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Teacher, has passed the crucifixion of the class, dismissed
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Such a decision by the court in one of the Swiss cantons.
Court of the Swiss canton of Valais has confirmed the decision to suspend a teacher, which made the classes of the crucifixion. Final sentence, the court has not ruled.
Teacher Valentine Abgottshpon was fired in October 2010 after refusing to return the crucifixion, which earlier withdrew from the walls of classrooms. In this Abgottshpon said that the presence of crucifixes in schools contradicts the freedom of conscience.
In November, a teacher filed a complaint with the local court. Now, after a court decision, he is considering a new complaint.
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In the Bavarian Garmisch-Partenkirchen, an exhibition of "Church and Sport"
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At the opening in the Bavarian mountain resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the World Championships in winter sports is a large exhibition of "Church and Sport", which is already in the morning inspecting the first visitors of the number of athletes participating in competitions. Reported by the Munich church radio online.
Responsible for organizing the exhibition is representative of the Catholic Church, Msgr. Kambenzi Martin, who believes that "there are many parallels between sports and faith, contributing to the overall unity of body and soul."
Church tent, where an exhibition, together with its consultants offer its visitors daily from 8:00 to 13:30 am and meditation, and "dinner music".
Organizers of the exhibition "Church and Sport" who believe that pastoral care should be present in all situations, including at the World Championships in winter sports. "
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Priests to conquer the musical Olympus
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Three clergymen of the city of Gap in the French Alps to conquer the French musical Olympus and continue triumphal procession through the world's best sites.
In March 2010, in France, was released a music album with the Latin name of «Spiritus Dei». Trio "Priests" - the cure, Jean-Michel Barde, vicar of Charles trash and a young seminarian, a native of Vietnam, Nguyen Dinh Nguyen marks a quarter of the Suite in D minor for harpsichord "Sarabande" by Georg Friedrich Handel. Words to music by Handel wrote the bishop Gapa and Embry, Jean-Michel di Falco Leandro, which is partly owned and the idea of creating a trio of singing priests. Adapted the work of the great composer Didier Barbelivien.
Proceeds from album sales are transmitted to the restoration of the Church of Our Lady of Lo, at St. Teresa School in Madagascar and other charities.
In 2011, the album «Spiritus Dei» trio "priests" remains in the top ten most popular music CDs in France (at the end of December 2010 the disc has sold 750 thousand copies).
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WORLD ANTI-CHRIST. Fox TV Channel has banned advertisements referring to the Gospel
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American broadcaster Fox has banned advertisements for the show site lookup316.com, which contains a reference to the Gospel of John. As reported by portal The Hollywoodreporter, advertising has been banned because of its religious orientation.
Movie scheduled to show during the finals of the National Football League (Super Bowl) on February 6.
In the video, which is available on the Internet, showing how a group of young people watching on TV football. Later in the frame appears footballer, who has written on his face paint John 3:16 (ie: John 3:16). TV viewers asking each other what it meant, and then decide to see the answer on the Internet.
In the third chapter, and verse 16 of John's Gospel says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." The Hollywoodreporter notes that this is one of the most quoted verses of the entire Gospel.
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In Latvia, the Gospel published in the form of an illustrated magazine
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The Latvian Bible Society published the Gospel of Luke on the layout of a modern and brightly illustrated magazine.
The purpose of publishers - with the help of associative images reveal for the modern man the meaning of ancient texts.
According to the newspaper Latvijas avize, today executed a similar way the Bible become the world's more popular because many people are more inclined to magazine format.
"This does not mean that the Bible will no longer be published in a traditional form" - said the representative of the Latvian Bible Society theologian Valdis Teraudkalns, adding that the publication of the magazine version of the Gospel of Luke - it's "a step toward rapidly developing world."
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China has not become a country of mass atheism
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Despite the continuing over half a century rigid ideological "war on religion", China has not become a country of mass atheism. The data suggest that the latest research, atheists consider themselves to be barely 15% of its citizens.
The actual level of religiosity in China is very difficult to determine. Thus, according to official figures of 1 billion 300 million Chinese are only 100 million are believers, but in reality this figure may be an order of magnitude greater.
In recent years, sociologists of the most authoritative research centers in China, including Peking University, conducted a thorough study of Chinese attitudes toward religion. The scientists note that their findings may have serious errors, because, despite the guarantee of complete anonymity, not all participants were honest in the answers, all the same fear of possible reprisals "for religion." Nevertheless, it was found that 85% of Chinese people have religious beliefs. Even members of the Communist Party of China, in which atheism is a condition of membership, not too true atheist ideology: 17% of them confessed to the commitment of any of the religions, while 65% - of involvement in religious practices during the past year.
The most popular religion of China is Buddhism. Considers himself a Buddhist, one in five Chinese (18% of citizens).
