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Shocking Beliefs of Jonathan Edwards

My good friend Frank Viola is doing an interesting new series called "Shocking Beliefs of ..." His purpose is to show that the great Christians of the past all had blind spots, and we shouldn't throw out their entire contribution just because some of their views were flawed. We all have flawed views in some areas and we are all growing in our knowledge and understanding. His first post in the series was on the shocking beliefs of C.S. Lewis. Recently, he wrote another post on the … [Read more...]

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POURED OUT

Jesus loves a free atmosphere where He can flow through His people with no hindrances. Amazing revelations happen in an open, Spirit-led gathering. This happened to us recently on a Sunday morning when we were eating together and remembering the Lord. Our sweet time together shifted gears suddenly. We each had sipped some wine from the pewter goblet. Dale picked it up, poured some wine out onto the table, and said with conviction, "His crucifixion was not neat, it was very messy." We were all … [Read more...]

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GOING TO THE ROOT: Mark Driscoll and the Celebrity System

America is one big celebrity culture. Big names. Big followings. Big money. One expects celebrity worship and big money in the culture of the world, but we can also see it in what calls itself church. Truth is, there has been a religious system in place since 250AD that has elevated church leaders in an extremely unhealthy way. In the early church there was no “clergy” and “laity” as these words have been used traditionally for centuries. In fact, the Greek word kleros (“inheritance”) – from … [Read more...]

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PROPHETIC CRACK, SUNDAY MORNING STICKUP, WORTHLESS PEOPLE & SO MUCH MORE

  I am amazed by all the resources available to the twenty-first century reader. Some I find “accidentally” in the course of internet searches, while others are sent to me. Below I’ve written a synopsis of some I’d recommend. If any strike a chord, pursue them!   THE POWER OF WEAKNESS, Keith Giles, 2012, 96 pages. I’ve read this book twice. It is a needed salve in the strength-driven, celebrity-based religious culture that surrounds us. Keith emphasizes that the Gospel is … [Read more...]

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BETHANY TODAY!

I've known Frank Viola, my friend and brother in Christ, for many years. Our close friendship has continued to grow in the love and depths of Jesus Christ as we work together. It is an understatement to say that Father blessed my life with Frank. It seems that the more I know Frank, the more I am focused upon Christ and His body. Father has used Frank to unveil the glorious riches and heavenly treasures of Christ in each person within His body. Christ in Frank remains to be a powerful example to … [Read more...]

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ALL THE WORLD WAS CREATED IN, THROUGH AND FOR CHRIST: GUESS WHO’S IN CHARGE?

One of the most fundamental misunderstandings, in what calls itself church, is the notion that somebody in the church – usually the pastor – has to be “in charge.” Jesus taught just the opposite. He made it clear that He was in charge, and each person in His body on earth has a unique Spirit-driven contribution to make for the building up of the ekklesia. Closely linked to the mistaken idea that there has to be one leader, where the buck stops, is the tradition that males are to have center … [Read more...]

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CHRIST EXALTED (Kat Huff & Frank Viola)

YET by Kat Huff More often than not, I find myself reaching, searching the heights, and my thoughts appear to fumble upon my tiny words, such minuscule and inadequate words. Even so, these mere words somehow seem to be a bit further than the scope of my present apprehension, so it is a great understatement to say, that with assured confidence that this unfathomable indwelling Christ transcends all theories, from the known impossibilities to the limits of all possible imaginations. The … [Read more...]

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“IF ______ WINS, AMERICA WILL GO DOWN THE TOILET” The Samo-Samo Again

I remember well in 1964 when Barry Goldwater was running against somebody. Scott Chesley and Anita Anderson (Howard) had come to my door in Canoga Park, California, and presented the “Romans Road” to me. That was the first time I’d really heard anything from the Bible, and I was 19 then. After a week’s worth of meetings with Major Ed Bundy of the Church League of America, I ended up being increasingly involved in Faith Baptist Church, a fundamentalist Baptist church in Canoga Park, pastored … [Read more...]

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REASON #3 WHY CHRIST IS SILENCED IN MANY CHURCHES

I don’t know what reasons #1 and #2 are, but I know this one ranks way up there. As Frank Viola pointed out in Reimagining Church, there is one source that for sure impedes God’s purposes in Christ – human traditions. One tradition that has a stranglehold in most of what calls itself “church” is the notion that the buck stops with “the pastor.” This so-called “office” is, as was unfolded in chapter five of Pagan Christianity, the biggest “obstacle to every-member functioning.” As this all works … [Read more...]

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FRAGILE, by Jon Zens

FRAGILE mark i always assumed you were strong impregnable thinking you stood like granite in the swirling storms then you told me on the phone In 1985 that you were crushed doubting hurting dismayed it took me a few days to really believe that you were fragile too but as time elapsed i began to see that my wife and daughters and son are fragile like vases that can slip off the shelf and shatter we’re all like flowers whose delicate petals can be torn off with … [Read more...]