[subversive underground] PART 5- "THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?"

THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO? (Part 5 of 6)
By Keith Giles


PATTERNS OF EVANGELISM
One thing that’s also helpful to me is to realize that, contrary to popular opinion, there is not a formula to evangelism found in the New Testament. Several times in the Gospels we see various people who come to Jesus and ask point blank, “What must I do to be saved?” One of the most shocking things is that Jesus never gives the answer that all of us have been trained to give. Not once. Jesus never says, “Confess your sins, believe in me and repeat this prayer after me.”

What we see is that Jesus gave a different answer to this question every single time. He never gave the same answer twice. It’s as if Jesus goes out of his way to demonstrate to us that evangelism needs to be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, being sensitive to the specific heart of the one person we are speaking to, and not applying the cookie cutter approach to preaching the Gospel.

Let’s look briefly at the various answers Jesus gives to those who approached him asking about what must be done to inherit eternal life and see what we can learn from Him.

To Zaccheus Jesus simply acknowledges him in the crowd, invites himself to dinner and when Zaccheus repents of skimming from the taxes he’s collected, Jesus proclaims that salvation has come to his household. In the case of the Rich Young Ruler, Jesus commands him to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and become a disciple under Jesus. The man refuses and is allowed to walk away, seemingly unconverted. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, is told he must be born a second time. This confuses him and Jesus does little to explain what he means, leaving the teacher of the Law to work it out on his own time. The Woman at the Well is boldly confronted with the promiscuous lifestyle she’s been living and yet never feels offended or condemned by Jesus throughout the conversation. Finally, the Thief on the Cross is converted and welcomed into Paradise simply for realizing that Jesus was the promised Messiah. His only part in the process seems to be the amazing good fortune of being crucified for his crimes on the same day as the Son of God.

Many other examples of salvation in the New Testament reflect this same lack of pattern and tailor-made response to the Gospel message.

How does your personal conversion experience compare to these found in the New Testament? Do you see a common pattern in your own story?

When I look at this amazing variety of conversion experiences in Scripture it really puzzles me as to why we’ve made evangelism so predictable and uninteresting.

What’s more, our focus on evangelism seems to be in asking whether or not someone knows whether or not they would go to heaven if they were to die tonight? If anything, it seems the basic questions beings asked by Jesus and His disciples dealt with what one would do if they knew for a fact that they’d be alive tomorrow. The real question seems to be, “If you were alive tomorrow, who would you follow and how would you live your life?”

Are we asking the wrong questions?

HAVE YOU EVER FALLEN IN LOVE?
If you’ve ever fallen in love you know that it’s a scary, delicate and uncertain process. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get in the way of the natural progression of things. Other times we fall in love and we can’t even really explain how and when it really happened, only that one day we woke up and realized that we could not live without this other person in our lives. There is no science to the process of falling in love.

What I think we fail to realize is that, conversion to Christ is really a process of falling in love with Jesus over a period of time. When we make this process about a series of steps and a progression of words, we have seriously interfered with something that is far outside our ability to grasp and coordinate.

I can remember when I fell in love with my wife, Wendy, back in college. I can remember that first time I ever saw her, as she stepped onto the bus headed to a leadership conference we were attending with an on-campus student ministry. As she walked towards my seat and eventually sat in front of me I remember thinking, “Wow. Who is she? I’ve not seen her around campus.”

Before the bus left the parking lot she and I were engaged in small talk, she leant me new batteries for my Walkman and we barely interacted for the rest of the trip. A few weeks later I joined the Drama group she was leading, just to be near her. Over a series of months I got to know her. Finally I asked her to join me to see a local play and she turned me down cold. I was crushed.

Eventually she did join me and over time we got to know each other over the course of a year or so. After formally dating for a few months I asked her to marry me and a year later we were married.

Now, what if I took my own personal experience of falling in love and created a formula by which all others who wanted to fall in love must follow? Would that make any sense?

Hopefully we can plainly see that to expect everyone to fall in love the way that we fell in love is ridiculous. Yet, we have formulated a process for falling in love with Jesus and if people miss a few steps along the way we are quick to point out that they have failed to fall in love with Him in the acceptable way.

Doesn’t this seem foolish?

My prayer is that we will begin to see evangelism, and conversion, and discipleship to Jesus as an organic, creative, and miraculous process, as mysterious and marvelous as falling in love.

“And they will know that you are my disciples if you love one another”
–Jesus (from John 13:35)

(end of part 5)
kg
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TO REPLY: If you want to email me directly or would like to respond to this e-newsletter, you can contact me at

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UPDATE: This entire six-part series is now running online at two different web-zines. Both "Ginkworld.net" and "CMAResources.com" (Neil Cole's ministry) are running the entire series over the next few weeks.

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IN PROGRESS: My book, "The Power Of Weakness" is almost complete. I'll have the next two and a half weeks to focus on these last 2 chapters and do final edits. I'm currently trying to decide if I should make the book available as a downloadable pdf version for subscribers at a minimal price. More on this as we approach the final edit.

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PLEASE PRAY: I'm hoping to have a new job very soon. Right now there's a great position at a ministry called "Kidworks" that I'm praying for, as well as a few other possibilities in the works. Pray that I can discover God's next plan for us as our family goes through this time of transition.
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THANK YOU! - I'm consistently honored to have each of you as part of the [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]. Many of you have become friends and I am grateful for the feedback I get from time to time. Just last week I was able to connect someone with a house church across the country in North Carolina due to this network of "subversives". I'm grateful to each of you for signing up to read my ramblings and for the support you've given me as I struggle to put my thoughts and passions down in writing.

Peas,
Keith
http://www.keithgiles.com

[subversive underground] PART 4- "THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?"

THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO (Part 4 of 6)
By Keith Giles


SOCIAL LEPROSY
In the book of John, Jesus prays for those who would follow his teachings after he ascended into heaven. What I find fascinating is that Jesus began by praying for what he didn’t want to pray. Yeah, it sounds strange, doesn’t it?

Why would anyone every start praying by asking God for what they were not asking? Maybe the clue is in what it was that Jesus didn’t pray. He says, “I pray not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the Evil One” (John 17:15).

Why did Jesus pray this?

I think it’s because he knows human nature and he knew that, soon after his ascension, we would want to remove ourselves from the world around us. We’re not comfortable hanging out with those sinners. More often than not, we treat the lost, those outside the Church, as if they have some sort of “Social Leprosy”. We’re afraid we’ll catch what they’ve got, so we avoid contact with them. We create Christian versions of the world so that we never have to interact with these “Social Lepers”. We have Christian Radio Stations, Christian Yellow Pages, Christian Coffee Shops, Christian Book Stores, and all sorts of private avenues where our contact with non-Christians is minimized.

I’m convicted when I realize that Jesus didn’t even treat people who had actual leprosy this way, and yet I treat those who think differently than I do as if they had some infectious disease that I might catch if I’m exposed to them for any extended period of time. The ironic thing is that Jesus expected that his disciples would be salt and light in the world, not hidden under a basket waiting for the second coming.

Paul the Apostle echoed the prayer of Jesus when he instructed the Christians in Corinth about their interactions with non-believers. “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people; not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10)

Have we removed ourselves from the world? If so, we’ve allowed the Enemy to pacify us into complacency. It’s time to awaken from our slumber and burst out of our Christian bubble.

SALVATION IS A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT OR POINT IN TIME
One thing I find fascinating as I study the New Testament and the practice of the early church is that their concept of salvation was much different than mine. When I think of salvation, I usually think of that one day when, as a nine year old boy, I walked forward and prayed with my pastor to ask Jesus into my heart. However, Peter and Paul seemed to have a different opinion about the salvation process. In their minds, salvation was an ongoing experience, not a one-time deal.

“..And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)

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

When we begin to think of Salvation as a process, and not an event, it changes the way we think of Evangelism.

In your own experience, what happens when someone you’ve been praying for and witnessing to finally accepts Christ as Lord and Savior? Don’t you cheer and weep and give high-fives to all your Christian friends? Sure you do. That’s an appropriate response. Even the Scriptures tell us that the angels in heaven celebrate when someone is saved.
(Luke 15:7-10)

However, our response and attention usually diminishes soon after this event. I believe it’s because, for us, our work is done. Our friend has “made it”. They are “in”. They’ve crossed the finish line and we can all move on with our lives now.

But, if Salvation is a process, and not an event or a point in time, then our work is not done. Our friend has not come to the end of the journey. Instead, they have only just begun.

In other words, Salvation is not the finish line, it is the starting line. If we begin to think of Salvation in this way, as an ongoing, daily commitment to following the marvelous person of Jesus, it will have a radical effect on our methods of evangelism and the way we treat those we hope to lead into this way of life.

(END OF PART 4)
- kg
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[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] PART 3- "THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?"

THE GOSPEL FOR HERE OR TO GO? (Part 3 of 6)
By Keith Giles

BELIEVE, BELONG, BECOME
Someone once told me that every single human being has a desire to believe something, to become something and to belong to something. As we enter into relationship with others we need to listen for the clues to where people are at in this process.

Ask people questions about what they believe, find out what they are searching to belong to, help them to come to grips with what they want to become.

In some cases, the answers to these questions will be very practical. Some people want to become a nurse, or a mechanic. Others want to become significant or necessary. A few people we talk to will reveal that they want to belong to a family, or a discussion group, or that they are already identified with people who share their viewpoint. Until we engage people in real, honest relationship we’ll never discover the answers to these questions, and we cannot help others find their own answers to these questions.

