Steve.Gardner.Authentic.Theology
Steve Gardner and end-time
propagandist follows the Goebel's pattern: A
disturbing prospect looms before us as the fact of our
decline of Churches of Christ (CoC) has moved from
unbelievable to undeniable. The question we must answer is
no longer, “How are we doing;” our question is now, “What
shall we do about it?”
You run for a rock to hide under!! Quickly. Based on the
absolute PATTERN from the wilderness onward, and Jesus
defining just about everyone I have known in 91 years, it is
POSSIBLE that the Kingdom of Jesus which is WITHIN where
believers worship--in the PLACE of an UNholy spirit made
into A Holy Spirit (never a god or person) is never
either VISIBLE, AUDIBLE nor ODIFEROUS in the tribe of the goat
or CAPPELLA. You remember PAN that little offspring of sex
with a goat and the father of the PANpipe or panic (laded
burden)..
Luke 18:7 And shall not God
avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him,
though he bear long with them?
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.
Nevertheless when the
Son of man cometh,
shall
he find faith on the earth?
Acts.17.25.God.Not.Worshipped.Mens.Hands.html
Nor in HOUSES built by human hands. Steve and the sudden
enemies of Christ and the Bible are marked by MUSIC which is
defined absolutely the worship of Apollyon. He is the leader
of the LOCUSTS or Muses. Religious musicians were always
called perverts, sorcerers and parasites.
The Kingdom of God with Jesus the only teacher is not
anywhere that Steve and others can find? What they COULD
as trophies are rarely or ever a SCHOOL OF THE WORD convened
once each week as a reading assembly.
Sabbath and the Greek PAUO means REST from the clergy and was
never a DAY OF WORSHIP. God commanded no worship service
which meanshard bondage trying to ENHANCE the powers of
God. No one in Scripture (Including David) never
WORSHIPPED by preaching, listening, singing, playing an
instrument, dancing, acting or PAY FOR PLAY. God ordained and
Jesus "created" a SCHOOL OF THE WORD ONLY.
Worship Rituals are invented by mercinery men seeking a
serfdom to force the widows to feed them in exchange of making
prayers or HYMNS in the Greek world.
Jesus defined a little flock of Lost Spirits Jesus was sent
to save. Jesus was not OF the World (Kosmos, ecumenical,
kingdom of the Devil opposed to God]
John 8:30 As he SPAKE these WORDS, many
believed on him.
John 8:31 Then SAID
Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
........... IF ye continue in MY WORD, [Logos:
regulative principle: CENI]
THEN
are ye my
disciples indeed;
Logos
computation, reckoning
2. statement of a theory, argument,
ouk
emeu
alla
tou
l.
akousantas
prob. in Heraclit.50; logon
ēde
noēma
amphis
alētheiēs
discourse and reflection on reality,
IV. inward debate of
the soul, reflection,
deliberation
Regulative and formative forces,
derived from the intelligible and operative in
the sensible universe,
Opposite to epithumia
A. desire, yearning, longing after
a thing, desire of or for it, Theaomai :--gaze at,
behold, mostly with a sense of wonder, 3.
view as spectators
Opposite Pathos A. that
which happens to a person or thing, incident,
accident, Moralizing Rhetoric
Opposite
Poiein to excite passion,
Arist.Rh.1418a12;
V. Rhet., emotional style
or treatment,
Opposite Enthousi-astikos , ē, on, A. inspired, “phusis” Pl.Ti.71e;
esp. by music,
Prose, OPPOSITE -poiêsis, Id.R.390a;
OPPOSITE -poiêtikê, D.H.Comp.6;
OPPOSITE poiêmata, onomatopoeic
word
OPPOSITE emmetra Modus 2. The
measure of tones, measure, rhythm, melody, harmony, time;
in poetry, measure, metre, mode: Mūsĭcus a, um, adj., = mousikos.
X. the Word or Wisdom
of God, personified as his agent in creation and
world-government,
Theologians are doomed to call God a liar or
INCOMPETENT. If God had wanted any kind of music in
the tuneful sense He was INTELLIGIBLE But denied by C.
Leonard Allen.
mousikos
kai
melōn
poētēs”
2. generally, votary of the Muses, The
Muses were the LOCUSTS unleashed with Apollon their
"musical worship leaders." The Greek and Latin literature
identifies them as dirty adulteresses
http://www.piney.com/DocHesTheog.html
[25] the Muses of Olympus,
daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis: “Shepherds
of the wilderness,
wretched things of shame,
mere bellies,
we know how to speak
many false things as though they were
true;
but we know, when we
will, to utter true things.”
...and
they bade me sing of the race of the blessed gods that are
eternally,
but ever to sing of themselves both
first and last.
pharma^kon 3.
enchanted potion, philtre: hence, charm,
spell, Od.4.220
sq., Ar.Pl.302,
[Circe, Church, Corinth mother of harlots] Theoc.2.15
The singers [Muses], instrument players and craftsmen
as sorcerers in Revelation 18.
Theology is ANTICHRISTIAN.
theolog-ikos
,
ē,
on,
A.theological,
philosophia
th.,
i.e.
metaphysics,
Arist.Metaph.1026a19,
cf.
1064b3; “
genos”
Str.10.3.23;
“
pragmateia”
D.H.4.62;
[muthoi]
Sallust.4;
to
th.
Cleanth.Stoic.1.108;
hoi
th.
Olymp.in Mete.129.19:
Comp. “
-ōteros”
Dam.Pr.135. Adv.
-kōs,
opp. “
tragikōs,
apophainesthai”
pragma^t-eia
, A.prosecution of business, diligent
study, mataios
p.
logismōn]
this idle attention to
argumentations, great trouble, the business
of dialectic,
hē
dēmēgorikē
p.
the business of oratory, b. pl., works, of
the buildings of Solomon, LXX 3 Ki.9.1.
