Love Alone is Credible

For as long as I can remember, when I scan the night sky I am at a complete and wonderful loss to comprehend what I’m seeing. I’ve read the science and attempted to grasp the genius of astrophysicists. And while I respect it all, it almost always fails to pull me upward, outward, forward, and into a substantive transcendence matching what I’m looking at in that night sky. 

The Hubble telescope images we are now able to casually enjoy show us furious explosions of blinding light and excruciating colors without defined shape or even the slightest explanation for their existence. And yet the Bible simply says, “the heavens declare the glory of God.” (Psalm 19:1).

When I’m completely honest I have to admit that my faith is smaller than I’m comfortable with and inadequate to carry the love I know I carry for the God of this glory. Love is where it all lands… “love alone is credible” (Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar) and love alone sorts it out, finalizes my questions, and keeps me founded. There are no competitors for my heart. Love alone for God alone! 

From his book, “Love and War”, John Eldridge says, “Every thing that has ever stirred your heart~that is God romancing you.” Since we love Him because He first loved us (I John) I personally must conclude that God’s irresistible, passionate love seeks to ignite the same quality IN me FOR Him. While faith will always be standard spiritual equipment, love out distances the requirement for faith and, in fact, is the only fuel worthy of mention FOR my faith (I Corinthians 13:2-3). 

It’s the only container I have, the only grasp, and the only true desire that keeps me secure. I love this God. His starry skies hold my imagination and the rapturous, mind crushing expanse is more than I can resist. This glory leaves me with one solid purpose for my living ~I will love this God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. 

This God landed on earth and my love tells me, His name is Jesus Christ. That’s greater than faith and far far larger than rational thought. There are no faith formulas or dogmatic demands capable of holding my attention…Love has won my full attention. Jesus Himself made it clear that love was the ultimate evidence for our faith (John 13:34-35)! In fact, Jesus prayed that the love of Heaven (and if you will, the supernatural adhesive between the trinity) would penetrate and permeate we humans on earth (John 17:22-26).

So I have chosen not to be overwhelmed by the lifestyle choices others or my culture’s slide into confusion because I know this God’s glory is capable to love us all into recovery and sanity. How? I can no more explain “how” than I can explain how our Sun, a dwarf star, 93 million miles away from earth can hold 7 billion lives in complete and perfect balance while we spin through the universe at thousands of miles per hour with exact precision. My choice in response to all fallenness is to make my life more available for Love which, in turn, makes me a delivery port for Resurrection life for my world. 

The siren song of doctrinal purity demands my time and affections with constant noisy rhythms seeking my ego driven one dimensional quotes to end all quotes. But those night skies, those glories, those implausible expanses, and that crazy lover of all humans, Jesus just keeps my eyes straining for more than Hubble will ever disclose. 

7th Century bishop, St. Isaac the Syrian said, “In love did God bring the world into existence; in love is God going to bring it to a wondrous transformed state, and in love will the world be swallowed up in the great mystery of the One who has performed all these things; in love will the whole course of governance of creation be finally comprised.”

This God has kissed my soul so that I am flat out ruined on lessor, feeble attractions for my attention. 

I will always and forever love this God. And this God will love us all here on earth until His Kingdom comes and His will is done, on earth as it is in heaven.

In Search of the "One"

For the past 30 years my wife and I have had the pleasure and honor to pastor the flock of Living Word Chapel in the township of Forest. We concluded this loving assignment as of December 31, 2018 and we began a new adventure the very next day. At the age of 65 and 62, we believed it was time to re-FIRE and not retire. 

We are blessed with good health, a deep and abiding love for God, and a rich desire to serve and love people outside the “brick and mortar” of the church building. With our daughter and son-in-law taking our place as senior leaders of our church, my wife Ginger and I are embarking on what we’ve passionately called, “a mission to America.” 

Researchers tell us that the fastest growing demographic of religious participants are the folks coming to be known as “none of the above.” They are an amalgamation of some running away from organized religion, some (right or wrong) who’ve lost confidence in clergy, and some who are outright weary of anything resembling the previous two categories. 

I’m convinced that there remains a latent and vital spirituality in the hearts of these dear sheep…who seem to me to resemble the “one” lamb who has drifted away from the 99. I’m deeply committed to the discovery of a way to search and find these sheep without giving them any more reasons to run or hide. When I read the gospels, I see Jesus walking dusty paths in search of these folks who’ve I’ve come to call, “spiritual refugees.” Our new life is taking us on similar dusty paths in search of the “one.”

One of the beautiful (and somewhat unexpected) side effects of this new adventure has been the renewal of our “first love” passion (Revelation 2:4). Life outside the security of our previous normal routines has pressed us to pray with a renewed faith and a love with a reckless joy. 

American Christianity has not failed…it is simply awaiting our reach for its most basic tenants; laying down our lives for others, faith to move mountains, RISK, and most of all, sacrificial love. The life of Jesus Christ beckons us forward and upward. While we will always need the beauty of our sanctuaries, I am also convinced that we must walk out FROM our places of worship and lovingly learn to see the majority of America’s population who have either fled our churches or they have simply never entered the doors. And when we truly see them, we must also genuinely learn to LISTEN and LOVE them…right where they are, without attempting to strong-arm them back into our churches. 

Perhaps our authentic love is all they’ve ever wanted…and maybe, just maybe, love will change US more than it will ever change “them.”

