Check out my new blog post "When Kingdoms Collide" at http://ddflowers.wordpress.com 

Please be forewarned… this one has a bit of a “tone”. You know… a “tone” that is interpreted as “angry” or “anti-American” or something like that. So… please read knowing that I am in-fact a bit… hmm… how do you say... fed up. But, I assure you my sorrow far outweighs any sort of anger. I am working on it. I still haven’t managed to dress up all of my actions in the garb of the hippy Jesus who wears the façade that says, “I am holy because I do not get angry.” I prefer the stance that says, “I am angry because I am holy.” In other words, I believe any frustration and concern that I express… ought to be shared among all who call themselves “disciples of Jesus”. Hopefully, this momentary expression of anger and sorrow will mature into a renewed Christology that will give us all more reason to trust in Jesus instead of ourselves.

And so… I give you my thoughts.

Jesus: Change We Have a Hard Time Believing In

I am convinced that our political "freedoms" are instead a bondage that leads us to reject Christ's methods of change... only to turn and accept the world's methods of exhorting power over people. I can see that this marriage of the church to the state by acceptance of its methods... only produces a nominal Christian "religion" where we can all live comfortable while we overcome evil with a vote. We can walk away feeling like we have done someone a favor with our vote. Like we have made a difference by playing in to the system of suppressing evil through law and violence. As if we have been called to confront evil in this manner.

Mark my words; the intermarriage of church and state is the greatest tragedy in the history of Christianity. It violates the heart of the Gospel of Christ. The church has been sidetracked. Duped is more like it. We have been misled to believe that we have been called to save the culture and remind the sinners that God is watching them like a drunk abusive Santa Claus figure. Somehow the mentioning of God on monuments, money, and in our many assemblies... means that God is pleased. I just don't get it. You took prayer out of schools? Well... God is ticked now. Watch out! The culture will go to hell in a hand basket because you have quit stamping the god of deism on worldly institutions for political reasons.

Clearly, we have been deceived into thinking our God "blesses" nations when they talk about him and he "curses" when they don't. I'm not buying this anymore. It is no longer consistent with the Jesus I know. Shouldn't we have learned this lesson with Israel in the Old Testament through the prophets like Amos and Jeremiah? You don't get points for looking religious and embracing sin in your hearts. You don't escape the judgment of Christ and receive his blessings just because a worldly empire decides to speak Christianese and mix its agenda with God's plan through the church. How have we missed this?

Is a worldly kingdom "blessed" because it has material abundance? Does it cease to be "blessed" because it stops using the generic name "God" around town? What sort of God in Christ do we have? It's time we see things rightly about how God deals with worldly kingdoms and how he deals separately with his church. We need to apply his Word appropriately. God has always used worldly kingdoms to suppress evil and judge other nations who have become corrupt. They are agents of wrath (Rom. 13:4). God then turns around and judges that nation for its own sin and corruption. Assyria, in the 8^th century BC, is a perfect example of God using worldly empires as a "rod" of his wrath. He then punished Assyria and held her responsible for her actions and all of the iniquities found in her.

The story of Israel in the Old Testament, and the church in the New Testament today... is to be set apart and to operate under a different set of rules... to count yourself as a citizen of another other-worldly kingdom with a King who is jealous for our allegiance. All along he has wanted his people to recognize that there is no other King beside him. Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. If Caesar wants your taxes and you are required to carry a drivers license and obey the laws of the land... fine! But... give to God what is God's. Your spirit, soul, and body belong to him. Your efforts and energies are to be spent investing in a Kingdom that is eternal. Kingdoms of the world are temporary systems that are on their way out. Their methods of changing the world are coming to an end.

