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The word denomination comes from the latin word denominacioun meaning to designate or give a name to. This word plays such a large part in Christianity today because it serves to identify the more than 30,000 different groups all of whom claim to place their faith and trust in Christ. But if you examine many of these unique groupings you will find that by and large each claims to “do” Christianity not just differently but better than the others. This “doing” is not just a matter of presenting the message of Grace in a unique format but it is most often presented as a “better” way of “doing” – this then is denominationalism. Can you imagine how confusing and frustrating this must be to a person in search of truth? “Come here and do it our way if you want truth.” As Christians, we have nearly lost the entire reason for gathering which is to uniquely celebrate, teach and express the One Lord of All.

I realize that denominations are in no way exclusive to Christianity but in the context of ministering the wonderful message of Christ’s free gift of Life I’m finding today’s idea of denominations highly distracting and largely harmful in the expression of Christ in us. People and methods have become the focus instead of Christ. The whole attitude that I can “do” Christianity better than other Christians shifts the focus off of The Accomplisher, Christ (Rom.15:18, Act 17:24,25), to the responder, us, who were designed to abide in Christ only and not take credit for anything (John 15:5). The attitude that a specific denomination is more accurate or qualified to do Christianity is humanistically arrogant and has diseased many if not most of today’s Christian gatherings.

Long ago Paul warned the church gatherings in Corinth about this attitude. These Christians were divided and fighting about how to minister the Gospel and Paul simply instructed them that although they were different and unique in their gifts and administration they were all of the same Lord and Father (1 Cor.12:4-6). In other words, enjoy your uniqueness by putting your eyes on The Accomplisher and not yourselves.

I encourage all of you who have found yourself stuffed into a Christian mold of “doing” Christianity to step out. If you are struggling then don’t hesitate in reaching out to me or someone else God will provide. There is a growing community of believers like me who simply desire to live a full, responsive life dependent on Christ.  God knows what He wants to accomplish in your life better than anyone else so start by letting Him.

Back on Father’s Day of this year a gathering of believers called Church On The Move or COTM produced this video that pokes fun at Dads… not for being Dads but at how serious and egotistical sometimes we as men can get when we begin focusing on ourselves and not God. It’s a good thing to have a good laugh at yourself every now and again.
This is not an endorsement of COTM or any of their views although they do appear to embrace the good news of grace… and that is encouraging.

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Over the past several months God has giving me more and more wonderful opportunities to help people struggling in the area of physical fitness. As I help these people address their issues with things such as weight, nutrition or ineffective workout routines, I am discovering many similarities between the fundamentals of fitness and the fundamentals of Christian living.

In helping these folks we have been analyzing the science behind heart rates and why it is so important to raise your heart rate into your specific “fat-burning” zone for a specific period of time in order to see any real reduction in your overall body fat percentages. This zone is either unknown or mysterious to so many people. Can you image working out hard in order to shed some unwanted pounds as well as build up some muscle only to find out that your workouts have little to no effect? Well that is precisely what is happening to millions of people. They show to their fancy clubs, workout hard and sweat and walk out feeling as though they had a good fat-burning workout but likely never even reached their zone or stayed in it very long – therefore the workout was by in large a waste of time, energy and money.

The same happens for millions of Christians who show up for church gatherings and/or Bible studies week after week but never really get into the “edification zone” of exploring and openly sharing their victorious Life in Christ. Instead they show up to their fancy church clubs, do a lot of “churchy” activities and walk out feeling as though something good happened but likely never even reached their “edification zone” or stayed in it very long – therefore the gathering was by in large a waste of time and energy.

Over the years God has been slowing me down in my passionate pursuit of teaching what I know to be truth. My approach with people struggle in the area of physical fitness is really no different than my approach with those struggling to understand authentic Christianity – teach what God has revealed to me and openly practice it, teach in smaller bite-size pieces without compromising or watering down the truth, encourage – encourage – encourage, never be afraid to stand on what you know to be true regardless of what conventional wisdom may say and allow the patience, hope and love of Christ to shine through my earthly existence in every opportunity.

What an amazing, illuminating experience for me. God continually wants to reveal Himself to me and to every believer through all sorts of  life’s experiences. It certainly is fun to see how God works in all these circumstances. Looking forward to more that will undoubtedly come.