Sloppy Wet Kisses: The Jesus Love-In

Luke 7:37-50 tells the story of a day in the life of Jesus that demands our full attention. It's about a woman with a terrible reputation expressing wild affection for Him, up to and including, sloppy wet kisses.

As with all Biblical narratives, there are ancient cultural norms throughout this gospel treasure. I would invite every reader of this blog to Google search the hosting expectations of that time and place. But for the purpose of my moments here, I need to express what I see as the deep human energies happening and the intense emotions painted by Dr. Luke's word picture. It is nothing short of jaw dropping by any cultural norms but especially....21st Century Church standards and sensibilities.

The Passion Translation says bluntly, "...there was an immoral woman of the streets, known to be a prostitute...", and the story unfolds from there. She crashes the dinner party of a respected leader of the Jewish tradition in order to give an incredible gift of love to Jesus. We have no proof of any previous significant conversations she may have had with Jesus. We do not explicitly know to what extent Jesus may have personally spoken to her previous to this dinner party.

Whatever else the case may be, this much we know; she is overcome with love and emotion at the mere possibility of Jesus' forgiveness toward her ragged and raw reality. Old Testament law and human traditional additions to it coldly required the death penalty for her lifestyle. The rigid fundamentalist of that era would have been repulsed by any religious tolerance for her behavior. She was spiritually dead to the conservative members of the organized faith surrounding her life and in the home she had just invaded.

This is nothing short of a sign and wonder of the magnificent transcendent energy radiating from the personage of Jesus. She knows somewhere in the caverns of her emotional bankruptcy that HE will love her so completely and so perfectly that she will live the rest of her life with a freedom she's never known. For her, this is not about her sinful life. For her, this about discovering what her potential life was always supposed to be. This Love was so completely perfect, so soul satisfying, so emotionally charged, so psychologically healing, that she instinctively knows, LIFE has arrived within her desparate reach.

This is the baseline of how we 21st Century people of faith in Christ are to be loved and, to LOVE our entire world. If it seems impossible, then we are on notice that we are potentially bankrupt of the most genuine nature that should be defined as "Christian". The sin and diversity of the 21st Century is no surprise to our Eternal Father. Whatever we deem as aberrant, deviant, disgusting, and vulgar is not outside of the Love of God. If we are determined to redefine His Love as constrictive or restrictive to any human brokenness, it is simply and sadly the definition of our own lack of a deep encounter with the God of all transformitve Love (I John 4:7-21).

The words of Jesus to Simon (the host of this party) underscore what I've just stated. Wildly generous forgiveness, internally and externally, determines our genuine encounter with this existential, monumental LOVE. Knowing this, experiencing this, and giving this Love freely to all is our challenge and privilege. It is also the full measure of what it means to be truth-fully Christian.

Tune in to my Podcast on this subject ~

http://nobsbishop.com/NoBSBishopSloppyWetKisses.mp3

First Two "No BS Bishop" Podcasts

The following links will take you to my first two podcasts....help me spread the word! In the near future I will put the podcast on an app for widespread distribution.

http://nobsbishop.com/MaidenVoyageofNoBSBishop.mp3

and

http://nobsbishop.com/NoBSBishop2.mp3

"No BS Bishop" Podcast January 3, 2019

Beginning January 3, 2019 I am beginning my podcast ~ No BS Bishop. I have dreamed of this platform for speaking my heart for a very long time.

At the age 65 with 45 years of pastoral ministry under my belt, I believe I have some things to say... beyond the sterile, outside the simplistic, seizing the sublime, and reaching for the supernatural. Why? Because all of the above is what Jesus Christ demonstrated in His courageous "no BS" life and ministry.

The complexities of the 21st Century are no surprise to God. I'm convinced that God has always been far and away more than enough to answer all of humanity's diversity. As Time and Eternity have always been transcendent to our wristwatch/calendar driven idolatry, so God sees it all and invites us to "come up here" (Revelation 4:1) in order for us to see it all along with Him....today, and not in some other dreamy time after we die.

Tune in. I promise to dodge the BS of standardized Religion Inc., the politicized partisanship of the Evangelical Sons of Thunder, and the pitiful/sad unnecesary avoidance of mysterious supernatural expectations.

No BS. All Bishop. Join me for the fun.

Help support this effort at ~

paypal.me/randydeanministries

To the Spiritual Refugees...

Let's come together...

To all my extended spiritual family (especially youth ministry alumni...of any age) in the Twin Cities region ~ if the brick and mortar of the church has become more of a cage and less of a sanctuary and you consider yourself one of the following:

*spiritual refugee 
*ex-angelical 
*spiritually alive but ecclesiastically numb
*conflicted by the marriage of church and political parties 
*troubled by the partisan and tribal divisions of our culture 

I’m setting up a schedule of times and places to sit with you, to listen and to love. No agenda. I’m NOT starting a church. I simply want to give you what I’ve always tried to give you in the past; a father’s heart and a pastor’s ear. 

Starting January 1, 2019 I’ll come to you—coffee shop, bar, small group settings, etc. Message me. One on one, or groups of any size. 

I’m very serious about this.

Here's How You Can Support Randy Dean Ministries

Previously I tried to post my PayPal button and it failed to connect...here's another try!

