 
### Spiritual Embezzlement Made Easy

### or

### How NOT to Run a Church

### By M.E. Brines

### Smashwords Edition

### Copyright 2011 by M.E. Brines

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### * * *

### Introduction

We often hear conservatives and liberals arguing about whether or not America was originally a Christian nation but one thing that everyone seems to agree upon is that America is certainly not a Christian nation today. Compared to fifty years ago crime, divorce and immorality are now at all time highs. Abortion and pornography that were illegal then are not only legal today, but also quite commonplace. Where once the worst weapon you might encounter on a schoolyard might be a slingshot, now many schools have installed metal detectors and armed guards to try and reduce the number of stabbings and shootings.

Conversely we see statistics [from <http://www.barna.com/>] stating that in any given week more Americans attend church than attend a sporting event. According to a Gallup poll 74% of American adults claim to have "made a personal commitment to Christ." How do we reconcile those statistics with the rampant rates of crime and immorality that exist side by side in the same communities with those same churches? Something is wrong with this picture. Despite all our efforts the Church has been ineffective at transforming the lives of those who attend and making the disciples that Christ called upon his followers to make of all the nations in Matthew chapter 28.

Meanwhile, attendance is declining and the majority of young people who do attend church drop out at or soon following graduation and few of them return. Statistics show that the average age of church attenders is increasing as gray hair proliferates in our sanctuaries on Sunday mornings.

Whether America was once a Christian nation is debatable, but that it is not one now is incontestable. The Christian church in America is dying, that much is obvious. But while most secular Americans seem to think that it's from natural causes, just nature taking its course, many Christians believe that foul play was involved and are already pointing fingers at various suspects: Liberals, the Media, and Hollywood elites. But the brutal fact is that the decline of the church and of Christian influence in America is not murder; it's suicide.

We're doing it to ourselves.

In Acts chapter 26 the Apostle Paul gave his personal history as a way of demonstrating to his accusers his credentials to speak on the subject of Judaism. I've been attending for more than 45 years, actually since before I was born. During the time when my mother regularly attended and was pregnant with me, my father was the Sunday School Superintendent. I grew up in the church. I've got a first cousin who's an ordained minister and a great-grandfather who was a Pentecostal preacher. My father organized a church from its beginnings as a house church with two families, through a storefront with a part-time pastor (who officiated at my own wedding in a "real" church rented for the occasion) all the way until it was able to build its own building.

I was saved and baptized as a teen and since then I've served in the church in every capacity that a layman is allowed to: teacher, Sunday School superintendent, janitor, youth group leader, as a deacon and on the church governing board. I've taught Sunday School, vacation Bible schools (including one on the Navajo Indian reservation), AWANA, been a summer camp counselor, done home visitation, door-to-door cold calling to present the Gospel, participated in Christmas pageants and small groups, and organized, cooked for and cleaned up after banquets and dinners and breakfasts of all sorts.

My family used to move a lot when I was a kid and I've attended Christian and Missionary Alliance churches as well as Evangelical Free, Community, Methodist, Presbyterian and several varieties of Baptist churches. I don't think anybody could be more knowledgeable about what goes on inside of churches in America from a layman's point of view than I am, so when I say that as busy as I've been for all that time that I've been mostly wasting my time and not obeying Jesus, that that conclusion didn't come easily to me. It took a personal bankruptcy to do it.

Despite growing up in a Christian home I never gave much thought to what Christ wanted me to do with my life. It was MY life, after all. I studied what I wanted to in college, married who I wanted to and took jobs that were interesting or convenient to me. But I was always chasing after some get-rich-quick scheme and we always seemed short of cash as a result. (Most get-rich-quick schemes should be more accurately called "get-poor-slowly" schemes.) The last was a family bakery that failed miserably and left us bankrupt.

The good news was that disaster finally drove through my thick skull what the problem was. It hadn't been the jobs or schemes that I'd tried (not that any of them had ever been all that good anyway). No, it had been following my own selfish desires seeking to find my own way through life instead of following my savior. It wasn't supposed to have been MY life. I'd given it to Jesus (supposedly) back as a teenager. I'd signed over the title but continued to drive it as if it still belonged to me. So, after thirty years, I decided to get serious about my commitment.

And that's when my problems really began.

I decided to get serious about being the disciple I should have been all along and put God first in my life. Among the many changes, I decided to tithe, not just my money but also my time. (Not that the Bible teaches this but I was overcorrecting for my previous slackness.) The Good Lord blesses us with 168 hours a week and we spend at least 56 of that sleeping. Ten percent of what was left was eleven hours. I decided to spend eleven hours a week "serving God." So I volunteered for just about every program available at the church. I mean, if Sunday School and the worship service only last maybe three hours, that left eight hours a week to fill. So I worked myself to a frazzle visiting and serving and participating in all sorts of things: the annual Christmas pageant, an "evangelistic" drama production, potlucks, men's breakfasts, and visitation. My efforts were noticed and I got appointed to both the deacons and eventually even to the governing board of the church as the member responsible for Christian Education. Meanwhile I was exhausted and cranky and tired all the time and I began to realize that most of what I was doing was little more than busy work, things that were traditional "church" activities but that did little or nothing to help me (or anybody else) become a better disciple of Jesus. Meanwhile the things that were important, like Biblical education or actually serving those in the surrounding community who were in real need, were neglected or ignored.

The church I was attending offered very few Bible studies, and half the Sunday school classes didn't even study the Bible itself, merely "good" books by Christian authors. Most other activities were little different that what you might find in a fraternal lodge or social club. No efforts were made to identify the spiritual gifts of the membership, or to provide for any training or use of those gifts. Discipleship seemed to be defined as showing up for church services on Sunday morning and volunteering when the church staff needed somebody to do something for them.

After realizing this, with my new position on the governing board I pushed for more Biblical education. But the staff repeatedly turned me down and ignored every recommendation. I tried to point out that the problems with our church that were common with other churches in America: declining attendance, apathy among lay people, and the exodus of the youth after graduation. My suggestions that these problems were not the fault of society but of the church itself, and that reforming the church was the only effective solution were met by first denial and then active hostility. Eventually I lost my position on the board for being "too negative" and was replaced by someone else "who'll actually do his job" and not rock the boat. (And "not rocking the boat" seemed to be the entirety of my former job description, at least as far as the pastor and his staff were concerned.)

I was confused. I had thought that my job was to promote Christian education and that the whole point of church was to follow the commandments of God, fulfill the Great Commission and extend Christianity to the ends of the earth. I mistakenly believed that anything that would help and assist in this would be gladly welcomed. I had thought that the standard for Protestant churches was supposed to be scripture, not submission to the teachings of a professional "priesthood" and I was rather appalled and bewildered to discover that the real purpose of the Church (at least in much of America) is much different from what everyone always says it is. In the end I reluctantly came to the conclusion that the greatest obstacle to Christian discipleship in America is not the government, it's not the liberal media and it's not the Hollywood elite: it is the Church itself, and the unbiblical traditions that have grown up around it over the last decades.

Now, if that makes you want to toss this book aside snarling, "that author is an apostate bent on destroying the Church as I see it," then rest easy, friend. Most of the rest of this book is written from that viewpoint. With tongue firmly in cheek, I've written a book on how American churches are "supposed" to be run, at least according to the conventional wisdom. [ _With my snarky remarks and Biblical refutations of the current misguided thinking presented in italics_.]

You can read it either as an absurd parody of modern American Church-ianity or else as the condemnation of current practice that it is. Hopefully you'll accept this message for what it is intended to do and join with me to reform the church in America, bringing it back to what Jesus originally intended.

### Chapter 1

### The ABCs of Running a Church

In modern American Church-ianity there are three principles from which all other doctrines, programs and procedures are derived. Everything we do and the current state of the church and its level of influence in American society are directly based on our single-minded pursuit of these three principles that I call the ABCs. These principles are emphasized in the seminary training that all church leaders are required to possess and promoted by the latest books on church growth and evangelism filling Christian bookstores. Church leadership that adheres to these principles are considered successful and are held up as models of Christian leadership to be emulated. Mastery of these principles is what makes the difference between being just the little church on the corner and becoming a nationally known megachurch.

The A in ABCs stands for attendance. Attendance figures are our sacred statistic. Every church keeps them and some of them even post last week's figures on the wall of the sanctuary as a sort of weekly scoreboard. Programs receive funding and pastors and staff retain or lose their jobs based on whether attendance is rising or falling. Decisions for or against various ministries and programs are made based on the perception of how the popularity of those programs will affect attendance. The spiritual growth of the membership is generally not even something much considered and if it is, it is assumed that if attendance is rising so must the level of spiritual development, although how the two are actually related is unclear and never discussed. In practice, spiritual development is irrelevant unless it can somehow be shown to result in a direct increase in attendance. In fact, the purpose of every program and ministry is to increase attendance; attendance is the very reason that the church exists.

B stands for the Building Program. This is directly related to attendance. Once attendance rises beyond a certain point new facilities will be needed, therefore a prudent pastor will run a building program concurrently with programs designed to increase attendance rather than waiting until the inevitable need arises later. Therefore, churches are always trying to raise money to build a new building or are constructing a new building or else working to pay off the mortgage on the current building so that they can more readily raise money for the next expansion. Just as the quest to increase attendance never ends, neither does some sort of building program.

The C in the ABCs stands for cash. Cash is the link between attendance and the building program. Cash is the lifeblood of any building program and is provided by the attendees through the offering. Increase your attendance and you'll increase your cash. This will both provide the resources to complete your building program and provide a reason to begin a new program. Cash flow is the fuel for the engine that drives American Church-ianity.

We see from this that the purpose of the church is simply to exist, to provide a place for church attenders to attend. The building program provides the facilities and the cash provided by attenders in the offering makes it all possible in a sort of spiritual cycle of life.

Normally we don't put things in quite such stark terms. Church programs designed to increase attendance are usually dressed up in religious robes and referred to as "evangelism" or "reaching the lost" although we don't really want to "reach" the lost. We want them to attend church. The general assumption is that if we can just get them in the doors of the church on Sunday morning where the pastor can ambush them with the Gospel that the poor sinners won't stand a chance of resisting and will soon be full members tithing and supporting all those other fantastic programs of ours that are designed to snare their unchurched neighbors. Although if that doesn't work (and there's many a teenager or husband of an avid church member who's been dragged to church services for years with no obvious result) it hardly matters as long as they keep coming back. The pastor will just ambush 'em again next week.