4. magical operation, spell, “hē
Solomōnos
p.”
study of drama
Apophainō
, give evidence of a legitimate mode of
living, show by reasoning, [beyond the sacred
pages!]
B. Med., display something of one's own, “Mousan
stugeran”
A.Eu. 309;
“kala
erga”
Pl.Smp.209e:,
make a display of oneself, show off,
X.Cyr.8.8.13.
II. apophainesthai
gnōmēn
declare one's opinion, “a.
kineisthai
ta
panta”
Id.Tht.168b:—Pass.,
ki_neō Hermes
[mercury KAIROS] leading the souls, Od.24.5;
simply, move, warrior about to attack,
2. remove a thing from its place, meddle
with things sacred, change, innovate, “nomaia”
Hdt.3.80
II. disturb, of a wasps'nest, having
driven him in headlong flight,
When
the Pope called for Jubilee 2000 Steve's clan jumped right
in and began Jubilee 1899
1823 Preaching for pay? "Give money to make poor pious youths
learned clergy, or vain pretenders to erudition; and they pray that
they may preach to you; yes, and pay them too.
Was there ever such a craft as priestcraft? No, it is the craftiest of all crafts. It is so crafty that it obtains
by its craft the means to make craftsmen, and then it makes the deluded support them!" (Campbell, Alexander, Christian
Baptist, Dec.
1, 1823, Vol. 1, p. 91).
1860 The Organ: The
Christian Repository. Hickman Creek
1883
Nashville. "From the North, where the
Society system was deeply imbedded in the churches,
people moved into Nashville and many filled
the Woodland Street church. By the end
of 1882, a woman from Kentucky
asked Sewell about forming an auxiliary society to the Christian
Woman's Board of Missions. Sewel objected,
and gave his reasons.
Myhr made his goals clear about
promoting the Society and Instrumental music
even though it would divide the churches. Myhr's goal,
Lipscome believed, was to
"ostracize, boycott, and starve every preacher that does
not APPROVE the society."
1890 CHRISTIAN STANDARD PROMOTES A NATIONAL CONVENTION IN
TENNESSEE
In
1890 the first convention was called at Chattanooga to
organize the state society. The only churches
in the state of Tennessee were those who had already
adopted the organ in their worship. The Christian
Standard pumped up the news and "it is reported that the
brethren in Nashville, Tennessee are desirous of entertaining
our National Convention next year."
This of course was just two congregations. A survey
showed that out of 2500 members in Nashville, less
than one hundred wanted the society.
Lipscomb
noted that among the Society people "the Bible is as
popular as last year's almanac."
The
Nashville Jubilee was chartered on February 16, 1989.
The first being held July 6- 8, 1989. Steve Flatt gives
an account of how the idea for Jubilee originated
New Theology and Antichrist
Preacher Mike
Dec. 1988, “the Nashville meeting”.
Hundreds of “institutional” and “non-institutional” brethren
met to hear a program of representative speakers on “the
issues”, and to ask questions. From the more liberal speakers
there emerged a plea for a “new hermeneutics”
(a new set of rules for interpreting the Bible). For these ultra-liberals,
direct statement, apostolic example, and necessary
inference, for establishing authority, can no longer
be accepted.
1. The “expanded role for women” was introduced and pushed.
Now there are women filling the pulpits and women elders are
beginning to be installed. All this is an avenue to pure,
classical modernism. More and more of the Bible is being
discarded as the verbally inspired word of God. A young Ph.D.,
Andre Resner, of Abilene Christian University, in an article
entitled, “Christmas at Matthew’s House”, wrote that Mary was
a sexually questionable woman, and called Matthew, sneaky!
This is pure modernism!
2. The Nashville Jubilee (Inc.), which is really from its
incipiency a corporation, had its beginning in 1989.
Associated with its name in the beginning was the Madison
church of Christ, and Rubel Shelley. Max Lucado’s
services were employed in the 1994 Jubilee to enhance
interest. 10,000 were expected for attendance. Change agents
were employed to conduct seminars. The leaders of the Jubilee
also have been editors and writers for the publication, “Wineskins”,
which promotes a constant barrage on conservatism.
Mike
Cope boasts
1989-and-churches-of-christ1989 was an interesting
time in Churches of Christ. Three books had just been
published that stirred the conversation: Discovering
our Roots and Illusions of Innocence
by Leonard Allen and Richard Hughes, and The
Worldly Church by Leonard, Richard, and Michael Weed.
(In 1990 Leonard’s The Cruciform Church would come
out; and in 1996 Richard’s Reviving the Ancient Faith:
The Story of Churches of Christ in America would be
published.)
1989 was the first big Push by Rubel Shelly: Using the Aztec
burning down the houses pattern the goal was to RESTRUCTURE all
churches. of Christ. The Lipscomb radical of the trinity was
published by H. Leo Boles in 1942. Historically even at
Nicea [We] also
[believe] in the Holy Spirit.
1Cor.
8:5 For though there be that are called gods,
whether in heaven or in
earth,
(as there be gods many,
and lords many,)
Simple reading proves that a LORD is not
a GOD.
1Cor. 8:6
But to US there is but
ONE God [Theos], the Father, OF whom are all things, and we in
him;
and one Lord [Kurios]
Jesus Christ, BY whom are
all things, and we by him.
Timothy wants male and female
"self-authoring" (Authentia) silenced because BOTH believed
and the women practiced the craft of, in their madness,
claiming that they were the MEDIATORS (preachers-musicians)
1Tim. 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto
the knowledge of the truth. [The Word]
1Tim. 2:5 For there is ONE GOD
and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Tim. 2:6 Who gave HIMSELF a ransom for all, to be
testified in due time.