750 million Chinese have admitted to worship their ancestors. Christians called themselves the 33 million Chinese and 40 million more said they believe in Jesus Christ and help participate in Christian rituals. According to the authors, the real number of Christians in China may reach 60 million.
Faced with the failure of an atheistic state seeks to put all the faithful under their control. For this purpose, are controlled by the regime of "hand" of believers, like "Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association." Total to date are five such groups: Buddhist, Taoist, Islamic, Catholic and Protestant. They signed a joint declaration calling to serve the People's Republic, and tolerance for each other.
The Chinese government, meanwhile, announced its intention to "take seriously" for the Protestant underground. The official purpose of such action - to force them to join the recognized authorities in church structures. It is expected that the objects of repression become, above all, the so-called "house churches", sometimes numbering several thousand faithful.
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Fifteen theses on the church reincarnated
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Editor's Note: God is now doing wonderful things in His church around the world. He says many people in a similar manner. But because of the different talents, different levels of maturity, and even different characters, not all of us see and understand these things the same way. Even people from the small group who are preparing this site, see the article presented here is not always the same. Our desire - just encourage those to whom God says about simple church. We want to show you how God speaks to other people around the world. This article - an example of such things against the church, about which believers think and discuss. We found that the allegations of our brothers from Germany, parallel to some of the things that God speaks to us. These statements sometimes sound defiant, and so perhaps you will meet here so, with what can not agree. However, we believe that it would be useful to prayerfully reflect on the above statements and let God speak to us as He sees fit.
Suppose that our goal is - to completely dominate himself God's purpose - to see Christ lifted up, and all the people attracted to him.
1. Church - this way, rather than a series of religious meetings.
Before we called Christians, followers of Christ were called "way". One reason for this was that they actually found a "way of life." Nature of the Church is not reflected in the ongoing series of religious meetings, which take place under control of a professional priesthood in the holy places specially designated for that to have experience with Jesus. But the nature of the church in a prophetic way followers of Christ, living their everyday life in spiritually extended families - as a living response to the issues facing society in the places where they (issues) has the most - in their homes.
2. Time to change the system.
In adapting itself to the religious model of those days, the historic Orthodox Church after Constantine in the 4 th century AD, had a religious system that was essentially the Old Testament, filled with priests, altar, a Christian temple (cathedral), frankincense and pattern of worship in the style of Jewish synagogues. The Roman Catholic Church canonized this system. Luther reformed the content of the gospel, but left the outer forms of "church" in the highest degree of immunity; Free Church freed the church from the state. The Baptists then baptized it. Quakers exposed her dry cleaning. The Salvation Army has dressed her in uniform. Pentecostals anointed it and the Charismatics renewed it, but so far no one really has not changed its superstructure. To do so - a matter of time.
3. The Third Reformation.
Luther started to reform the Church through the theology of the Reformation, pereotkryvaya anew the gospel of salvation by faith and only by grace. In the 18 century through such movements as the Moravians there was a return to new, close relationship with God, which led to the reformation of spirituality - the Second Reformation. Now God is touching themselves wine furs, initiating the Third Reformation, a reformation of the structure.
4. From Churches House to house churches.
From New Testament times there is no such thing as a "house of God." At the cost of his life Stephen reminded unequivocally: God does not live in temples made with hands. Church - a people of God. The Church, therefore, was and is in a house there, where people at home: in ordinary houses. There, the people of God:
share their lives in the power of the Holy Spirit;
share bread in their homes - they eat together when we meet;
they often do not even hesitate to sell private property and share material and spiritual blessings;
teach each other in real life situations - how to obey God's Word. This occurs in the form of a dialogue, not in the form of education professor with the department;
pray and prophesy with each other;
Cross;
"Lose face" and his ego when confess their sins;
Restore a new, common identity, experiencing love, acceptance and forgiveness.
5. The church must be small, that have grown large.
Most churches today are simply too big for that would ensure that the present communication. They are very often the church fellowship without communication. New Testament church was a large number of small groups of usually from 10 to 15 people. She grew up not to a large congregation with many people from 20 to 300, which would have filled the cathedral, and would make a real, mutual communication impossible. Instead, it multiplied "in hand" - multiply like normal cells - as soon as they reach the group of 15-20 people. Then, if possible, all Christians come together in common worship of the city, as was the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. Traditional kongregatsionalnaya church - in the form as we know, statistically speaking is not great and beautiful, but is rather a sad compromise, on the one hand - as developed into a domestic church and the other - it does not dorosshee general (eg urban) worship, often losing momentum and both.