This is, of course, why most sermons are evangelistic in subject. If the pews are always full of the unsaved week after week, you can hardly expect the pastor to preach on any sort of advanced or complicated doctrinal themes. And to avoid driving potential members (and tithers) away, most sermons are going to stick to how God loves you "just as you are." Any divine displeasure at our sin or hint that maybe we need to change our lives or repent in any way should be saved for a revival service so that people who don't want to hear that sort of thing can avoid it easily. Not that we'll provide any discipleship training or meaty Bible studies for the few overly emotional people who actually DO respond to our revival messages. They don't need to know about spiritual gifts or anything they can't get from a sermon or Sunday school anyway. They just need to tithe their full 10% and volunteer to support the existing church programs.

A warm body in a pew counts as attendance whether it wants to be here or not and regardless if it's learning anything or having its life transformed. We just count heads, not what's going on inside them, although we will track applications for membership, decisions for "Christ" and baptisms separately under the justifiable assumption that those individuals are more serious about their commitment to attending church than others, and are thus more likely to keep coming back each week.

All programs of the church are designed to directly support these ABCs. There may be a few minor exceptions, but such programs lack any significant support from the pastor and staff and will typically be run by some layman who has made it his personal baby. Such programs are permitted primarily as a "favor" to that fanatical layman by the church staff, and never survive once he or she leaves that church. But they rarely have any significant budget provided by the church treasury or active support from the pulpit and thus do not impede the active pursuit of the ABCs.

In this we must remember to distinguish between programs run by the church and other activities that may simply occur in the same facility. Remember: only programs originated and controlled by the church pastor and staff have any value. This is true because only professionals run those programs and only professionals can increase church attendance. An increase in attendance that will result in increased offerings that will enable us to build a bigger building so we can attract even more attendance and continue to grow is all that matters. This is the purpose that Christ established the Church in the beginning.

Now there are those negative influences who say that the church has other purposes other than to just exist. But if we examine those "purposes" and the ministries and programs that are put on supposedly to promote those purposes we will soon see that in the end all it comes down to is the ABCs. No program or ministry, no matter how well intended, will long endure that does not directly support one of the ABCs, and the vast majority of those programs that do exist are directly designed either to keep current attenders coming back or else to attract new interest. Serious Bible studies, systematic Christian education, discipleship training, mentoring or help for those in actual need in the community that doesn't attract or retain new members has no value and won't long survive, even if they are ever supported in the first place. Every successful program brings in more members and satisfies the needs of current attenders to keep them coming back.

Virtually everything the church does falls into this category: potlucks, song services, parenting classes, magic shows, "harvest" festivals, [because trick or treating is evil unless it's done at church] Christmas pageants, Easter-egg hunts, drama productions, fashion shows, craft bazaars, vacation Bible school, youth outings, pancake breakfasts, fellowship times, the list goes on and on. There will also be a few fund-raising suppers or raffles, and maybe a yard sale or missions banquet that might not technically fall into this category but those are designed mainly for raising cash, which is still one of the ABCs.

You might point to Sunday school and a few Bible studies as evidence that the church does actually support some programs that have a spiritual purpose, but that's a natural confusion. They only seem to be spiritual. Those programs are provided mostly as a source of fellowship for those who attend and to hold on to the few actual disciples of Jesus who are looking to gain a Biblical education. If you doubt this then consider: is there an overall goal to the education system of your church? Are Sunday school and the other Bible studies coordinated? Are students being led down a planned path of instruction toward a specific educational goal of learning what their spiritual gifts are and how to put them to use? Or are the available classes merely a smorgasbord of topics based mostly on the writings of currently popular "Christian" best-selling authors? The latest thing in Christian publishing beats using that dusty old Bible every time and has the added benefit of actually having a chance of being familiar to the students. After all, they may have seen it on the rack at the local Wal-mart.

In most churches the kids get a systematic curriculum designed to familiarize them with the more popular Bible stories that they're likely to encounter in the pastor's sermons. The published curriculums available never go more than skin deep and avoid doctrinal issues or anything more complicated than "God loves you" which is all a little kid needs to know, anyway.

[ _But kids grow up and "if you train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it." Besides, hearing the same 12 Bible stories over and over bores kids to tears and contributes directly to a loss of interest in the church as they get older. Teenagers ARE very interested in spiritual things, just look at the popularity of Harry Potter, Wicca and the occult. But they don't generally get much education of a spiritual nature from the church. This is why they leave and why Wicca is the fastest growing religion in America. They crave discipleship. What we give them are potlucks_.]

Somewhere about junior high this gives way to topical studies about current social problems like peer pressure, drugs and sex and rock and roll. Rarely is there ever any study of the Bible itself, doctrines, biblical history or much of anything beyond the minimum basics. And generally when studying we just pull out a verse or two that suits our purposes and then work that into a general exhortation to "be good" or "have faith" or something like that for about an hour or so. But don't get me wrong. That's more than adequate for the sheep in the pews. If they need to know anything more involved than that then the pastor will tell them in his sermon this Sunday. If God wanted us to understand the Bible he would have sent us all to Bible college.

### Chapter 2

### The Minister of Marketing

The purpose of every church is to increase its ABCs and the foundation of those ABCs is attendance. If attendance is rising the building program will be completed on schedule and cash flow will be positive. Attendance that is stagnant, or worse, declining, leads eventually to disaster, therefore the primary concern of the pastor and staff of every church must be how to increase attendance. Nothing else matters.

In the past we've have ministers of evangelism, of visitation, or of youth and other sorts of staff persons dedicated to other particular ministries. I suggest that it is more appropriate these days to have a Minister of Marketing. (Although in most churches the minister of evangelism performs basically the same function.) [ _And yes, the church I served on the board of ministries had a Minister of Marketing_.]

The duties of the minister of marketing would be to coordinate all the ministries of the church for maximum effectiveness in the purpose of attracting the "unchurched " of the surrounding community. [ _Note that the term used is always "unchurched" and never "unChristed." We're interested in getting them to attend church. Whether they have any actual relationship with Christ has little or nothing to do with it_ .]

Chief among these duties would be to determine why those people aren't attending church, find out what it will take to get them to attend and then provide that for them. There are many ways to do this and many progressive churches these days are engaging market research or polling organizations to determine the answers to those questions. Finding such answers is vitally important because as times change and society becomes more attuned to a post-modern philosophy it becomes vitally important that the church change with the times. Otherwise we risk leaving an ever-growing segment of the population outside the church. We must discover what it is that the local non-believers want in a church so we can transform the church to become appealing to them.

Now, I understand that some negative thinkers at this point are going to be quoting verses like Romans 12:2 [ _"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."_ ] but doing that will simply leave millions of potential attenders outside the walls of the church, unable to enjoy the benefits that we provide and making their potential tithes unavailable to the church for doing good works, like our building program. Because you know that left in the hands of individuals money cannot be used for the purposes of God. Individuals, after all, can never do anything spiritual on their own. It all has to be filtered through the local church.

Yes, following the advice of a few musty old scripture passages is simply a recipe for failure. We'd be working against the very goal of the church, which is increasing attendance. Without increased attendance the Gospel will not be spread, the church will not grow, our building programs will not be completed and the Kingdom of God [ _in other words, "The Church_ ] will not progress. Because obviously the Gospel can only be spread by the pastor during church services on Sunday morning.

This is exactly why the current "contemporary versus traditional" worship service issue is so important. The bottom line basic requirement to increase attendance is to give people what they want. Any argument by "negative thinkers" that the church leadership should lead the people to where they ought to be is a recipe for disaster. When Moses tried to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land against their will it caused all sorts of problems and for us it's even worse. Moses didn't have to worry about the Israelites leaving his tribe to join a different one up the street! As long as we are competing with other churches for a limited pool of attenders we need to emphasize the activities that will maximize our attendance. We should not waste our time, talents and treasure on activities that have only spiritual value but do not directly increase attendance.

For some churches attracting an older clientele through traditional services is the best marketing strategy. For others, attracting the youth through a contemporary service makes more sense. Most churches seem to try a combination of both, although experiments in blending the two styles during the same service seem only to dissatisfy everyone. It's better to simply have two separate services, but the basic, bottom line to achieving church growth is: give the people what they want.

With this in mind what other sort of programs and ministries should we promote? Keep in mind that the people who aren't attending church are not attending because they don't see anything in it for them. In New Testament times the church was made up of actual Christians, people who had become disciples of Jesus, who'd given themselves to Him as a "living sacrifice " and who sought a direct personal relationship with him. [ _Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service_.]

Unbelievers did not attend church and weren't expected to. The church was a place for disciples (or religious fanatics, as we'd call them today) to study the Bible and to coordinate their own acts of charity and good works in the community.

The modern church in America is not like this at all. It's full mostly of people who think that the socially responsible thing for "good Christians" to do on Sunday morning is "go to church." _["Good Christians" being defined as people who go to church on Sunday morning_.] A majority of the people in the pews on any given Sunday rarely participate in any other church activities and generally have not even bothered to make the lip service "profession of faith" encouraged by evangelical churches. A sprinkling of them might also believe in a bit of Bible study (or attending a Sunday school class, anyway) but the majority of them are perfectly content with a short sermon after their snack during fellowship time. The trick to maximizing your ABCs is to provide the programs and ministries that those people can use to attract their friends and neighbors and increase your attendance without adding too many hardcore "Christian" activities that might turn them off.

For example, Bible studies are bad. Unbelievers aren't interested in the Bible and the people who are already attending don't need it. They get all the Bible knowledge they ever need from the pastor's sermons. Any fanatics should be satisfied with a short Sunday school lesson that the church can control and ensure that nothing controversial gets discussed. (Not because it might be heretical but because it might offend someone who might then stop attending.)

Parenting seminars, craft fairs and potlucks are the kinds of things you need to direct your efforts into. These are not seen as "boring" or narrowly religious in focus. Dramas and musical extravaganzas are especially appropriate since they provide an outlet for the artistic talents of those in the surrounding community while at the same time providing the church with free labor for an otherwise "big budget" extravaganza. This makes your cash go further while at the same time building up an incentive for them to continue attendance with their new-found co-workers – everybody wins!

Community service projects can be effective, especially a holiday food drive or campaigns against cancer or other diseases. Participating in cancer walks or providing food for the homeless during the holidays are popular and give people a feeling of having "done something good." But avoid projects that actually require any personal sacrifice or concerted effort on the part of your parishioners. They don't want to actually FEED those smelly and creepy homeless people, especially if it means that they might have to come in contact with them. Doing the sort of things that Jesus himself recommended in the Bible such as feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and people in prison are not the fun sort of things that are going to attract middle or upper-class unbelievers into attending your church. [ _Read Matthew 25:29-46 IN CONTEXT and see how it applies to the Church today._ ]

You need to avoid anything that might actually be effective at meeting the needs of the people in your community that are actually in need. You don't want to attract THOSE people to your church. The hungry don't have money to finish your building program. The sick are not going to be available to provide the free labor every church relies upon to staff its programs. And visiting convicted felons in prison? If they get released and start coming to your church they'll have an absolutely terrible affect on attendance. What middle-class "nice Christian" person wants to associate with people like that? The only thing worse are tax collectors and sinners!