Speeches On Holy Spirit At Jubilee
| Year |
Speaker |
Subject |
| -------------- |
---------------------------- |
--------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1991 |
Doris Black |
Rejoice in the Spirit
1-2-3 |
| 1992 |
Lindsey Garmon |
Identifying &
Deploying Spiritual Gifts |
| 1992 |
Lindsey Garmon |
Identifying &
Deploying Spiritual Gifts |
| 1992 |
Lindsey Garmon |
Identifying &
Deploying Spiritual Gifts |
| 1993 |
Steve Flatt |
Does the Spirit Move
You |
| 1993 |
Steve Flatt |
Does the Spirit Move
You |
| 1993 |
Steve Flatt |
Does the Spirit Move
You |
| 1994 |
Jeanine Reese |
Leadership &
Spiritual Gifts |
| 1994 |
Jeanine Reese |
Leadership &
Spiritual Gifts |
| 1994 |
Jeanine Reese |
Leadership &
Spiritual Gifts |
| 1994 |
Earl Lavender |
Allowing God's Spirit
to Grow the Church |
| 1995 |
Randy Harris |
God the
Spirit-Powerful Presence |
| 1996 |
Bob Harrington |
The Spirit and
Spiritual Growth |
| 1996 |
Bob Harrington |
The Spirit and Life
Experiences |
| 1996 |
Bob Harrington |
The Spirit and
Spiritual Discipline |
| 1996 |
Bob Anderson |
The Compassion of the
Spirit |
| 1996 |
Earl Lavender |
Walking With the
Spirit |
| 1996 |
Tom Riley |
The Sweet Fruit of the
Holy Spirit |
| 1996 |
Tom Riley |
The Sweet Fruit of the
Holy Spirit |
| 1996 |
Joe Beam |
Discerning the Holy
Spirit |
| 1996 |
Joe Beam |
Releasing the Spirit's
Power |
| 1996 |
Joe Beam |
Bring the Spirit into
the Current Crises |
THE ONLY PERSONIFIED SPIRITUS IN THE LATIN LITERATURE IS
APOLLYON WHO IS THE LEADER OF THE END-TIME "LOCUSTS" OR HIS
MUSICAL WORSHIP TEAM. It took about a decade, according
to Rick Atchley. to Teach our Youth to LEAVE OUR
MOVEMENT. Not that many left but a huge number of
congregations refused to be listed with the instrumental
sectarians. The non-institutional churches have moved
into the slot of Leader-Lead apostasy. The Musical Worship teams are called
"locusts" and they are proven to drive the faithful into
the Covert or UMBRELLICUM Jesus promised for His Church
until the storm passes.
http://www.pineycom.com/Theology.and.AntiChrist.html
Stan Grandberg repeats Steve
propaganda: Last year I published an
article describing the decline of CoC in the Great
Commission Research Journal (Fall 2018).[1]
This year, Tim Woodroof and I wrote a paper that looks
into the crystal ball of the possible future of CoC in
2050. At the present, the best analysis is that each
month six CoC congregations close their doors. Given the
current trends, we expect that rate to double—or even
triple—before we arrive at 2050. If this does
occur, we could see the fellowship of CoC drop from
just over 12,000 churches to under 3,000.
2 Cor. 2:17 For we are not as
many,
............
which corrupt the word of God:
............
but as of sincerity, but as of
God,
............
in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
kapēl-euō, A. to
be a retail-dealer, drive a petty trade Hdt. 3.89 ta mathēmata
sell learning by
retail, hawk it about, Pl. Prt.313d
, 2 Cor. 2:17, of prostitutes,
Plat. Prot. 313d For
among the provisions, you know, in which these men deal, not
only are they themselves ignorant what is good or bad for
the body, since in selling they commend them all, but the
people who buy from them are so too, unless one happens to
be a trainer or a doctor. And in the same way, those
who take their doctrines the round of our cities, hawking
them about to any odd purchaser who desires them,
commend everything that they sell, and there may well be
some of these too, my good sir, who are ignorant which
of their wares is
[313e]
good or bad for the soul;
and in just the same case are the people who buy from
them, unless one happens to have a doctor's knowledge
here also, but of the soul. So then, if you are well
informed as to what is good or bad among these wares, it
will be safe for you to buy doctrines from Protagoras or
from anyone else you please: but if not, take care, my dear
fellow, that you do not risk your greatest treasure on a
toss of the dice.
Here is Tim Woodroof's Prophetic Peep Stones. He and
Steve use thee historical "your are loosers" best
illustrated by Adolf Hitler who used Wagner as his Musical
Worship Minister and Wagner's wife for whatever. Tim
Woodroof was an early leader diverting churches into the
Instrumental Music Sectarians.
http://www.pineycom.com/Spirit.Rest.of.Us.Woodruff.html
SPIRIT
is literally a blast of wind or hot air or
FLATULENCE. God always uses the ANTITHESIS to Hide
from the Wise, Sophists or speakers, singers or
instrument players.
Unless
you simply put the Words of Christ in the Prophets and
Apostles, Apollyon the leader of the Locusts-Musicians is
the only personified SPIRITUS.
1Kings 22:22 And the
LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth,
and I will be a LYING
SPIRIT in the MOUTH of all his
prophets.
And he said, Thou
shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Kings 22:23 Now therefore, behold,
the LORD hath put a
LYING SPIRIT
in the MOUTH
of all these thy prophets,
and the LORD hath
spoken evil concerning thee.
God never uses A holy spirit person to make His words INTELLIGIBLE.
Psa. 36:3 The words of his MOUTH
are iniquity and deceit:
he hath left off to
be wise, and to do good.
Ex. 4:15 And thou shalt speak
unto him,
and put words in his MOUTH:
and I will be with thy MOUTH,
and with his MOUTH, and will teach you what ye shall
do.
Num. 22:38 And Balaam said
unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee:
have I now any power at all to say any
thing?
the word that God putteth in my MOUTH, that shall I speak.
Is. 55:11 So shall my word be
that goeth forth out of MY SPIRIT:
it shall not return
unto me void,
but it shall
accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper
in the thing whereto I sent it.