6. There were no churches, which would be led by only one pastor.
The local church is not controlled by the pastor, but is guarded by Elder, a local man who possesses wisdom and common sense. Local house churches linked to the movement through the junction of the elders and members of the so-called five-constituent ministries (apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers) that are circulating "from house to house." In accordance with this structure, there is a special fundamental role for what would fulfill the apostolic and prophetic ministry (Ephesians 2:20 and 4:11,12). Pastor (shepherd) - a very necessary part of the whole team, but he can not do more than just part of a general assignment for "the saints for the work of the ministry, and must be complemented synergistically (Synergetics - the science of joint, coordinated behavior of many elements as a whole as part of a complex system, the science of evolution and self-organization - approx. per.) other four ministries in order that would function properly.
7. Right side, collected incorrectly.
When we collect the puzzle, we have established an initial part, on the other hand, the final result, the whole picture may be wrong, and then all the individual pieces do not have much washed away. This happens with most of the Christian world: we have all the right pieces, but put together they are wrong because of fear, tradition, religious jealousy and the mentality of power and control. As water exists in three forms - ice, water and steam, the five ministries mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-12, the Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists are also there today, but not always in the right forms and in the right places: they are often frozen to ice in the rigid systems of institutional Christianity, and sometimes they exist as pure water, or they disappear like a pair of thin air to freely floating ministry "independent" churches, which are not accountable to anyone. Just as water is the best way to flow when it is in a liquid state, these five equips ministries should be transformed back to the new - and at the same time, the old forms, so that would be the whole spiritual organism could flourish, and these individual ministries could to find each its special role and place in the whole body. This is another reason why we should go back to the original, conceived the creator and copy the blueprint for the Church.
8. God will not leave the church in the hands of a bureaucratic priesthood.
No Church of the New Testament never driven one professional "holy" Moses, the type that would have solved all the issues through dialogue with God and then okarmlival some relatively passive religious consumers.
Christianity inherited this method from pagan religions, or, at best, from the Old Testament. The heavy professionalisation of the church since Constantine has a pervasive influence long enough, artificially dividing God's people for the parishioners and clergy. According to the New Testament (1 Tim.2: 5) "there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." God simply does not bless religious professionals to squeeze ever between people and God. Bedspread frustrated, and God allowed people to have access directly to Him through Jesus Christ as the only way through. In order to make possible the priesthood of all believers, this system should be completely changed. Bureaucracy - is the most dubious of all administrative systems, because it basically has only two answers: yes and no. There is no room for spontaneity and humanity, there is no room for real life. Perhaps this is appropriate for policy or companies, but not for the Church. Apparently, God is in the process of delivering His Church from the Babylonian captivity of religious bureaucrats and controlling spirits into the public domain, where the hands of ordinary people doing extraordinary God, who, as in days of old, can still smell the fish, perfume and revolution.
9. Return from organized to organic forms of Christianity.
"Body of Christ" is a vivid description of an organic, not organized life. The church is at its local level of many spiritual families, which are organically related to each other as a network, where the way of functioning together - an integral part to the whole body. What was the maximum with the minimum of the organization of the organism, must be changed at least the organization to allow the body to realize its maximum. Having too big zaorganizovannosti often, like a straitjacket, stifling the body of the fear that something could go wrong. Fear - is the opposite of faith, and it is not necessarily a Christian virtue. Fear wants to control, faith can be trusted. Control, therefore, may be good, but trust is better. Christ's body entrusted by God to people with hearts of ministers who have supernatural charismatic gift - to trust God that He still controls everything, even if they do not control it. Development of trusting relations at regional and national networks, it is not a new arrangement of political ecumenism, but a vital necessity for the organic forms of Christianity, which should again appear.
10. The worship of our worship to the worship of God.
The image of much of modern Christianity a bit euphemistically be summarized and described as follows: holy people meet regularly in SACRED SITES IN THE HOLY DAY AND IN THE HOLY HOUR FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE HOLY rituals that govern the holy man, dressed in a HOLY clothes, but who are against the "Saints" FEES. Since this is a regular, focused on enterprise performance is called "worship service" requires a lot of organizational talent and administrative bureaucracy, for what would have to continue this formal and institutional design, which quickly evolved into a rigid tradition. Statistically, the traditional 1-2 hours of "worship service" is a very resource-intensive, but actually brings very little fruit, with regard to apprenticeship, ie change lives. If the economic terms, it is a structure that requires "a lot of input and gives a little out." Traditionally, the desire to "correct praise" leads to more denominatsionalizmu, denominationalism and nominalism. This not only ignores the fact that Christians are called to "worship in spirit and in truth, not in cathedrals holding collections of hymns, but also ignores the fact that much of life is informal, and that Christianity is the" Way of Life . Not whether we should change - to cease to be strong actors and instead to start "acting powerfully?"