Regardless of what Christ may have said in the scriptures, you need to base the ministries and programs of your church on what your neighborhood non-Christians want to see in a church. The slogan of the modern Minister of Marketing is "be ye conformed to the image of the world." That's how we'll bring the Gospel to that world. Although we'll have to slip it in, watered down and in miniscule doses because they won't want to hear it otherwise, but anything that increases church attendance is good, even if it contradicts scripture or goes against the teachings of Christ.

### Chapter 3

### "Church" as a spectator sport – Why you can't let laymen run church ministries

On Sunday morning people come to church to see a show. They come primarily to be entertained, to sing a few happy songs and hear an uplifting sermon about how much God loves them. They don't show up intending to work or to study anything difficult. The Bible says that we're supposed to rest on the Sabbath anyway. [ _Although the pastor and his staff "work" on Sunday and the Bible clearly states that the Sabbath is Saturday anyhow. See Exodus 20:8-11_.] And you certainly can't expect people to pay into the offering plate for the privilege of attending if you're also going to expect them to do anything more substantial than pass out bulletins or rinse out the coffee urn after donut time. Church really is a spectator sport. After all, we hold Promise Keepers rallies and evangelistic crusades in sports stadiums, don't we? It's the same principle as professional football: twenty-thousand people in the stands watching but there's hardly more than a couple of dozen down on the field who ever actually get their hands on the ball. Now, you'd think from all that Jesus and the early disciples said about all Christians being members of the same body and any individual parts not being more important than another and each of us having a spiritual gift and putting it to use for the Kingdom that they meant that we ALL ought to be down on the field playing, but this is not correct.

First, only the professional clergy has the training necessary to perform professional ministry. They went to Bible college. The rest of us only went to Sunday school.

[ _Although neither Christ nor any of his disciples ever went to Bible college either. In fact the vast majority of the authors of the books of the Bible never had professional religious training, the few exceptions being Paul, Ezra and Samuel. God has stated numerous times in scripture that He is able to use anyone who makes themselves available. We are the only ones who look at people and say, "sorry, God can't use someone like you." And maybe if most of what passes for Sunday school lessons consisted of actual Bible study rather than merely discussing passages out of the latest "Christian" best seller we might actually become effective_.]

But the most important reason you have to leave ministry in the hands of the professionals is because everything in church has to be done in a professional manner. Attenders paid good money (well, at least a couple of bucks anyway) into the offering to participate in a quality production and if the lights or the sound or the music aren't up to standard, well, they'll be in somebody else's church next Sunday who can maintain professional standards. This is why you have to be wary about allowing laymen (otherwise known as amateurs) to run any sort of ministry. You just can't trust 'em. If they screw something up, it's the professional staff who'll have to pay the price in damage to their reputations and then have to make up the resulting decline in attendance.

Laymen need to understand that their purpose in the church is to provide the free manpower to perform all the mundane tasks the staff needs done that would otherwise cost money to hire someone to do. Having to pay people requires money that could otherwise be used for the building program, and a lot of what we allow the laymen to do for us isn't the kind of thing that really needs doing anyway, like passing an offering plate, shaking hands at the door of the sanctuary, and handing out donuts and coffee rather than just leaving them as self-serve. These things are pointless but they give the sheep something to do that will make them feel as if they've actually accomplishing something. They'll go home thinking to themselves "I served the God of the Universe today by handing out bulletins instead of just letting people pick them up off a table." It'll give them a nice happy feeling without actually requiring them to do anything that they might screw up. There's no preparation or study required and best of all, if they don't feel like showing up some Sunday, it really doesn't matter. Nobody is going to become irate and think poorly of your service if you only had three people handing out bulletins instead of four. It's the perfect ministry for laymen.

[ _Why else would we hold auditions for the "praise team?" Apparently God won't accept our praise unless it's done in a professional manner, although I don't see this in scripture anywhere either_.]

Of course, as the church grows, we can add more staff and the goal is to place as much as we can into the hands of the paid, professional staff. You want to maximize the use of your staff and minimize the things the laymen do so they can't mess them up. Besides, the more staff you have, the more actual ministries your church can perform and the more attendance you'll attract, which will increase giving, the budget and then the number of staff in a virtuous circle.

To accomplish labor intensive but mundane tasks in any given church about 20% of your congregation can be guilted into doing 80% of the volunteering. This is usually more than adequate. You can load those people up with all sorts of unpleasant jobs that need doing, freeing your staff up for more important tasks. If you run short of volunteers, then preach a sermon about how they're all supposed to be servants. [ _This, of course, only applies to the sheeple in the pews and NOT to the church pastor or staff who are the ones the rest of us are supposed to be serving._ ]

Set these people to work preparing for or cleaning up after potlucks, sunrise services, drama productions, and other big events. You can use these people for ushers, to man the information booth, as cleaners, servers and in other routine "service" tasks that require a warm body but no special training. And with a little preparation you can even have them fill in as Sunday School teachers or vacation Bible school volunteers. All they'll really need to do for those is show up on time and read from prepared texts, so pretty much anybody with a pulse can serve.

Remember, no spiritual gifts are required for any of these tasks. The whole question of spiritual gifts is irrelevant anyway for anyone who hasn't been to Bible college. Without a diploma or an ordination they'll never get a chance to do anything that might involve a spiritual gift anyway so why even discuss the matter? And if any "negative" people bring up the issue just remind them that "hospitality" is one of the spiritual gifts and that shaking hands or passing out donuts is showing hospitality. And anyhow, teaching is another gift, so that means that volunteers who teach can be said to be using that spiritual gift.

Not that we ever check to see if they actually have the gift of teaching before using them to fill a teaching slot. All we need for that is a warm body who can read from a prepared text. Anyone who can actually teach and who might therefore be temped to prepare his own lessons or depart from the published material is just going to cause problems, so we're better off using poorly educated volunteers who are more familiar with the published material than their own Bibles and won't be tempted to ask embarrassing questions or argue.

Another advantage to using prepared materials from reputable Christian publishing houses (especially denominational ones) is that we can count on them not bringing up any issue that might rock the boat. The lessons will be carefully crafted to avoid controversial issues and not to raise questions that might become difficult to answer, especially any challenges to the church leadership, doctrine or the status quo.

Remember, the Bible is NOT provided to laymen as a guide to correct doctrine, for reproof, for correction, or for instruction in righteousness. [ _As Second Timothy 3:16 says_.] It is NOT provided to equip the Man of God for good works. [ _As Second Timothy 3:17 says_.] It's merely a prop for the especially zealous layman to carry on Sunday morning to demonstrate his superior commitment to the Kingdom . [ _And again, "kingdom" should always be understood to actually mean "church."]_

Try not to allow unsupervised Bible studies, especially when they're not following a professionally prepared text. That sort of thing just leads to staff members having to have personal conversations with negative thinkers to set their thinking straight after they've read something on their own in the Bible and then begin to take it literally. Left uncorrected the next thing you know they'll start a home Bible study and begin ministering to the local community on their own. Too much of this and attendance will suffer and the programs of the Church will lack volunteers, so it's better to nip this sort of thing in the bud before your sheep begin to stray.

### Chapter 4

### Cheap Grace: Trading life transformation for a "get out of Hell free" card.

One obstacle to attracting our unchurched neighbors is our insistence on their acceptance of the Gospel. Requiring ANYTHING can be seen as exclusive and many people are not attracted to the church because of this, but I will show you how to get around this obstacle.

First, we need to make it clear to people that in spite of what Jesus said about the way to life being narrow and difficult [ _Mat 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."_ ] he was just exaggerating. There's really nothing difficult about it at all. You don't need to change your life. No actual repentance or transformation is involved and if this doesn't seem correct to you it's because you've been reading the Bible instead of listening to sermons.

If you listen to the sermons in most American churches it is constantly repeated that the whole of the Gospel can be summed up entirety in four points:

### * * *

1-Mankind is sinful. As proof we quote Romans 3:23. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [sic]"

2-God can't allow sinners into Heaven. [ _Notice that they never say that sinners will go to Hell, but only that they won't be allowed into Heaven. Mentioning Hellfire today is just too negative_.] Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

3-But Christ died for sinners. Our proof verse is the infamous John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

4-All we have to do is "accept Jesus" by praying a little prayer and we can be saved. Romans 10:9: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

### * * *

This is the sum and total of the Gospel and rarely is anything further ever mentioned of what the Christian life might consist of beyond reciting that prayer, probably because nothing much really is expected other than regular church attendance. No repentance is necessary; God forgives us for all our sins as soon as we say those magic words, so there's obviously no need to give any of them up. Discipleship is an activity for fanatics, not something meant for every Christian. And anyway, having salvation consist of anything beyond a simple prayer would adversely affect attendance.

[ _Although Acts 11:26 indicates that originally the word "Christian" was synonymous with being a disciple of Jesus, in modern practice "disciples" are religious fanatics on the fringe of the "Christian" mainstream and "discipleship" is an activity for those training for leadership positions_.]

And I am ignoring baptism as a requirement since many churches don't insist on it and in the few who do it's more of a formality like insisting that people walk down to the front of the church at the end of the service to recite the prayer of Salvation. After all, it's a known fact that nothing spiritual can ever take place outside a church building or other than during an officially approved church service conducted by an ordained minister, preferably on Sunday Morning between 8:45 and noon.

But why would anyone even bother with anything further? Well, some negative thinkers occasionally make trouble by quoting various scriptures such as Matthew 7:13 (Christ said that we should judge a man by his fruit, i.e. "works"), Matthew 10:38 (that following Christ means taking up our cross.) Matthew 13:1-23, and 25:29-46, as well as the entire book of James that says that doing good works is what actually demonstrates our faith. [ _Ephesians 2:8-10: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,_ _created in Christ Jesus unto good works_ _, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." We don't do good works to earn our salvation but because we are obedient to God. This teaching is worth a study all by itself but is completely lacking in modern evangelical churches. I urge you to check Acts 17:10-12 for yourself and see if what I say is true.]_ But regardless of what the Bible and Jesus said, those teachings ARE ABSOLUTELY FALSE. All that being a Christian consists of is reciting that prayer and then attending church regularly. I know this because Pastor Rob told me so.

And most likely your pastor has said the same thing. I've grown up in the church and heard literally hundreds of sermons and read dozens of tracts that stress over and over again that ALL one EVER has to do to be a Christian is just recite that little prayer, so it must be true, regardless of what the Bible says about repentance, transformation and good works.

