williamson, has completed his film, Rebellion of Thought which is an amazing discussion starter for people who want to know more about why the modern church is broken and how our post-modern society views our faith and message.

Synopsis
The documentary release "Rebellion of Thought: Post-Modernism, The Church and the Struggle For Authentic Faith" explores the challenges of living a Biblically-oriented Christian life within the framework of an increasingly complex and confusing postmodern culture. ~ Nathan Southern, (All Movie Guide)

PURCHASE ONLINE
HERE

Well-worth your time and attention. My friends John and Lisa Wahrmund have a few songs on the soundtrack album too, along with J.J. Plasencio (formerly of Sixpence and Plumb). Check it out.

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

Part 5- How To Start A Ministry To The Poor

2008-03-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

HOW TO START A MINISTRY TO THE POOR IN YOUR COMMUNITY – Part 5
by Keith Giles

This is the final installment in our series on how you can start a ministry to the poor in your community.

If you have any questions, comments or ideas youd like to share please feel free to email them to me directly at "elysiansky" at "hotmail" dot com.

**
MINISTRY TO THE HOMELESS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Ministry to the classically homeless is much more challenging than you might think.

Our family has centered mainly on ministry to families who live in motels or to individuals who find themselves suddenly in danger of becoming homeless, or to the elderly.

Ministry to those who have lived on the streets for long periods of time, those I call "Classically Homeless", can be difficult. Here's some of why that is and what can be done to provide assistance.

WHY ARE THEY HOMELESS?
Many of those who live in a state of long-term homelessness are there because of drugs, alcohol or mental illness issues.

ADDICTIONS
For those who are homeless because of addiction and substance abuse issues, you should keep in mind that they will do whatever it takes to get money from you in order to get their drug of choice. Don't be surprised or offended if they lie to you. Don't be afraid to tell them you know they are lying (if you suspect it to be so). Honesty can go a long way and it helps them to know you're not easily fooled.

HOW TO HELP
Usually the best course of action to take is to help them with the condition in place that they seek out help for their addiction. So, if you buy them something to eat or if you put them in a hotel, etc. you let them know that next time your helping them will depend on whether or not they have followed through with getting off the streets and addressing their greater need to escape addiction.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Many of those who are living on the streets for long periods of time are dealing with mental health issues. Local mental health hospitals have the unfortunate habit of releasing residents who are not dangerous to themselves or to others due to over-crowding and a lack of funding. This puts many homeless on the streets who are not taking their medications and are suffering (not just due to hunger but also the pain of their illness) without any hope of getting better.

Communication with them can be difficult, if not impossible. Some cannot carry on a coherent conversation while others can appear lucid at first and then drift off into delusional behavior and display wild mood swings and unexpected changes due to their illness.

HOW TO HELP
In these cases I usually refer them, if possible, to a local mental wellness organization or to a non-profit that is more adept at treating people like this since it's very far outside my area of expertise.

Of course, not all of those who are homeless are mentally ill or struggling with addictions. Some of them have emotional issues and others have simply fallen deeper into the pit of poverty due to a loss of employment or other unexpected event.

CHALLENGES
Ministry to the classically homeless is much more difficult to do as a family due to the erratic and sometimes frightening behavior which can be encountered. Our family has focused mainly on ministry to the elderly and to families living in motels or in low-income housing since its something we can do with our children. However, there is plenty of great ministry to be done with those who are living in long-term homelessness. This will usually involve a more specialized skill-set and typically requires a person have lots of patience and a high level of discernment.

MINISTRY TO PROSTITUTES – INTO THE REAL DARKNESS

I've only been out about four times to the streets here in Orange County to minister to women caught in prostitution. Most of what I've learned is based on research and several crushing episodes of utter, empty defeat and failure.

This ministry is easily the most challenging and "outside my comfort zone". It means entering a dark, dangerous world where you are an outsider and the level of commitment required is off the charts.

First, a little bit of background about the issue.

HARD TO QUIT
Most girls who are on the streets will either get off and back into a normal life in the first three months or it will be another ten years before they can escape this lifestyle. Why? Because the work is so repugnant and degrading, at first, that if they're ever going to escape it has to be in those first few months. Otherwise, they get trapped into this lifestyle through fear of their pimp and/or through dependence on the drugs their pimp supplies them with.

HOOKED BY FEAR AND ADDICTION
What keeps most girls on the streets is the fear of being abused or killed by their pimp, and/or their need to keep an expensive drug habit going. Their pimps usually get them hooked on drugs as quickly as they can in order to control them. They know that no other lifestyle would afford their girls the kind of money they need to keep the drugs flowing, so the girls are essentially trapped into this life of prostitution.

HUMAN SLAVERY
Another difficult and impossible situation is where you have forced prostitution through organized crime syndicates. Many girls are here from Russia, the Ukraine, Romania, Thailand, Cambodia, and other impoverished nations. Many were tricked into coming here and are kept here by the threat of harm to their families back in their home country. They cannot leave, even if they desperately want to escape, because to leave would mean the murder of their mother, father, siblings, etc.