11. Cease to bring people into the church and begin to lead the church to people.
The church changes back from the structure - Come to the structure - Go. As a result, the church must stop trying to bring people "into the church, and begin to lead the church to people. The mission of the Church would never be completed simply by adding to the already existing structure, it requires at least as a "flattening" of the church through spontaneous multiplication of it in places where the population of the world where Jesus was not yet known.
12. Opening of the new "Lord's Supper" as a real supper with real food.
Church tradition clothed "celebration of the Lord's Supper" in a homeopathic and deeply religious form, which is characterized by a few drops of wine, tasteless biscuits and lean individuals. However, "the Lord's Supper" was actually the earliest practicable Dinner with symbolic meaning, than a symbolic DINNER WITH REAL TRANSFORMATION. God restores the use of food again in our meetings.
13. Of denominations to worship citywide.
Jesus called a universal movement, and what happened, so this is a series of religious companies engaged in global network marketing, which are promoting their special brand of Christianity and competing with each other. Through such promotion of brands of Christianity most of Protestantism has become politically insignificant and often more concerned about the peculiarities of traditions and religious strife, than the development of common witness before the world. Jesus simply never asked people to organize themselves into denominations. In the early Church, Christians had a dual identity: they were truly His church and vertically are addressed to God, and then they were organized on a geographical basis, that is, treated as horizontally to each other on the ground. This means that not only Christians - neighbors, organized itself into the neighborhood - or home churches, where they shared their lives together, but Christians also gathered together as a collective identity in such numbers as they could for the city or regional worship, expressing the unity of church of the city or region. Authenticity in the neighborhood related to regional or city corporate identity will make the Church not only politically significant and spiritually convincing, but will return to the biblical model of the Church in the city.
14. Building on proven-in-testing spirit.
They crucified Jesus, the Head of all Christians. Today, his followers are often more in the titles, medals and social esteem, or, worst of all, they remain silent and not worthy of mention at all. "Blessed are you when you will be persecuted," said Jesus. Biblical Christianity is a healthy threat to pagan godlessness and sinfulness, a world that is defeated by greed, materialism, envy and a lot of demonic standards of ethics, sex, money and power. Contemporary Christianity in many countries is just too safe and friendly for what would be persecuted. But, once again Christians will live in accordance with the standards of the New Testament, for example, calling sin sin, conversion and persecution immediately start as a natural reaction of the world. Instead, that would be comfortable nest in temporary zones of religious freedom, Christians should prepare to be again as the main accused against global humanism, which is the modern form of slavery, namely, that would always have fun and completely adore her I am a false center of the universe . That is why Christians will need to feel "repressive tolerance" of the world, which has lost any absolutes and therefore refuses to accept and obey the Creator God and His absolute standards. Faced with increasing indoctrination privatization and spiritualization politics and economics, Christians will get (faster than most of us can imagine) a chance to have the good fortune of being accused, together with Jesus. They should prepare for the future, developing a proven-in-test the spirit and even more - proven-in-testing system.
15. The church back home.
Where is the place where, say, a man most easily be spiritual? Perhaps again it is hidden somewhere behind the big chair, for the holy garments for preaching holy words faceless crowd and then disappeared somewhere in the office? And what is the most difficult - and thus the most important - if not a place for man to be spiritual? Home - this is the right place in the presence of his wife and children, where everything he does and says is automatically passed through a spiritual litmus test for authenticity, where hypocrisy can be effectively rooted out and authenticity can grow. Much of Christianity has escaped from the family, both from the place of its own spiritual defeat, and then organized the artificial steps in the sacred buildings, which are far from an atmosphere of authenticity. Because God is again at work to achieve the houses, the church turns to its roots - back to where it came from.
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Let's stop implant sterilized church!
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"I have a question whose answer I'm looking for several years" - I said to Charles Brock, author of Practicing the principles of planting local churches, when I met him in the Philippines a few years ago. "You go into the poor areas of Manila, plant churches quickly, they always produce their own leadership, they are never dependent on outside funds and is always played."
"I know two other brothers who plant churches in those same areas and it takes them 6 or 7 years. They are always dependent, they never played, and they never can produce their own leadership. They say that poverty has destroyed the souls of people and they do not correspond to what would be leaders. "
"I want to know why you can do it, but they are not?"
The issue was acute, because I was involved in church planting - as far as I can remember, but I've never seen such a growth rate of reproduction and such churches as I saw in the service of Broca.
Sick, dead or sterile.
During my growing up I remember there were a few evangelical churches in the West Coast of the United States, when my family moved there in the early forties. Our little church, which consisted of approximately 85 members, started a church in Fresno and later in Sacramento.
My father took the family to a new church, we started a year or so. When the new church was raised and became independent, we returned to the mother church and from there moved back to the next church was planted. I'm back in this area already as an adult, 9 years later, but I could not find all the churches in our association. I was surprised - where they podevalis.