Is. 59:21 As for me, this is
my covenant with them, saith the Lord;
My spirit that
is upon thee,
and my words which I
have put in thy MOUTH,
shall not depart out
of thy MOUTH,
nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed,
nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed’s
seed,
saith the Lord, from
henceforth and for ever.
Matt. 28:16
Then the ELEVEN disciples went away into Galilee,
into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them
Steve and those standing in holy
places claiming to be APOSTLES were not there.
They deny that God was competent.
Matt. 28:18
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
ALL power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth.
Matt. 28:19 Go ye therefore,
and teach all
nations, [enroll disciples]
baptizing them in the
name [Name is singular]
of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matt. 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I
have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with
you alway,
even unto the END
of the world. Amen.
Jesus didn't leave a GAP to be
filled by latter day apostates.
Jesus certified the Prophets who defined the Kingdom
of Christ both inclusively and exclusively. The
Apostles were Eye-- and Ear--Witnesses of these
teachings and proven by Signs and Wonders. Peter
outlawed private interpretation or FURTHER EXPOUNDING.
Jer. 1:9 Then the Lord put
forth his hand,
and touched my MOUTH. And the Lord
said unto me,
Behold, I have put my
words in thy MOUTH.
Micah 2:7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob,
is the spirit
OF the Lord straitened? are these his doings?
do not MY words do good
to him that walketh uprightly?
Dominant
Theology: "There are
several responses LEADERS in our fellowship have made to our
challenge of decline.
Some say its
time to leave and join forces in a broader, more
ecumenical fellowship,
advancing the unity plea of our
heritage.
http://www.pineycom.com/Feminist.Theology.of.Abilene.Christian.University.html
Iamblichus
Art of Divination: 26. With the Korghantians, this represented a guard
about the Demiurgos or Creator; with the Kuretes, it denoted a protecting of the
divine maid Kora.
26. Servius
remarks that the Sacred observances of Father Liber, the Roman Bacchus, related to the
purification of souls. This cleansing, as here
declared, was considered to be not only from
contamination acquired by coming into the conditions
of physical existence, but also from guilt actually
incurred.
Thou
seemest to think that those who are enrapt by the Mother of the gods
are males, for thou
callest them, accordingly, "Metrizontes"; yet
that is not true, for the "Metrizontesæ" are chiefly
women. A very few,
however, are males, and such as may be more delicate. This
enthusiasm has a power that is both life-engendering and perfective, in which
respect it differs from every other form of frenzy.
The
ancient
Middle East constituted an ecumene. The term ecumene
comes from the Greek word oikoumene, which means the inhabited world
and designates a distinct cultural-historical community.
The material effects of the commercial and cultural
interconnections that permeated the component regions of
the ancient Middle Eastern ecumene are richly supplied
by archaeological excavations, which provide evidence of
the spread of architectural, ceramic, metallurgical, and
other products of ancient Middle Eastern man's industry.
Manufacturing
and services tended to be monopolized by professional
guilds, including religious personnel specializing
in sacrifices,
oracles, divination, and other kinds of priestcraft.
The mobility of such guilds
throughout the entire area helps to explain the spread
of specific religious ideas and techniques over
great distances. Just as guild
potters spread ceramic
forms and methods, so also guild
priests spread their religious
concepts and practices from the Indian Ocean to the
Aegean Sea, and from the Nile River to Central
Asia. The Greek poet Homer, in the Odyssey,
noted the mobility of guildsmen, mentioning religious personnel
as well as architects, physicians, and minstrels.
Guild priests called kohanim were found at ancient Ugarit on
the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria as well as in
Israel. Moreover, Mycenaean Greek (late Bronze
Age) methods of sacrifice are similar to the
Hebraic methods, which are preserved in many countries
to this day in the traditional techniques of Jewish
ritual slaughter.
"The ancient
Middle East made a place for homosexuality and bestiality in its myths and rites. In the Asherah cult
the qedeshim priests had a reputation for homosexual
practices, even as the qedeshot priestesses for prostitution. Israel
eventually banned both the qedeshim and qedeshot, while
in Ugarit the and kohanim were priestly
guilds in equally good standing. Baal is portrayed in Ugaritic mythology
as impregnating a heifer to sire the young bull god. The
biblical book of Leviticus (18:22--27) bans
homosexuality and bestiality expressly because the
Canaanite population had been practicing those rites,
which the Hebrews rejected as abominations. Middle Eastern Religion
Aristot.
Pol. 5.1313b [1] in fact the close watch upon all
things that usually engender the two emotions of pride and
confidence, and the prevention
of the formation of study-circles and other
conferences for debate
And it is a device of tyranny to
make the subjects poor, so that a guard2
[20] may not be kept, and also that the people being
busy with their daily affairs may not have leisure
to plot against their ruler. Instances of this are the pyramids
in Egypt
and the votive offerings of the Cypselids,3
and the building of the temple of Olympian Zeus by the
Pisistratidae4
and of the temples at Samos,
works of Polycrates5
（for all these undertakings produce the same effect, constant
occupation and poverty among the subject people）; and
the levying of taxes, as at Syracuse
（for in the reign of Dionysius6
the result of taxation used to be that in five years men had contributed the
whole of their substance）. Also the tyrant
is a stirrer-up of war, with the
deliberate purpose of keeping the people busy and also
of making them constantly in need of a leader.
Also whereas friends are a means of security to royalty,
it is a mark of a tyrant to be extremely
distrustful of his friends,
LEADERS means preachers who have left Scripture and assuming
APOSTOLIC office over Elders who FLEE. First, Unity was not
UNITING with the denominations. If there were Christians
(upper case) then they should COME OUT OF BABYLON. Jesus
was sent to search out and rescue LOST SPIRITS. He
didn't pray for the WORLD and God hides from the wise or
Sophists: speakers, singers or instrument players. The
NARROW ROAD which Stan cannot find is:
Steve's
bluff has no meaning. Anyone who COUNTS churches
cannot know that the Kingdom of God does not come with
observation. These are religious operations claiming God's
authority and are therefore LYING WONDERS.