[ _See Romans chapter 12 or James chapter two for a refutation of this._ ] Obviously without a degree from a Bible college we're not adequate to interpret scripture on our own, especially if what we find directly contradicts something taught by the pastor or his staff.

Remember: there are two kinds of Christians: shepherds, and their sheep. [ _Although some consider the deacons, elders and other such "senior" laymen to be the sheepdogs since they keep the sheep in line under the guidance of the pastor, the head shepherd_.] Regardless that Christ never referred to anyone but himself as the shepherd [ _References include: Matthew 9:36, 25:32, 26:31, Mark 6:34, 14:27, John 10:2, 11-16, Hebrews 13:20, 1 Peter 2:25, 1 Peter 5:4. Again, don't take my word for it; see for yourself_.] and taught that his followers were all equal, [ _Matthew 23:8 "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren."_ ] the pastor and staff are ordained by God and it is not for the likes of us to act as a check or balance for them, regardless of what you might think from the doctrine of the so-called "priesthood of believers" or warnings in the Bible by Christ himself and various apostles to be on guard against wolves and false teachers. [ _See other warnings in Matthew 7:15 and Acts 20:29._ ] The Bible may say that there is no one standing between us and Christ but in fact everyone knows that through their ordination the pastor or a member of his staff is not only more spiritual than any layman, even one who has been a Christian longer than the youth pastor may have even been alive, but that God is more likely to listen to their prayers than to one of ours. After all, isn't this why we feel the need to have the pastor pray for us if we're having especially bad problems?

[ _Even though James 5:16 tells us all to "pray for one another."_ ]

Unlike the Catholic Church, who must share a single Pope between thousands of local churches, American Protestant churches each have their own infallible source who stands in the pulpit weekly dispensing the latest revelations from God. And if his conduct or message contradict or ignore scripture it's not for the likes of us to challenge the Lord's anointed.

### Chapter 5

### The Worship Service: The Ultimate Sacrament.

But there is one thing that is required of Christians besides just reciting the Prayer of Salvation: church attendance. You can be "saved" and attend Sunday School and all the Bible studies you like and volunteer for every sort of ministry but if you don't show up on Sunday morning for the worship service at least once a month or so, then, well, I can't really pin down a scripture reference and nobody will ever actually say that you could lose your salvation, but not attending the worship services is a BAD THING. You'll get talked to. The deacons will visit you. The pastor himself might even give you a call. [ _They might not visit you if you're sick or having financial problems but they'll definitely visit you if you stop coming to the worship service._ ]

In the Catholic Church annual participation in the sacrament of the Mass is the minimum act required to maintain your salvation. In American Protestant churches it is attending the weekly worship service. Just as long as a Catholic manages to attend mass once a year they maintain their standing, and as long as one of our church members manages to attend the worship service on Christmas or Easter he can at least avoid becoming part of the vast unwashed masses of the "unchurched" that are considered our domestic mission field.

If you miss Sunday school you might get a call from an especially zealous teacher. (Maybe.) If you miss the Wednesday night service or the prayer service or Sunday evening nobody will probably even notice. Half the congregation never shows up for those anyway. But you HAVE to be there on Sunday morning. Otherwise, well, nobody ever says your salvation depends on it, but it's always sort of implied that as long as you show up for that one service at least once in a while, your "fire insurance" will remain current. The regulars may look down upon those who merely make a cameo appearance on Christmas and Easter, but even those people are still considered part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Attendance of the worship service is the only thing the church leadership ever checks up on and this demonstrates our priorities. As long as people are attending semi-regularly nobody will bother them, especially if they achieve the double-whammy of also attending Sunday school. Then they're a spiritual heavy hitter and will soon be urged to join the ranks of the 20% of the sheep who man the programs of the church staff, which is probably why nobody but die-hards shows up regularly for Sunday school.

Thus it is the worship service that provides the church with its reason for existing. It is the only service that cannot be performed by any other Christian group.

And as long as we maintain that the worship service is the highest purpose for Christians to attain to, and treat it as the ultimate sacrament, as something required regularly of every Christian to maintain his "fire insurance," we can continue to successfully defend the church against encroachments by home "churches" and other parachurch ministries that seek to undermine our existence by "sheep stealing" and eroding our customer base. Regardless what else they may do in spreading the Gospel, promoting discipleship and spreading Biblical literacy, the existence of these groups provides an alternative to the church worship service and is therefore bad. We MUST remind people that if they don't attend a REAL church (at least once in a while) that they can and will lose their salvation.

As proof I cite the primary doctrine of Dispensationalism and the pre-tribulation rapture: that when Christ returns he raptures the Church, not individual Christians. Therefore according to these teachings without active membership in the church you cannot be saved. You will not be raptured and you can't go to heaven.

So you better show up in church on Sunday morning.

[ _This is, of course, completely false and there are enough holes in the pre-tribulation rapture theory to drive a truckload of Swiss cheese through, but you'd never know that if all you ever hear is people quoting Hal Lindsey. But this book is large enough already without tackling that issue. I suggest that you read_ _Jesus is Only Coming Twice_ _or another accurate source of information about the Rapture and the Second Coming and find out the truth for yourself. Just as a teaser you might look up 1 Corinthians 15:52, a verse that is always quoted to refer to the Rapture and then ask yourself when the Last Trumpet occurs: at the beginning or the end of the Tribulation? But don't take my word, or Hal Lindsey's – read the Bible for yourself. That's why God gave it to us_.

_The pre-tribulation rapture theory originated about 1820 with the Plymouth Brethren, a group of renegade Anglicans, not from Christ, his apostles or the Bible, in spite of what Hal Lindsey says_.]

### Chapter 6

### Christ is the head of the Church...

### Just like the Queen of England is a head of state.

Now, some people may disagree with that statement but we can determine the truth of the matter easily just by observing how churches actually operate. Whenever a policy, program or decision of the church leadership doesn't measure up with scripture, do we reconsider our action? Of course not. We generally don't even consider scripture or the scriptural reason (if any) behind our programs and procedures. Why would we?

Everything we do at church is done in the name of Jesus. We quote scripture to prove that Christ is the head of the Church. [ _Ephesians 5:23, Col 1:18._ ] We post pictures of him in our Sunday school rooms and look forward to his return to rapture "his" Church. But in the meantime he has about as much actual effect on our policies and procedures as Colonel Sanders currently has on what goes on in the kitchen of your local KFC.

Christ in Matthew 16:24 says to each of us "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Yet after we chant that Prayer of Salvation, and Christ has done his bit, everything after that is all about the church.

If you doubt this then let's compare some of Christ's commands from scripture with what we actually do in the church and see who is really in charge: Jesus the Holy Figurehead or our REAL shepherd in the pulpit.

Christ taught that when he returns he expects his disciples to have put the gifts and talents he has entrusted to them to use.

### * * *

Matthew 25:31-46 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: (32) and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; (33) and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. (34) Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; (36) naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? (38) And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? (39) And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. (41) Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: (42) for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; (43) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. (44) Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. (46) And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.

### * **

When Christ said feed the hungry he meant potlucks. He couldn't have meant feeding actual hungry homeless people who are going to go to sleep tonight with no food in their bellies unless we feed them because most churches don't provide food for people like that and if that's what Jesus really meant, we would. (Wouldn't we?) And the part about clothing the naked and visiting the sick and those in prison, well, that's what we have Pastor Bobby for. Christ couldn't have meant for "ordinary" Christians to do this. [ _Are there "ordinary" Christians? Only if you consider there to be two classes: the clergy and the rest of the sheep_.] Who has the time for things like that? (And anyhow, sick people are icky.)

All that talk about disobedient people going to eternal punishment means the unchurched. Church people have fire insurance so it can't apply to us. Otherwise what's the point of reciting the Prayer of Salvation?

### * * *

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

### * * *

This is another example of Jesus not understanding reality. How hard can salvation be if the only thing it consists of is reciting a little prayer? The road to church membership is easy and broad is the way that leads there.

### * * *

Matthew 7:15-23 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

### * * *

Somebody needs to explain to Jesus that works has no place in the Christian life. Everything is based on faith and faith alone and anybody who teaches otherwise is spreading teachings that are against Church doctrine.

[ _Exactly. The question is: who should we believe, Christ or the Pastor and his staff?]_

### * * *

James 2:14-26 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? (15) If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, (16) And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? (17) Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (18) Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. (19) Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (20) But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (21) Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (22) Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? (23) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. (24) Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. (25) Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? (26) For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

### * * *

Well, that reference doesn't count anyway, it's from James, and is not the words of Christ at all. So just disregard this and pretty much the whole book of Hebrews, too. People rarely preach from those anyhow (and certainly not to encourage good works), so most people will only hear that concerning faith and works all you have to do is pray those magic words to be saved once and forever. All this talk by Christ and the apostles about actually taking up your cross and living your faith will just turn people off. This is why you won't hear some of Jesus' more wacky sayings featured in a Sunday sermon and why a lesson series on "the meaning of Christmas" is preferred to actually studying the Book of James.

### * * *

Matthew 13:1-23 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. (2) And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. (3) And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; (4) And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: (5) Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: (6) And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (7) And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: (8) But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. (9) Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (10) And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? (11) He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (12) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. (13) Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. (14) And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: (15) For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. (17) For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. (18) Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. (19) When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. (20) But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; (21) Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. (22) He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. (23) But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

### * * *

This whole Parable of the Sower is misunderstood. You'd think from just reading the whole thing in context out of the Bible that the main point that Christ was trying to get across was that the successful seed that actually took root reproduced itself and produced more fruit. But that interpretation leads to thinking that Christians are actually expected to produce good works. This is, of course, unreasonable and against church teachings that all one EVER has to do is recite the Prayer of Salvation. Obviously we must reject anything that goes against church doctrine, even scripture. You can see that this is a lot easier if the issue never comes up so staff need to be aware of these passages so as to avoid using them in lessons or sermons. Let sleeping dogs, or in this case, sleeping sheep, lie.

[ _Ephesians 2:8-10: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus_ _unto good works_ _, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them_ _._ ]

### * * *

Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: (20) teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. ASV

### * * *

You might think from reading this that discipleship training was the entire point of Christianity and that every Christian should be involved in his own discipleship training and in mentoring other disciples but here Christ is speaking to his eleven disciples, therefore, he meant this command only for the professional clergy, [ _Even though there WAS no professional class of clergy at that time, unless you count the Pharisees who were no more friendly to Christ's ideas then than they are today_.] and anyhow, "all nations" really means "all OTHER nations" so this actually pertains only to professional missionaries in foreign countries. If you doubt me then ask a ministry professional whether discipleship training is a necessary and required part of the Christian life. Most of them are going to tell you that it's just optional and even the ones who don't will be hard pressed to demonstrate how the programs of their church form any sort of coordinated system of discipleship training.