Now I have a very simple view. I know that if something is alive, it is played. It is natural for trees and plants. They drop their seeds for the spontaneous germination. We do not have to exert much effort that would have children, we must make a special effort, that would not have them. In fact, if the body does not play, we would say that he is ill, dead or sterilized. Eventually I discovered that we planted sterile church, churches that were not churches, which have planted other churches. I have studied this issue and conducted a survey in four cities on the West Coast and found the same phenomenon. The parent church may appear in a certain area and period of 12 to 15 years to plant other churches. But only a small number of these new churches may impose at least one church.
That's what we found. People in America are considering an alternative: either to plant a church or follow a two-step process. "We will first grow and we will first thoroughly potreniruemsya and equip, and then we'll reproduces the church." But those who followed the path of this two-step process remain in the first stage for many years and I'm not sure - made whether they had ever such a the time when reproduction starts.
It was raised many questions in my own heart and mind, questions that I started to get responses when I talked with Charles Brock in Manila.
'Man of Peace'
He said that there are two things that make the planting and reproduction. In the first place he found "a man of peace." "I always expect an element of wonder in any work, which begin," he explained. "One day, I understand that the church should be started at any location. When I go out, I noticed this woman in the second-story window. At first I did not attach importance to this circumstance. When I come back an hour later she was still a second-story window. Just when I drove past it on my scooter, she called me: "Sir, you are a biblical teacher?" I told her that I teach the Bible. She asked: "Could you teach me and my family?" I've had thoughts about another area where I was supposed to start, but it did not happen there. It happened here because God has prepared it. "
Jesus told his disciples when he sent them: "In whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house and if there is a son of the world (people of the world), will rest on him your peace ... In the same house remain, eating and drinking, that they have ... Go not from house to house. "
There is a reason why Jesus gave such an instruction. If God sent us, and we're on its wavelength, this means that there are people whom he has prepared. These are the people who are destined to be the nucleus of a new, conceiving of the church.
He ordained that this particular person, which he called "a man of peace." Most of the time the pastor, the leaders of home groups and founders of churches are waiting for so long until they find such a man. This way, you slowly startuete in church planting and it is not necessarily very spontaneous.
Reliable evidence
Not in the Bible verses that would describe the look of a man of peace. But here's what we can do to see the look of a man of peace. We can see where in the Bible, God acts and then begin to see the overall trend.
Lydia was such a man. Cornelius was one. The man had demons was so. The woman at the well was so. There were others.
Once you start to look at them closely, you'll see that they have three characteristics: They are susceptible. Not everyone is susceptible people - a man of peace. There will be many people who take Christ, until you find that person. But every man in the world is susceptible.
These people - the people's reputation. They know. They may have good or bad reputation. But they are known. The woman at the well had a bad reputation. Cornelius was a good reputation.
They have influence. They are people who, when they answer the call of Christ, but many others bring with them.
When Jesus came into one town, a man possessed by demons screaming in the caves. Jesus cast out demons and sent them to the pigs, the pigs ran off the cliff, and then the whole town had requested that Jesus had departed from their limits.
Later, we see that Jesus came back in this same area, where he was kicked out, and now everyone was glad to see him. The only difference between these two situations that are now freed from the demons of a man living among them. Life changes, which every day was a testimony to the power of God, has changed life around.
This is a very powerful thing, as soon as you see it. This becomes a reliable indication of Who is Jesus and what He can do. Thus, when you go, you are looking for a certain category of people. When you find such a person, you'll have a good start for the beginnings of the church. You'll stay there and go through the circle of influence that person.
Not one, but 200
Paul and Silas had in mind just such a circle of influence, when the Philippian jailer said: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Anthropologists tell us that every culture in any period of time, there are four relationships: family, neighbors, colleagues and friends. Thus, when we find such a man of peace, his family, neighbors, employees and friends are the people, which will affect his decision. They also tell us that most people in a healthy society in the west have 25-30 people, with whom they are close enough. So I know that when I find a man with influence, I seem, I can immediately affect the 200 people at least. I no longer see a single person. I see 200.
What is amazing here, so this is what a great opportunity to start a church! The point here is that to go out and find a man of peace. In this case, you are communicating with what God is doing already.
Look at the Christian who repents a week ago?
The second thing Charles told me was: "I never do anything such that he could not make a Christian who confessed last week. If I preach, as I did at my church where I come from, they would have thought that they would not be able to carry the gospel to as long as they do not have my skills, my abilities, my natrenirovannosti. If I prayed as I did in church, where I come from, they would think that they can not talk to God as long as they do not have such words and phrases such as mine. I do not include the worship leader, because if I do this, they will think that they can not worship God as long as they do not have someone who is specially trained in this.