Check out my new website (I created it myself...I'm pretty proud of me!)
https://www.randydeanministries.com/

I'm also a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with a PayPal connection

We launch January 1st into our full time outreach to the spiritual refugees of the USA.

An Important Update on Randy Dean Ministries

An Important Update on Randy Dean Ministries

The partisan and tribal divide of our time has given rise to a large group of people from within the Church of the USA. I have come to call them “spiritual refugees” because, while some have stayed in their churches they feel more and more separated by the harsh divides fostered even in the Name of Jesus. In addition, many are leaving church but not their spirituality. Not long ago one of these fine young adults identified for me the apt notion that this crowd of good yet weary hearts are “refugees from evangelicalism.” Others are identifying them as “exangelicals”; whoever they are, I want to love them as pastor, father, and a Bishop. 

I’ve delightfully spent most of my 44 years in ministry speaking at youth camps and youth conferences. I have forged hundreds of friendships over the years with these lives. Additionally, God has always given me an empathy for folks thrown out of established religion and the forbidden of the same. I believe my whole life has been a set-up for this time so I am launching a mission to my own nation, the USA. 

These spiritual refugees are not rebels but they most certainly are revolutionary. Western Christianity is ripe for their voice and their passion. I simply long to speak into these valuable lives with a spiritual father’s heart to run out and meet them right where they are, just as the Prodigal Father ran out to meet his younger son. 

I believe the political bitterness of our time is a set-up for a raw discovery of the practice of Divine Love. Dealing with the hot topics of our day from a Christian perspective MUST default to this “one commandment” of Christ. We simply must walk away from all other methods (political, doctrinal, debate, and throwing Bible verses at each other) so that our best energies can be spent in a healthy and joyous practice of LOVE. 

Jesus prayed for His people, the Body of Christ, in John 17:20,21 ~ “…that they all may be ONE even as You Father art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.” The partisan/tribal divide I mentioned at the top of this blog is a cry for healing for the wounded Body of Christ. 

To that end my wife and I are transitioning out from our current pastorate of 30 years and into a specific ministry to these refugees. I am developing a podcast, a blog, and finishing a book on this topic (as well as other related topics). My previous book, RADIANCE brushed into some of these important values but I am ready to spend this season of my life diving into the deep end of this vital need in America, and beyond. 

We are looking for the support of people who have an understanding of everything just stated. We are looking for large or small sponsors for this leap of faith. I am convinced there are thousands of hearts who understand this cause. If you or someone you know can help us financially to give launch to this Mission to the USA, we would greatly appreciate your support. Not only will this support help underwrite the podcast, blog, and book, it will also give us the freedom to minister in small groups or places who might not otherwise be able to afford an honorarium or travel expenses. 

As always, we will continue to be available for ministry to churches, youth conferences, retreats, and meetings of all shapes, sizes, and themes.  Also, we have ordained sons and daughters into ministry and we will continue to offer them and others seeking ordination a Bishop’s heart and connection. God has loaded our hearts with over 44 years of love, life, and light. 

Randy Dean Ministries is a 501(c)3 non profit ministry located at our home, 2694 200th Ave Emerald, WI 54013. My email is randydeanministries@gmail.com and our home phone is 715-265-7141. Donations can be sent by mail to our home address (above) or by PayPal ~ 

Wholly Spirit

I woke up this morning with a rolling thought process that cycled repeatedly and wonderfully. Without my full permission (though I must admit I’ve pondered the edges of these musings for many days) my mind was carrying on a conversation about the vitality and animation of a beautiful human spirit. A spirituality without dilution or distraction. 

First, I want to say that such a condition is entirely possible although rarely sustained. We all attend concerts, worship settings, conferences, camps, and retreats and come away with a euphoric “mountain top” delight we are determined to retain yet internally acknowledging it will likely wane with time. We certainly don’t want it to fade, and we often make bold declarations such as, “I am not losing this experience this time!”. But alas, more often that not, it grows into a distant joyous memory.

But I still believe in, “the vitality and animation of a beautiful human spirit. A spirituality without dilution or distraction.” My early morning sleepy musings gave me a mural of ideas from pictures of my own life along with what I observe routinely in others. Here’s a sampling of that mural;

*I took my spiritual energy to debates about political issues
and I could see my
spirit being spent without any real value internally or
externally. It seemed,
however, that I was convinced of a non-existent value
because I placed such a
false high spiritual value on these debates.
*I took my spiritual energy to places of personal anxiety
almost as if to solve my
anxious challenges but knowing when I got there that
nothing would change.
*I watched as people around me were equally convincing 
themselves of a spiritual value in practices when no such
value existed. We were all hoping for and working for that
value but no spirit enhancing value was to be found.

With those moments in mind as a back-drop, the scenes shifted to more positive pictures. The summary of these positives had to do with many of the matters I just listed, but in contrast there was shift of focus;

*My mind decided to direct love toward all the opposition.
*My meditation barricaded me from leaping into quarrels.
*My joy pushed back against angry gossip, strife, and
mob rule.
*My love reached for heavenly wisdom.
*My hope decided to issue a warrant on the atmosphere.
*My unbroken stream of prayer gave me bridges over chasms. 

In the first list of challenges I could literally feel my spirit drained. In the second list the Holy Spirit was engaged in giving me a more wholly spirit. In the first, I felt motivated by an indignant sense of right and wrong. In the second I was drawn along by an instinctive leading to guard my heart for the right moment to be enlisted for the right cause in the right spirit.