It's very shocking to realize that human slavery is alive and well in the United States of America. Just about a year ago the Orange County Police Department broke up the largest human trafficking/forced prostitution ring in the history of this region. I remember it because it was just weeks before the Freedom Day on March 25th at Vanguard where hundreds gathered to protest slavery and bring attention to this very real problem.

America is the number one market for human sexual slavery. Anaheim, the home of Disneyland, is one of the largest markets for human trafficking in the Nation.

You can find out more information about this online at
www.stopthetraffik.org/

DIFFERENT TYPES
You'll encounter one of four different kinds of girls who work on the streets.

1)Street level- Normally these are homeless girls who have no pimp and work prostitution for the food and for drugs. It's purely survival and quick cash.
2)Weekenders- These girls come and work to support their children or save money for college or other reasons. They are healthy and generally wear clean, attractive clothing.
3)Circuit Girls- These girls work a circuit throughout California, Nevada, Florida, etc. They wear exaggerated clothing (very Hollywood-esque). These look the most like obvious prostitutes and are the easiest to spot.
4)Transvestite- A man who dresses like a woman to turn tricks. Some have had surgery and take hormones to round off the illusion. You think it would be easy to tell the difference. You would be wrong.

MINISTRY IDEAS

*Stay Up Late
Due to the nature of this ministry, to find the girls you need to be where they are, and that means on the streets between 12am and 4am. You're guaranteed to loose sleep over this ministry.

*Mixed Teams
If you go out you need to always stay in mixed teams of guys and girls. It's a bad idea for guys to go out alone, since they might be arrested for soliciting, and it's not safe for girls to go out alone either. Mixed groups of at least four people work best.

*Pray, Pray, Pray
Prayer is crucial since you are entering into the Enemy's camp. This is where the Kingdom of Darkness clashes with the Kingdom of God. Expect a lot of spiritual attack at home and during the ministry time.

*Bless Them
You mainly want to get to know these girls. As with other ministries weve discussed thus far, consistency is the key. Build a relationship. Buy them breakfast if they'll let you. Listen to their stories. Ask them what they need and try to meet practical needs.

*Gift Bags
One local ministry to prostitutes brings gift bags to the girls with make-up supplies, gift cards to shops and food stores, clothing stores, etc. It brings down their guard and allows you a chance to smile, bless them, find out their names and ask if you can pray for them.

*The Pimps
Believe it or not, getting to know these guys can be a significant part of the process. One ministry I know of actually spends a lot of time trying to help these guys change their lives and turn to Christ. If they do, the girls usually follow and the operation is shut down because the girls, and their pimp, have surrendered to Christ and are seeking to live a new life.

*Statistics
Sadly, 98% of the girls who are on the streets now will stay there, and die there. This means that out of every 100 girls you reach out to, only 2 of them will get off the streets and stay off.

For those who do get off the streets, the process means getting off the streets and then relapsing over and over again for a few years before finally, eventually, getting off the streets for life.

Of course, these statistics don't tell the whole story. Some girls get off and stay off in one shot, some leave after several years, others after only a few months. But you should know what you're getting into before you commit to such a challenging ministry.

GETTING THEM REAL HELP
If you encounter girls who are under 18 you should refer them to "Children of the Night" (if you have one in your area) or even the local police department. These are minors who need to be rescued from this lifestyle.

The challenge I've run into is the lack of resources for girls who are under 18, don't have a Driver's License, or a SS card. These are usually girls who are here illegally or runaways.

If the girl is over 18 you can send them to Teen Challenge and/or another drug and alcohol treatment center where their addictions can be addressed and they can receive spiritual guidance and emotional healing. Sadly, most non-profit groups will not accept a girl who is under 18. Go figure.

What is really needed to minister to these girls is a long list of resources:
*Trained counselors
*Free shelter
*Addiction treatment
*Job Training
*Free Child Care
*Healthcare access (for health checkups, STD's, etc.)

As I said before, the most challenging and overwhelming ministry I've ever known is ministry to prostitutes. Not for the faint of heart.

**
I know this series doesn't even come close to scratching the surface of this topic of serving the poor and the homeless and people in need, but after a five week series I think it's time to move on to other topics at the [Subversive Underground].

I do hope you will email me directly if you have further questions or response to this series of articles. Many of you have already asked me for permission to reprint them and use in your Church or ministry efforts. That's what these are for. I do appreciate knowing about where these are being used and how, but otherwise they're meant to help you to serve others more effectively.

Peace,
Keith
**
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HOW TO START A MINISTRY TO THE POOR IN YOUR COMMUNITY - Part 4

2008-02-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

[Subversive Underground]
HOW TO START A MINISTRY TO THE POOR IN YOUR COMMUNITY - Part 4
by Keith Giles

In our fourth installment in this series I wanted to share some specific ideas and insights about the kinds of ministry to the poor that you can initiate in your community.