Acts 19:9 But when divers
were hardened, and believed not,
but spake evil of THAT
WAY before the multitude,
he departed from them,
and SEPARATED the disciples, [
mathētas]
disputing daily in the school
of one Tyrannus.
Randy
Harris working to support the NACC which did not form
until 1927 and Christian Churches were not removed from
the Disciples until 1971 when the Hate Mongers began
Randy Harris 2013 NACC Revelation 4-5
Stan
Grandberg: The MAJORITY of church LEADERS
are struggling to find some way forward
that satisfies both
the desire of their members
for the safety of what we have been in
the past
and the need to present a relevant
Christianity to our increasingly unbelieving world.
HE IS NOT SPEAKING OF A
SINGLE APT ELDER WHO HAS NOT BEEN NEUTERED BY CLAW AND FANG.
As an APOSTLE he thinks that
Pulpit Preachers meaning Senior Pastor MUST be THE leader.
He knows nothing of the almost total number of faithful
churches with TEACHIING PREACHERS.
Stan
Grandberg: For the past fifteen years, as the
executive director of Kairos Church Planting, I
have worked extensively within Churches of Christ,
promoting, calling and pleading with churches
to engage the
future through the planting of new congregations.
From this perspective, I present here three hard
challenges I believe we must address to set a foundation
for our future and three bold strategies that could change
the course of our future.
He has had little success but claims
that 60% of his plant are INSTRUMENTAL meaning APOSTATE.
Hard Challenges
Stan
Grandberg: The
following three challenges are hard because they are
deeply embedded, DNA level aspects of CofC
that seem to hold us
back,
even cripple us, from
engaging 21st century America,
confident that we can
be useful ambassadors,
harvesting new souls
for the kingdom of God.
Keith D.
Stanglin.The.Restoration.Movement.Habit.of.Schism
I AM
AWARE OF AND HAVE ATTENDED SEVERAL DISTINCT PRACTICES BUT
NOT A SINGLE GROUP EVER CHANGED FROM THEIR HISTORIC
POSITION.
Challenge #1: reorient our hermeneutic from a closed
to an open perspective.
The CofC through the
20th century have practiced
a case LAW
hermeneutic described under the rubric:
Command, Example,
and Necessary Inference.[3]
While “thus saith
the Lord” is an appropriate operating principle,
we have added a
subtext that says, “what is NOT addressed is not
allowed.”
God
didn't attend school of theology: language is inclusive
and exclusive. NO, Churches of Christ stand on the hand
God has dealt. It is the APOSTATES who insist that YOU
approve of THEIR new practicing KNOWING that it is not
commanded and will sow discord.
Our case law hermeneutic
requires explicit permission to do something. Without
explicit biblical command, example or necessary inference we
are forbidden to do anything different, a situation that keeps
us stuck within our own past.
Commands,
Examples, and Necessary Inferences
Looking for God's inferences
John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me:
........... the Father hath not
left me alone;
........... for I do alway
those things that please him.
You don't have to!
John 8:30 As he SPAKE these WORDS, many
believed on him.
John 8:31 Then SAID
Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
........... If ye continue in MY WORD, [Logos:
regulative principle: CENI]
then are ye my disciples indeed;
John 8: 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever:
but the Son abideth ever.
John 8: 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye
shall be free indeed.
You don't have to!
John 8:32 And ye shall know THE TRUTH, and the truth shall make
you free.
John 8:37 I know that ye are Abrahams
seed; but ye seek to kill me,
........... because my WORD (logos) hath no place in
you.
John 8: 38 I SPEAK that which I have seen with my Father:
........... and ye do that which ye have seen with
your father. [the
Devil]
John 8: 39 They answered and SAID
unto him,
........... Abraham is our father. Jesus
SAID unto them,
........... If ye were Abrahams
children, ye
would do the
works of Abraham.
Aristot.
Nic. Eth. 1175b.1
But things that are akin to things of different kinds
must themselves differ in kind.
[3] A still clearer proof may be
drawn
from the hindrance
that activities
receive from the
pleasure derived from other activities.
For instance, persons fond of the flute
cannot give
their attention to a philosophical discussion
[The
LOGOS
or Regulative Principle]
when they overhear
someone playing the flute,
because they enjoy
music more than the activity in which they are engaged;
therefore the pleasure afforded by the
music of the flute
impairs the activity of study.
Worship of God is giving all of our attention to God and
the LOGOS
-prosekhō The ONLY
worship concept in A Church of Christ
3. turn to or towards
a thing, “p. omma” E.HF931:
mostly, p. ton noun turn one's mind,
attention to a thing, be intent on
it,
ou prosekhei ta pragmata” “p. nomon theou” LXX Is.1.11,
cf. Ex.34.11:
also p. apo tōn hagiōn, tōn grammateōn, ib.Le.22.2,
Ev.Luc.20.46;
“p. tou mē phagein haima” LXX De.12.23;
p. hina mē mastigōthēs ib.2 Ch.25.16.
Arnobius,
Heresies IV May it not happen, may it not come
to pass, although you craftily conceal it, that the one
should take the other's place, deluding, mocking,
deceiving, and presenting the appearance of the deity
invoked?
If the magi,
who ares o much akin to soothsayers [Levites],
relate that, in their incantations, pretended gods steal
in frequently instead of those invoked; that
some of these, moreover, are spirits of grosser substance,
who pretend that they are gods, and delude the ignorant
by their lies and deceit,- why should we not
similarly believe that here, too, others substitute
themselves for those who are not, that they may both
strengthen your superstitious beliefs, and rejoice that
victims are slain in sacrifice to them under names not their
own?
