High Risk, Close it Down

Last year I wrote an article about walking the Light into the Darkness. It came out of some moments in spiritual warfare which were high adrenaline and high risk. A year later I have heard comments which support the unseen risk and my total ignorance of what I had gotten into.

Two Christmas's ago I opened the gym at our local assembly to get some exercise and to get to know some of the men who attend. The thought of reaching into a sub-culture was furthest from my mind. I opened the gym and began to shoot hoops.

There were nights when only 2 or 3 of us showed up. Then there was growth. The first year was a mix of men from various walks. Then in the Fall of that year a group of men began to show up for some serious hoops. The ensuing atmosphere, at times was filled with some tension.

Last year the cultural gathering for street ball hoopin was an educational and high risk event for me. The men who came come from a sub-culture which has rules far different than the white, middles class, peaceful culture in which I personally live. The nites were filled with excitement and behavior at times which exploded outside of standard of "marquis of queensbury's rules."

Several brothers - in their 50's - stayed the course to help me and bought into the philosophy which I was implementing. Matthew 28/18-20 indicates that while we are wandering about in our daily routine, we are to make disciples ... .

It is comfortable to put our money in an offering plate and go home to our secure places. Walking the Light into the Darkness is spiritually a spiritual adrenaline rush. Speaking truth from within an empty peanut butter jar (Stedman - 1960's) is part of every believers responsibility.

Most of the comments I heard and have heard recently are in the direction of, "shut it down, the risk is too great, " or "you need to change how you run the program."

First, yes I need to tighten up what we do and grow in wisdom in my understanding of this culture. But let me add this by way of some serious input: some had their heads cut off, some were thrown to the lions, some were sawn in half, one we know of was stoned to death, others were hounded into the mountains, one was crucified upside down. So how is this different?

So how do we justify the peaceful existence we have in most of our churches. One brother recently told me in summary form that he was asked to close down a Middle School outreach becasue the student who were coming were too noisy, the music was not hyms and the property may be in risk.

Close it down! Live in peaceful coexistence with the world and "let all of them go to Hell, they deserve it any way." The risk is just too high! Our insurance rates may go up and of course we may get hurt -not for stupidity but just because of the kind of people who will show up! They are the undesireables.

PS - have you heard about the revival among the garbage collectors in Egypt? Have you heard of the millions who were converted in South Africa?

Don't Rock the Boat

My mother, a Scandinavian Matriarch god-bless her soul, was famous in our family, at least in my memory for phrases which would capture the spirit of what she was trying to teach us as her wildly energetic children.

Usually the phrase, "don't rock the boat" meant to leave things as they were and don't interrupt with another idea which would require more time and discomfort to deal with.

The attitude of "don't rock the boat" has crept into our churches and hinders the growth of our believers to a place of wisdom and strength. The don't rock the boat mentality does not produce men "who stand in the bean field and sling the sword from dawn to dark," or men who are able to "kill 500 with the spear in one engagement."

In the realm of spiritual growth and our walk with Christ so we will present to Him a heart of wisdom - Psalm 90 -"Don't rock the boat" stops the growth of believers into saints making a lasting impact on their culture.

We need a forum where we can interact with each other in significant and deeply thoughtful ways. Older men mentoring younger men in the art of wisdom to become men who together walk into the Darkness with the Light and speak Christ as Light.

Talking, questioning, disagreeing, thinking, challenging, formulating, confessing are concepts which are part of dynamic interaction and our growth to wisdom.

We need believers who jump into a pit on a snowy day and slay a lion. Can't you just hear the; words: that's stupid, someone will get hurt; it's too cold out to be doing such a thing; maybe we should think about this; you need to learn to be more gentle and express your feminine side.

As Christ was walking on water and the disciples were rowing into the wind and Peter was about to jump into the water and start his infamous walk across the waves, can't you just hear the words, "sit down, don't rock the boat, we are in deep water here!!"

Sometimes rocking the boat is more about valor and the subsequent failure is about growing into a Rock upon which He will build the ministry. Sometime a great energetic act of valor results in some of the greatest lessons for molding the character of believers into saints who leave a lasting legacy - if we live. James 1/1-5

Who will stand in the gap? Oh! don't rock the boat.

Coalescing of Random Events

For the past year I have been working with the grandsons in processing and selling firewood. This has been an incredible experience for me as I walk into the twilight years of my life. Little things have a great impact on production.

Issues in my life which I thought were settled are coming to the forefront of my spiritual lobe. The Lord is heating the dross out of my life. At times it is painful and I am embarrassed and at times I immediately thank Him for the clarity of thinking He is bringing into my Swedish head. John 15

Each time we work together there are the delights of laughter, the choice of the will to "just get the work done and we are outta here" and of course the intructions of this old man. Each week there is a learning curve. Little actions connected to each other bring about a profit which grows as skill is developed.