I want to stress that most of these do not require a large budget, or a team of thousands. Most of these can be done with families, including children of all ages, and two or three adults who are willing to listen, love and share what they have with people in need.

IDEAS FOR MINISTRY TO THE POOR
*Lower-income families (Housing projects, apartments, motels, etc.)
*Motel Ministry (especially for kids and families)
*Food/Grocery Distribution
*Homeless Ministry (Hot Dogs in the Park)
*Senior Home Visitation
*Prostitute Ministry
*Single Moms/Widows (Free oil changes, yardwork, grocery assistance, etc.)

DETAILS:
*Lower-income families (Housing projects, apartments, motels, etc.)
This ministry works best when you get to know the management of the apartment or motel, etc. Explain to them that you're not there to preach or to promote your church. Disarm them with the idea that you really just want to bless people. Explain to them that your ministry will involve giving away free groceries (if possible) or hosting game times for the children (or puppet shows, crafts, etc.). Help them to visualize a monthly or bi-weekly carnival that they get to help bring to their residents. It makes them look like heroes and it gives you an opportunity to express the love of Jesus in tangible ways.

*Motel Ministry (especially for kids and families)
Essentially the same as above. I'd only add that befriending people is the key here. Pray for them. Listen to their problems. Find ways to help them that are practical. This should not be about money. It should be about helping them discover resources in your community, hooking up with other ministries doing work to help with education, rent, health concerns, etc.

Also, ask God to highlight one or two people or families that He wants you to focus on and love them with all you've got. Invite them to your house for pizza and a movie. Hang out with them. Learn to love them. This is where you realize that the real ministry is being done to you, not by you.

*Food/Grocery Distribution
Find a food bank nearby. Second Harvest is a national food bank, but you may have another in your area. Our small house church can purchase a week's worth of groceries for twenty or thirty families for under $100 a month.

As I've said previously, don't distribute the food after you preach. Just give them the food up front and bless them. Ask them at the end of the food line if they want prayer. Most will say yes. If not, just smile and bless them as they go back into their rooms. Consistency is vital.

*Homeless Ministry (Hot Dogs in the Park)
Again, this is very cheap and it's more about getting to know people who happen to be homeless and less about throwing food at the poor and running home.

We found a park where a lot of homeless hang out that also had barbecue stations at each picnic table. Our group set up the grill, cooked the dogs, laid out the fixings and then fanned out to invite the homeless to join us for a picnic. We sat with them, ate with them, asked them their names, where they were from, etc. Even our kids enjoyed getting to know our new friends.

*Senior Home Visitation
You will not believe the treasures that are hidden away in the senior homes near your house. Former Generals in WW2, former actresses, singers, engineers, writers, and even regular people who have amazing stories to tell. All they need is someone to listen. Give it time and you will soon find yourself falling in love with these people.

*Prostitute Ministry
This one is waayyy outside my comfort zone, but I've been out around 3 times with small teams to try to connect and pray for these girls. I'll write in more detail about the challenges and dangers of this ministry next week. Not for the faint of heart.

*Single Moms/Widows (Free oil changes, yardwork, grocery assistance, etc.)
This is more of a Men's Ministry thing, but it can be awesome to bless single Moms and Widows who need assistance around the house, with the yard, the car, etc.
Oh, and it's Biblical too.

OTHER IDEAS FOR MINISTRY
*Local Newspaper/Community Response Ministry -
This is one I've always wanted to do but have yet to attempt. Basically it involves reading the local paper and responding in compassion to people in your city who experience the death of a loved one, is the victim of abuse or rape or violence, tragedy, etc. This is one that I feel could have a huge impact on your community if your church or small group could consistently respond to people in need of comfort and prayer support.

*Community clean-up (graffitti cleaning, trash pick-up, etc.)
Steve Sjogren and Mike Pilavachi have championed this form of "no strings attached" service to the community. When I was at Soul Survivor I was involved with massive groups of teens taking to the streets and cleaning up parks, neighborhoods, etc. This may involve contacting city officials and cooperating with them to discover their needs and partner with their employees.

*Clean toilets for local businesses
Again, Steve Sjogren championed this one a long time ago. It's an amazing way to demonstrate the love of Jesus in practical ways to local business owners. Most will be blown away that you show up with a bucket and cleansers to do the ugly job that none of them wants to do. When you explain to them that you're doing it because Jesus washed feet and this is the closest thing in our modern society to that, you'll be amazed at the reactions you get. Worth it for the stories you get to tell later, if nothing else.

*Free Car Wash
Be careful. People will argue with you to take their money. They simply cannot bring themselves to receive a free blessing with no strings attached. Do it anyway.

NEXT WEEK: We'll finish off this series by looking at the specific challenges and dangers of working directly with the homeless and with prostitues.

-kg
**
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"The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?"
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**

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