The church should not be a part of this endless cycle of worldly kingdom violence and her partisan politics of corruption. The church's work should engage the injustices of the world in ways that do not violate the principles of the Kingdom of God. This is what we should be discussing in the forums. This is what ought to be on our minds. Forget the glory of Rome and his Caesar. Sure, honor him... but fear God only (1 Pet. 2:13-17). Of course, pray for these worldly leaders, but do not concern yourself with putting your hand to the political plow of power. It will take your heart captive and sow evil where pride, arrogance, and all forms of hatred hide (Titus 3:1-7; 2 Pet. 2:11-12). We must give ourselves fully to Christ's manner of engaging the injustices of this cruel world. This means we recognize that only Christ is the only candidate worthy of our campaigning. Therefore, how ridiculous is it to talk about "our country" and use language only reserved for the church as if it applies to nations that have been instituted by God for the sole purpose of executing wrath. God "bless" America? I'm sorry... I have a hard time hearing the apostle Paul say, "God bless Rome." And apparently, many Christians can't understand the absurdity in a statement that takes such pride in the kingdoms of this world.

Are we really prepared to say that the answer to the failing economy and the culture wars is to vote the all-inclusive “God” back in to the world's vernacular? Sorry... don't buy that at all. The Christianizing of a pagan culture by worldly methods will only produce a pagan "Christian" culture that knows how to talk religious and make a profit off of religious products. Which is what we have done in the past. We have a luxury Jesus didn't have? Times are different? I have a duty to vote and play a role in this mess? I think it is time to question these clichés and begin a revolution back to the Gospel of the New Testament. I am convinced it is time for Christians to lose these "rights" they are told to "exercise" and be left with nothing but the wealth and security of Christ. The worst thing that can happen as a result of Christians losing political power... is that Zondervan would no longer be able to rob people in the name of Jesus.

It doesn't seem to bother many of us that Christianity has found favor among the God-haters. As long as we can rest easy at night knowing we still have our "rights" and that gays won't be able to marry... who cares about the status of their hearts and reaching out to them as Christ would. I guess it doesn't really matter that the pregnant teenager really needs someone to take her in... not a picket sign in her face telling her she is going to hell or a meaningless vote in a private booth that you were told makes you a "good" citizen. It's much easier to believe in a version of the Kingdom of God that is able to advance through politics... this way we don't have to get our hands dirty. At least not in the sense of touching people who are in spiritual and physical need. Besides, if we take Jesus seriously, we may actually have to talk to some of those folks. We might be asked to love them to change and stop relying on the methods of the world to stir up their flesh to sin more.

It really is a matter of overcoming evil instead of suppressing it. Laws don't save people. They only provoke the sinful nature of man. Those without Christ need them, but it is the purpose of those institutions of man to use those methods. You think we would have learned that by now. It is the world that looks for change through politics. It is the world that believes that peace will come by legislation and the wisdom of generals and political orators. Who are we to mingle with that rabble? What business is it of ours to hop in the very vehicle that will rise against Christ and make its final stand on that last day.

You know… the last time I checked, politicians make great anti-christs. Keep that in mind when you are tempted to join in the partisan politics and play this silly game leading up to November 4^th 2008. Where is Christ in it all? How did he engage the worldly systems of his day? I’m willing to bet the answer is much clearer than we would like it to be. Why then? Why so blurry? Because we have grown accustomed to our life here in Corinth. And as Paul said to the original Corinthians, he would say to us, “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

Will we trust the way of the cross? The kind of winning that happens by dying? The battle plan that calls for everyone to lay down their arms and fight with love? Will we reconcile ourselves to a Gospel that demands we operate in an upside-down Kingdom… or will we call it foolishness and forfeit our inheritance? How will the church respond in my generation?

I believe she will have that opportunity in this country real soon. Many will be unprepared, I fear. They will be shocked when the veil falls from their eyes and they actually are given no choice but to stare into the blinding light of Christ's Gospel in the midst of suffering. I am nervous at the thought of it. Yet, I am confident that our faith will undergo a great transformation. We will tap into a power we have not been acquainted with in these worldly chains we have prematurely dubbed "freedom." I long for that day. Come Lord Jesus, come!

"And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country-- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16

(If you have not read my blog posts, "Rethinking the Two Kingdoms" and "Kingdom Conversations"... please do so if you would like to understand more of where I am coming from. If you are not interested, you will probably become irritated by my writings concerning the Christian and politics. It’s probably best you pray the devil out of me now and surf off and subscribe somewhere else. I would recommend you subscribe to any blog in mainline Christianity for more of an enjoyable read.)