If nothing else, start your conversation with the person in front of you by saying, “You know, I was reading the other day about how everyone wants to believe, belong and become something. What do you think about that?” Let the Holy Spirit guide things from there and see where things go.

GARDNER VS WARRIOR MODES OF EVANGELISM
Another useful concept for me lately has been the understanding that there are two different styles of evangelism we can employ. As described in Spencer Burke’s book, “Making Sense of Church”, the two styles are “Warrior” and “Gardener”.

The “Warrior” model is the predominant method that I have been trained in over the course of my Christian life. This model uses ideas like closing the deal, winning the lost, and targeting sinners, as if they were deer on the other end of our hunting rifle. Our mindset, in this model, is squarely centered on results, and often we expect the result to come sooner rather than later. If we take a shot and miss, we simply move on to the next target and take a shot at another one.

Granted, this sort of evangelism style has been largely successful in bringing hundreds of thousands of people into faith in Christ over the years. Perhaps, again, our focus has been so centered on conversion that many have fallen through the cracks, but over the decades of the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies especially, this “Bag’em and Tag’em” mode of evangelism netted scores of new converts.

I think in today’s culture this warrior form of evangelism is a dead-end. If anything, it does more damage to the Gospel than good, in my opinion. The reason why is that, honestly, we’ve gotten so good at blasting out the message that “Jesus Loves You” and “Jesus Died For Your Sins” that the world is tired of hearing it. What they want now is to see.

They want to see, with their eyes, if what we say is true, and they are looking at the lives of those who identify themselves as followers of Jesus to find the evidence.

The “Gardener” model of evangelism takes a much different approach. Like a farmer or a gardener plants, waters and protects the growing things in their care, they recognize that making the plant produce fruit is not their job. They recognize that they are simply cooperating with the natural process of growth inherent in the creation.

This does not mean that the gardener does nothing. Far from it. As anyone who has tended a garden knows, success depends on daily attention and care, but the bloom and the fruit will come in due time. These things cannot be forced or coerced. They must be allowed to occur in an organic and natural way.

To apply this to evangelism, it means trusting that God loves people more than we do. It means daily placing our attention on the lives and spiritual development of those whom we are in contact with. Our goal is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He urges us to love people into the Kingdom of God. This means we’ll be invested in the lives of people for the long haul. We’re not loving them because we want to push them into our way of thinking, we are loving them simply because God loves them and we are committed to love them in tangible ways to express the love of God to them every single day.

(END OF PART 3)
kg
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FREE PODCASTS: Go to the main page (www.keithgiles.com) and download all the MOMENTUM 06 sessions on mp3. Be sure to listen to DAVID RUIS: "MUSTARD SEED" and TODD HUNTER's message, "EMERGING EVANGELISM".

START DOWNLOADING NOW!

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FREE PDF DOWNLOAD: I want to share something with you guys that has helped to set me on my current course. About a year ago I came across a powerful, scholarly work on the history of the early church called "EMBEZZLEMENT: The Corporate Sin Of Christianity" by Ray Mayhew. This article is a big part of why Wendy and I decided to start a house church, so that 100% of our tithe could go to the poor. I challenge you to read it and to consider the information Mayhew presents:

GO CHECK IT OUT:

READ THIS!- Mayhew: "Embezzlement" Paper

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[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] PART 2- "THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?"

THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO? (Part 2 of 6)
By Keith Giles

In the closing words of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus leaves us with what has become known as “The Great Commission”. In it, Jesus charges his disciples with a set of tasks until he returns. Here’s what Jesus commands us to do:
1) Go out into the world and make disciples.
2) Baptize these disciples in the name of the Trinity.
3) Teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded us.

If we take a moment to evaluate how we, the Church, have done in accomplishing these tasks, I think we’ll see where we’ve missed the mark, and hopefully where we need to get back on track.

First, we’re called to go. It seems simple enough, but what frustrates me is how often I see us in the Church twisting this into a more comfortable format. For the most part, the organized Church has built a model of evangelism and discipleship that says, “Come to us”. We build large buildings, we buy plasma television screens to announce our upcoming events, we host large-scale musicals and plays to dramatize the Gospel, and we instruct our members to invite their friends to Church so that the professional clergy can do the evangelizing.

I’m not trying to say that these methods are wrong or evil, but just that we’ve taken a very simple and clear command to “Go” and made it into a call for the lost to “Come to us”. This isn’t what Jesus commanded us to do. Jesus very easily could have commanded us to create inviting environments where the lost feel welcome. He could have commanded us to make space for unbelievers to show up and meet us on our terms, but he didn’t. He commanded us that we should go out and, in the course of our everyday, regular life, communicate and live out the message of the Gospel among those we encounter everyday.

Secondly, Jesus commands us to make disciples. A disciple is someone who is daily, intentionally following Jesus with their whole life. A disciple is not a convert. If you take a look at how our local churches practice evangelism you’ll probably see a lot emphasis placed on winning people to Christ, getting them to come forward in the meeting to make a public profession of faith, and not as much emphasis on taking them from this first step into all the other steps that follow.

As one example, I recently came across a very helpful tool called “The Engel’s Scale” which charts the slow progression by degrees of those who are far from God and how they slowly come to faith in Christ over time and with the assistance of loving friends and the Holy Spirit.

What I found troubling about the scale was that it stopped at conversion. As if, after the conversion experience, we no longer had any need to chart their ongoing development and discipleship to Jesus.

Again, the entire emphasis was on conversion, not on discipleship.

I understand that there are exceptions to this in the Body of Christ, and for that I am very grateful. I’m simply pointing out that, at least as far as I have seen, most modern American Churches seem to focus entirely too much on conversion and not enough on discipleship, which is expressly what Jesus commanded us to focus on.

Thirdly, Jesus commands us in the Great Commission to “teach them to obey everything I have commanded”. I find this part the most painful to explore. Simply put, I have never once encountered a church or a ministry where the main goal was to emphasize the commands of Jesus or to communicate a strong expectation of obedience for those who would call themselves disciples of Jesus.

If you want to know whether or not the Church has been obedient in the third section of The Great Commission, just ask yourself if you can name all of the commands of Jesus. If you don’t know what all of these commands are, you not only cannot teach others to obey them, you yourself cannot obey them.

Jesus had an expectation that those who would follow him would…well…follow him. Obedience to Jesus was not an optional activity for disciples. Over and over again Jesus spoke about how those who love him obey his commands. His unwavering invitation was for disciples who would take his words seriously and put them into practice.

For the Gospel to become a living reality to those around us, it must become a living reality to those of us who have decided to make Jesus our Lord and Savior.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded by saying, “The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind...and the second is like the first; you should love your neighbor as yourself”. (Matt 22:37-39)

Without embracing the Great Commandment, we can never hope to accomplish the Great Commission. This is why Paul the Apostle tells us that, without love, all that we strive to do for the Kingdom is meaningless and empty. (1 Cor 13)

We have to love people because they are people that Jesus loves. We have to learn to love people unconditionally. To love others as He loved us. Until we get really, really good at this, all our efforts to evangelize and to make disciples will appear hollow and empty.

*END PART 2

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ARTICLE ALERT: My article "THE FAITH FACTOR" is now online over at TheEmerge.com
http://www.theemerge.com

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ARTICLE ALERT: My article "BBQ WAFFLES?" is now online in the July issue of "Next-Wave Magazine":
http://www.the-next-wave-ezine.info/issue91/

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MY SPACE: I've had this MySpace website up for months now and never used it (because a lot of the stuff that goes on there is kinda "icky" to me, to be honest), but I've decided to at least maintain an ongoing blog there as well as at my main site so, if you're a MySpace kinda person (and you know who you are) check it out:
http://www.myspace.com/keithgiles

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VISION 2006- As I am currently on the hunt for a new full-time job, I've been thinking about my calling, my passion, etc. and as a result I've written out my vision for the rest of 2006 over at the main site. The year is half over! What have you accomplished so far? What can you still do for the Kingdom with the remaining time you have? I'd love to hear from some of you guys and gals about your "Mid-Year Goals" too...
http://www.keithgiles.com
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[END TRANSMISSION]

Part 1- The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?

*NOTE: This six part series was developed out of my recent workshop for Soul Survivor's MOMENTUM 06. The articles will also appear in sequence over at www.ginkworld.net, however you faithful subscribers will get to read these before they go live to the rest of the world wide web.

THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO? (Part 1 of 6)
By Keith Giles

There’s a great scene at the end of the film, “The Big Kahuna” where Danny DeVito’s character counsels a young co-worker about his overt mode of evangelism.

He says, “It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep.”

That scene sums up, for me, how the world sees the insincerity in our attempts to sell our faith the way a door-to-door salesman sells magazine subscriptions.

As a young college student, I was very passionate about Christian Apologetics. I read book after book dealing with how to “give to every man an answer, a reason for the hope that lies within” using science, history, archaeology, and logic to convince the skeptic and the unbeliever that Jesus really was the answer.

After several years of learning, and even teaching others, about the basics of the Christian Faith, I came to the realization that I had never once argued anyone into trusting Jesus. I had some great theological and mentally stimulating discussions with people, but the fact was that my apologetics had not won a single person to Christ.

That’s when I realized that the only Apologetic that really matters is the Apologetic of your life. No one can argue with your actual, personal experience with God. I realized that my life needed to reflect the transformational power of Jesus, or else my logic and wisdom and answers were useless.

Granted, I’m much wiser and more secure in the grounding of my faith now that I’ve spent so much time studying and discussing the issues with people. But what is best for others is that I begin to actually live out the Gospel in my daily life and share openly about my own struggles, failures, experiences and insights as I personally follow Jesus every day of my life.

