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An Enemy Lies Within and we need your help to overcome its influence in the Western church.
The time has finally come; in less than three weeks, An Enemy Lies Within will be available in print format. We can now work toward getting it into as many hands as possible. For this, we need your help.
The #1 enemy of God and all humanity lies within each one of us – yes, even Christians. That enemy is not the Devil; resist him, and he must flee (James 4:7). Our #1 enemy is not the world; for through Jesus Christ, the world has been crucified to us, and we to it (Galatians 6:14). Neither Satan nor the world have power over a born-again believer… unless we allow it.
Truly and indeed, our #1 enemy is our carnal mind!
When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, mankind’s ability to reason was forever entangled with the sin of rebellion. Consequently, our carnal mind is at enmity with God and can be nothing else (Romans 8:7).
Christians in the 20th and 21st Centuries have fallen victim to the carnal mind’s deceit and destruction. We have been deceived into exchanging the mind of Christ for lesser and earthly ways of thinking. Collectively, our carnal minds are destroying the Western church from the inside out.
But all is not lost, for God has given us a process for overcoming the deceptions and distractions of our carnal mind; it is the process of faith. Exercising the disciplines of the faith process enables and empowers Christians to lay hold of the grace of God for the renewal of our minds and the transformation of our spheres of influence. Getting our minds right is key to the reformation of the Western church.
It would be naïve to suggest that An Enemy Lies Within is the magic pill for all that ails the church. However, our situation is certainly more dire than we imagine and pursuing God’s ways is the only way our circumstances are going to get better. We must find His ways for our participation with Him in restoring what has been lost.
To this end, An Enemy Lies Within exposes the carnal mind as our #1 enemy, and equips Christians to overcome it through the application of spiritual disciplines. It goes on to encourage the liberated, like soldiers freed from captivity, to help others break free from the deceptions and distractions which plague the Western church. Read the rest of this entry »
The Western church is in decline.
It is hard to imagine anyone disagreeing with that statement. The evidence of our failing condition is overwhelming. Here are two (of many) examples:
- Based on a 2019 Pew Research study, only 69% of Americans identify as Christian – down from 77% ten years earlier.
- In a 2018 Barna Research survey, when asked “Have you heard of the Great Commission?”, only 17% of churchgoers said they had heard of it and could explain its meaning. 51% said they had not heard of the Great Commission at all!!
More than a few well-meaning and conscientious individuals and organizations have offered their opinions on how we might reverse our trending decline. Most of these prescriptions address symptoms, not the source of our unhealthy state (i.e., start teaching the Great Commission). Consequently, much of the Western church seems to have checked into hospice care, rather than pursue the cure for our disease.
To state the obvious, the cure we have been offered is God’s grace. The simplicity of that assertion does not make it any less true – particularly when we understand the meaning of grace. From Blue Letter Bible’s Outline of Biblical Usage, grace (charis) is:
[T]he merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.
Grace is the cure for all that ails us. So, how do we, as leaders, acquire the grace of God for the restoration and transformation of the Western church? How do we participate with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the good work they have committed to accomplish in our midst (Matthew 4:19, Philippians 2:13-14, 2Corinthians 3:18)? Read the rest of this entry »
The cynicism and critical attitude startled me. It certainly did not feel like the “I love the church” that had come from the man at the end of the table. Something had happened to me.
Who am I to judge the bride chosen by my King? Well, I am an elder; there is some responsibility there. But it is surprising how genuine concern can morph into something genuinely unacceptable.
Yes, she has become sickly. She has infected herself with worldly diseases from which her Bridegroom died and lives to make her free. And yes, even her healthier members continue to fight with one another over seemingly limited resources, when her Betrothed has access to supernatural riches. There is much to be concerned about.
Still, the cynicism and critical attitude surprised me; and it shouldn’t have. The critical spirit I allowed and nurtured for so many years, though exposed and deconstructed, has been lurking about in my subconscious, waiting for any opportunity to feed itself. I have seen it before. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
As best as I can discern, here is what happened to me. I love my King, and I want Him to have the bride He desires and deserves. Her behavior bothers me. I know – we all know – she can and will be better. But when? Why has she neglected her preparation? Why has she allowed herself to be distracted and drawn away?
My carnal mind – that sneaky little trickster – stirred up the critical spirit in me, focusing my attention on the ugliness. Loving concern turned to cynicism, and I lost the Lover’s perspective. Now, do not misunderstand me; I am not making excuses. The new man that I am in Jesus Christ is responsible for recognizing and overcoming my flesh and its mind. Diligence is required, and I let my guard down.
The enemy that lies within is too easily underestimated. Without the grace of God, we are all dangerously exposed. His grace brought me out of this deception. It is important to note that His grace came in fellowship, at a meeting I was not that excited about attending. His grace got me there, and His grace exposed my cynicism and critical attitude. By His grace, I now enjoy an attitude adjustment. I am grateful.
Is the bride sick? Yes, that is certainly a fair assessment in this part of the world. I was not the only one at the meeting that expressed concern. But, and this is the point, their concerns were wrapped in love – their love and the King’s love for the bride.
I love the church. That is my renewed profession. By God’s grace, she will be stunningly beautiful. The King will have the one He desires and deserves. Loving judgment is a part of her preparation. Always loving.
God bless you with love for your King, and loving concern for His bride.
Humbly yours and forever His,
Rob
It is common practice for a struggling company to call in a consultant – someone that can help the management team identify underlying problems and make improvement recommendations. While Senior Managers tend to focus on the standard financial reports (e.g., the balance sheet and income statement), the wise consultant knows that financial “struggling” is most often a symptom of poorly managed and measured activities further up the production lifecycle.
And so, they go looking. What they usually find are areas of the company that are trying to manage themselves using production and performance measurements that no longer match the vision and values of the company.
Take the church for example. I mean the church that Jesus Christ is building. That church has come upon hard times – particularly in North America and Europe. We have gotten to the point where measurements are no longer needed to recognize our struggles. The end product is certainly not up to the Master’s standards.
There are at least two reasons the Western church is struggling. First, we are measuring the wrong things. Secondly, we are not doing things God’s way. Put those together and we can say that the Western church is failing to measure itself in the way God has prescribed.
So, where do we start measuring in the right way? Scripture makes it clear that the shepherds will be held responsible for the health of their flocks (Hebrews 13:17). If I was the Master’s consultant, that is where I would begin.
Sometimes it is hard to point out the right way to do something without first identifying what’s being done wrong. In this case, I am relieved that such an approach is not necessary. Why is this? Because whatever way is not God’s way is the wrong way – and get this – no matter how successful that way may appear.
But who am I to judge? Exactly! Judgment is not my intent, nor is it my responsibility. I’m just the consultant. We are called to judge ourselves… and for good reasons.
For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 1Corinthians 11:31-32
If we will not judge ourselves, the Lord will judge us. In either case, the chastening and correction are for our good and the good of our ministries. No one is perfect. The wise leader makes an assessment on a regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »
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