A Convoluted Commission

The fact remains is that men have long made it a practice to use the word, and I cannot stress enough how serious I mean to say, “use the word of God” for private agendas and to further their private kingdoms.  For the common good or whatever lies they have to tell themselves these days, many just continue on, examining others, never examining themselves.  Men will privately interpret passages for private reasons.  It is a common practice displayed among decent and devious men  alike and has been in the works since the time of Christ. 

Missionaries and preachers have long claimed unfounded and loose interpretive callings for ministerial nonsense and money grabbing shakedowns by way of using the Great Commission. They have long found, as the definition of commission states, their doings, performing, perpetuating, sending, act of entrusting, duty; and it is now their proper authority and warrant for exercising certain powers, administrations, and duties in the Great Commission passages.  

These passages in the gospels have been used for centuries to solicit services and funds from among Christian bodies.  Sure their is gain, but no one ever discusses the other spectrums of disorder. To use these passages to solicit service, or even funds and offerings is unscriptural and dangerously close to adding to his word.  

In many cases now, I can only see it as defraudation or using guile and gimmicks to obtain an desired affect.  By applying a teaching or doctrine to these scriptures, then saying they are directly for the body of Christ is adding to the doctrinal position of the passage.  To do so, one must ignore the scriptural integrity of Gods book.  There is a very specific reason for men to deny that there is any disorder.

You will see variations of this in every evangelistic, Baptist church you can find. It is the big idea that is fully entrenched in well fortified Baptist traditions and preserved by some mafia like omerta! It is why there is never a real discussion or theological sit down over it.  Men will look at you like a two headed dragon just for suggesting this may be an off base position. They act this way because the great commission is the prominent “big idea” that many Fundamentalist, and Evangelical, Bible Believing Christians have in their minds for the reasons for doing much of what they do.  Who would ever dare question it right?

Why I Don't Support Faith Promise Missions Giving

If I would title this anything it would be “Faith Promise Missions Giving”

Philosophy and traditions starving the Body of Christ at home to win the lost abroad

“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord Deceitfully...!”

I can say with absolute surety, that giving in the word of God is intertwined with early and modern day Christianity in the NT. Let it be emphatically stated that giving is not in question whatsoever.  What I am examining is our methods and principles of giving.

Faith Promise has become so wrapped in Fundamentalism, and such a part of church traditions, if supporters of it were not making it a mandate or doctrine of the local church, the fuss would be minimal.  But this is not the case!  

I am straining at this gnat because people have made this “gnat” doctrine!  And they are nothing more then works and ideas of men. They say they are not forcing any one to give, but they say things like “we don’t require you to practice it but all our members do it”.  It is the join or die mentality.  And this is why I choose to deal with such a dividing topic!

It has been chronicled in A.B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movement:, by Charles W. Nienkirchen that A.B. Simpson, the man with the original idea of “faith promise giving” was a full blown Pentecostal, which explains the hold they have on the Christian Missionary Alliance today. He also largely emphasized world wide evangelism in his preaching.  

Because of his influence and is fund raising prowess, many Nazarene churches, Church of God churches and Pentecostal churches today use “faith promise giving” largely in their missions giving techniques as equally and as long as Baptist churches have.  We all use the same phrasing, handouts, teachings, Faith Promise cards, etc. So how Independent are we really?

Questioning Commissions Not Commitments ~ Part 1

What is the Great Commission?  What do those words mean? What do they mean to you?   What do those words mean to the body of Christ? Where did the term come from? What does it typically mean to the masses in the modern churches today?  Is the Great Commission to be commanded? Is it to be mandated? Is it to be revered and used as much as we do as a collective body?    

The Great Commission is generally believed to be, according to many “one of the most significant passages in the Holy Bible. First, it's the last recorded personal instruction given by Jesus to His disciples. Second, it's a special calling from Jesus Christ to all His followers to take specific action while on this earth.” This position is highly and widely regarded among the local churches.  “A special calling from Jesus?”

The “Great Commission”, though not a specific Bible phrase, is a phrase that Christians have long used to describe certain things found in select portions of the word of God.  The word “commission” shows up once in Acts 26:12 and it was a commission of death and imprisonment.  That is interesting to say the least.  

That commission was Paul’s “commission” to waste the church, quite literally. His commission produced waste.  The only connotation in the word of God regarding the word “commission” involves death, lawlessness, unrighteousness, terror, fear, and panic, to imprison and deliver unto death those who believe in the “new way”.  Paul’s commission was to waste the body. The chief priests had authority and a commission, too.  They gave it to Paul to carry out, and he received it.

In the case the of the synoptic gospels, these passages are where many men see their special, selective calling, mandate, charge or order for their ministries and they call the passages “the Great Commission”.  Many men believe this message to be directly relevant and absolutely connected to our preaching, outreach, worship, and how we conduct our service styles today in Christianity.

Questioning Commissions Not Commitments ~ Part 2

The fact remains is that men have long made it a practice to use the word, and I cannot stress enough how serious I mean to say, “use the word of God” for private agendas and to further their private kingdoms.  For the common good or whatever lies they have to tell themselves these days, many just continue on, examining others, never examining themselves.  Men will privately interpret passages for private reasons.  It is a common practice displayed among decent and devious men  alike and has been in the works since the time of Christ. 

Missionaries and preachers have long claimed unfounded and loose interpretive callings for ministerial nonsense and money grabbing shakedowns by way of using the Great Commission. They have long found, as the definition of commission states, their doings, performing, perpetuating, sending, act of entrusting, duty; and it is now their proper authority and warrant for exercising certain powers, administrations, and duties in the Great Commission passages.  