I’ll say it again, I believe in “the vitality and animation of a beautiful human spirit. A spirituality without dilution or distraction.” I have had the pleasure of connections to people of this marvelous quality. Just breathing air in the same room with them is a distinct pleasure. Imagine if and when a growing company of us are of this “wholly spirit” passion. 

Many years ago I found this quote by Gil Bailie; “Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go and do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” I’m convinced that every struggle of our nation and humanity is solved when a significant number of us refuse the bait of leaping into the baseline, common, and even vulgar debates of our times and instead we continue to fill our spirit with the Holy Spirit. Then, and only then will we pursue my second inventory;

*My mind decided to direct love toward all the opposition.
*My meditation barricaded me from leaping into quarrels.
*My joy pushed back against angry gossip, strife, and mob
rule.
*My love reached for heavenly wisdom.
*My hope decided to issue a warrant on the atmosphere.
*My unbroken stream of prayer gave me bridges over chasms. 

This is most certainly who Jesus Christ was and is. This is most certainly what I will live and I will lead those who follow me to this lush meadow with quiet pools to drink from (Psalm 23 The Message). 

Come Holy Spirit, for the purpose of making us all, wholly spirit.

Amen.

Part 2 of Crackers and Juice, or the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

Of all the many outrageous words of Jesus recorded in the four Gospels, no words match the sheer mind blowing capacity of John's quote (6:56); "...eat My flesh...drink My blood..."; imagine how those six words landed in the ears of many present who also knew all too well the words of Leviticus 17:14, "...you are not to eat the blood of any flesh...whoever eats it shall be cut off." 

The Leviticus passage is what many Bible thumpers of our day would call, "chapter and verse"  underscoring the sole authority of the Bible in a believer's life. Well... Jesus veritably trampled on that particular "chapter and verse" replete with reviewing His statement several times and then defending it to His core leadership team after the crowd present for His, "say what?!"  teaching ran for the exits! 

Of course we know, with the luxury of 2000 years of sorting this out, that Jesus isn't introducing cannibalism. But who among these original hearers was even remotely prepared for such audacity? NO ONE! And yet, when Jesus asked His closest disciples, "Are you headed for the parking lot too?", their answer was, "We've come too far to run now...besides, when you speak, we come alive...and even THIS sparked something in our spirits."

Jesus Christ fulfilled Leviticus' commands, became the "flesh and blood" that we now know is the Bread of Heaven. To break the Leviticus' command was to risk being "cut off"; but now, on this side of the Cross, we are now bonded to the very essence of The Body of Christ. Touching the leper in the Old meant becoming a leper...now under the NEW, touching...indeed EATING the Body of Christ means becoming The Body of Christ. 

So, it was vital for Jesus to crash into that train of thought with His audacious Words. It was significant for them and us to be introduced to a mystery meal on the New Testament value of the reverse efficacy of Old Testament thinking. The Old said, "BEWARE!" but now the New says, "BECOME!"

We are what we eat! Come to the Table...."This is The Body of Christ"... 

Join me again in a day or 2, for Part 3 of "Crackers and Juice, or the Body and Blood of Christ" ...

Crackers and Juice or The Body and Blood of Christ (Part 1)

Either Communion is what Jesus said it was, "this is my Body....this is my Blood", or it is crackers and juice. Either we serve everyone the Body and Blood of Christ, or we are serving everyone only crackers and juice and no one the reality of salvation through Jesus. Christ is present at HIS Table or we are offering the cheapest of all snacks and the worst of all symbols. 

Hopefully I have your full attention for, what is to me, one of the most beautiful prophetic statements offered by the Church for a hungry and thirsty world: Communion, Eucharist, The Last Supper, The Table of the Lord...however you are familiar with the title, it is this glorious mystery originally offered by Jesus Himself to His treasured friends and disciples on that fateful night in which He was betrayed. 

I've stated hundreds of times, "Let's dare to say what Jesus said, not what doctrinal statements say. HE said, '...this is My Body....this is My Blood..." Let's not add to that or take away from that. Let's simply say it the way HE said it. Don't put multiple syllable words to it or add a church policy statements before, after and during it. Let's just say what He said. 

Then let's follow that with serving everyone in the room. Every doubting Thomas and puckered up betrayal kissing Judas. Everyone. Without threats of death or sickness, without caveats about worthiness or suitable holiness, and certainly, without denying anyone for lack of meeting a church policy statement. 

Of course, we can default to crackers and juice but we risk sending most folks home profoundly hungry and their appetites spiritually ruined. The supernatural and transcendent is possible at The Body and the Blood of Christ. But crackers and juice won't feed the hungry, much less, ignite spiritual energy.

My experience with Communion actually began with the simplicity of "crackers and juice" (physically speaking) but served in an atmosphere of genuine hunger. The very first time I took Communion, I had NO clue what was happening. I only knew this to be a practice of church services (once a month where I was) but I knew nothing of any deeper notion than the pretty trays, the cracker like wafers and the shot glasses of cheap grape juice. 

And I wept. At 17, in the middle of my friends, and feeling VERY conspicuously odd...I wept. The smell of the juice wafted into my nose and the tiny wafer felt so soft. Something from heaven entered my sensory perceptions, made its way to my emotional center, and I trembled with gratitude for a mystery I have spent the past 46 years exploring. Christ showed up in that broken bread and my heart burned inside my chest....