"All that they see what I'm doing, they can do well. Sometimes I did not return to them in their area for several weeks. But since they did not know what they could not do, they went and talked to their relatives in other areas and they, therefore, there is another group "
It's easy. We have made things so complicated and require much training. They should be natural.
'Growth' versus 'reproduction'
I want to show you the difference between what I call the "culture of growth" in which all of us have been taught and "model of reproduction." Because I believe that the church plant - it is something other than plant a church that plants a church. In fact, I am convinced that a set of skills that we acquire in the traditional service will actually guarantee that things will not play.
In our culture, the growth we have learned to focus on individual applications, while the reproductive model focuses on group calls.
We are used to start at the base of believers. But for that to play, we must start at the base of the unbelievers. If we want to address a group of family members, colleagues, neighbors and friends, these people will not come into the house to the strange people or strange sitting in the church. They will come to the place to which they are accustomed to and where they are often. In our culture, we teach the Scriptures for information. In the model reproductive scripture is studied for the application, so that people see the power of God.
We are used to start with a search for Christians. But if you want to start really strong church, find a person in the world. Eliminate Christians, do not let them enter. They ruin everything from the beginning.
We are accustomed to the facilities (such as buildings). This requires money and expertise that are not easily available. If you start at home, on the porch, in the little square or in the park - it is always a lot of easily accessible places.
We are used to begin with worship in a large group. For reproduction you start with a small group. Very few people actually have the ability and gifts to a large group well. It requires more skill, more training, more of everything. But many people can cope with the small group. They already do this in their natural environment, even before they are saved.
We build programs and buildings. For what would have happened reproduction, you are creating leaders.
Leadership is also different. Traditionally, we import a professional priesthood. But what we need for reproduction - is to have local, resulting from treatment of the priesthood. Where future pastors for all this? They are on the streets, they beat their wives, they steal from their employers.
Also, leaders tend to see themselves the heads of all those involved. In reproducing the same church leaders are osnastitelyami for emerging leaders. That's how they see themselves, and then, on what they focus. We are usually looking for someone who will start the church (usually a minister full-time employment). But for churches that would start other churches, you need to begin the work of Churches (ie those other than service could still work on regular work and support themselves). If we want to see the city reaches, then this must be done through the people who both work and are in service simultaneously. Otherwise, it will be difficult to finance because it is a long process.
In my own experience I say that every time we were ready to start a church, we felt that we could not afford to lose people who went to a new church to lose their titles and all that. But every time when we still do, we, in fact, did not interrupt the process. God continued to provide us. I found that the most amazing things happen just when we take care of another church.
In fact, in every church where I saw the planting of churches, I found that some of their own affairs began surprisingly well resolved. I do not know what it is. They gave themselves away. I am convinced that you can not dry up - God fills again and again. The more you give, the more God is doing through you.
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How to win heresy in the movement of organic churches
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When I teach about organic church, the most frequently asked question - how to deal with the threat of heresy? I understand this concern and will try to answer it with understanding and discernment, as the issue is very important. Movement of planting organic churches will not be lasting if it is simply to ignore the difficulties encountered on the road. But I also believe that the issues raised in response to our movement can not only be satisfactorily resolved, but also that these solutions are the best alternatives to the way the church to address these problems in the past. If the movement of organic church is not moving forward, for better health and wholeness, then it would not be worth talking about it at all.
General understanding of the problem sounds like this: If we put on the uneducated leaders and teachers, then we will not allow heresy thrive in our churches? Of course it is - a risk but I believe there are simple ways to reduce the risk of such infection. Healthy body with a strong immune system fight off infection better than sick. This is - a natural body function that is inherent in its very essence. I will assume in this article, there is a better immune system for the body of Christ than that with which we got along for so long.
What, indeed, a threat?
In fact, there is no way to get rid of heresy in the church at 100%. Jesus told us that there will always be false teachers (Matt. 24:4-5,11). Enemy - is a liar (John 8:44) and he tries to hide ways to penetrate our ranks (Jude 4,10-13). If the liar was able to invest in our minds that anything but the truth, then he could keep us from what would be all those than the resurrection of Christ for us to be. I fear that the irony is that, unfortunately, he was successful doing it just under the banner of struggle against false doctrines.
The best solution to heresy in the church was that in order to better educate the leaders of the "preaching of chairs, but it is better to teach people to" pew. " While many will say that the key to a better-trained people - the leaders who teach them, that is, unfortunately - more often than not the reality. It is true that we need better leaders who empower and equips ordinary Christians to know the truth, spread the word and make the ministry (Ephesians 4:11 and on), but it is very different from the kind of leaders that cover the whole faith and who are gatekeepers for the Word of God. As long as our leaders consider the gatekeepers of the truth, we leave most of the people of God in the darkness, and they thus become susceptible to the leaders who make thinking for them - because that's exactly what they were trained to do. The irony is that the same thing that we think will prevent the problem of heresy, actually feeds the problem.