When Peter exhorts the early disciples of Jesus to “..always be ready to give an answer, a reason for the hope that lies within..” it was written with the underlying assumption that the people he was writing to were living radically transformational lives within the culture they were part of. We know this because of what we see in the book of Acts and by looking at the first three hundred years of Church History. The early followers of Jesus were living lives that were extremely different from those of the pagan world around them. Because of this, Peter is encouraging these disciples to be ready to explain why they cared for lepers, and fed pagan widows, and shared personal belongings with anyone in need whenever unbelievers asked them the reason why.

These days I fear we in the Church have largely lost this sense of living a different sort of life from those around us. Instead, we’re quick to offer answers to questions that no one is asking us.

(end part one)
kg

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ARTICLE ALERT: My article: "Less Is More" is online now at ALLELON. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! Wow. These guys publish Dallas Willard, Brian McLaren and Todd Hunter...why are they publishing my stuff? WHO CARES!? Go check it out:
http://www.allelon.org/main.cfm

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ARTICLE ALERT: My article- "What's Wrong With This Picture?" is online now at www.seedstories.com. Please go check it out and make a comment to let me know what you think.

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PRAYER REQUEST: As I'm praying about what God has next for us, I'd appreciate some coverage from you guys also. Wendy and I are seeking God's Will about where my next full-time job should be. Thanks for your prayers!

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[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] PROPHETIC ART

ART AS A PROPHETIC VOICE by Keith Giles

One aspect of the Incarnation which fascinates me is how God, in human flesh, manifested Himself as a common, simple person born into humble circumstances who traveled the countryside telling stories.

Jesus was a storyteller. He was a creative personality. His stories were allegorical snapshots of what life inside the Kingdom of God was like.

Only one of his stories, which he called “Parables”, was ever actually explained to his disciples. All the rest he left up to interpretation and discovery.

The Parables of Jesus provoked thought and invited those who were curious to explore for themselves what the Kingdom of God was really all about. By internalizing the search for Truth contained in his stories, Jesus entrusted the human mind with the task of working it out in due time.

Jesus was comfortable with loose ends. He didn’t feel any anxiety over how many understood the parable. He knew that those who were truly hungry for real spiritual sustenance would discover what they were craving after in their own time.

There was an organic quality to the ministry and teaching of Jesus that appeals to me in ways that are deeper than I can even comprehend at a conscious level. He had ideas that were subversive to the status quo of the culture and he transmitted the code of this social rebellion through simple stories about farmers, widows, travelers, sons, fathers, and fields.

Jesus was comfortable with unanswered questions. In fact, I think that many of us who call ourselves his followers could learn something from adopting his style of asking questions and telling stories without getting hung up on the answers.

Too often we in the Church are too quick to provide answers to questions we’ve never been asked. That is a serious problem, in my mind. It paints us as people who are more concerned about results than we are about other human beings. We provide answers without taking the time to really listen to the questions being asked. Often we are answering the wrong questions.

For example, no one cares about your answer to spiritual poverty if you have yet to address the very real physical poverty all around you. When you show an indifference to the very real poverty that is easily detectable with the naked eye, it doesn’t paint you as someone who is particularly skilled at relieving poverty. Your poverty-relieving skills come into serious doubt.

Those who have yet to embrace Christ are skeptical of the slogan- “Jesus Loves You” when those who claim to be transformed by this love look and act just like everyone else.

It matters, then, who we are and what we do. Our reputation has become soiled. This is what makes the pursuit of personal Holiness and ethical behavior essential to the Christian life. Not just for our own personal need for sanctification, to be transformed into the image of Christ, but for the purpose of demonstrating that Jesus does indeed change lives and make us a new creation.

It shouldn’t take faith to believe that Jesus has the power to set us free. It should not take faith to accept that Jesus is capable of making us into better fathers and mothers and employees and citizens.


WHAT IS CHRISTIAN ART?

Is a painting considered Christian if it includes a Cross? Or does the absence of religious iconography sap the spiritual impact from a work of art?

I believe that any art that is honest, real, raw, and true is capable of inspiring emotional and intellectual hunger for God. Much like the parables of Jesus invited further thought and inspired introspection, I believe that all of the creative disciplines have the potential for provoking and disturbing us. Yet, any artist or creative person who begins to pursue this sort of strategy will also inspire controversy as Jesus did.


THE TRUTH IS NOT ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL

When my oldest son turned nine years old recently I bought him a Bible to replace his “Kid Friendly” Story Bible. Soon afterwards we began to get up early together and read the Bible as a way to start our day. His choice was to start reading in the book of Genesis and it wasn’t long before I discovered that the Word of God is not a G-Rated book. It isn’t even a PG 13-rated book. It’s more like a an R-rated book, and in some places even an X-rated book.

The Bible is full of stories about murder, lust, rape, incest, mutilation, prostitution, and all the basest follies of humanity. More often than not, I found myself editing the Bible for my nine year old son’s ears.

So, let us suppose, for example, that you, as an artist, attempted to illustrate the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. Would such a work be accepted by the Christian culture, or would it be reviled and condemned?

My guess is that most of the Christian community would be up in arms about a film or an illustrated version of the Bible that communicated visually the same details available on the written page.

Simply put, telling the Truth may not be popular. However that should never prevent us from telling the Truth.


RESERVING THE PUNCHLINE

The thin line between art that communicates a scandalous truth and art that is sheer shock-sensationalism is something that takes time to explore and courage to proclaim.

When does art begin to confront the culture in the same way that the parables of Jesus perplexed and challenged and offended the culture of His day? When does art stop pandering to our basest desires and begin to challenge us to shrug off our complacency? Shouldn’t real art have the power to disturb and unsettle us?

The truth is, we don’t know the answers because examples of this type of art are so rare in this day and age. But isn’t this the sort of thing that our society desperately craves? Art that communicates to the soul?

Recently I came across a great quote from Steve Turner about artists as prophets in Image: Journal of the Arts and Religion: “One role of the artist is to provoke and even disturb us so that we can see in new ways. As the ancient prophets did, art frequently condemns the values and concerns of its surrounding culture-often in a loud, harsh voice. In consequence, the artist is often outcast, rejected, or unpopular.”

Maybe the problem is that, most of those whom we call artists today are in reality only entertainers. But a true artist, as defined above, is one who challenges the lifestyle, thought-pattern and behavior of a society, regardless of what anyone thinks—even if it means being unpopular.

Why don’t more artists take the role of prophet? Perhaps because it’s just a lot more difficult. Perhaps because we’re making some wrong assumptions, one being that to be evangelistic, we must somehow spell out the Gospel in plain English in a song or a painting.

But the world doesn’t want things spelled out. It doesn’t want the punch line. They’ve already heard the punch line (in regards to what the Christian faith is all about) numerous times. What they want to know is, How does it relate to my life? How do I actually “do” this stuff? What value are the teachings of Jesus to my life today?

Art has the power to ask these questions and to provide clues regarding the answers. But, the more important elements of the equation are the question and the clues, not the punch line.

The problem with a lot of contemporary Christian art is that it’s easier for an artist to look through an art magazine and take cues from what the rest of the world is doing. Maybe slap a cross here or a few nails there and, presto, you’ve got something that other Christians might call “Christian art.” But, if your hope is to communicate something more potent and effective to the culture we live in, then it’s going to involve submission to the Holy Spirit when you sit down to create your art.

The finished product might not look, on the surface, like something that God could or would use, but as you continue to seek God’s face in your work, you’ll begin to find more and more success at hearing His voice and responding to His direction.

If our art is ever to stray into the territory of the Prophetic, we must learn to hear the voice of God, like the Prophet. We must learn to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, like the Prophet. We must develop a heart for people and long for them to see the Truth of the Kingdom of God, like the Prophet. We must not be artists who are concerned with popularity, or legitimacy.



PROVOKE RESPONSE AND INSPIRE CHANGE.

Art has the power to change people, but not overnight, and not of it’s own volition. Much like the deceptively simple stories from the mouth of an itinerant carpenter challenged the culture of his day, and won as many detractors as followers, our art has the same potential to disturb us and help us to see things in new and different ways.

My hope is to find more artists who are willing to step into the role of prophet to this culture we live in. My prayer is that God would raise up workers to step into this field of harvest armed with digital cameras, paint brushes, laptops and clay. My prayer is for creative human beings, touched by the heart of God, who would be willing to develop a habit of waiting on God and surrendering to Him their various talents and skills.

[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] GENEROSITY

[subversive underground] GENEROSITY
by Keith Giles

In researching the practice of the early church, I came across a startling testimony of the graciousness and radical generosity these first Christians exemplified.

As the early believers cared for the poor, the orphan, the widow, the leper, and the destitute among them, they also cared for the sick and the poor outside of the church as well. Tertullian and other early Church Fathers report that the reputation of the Church extended even to those who were pagan. One contemporary source hostile to the Gospel agreed that "to our shame they bury even our own dead.."

Yet even in this ongoing practice of transformational compassion, I came across something that really made me stop and consider my own internal defintions of compassion and mercy.

The chapter I was reading dealt with the daily gift to the poor administered by the Church and recorded that, in those instances where all the money had been disbursed to the poor and an unexpected need arose, (or if a traveling missionary should arrive and need shelter or food for the week), the pastors would immediately decide to fast for the week in order to provide the need from their own daily sustenance.

This simple and yet immediate act of generosity hits me where I live and breathe. Automatically I ask myself, "Would I ever do such a thing?" Honestly, probably not. I could easily see myself shrugging my shoulders and explaining that we'd already given out all our money to the poor...."Oh well.."

