Open Letter To This List
Tyler Nally (tnally@iquest.net)
Thu, 30 Oct 1997 22:07:00 -0500
At 03:50 PM 10/30/97 +0000, Bro Avery wrote:
>Jesus said "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
>curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
>despiteful use you, and persecute you Mat 5:44
>
>30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
>all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this
>is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this,
>Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other
>commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31
>
>I guess the bottom line is DON'T TRY TO TELL ME YOUR TRUTH IF YOU
>CAN'T LOVE ME. I don't say to love any sin I do, but you have to love
>me.
>
>One last thing. Some of the people who wrote me kind post were people
>who have been hurt by people "In the Church". Have you hurt someone?
>It is not too late to say I am sorry.
You know, brother, I think your right. I don't know where the
notion came about that's goes something like this.... "Once you get
the Holy Ghost and are baptized in Jesus name......you're an instant
christian and all is well....." or something like that. I think that
becoming christlike is a life-long journey. The conversion process starts
at Acts 2:38 and continues on and on and one.
I think the actions of a church trickle down from it's pastor, which
is trickled down from the presbytery, which is trickled down from the
district superintendent, which trickles down from the national organization.
Just like going into a local superstore that has a generally rotten attitude,
I realize that a local church assembly will behave accordingly. The store
worker will only be as good as him/her supervisor, then team leader, then
associate store director, then store director. If it's rotten at the top,
it'll be rotten down below.
Coming from a Roman Catholic background, even after Acts 2:38 conversion,
I don't know if *anyone* knew instantly what the do's and don'ts of being
a oneness pentecostal is all about. I believe I had a similar experience
when I think our church went over to Hoopeston, IL and played basketball
in a rented Jr High Schools gynmasium. I being the reasonably decent
athlete I was, from a long line of sports enthusiasts, when I was warmed
up and playing some team basketball I removed my sweat pants revealing
my gym shorts. Perfectly acceptable according to the practice that I've
*always* known up to that point in time. Anyway, I guess it *shocked*
my pastor then and a few minutes later told me to put them back on. I
don't know if I ever questioned it, after all, I was doing something that
was never objectionable. I just put them on and was puzzled for the longest
time about the whole thing. It was *several* years later that I finally
connected this event with a *breech of decency*. I was never taken off
to the side and explained thus- and so- about this. I was just left there
kinda dangling not really knowing why I couldn't have a freedom I once
enjoyed. All the while feeling *rotten* about something that was absolutely
ghastly.
I say that because, I think that becoming a *christian* is a learned
behavior and lifestyle. People have to be *trained* to be christ-like.
This knowledge and a whole series of behavior aren't instantly transmitted
into us little *Jesus's* just because we receive the Holy Ghost.
But, I think instances like this is a good example of what goes on in
church that silently *forms* the body of saints to the *church's* mold
and not necessarily what the Bride of Christ should look like. It's things
like this that only serve to perpetuate *acceptable* saint behavior because
this has been going on for a loooooooooooong time. You've heard me say it
before.... this is cookie-cuttering of christianity. This is the *forcing*
of people into a mold they've no idea why. If anything, the *shaming* of the
saint only forces to saint into a co-dependent relationship with the church
and not God. They become addicted to the feeling as blame and shame trickles
down and throughout the church. It doesn't have anything to do with God and
a relationship with Him. It's a saint/church relationship thing. Not a
saint/God relationship thing. All because the church is too lazy to point
the saint to God instead of the current churchly mold of the local assembly.
I think that *discipling* is far different. I think that the ministry for
too long a time has taken the position to become *uninvolved* with the saints
of the local assembly. They just do what's necessary to get by and just
straddle the fence of the ministry in not hardly serving the fellow saints
in helping them grow in all ways. Isn't that what *ministry* is all about?
Helping, guiding, teaching, serving, lending, giving, etc. Somewhere along
the way, the ministry has come to the point where they have become the all
mighty *served* ones. Honor is certainly due them, only if earned. Just
by becoming a minister doens't mean they are *exaulted*. If anything, the
scripture says they need to more abased so that in heaven they'll be lifted
up. I guess if they're lifted up here, they won't be over there. I'd also
be so bold to state and say if they are *lifted* up over here, then might
not make it to *over there*. If power and honor so tempts them that they
become unserving, they'll not make it.
I think the church is *filled* with saints that act like *churched* people
and not necessarily Godly children of the most High. I also think that many
of the *churched* people have been hurt by saints and because they don't want
to leave the atmosphere of the church they just put up with it and learn to
co-exist with the situation. Which would be just like a wife of an alcoholic,
spouse beater, spouse abuser, etc. They are addicted to the *relationship* to
the church assembly. Actions like that experienced bu Bro Avery is, IMO,
typical and unacceptable when they should be trying to *grow* saints of the
most High. But it's acceptable when you want to make *churched* people into
a certain mold/cookie cutter.
There are *churched* victims all over pentecost. With few saints able to
minister to the hurting, the number of damaged saints continually grows.
Like a wound that is only bandaided and never treated, it just continues to
stay barely functional because the hurt isn't quite keeping up with the rate
of conversion. I bet that does a lot for the *belief* of the saints when
they barely believe in the leadership above them. No wonder we don't usually
experience the same miracles of the apostles. We *sometimes* see someone
healed, but not in every service. We *never* see anyone raised from the
dead. There are reasons why the churches don't see and necessarily enjoy
the mighty power of God like the apostles have of the past.
It's no wonder why there's an explosion of witches, witchcraft, ans wiccan's.
They exhibit power. Power is tempting. Power is enticing. The church of
today hurts too much to compete. If they could only get their health back.
They'd be more than a match for those of the occult.
2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land.
* my people.
# Isa 63:19
* which are called by my name. Heb. upon whom my name is
called. humble.
# 6:37-39 33:12,13,18,19 Le 26:40,41 De 4:29,30 30:1-6
# Eze 33:11 Jas 4:9,10
* and pray.
# Ac 9:11
* seek my face.
# Isa 45:19 La 3:40,41
Bro Tyler
--
Bro Tyler Nally <tnally@iquest.net> <tgnally@prairienet.org>
ICQ: http://www.mirabilis.com/3658585
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