There are no gatekeepers for the Word of God. While Paul was in prison, guarded the gates, he said these words: "For the Word of God is not bound" (2 Tim. 2:9). I do not have to defend God's word, this is it protects me! People are attacking the Word of God in every generation. Entire empires began full-scale war against the Word of God, and fell, but the truth of God's word is worth. The idea that the Word of God needed my help, really stupid. Men do not contain the word of God pure, it is - the Word of God contained men clean. We are lost if we ever lost sight of this fact. We need God's Word more than it needs us.
God's Word in the hands of His people is not a dangerous thing! The idea to present all the way around giving smell of Satan? Why are we afraid of such things? Keep the word away from human hands - a very dangerous practice in which we must repent immediately! Great men and women throughout history believed their lives for the right for others to have free access to God's Word. Let us not belittle their sacrifice.
Are people able to distort the Scriptures for their own purposes? Of course, there are such, and, of course, such would be. Satan did it from the very beginning (Gen. 3:3), and it will not stop until it turns into the lake of fire. However, I do not think my hope for the people, and I guess my hope in God and His Word. Do we really think that way to protect the church from the imperfections of human is to make sure that we rely on other imperfect men, that they thought of others? It's like trying to solve the problem by creating a large number of other problems? It's like trying to extinguish a fire bucket of kerosene.
Perhaps the Western church has lost its force, in which we needed so badly, just because we do not trust the strength and purity of the written revelation of God. Instead, we relied on the ability of certain people to interpret, teach and organize the Bible. There is no power inherent in the people or their systems. The Word of God is one, and we must again learn to trust it. We have sacrificed the power of God's Word for impotence of the human learning about God's Word, and then wondered why God's people are so ineffective in influencing society. The sad irony is that all this is made of curved respect for God's Word.
Many feel that when we have leaders who are not trained in the seminaries, we are open for all kinds of bad training. The reality is that many heresies were born precisely at the seminary. Someone even claimed that the whole fundamentalist movement was born out of reaction to the heresies and liberal teachings, which came out of the many workshops, particularly in Germany in the early 20th century. In our seminaries, we are taught to think that we are unable to protect themselves from heresy without their help. And yet, the seminary as an institute of higher education, a relatively new phenomenon in church history, and I would venture to suggest that we have not become less of heresy after the invention of the seminary.
When is it best to teach skills to interpret the Bible?
I teach the skills of interpretation of Scripture in our movement? Yes, I teach, but it's not the first thing I do. The first thing I do - it's sending the Holy Scripture is read without any intermediaries. As soon as the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, they begin to follow Him in life. There is a very significant mark, that should happen from the beginning of a new life. In the natural world is the bond that develops between the new-born creature, and his mother. All the memory is being born will always be stored and be under the influence with a creature that they see first in my life. This is sometimes called "fingerprint". As the ducklings, which will follow their mother, so new students have to connect to the voice of God very early in their new life. Instead, most people in the churches of America have a different impression - microphone voice of their pastor, a preacher of the Word of God, not God's Word itself. As they increase they are told to begin reading the Bible, but rarely have they developed an appetite for it. I hear the common "mantra" - "I try to read the Bible, but I can not understand what I read. Appears so much more sense when I hear my pastor explains." They - the sheep who know the voice of their pastor, but it's not the voice of Jesus.
People ask me: "Then what, how students can not make mistakes and misunderstand the Scriptures?" Yes, of course they can make mistakes. And I'm often wrong when I was a young student. Maybe we need to realize that we spend the rest of our lives, trying to understand an infinite book, which has no end the depth of her understanding. Perhaps we need to give people the freedom to make a few mistakes, leaving them with few questions, and learn as they grow. I remember my first teaching of the Bible, which I have ever done - and it was heresy! And I managed to utter the obscenity in it as well. I'm glad that someone gave me a chance to do better next time. I'm still ashamed of my first sermon. If you keep me out of every thing, which I believed during my first pastoral, I would be stagnant and stunted student who does not learn. I now understand things better than first realized, and I hope that in ten years I see more clearly.
I think if you were attentive student of church history, you would be simply amazed by some strange ideas, who believed in our historical heroes. But God, in spite of this, he blessed them, used them and use them still, even though they did not have a complete picture of all of God's Word. Perhaps we - well, a little blind to our own doctrinal error, and these errors will be more apparent through the coming decades and centuries.
So, why not let people who are new believers, to make mistakes early in their development, as we all have happened in our growth? If we have to be perfect in our understanding of words from the first day of our Christian life, then none of us are not worthy. It is not surprising that many are afraid to open their Bible, if it is assumed that they should all at once properly understood. And it turns out that just open the Bible and read - a risky undertaking.