These passages in the gospels have been used for centuries to solicit services and funds from among Christian bodies.  Sure their is gain, but no one ever discusses the other spectrums of disorder. To use these passages to solicit service, or even funds and offerings is unscriptural and dangerously close to adding to his word.  

In many cases now, I can only see it as defraudation or using guile and gimmicks to obtain an desired affect.  By applying a teaching or doctrine to these scriptures, then saying they are directly for the body of Christ is adding to the doctrinal position of the passage.  To do so, one must ignore the scriptural integrity of Gods book.  There is a very specific reason for men to deny that there is any disorder.

You will see variations of this in every evangelistic, Baptist church you can find. It is the big idea that is fully entrenched in well fortified Baptist traditions and preserved by some mafia like omerta! It is why there is never a real discussion or theological sit down over it.  Men will look at you like a two headed dragon just for suggesting this may be an off base position. They act this way because the great commission is the prominent “big idea” that many Fundamentalist, and Evangelical, Bible Believing Christians have in their minds for the reasons for doing much of what they do.  Who would ever dare question it right?

"Established in the Faith"

There is only one place in the entire word of God where people are said to be “established in the faith”!  It is found in Acts 16. After the councel in Acts 15 at Jerusalem, where the decrees were carried to all the churches.

Jews or Gentiles are not considered established in the faith until Acts 16. In Phillipians 4:15, Paul refers to his leaving Macedonia, which correlates historically with Acts 16, and this is referenced to being “as the beginning of the gospel.”  

This is not the beginning of the body of Christ, but the beginning of the gospel, Paul’s gospel, the gospel of grace!  Here, it was established.  It is where it began to be accepted by all the churches, after it was decreed and delivered by Paul!

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

The gospel of grace was set into motion, so to speak, in Acts 15 with Peter before the councel in Jerusalem.  He declared that mans salvation was by grace through faith.  The decrees were delivered of the elders to the churches, and the gospel of the grace of God was finalized and began in Acts 16.  They were established in the faith in Acts 16!  I make this point to say that the gospel was NOT established in the great commission passages and early Acts.  

"Hyper-Deputationalism"

I coined a word!  I think? You know those bad words or terms in Baptist societies and churches that are thrown around to label people; such words like, "Hyper-dispensationlaist" or "Double Inspired" and many more.  What these terms and phrases mean are really a matter of perspective, due to so many people defining them differently. Let it be stated as well, that such words are used as divisive and incendiary comments! Therefore, I have created Hyper-Deputationalism.

But c'mon, joking aside, lets not beat around the bush, for every 10 decent, honest, true, laboring missionaries you know that are on the foreign field doing their "service" to the Lord, there is 50 that never made it to their intended fields.  For every 10 ten that answered "the call", there are 50 that also answered, but could never reach their place of burden, or calling.  There are many reasons for this.  The economy would be one. Lack of support from Christians. Family hardships would be another.  Financial strains of selling houses and quitting jobs, etc.  But what about the processes and turmoil of gaining ones support that many call "Deputation", why does it seem to work for some, but not for others?

Deputation defined is simply "the act of appointing a person or body of people to represent or act on behalf of others." Money, is not involved in the definition, nor the gaining of funds for the representation of anything.  What you find among a lot of Christians, is many of our divisions are because of our definition of terms and phrases.

My Long Overdue Response to the Street Preachers

Let me say that this is less about what street preaching was and more about what it has now become.  Preachers,  like any other group of Christian people, you can have those that are true and honest in their heart.  Then you have those that are deceived or willingly rejecting truth. The men we have been discussing usually hold to some twisted form of theology over emphasizing the repentance aspect and the reforming of the world and all of it’s wicked sinners through in your face, shock and awe style street preaching.    

They truly view themselves as prophets!  Street preaching prophets of doom and gloom, mixed with a little angry Jesus and Paul.  It’s deplorable, and ungodly if you ask me and makes a mockery of what believers are!

If their final authority for public ministry in the 21st century is Methodist from the 1700’s and 1800’s, the minor or major  prophets, or even the Lord Jesus Christ, their actions are full of half-truths and heresy.  They use these same passages to enforce borderline legalism  in their churches, while preaching against this said legalism.  They will protect themselves with this and would say now that the fact that I mention legalism, is only brought about by my conviction through witnessing their holy walk of life.  

These men have an answer for everything that deflects the questions off of them and onto others.  They attempt to bring everyone into their “yoke” of living, and they have the King James to back everything up.  

What is the Sense?

Make me understand, explain it to me like I’m six.   Don’t hand me a book by some established evangelical or fundamentalist.  Talk to me!  Show me.  Spend time in prayer and study with me longer then the 5 minutes in the Pastors office after Sunday church.  Show me in the scriptures!   Make me see it as you see it!  

Why do we tithe again?  Seriously.  Aside from running to Genesis, Leviticus, Malachi and Hebrews, what grounds do we have to ask any one today, removed from Temple worship and affairs, to tithe?  How can we possibly lay this at the sheep’s feet? Stop with all the explanations and attempts to Christianize it.  I can read!  It is a new practice in this country dating back to the 18th century, so don't tell me we have "always done it".

Why do we adhere to gimmicks like Faith Promise?  Do I even need to waste my time on this one?  If you want to live in Charismatic fantasy land and carry this on with the prosperity gospel nonsense, help your self, but quit distorting the scriptures in a feeble attempt to make it look biblical.  You are lying to your people!  I don't care how much fruit or money you are getting.  Our blessings are spiritual, not physical.  Don't be deceived.

Why do we keep talking about the great commission as if it is something handed down to the church?  Please people!  The gospels and Acts are not play books on outreach.