33. Your gods, it is recorded, dine on celestial
couches, and in golden chambers, drink,
and are at last
soothed by the music of the lyre, and singing
.
You fit them
with ears not easily wearied;
and do not think it
unseemly to assign to the gods
the pleasures by
which earthly bodies are supported,
and which are sought
after by ears enervated by the frivolity of
an unmanly spirit.
Steve Gardner and others: To
change our course of decline in the 21st century
we must explore the other side of this hermeneutic coin, the
side of freedom and openness.
On this other side,
unless something is expressly forbidden,
WE are free to
explore it based upon biblical principles.
This hermeneutic approach is based upon a
narrative-historical interpretation of scripture,
most readily expressed
in our faith stream through the writings of John Mark Hicks.
This is part of our faith HERITAGE.
Our cousins, the Christian
Churches and Churches of Christ, operate with this open
hermeneutic. On the mission field of Kenya, I discovered
that, at our best, CofC are a fellowship that deeply desires
to obey the God of the Word, implicitly trusting the Word of
God to guide us to creatively engage the world of God. We
are at our best when we live out of this open hermeneutic
perspective.
Origen Book VI, Againmst Celsus who
promotes Greek theology
XIX
I do not indeed, deny that Plato learned from certain
Hebrews the words quoted from the Phaedrus,
or even, as some have recorded, that he quoted them from a
perusal of our prophetic writings, when he
said:
See how Phaedrus defines the Greek
practice SINGING their text to inspire
people into a charismatic feeling: that is actively
promoted as the WORSHIP WARS invaded happy congregations
to turn them into theaters for "holy entertainment."
"No poet
here below has ever sung of the super-celestial
place, or ever will sing in a becoming
manner," and so on. And in the same passage is the
following: "For the essence, which is both colourless and
formless, and which cannot be touched, which really
exists, is the pilot of the soul, and is beheld by the
understanding alone; and around it the genus of true
knowledge holds this place."
Our Paul,
moreover, educated by these words, and longing
after things "supra-mundane" and "super-celestial," and
doing his utmost for their sake to attain them, says in
the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we
look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are
temporal; but the things which are unseen are eternal."
Origen
XLI In the next place, as if he had forgotten
that it was his object to write against the Christians,
he says that,
"having become acquainted with one Dionysius, an Egyptian musician,
the latter told him, with respect to magic arts,
that
it was only over the uneducated and men
of corrupt morals that
they had any power,
while on philosophers they were unable to
produce any effect,
because they
were careful to observe a healthy manner of life."
Vulgate translates, "They
turn thy words into a song of their mouths." heart goeth after covetousness--the grand rival to the love of God;
therefore called "idolatry," and therefore associated with impure carnal love,
as both
alike transfer the heart's affection from the Creator to the creature.
Challenge #2: restore
apostolic leaders as part of our leadership system.
For a non-centralized, non-denominational fellowship, CofC
have a strongly held congregational leadership system. In
our most traditional form, a congregation is led by a
committee of elders with deacons and teachers as permanent
workers. Pastoral staff are hired to work under the
oversight of the elders, who can also fire on any pretense
or personal discretion. This structure creates a maintenance
orientation designed to keep the system stable. This
maintenance, stability-oriented leadership system is not
capable of creating or releasing the innovative, growth
producing activity necessary to change our decline
trajectory. We must adopt the Ephesians 4:11 understanding
that restores the full circle of biblical leadership.[4]
This will mean a recognition of the personal leadership
giftedness God provides the church.
Irenaeus (ca.
150)
Against Heresies
3.1.1
“We have learned
from none others the plan of our salvation, than
from those through whom the gospel has come down to
us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a
later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in
the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar
of our faith.”
Clement of
Alexandria (d. 215)
The Stromata, 7:16
“But those who are
ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits, will
not desist from the search after truth, till they get
the demonstration from the Scriptures themselves.”
Gregory of Nyssa
(d.ca, 395)
“On the Holy
Trinity”, NPNF, p. 327
“Let the inspired
Scriptures then be our umpire, and the vote of truth
will be given to those whose dogmas are found to agree with
the Divine words.”
Athanasius (c.
296–373)
Against the
Heathen, 1:3
“The holy and
inspired Scriptures are fully sufficient for the
proclamation of the truth.”
Basil the Great
(ca.329–379)
On the Holy Spirit,
7.16
“We are not content
simply because this is the tradition of the Fathers.
What is important is that the Fathers followed the
meaning of the Scripture.”
Ambrose (340–397
A.D.)
On the Duties of
the Clergy, 1:23:102
“For how can we
adopt those things which we do not find in the holy
Scriptures?”
St. Augustine
(354–430)
De unitate
ecclesiae, 10
“Neither dare one agree
with catholic bishops if by chance they err in anything, but
the result that their opinion is against the canonical
Scriptures of God.”
Thomas Aquinas
(1225–1274)
Summa Theologiae,
Question 1, art. 8
“For our faith
rests on the revelation made to the Prophets
and Apostles who wrote the canonical books.
Challenge #3: enliven
the experience of God among us. CofC have
typically been a heady, intellectually oriented movement.
Both our places and practices of worship are designed to
strip out emotional content and symbolism. The rule of
“decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40) has been used to
emphasize hearing the word of God to the neglect of
experiencing the presence of God. Creating a worship
experience that recognizes the power of the human senses as
vehicles through which God makes himself present challenges
our rejection of anything that smacks of the danger of
entertainment. If we expect “not-yet” believers to find
anything of worth in the sacramental event of our gathering
together, the experience of God must become our new
scorecard of our worship. When God shows up, lives will
never be the same.
Bold Plans
Stan
Grandberg: History
and research have proven true C. Peter Wagner’s assertion,
“Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic
methodology known under heaven.”[5]
Timothy Keller further expands Wagner’s view about church
planting,
Stan
Grandberg: The
vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the
single most crucial strategy for
(1) the numerical
growth of the body of Christ in a city and
(2) the continual
corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a
city.