Yet those earliest followers of Jesus seem to have understood something that I do not yet apprehend. There is a joy in giving, especially sacrificially, to those who God brings to us with a need greater than our own.

These were the sort of Christians who would hesitate only to discuss which of them might be given the honor of going without food for the week so that they might be the vessel of God's goodness and blessing to this person in need.

It wasn't about evangelistic strategy or being seeker friendly or promoting their brand of religious expression. It was a simple, transformational response from a people whose hearts God had touched.

My prayer is that, one day very soon, it would be my first and immediate response to give even the food from my plate, and off my cupboard, in order to express the mercy and the grace of God to another human being.

"Conversatio Morem!"
kg
**
ARTICLE UPDATE: My article "LIGHT VS HEAT" is online now at SeedStories.com
http://www.seedstories.com

**
ANOTHER ARTICLE: My other article "POVERTY LIGHT" is online now at Ginkworld.net
http://www.ginkworld.net

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] IDENTITY

[subversive underground] IDENTITY by Keith Giles

I've been thinking a lot the last few weeks about image and identity, as my previous underground article suggests.

You know how you can never tell anyone who you really are? You can tell them what you do for a living, or what your faith is like, or whether or not you're married or single, or a parent or a servant, but you can't tell them who you are, only what your function or affiliation is with something or someone else.

To some people I am a writer. To others I am a pastor. To some people I am a singer, or a teacher, or a comedian or a father, or a brother, or a husband. But, is that who I am? Am I just a father? Or am I a pastor? A writer? A singer? A husband?

Yes, I am all of those things, and yet I am none of those things.

If I ceased to be a pastor would I still be me? Yes. If I ceased to write, would I still be Keith Giles? Of course I would. In fact, if I stopped doing all those things I normally do I would still be who I am.

So...who am I?

Simply put, I am who God says I am.

My identity is found in Christ. Yet, honestly, discovering what that means is still a challenge for me.

What does it mean to be identified with Jesus? How do I think of myself as someone who is "In Jesus"?

The first letter of John provides some insight into this concept;

"We know that we have come to know Jesus if we obey his commands. The person who says, 'I know Jesus,' and yet does not do what Jesus commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys the words of Jesus, God's love is truly made perfect in that person. This is how we know that we are in Jesus: Whoever claims to be in Him must walk as Jesus did."
-(1 John 2:3-6)

Jesus had an expectation that those who would follow him (disciples) would obey him. The scriptures are full of blatant statements out of the mouth of our Lord about how he expects obedience from his followers.

(For reference check out Jesus in John 14:15-23 and Luke 6:46-49)

A.W. Tozer, one of my heroes in the faith, says, "Salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the scriptures".

So...what does this have to do with my identity? How does this help me to discover who I am?

I think the answer is that, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20)

If I have truly died to myself, if I have become a disciple of Jesus (as Jesus expected), then I have a new identity in Christ. I am only who I am when I am found in him.

Todd Hunter (another of my heroes) has a great quote about how "..not having an ongoing reality of God's Kingdom isn't sub-Christian, it's sub-Human" because we are all made by our Creator to live in relationship to Him. To do any less is to fall short of what we were made for.

As I struggle to discover who I am, what I'm made for, where I fit in, etc., I have to orient my mind towards the reality that I need Jesus and I need to "seek first the Kingdom of God" (Matt 6), and everything else will take care of itself.

Peas,
Keith
**
NEW ARTICLE ALERT: My article "Jesus Is A Verb" is online now at "Next-Wave Magazine" here:
http://www.the-next-wave-ezine.info/issue90/

**
ANOTHER NEW ARTICLE: My article: "Poverty Light" is now published online at Ginkworld.net:
http://www.ginkworld.net

**
NEW PODCAST SERMON: "CONVERSATIO MOREM!" by Keith Giles. Download issues are now fixed. Sorry for the technical difficulties...but all is working now!
FREE ONLINE DOWNLOAD:
http://www.keithgiles.com

**
ONE WEEK LEFT!
MOMENTUM 06 - Friday, June 23rd and Saturday, June 24th at St. James Church, Newport Beach, CA
Don't miss this incredible two-day conference on the emerging church, worship, justice, the arts and missional life.
With: Mike Pilavachi, Todd Hunter, Brenton Brown, David Ruis, and several others.
*I'll also be leading a couple of workshops, one on Compassion Ministry with the amazing Crissy Brooks (MIKA), and one on Missional Gospel "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?".
Student Rates and Couples Rates just added. Go online to learn more:
http://www.soulsurvivorusa.com/momentum/

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] IMAGE

[subversive underground] IMAGE by Keith Giles

I was at lunch the other day when my friend made a comment about how he wanted to see himself the way God sees him.

That made me stop for a minute and consider what he meant by that. For me, to see myself the way God sees me is to be made aware of my sin. Like David in Psalms 139 who says, "Search me oh God and know my thoughts. Reveal the wicked way in me and lead me in the path everlasting", I tend to lean to the negative side when it comes to my self-image.

What my friend meant by seeing himself as God sees him was more about the righteousness of Christ credited to him through the Grace of God.

In truth, we're both correct. God does see us as already justified in the blood of Christ, and He also sees us as weak, sinful children who desperately need His Mercy and Grace. The amazing thing is that He loves us in spite of our sin, and that He chooses to see us, and treat us, "as if" we were actually already made Holy.

What concerned me was that I automatically assumed my friend meant the negative aspect of "How God sees me" and not the positve side. I mean, yeah, I am a pessimist. But the definition of a pessimist is just an optimist with experience, right?

Still, I wonder why I didn't follow my friend's line of thinking? Why did I automatically assume he meant the worst?

Recently God revealed to me a hidden, prideful chamber of my own sinful heart. It was painful to realize my shallow, sick hypocrisy, and yet at the same time it was good to know that God loved me and wanted to reveal to me my sin so He could change my heart. Being aware of the truth about myself was a good thing. Painful. Ugly. Yet seeing it was necessary to my spiritual transformation.

Maybe I'm afraid that, if I walk around focused on how God sees me as a totally righteous and holy I'll become self-decieved. I honestly don't want to stray away from this more realistic view of my own heart. To me there's a bit of danger in meditating on the righteousness of Christ attributed to me through the cross of Jesus.

Yes, God looks at me and sees Jesus. He sees me "as if" I have already been fully and completely justified. But, I think that to follow Jesus I have to be daily aware of my own potential for sin. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll be setting myself up for a fall.

A few weeks ago another friend of mine pointed out to me that I've often spent too much time seeking affirmation from my various employers over the last few years, rather than receiving the affirmation from God in my life. That made me think. In fact, it was like a light coming on my head.

I really think this person has accurately summed up the situation. I have been seeking affirmation from my employers over the last few years, and in fact I believe that this desire for affirmation has often driven me to over-extend myself, to do too much, to try too hard.

I've often had an internal desire to find a job where I "belong". I've looked for a job where I could be accepted for who I am. When I don't get that from my job I begin to feel isolated and rejected. But maybe the real problem is that I'm searching for the right thing in the wrong place?

The other day I was praying about some of this very same stuff and my wife Wendy pointed something out to me that really hit home. She said, "You'll always be welcome and loved by us", meaning my family; herself and our two boys.

Have I been seeking affirmation and identity in my job? Am I looking to belong to an organization?

I think God is showing me that He intended me to "belong" in my family. He made me to "make a difference" in the lives of my sons and my wife. He did not intend for me to find meaning and purpose in my job.

A few years ago I went through a long stretch of time without gainful employment. About a year and a half, actually. During that time I clearly felt God saying to me, "I care more about who you are than what you do for a living". For a man, that's sometimes hard to hear because we get so much of our identity from our job.

Every guy knows what I'm talking about. Fifteen minutes into any conversation between two men and one will inevitably ask the other, "So...what do you do for a living?" or "How's work coming along?" We get so much of our self-image from our job, and I think that, at least for me, needs to change.

My self-image is not in what I do for a living. My self-image is not in how much I fail to live up to the image of Christ either.

My self-image is in who God says I am. It's about being who He made me to be, and nothing else.

Now, if I could just figure out how to be the person He's made me, and called me, to be I'll be halfway home.

**
NEW SERMON PODCAST: "CONVERSATIO MOREM!" by Keith Giles - The newest sermon podcast based on the early Church Fathers saying which means "Death to the status quo" or "Constant Conversion". Download the sermon mp3 over at the main website now:
http://www.keithgiles.com

**
MOMENTUM 06 - Friday, June 23rd and Saturday, June 24th at St. James Church, Newport Beach, CA
Don't miss this incredible two-day conference on the emerging church, worship, justice, the arts and missional life.
With: Mike Pilavachi, Todd Hunter, Brenton Brown, David Ruis, and several others.
Student Rates and Couples Rates just added. Go online to learn more:
http://www.soulsurvivorusa.com/momentum/

**
HOUSE CHURCH NETWORK: I'm currently in discussions with someone about possibly starting an Orange County House Church Network that would involve a website, and possibly even a magazine down the road. More on this as things develop.

**
BOOK UPDATE: I've been "stuck" on chapter 6 for a while now, but just this week I've picked things up again and really want to push through these last chapters to finish up soon. I'll submit the final version to a few publishers and if no one bites I'll self-publish it. Might even offer it as a downloadable pdf file, who knows?

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] MISSIONAL

Today I had a breakfast meeting with a guy who is a house church network leader for Orange County named Ken Eastburn.

I was late, but praise God he was still there when I pulled up at the Krispy Kreme (yes, that's where we met).