[ _Because they don't. Discipleship training is just another program, usually not considered any more or less important than a men's pancake breakfast or parenting seminar and is usually attended about as consistently_.]

### * * *

2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

### * * *

Again, this is another passage that simply creates confusion. You'd think from reading this that Paul is suggesting that Christians need to study scripture until they become as competent as a master craftsman. Something like that takes a lot more time and effort than the measly hour or two a week the average sheep in the pew might devote to it, even if he actually spent all of that time studying scripture and not fellowshipping, singing and having the church announcements read to him.

No, Paul here is talking to Timothy, a ministry professional. What this passage says is for pastors and their staff to study the Bible until they achieve mastery (or at least a master's degree.) The sheeple in the pews don't need to take this passage too seriously.

After all, do we promote Bible studies designed to make the students into "competent workmen who needeth not to be ashamed?" Or do our churches simply offer a smorgasbord of classes designed to titillate the curious? Do we have a recommended curriculum offered to our membership with a goal of graduating a complete, fully equipped disciple? [ _2 Timothy 3:17_ ]

Or is it merely a hodge-podge of book studies of popular Christian authors on topics like the Rapture, life after death and The Da Vinci Code or whatever the latest hot property currently happens to be?

### Chapter 7

### Unifying a diversified Church

A common problem among American churches these days is a lack of unity. We've all heard the proverbial story about the church that split over the color of the carpet. Nothing kills a church faster than disunity and that's exactly the fate we want to avoid.

In any secular organization unity is a product of a shared common goal. When the members of an organization share a common goal and a common means to reach that goal they have unity. But like a lot of things, what's true in the "real" world is NOT true in church-ianity. Church unity has nothing to do with a shared goal. [ _It should, but the way "unity" is now defined it doesn't_.]

Some people come to church because that's what they've been taught that good people are supposed to do on Sunday morning. Others come because their friends come, or because their wives or parents drag them. Some come from curiosity or because they have a spiritual need that they're trying to fill. A few even come because they want to become better disciples. When you get that mob together on a Sunday morning, all coming together separately for all sorts of completely different reasons it's no surprise that they lack unity. Arguing, bickering and disunity in church? It's a wonder you don't have a riot.

But the solution to this is NOT a common goal. How could people attending for such different reasons EVER have a common goal? [ _Unless they all became transformed into true disciples of Jesus instead of passive church attenders_.] No, the solution to a lack of unity in the church is to redefine the problem. Unity does not have anything to do with goals or purposes. Modern American churches have redefined unity to mean a lack of conflict.

### * * *

Ignorance is bliss

The way to avoid conflict - uh, I meant achieve unity - is to avoid having anything to fight about. Water your church doctrine down until there's nothing left for anybody to fight over. Avoid any dogmatic positions. If the denomination overlooks homosexual pastors, don't talk about it. Don't preach on culturally sensitive issues like a wife's subjection to her husband or how the Bible and Jesus both condemn divorce. Stay away from potentially divisive issues like the post-tribulation rapture. If anybody brings it up just dismiss it by saying "but our salvation doesn't depend on believing one way or the other." The same argument basically works if anybody brings up ANYTHING that might be potentially controversial. Remember, if you want to be "successful" the primary focus of the church HAS to remain attendance. If you get bogged down in questions of doctrine or investigating what the Bible actually says or what Christ really taught then you risk alienating potential members, and after all, what difference does it make if you harbor a few people with unscriptural lifestyles or beliefs? Half the people in the pews aren't saved anyway so what difference does it matter if your church leadership is ignorant and/or living an outright rebellious lifestyle. God will forgive anybody anything, right? It's not like we have to repent or try to follow Christ's example, after all. Expecting conformity to Biblical principles is not a very loving attitude to have.

Love means never disagreeing

If any disputes do arise preach a sermon about love. "Love bears all things" means it puts up with anything, even apostasy and false teachings. After all, didn't Christ show love to everyone at all times no matter what?

[ _Matthew 23:23-33 "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites..." See also Matthew 21:12 where Jesus also deals with the moneychangers in the temple in a "loving and considerate" way using a big stick_.]

"Judge not, that you may not be judged," is right out of the Bible, isn't it? So we should never judge anyone for anything no matter what. If a pastor wants to marry another man, God forgives him, why shouldn't we? If a married couple in the church wants a divorce, it's really none of our business. Holding anyone to any sort of standard is just divisive. To appeal to the greatest number of people we have to water our doctrine down as much as possible, after all, it's the example of our loving and acceptant lifestyle that will lead those people to Christ (and church membership), not the heavy hand of the Holy Spirit convicting them of sin.

The unforgivable sin

The only sin we cannot accept is disagreement with the church leadership. That's the only thing that's dangerous enough to require church discipline because left unresolved disagreement always leads to trouble.

Anyone questioning the church leadership is asking for trouble. They may quote Matthew 7:15, Acts 20:29 or Second Timothy chapter three about watching out for wolves and false teachers, but looking out for wolves is not the job of the sheep in the pews. That's the job for the shepherd and his sheepdogs, the pastor and his staff. [ _But who watches the watchmen?_ ] The sheep just need to be quiet and accept what they're told.

If they don't there's a model of how to deal with troublemakers in the church. No, I'm not talking about the passage in 1Cornthians 5:1-13 that says to cast sinners who refuse to repent out of the church. That's just crazy talk, even if it is in the Bible. You start kicking people out because they don't meet your standards and the next thing you know there's not going to be anybody left in the pews. And how will you pay the church mortgage then? [Or maybe people will start to repent and take God's commandments seriously.]

Nor do I mean the one presented in Matthew 18:15-17 where Christ says how to deal with disputes in the church, which says basically the same thing.

No, the model we use is the one from the Amish. First, we'll go to the person involved and tell him that he needs to be more loving and not oppose the leadership. (Remember that blatant and unrepentant sin in a person's life is not really a problem. But complaining about or disagreeing with the church leadership is.) But if he refuses we won't kick him out of the church. That goes against the whole concept of the ABCs (which is why we won't make an issue of unrepentant public sin or doctrinal beliefs that are against scripture and our statement of faith.) No, instead we shun him. Spread a few rumors about what a troublemaker he is but don't, of course, actually address the issue, after all you don't want to actually deal with it, just shut him up. Letting the problem simmer underneath where nobody sees is much better than creating actual unity by addressing and correcting the problem. That sort of thing might cause hurt feelings.

With enough sermons on how love is blind, deaf and dumb either he'll get the message and shape up, or he'll become fed up with being treated as a pariah and ship out.

Either way the problem is solved.

### Chapter 8

### Discipleship is overrated

Jesus said take up your cross and that the road to heaven is narrow and difficult – but he was exaggerating. How difficult can it be if all there is to being a Christian is mumbling a simple prayer and then attending the worship service more or less regularly? [ _Kind of makes you wonder what it was that Christ was referring to then, doesn't it?_ ]

People misunderstand what Christ meant when he said to make disciples. When Christ says in Matthew 28:19 to "go and make disciples of all the nations" he's speaking only of foreign missions. "All the nations" really means "all the OTHER nations." This means foreign missionaries. Obviously America is not a foreign nation so we don't really need to make disciples here.

But even though being a disciple is optional that means that it's still okay to be a disciple. There's nothing wrong with it, as long as you don't take it too far. Back in New Testament times disciples were different than they are now. For example, from Matthew 28 it appears that Christ wanted all his followers to be and to recruit more disciples.

### * * *

Matthew 28:19-20

(19) Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the [other] nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:

(20) teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

### * * *

The word "Christian" was originally coined in Antioch as a derogatory term for disciples of Jesus, demonstrating that originally "Christian" and "disciple" were thought of as being the same thing.

### * * *

Acts 11:26

... and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

### * * *

This would seem to indicate that ALL Christians should be disciples, not just a chosen handful. And since the original disciples of Christ were Biblically well-educated and all had spiritual gifts that they put to use ministering to their communities it would seem to mean then that all Christians today should also seek to become Biblically well-educated, understand their spiritual gift and to use it to minister to their own communities. This would mean that the proper role of the church would be to assist in the Biblical education, training and ministries of its members.

But we know that this cannot be true because that flies in the face of everything that the church as we know it now stands for. People come to church to see a professional religious show, not to get their lives transformed, become educated or develop their spiritual gifts. Real Christians can only use their spiritual gifts after being professionally trained in a seminary. Only professionally trained full-time experts supported by the church can put their gifts to use. You can't expect the church to support just anybody's ministries, can you? [ _Full-time professional support is obviously unrealistic, but that's not what happened in New Testament times and not what I'm suggesting here, either. There are plenty of non-profit organizations that are run entirely by part-time volunteers that make good examples._ ]

Sheep don't have ministries. Their purpose is to be ministered to, not to minister to others. All those passages where Jesus says for his followers to be servants are referring to the sheep being unpaid servants to the pastor and his staff.

And laymen don't need much of any serious Biblical training anyway. After all, they're only going to need enough to understand one hour-long sermon a week (if that). Because of these facts we've redefined the definition of "Disciple" in the modern American church to mean "someone who attends every week, tithes his FULL 10% [ _This item is VERY important. You can't expect professional results without the money to pay for it, after all_ ] and volunteers whenever and wherever the pastor and his staff need a volunteer for something.

And with all that we demand of our "disciples" as far as volunteering is concerned, what layman has the time to do any serious Bible study or develop their spiritual gifts anyway? They've got to be available to pass out bulletins before church and clean out the coffee urn afterwards. There are communion cups that need filling, foyers that need vacuuming, information booths that need staffing, babies in the nursery that need changing, seats in the choir loft that need filling, pot lucks that need to be cooked for and cleaned up after, "teacher" slots in VBS that need holding down, there's drama productions, mid-week visitation (you don't think the church staff can waste their valuable time in door-to-door sales, do you?) and all the other events and programs that we need volunteers for. What's the good of being a shepherd if you don't have a herd to direct?

Being a disciple in the New Testament definition of the term goes directly against everything the church currently stands for. That kind of disciple looks to Jesus for leadership, not the church. He studies the Bible because he desires to know the mysteries of God. He's other-oriented and seeks an outlet to serve those in need in his community, because of his sympathy for their NEED, not with any thought of how it might attract them to attend the local church. He sees the Lost as people who need the transforming power of Jesus, not as warm bodies and wallets to be manipulated for the "greater good."

That kind of "disciple" is Trouble in the modern American church. He asks too many questions, is never satisfied with just a Sunday school circular and a donut and is likely to buttonhole the pastor or staff after a sermon or Bible lesson and ask for clarification on doctrinal points that might turn sticky. But generally we can keep them bogged down volunteering for so many programs that they won't have enough time to get into much mischief.