Nothing else—not crusades, outreach programs, parachurch
ministries, growing megachurches, congregational consulting,
nor church renewal processes—will have the consistent impact
of dynamic, extensive church planting.[6]
No one ever went out to PLANT
a Church: they went out to ENROLL disciples by baptizing
them and teaching WHAT JESUS COMMANDED to be observed.
The local group ASSEMBLED themselves once each wee to READ
and REHEARSE the Word of God.
“Unless
I’m mistaken, the most radical of all the changes from the
old wineskin to the new wineskin is this: the amount
of spiritual authority delegated by the Holy Spirit to
individuals. The two operative words are authority
and individuals.”
C. PETER
WAGNER
A heretic who
thought he was an apostle.
A tare who thought he was
sowing wheat.
A bramble who thought he was
producing fruit.
A goat who thought he was
building the church.
A blasphemer who thought he was
going to heaven.
A wandering star who thought he
was offering direction.
A salt water spring who thought
he was offering fresh water.
A lost soul who thought they were
leading the church
through the gates of the Kingdom of God…
Lest we forget
Wagner –
so that none ever forget the dangers of heretics in
Christ’s church,
may his gravestone be a
millstone.
Spiritual Formation, which Stan endorses,
invaded the major universities when Fuller Wives began to
neuter the new preacherlings. From personal experience
these groups go not "go into the world and preach the
gospel: Planting or collecting institutions is the end."
The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)
is a movement which seeks to establish a fifth branch
within Christen
distinct from Catholicism, Protestantism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Eastern
Orthodoxy.
The movement is
largely associated with the Pentecostal
and the Charismatic
movements
and advocates the
restoration of the lost offices of church
governance,
namely the offices
of prophet and apostle.[1]
Inspired by the G12 movement,
it grows by recruiting pastors of
independent congregations and nondenominational
churches,
by assimilating members
from other churches through cell group meetings,
and by frequent Church planting and rapid
expansion, including foreign missions around the globe
- Apostolic governance – The Apostle Paul's
assertion that Jesus appoints apostles within his church continues
to this day.
- The office of the prophet – There is within the church a
role and function for present-day prophets.
- Dominionism
– "When Jesus came, He brought the kingdom of God and
- He expects His kingdom-minded people to take whatever
action is needed
- to push back the long-standing kingdom of Satan
- and bring the peace and prosperity of His kingdom here
on earth."[2]
- Theocracy – Not to be confused with theocratic government but rather the
goal to have "kingdom-minded people" in all areas of
society.
- There are seven areas identified specifically: religion,
family, education, government, media, arts &
entertainment, and business.[1]
- Extra-biblical revelation – There is available to
all believers the ability to hear from God.
- "The one major rule governing any new revelation from
God is
- that it cannot contradict what has already been written
in the Bible. It may supplement it, however."
- Supernatural signs and wonders
– Signs and wonders such as healing, demonic deliverance,
- and confirmed prophecies accompany the move of God.
- Relational structures – church governance has no formal
structure
- but rather is by relational and VOLUNTARY
alignment to APOSTLES.[3]
John Mark Hicks: It
illustrates how the church legitimately CO-CREATES
meaning
that is beyond
the explicit statements in the text.
Propagandists:
If CofC expect to make a
reversal from decline to growth, church planting must be our
core strategic activity. Given this fact, the following
three bold strategies would, from my perspective, provide
the most immediate leverage to accomplishing kingdom
expansion through our fellowship and congregational renewal
within our churches.
Propagandists: #1:
deliberately close older, declining churches to repurpose
the resources from their lands and buildings for the
planting of new churches. CofC can expect to see
as many as 8,000 congregations, two-thirds of our total
number, close in the next thirty years. If the average real
estate revenue were just $350,000 per church (a very
conservative amount), these closings would produce $2.8
billion. Investing half of that into new churches,
supporting each new church with $250,000, would result in
5,600 new churches. God has already provided us the
financial endowment we need to reinvest into our future!
Most Christian fellowships and denominations already fund
much of their church planting through such repurposing
efforts.[7]
As a step to accomplish this strategy, the Heritage 21
Foundation (Heritage21.org) was founded in 2016, “To partner
with declining churches to help them faithfully preserve and
repurpose their resources for new kingdom work.”[8]
Strategy #2: develop
an apprentice leadership system to train Next generation
leaders to plant new churches and missionally lead
existing churches.
Missional
is a LIE Word. He doesn't mean Missionary but Purpose
Driving because the existing Churches are NOT THE RIGHT
KIND. Missional as proposed by Stan Grandberg RESTORES the
five-fold gifts of Ephesians 4. Paul commanded Elders to
EJECT (that troubles Stan) the cunning craftsmen or
Sophists: speakers, singers, instrument players who
PREVENT speaking the TRUTH or Word one to
another. These "hypocritical" and "parasitic" acts
are LYING2 IN WAIT TO
DECEIVE.
Jeff Walling The Christian Church
Today REpurposed "his" congregation on the Next Generation
Preachers
Jeff Walling Youth Leadership Initiative The
COHORT is God's word as "a way of escape" because Pepperdine
bonded with the NACC doesn''t bother to define words.
Beginning
in 1995 but perverts the whole Bible trying to get the
youth to BETRAY their teaching
SEE
how Jeff Walling told the NACC how he
TRANSISTIONED HIS church to
instrumental "worship" after the NACC
transistioned Jeff Walling
Jeff
Walling Instrumental Music in Worship.
The problem with preachers getting their information from
other preachers intent on converting them is that they never
get around to reading the story line and defining words.
Jesus said that parables had hidden the truth from the
Scribes and Pharisees from the foundation of the world. He
called them hypocrites (actors) by referring to the Ezekiel
version byChrist who named slick speakers, singers and
instrument players.