We shared together about how God had called each of us into this crazy thing called House Church and were thrilled to see where our testimonies converged, and intrigued where our stories contrasted. But, all in all, it was evident to see that God is indeed doing something significant throughout the world, and even in Orange County, as He calls people to step out of the traditional church and into this new (and yet not so new) thing called "House Church".

I'm not sure what will come from our meeting. I wasn't really sure how to respond when he asked me how he could help me. I don't think I have any really need for "help" at this point in the life of our house church, but perhaps there will be a benefit from knowing others in my area who are also in this same Kingdom work alongside me, and perhaps there can be something to learn or to gain from sharing with other house church planters and pastors about what God has been doing or saying to us as we follow the Holy Spirit in this way.

For the most part we are alone in this venture. I am aware of a few others who are planting house churches, but most of them are in other States, and of those who are in California I've not met many of them face to face.

So, maybe there's a real value for us to have community with others outside of our own autonomous house church?

I've been a bit concerned about the fact that, although we've called ourselves "The Mission" in order to emphasize our calling individually as missionaries and to remind us that we are on a mission, for the most part we've been pretty self-focused.

Granted, some of us still serve at the motel in Santa Ana each month, and individually many of us in our house church are living out the missional calling in our private lives.

But as a Body, we the members of "The Mission" have not yet stepped outside our comfort zones and become missional.

Except of course for the recent incident with "Tommy" the homeless man that Jason responded to. And we've yet to make contact with Tommy again since that time. He's vanished. I drive by that same intersection a couple of times each week and I've even made extra trips just to see if I could find him, but so far no luck.

So, maybe God is gently urging us and nudging us outside of our little comfy spot in my den and asking us to venture outward? Maybe we do need to become aware of others in our own area who are doing something similar and share ideas, even fellowship with them and pray for them, encourage them, worship with them.

Maybe...?

One thing Ken and I discussed was the possibility of publishing a magazine that would resource the Orange County/SoCal House Church movement with articles, testimonies, and even just provide visibility of other house churches being planted every month. I'd love to be in on something like this.

It makes me realize I need to be spending more time on my knees praying for God's direction about not only our house church ("The Mission") specifically, but also about what God has in the future for us. It makes me realize that I might have some other role to play in the southern California area regarding house churches and helping to encourage others in the same boat as I am.

Ken and I discussed the possibility of creating a website with a forum where other house church leaders would be able to share ideas, stories, and concerns. I know I could probably help with that a little bit too.

It also makes me realize that this little newsletter has something to do with what God is doing in the house church movement as well. I'm not exactly sure what yet...but something, I think.

I preached a message at Soul Survivor last Sunday night about The Gospel of the Kingdom, specifically about "Conversatio Morem" and what it means to us as followers of Jesus. It was refreshing to me (if no one else) to remember what all of this is about. It's refreshing to contrast the ethics and the doctrine of the early church fathers and the great thinkers and theologians of recent history (Fenelon, Tertulian, Jonathan Edwards, A. W. Tozer, etc.) and see how insanely radical these guys appear when you hear them alongside the likes of modern "pop-Christian" preachers of the day (reference anyone on Christian television, radio, bookstores, etc.).

We've been looking at the words of Jesus over the last few months at Soul Survivor and I have to say it's like getting a cold splash of water on your soul when you hear Jesus say such powerful things like "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matt 5:17-20), or "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33).

Jesus did not pull any punches. His words are powerful and life-changing. They shake us up. They make us doubt. They cause us to examine our own lives seriously.

Maybe that's why we avoid looking directly into the red letters for extended periods of time?

I am more determined than ever to surrender all of my life to Jesus. This is why we need Grace.

Conversatio Morem!

Keith
**


ARTICLE UPDATE: My new article "Green Card" is now published online at www.ginkworld.net
**

PODCAST UPDATE: Just added two new podcast/sermon mp3's from DALLAS WILLARD at my website. They're free! Go and download now. Very good stuff!
http://www.keithgiles.com

**
T-SHIRT UPDATE: Yes, I've been moving forward with the t-shirt idea. Hopefully I'll have some cool designs available to show everyone in the next few weeks or so. Keep watching this space.

**
MOMENTUM '06- Seriously, if you're wanting to hear some of the most incredible teaching and worship ever, you'd be crazy to miss this! The registration fees go up on June 1st so don't miss your chance to get in on the Early Rates of $49.99.
The conference features MIKE PILAVACHI, TODD HUNTER, BRENTON BROWN, DAVID RUIS, JOHN THOMAS and many more. (I'll be teaching a couple of workshops as well. One on "Compassion Ministry" and one on "Missional Gospel").
Register online and get more info here:
http://www.soulsurvivorusa.com

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] SEASONS

[subversive underground] SEASONS by Keith Giles

Recently God has been speaking to me more and more about a "Change of Seasons" coming soon in my life.

Part of me is excited by this, as my wife and I have gone through a lot of hardships and challenges over the last eleven months. We've endured financial hardships, having to move against our will to a new home, losing an unborn child through miscarriage, change in employment status, and a change in our Church affiliation.

Even one or two of those changes is enough to send most any of us into the fetal position. Yet, our family has endured each of these things in quick succession and only the Grace of God has seen us through.

Now, what makes me nervous is, I'm not sure if this "change of seasons" means we're in for more challenges or if it means a time of favor and blessing. The reason I'm not sure is that, even though we've gone through such difficulty lately, the truth is that God has been very, very good to us all along the way. So, does that mean we'll have to endure more pain without His blessing? Or does it mean we'll have a season of plenty and a rest from the trials of life?

As I ponder this, I'm constantly drawn back to the opening chapter of the book of James. The message there is one I've lived out on an almost daily basis for several years now. I've learned to "count it all joy" when we face "trials of many kinds", knowing that "the testing of our faith produces perserverance" and that is the sort of faith that will not let go....no matter what.

I've learned, first-hand, that James isn't kidding when he tells us to "count it all joy". He's also not suggesting that we simply "turn our frown upside down" and pretend that our hardships are fun. Not by any means.

What James does mean is that, when we truly understand that the testing of our faith produces in us a type of faith that is strong and then, in turn, creates in us a maturity that brings us closer to the image of Jesus, we'll actually be able to seriously rejoice when trials come. How? Why? Because we seriously understand that God uses the trials and hardships of life to sharpen us, and mold us, into the very image of His Son.

As hard has the last eleven months have been, and they have been very hard at times, the truth is that my needs are met. Every single fear I've had has been without warrant. God has always taken care of us, even when I had no idea how...or if...He would. God has proven Himself to be faithful to me, all along the way.

As I look ahead to a change of seasons, I wonder what it could really mean?

I'm also reminded of a prophetic word given to me by a dear friend several months ago, about several "windows of opportunity" that God had in store for us. Will God begin to open one of those windows for us now?

I pray so. And I also pray that, whatever this change of seasons holds for us, that I will have the faith to "count it all joy" no matter what may come.

**
PLEASE PRAY: This Friday night and Saturday morning I will be leading a small team of college students on to the streets of Santa Ana here in the OC to minister to young prostitutes. This is only our second attempt at an outreach to these girls and we're taking a more relational approach. Please pray that God would grant us favor with these girls, that we'd be able to strike up meaningful conversations and relationships with the girls that God wants us to focus on over the next few months. Please pray also for our protection as we attempt to serve and minister to these girls.

I'll post an update next week about how things go with this ministry. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

**
TATTOO ME: My friend, Keith Seckel recently got a tattoo of 'CONVERSATIO MOREM!' based on an article I wrote of the same name. (I can't believe he did that...but in a way I think it's darn cool!). Anyway, be sure to check out the image of the tattoo posted on my website at http://www.keithgiles.com

**
NEW ARTICLE- "GREEN CARD" by Keith Giles- (Just posted this one today on the website in response to all the recent Immigration Reform issues going on nationally, and locally...check it out):
http://www.keithgiles.com

**
ARTICLE ALERT: My new article "Harder Than You Think" is now online at
http://www.theemerge.com/

**
[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] TESTING

[subversive underground] TESTING

I've switched the e-newsletter to an onlne list service called FEEDBLITZ. This is my first test of the service, so hopefully everything works out.

The way it works now, I will simply make a new blog entry on what used to be the SUB-UNDERGROUND ARCHIVES site (where all the previous [subversive underground] newsletters are posted, and the good people at FEEDBLITZ automatically email everyone on the current subscription list for me.

The old way involved my personal hotmail account and two distribution lists (because Hotmail will only allow 50 people per list), which meant that every time I wanted to send out a new article to the list I had to do it twice.

Now, at least I hope, all I need to do is to post something on the archive blog and everyone will receive the email of my entry.

If anyone has trouble reading, receiving, etc. PLEASE reply to me at and let me know about it. I'll try to correct any problems or issues if at all possible.

In the future, if someone wants to sign up for the [subversive underground] newsletter, all they have to do is to come to the archive blog site:
http://subunderground.blogspot.com

and there is a "SUBSCRIBE ME" box on the upper left where they simply type their email address and hit the button.

Voila! They're added to the list.

Isn't technology wonderful?

Again, thank you all for being part of the team and for reading this stuff. Many of you have responded to let me know you're praying for me, for our house church ("The Mission"), and for my writing. I appreciate that more than I can ever express.

Peace!

Keith
www.keithgiles.com

**
ARTICLE ALERT: "TOMMY"
My new article, "Tommy" is now online at Seed Stories. Go check it out and leave a comment.
http://www.seedstories.com

**
COOL STORY-
My good friend John Wahrmund is a Captain in the Air Force and recently was stationed in Turkey and visited a few Holy Sites while he was there.