Not long ago while visiting a distant church gathering I had a wonderful experience. With a full understanding that this gathering has long taught legalistic principles, I chose to visit just the same in order to see some old friends. There were difficult moments throughout the service where my heart hurt hearing and seeing legalism embraced by the many dear people attending. The Lord certainly has tempered me to not be so quick to react or be overly outspoken among those who simply do not understand the freedom in the New Covenant – in other words, I painful sat quiet and thanked God for what He was doing although I could not see Him at work. I readily admit that it was not easy for me to sit there in an non-participatory manner and listen to the mixture of law and grace. Quickly snatching up the bulletin I read through the schedule of events but then I turned to the last page. ‘The List ‘ was the title of poem written by one of the members. Upon reading the title and closed to the bulletin knowing full well that reading that poem might very well push me over the top. But as I sat there the Holy Spirit began to work on me urging me to read ‘The List ‘. “Lord, don’t you know that reading that will just cause me further anguish?”, was my reply. But His “just read it” was so loud I thought maybe those around me might have heard Him too.

And so I read ‘The List ‘… and here is what it said:

When a soul is first made alive
By the Spirit and the blood
The excitement and the joy explodes
It consumes them like a flood
God begins to work in them
And their life begins to change
Little by little and piece by piece
Their priorities rearrange
Then along comes some well-meaning one
Who believes they know what’s best
They confront this new one with ‘the list’
“You must look just like the rest
Here is the list of do’s and don’ts
If you truly want to please God
To really be accepted
This is the path you must trod”
And so this new believer
Now focused on the list
Loses their joy and excitement
Liberty in Christ is missed
All too soon they fall away
Because the list contains no power
And walking in the Spirit
Wasn’t taught them from the hour
When they first came to know the Lord
And their heart was opened wide
Not that it’s wrong to have a list
But only the Spirit working inside
Can produce a truly righteous life
Full of love and liberty
The freedom to live above the list
Is what it really means to be free

Gal 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

I sat there stunned. Someone among those people was thinking differently. That someone penned words that are marks of authentic Christianity. Someone there was latching hold of Grace the person and beginning to see the Grace Walk. If you can imagine I was almost frantic as soon as the service ended and not for reasons you might suspect. I actually wanted to meet the person who wrote that poem and thanks him for responding to God and blessing me because of it. But that person was never found and the meeting never happened.

Later that day when speaking with another person who also attended that gathering I ask who was the person who wrote that poem. The response was heartbreaking, “Oh, he is just a layman”. Layman?!! And so the bondage of the law continues by not recognizing that the New Covenant never teaches there is layman or clergy but instead we are all uniquely gifted brothers and sisters in Christ each called as a minister. But I do know this, if there were such a person in Christianity as a layman – I know which one should be actively teaching and preaching in a church gathering.

Summer is over and my schedule has settled back down. Had a wonderfully time traveling and enjoying outdoor activities with the family but it is also good to be back here writing again – I missed it.

I have taken the opportunity to add a new page link on the Unwindings website titled ‘Our Current Study‘. Here you will find what we are studying each week and the highlights of our discussions. So far I have found this approach to be more interactive by allowing everyone to see the direction of the weekly gatherings and as well as the opportunity to comment on the lessons. Take a few moments to check out that new link and read through the brief instructions. Don’t forget to scroll down to see the comments section and add a few of your own if you so wish.

Again, glad to be back and hope see you all at our gathering or here on Unwindings. Drop me note and tell me how you are doing.

Have you ever considered the life of Daniel in the Bible? On Sunday as my family was reading and talking about his early life we discussed a couple of verses that are refreshingly simply yet profound. Earlier in Daniel’s life as a captive in Babylon while serving in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court he was faced with a troublesome dilemma. The king had a particularly bad dream and awoke demanding that one of his astrologers or magicians interpret his dream. Quick to be the praised by the king the only thing these court tricksters seemed to do well was stall and equivocate while the king grew more and more impatient. Finally, in a fit of rage Nebuchadnezzar promised to have every astrologer and magician dismembered and their houses burned down if they did not interpret the dream. But even then not one them could deliver an interpretation. Hearing the news that he along with Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and all of the court astrologers were about to executed, Daniel requested to speak to the king. Boldly Daniel told the king that he could interpret the dream but needed some extra time to do so. It was later during the night that God revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel thus saving many men from a gruesome death.