If you are interested in more, I'll continue this blog tomorrow. If you are hungry for more, I promise to serve more than crackers and juice...

HAIL MARY!

Those who know me well know that I adore the story of Mother Mary. To me she embodies every quality which ought to typify all of Christianity. While some in Catholicism verge on worshipping her as a deity but Protestants run the other way; both extremes are sadly in error. For the Catholic to make this beautiful lady a god is to miss the raw power of her humanity. But, for the Protestant to lightly pay her “honorable mention” pitifully misses the dare of God’s call to us to become as she was; a bondslave of the Lord and His impossible offer.  

If we Protestants believed about humanity what most of Catholicism believes about Mary, Christianity would flourish with radiance and power.

Luke 1:37-38 records the summary of Mary and the angel Gabriel’s conversation, “(Gabriel) For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.’” ... majestic simplicity.

Mary is, at most, 16. There is absolutely no precedent for what she is hearing. The closest thing that might have crossed her mind was that of much older, married women of the Old Testament who were given children of promise….along with their husbands! 

Mary is on an island in this category. There is no other way to describe this encounter other than astonishing in its reach and stunning in its ramifications. Yet, something in the transcendence of the moment pushes Mary to the conclusion that she must become a bondslave to this impossibility! Hear that again; she happily surrendered herself as a SLAVE of the Lord and His offer of doing the impossible. 

Bill Johnson says it this way, “Our debt to the world is an encounter with God”. To that end, we must become bondslaves of doing the impossible. A people of a covenant to live beyond our brown paper bag means. To do works transcending my limited skills to show the world a God of unlimited abilities. If all the church is offering is clean living born out of good doctrine then we have certainly become what Paul warned us about, “…holding a form of godliness although they have denied its power…avoid such men as these.” 

We owe our culture a living, visible demonstration of the Kingdom of another world. Jesus told His disciples to heal the sick and define that moment of healing as the Kingdom’s appearance on earth. I’m not batting a thousand on that command, but I'm swinging hard for the fences of impossibility.

Along with Mary I’m a happy slave of conquering the impossible. I’ve discovered the true nature of Christianity is the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. I’ve heard it said that when we get to heaven “some day” that we’re in for a lot of surprises. While I’m sure that’s true, I’ve decided to take a different path of life that minimizes my surprises tomorrow through discovery TODAY. 

Just prior to World War II amphibious landings were deemed impossible due to notable failures in World War I. MacArthur, Eisenhower and other heroes of that day never got their boots wet in basic training for an amphibious assault. A lesser known military officer nicknamed, “Mad (as in mad-man) Smith advised the strategists of his day that the war could not be won without large scale amphibious assaults. “Mad” was told that such an idea was impossible. His answer? “Well, then we are going to do the impossible and we are going to do the impossible WELL.” Needless to say, we all know about the history of D-Day and the massive amphibious landing ultimately insuring the end of Hitler's hideous ambitions. 

In the brutal shadow of Rome's raging arrogance, not to mention Religion Inc.'s stalled ignorance, a teenaged peasant girl said, "Yes sir. I'll do the impossible." Today, in the shadows of similar foolishness, the world is waiting for more of us to rise to the raw power of OUR humanity with the promises of God igniting our dreams for "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."

We are going to do the impossible and we are going to do the impossible WELL.

Jesus Politics

Having "been there, done that", I refuse to be labeled as conservative, liberal, republican, democrat, right, left, moderate, progressive, independent, and all that jazz. I find in Jesus a genius rising up from His passion for the Kingdom of God so compelling and enthralling, that my dreams for a better world have been forever resurrected. No human schemes are adequate to match His government, resting magnificently upon His shoulders.

If we reduce the gospel to fit the politics of the USA, we risk the dangerous mind set of that which may have pushed Judas to his 30 pieces of silver solution for the naive notions of Jesus' Dream. All too often, we have been seduced to believe that the Gospel of Christ "needs" the assist of government amiability. The problem with that seduction is that what Caesar gives, Caesar will readily take away.

The recent eager reach of evangelical leaders to embrace political powers that would otherwise, in our better moments of clarity of soul, turn us away will ultimately teach us that we have a much higher calling. Jesus largely refused to speak to either Pilate or King Herod because His profound sense of discernment drew Him beyond their political expediency. Neither of these "powers" had any healthy or reasonable understanding of the transcendency standing in their oval offices. 

If we are to be carriers of the leaf of a tree for the healing of the nations, we must, of necessity, sustain our roots in something far more nutritional than partisan posturing for Babylonian power. If our endorsement of a political side is useful for that side to "win", it will also become the wall preventing us from speaking with love or efficacy to all other sides. Worse yet, our embrace of a political view can also become the gag against our effective ability to carry a prophetic imagination for the side who celebrates our approval. 

Simply put, we are not of this world. We were born from above with the possibility of the Health and Life that comes ONLY from above. Our position must never be sold, never be promised, and never given for the possibility of government favor or protection. We CAN honor all kings and authorities in a manner that grants us a welcome to their courts! Daniel blessed Kings Nebuchadnezzar and Darius without selling his endorsement to gain their favor. These Kings NEEDED Daniel, and not the other way around. Why? Because Daniel maintained his integrity consistent beyond their inconsistencies and above their short term political agendas.