Here's a brief report he sent me:

"I'm still in Turkey right now on my deployment.  It's been pretty good
but 70 days away from home is too much fun.  I did get to go to some
cool historic biblical sites like Cappadocia, Tarsus, and Antioch.  For
Good Friday I went to Antioch and attended a service in the church that
Peter and Paul worshipped in (the one in Acts).  It is still there!

The crazy thing is that it is in the side of a mountain.  They worshipped
In a cave!  It was carved out some and around 1000 AD the Pope at that
Time put a front on it but it is still a cave.  The part that was even
crazier was the escape tunnel in the back of the cave that went up into
the mountain.  It was there so that when people came to try to kill
them, they could flee out the tunnel.  We ended the service saying the
Lord's prayer and it hit me.  Here I was in one of the first churches
In the place where the disciples were first called Christians saying the
same prayer Jesus taught them and still teaches us today!  Very moving."
**
John and his wife Lisa will be performing at MOMENTUM '06 as "West Of Verona". They have a great EP of six songs called "To Jupiter and back", and you can preview a few of those songs online at their MySpace site:
http://www.myspace.com/westofverona

**
MOMENTUM '06- June 23/24, 2006- newport beach, ca
With MIKE PILAVACHI, BRENTON BROWN, TODD HUNTER, DAVID RUIS, and more...
I'll be leading two workshops at MOMENTUM; one on Compassion Ministry (with Crissy Brooks who rocks, btw), and one on Missional Life and the Gospel.
Join us if you can!
More info here:
www.soulsurvivorusa.com/momentum/
**
[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] FAILURE

[the following was sent to the faithful subscribers on the subversive underground on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006]

[subversive underground] FAILURE
by Keith Giles

Have you ever had God show you what you're really like on the inside?

In recent memory, God has done this to me twice. Once was when I was reading
Dallas Willard's "Renovation Of The Heart" and the Holy Spirit showed me how
my attitude was dangerously similar to that of the Pharisees. I was crushed.
It just took my breath away to so suddenly see my own sinful, black heart
and to realize that I had been blind to my hypocrisy for so long.

The second time God revealed my hypocrisy to me was last week during House
Church.

I had been praying that day about what God would have me to share with the
group, as we all do before our Thursday evenings together. I had scribbled
down several scriptures about serving the poor, loving our brothers, and
Jesus own words about how those who truly love him will obey his teachings.
I was set to go.

But then my God-orchestrated undoing began. The phone call came that one of
our house church members was bringing a friend along. I knew this person and
he wasn't one of my favorite people. I rolled my eyes as soon as I heard he
was coming to our group. My mind began planning how I would contain this
person so that he wouldn't dominate the conversation with talk of politics
or internet conspiracy theories as he is often prone to do. By the time he
arrived my strategy to corral him was firmly in place.

As we moved out of our worship time and into our share time, I was on my
guard for his interjections. When he began to share with us about his
anxiety over his business issues, I countered with my own words of wisdom. I
shared my scriptures about washing the feet of others as Jesus washed our
feet. Every time he began to speak up, I was there to interrupt and to shift
the message back on track.

However, one of the ladies in our group wasn‚t hip to my strategy. She
repeatedly asked him to finish his sentence or to share more about his
anxiety. She returned again and again to him to ask if he was really ok and
if he needed us to pray for him, or if he had really shared all that was on
his heart. I began to squirm.

By the end of the evening, this man was sitting on the "hot seat" in the
center of the room and we were all praying over him, including me. Suddenly
my heart began to break for this man. My attitude softened, my compassion
began to pour out for him. I had several words of encouragement for him, and
as we prayed for him, he wept freely.

After our prayer, this same woman got down on her knees and looked into his
face. I could see her eyes as she looked into his and she began to encourage
him with words of affirmation and sincere Christian love about how he was
one with us, how he was precious to Jesus, and how we loved him as a brother
in Christ.

I was now fully convicted of my own sin.

Here Jesus had entered my home in the form of this man I had pre-judged and
I had missed Him. Jesus had come in need of compassion and mercy and I had
planned to keep him on the outside looking in. If not for the genuine
compassion of this woman in our house church, I would have missed Jesus
entirely, and this man would have no one to wash his feet.

If my friend had not washed this man's feet, I would not have done it. If it
were up to me, Jesus would have left my house with dirty feet.

Ironically, two weeks before, there had been another visitor in my house
church, and both men even shared the same name. I saw Jesus in this first
visitor instantly. He had MS. His outward physical handicap
allowed me to see Jesus clearly. In this case, I was able to love and bless
someone without prejudice. But in the case of the second visitor, I had
missed Him completely. Why? Because this was a man I had already determined
was unworthy of such extravagant compassion.

The full effect of what I had done didn't hit me fully until about 3am the
next morning. For about two months now, Jesus has been waking me up at about
3am to draw me into prayer. I can honestly say that it's Jesus because,
quite frankly, I would prefer to sleep most of the time. But like clockwork
I snap awake at 3am on the dot and can't get back to sleep unless I get up
and go into the den to talk with Jesus for at least an hour.

As I made my way into the den that early morning and sat down on the same
couch where our guest had been sitting. God spoke to my heart and convicted
me of my shameful behavior. Slowly, methodically, Jesus revealed not only
the inner darkness of my heart to me, but how I had missed all the cues and
signals along the way.

I was crushed.

How could I have missed Him? Even as I had my Bible open to the very
scriptures that should have made this clear to me, I had missed Him. Even as
I opened my mouth to teach the rest of our group about what it means to love
Jesus, I was oblivious to Him in my own home.

And so, I don't know any easy way to wrap this up, except to say that I hope
that a few of you can learn from my humiliation. I have to believe that God
can teach me something profound in the midst of my failure, and perhaps he
can teach you something too.

In times like this I realize even more how much of a miracle it will be if
the Holy Spirit is able to transform someone like me into the image of
Christ before I die.

Christ in me, the hope of Glory.

I can only hope.

Peace,
Keith

[subversive underground] PROSTITUTION

*sent on Friday, April 7th to the faithful subscribers of the email newsletter called the [subversive underground].

PROSTITUTION by Keith Giles

Some of you know that I took a team of young adults from Soul Survivor out to minister to prostitutes on Harbor blvd in Santa Ana a few weeks ago.

It was a big step outside my comfort zone, and for most of us in fact, yet this is something that I knew I needed to follow Jesus in doing.
Here's what happened and what we learned from the experience.

We had the benefit of going out with a team from a ministry called "Side By Side" that had done this sort of thing before. Their pastor is a former police officer so he knows the streets very well.

It went well, in the sense that it was a first step into an unknown world for all of us.

We met and had a short orientation first at our church building. Then we drove down to the area where the girls usually "work" and split into four teams of four or five people and started out.

At first it was hard for me to recognize which girls were prostitutes or not...but eventually, by the third girl, I was getting the hang of it.

What I didn't like about the way we did this was that these girls were all too busy to talk very long. Imagine the worst possible time to try to have a conversation with these girls....and THAT'S the time we were there!

So, my group prayed for 3 girls, but only for about 30 seconds each...before the light changed at the corner and they had to cross the street.

Very frustrating for me.

SO...our plan is to go back and work in 2 phases. First, we'll go out again between 8pm and 10pm to quickly hand them a coupon for a free coffee/breakfast at a local 24 hour restaurant. We'll invite them to meet us at 6pm where we will buy them coffee and breakfast and just hang out and talk to them. That's it. Just hang and talk. No Bibles. No tracts. No "Four Spiritual Laws". Just coffee and breakfast and "What's your name? Where are you from? What's your favorite movie? Etc."

We plan to do this at least once, maybe twice a month, on a consistent basis. Over time we hope to build genuine friendships with these girls and build a foundation for sharing with them, as friends, that there are other options for them to get off the streets...if they're interested and if they're ready.

I think it's going to be much more effective than our "drive by evangelism" strategy with the other group.
-kg
__

HOKEY POKEY

*the following was sent to the faithful subscribers of the [subversive underground] list on 3/28/06

HOKEY POKEY by Keith Giles

"You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out..."

We do this all the time in our spiritual life. We surrender to Jesus on
Sunday, and we take it all back on Monday morning. We mean well. We intend
to serve Jesus with our life, but the daily pressures of life wear on us and
we end up returning to the old patterns of life.

The good news is, God knows that we're dust. He knows we're weak. He
understands that the flesh is willing, but the maturing of our spirits takes
time.

"If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown
Himself."- 2 Tim 2:13

God is patient with us, and because of this we still have hope.

"...you put your right foot in, you take your right foot out..."

I've been tested lately about some of the same things I've been through many
times before.

Why does God keep putting me through these tests of faith? I look to the sky
and ask, "Haven't I already learned this lesson three times before? I
thought I passed this. Why are we having to go through this again, Lord?"

A dear friend reminded me the other day that God's purpose for allowing
challenges in our life is to draw us nearer to Himself. "We just want God to
fix it, or do it, or make it better, but God wants us to take His hand and
walk through these things alongside Him," my friend said.

Still, I'm weary of putting my faith into action again and again. I'm tired
of wondering if God will work this miracle and save my family (again), or if
this time we'll have to endure the pain.

God whispers to me, "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness,
and all of these things (food, shelter, daily needs, etc.), "will be taken
care of as well."- Matt 6:33

So, I do my best to seek the Kingdom of God. I try to focus on Him instead
of on my own challenges. But still I find myself drifting back to the
question; "What if this time God doesn't rescue us?"