The wonderful illuminating truth is that Daniel did not first consult God about the dream. He did not go before Father and request the dream be revealed. He did not question or fret about the king’s demands. He simply responded in complete trust that God would deliver. In Daniel 2:14-16 we find Daniel requesting for more time to interpret the dream but he was able to fully trust that God would deliver because God said so in the previous chapter, verse 17. In other words, Daniel did not question God but instead believed Him wholeheartedly. But such a belief was proved openly in Daniel’s unwavering courage despite the adverse circumstances.

All too often as Christians we spend so much time trying to find out what God’s Will is for our life. We go before God and ask Him to show us His will. We do, do, do things for Him thinking that in some way that might fit into His plan. Yet, God laid all this out for us plainly in Romans 12. If we simply present our lives as a living breathing sacrifices to God He will then live out His life in us proving to us what His plan is for our life. We never have to try but only trust. By continually questioning Him we are really saying “sorry God, I just don’t believe you”. Certainly that may not be the our intent but none the less it demonstrates our unwillingness to fully trust in what He has already promised. Proverbs 3:5,6 says to trust in God with all of our heart – don’t trust in our own understanding. In every way acknowledge Him and He absolutely will direct our paths. What a great promise. Now ask yourself, is there proof of it?

It has been a little while since I posted anything. One thing that I don’t want to do unlike many other blogs is continue to post content even if there is nothing to say. I figure that if you take the time to read these posts then why not make them worth your time otherwise both you and me are wasting our time.

During this lastest blogging reprieve, I have been re-engineering my fitness programs (I love extreme fitness programs BTW) but I have also been enjoying a time of self-evaluation and critical analysis. Since stepping outside of the conventional wisdom that Christians should go to church because that is the “right” behavior to engage in, I have had a chance for the first time in my life to think clearly without a lot of outside interference. Now that the dust has begun to settle and the noisy naysayers have quieted a bit, I can now carefully consider God’s will and His unmistakable direction in my life. Just yesterday morning, Sunday morning, as I sat in my living room with my family and my son’s friend, we opened our Bibles, kids and adults alike, and began working through a new lesson on Daniel I have been developing. The interaction and participation for a full hour was amazing and when the time came to openly pray as a group these kids had no hesitation for such an opportunity. Later I asked my 10 year old son what his friend thought of the our Sunday Bible study. “Dad, he said that he learned more in our Bible study about Daniel than he ever has at church”, was his response. He went on to say he wishes he could do that every Sunday. Hmm… and in response to that I say, “He can”! Truly my prayer is that we can gather with more and more Christians seeking to actively participate during our gatherings.

Folks, stepping outside of the conventional wisdom that as a Christians we should go to church is difficult because it means you must confront your own fears. Fear of what others will say about you, fear of how you will be treated both inside and outside of the Christian community and fear of what you will do once you have taken that step. I understand these fears first hand very well. Undoubtedly, you will suffer for such a decision but if you understand that going to church is lie that Satan has perpetrated upon Christians (see Lie #31) then it becomes a bit easier to critically consider what God actually has for you instead of what man says you must do. Before some of you cast all of this aside as rubbish please realize that I did not say Christians should not gather together. I have discussed this before in other blog posts so I will spare you the verbosity. Today, scores of Christians have pigeonholed themselves into being sermonized every week yet there is little to no spiritual growth in their own life. There are many good preachers that preach great sounding messages but Scripture is quite clear that good sounding preaching does not equal vibrant spiritual growth. Spiritual growth can only come through an intimate relationship with Jesus not from really good passive listening.

If you simply seek comfort and tranquility in this earthly life as a Christians, then remaining in the raft of conventional wisdom will serve you well – it drifts along peacefully as long as there are not too many waves. But panic and pandemonium waits those suddenly forced to swim should the trials of life overturn that raft. If you seek to have a meaningful, living faith walk then lay your fears aside and step out of the raft. For three years now I have been teaching this New Testament freedom in Christ in the small venue of my living room; yet, big things have been happening. Dozens of people have been profoundly impacted. Young and old, mature and immature, Christ’s Life dramatically transforms people from the inside out and He no doubt wants to transform you.