Check out endorsements for the book at:  http://ddflowers.wordpress.com

A Book Review of: Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity by Frank Viola

Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity by Frank Viola, is sure to send every “clergy-laity” member scratching around for a biblical defense to the claims made against the 1700 year old institutional form of church.  And according to Viola, they will not find a “shred of biblical warrant” to support its existence.

At last, the sequel to the highly controversial book, Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices, has arrived!  And it is for certain that not all will applaud its arrival to the bookstore.  No doubt, many readers are still trying to grapple with the favorable recognition and popularity of the first book to this series of 4 books on organic Christianity.  The first time, Viola had the help of George Barna and Tyndale in gaining a few listening ears.  Now that he has the attention of no small number of readers… he has set off to propose serious answers to an audience that is filled with sincere questions.  And “Reimgaining Church” will not leave readers dissatisfied in their quest for the normal Christian church life.  In fact, it will leave them hungering for authenticity in the New Testament fashion.

As the saying goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”  Many readers have learned that from PC.  So let the reader first understand the title.  Viola states, “it’s the present practices of the church that I’m seeking to reimagine, not the church itself” (p.13).  He clearly outlines his purpose so that there is no misunderstanding.  He writes that the purpose of the book is: “to articulate a biblical, spiritual, theological, and practical answer to the question, Is there a viable way of doing church outside the institutional church experience, and if so, what does it look like” (p.12)?

Let there be no mistake, any serious reader cannot accuse Viola of impure motives or building the house of God on sand.  Indeed, the foundation of the ideas communicated in this book are constructed upon the triune God (i.e. Trinity as archetype for the church).  Therefore, RC should be understood as a proposal that the church of Jesus Christ mirror the very image of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Viola writes, “the church is the earthly image of the triune God” (p.35).  In the spirit of Stanley Grenz, Leonardo Boff, and Miroslav Volf… Viola has wonderfully woven together the fabric of God’s eternal purpose in a clear, concise, and intelligent way.  Its inspiration can be questioned, as with any author, but its scholarship is insurmountable in its presentation.  This is a work for the carpenter and the scholar.

“The Reformation recovered the truth of the priesthood of all believers. But it failed to restore the organic practices that embody this teaching. It was restricted to soteriology (salvation) and didn’t involve ecclesiology (the church)” (p.59).  In the pursuit of an organic Christianity that is rooted in the triune God, the greatest hurdle will be with what lies at the heart of the institutional model of the church: hierarchal leadership.  And Viola goes to great lengths in addressing the error we have made in our teaching and practice of authority and “spiritual covering.”  He even extends his address in the appendix “Objections and Responses about Leadership.”

In every chapter, Viola seems to anticipate the objections and rebukes… and very skillfully, with ease, answers those objections and the many misconceptions that are born out of a first-reading of the ideas presented in PC and RC.  I have read all of Viola’s similar writings in his original series… and RC in this new series is definitely his finest presentation thus far.  He leaves little in his language to trip over… just a great deal of truth to bear.

Readers will appreciate Viola’s honesty and sensitivity to the issues.  Each chapter builds one upon the other and guides you to the end.  I found that when a question would arise, it would quickly be addressed to satisfy a deep-seeded longing to know and follow the truth.  Although it is not necessary for the reader to have previously read PC… it is recommended.  It is always best to start listening to a conversation from the beginning.

Finally, I want to communicate to the reader that only those interested in spiritual revolution, instead of religious reformation, will benefit from RC.  We must be willing to forsake all the new recovery methods of the institution and leave behind all the drama surrounding passions, programs, methods, and movements.  It is time for a paradigm shift!  Viola writes, “Recovering the organic expression of the church and the practical headship of Jesus Christ necessitates that we forsake our ecclesiastical patches and Band-Aids” (p.270).  Only a life fixated on the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ and longing to see that expressed in the church… will find comfort in the reading of this book.

A great exodus is occurring even as I write this book review.  It is not one of rebellion, but one of submission.  Dear reader, consider a renewed Christology that gives birth to a glorious ecclesiology.  Consider the message of this book… and let Christ’s person and work be reflected in all compartments of life.

David D. Flowers

free-lance writer & blogger

The Woodlands, TX

http://ddflowers.wordpress.com