"...you put your whole self in, you take your whole self out, you put your
whole self in, and you shake it all about..."

God wants all of me. He wants all of you. He wants my time. He wants my
heart. He wants my trust. He wants my entire life. He wants my "whole self
in".

Surrender to Jesus is, in reality, a gradual exercise in trust. It would be
wonderful if that one time I went down front and bent my knees on the altar
was enough. I wish it were true. Maybe for someone else it is true, but for
me, I must confess, I'm still daily learning to bend my knees, surrender my
heart, and trust Jesus with my life...with my entire life.

Maybe, in some strange way, the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

"You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all
about."

Peace,
Keith
****

[subversive underground] RISEN?

*sent to the faithful subscribers of the [subversive underground] newsletter on Monday, March 20, 2006


[subversive underground] RISEN?
by Keith Giles

We as Christians have an unusual fascination with the death of Jesus. I know that what Jesus did for us, on the cross, is an astounding act of love and sacrifice. Without this, none of us would have any hope, and yet Paul the Apostle declares that, "..if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (I Cor.15:17)

I wonder if our fascination with his death has something to do psychologically with our view of what it means to be a Christian?

For instance, the modern church, especially in America, can't seem to go on enough about the death of Jesus. It seems that all the television preachers can talk about is the fact that, "Jesus died on the cross for your sins".

When a Christian person is interviewed on television or stands to talk about Jesus, inevitably the only thing they can find to say is that, "Jesus loves you and he died on the cross for your sins".

At times it all starts to sound monotonous and cliche. I can almost hear the lost saying, "So what?"

The message we send most loudly to the world is the idea that Jesus died.

Even the most prominent media message in our lifetime, Mel Gibson's mega-evangelistic "Passion Of The Christ", which was dubbed "The Greatest Evangelical Message in Two Thousand Years", was all about the death of Jesus. The resurrection scene at the end was so vague and quick that most of us, even those of us who know the story, were left going, "Huh? What just happened?"

At Easter this overt focus on the death of Jesus is most noticeable. For me, when we spend those two weeks before and after Easter talking about the irrefutable fact of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, it almost seems strange. Like, "Oh yeah! He DID rise from the dead, didn't he?", as if this most historically provable event is something we need to be reminded of, but only once a year.

This has got me thinking. Why is it that we focus so much on the death of Jesus and very little on the resurrection of Jesus? I mean, why isn't the resurrection the main thing we talk about? Why don't we go around proclaiming that "Jesus is Risen!" and argue with people about the fact that there's no refuting the fact of Easter?

Here's my theory.

We, the Church, are the Body of Christ. We are the physical representation of Jesus in the world today, and I think we're more comfortable being the "Body at Rest" than the "Body in Motion".

As the Body of Jesus, we're more comfortable in the dark of the tomb, wrapped in our own shroud, meditating on this death of our Lord, with the stone rolled shut across the door.

We ignore that what we are called to do, as the living Body of Jesus, is to go out and proclaim, demonstrate and testify with our lives the awesome miracle that "Jesus is Alive!" and that we are living examples of this fact.

What I long for is the day when we are bold enough to declare, as one people, with one voice, that Jesus is Alive, and that our conduct in the world would bear witness to this fact.

Our inactivity, our apathy, our aversion to serve others and live out the compassion of Jesus, sadly proclaims that Jesus is dead.

It's when we live for Him, when we continue to love the way He did, when our lives are in sync with His, that we proclaim by our actions that, yes, indeed, Jesus is really alive!

Is Jesus really alive? Has He really come to live in your life? And how would anyone know this to be true if you never actually demonstrated the life and love and ministry of Jesus in your own life?

Do we, as individual followers of Jesus, feel safer within the quiet of the tomb? Or are we willing, even eager, to roll away the stone and begin to live the truth of the power of the Gospel?

If we, the Body of Jesus, do not act as a living Jesus would, within this world, loving those He loved, sharing with those He spent time with, continuing His ministry of transformation, then we do not demonstrate that Jesus is alive, we simply testify that He has died.

What we must do is to wake ourselves from our slumber, shake off the apathy, and begin to proclaim, with our own lives, that Jesus is truly alive.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing."- John 14:12

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

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Peace,
Keith
www.keithgiles.com

[subversive underground] MODELS

*Originally sent to the faithful 56 who currently subscribe to the weekly [subversive underground] newsletter on March 9th, 2006

MODELS by Keith Giles


After my last underground (HOUSE) I had several responses from a few people I highly respect who were questioning the source of my passion, and my undue fascination with models.

I do want to clarify that the model isn’t necessarily the “answer” in itself. I affirm that church can take place under a tree, in a restaurant parking lot, or a gymnasium, or even, (yes), in a traditional church building or service.

What matters is, of course, how much the Holy Spirit is really in charge, free to move, and whether or not the people are being discipled, or whether or not there is true communion taking place (between people and God…at the same time).

Still, I do think that the model does play a large part in facilitating this dynamic. I do still feel that meeting together to share a common meal, spending time in fellowship together, allowing the Holy Spirit to move, allowing everyone a chance to share according to their gifting, etc., is best lived out in the House Church model.

I admit it. I’m biased.

Granted, this sort of thing can be fostered within any form of church, in addition to what happens on Sunday morning…and several churches do this very well.

I suppose I’m still biased. Forgive me.

Seriously, I do want to be open-minded and to share my convictions without making my friends in the traditional model of church feel blasted or undervalued. Help me to do this. Pray for me.

I fear I am becoming a radical. I don’t want to get so far off the map that only other radicals can relate with me…or me to them.

To make things worse, I'm currently reading a book called "Constantine, The Great" by Michael Grant which is a real eye-opening book to me about how the modern church was shaped by this one person into what it is today. Fascinating stuff, and a little disturbing to be honest.

What's also fascinating to me is that, even after Constantine stepped in and protected the Christians, gave them the pagan temples to worship in, and stopped the persecutions, many kept meeting in homes and eventually Constantine actually had to make it illegal for them to keep doing this in order to
funnel believers into his “new way”, his new model, of gathering.

I've not written anything yet on the effects of Constantine on the practice of the Church, but this is a pretty fascinating subject for me.

I mean, yes, God has used this form of doing church for over 1,700 years now. And, yes, God certainly "allowed" this change to take place and to remain up until this very day, predominantly around the world...but it still troubles me that our modern forms of worship are built upon setting up a
sort of royal clergy, handing them a castle, creating a peasant congregation for them to "tax" and support the royalty and the upkeep of the castle, etc.

This just doesn't seem right to me...or Biblical either.

We try to make connections between this modern form of church and the OT synagogue/temple form of worship...but clearly this was not Constantine's intention. He simply removed pagan priests and installed Christian priests, adding a cross to the back of the room and changing the subject of the worship to the Christian God.

So, to this very day, do we have a paganized form of Christianity? I guess I never noticed before, but now it does trouble me. This book points out how, previous to his “conversion” Constantine worshipped Apollo, the Sun God. After turning to the Christian God, he ordered that the feast of Apollo, on December 25th, become an observance of the birth of God’s Son, Jesus. This kind of creeps me out.

I'm not so sure that Constantine himself really "got it". At least according to this book on his life I'm reading now, Constantine had a problem with the crucifixion and the weakness of Jesus, rebuked his own sister for worshiping Jesus, and mainly wanted to re-define the Christian God as a warlike "Zeus" figure, a god of war and power and victory, not a God who, as Jesus suggested, was like Him, a loving, compassionate, merciful God.

As if this weren’t bad enough, Constantine murdered his second wife, his own son, and many of his friends and advisors, all after his apparent “conversion” to Christianity.

We call this guy a saint?

See? I am becoming a radical.

What does this mean for my faith? Honestly, it strengthens my faith in the Biblical Jesus. The Historical Jesus we see in the Gospels becomes my solitary focus, not the traditional church practice, or the liturgy, or the religious mainline.

However, it also puts me a bit at odds with the universal Christian church, and that’s what I don’t want to happen.

I’ve grown up in the mainline church. I’ve been blessed, I’ve matured in my faith, I’ve had great fellowship and I’ve received the power of the Holy Spirit in my life through this “paganized model” of church.

It is a good thing. God loves His Church. His Bride. All of the Church. The entire Bride.

I cannot condemn the traditional church. I cannot judge my brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to feel this way of church is “home” for them. Up until a few months ago, not even a year ago, maybe six or seven months ago, I started feeling that, for me, there was a “better way”. Not better in the sense of being more holy or spiritual, but better in the sense that it scratches the itch I have for holistic spiritual life, discipleship to Jesus, communion with others and with God, and all the rest.

While washing the dishes the other night, and thinking on this very subject, it occurred to me that I could just decide to accept these historical facts about the early church, Constantine’s impact on the church today, my own convictions about house church, and just let it go. I mean, just accept this is the way things are and not let it freak me out so much.

Maybe there is no fire to put out? Maybe I’m feeling revolutionary about something that requires no revolution? Or maybe the revolution is within my own life and I don’t need to thrust it upon others in order for it to be acceptable?

So now the question I ask myself is, “Can I just let this go?”

I don’t know yet. This is a work in progress…just like me.

More later.

Peas,
Kg
www.keithgiles.com
***

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT (at Amazon.com)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684195208/103-1582316-6649451?v=glance&n=283155


NEW BLOG UPDATE: “Closed Windows, Open Doors” (New article online now at the main blog: www.keithgiles.com)

[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] HOUSE by Keith Giles

[sent on 2/27/06 to the faithful subscribers of the subversive underground newsletter]

HOUSE by Keith Giles

As I’ve been studying the practice of the early church, both historically and scripturally, I’ve learned quite a bit about how these first disciples of Jesus gathered, shared, and lived out the Gospel in their everyday lives.