I have finally completed an upgrade to the video gallery containing all 101 Lies that Steve McVey created. The video gallery is now much faster, successfully loads all of the videos using smaller thumbnails, uses the shadowbox feature (you will see when you click one of the videos) and supports multiple browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari). I have also uploaded a PDF document that contains the full list of lies. You can download this PDF and use it for note taking while you watch the videos.

I highly recommend you take the time to watch each of these videos. They are a treasure chest of truths that will greatly help you in your own spiritual growth and also in how you can help others who are seeking true freedom in Christ. I so much appreciate how Steve McVey has placed himself in the middle of Christian controversy with these videos. I was reading the comments to one of his videos recently and a person was using ALL CAPS AS THEY COMMENTED ON HIM BEING A LIAR. I had to laugh because Steve simply responded to that self-proclaimed Christian and asked him why he was yelling by using all caps and in what way was he lying. Steve encouraged that person to take the particular lie being discussed, looking up in Scripture for himself and dig out the truth. I so much support Steve in his desire to proclaim the freedom of Christ’s love in a practical, usable way. It is for that reason I put so much effort into this video gallery.

Watch these… enjoy them… and continue to respond to God’s opportunities as He brings them into your life.
To get to this video gallery simply look to the right of this post in the ‘Pages‘ section and then click on the link Lies Christians Believe (Video Gallery).

Today I had a few moments to talk with my mother on the phone. We talked about many of the problems in the world right now from war in the Middle East to some recent tornadoes in Montana that devastated a community. It was a reminder to me how at any given moment there is someone, somewhere in the world experiencing overwhelming circumstances that are well beyond their control. As we mutually encouraged each other that our Hope is not found in anything this world has to offer she shared a wonderful truth found in Our Daily Bread on April 16, 2010, titled “For This I Have Jesus”…

In an evangelistic meeting in Ireland, the speaker was explaining what it means to abide in Christ and to trust Him completely in every trial. Concluding his message, he repeated several times, “It means that in every circumstance you can keep on saying, ‘For this I have Jesus.’ ”

The meeting was then opened for testimonies. One young woman said, “Just a few minutes ago I was handed this telegram. It reads, ‘Mother is very ill; take train home immediately.’ When I saw those words, I knew that tonight’s message was meant just for me. My heart looked up and said, ‘For this I have Jesus.’ Instantly a peace and strength flooded my soul.”

Three or four weeks later the evangelist received a letter from this woman. It read, “Thank you again for the message you gave that day. Life has become an uninterrupted psalm of victory, for I have come to realize that no matter what life brings, for this I have Jesus.”

That believer in Christ had found in her Savior the One who would be with her “through fire and through water,” and who would bring her “out to rich fulfillment” (Ps. 66:12).

If you are enduring a great trial of affliction, remember—for this you have Jesus!

Our Daily Bread – www.odb.org

All the times we have been afflicted with life’s troubles… were we so quick to say “Lord, for this I have You!”? What a helpful reminder this is. The loss of a needed job, an difficult financial situation, the loss of a loved one, a severe health issue or any other circumstance that squeezes in on you from every side – to say “Lord, it is for this very circumstance I have You.” We have no idea what each day will bring into our lives but Jesus does and is prepared to be everything we could ever need.

Christian behaviorism is an area of study that has long interested me. The believer was never given the right to change his/her bad behaviors and subsequently DO good behavior but instead has been given the capacity to recognize bad behavior as revealed by God and then the responsibility to trust God as He changes that behavior and leads us in the good behavior He has already designed for us (Eph.2:10). This is a basic New Covenant truth. But this truth is such a big struggle for the Christian especially in today’s society because of the growing want to see God doing His work in us immediately. The “I want it all and I want it now” mentality otherwise known as living in the present or Hedonism.

Turns out that our perspective of time very much impacts how we live our lives. I invite you to watch the below video produced by the 250 year old London-based Royal Society for the advancement of the Arts (RSA). By no means do I subscribe to all of the RSA’s worldly philosophies but I do find that this specific video presents some fascinated scientific analysis that Christians can appreciate. As you watch this video think about your personal time perspective. Do you live your life based upon the way things have always been? Do you live for the ‘now’ wanting immediate gratification? Or do you live with the hope that what God is doing, seen and unseen, is far better than anything you could ever orchestrate – a hope that brings God’s rest and peace into your present state of living?

Open our eyes Lord and teach us to trust and rest in You in our daily living.