Always make sure that you have as many programs running as possible. This will keep those pesky people who take their discipleship seriously too busy to make trouble for you and the more you offer, the more attractive your church is to potential attenders. People like to see that a church makes choices available even if most of them don't bother to do much more than just attend the worship service and get their ticket punched for Heaven. You need to offer a full range of ministries for every age group or you just aren't a full-service church.

### Chapter 9

### Why America doesn't appreciate the Church.

If you're not angry by now you ought to be, either at the church for making you a victim of spiritual embezzlement, or at me for mocking their teachings. But are the words I've put into the mouths of the leadership of American churches really any different from the things they actually do? All I've done is reveal the thinking behind their actions. All I am is the little boy pointing out that the emperor has no clothes.

The question is: what are you going to do about it? Squawk and condemn me as a troublemaker? Or go get some clothes for the poor guy?

### * * *

To fully understand the dramatic decline of the influence of the Church in American society over the last two generations it is necessary to understand the difference in the way churchgoers see the church and what the average "unchurched" American sees.

The average churchgoer sees the church as an organization established by Christ himself. Christ delegated his leadership to the local pastor and when he speaks from his pulpit it is with the authority of God himself. Regular attendance is a religious duty that all "good Christians" should perform. Volunteering to help support any program designed to increase attendance is considered evangelism and it is the duty of every "unsaved" person everywhere to respond to such invitations, pray the Prayer of Salvation, join the church and then support its ministries in whatever way they can, either by giving of their time or money (preferably both.) People who refuse our reasonable invitations to attend church are destined for an eternity of punishment in Hell. This is what we "Christians" think of when we mean "church."

### * * *

Contrast that with what the average "unchurched" American sees. His local church is an organization that rarely lifts a finger to help anybody in need (outside their own congregation anyway) without some sort of strings attached. Like time-share real-estate salesmen, they offer all sorts of "freebies" that typically involve some sort of poorly disguised sales pitch. The major interest of the pastor and his staff is in trying to get you signed up so that they can get their hands on the 10% of your weekly paycheck that they believe is rightfully theirs. Once you're a member they will apply whatever guilt it takes to pressure you into volunteering to perform unpaid labor for the purpose of recruiting your friends and neighbors in something like a multi-level marketing scheme, except one in which only the staff at the top of the pyramid ever receive a payoff (at least in this world.) In short, many people see little difference between their local Christian church and any other religious cult other than the apparent fact that the local pastor generally doesn't shear his sheep quite as closely as the typical cult leader and as a result doesn't enjoy the same flashy cars and mansions. (Unless of course, he is the pastor of a megachurch or a televangelist, then all bets are off.)

And as far as those of us in the pews, we're the heavenly pod people: a bunch of mindless sheep who sacrifice their time, talents and treasures for little more than the promise of more of the same in eternity to come. Looking at things this way only a masochist would ever get involved with his local church. It's no wonder that most of the people who show up at the door of our church have just moved into the neighborhood and have already been programmed by a church somewhere else.

If you look at what we actually DO at church, rather than what we SAY that we're REALLY doing (you know: that whole hypocrisy thing others keep accusing us of) it's easy to see why the typical American slams the door in your face when you show up at his doorstep and say you're from a local church. We put it down as "hostility to the Gospel" and move off down the street to the next house to try again, but note that they don't even have to actually hear any of the Gospel before they reject you, just the fact that you're from "the church" is usually enough. What they're really demonstrating is a sense of self-preservation, of revulsion at the pretenses that we swallow weekly and the mindless waste of time, treasure and talents that we sacrifice supposedly in the name of Christ and receive in return, a weak, powerless gospel of niceness. At least the children of Israel received leeks and onions during their slavery in Egypt. Those of us enslaved by the local church have to pay into the offering for whatever Biblical scraps we get and then have to volunteer to provide the actual work. For any real discipleship, we're on our own.

In the name of Christ our leaders ignore his commands and teach us to do likewise, defining as "troublemakers" those who seek to follow the real Christ and to make disciples. They filter any ideas for ministries through the church hierarchy, hijacking the ones they can pervert into merely increasing attendance and putting the kibosh on everything else. "No" is heard more often than "yes" and maintaining control of the congregation is their primary goal. The primary qualification for lay "leaders" is subservience to the pastor and the staff. Questions are not permitted and anyone who dares to suggest that the church might not be following the commands of Christ is termed "negative." "Thou shalt not criticize the Lord's anointed " is the inevitable condemnation of anyone who dares to demonstrate that the Emperor has no clothes. (I was actually told this in these exact words by the head of my church's governing board after I made one too many "suggestions for improvement" at a board meeting. After that my days on the board were numbered.)

### * * *

Acts 20:28-30

(28) Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.

(29) I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock;

(30) and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

### * * *

The Bible warned us that wolves would arise in the church. But it also tells us how we can identify who is true:

### * * *

2 Timothy 3:1-17

(1) But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.

(2) For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

(3) without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good,

(4) traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

(5) holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away.

(6) For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts,

(7) ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

(8) And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth. Men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith.

(9) But they shall proceed no further. For their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be.

(10) But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience,

(11) persecutions, sufferings. What things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.

(12) Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

(13) But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

(14) But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.

(15) And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

(16) Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.

(17) That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

### * * *

Matthew 7:15-23 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

### * * *

I ask you: is the fruit of the modern American church obedience to Christ, the making and training of true disciples, the love, joy and peace that is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22? Or is it "outreach" programs of endless entertainment?

Is Sunday school actually school? Or just recess?

Are the Bible studies systematic, making students "wise unto salvation... thoroughly furnished unto every good work" or just cursory examinations of passing fads of minor interest?

Is the major Christian activity the weekly worship service, which is never commanded or demonstrated in scripture, or is it service to those in need whether they attend our church or not? (Which is commanded and which Christ demonstrated.)

Have we replaced obedience to the commandments of Christ with an endless round of potlucks, song services, and other entertainments?

Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that those things are bad and that churches shouldn't host potlucks or have a weekly worship service -- not at all. But we shouldn't do those things instead of what Christ commanded us to do: to be and to make disciples.

Potlucks and parenting seminars and Christmas pageants are dessert. Real Bible studies, mastering our spiritual gifts and putting them to use is the meat of the Christian life. If all we ever do is eat cake we'll never grow up to be the strong disciples that Christ intended us to be.

The Devil doesn't care what we do as long as we don't obey Jesus. If Satan was going to design a counterfeit church the best one that he could come up with would be exactly what we currently have: haphazard "Bible" studies using books written by popular authors instead of the ones inspired by God, a powerless Gospel that stresses a complete lack of any effective works, and a twisting of the meaning of outreach from meeting the actual needs of the needy to merely recruiting other middle-class attenders to help out with the church mortgage.

### * * *

Revelation 3:13-22: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (14) And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (21) To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (22) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. KJV

### Chapter 10

### You can only serve one master.

Your choice: The Christ of the Bible or the church of today - you can't have both. They are not compatible, no matter how the clergy pervert and twist the scriptures to claim otherwise.

Again, if you doubt that what I say is true then check it out for yourself. Listen to the preaching from the pulpit. Notice how often the pastor will glorify the church rather than Christ. After all, according to the Dispensational theory currently popular in evangelical circles, what is the name of the current dispensation we're in? It's not the Era of the Cross, or the Time of Christ, or the Dispensation of Salvation. It's known as The Church Age.

Our concept of Christian service revolves around the church. All tithes must be paid to the local church. They supposedly belong to God but somehow we're required to filter them through the local church first. They don't count as tithes if we send them to needy parachurch Christian organizations ourselves. The teaching is that you owe 10% of your income to the church and if you want to give more to those other organizations, that's fine as long as the church gets its share first. Even if 80 or 90% of what you give to the local church is absorbed in their salaries and the building program. Even if the pittance that's left never goes to help anyone but people who already attend the church. (Except maybe the money sent to support foreign missions and even that is simply transferred to another church organization run by ministry professionals.)

We're free from the law (except the part about tithing apparently) and the tithes that used to go to support the oppressive priesthood that opposed Christ in his first coming are now used to support another priesthood that opposes discipleship. They fear empowering laymen because they think it will make them obsolete. Their very purpose as full-time Christian workers is to mentor others into the disciples that we all ought to be. But they fear for their paychecks. They fear that fully actualized disciples won't need their guidance any more. They're like bitter, grasping parents who refuse to allow their teen-aged children any freedom or responsibility because they don't want them to ever grow up or leave the nest.

But just like such parents they can't stop the inevitable. All they can do is ensure that their children are unprepared to be competent adults. Maybe this is why so many of the youth leave the church after graduation. Perhaps with their current life experience they see the truth of this situation much more clearly than the rest of us do.

Sure, there are some local churches that haven't completely fallen into corruption yet. But they're few and far between and probably won't last much longer than the death or retirement of their current leadership. What's taught in our training seminaries, what's promoted in our "Christian" bookstores is all about the ABCs. The future belongs to house churches and home Bible studies led by spirit-filled laymen who seek to be the disciples that Christ called for ALL of us to be.

### * * *

Joshua 24:14-15: Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. (15) And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

### Chapter 11

### Reforming the Church

What is the church and what should be its purpose?

The word "church" in the Bible comes from the Greek word "ekklesia" which according to Strong's concordance means a calling out, a popular meeting, a congregation, synagogue, assembly or church. Notice that the word translated as "church" in the King James Version actually has several meanings. When they translated the Bible into English any of those words could have been used but on the specific instructions from the head of the Church of England the translators selectively used "church" every place it appeared except for a couple of times in Acts chapter 19:32-41 where it referred to a mob of pagans and the word "assembly" was substituted instead. This was done specifically to discourage various Protestant separatist groups like the Puritans who had been encouraged to defy the Church of England's authority by the translation of the Geneva Bible that had used the word "assembly" instead of "church."

We think of the word "church" as having three meanings. The first one is a building as in, "The church on the corner of 48th Street and Brown." The second is a particular congregation, as in "The First Baptist Church of Mesa." The third is more of a universal group, such as "the church, the body of Christ." If you notice, the second two definitions are completely compatible with the Greek word that refers simply to an assembly or group of people. The Bible itself never uses the word to refer to a particular building.

Let's look at some examples.

### * * *

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

(Acts 14:23)

### * * *

The word "church" in this passage is obviously referring to each congregation, not the entire body of Christ. We see this same concept presented in Romans 16:1-5 which refers to a church "at Cenchrea" that meets in a particular house. Other references to churches that met in houses include Col 4:15 and Philemon 1:2.

First Thessalonians 1:1, First Peter 5:13, and Revelation 2:1, 2:8, 2:12, 2:18, 3:1, 3:7, and 3:14 also use the word "church" to refer to particular congregations in specific locations.