What’s come as a shock to me has been the wide range of reactions from other Christians when this subject comes up.

My favorite response, so far, has to be this one: “It’s not Biblical”.

No, really. Someone actually said to me that what we’re doing, meeting in homes to share a common meal, study the Scriptures and minister to one another in the Power of the Holy Spirit, isn’t Biblical.

So, just to set the record straight….The House Church is the Biblical Church. No other form of church is described in the New Testament.

There are more than 21 references to House Churches in the New Testament.

While the early part of the book of Acts suggests that the early believers “…used to gather…” at Solomon’s Porch (or Collonade), it is clear that, even at the time Acts itself was put to paper, this practice had already been abandoned.

Early on, those who followed Jesus were mostly Jews, and they were welcome to gather in the temple and in the local synagogue to worship and to read the scriptures aloud, even have their own “Rabbi’s” teach that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

However, soon it was too dangerous for the Jews to continue to worship alongside the Messianic Jews. As persecutions of Christians intensified, Jews and Messianic Jews were lumped together, and soon the same Jews who crucified Jesus began to apply pressure on the followers of Jesus.

Most likely it was the execution of Stephen that prompted the Jews to close the synagogues and temples off from the Messianic Jews, as their persecution of them intensified.

At any rate, specific references to the gathering of Christians in the homes of fellow believers is cited, in part, below:
House Church in Caesarea: Met in the house of Philip the evangelist (Acts 21:7-12)
House Church of the Collosians: Meeting in the house of Philemon (Philm. 1-2)
House Churches in Corinth: The house church of Titius Justus (Acts 18:7); The house church in the home of Chloe (1 Cor. 1:11); The house of Stephanas (1 Cor. 16:15); The house of Gaius (Rom. 16:22-23).
House Churches in Ephesus: The house of Aquila and Priscilla (1Cor.16:19); various un-named house churches referenced (Acts 20:17-21)
House Churches in Jerusalem: Various house churches (Acts 2:46-47, Acts 5:42, Acts 8:3); The house church of Mary (Acts 12:12)
House Church in or near Laodicea: The house of Nympha (Col. 4:15)
House Churches in Rome: The house of Aquila and Priscilla (Rom.16:3-5); The house of Aristobulus (Rom. 16:10); The house of Narcissus (Rom. 16:11); The house of Asyncritus (Rom. 16:14); The house of Philologus and Julia (Rom.16:15); The house of Paul (Acts 28:16, 23, 29-31)
House Church in Thessalonica: The house church in the home of Jason (Acts 17:1-9)
House Church in Troas: The house with an upper room (Acts20:7-12)

Therefore, let there be no doubt that, Scripturally, the early Church met in the homes of the believers and had no central building of worship for over 300 years.

I always like to remind people that America hasn’t even been a Nation for 300 years.
Historical documents support this as well.

The practice of worship in the home, gathering together as a family of God, breaking bread, exercising the gifts for the building up of the Body, the priesthood of the believer, etc., are all concepts which developed out of and flourished because of this model of church.

I personally feel that it was not an accident that the form of church inspired by Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit, and intentionally modelled by Peter, James, John, and Paul the Apostle, was based on the concept of family. It wasn't something arbitrary. It wasn't because they couldn't afford a large building, as if they would have met in a mega-church format if they could have.

I believe that the early church made a conscious, intentional choice to meet as a family, in homes, to facilitate a strong sense of community, build disciples, freely exercise all the gifts of the Spirit, and evangelize in a more organic way.

Their fruit in these areas (community, service, discipleship, evangelism) is legendary. The system worked. We ourselves are living evidence of this.

Not to say that God isn’t using the traditional form of Church. He is. I remain a firm and loyal supporter of all expressions of worship, but as for me and my house, if I am offered the choice of something built on a corporate business model, or an organic, family-based form of church that sets people free to engage one another and facilitate community, discipleship and spiritual growth, not to mention evangelism based on relationships, then my choice is the same as that of the first disciples of Jesus.

Just had to get that off my chest.

(Ahhh…..)

I feel better now.

More later…

Kg
**
UPDATE: So far this little e-newsletter has grown to over 55 people. Wow. Thanks to all of you for making this work. I hope these articles and bits of info are encouraging to you in your walk with Jesus.

ARTICLES ONLINE:
"TWO OR MORE" by Keith Giles
My newest article online at Seed Stories here:
http://www.seedstories.com

BIG EVENTS:
ENGAGE: APRIL 22ND WITH DAVID RUIS
Be sure to check out the groovy website now online here:
http://www.soulsurvivorusa.com/engage/

BOOK UPDATE:
I'm on Chapter three of my book so far. Thanks for helping me stay on target for this little project. Hopefully this will be available in a bookstore near you in time for Christmas.



[END TRANSMISSION]

[subversive underground] WEAKNESS

[sent on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006, to the faithful subscribers of the subversive underground]

WEAKNESS by Keith Giles

In my own life, I’ve had more than one opportunity to embrace my own weakness in search of Christ’s power within.

My first discovery of this truth was early in my Christian walk, and to be honest, I didn’t really understand it completely at the beginning. Not the way I do now.

I was a Junior in High School and I had fallen in love with a beautiful, red-headed girl from Houston, Texas. She was a Senior, and I really wanted to see her graduate at the end of the school year. The only problems were that I lived in El Paso, several hundred miles away, and my semester finals were one week after she would actually walk the aisle and take her diploma.

I was undaunted. For weeks I prayed that God would open the doors for me to get down to Houston one week earlier than my semester finals in order to watch her graduate from High School.

My plan was simple. First, I would begin to mow lawns and wash cars, and do odd jobs, for the members of my church in order to raise money for a plane ticket to Houston. By the end of the school year I was sure to have the few hundred dollars necessary to purchase a ticket.

Secondly, I discovered that I would need a special waiver from my principal allowing me to take my semester finals with our Senior class, which were one week earlier than everyone else’s final exams, because I was only a Junior.

For weeks I held fast to the scripture verse from Philipians that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I repeated it all the time. I reminded God of that verse every time I prayed, and God even reciprocated by inserting the verse into the strangest places and from the most unlikely mouths, as the weeks wore on.

I was certain that I could do this seemingly impossible thing, because God was going to help me.

However, with only three weeks left before the end of the semester, I had raised no funds whatsoever. Not one person in my church had called to hire me to do a single thing. I had no money for travel expenses. What’s more, I still had to convince my principal that I should be allowed to take my finals a week early along with the Seniors.

Then, an astounding thing happened. I gave up.

I remember lying on my bed, praying to God, with tears of frustration and disappointment streaming down my teenaged face. “I give up God. I’ve tried God. You know how I’ve tried. I thought I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but I have to admit I can’t do it. So, if you want me to go to Houston, God, you’ll have to make it happen because I can’t.”

I had no idea what those words did as they reverberated through the walls of the Kingdom of God. “I can’t do it, God,” I said. “It’s up to you”.

Two days later my miracle came. I answered the phone and my youth pastor was telling me that he was leaving El Paso and moving away. Before I could lament my condition any further, he asked me if I’d like to help him move down to his new house in Houston.

I couldn’t believe it. Here God had provided a way for me to travel to Houston and it hadn’t cost me anything at all. Of course, I said yes.

But the matter of the waiver from my principal was still hanging over my head. The next day I went to my counselor and received the waiver that my principal needed to sign in order to be allowed to take my finals a week early. I saw him talking in the hallway between classes to the associate principal and made my way towards him, practicing my speech under my breath about why he needed to allow me this special favor.

As I stood before him, waiting patiently for him to finish his conversation with his associate, he suddenly reached out in mid-sentence and took the slip of paper out of my hand. Before I knew it, without even having looked at me twice, he had scribbled his name on the line and handed me back the paper.

For a moment I stood frozen in place. I couldn’t really believe what had just happened. All that I had strived for and failed at, God had sewn up in a matter of hours, and I had not done a single thing to make any of it happen.

Later that night, I took out my Bible and I re-read those words in Philipians. “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Suddenly they made a different kind of sense to me than before. It wasn’t that God was waiting to bless what I wanted, or to strengthen my efforts, it was that God was the one through whom all things should be done, for His glory and in His strength.

His power, not mine. His wisdom, not mine. His strength, my weakness.

I wish I could say that every day afterwards I operated on this divine principal of weakness, but I did not. It would take many more trials and tests of my faith before I would really begin to get it.

So, after taking my finals with the Seniors, helping my youth pastor pack up the moving van, and driving hundreds of miles towards the lights of Houston, Texas I discovered something else about the amazing power of weakness and depending on God’s strength.

The house that my youth pastor was living in was across the street from the red-headed girl’s house. I kid you not.

For that one summer, I enjoyed the leisure of God’s amazing grace to me, expressed in His kindness to me at refusing to give me what I wanted the way I wanted it.

Praise God that he didn’t allow anyone to hire me for odd jobs. Praise God that I wasn’t allowed the pleasure of persuading my principal for special consideration. Praise God that I didn’t have to travel to Houston alone, book a hotel room and rent a car in order to see my girlfriend graduate from High School.

Praise God for my amazing weakness. Praise God for His amazing strength in the face of my inability.

There’s a popular bumper sticker I remember from several years ago that read, “God Is My Co-Pilot”. The truth, I was soon to learn, was that if God isn’t the pilot, you’re on the wrong airplane.

kg
[END TRANSMISSION]
**