The politics of the USA has crossed over to a time when ALL sides will need an anchor of love beyond the hate of divisiveness. Once we decide to find our higher power, all other powers will know we are not for sale AND we will learn to appreciate the greater opportunity of loving the whole world, left or right, black or white, blue or red. 

Peace.

For God So Loved the World, He Didn't Send a Book...

"Hi.. I'm Randy and I'm a book-a-holic. I love the sound of a page turned, the smell of fresh ink, the feel of a cover (soft or hard), fiction, non-fiction, self-help, history, biographical, coffee-table pictures, religious, non-religious....never mind. I'm addicted to books and I don't want out."

As a pastor and Christian I'm supposed to say that of all my books, I love the Bible the most. Well, (wait for it)... I do. I've worn out more than a few. My current Bible buddy is 13 years old, weighs 5 pounds, and doubles as a portable file cabinet. I dread the day when I'll need to replace it...the margins are loaded with my scribbles, arrows, and page numbers (so I can cheat when I tell people to turn to some obscure passage and I'm there first.. yes, I am that vain). 

With that said, let's be clear about a few things too many Church folks rarely talk about, much less, admit: the Bible is not the Truth that will make you free, it is not The Word, and Bibles will not speak to your innermost secret self. Those distinctions are reserved for Jesus Christ alone. 

Just to make it clearer where I am coming from, I know that Jesus will use the Bible as a bridge for those intimacies. And, I know I have heard Him whisper from the Psalms (as He did today from Psalm 38) and shout from Revelation. But God gave Jesus to be The Word (John 1) so we could hold Him, listen to Him, fuss with Him when we disagree (good luck with that), and dance with Him when His Truth makes us free. 

"Only Jesus is perfect theology" (Bill Johnson). Jesus Hermeneutics (how to interpret the Bible) means that I'll need Him as my tour guide through every Levitical rule and all the gory weirdness of stories you shouldn't read to your children before bedtime. As a matter of fact, Jesus told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit came, He would make Truth an internal epiphany for our thirsty souls. How? By revealing more of Jesus.

The Bible has created some monsters. Unfortunately some of these beasts have the wherewith-all to purchase TV air time for the purpose scaring the pants off unsuspecting viewers. Often their scare tactics are followed with purchase options for curing the terror they've caused; with everything from survival gear and food to more books to insure we understand how much of the population will be destroyed when Jesus shows up again not looking AT ALL like the Jesus who came the first time, healing and restoring the needy. 

But the Bible as revealed in The Word, Jesus Christ, has created some magnificent beauties as well. St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Pope Francis, Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker, just to name a few. The  old hymn "Break Thou the Bread of Life" says, "Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord". So keep reading books. PLEASE! Read the Bible, 7 chapters a day, and in a year you'll have completed it. Just go beyond, transcend, and elevate toward a renewal of spirit with a reading partner Who loves to look back at you from the page. There is no better translation than Jesus, and no finer vista than what He will reveal. 

Condemn or Connect?

Dear Church Inc.,

Are we here to condemn or connect?

Maybe a few more connections will end our condemnations. Maybe a few more conversations will suppress our condemnations. Maybe our definition of "evangelism" (a word never used in the Bible) has become the very blockade to our goal of "evangelization" (another word never used in the Bible). If I am to do the work of an "evangelist" (a word used once in the Bible and then directed to a pastor) shouldn't my goal be less condemnation and much more connection?

Condemnation works splendidly when the Judge of a criminal court has heard the final verdict of a jury. After days, weeks, and maybe months, a jury comes back with a final decision, the Judge has no option but to "condemn" the accused to a sentence that fits the crime. Yet even then, a court of appeals might pursue a more fitting conclusion. Even in earthly terms, a fair justice system longs for REconnection to productive society and less condemnations to a hopeless box.

The machinations of evangelism have blurred the lines of authentic love and honest human connections. Somewhere along the way Church Inc. created a theology of self-loathing and disgust for humans as a means for giving glory to God through effective evangelism. We have been stuck in the need to convince humans how bad they are in order to see how good their Creator is...And we, who are called to lead humanity to FIND their way, have LOST our way. The only sin Jesus urged anyone to accept as their own was the sin of self-righteous, self serving bigotry. All others, He forgave with instant connection.

It wasn't disgust for the human condition that drew God to become a Human. He became one of us, and disguised Himself in a human costume in order to powerfully CONNECT! So powerful is this connection, that one of US is now at the right hand of God, making intercession for our continuing connection.

This is far from complete but not far from a truth we had better discover. Connections will almost always prevent condemnations.

Repent! God is Better Than You Think, So Change the Way You Think.

 Religion Inc. has made a living with shame and guilt. It’s often chronicled by comedians of Jewish or Catholic heritage and an inside joke with some pastors and ministers of other backgrounds; “If it weren’t for shame and guilt I don’t how we could muster a crowd on Sundays” is a missive I’ve actually heard.

 One of the driving factors for this phenomenon is that absent the real presence of Christ, there’s truly little other means of stirring religious interest. Think about it; if I’m desperate for statistical success as an amateur preacher or, for that matter, a veteran professional church promoter, I know instinctively that every human has a fairly easily reached threshold for feeling guilt and shame. When that’s used for some kind of “witnessing” venue or an agenda driven evangelism conversation, it becomes a tool in my tool box to achieve a result. Problem is, what I achieve by guilt and shame will likely have to be sustained by the same.