Jeff
Walling Winterfest 2013 Denies that Scripture replaces
BEING LED BY THE LORD. The leaders of
this effort claim that they expose YOUR youth to lots of
musical bands TO TEACH THEM TO LEAVE YOUR MOVEMENT.
Jeff
Walling Daring to Dance with God One
John 14:17 Even the Spirit
OF truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him: but ye know him; for HE dwelleth with
you, and shall be IN you.
John 6:63 It is the spirit
that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the WORDS
that I SPEAK unto you, they are SPIRIT,
and they are life.
|
1John 2:20 But ye have an unction
[TEACHING] from the Holy One,
khrisma spiritual grace,
Iēsous khristos
|
and ye know
all things
A holy
spirit or
A good conscience, consiousness.
|
| John
14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so
long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? |
1John 2:22 Who is a liar but he
that denieth |
that Jesus is the Christ? |
| Which is the same
as: |
Which
is
the same as: |
he
that hath seen me hath seen the Father;
and HOW sayest thou then, Shew us the
Father?
|
He
is ANTICHRIST,
God does not need
another GOD PERSON to speak to His Son.
|
that denieth the
Father
and
the Son. |
| John
14:10
Believest thou not that I am IN the Father, and
the Father IN me? the words that I speak unto
you I speak not of myself: but the Father that
dwelleth IN me, he doeth the works. |
1
John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son
he that acknowledgeth the Son |
the same hath NOT the Father:
hath the Father also |
Propagandists:
Experience in healthy,
growing churches is the most predictive factor for
successful church planters. We need to create a pipeline
for missional leaders through apprenticeships in our
healthiest churches. If our top one hundred churches
would keep four apprentices in training on a two-year
rotating basis, graduating two apprentices each year, in
twenty-five years we would produce five thousand
experienced, missional leaders.
Jimmy.Adcox.Kairos.Church.Planting
Jimmy and Stan are successfully
driving out the elders and members undoubtedly so they can
be Apostles and Prophets.
Jimmy Adcox and family are DELIGHTING
IN THE TRINITY.
Jesus called the Pharisees and
Jimmy's Claim that Jesus was God BLASPHEMY.
John called it the mark of ANTICHRIST.
Simple Simon in Synagogue School would call it blind
ignorance of Scripture.
Stan
Grandberg: The Southwest Church of Christ in
Jonesboro, Arkansas has
trained apprentices within the church and its associated
campus ministry which have resulted in those apprentices
moving to Boston, Phoenix and
Seattle to start new churches and campus ministries.
A backbone of resources for apprentices called Emerging
Leader Training has already been developed by
Kairos Church Planting.
I knew
Stan as a youth in Seattle which was one of the first to
lie, cheat and steal the property of people I knew who
went west on covered wagons. Because of the strong
DISCIPLING in Kairos etal churches, watch out: we didn't
grasp that they were part of the Boston or Crossroads
given speaking time at the now defunct universities.
Stan
will be working with my old Murfreesboro congregation:
they plan A New Day Church which follows the pattern Stan
recommends and discussed below.
David.Young.Extreme.Discipleship.Following.Jesus
David.Young.Stan.Grandberg.A.New.Day.Conference
Stan
Grandberg: Strategy #3: work together in regional
network relationships to plant new churches. The Christian Churches and Churches of
Christ effectively practice this network strategy through
over fifty evangelistic associations across the United
States. If CofC would work together in networks of four to
six congregations, these networks could pool resources,
provide a new church nucleus from members, and receive the
benefits of learning how a new church engages its
community. Such networks would create pockets of regional
church planting.
Stan
Grandberg: The fact is we are at a crossroads between
decline and advancement. Our generation,
those of us who
currently SIT as elders within our churches
or STAND as
preachers in our pulpits, have one, vital question
to answer:
What
will we do with the inheritance which God has given us?
We have been gifted
with a valid spiritual heritage,
a storehouse of
financial resources
and spiritually
endowed leaders to use for His great purposes.
While
we could debate the need of God’s kingdom
for a continuation
of the entity we know as Churches of Christ,
I believe God has
invested Himself deeply in us.
I would
rather stand before God’s judgment throne having used well
these talents God has given us rather than burying them in
extinction.
I’d love to hear your
thoughts.
[1]
Stanley E. Granberg, “A Case Study of Growth and Decline: The
Churches of Christ, 2006-2016,” Great Commission
Research Journal, vol. 10, no. 1 (Fall 2018), 88-111.
Stan.Grandberg.New.Apostolic.Reformation.html
[2]
Tim Woodroof and Stanley E. Granberg. “Churches of Christ:
Losing Our Hope, Seeking a Future”. Available to read at http://www.kairoschurchplanting.org/cocstudy2019.html,
2019.
[3]
Williams, Stone-Campbell Movement, 159.
[4]
This idea of APEST leadership from Ephesians 4:11 is
thoughtfully engaged by Alan Hirsch,
http://www.alanhirsch.org/books. A circle model of
leadership that has strong research support is described by
Stanley E. Granberg, “Circle of biblical leadership,” Kairos
Church Planting, August 31, 2011, accessed May 29, 2017,
http://kairoschurchplanting.blogspot.com/
2011/08/circle-of-biblical-leadership.html.
[5]
C. Peter Wagner, Strategies for Growth: Tools for
Effective Missions and Evangelism (Ventura, CA: Regal
Books, 1987), 168.
[6]
Timothy Keller, “Why plant churches?” Redeemer.com, 2009,
accessed May 29, 2017, http://download.
redeemer.com/pdf/learn/resources/Why_Plant_Churches-Keller.pdf.
[7]
Olsen, American Church, 126.
[8]
Heritage 21, https://www.Heritage21.org.
[9]
Stanley E. Granberg, Spiritual Formation
(CreateSpace, 2015) and Sharing Faith
(CreateSpace, 2015).