When we read the Bible we need to ensure that we don't read into it our own cultural suppositions and therefore draw the wrong conclusions. Our modern definition of "the church" is usually different than what the writers of the New Testament wrote. When we see the word "church" we think of a separate building set aside for religious purposes, manned by a professional pastor and his staff and attended at specific scheduled times by masses of laymen whose main purpose is to attend regularly and support the fine work of the professionals who run the place.

Yet when the writers of the New Testament used the word "ekklesia" that is commonly translated as "church" what they meant was simply an assembly, a group of people. Sometimes it meant a group of Christians and sometimes not, but it certainly didn't include all the ecclesiastical baggage that we now associate with the word "church."

In the same way the word "church" means something entirely different to Catholics. They wouldn't even include Protestant congregations in their definition. Their definition includes an even more strictly regulated priesthood than we think of when we use the word "church."

But notice what has been excluded from our thinking by using the word "church" instead of "assembly."

To us church happens only on Sunday morning, preferably in a building set aside exclusively for the purpose, and must be presided over by an officially ordained minister who must be a graduate of an approved Bible college.

A Bible study in someone's home isn't "church," even with numerous examples in the New Testament that this was exactly what "church" used to consist of. In modern day China, North Korea, and many Third World countries it still consists of people meeting in homes, and is rarely led by anyone who's been inside a seminary

A Promise Keeper's rally in a sports stadium isn't "church."

A Billy Graham crusade isn't "church."

In spite of the fact that the very word "church" means an assembly of Christians, to us "church" can only happen on Sunday morning, in a building set aside exclusively for the purpose, and must be presided over by an officially ordained minister who must be a graduate of an approved Bible College. This is exactly the intent of the original translators of the King James Version who wished to ensure the supremacy of the existing authorities of the Church of England who paid their salaries.

When I was a teen we lived in a small town that didn't have a church of the denomination that my family was accustomed to attending so my father decided to start one. He got together with some other families of like interest and found a meeting hall we could use for the purpose. You'd think if "church" is simply an assembly of Christians that that would have been sufficient. We had both a group of Christians and a place to meet. But that wasn't good enough. No meetings were held until he was able to locate an ordained minister in a large town 100 miles away that was willing to drive up on Sunday afternoon and officiate. Apparently an assembly if Christians is not "church" unless an ordained minister is in charge. (And merely having a degree from a Bible college apparently wasn't sufficient either: my father had a degree in Christian Education from Detroit Bible College but was not "ordained.")

Even after that the goal became first to obtain our "own" minister, who had to start off working a full time job during the week because there weren't enough attenders to pay him. Once the "church" grew big enough to support him, attention turned to constructing our own building so we didn't have to rent a storefront any more. You can see from this story exactly what our modern idea of what a REAL church actually consists of.

To us church happens only on Sunday morning, preferably in a building set aside exclusively for the purpose, and must be presided over by an officially ordained minister who must be a graduate of an approved Bible College.

Now, these are all fine things. It's good to have your own building to meet in, especially one purpose-built for large meetings. The storefront we used was small and awkwardly shaped. It's good to have a set meeting time like Sunday morning where everybody can plan get together. And all of us would be thrilled to be able to do the work of the Lord full time and be able to enjoy a thorough Biblical education.

But the problem comes when we take these good ideas and make them mandatory. We discount the ability of laymen to do anything. We have an idea that nothing spiritual can possibly happen outside a dedicated church building or other than on a Sunday morning. We've turned the idea of assemblies of disciples meeting regularly to study the Bible and employ their own spiritual gifts to make disciples of their own neighbors and friends into a regular business run by a handful of professionals.

To us "church" happens only on Sunday morning, in a building set aside exclusively for the purpose, and must be presided over by an officially ordained minister who must be a graduate of an approved Bible College.

Professionals do the evangelism. The most us laymen can hope for is perhaps to be able to go door-to-door inviting people to come to church. After all, we can't be trusted to do much more than just support the ministry professionals with our tithes. They are the professionals, after all. But Christ didn't say for the ministry professionals to go into the world and make disciples, he commanded ALL his disciples to do so.

* * *

Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

(Acts 11:25-26)

### * * *

We see here that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. The word "Christian" originally was a derogatory term for Christ's disciples. "Christian" meant "disciple of Christ," the two words have the same meaning. All Christians are supposed to be disciples. I think that most of us understand that. The problem is most of us think somehow that there are three categories of Christians.

At the top of the pyramid are the professionals: full time ministers, pastors and their staff, missionaries, and famous Christian authors like Hal Lindsey. These are people who make their living "doing the work of the Lord." And in case you had any doubt that these people are far above any of the rest of us, many of them employ the title "reverend" before their names to remind you. They are often defined as the "shepherds" of the church. That is, after all, what the title "pastor" actually means.

Underneath them are the sheepdogs: the elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers and those old fossils that are there every Sunday morning come rain or shine passing out the bulletins at the door of the sanctuary. They are the "reliable people" who do all the unpaid labor to keep the church going and provide the warm bodies to fulfill all the programs the pastor and his staff want to run.

Then of course, at the bottom are the great mass of laymen who merely show up a couple of Sundays a month and throw a little something in the offering plate when it passes them by. Once in a while they give in to the guilt or nagging and volunteer for something: cooking pancakes for a "Men's Breakfast" or building a set for the Christmas pageant, but it seems like volunteering to help in a Protestant church is kind of like attending Mass in the Catholic Church: as long as you do it at least once a year you're covered, but do it too often and people are likely to think you're some kind of over-spiritual nut.

But is that the organization we see presented in Scripture? Are there three classes of Christians? Or are there only disciples?

There's no priesthood given in the New Testament, no class of professionals that are supposed to do all the work of Christ while the rest of us cheer them on from the sidelines. Maybe it's no accident that we hold revivals and Promise Keeper's meetings in sports stadiums. We treat religion like a spectator sport: a huge mass of fans cheering on a tiny group of professionals. At a typical NFL game out of twenty thousand participants only a couple of dozen ever get their hands on the ball. It's no wonder that America is sliding into spiritual disaster. A hundred million professed Christians sit idle waiting for a few thousand paid professionals to do all their work for them. But Christ took his disciples out into the world and they did the same miracles that he did.

Most churches today make no attempt to identify the spiritual gifts of their members or to put those gifts to use except as far as they might need some free labor for one or another program that the professionals are putting on in an attempt to attract more attendance. They say that the purpose of their programs is to "attract more disciples for the Kingdom" but in practice there's precious little discipleship going on.

Discipleship requires discipline. The origin of the word disciple is from the Latin _discipulus_ meaning pupil. Interestingly the English word discipline has the same Latin source. It also requires persistence and a desire to emulate a master. These attributes are rarely present in the modern church attender who was attracted in the first place by a free potluck, Mom's night out, an Easter egg hunt, Christmas pageant or other social program designed to sucker people into the pews where the pastor can ambush them with the "Gospel." Our goal is to get them to pray the "prayer of salvation" so we can give them "the right hand of fellowship" and sign them up as a member. Little or no thought is given as to any systematic mentoring or discipleship after that.

The goals of the ministry professionals are to increase their ABCs: attendance statistics, building fund and cash. Ministry professionals who get those numbers up are considered successful. Mentoring laymen to employ their spiritual gifts making disciples themselves is generally not something that even occurs to them.

If you doubt me consider that when the pastor of my church left to take up a position at another church the church newsletter sang his praises listing his accomplishments. They included:

### * * *

*752 people joined the church

*The paid professional church staff grew from 3 to 36 people

*We built a multi-million dollar education facility

### * * *

But even after all that we only added **one** Sunday School class and then somehow eliminated all the evening classes that we had before we had the "education" building.

While mention was made of various classes that were offered, none of those classes currently exists anymore and only a relative handful of members ever attended them when they were available. No mention was made of any educational achievements (such as a number of graduates or diplomas awarded) nor of any disciples made. It's difficult to quantify spiritual growth, so we concentrate on doing things that are meaningless but that can be measured like the number of people attending the worship service or the size of the budget.

Christ said in Matthew 25:31-46 to visit the sick and those in prison and to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. None of those were mentioned in the article. It did mention that thousands attended holiday musical pageants, magic shows and drama productions and that a record was broken for the number of potlucks and picnics. But feeding ourselves was NOT what Christ meant when he said to feed the hungry.

Requiring anything like persistence or discipline from the membership goes against the whole idea of recruiting as many people as possible. We can't preach against social sins like divorce or abortion and we can't insist on attendance in Bible classes or agreement with a statement of faith. These are exclusive and might drive people away. God forbid we require people to actually study the Bible. Attendance might drop. Meanwhile the level of Biblical ignorance among American "Christians" reaches epidemic proportions. According to the Barna Research Group, _the majority_ of American _Christians_ today (not just people who attend church but people who profess a personal relationship with Christ) believe that the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves", that if a person is good they can earn their way to heaven and that neither the Holy Spirit nor Satan are real, living entities, but are only symbolic of good and evil.

But it's all-good because they're in "church" on Sunday morning. That's our complete definition of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. But if you think that strategy is successful, then take a look around you at the state that this country is in, that it's declined to in the last 50 years.

According to a Gallup poll 74% of adult Americans say that they have made a "personal commitment to Christ."[from _Awakening the Giant_ , by Jim Russell, page 13] Yet the divorce rate for "Christian" couples is no different than anyone else. In this country we slaughter more people EACH YEAR through legalized abortion than the Nazis killed in their death camps during an entire world war. Does this sound like we live in a country where the vast majority of people really understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?

Meanwhile 96% of youth drop out of church after graduation and Wicca has become the fastest growing religion in America. Why? Because our kids are seeking something spiritual, something to dedicate their lives to, but church gives them potlucks and musical pageants. They want to be disciples, not spectators. They want their Christian "service" to actually make a difference and to be something more than merely handing out bulletins or manning an information kiosk on Sunday morning.

But when someone points out the error of our ways, that the church in America is headed for disaster, they're condemned as troublemakers. We're told to "be nice" as if all the world needs is more smiles. But what the world needs is to be transformed by Jesus.

Christ's last instruction to his followers just before he returned to heaven is given in Matthew 28:18-20, more popularly known as The Great Commission:

" _And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age_." (NAS)

Christ's last instruction to his disciples was to go to the entire world, make disciples and teach them the things that Christ had taught them. We're supposed to be the latest link in an unbroken chain of disciples beginning in the first century and lasting until Christ returns again. But notice that he **didn't say** to go into all the world and get them to join the church. Church is not the point of Christianity. Discipleship is.

We need to take back the original meaning of "church" as an assembly of disciples and become the true disciples that Christ meant us to be.

We need to stop paying ministry professionals to do our work for us.

We need to stop playing "church" on Sunday morning and start being disciples seven days a week.