 Thus, religious practices can drift into the lowest of human experiences and seek to hold the interest of followers with a misery that Jesus Christ actually came to vaporize. He announced His Kingdom as “the gospel” or, GOOD NEWS. He read Isaiah 61 to a stunned gathering and proclaimed healing for broken hearts, liberty for captives, freedom for prisoners, delight and pleasure and comfort for mourners. An utterly contrary notion for the Religion Inc. of His day who relied on shame and guilt to keep the masses showing up for the offering plates.

 As a result the word, “repent” has inherited the sole ideal of “feeling bad for our sins”. And since (in my own opinion) most people have good hearts, it is easy to talk folks into the corner of “feeling bad for sins”, they admit it and presto, an evangelism statistic is born. “We went door to door witnessing and 22 people repented and received Jesus”. Here’s a possible interpretation: “We told 100 people they were born into sin, have no good in them at all and they live as totally depraved without any excuse unless they say this prayer and accept Jesus. 22 people were so honestly in touch with their own shortcomings they were willing to do whatever it takes to feel better. They repented!”

 I know, I know. We have done whatever it takes to “plant seeds”... God gets the glory, etc. etc. etc. But at what greater expense? I’ll tell you what expense ~ the magnificent character of God the Father and full beautiful manifestation of the Goodness of God in the Face of Jesus Christ.

 The Greek word for repent is “metenoeo”. It means to have a reformation, to think differently, to change one’s mind. It also certainly carries the notion of compunction, which is to be pricked of conscience. I am contending that we should stir these ingredients thoroughly until they come up like this; the epiphany of an honest inventory of my life where I have come to see that my actions at best have been a waste of time and, at worst, my actions have been destructive and painful for others and myself. I will change my vision to one of high values and purposes. I'm having a revolution of thought and destiny. I can finally SEE what I was created to be!

 Repentance isn’t only about being sad about what I’ve been. It’s also, and actually more about, being thrilled with what I can become!

 But if we introduce repentance as the connection with our shame and guilt without a greater connection to our purposes and value in this life, we create a system of belief founded in constant introspection with little or no escape other than to die and go to heaven... where we can finally BE who we were created to be.

 Sorry. I'm not interested in that version of the purpose of Jesus Christ. He didn’t come to ramp UP the power of the Old Testament with heavier laws. He came to set the captives of Religion Inc. FREE.

 In Mark 1:15 Jesus made it clear that the time was fulfilled, His New Kingdom was within reach and we should repent (change our minds) and believe the gospel, which is easily translated as....GOOD NEWS.

 Through Jesus the old Kingdom/Covenant was about to be completed in order to make room for the fulfillment of the NEW. This NEW Kingdom required a complete epiphany! A complete NEW way of thinking. A total renovation out of fear based relationship with God, to a NEW love based relationship which would drive out all fear. The OLD thinking, Religion Inc. thinking, shame and guilt based thinking, would actually be a wall against this NEW Kingdom.

 “REPENT! God is better than you think, so change the way you think. Do you feel that compunction of shame for stealing on your taxes last April? GOOD...that means you are alive. Now, make it right so that from here forward you can reach, run and respond ONLY to your destiny on earth. You were not put here to be a beggar for the dimes you can save by cheating on your taxes. You were put here to be a King/Queen whose wealth allows you to give more than you are forced to give by mere earthly laws”.

 Jesus is not the King of bums. Jesus is the King of Kings and Queens. When we leave repentance in the poverty of religious manipulation we devalue Jesus into the CEO of Sin Management. But when we truly REPENT, He becomes the High Priest of our Destiny, praying at the Throne of God for our complete personal fulfillment in this life.

 Raging angry preachers have made repentance a bad thing. They are wrong. Repentance is an epiphany! To repent says, “I’m waking up! I am picking a new direction. I’m not going to waste my life on mediocrity. From here forward I will live fully and abundantly”.

Christmas Beauty

I have not always loved Christmas. I tried real hard when I was a kid with some successes and some terrible failures. What I didn’t know then but I’ve learned since is that drug addictions and family dysfunctions don’t take a holiday break….in fact, they ramp it up. It can be summed up in the holiday greeting I grew up with, “Merry Kiss My A__”. Lovely sentiment, isn’t it?

But somewhere in life with two little kids and a wife who grew up with a family that relished Christmas, I had a Scrooge-like epiphany. Something, somehow broke into my reality and lodged in my heart and thinking. This life, this world, this one and only shot we have at spreading good cheer, needs Christmas.

And here, I am not talking about the Christmas “wars”. That’s nonsense. If I’m upset about losing influence in the world due to the fact that not enough people say, “Merry Christmas”, it is not a sign that the nation is in a moral free-fall….it’s a sign that I need to regain my credibility.

And, I am not talking about the droning of some who argue that Jesus’ Birthday is not actually December 25th (they’re right), or that we need to end the commercialization of the holidays (simple heart-felt gifts are always of higher value than money spent), or that various traditions of Christmas have been borrowed from a variety of pagan rituals (yep, it’s true; along with the modern calendar, astronomical maps and more names of people places and things than an encyclopedia could list) … blah, blah, blah.

I still believe this life of multiple disappointments and grieving needs a Christmas break. This world of scary people and hatred needs a Christmas break. This one and only shot we have at spreading good cheer, needs Christmas.