Little events connected which don't seem important to the youngsters are in reality steps of action which increase production and profit. There are parts of the job which require skill and are considered dangerous. These advanced skills take time to develop and the process of mentorinig is essential to live to the end our our days.

Our conversations are sometimes a bit intense because the connection of small functions is missed by the boys. Learning to look for what needs to be done and developing skill in observation and then function is the direction to success.

The average person who walks onto the sight doesn't see the small things we do to make the processing of firewood into a successful business. The trained eye sees the unobtrusive actions and appreciates the end result.

So here goes: as I was reading in the book of Proverbs I noticed one of the verses and my thoughts were stirred more deeply than in the past. So I marked the verse with the words: the coalescing of random events is not an accident. Men and women in the faith need to spend time together in dynamic interaction refining ideas and observations to be able to see the small things God is doing.

As a result a whole generation of believers will be speaking of the great wonders in the work of God among us. They will see the small events coalescing into an event which will express the presence of Jesus Christ among us and which will be clear so we will not mistake it as "lucky."

What do you think?

Martial Arts and the Master

Over the years I have run into several advanced martial arts masters. One of the men I met and spent one day a week for over 4 years, was a 5th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do - from Korea.

As we talked he told of attending annual marital arts extraveganzas. Men who were working their way through the belt system of Korea would gather to express/demonstrate their advanced skills. He told of men who lived in remote areas coming to the event and holding the crowds spell-bound by profound acts of martial arts.

The older men were the masters. These would quietly show a specific skill and the youngsters would be captivated by what appeared to be supernatural ability.

In the faith, we need men who understand the depths of wisdom and who can walk us neo-phytes through the steps of learning to gather understanding, then as time and experience shape our lives, we move into wisdom. It is here in this walk of great wisdom where we see the work of the Spirit in queit but profound ways. Psalm 90/10-12

The trajedy in many churches is that we have men in leadership who are moving into levels of understanding after gathering great knowledge of the ministry and spiritual walk, but are still men who are not master craftsmen in spiritual truth. And as such rather than seeing works of the spirit in True Change, the changes take place in the quiet recesses of the lives of individual believers. Transformation by the spirit from this earthly body into conformity with the glory of Jesus Christ.

And so it for most of us in the spiritual realm. Men and women who are not masters but 'wise for their age and walk - or advanced for their years' are given positions of leadership in spiritual over whole flocks of sheep when in reality they should be working for a foreman on the ranch or under the boss of the flock.

What do you see as the implications of this short article - jump in!
Have fun but be nice. Passionate and intense is okay. Don't develope a crusty heart if you are
an old dude. Don't allow a root of bitterness to spring up.

Pressure of the Presence of the King

Recently several of us were given a lesson in "presence and pressure." Our trip to Haldeman Ranch near Cleveland, Montana was an eye opener. John Haldeman is a legend among ranchers and has invested 1/2 a century of his life in working cattle and living on a vast spread of open land with some great and scenic mountains on the West side of the ranch.

During the roundup in November we helped John sort cows for the winter. His style is truly unique. He is thoughtful, doesn't move fast, and uses his body among the animals to communicate his directive to move to a certain part of the sorting pen.

His posture, his demeanor, his position near the animal he is cutting out of the herd or sorting into a pen for examination is subtle and unobtrusive. To us as city slickers we were mentored in pressure and presence.

In the large initial sorting pen, four of us formed a line with space of 15 feet between us as we made a straight line. John made sure we had the ride distance from the animals. There were times when we did not use our bodies to impose presence on the cows and John would quickly and in a single word or two place us in the right position. Our placement was ensure that only the cow and calf designated by John would pass into another pen for holding.

Some cows were less submissive and they kept us moving as we adjusted our presence and position to give authority and make them critters submit to the wishes of the boss.

Christ in reality uses His presence to direct us into the place of life where we will be the most productive. His presence is most of the time gentle and it is very deliberate. Christ uses enough pressure through the positioning of His presence to bring us into harmony with His purpose for us. James 1/1-5

Dynamic Interaction - healthy verbal exchange

Dynamic Interaction: the freedom to interact with others and communicate ideas without the fear censure by the thought police. For the time to create ideas, to interact on difficult subjects, to enjoin another person in a vital discussionof life changing concepts there is not wide spread acceptance.

The difference between stirring in the head and stirring in the heart is not often understood. In religious circles the stirring of the head is often mistaken as a stirring of the heart. In this misundestsanding bitterness, hostility, anger are often assigned to the one who is passionate about the concepts being put on the table.

The thought police in religious circles assign negative attitudes to this kind of interaction. The words or phrases used are in this vein: don't be bitter, it is not good to have your heart stirred, don't stir up trouble, we don't talk about religion or politics, these issues are too volatile, we need to be calm and not get all stirred up.

To see a fuller expression in a formal document go to: www.reachingmenministries.com/articles.aspx then clik on Dynamic Interaction