### * * *

If what I've said seems to contradict what you've always been taught that "church" is, then you must ask yourself: who should you believe? Who can you trust?

But I'm not asking you to trust me. Look in the Bible for yourself and see if what I have said is true or not. And then you must decide for yourself if the words of "ministry professionals" who have a vested interest in keeping their personal gravy train flowing should be trusted above the Word of God.

According to Colossians 3:9-11we are ALL disciples. The only difference between the Pastor and his staff and the rest of us is that they have been blessed to be able to do the work of God 100% of the time without the distraction of having to earn a living. They are not our shepherds or masters or some sort of a holy priesthood and all of us need to stop thinking of them as "Professional Christians" with the rest of us as a permanent underclass of amateurs. We're ALL disciples . Galatians 3:26-28 says there is no priesthood that stands between us and God.

" _But you must not be called Rabbi, for One is your teacher, Christ, and_ _you are all brothers_." (Matthew 23:8)

While he was on earth Jesus gave many commandments, such as to love each other, care for the poor, visit the sick and those in prison and many other fine exhortations. But for his last words before leaving, he specifically commanded his followers to make disciples. This gives disciple making a weight and importance over and above any of his other commands. We do refer to this as the GREAT Commission, after all. And if you think about it, that's very reasonable. If we concentrate on disciple making then we'll get everything else thrown in alongside for free: true disciples will go ahead on their own and seek to perform all the other commandments of the master as well.

But if disciple making is what Jesus wants of each Christian as an individual, what then should be the purpose of any assembly of Christians?

The purpose of the "church," which is nothing more than an assembly of Christians, is to come together to help each other become the best disciples we can be.

But to understand what the church should be doing we need to understand what it was that Jesus meant by disciple making. Therefore a true study of what the purpose and organization of the church should be actually revolves around a study of discipleship.

. If our mission is to be the best disciples we can be and then to make disciples of others, then we need to know exactly how Jesus would train disciples so we can emulate the Master.

How would Jesus recruit, educate and train disciples? Wouldn't it be great if there were a book on how to do that? Wouldn't that be the perfect way to model our lives? Wouldn't that be the perfect mission to organize a local congregation around? Isn't that what Christian churches are supposed to do?

Currently there are dozens of books available on discipleship by all sorts of authors who come at the subject from every different perspective. But if we really want to know Jesus' ideas on the subject, why not examine the "books" written by disciples that Jesus personally trained? We should examine the Gospels and see exactly how Jesus trained his original disciples for clues to how He expects us to be disciples and to make disciples of others. If we want to know how to be true disciples and REAL Christians we ought to study the four Gospels. And for those of you who received all your theological education from televangelists or napping in the back row on Sunday morning between the offering and the closing hymn, what I mean is reading the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Bible. I know, God forbid I should encourage people to actually read their Bibles and not invest in the latest thing from a Christian publisher but that's how it is.

If we'd read our Bibles and take advantage of the spiritual transformation that Christ offers each of us and then put the spiritual gift he'll give us to use we can spread that transformation to our neighbors, our communities and beyond across this dark and blighted land to the whole world.

Or we can meet for a potluck and sing Kumbaya and wait for the Rapture. But somehow I don't see that as Christ's plan for his Church. But don't follow me. You must choose for yourself whom to follow: the Christ of the scriptures... or that distinguished graduate of Dallas Bible Institute or his associate who fills the pulpit in your local church.

### * * *

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

### * * *

And just to make it even easier to make the right choice, let me remind you that as the current churchy philosophy goes, "it's better to be nice than effective" so you really don't have anything more to fear from "them" than a dirty look and a reputation as a "fanatic."

### Chapter 12

### Christianity without the Church

Reform of the Church will be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, not because the actual task is all that difficult but due to the concerted opposition of a class of clergy that enjoys a monopoly of power and sees no reason to change. We can see examples of this from history.

When Christ came none of his original disciples were Pharisees. In the early church only one leader, Paul, came from that group. He was the only one who had received a "professional" education and who would be considered today qualified to serve as a ministry professional. The rest of the disciples were fishermen, tax collectors, and other working-class men with no formal religious education. The same sort of people that today are considered by our clergy to be suitably qualified for little beyond passing out tracts door to door or handing out bulletins on Sunday morning. Those with outstanding qualifications (professional teachers in the public school system, perhaps) might be permitted to teach a Sunday school class, at least as long as they don't stray from the material published by a Christian publishing company. Even in New Testament times Paul was not converted by logical reasoning with the other Christians, or by examining the scriptures himself. It took God knocking sense into him on the Damascus road to bring him around.

In the historical Protestant Reformation, while Martin Luther was a professional priest, very few of his contemporaries joined him. The vast majority of the Catholic clergy was, and still remains, hostile to the idea of reform and true Christian discipleship.

Even I, brought up in the church and having served in every position a layman is allowed to, only came to understanding through a personal crisis and transformation that coincided with my elevation to the Church governing board during a time when I became simultaneously aware of the need for real discipleship training and the utter lack of it provided by the local church. When I tried as the Coordinator of Christian Education to introduce changes that would provide more discipleship training, more education and to try to reorganize the ministries of the church (or at least those that I was supposedly responsible for) into something that would place discipleship as our primary purpose, I was opposed and thwarted by the pastor and his staff at every turn. Eventually the rest of the board was persuaded to vote to expel me for "being negative."

During the 18-months I attempted to introduce reforms no one ever directly challenged my ideas. No one ever attempted to demonstrate from scripture that I was incorrect. The most telling example of their real reason for opposition was a statement made by the chairman of the governing board in a telephone argument with me: "How DARE you criticize the Lord's anointed!" It was for that that I was removed from the board, not because I made suggestions but that I, without the benefit of an ordination, dared suggest that what the pastor and his staff were doing was off the mark. The actual content and purpose of those suggestions was really irrelevant, and to them counter-productive, since they could not see how any such changes could possibly have a positive effect on the ABCs. The spiritual development of the members is simply not important to the clergy, at least not compared to attendance statistics and the building program. As long as those look good, modern church leaders are content in spite of their disobedience. We see this very situation prophesied by Christ in Revelation 3:13-22:

### * * *

Revelation 3:13-22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (14) And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (21) To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (22) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

### * * *

Revelation does not record their response but I find it ominous that the very next chapter begins John's vision of the Apocalypse, the persecution of Christ's REAL disciples and their mass martyrdom.

The abject rejection by most clergy of anything but mere lip service to the idea of actual discipleship and the consequent widespread biblical ignorance and disobedience to the commandments of Christ in American churches brings to mind Revelation 18:4: "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

Statistics demonstrate that American churches overall are experiencing a consistent and persistent decline in attendance. It's true that a few are growing, but many more are dying. Studies by the Barna Research Group indicate that in a generation, half the churches in America will close their doors. Even by their own "ABC" priorities and accounting methods the clergy should see this as a warning sign. But most of them are responding by merely intensifying their marketing efforts.

At the same time "house" churches and Bible studies are on the rise as those who truly seek to follow Christ leave sterile churches that provide no effective discipleship training. They've begun to seek out their own mentors and disciples. The sheep that the clergy rejected are now beginning to put their spiritual gifts to work serving the Lord and their communities.

I would urge you first to try and reform your local church. The mere attenders there need REAL salvation, too, not just the passive "fire insurance" currently sold by the church. Untrained disciples crave spiritual training and abandoning them to the pointless service of clergy whose goal is merely increasing local church attendance isn't going to improve their situation.

The most important effect of reforming the local church would be to stop them from inoculating the neighborhood against the true Gospel. They convince attenders that merely going to church and reciting a prayer is the entirety of what it means to "be a Christian." Then when nothing changes for the new "converts" and their life remains untransformed, they wander away from the Church in search of something fulfilling and so they end up at the Mormons, or the Moonies or Wicca or abandon the search entirely, never knowing that they never really experienced Christ in the first place, merely a "nice" counterfeit.

When reforming the church fails (and it more than likely will given the power of your opposition) start a home Bible study. You can still go to church and be a witness to the lost there. Just don't get sucked into the endless round of pointless busyness. Don't volunteer for anything that isn't directly related to discipleship and more importantly, tell them WHY you aren't volunteering. It'll get you labeled "negative" but glory in your persecution. You'll eventually discover like-minded fellow disciples and can begin to network as Christ originally wanted his followers to do, teaching and mentoring and sharing in our homes and with our friends and neighbors, with no professional clergy required.

Think of how much more effective that model is than what we do now. Right now in a church of 300 attenders with a half dozen or so paid staff, the six full time ministers do everything that is done by the church. The other 300 "members" are expected to merely fill in as "spear carriers" in their programs: a handful of Sunday school teachers, ushers, door-to-door visitation "salesmen" and such like. Those 300 also pay to maintain those six staff members and a whole complex of offices and buildings that sit idle during most of the week. In the church I currently attend, salaries, the mortgage and upkeep on the facilities consume 82% of the current budget. This means eighty-two cents of out every dollar wrung from the tithes of the attenders is used just to maintain the existing church staff and buildings. Any non-religious non-profit organization that used less than 20% of its donations for its stated purpose would end up blacklisted as a scam but we mindlessly glory in all the "good" accomplished by our "faithful support."

Instead of this we could reorganize all 300 attenders into 20 or so "house" churches and home Bible studies creating 300 part-time ministers with no overhead. The tithes currently devoured by the church could actually be used in their entirety for good purposes.

Which organization would accomplish more good with the same funding?

Which would enable everyone to participate and put their own spiritual gifts to work for the Kingdom of God? Not the local "church" kingdom that belongs to your pastor, the REAL Kingdom that belongs to God

Which would virtually eliminate the "back row Baptists" who merely go through the motions of attending church without actually being transformed by the power of Christ?

Which method would actually reach more people for Christ?

A new Reformation would transform ourselves, our churches and society. Such a reformation is coming whether the professional clergy like it or not. The only question for you is: which side will you be on?

### * * *

Romans 12:1-21

(1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

(2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

(3) For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

(4) For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

(5) So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

(6) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

(7) Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

(8) Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

(9) Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

(10) Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

(11) Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

(12) Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

(13) Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

(14) Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

(15) Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

(16) Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

(17) Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

(18) If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

(19) Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

(20) Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

(21) Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

### # # #

### If you liked this book (or at least appreciated having your belief-system thoughtfully challenged) you might also be interested in reading:

### **Revolutionary Discipleship** \- an examination of Jesus' disciple-making methods in Matthew

### **The Key to Contentment**

### **Jesus is Only Coming Twice** \- a spiritual examination of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture heresy

### All of those and more by M.E. Brines are available from Smashwords

### Or visit http://www.fantasynations.com/

### **Follow** M.E. Brines **onTwitter.**

### Or view his Facebook page.