It’s about the insertion of beauty in a collection of far too much indignity and disgrace. It’s about clearing a small patch of ground, declaring a cease fire and singing Silent Night. I looked this up in Wikipedia, so the details might not be completely accurate. Just bear with me and read this;
"The truce began on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914, when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres, Belgium, for Christmas. They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols, most notably Stille Nacht (Silent Night). The British troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols.

The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the "No Man's Land" where small gifts were exchanged — whisky, jam, cigars, chocolate, and the like. The artillery in the region fell silent that night. The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently-fallen soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Proper burials took place as soldiers from both sides mourned the dead together and paid their respects. At one funeral in No Man's Land, soldiers from both sides gathered and read a passage from the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

In a world of reality shows that become ugly reality, we need beauty. In a world of unhinged ego, we need beauty. In a world where a friend of mine presides and weeps over a daily parade of human agony in the justice system, we need beauty. In a world where the f-bomb is a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb and artistic musical expression, we need beauty.

I want you to understand why I don’t care if pagan paltry has had a role in shaping Christmas. In my opinion, if something is beautiful, it was created by and belongs to God. Winter solstice provides a unique opportunity for reflection on dark bone chilling nights. In the mind-set of the Old Testament, if you touched a leper, you got leprosy. But now, on this side of the Cross, when we touch the leper, the leper is healed! Some people just need a bigger God, a far more real Jesus and much more completely defeated prince of darkness.

Let me tell you about my own personal Christmas tradition that brings me to tears every year. I started this when my kids were tiny. Late on Christmas Eve, after everything is done and a quiet has settled in, I take my car keys (or bells if they are available) and I go outside. I look up at the sky as if to look for Santa, throw my head back, jiggle my keys and as loud as I can I shout, “HO, HO, HO! Merry Christmas!” I’m not kidding. Ask anyone who lives within a mile of me. Dogs howl and the valley around me echoes….and I cry.

I cry because it is my shout for beauty. I cry because I hope some kid somewhere hears me and wonders if there really is a Santa. I cry because I love the moment. In this one and only shot for bringing peace on earth and good will toward all people, beauty deserves at least 15 minutes of fame every year.

So, Merry Christmas…HO, HO, HO!

Pre-Christian World

It has been said that Christianity has not failed but that it has rarely been authentically attempted. I believe we are not living in a "post-Christian" era as much as we are living in a PRE-Christian era; a time of genuinely REpresenting the beauty of Christ and the true character of His Father.

What if we are not at all living in a society of past Christian glory? What if the history we tend to see only with the most romanticized ideals does not at all support the notion that our best days of faith are behind us? Isn’t it possible we’ve never known a truly, majestically thorough impact of genuine Kingdom Come influence in the U.S.A. and the western world?

Think about it; a Christian nation did not advocate the ownership of slaves. Christianity was not the core value supporting the Natives of this land being herded off to reservations and marginalized into the near extinction of their culture. It was not a Christian nation that forbade women the right to vote for most of our history. A nation living out the full bloom of Christ like beauty did not sponsor segregation with its ignorant “separate but equal” world view.

To be perfectly transparent about it all, some people painted the above crimes with the brush stroke of their silly interpretations of the Bible, but they were utterly and completely wrong! The error of their ways is so thoroughly egregious it is impossible to say with any certainty how long it will take to live it down!

Here’s my thundering point; it is utterly and completely possible that we are wrong to think of our current day as being a “post-Christian” era! I’m proposing that to live in the illusion of our past being something it was not is to rob us of the potential of an outrageous dream inspired faith for today and tomorrow!

We have not yet seen what God could do in a truly Christ inspired environment. “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; and how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?” (Job 26:14).

Our day is a time of birth pains waiting the revealing of the authentic children of a Father Whose love is prepared to make an appearance on the stage of history. What wonders we will behold are limited only by our allegiance to fables of the past.

Heal the Sick and Say, "This Is the Kingdom!"

Two years ago I was awakened by the Presence of God on a Sunday morning. He poured into my heart the following promises for healing in our house and upon our region. The phrase “deluge and oceanic appearance of a Healing Presence and an environmental shift” is as near a quote as I can ever remember God speaking to me.

I urge you to join us in believing for these broken areas of our humanity to be healed in magnificent ways. This day October 11, 2011 we covenant again to the promise of God for our region.

God has promised me: A deluge and oceanic appearance of a Healing Presence and an environmental shift for the following 7 areas of healing and health;
1. Emotional healing; from unfounded anxiety, sudden-harsh, but brief; crippling nevertheless~ healed!

2. Thought life healing; self destructive-from self sabotaging success to unreasonable surrender to defeat~ healed!

3. To be significantly loved; undeniably, permanently connected to significant relationships ~ healed!

4. Healing from the inability to effectively convey the truest quality of love~ healed!

5. Healing from the victim mentality; asserting that my life has challenges that only others can correct ~ healed!

6. Healing from the spirit of poverty; “there’s never enough” must change to, “there’s more than enough” ~ healed!

7. Radical, raw, real, recognizable physical healings. YES, YES, YES!

As our doubts abound, so the pain will continue to own our quality of life. As a faith and passion for God and His presence abounds, so will our quality of life arise. Stay where you are and keep what you've always had. Or, you can arise and reach for what you have never known and you will grow beyond you're wildest dreams.