The ratio at which the leader is humble and knows his own inconsistency - is a safer attitude to strengthen the one who tries to interpret the Scriptures than the ratio at which the leader is so confident that he knows everything that is true, and places each tenet in its proper mental "box". In this latter respect - more heresy than we think. This is contrary to Scripture and makes a dull church, which is unable to learn. Teacher, who still have many questions, far more desirable than one who has "all" answers.
Jehovah's Witness who comes home to me with a clear explanation of all that you need to know about their god does not make an impression on me. It just shows me that they have very little god, for whom I would not want to follow.
St. Jerome once said about the Scriptures, "They are sufficiently small for the baby to come and take without fear of drowning, and yet deep enough for theologians to plummet to its depths, never reaching the bottom."
I teach the basic skills in biblical interpretation, but I'm waiting until the students did not show up as leaders and be ready to teach others. When they are responsible for training others, then I teach them the basic skills of interpretation. But here is surprising: when I teach skills of interpretation for the first time the new leader, it is usually already happening as refresher courses for them. As they read a lot of Scripture from the beginning, and continue to read all the books of the Bible many times (this habit, we use as part of the transformation groups of Life), they have intuitively learned most of the rules of interpretation. I found that the Holy Spirit - an outstanding teacher, and that the best interpretation of a rule is really common sense. By that time, when I show these rules to new leaders, they have grasped most of them independently.
And yet that is the real heresy?
The church has also been taught to think that the biggest threat to which it is - it is heresy. That is why it is - one of the first and most frequent questions asked by the movement of organic churches. Speaking to a large audience about this, I often spend my direct questioning and consistently have the same results. I ask that in the audience raised their hands by those who know someone personally who "lost" and actually started a cult. Usually two or three people raise hands. Then I ask them to raise their hands who know the Christian leader who fell into sin, immorality, and everyone in the room raises his hand. My conclusion: "Then why are we so afraid of heresy?" It is evident that there are other, more significant problems in our body.
Another thing I question - this is what people label as heresy. Often what is a heresy for one part of the kingdom, the orthodox to the other. In this case, the majority said that their doctrinal beliefs, is the closest to the historic and orthodox doctrines.
One thing that always disturbs me is when one Christian leader, attacks on other Christian leaders, while publicly uses some extremes to justify their position, just because they do not agree on an insignificant number of theological questions. Good to have beliefs about the doctrines and even to have a lively discussion on these beliefs, but curses his brother - perhaps a greater sin than itself erroneous interpretation.
How we protect people doctrinally?
This raises the question of whether we really need to sort people by doctrine. In our movement is - what we see as the DNA of the body of Christ, which is a code that dictates the lives, health and abundance. DNA - it is Divine Truth, Nurturing Relationships and apostolic mission. We want to see DNA, evident in every cell of the body. This is - what binds our movement. In other words, the Divine Truth is the most important ingredient for health and unity in the church and in our own unique movement. Therefore, hold fast to the Word of God is essential. Currently, our movement is made up of church planting that are associated with more than 15 denominations (from the Reformed denominations to "Vineyard") and five parachurch ministries. Now the question is - what the doctrines are most important and which are not as critical. Is there a point when we stop communicating with certain people because of the doctrine?
One of the ways in which we maintain unity among our diverse movements, was to pass people through the test, which we call "a test slug." We ask: "If someone put a gun to you to the temple and said, 'Give up this doctrine, or I'll shoot', then if you say:" pull the trigger ', then it is - the doctrine of the bullet. We must agree on the doctrines bullet. We adhere to doctrines that are not doctrine, bullets, and even teach them with conviction, but we do not exclude or attack the brothers and sisters because of the doctrines are not Bullet. They - secondary doctrine. They enlighten, but they are not worth to die for them, and certainly not worth what would be for them to commit murder.
For us, the doctrines of the bullets are as follows:
We believe in ...
The one true God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Inherent divinity and humanity of Jesus and his redemptive work, manifested in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and imminent return.
Salvation - by grace through faith, not as a result of our own affairs.
The impact and power of the written Word of God in all his revelation, without error in its original manuscripts.
The Atonement of all believers to be significant in the kingdom of God and the provision of necessary for this office.
Of course, this is not meant to be fixed and static process protection. It is - only the beginning of relations, which will over time based on a much larger than the cognitive agreement on a number of established beliefs.
We understand that it is - also not a reliable method of protecting against heresy. It was more than nine hundred people in 1978 in Guyana, who have been through "a good test-help" against incorrect doctrines, and nevertheless, have given their lives in the power of false teaching. History inundated by people who laid down their lives for a lie, so this method can not be considered absolutely reliable. This is - just a starting point for those who have the Spirit of God and listen to his voice, and who united around the uncompromising truth.
So how do you let the heresy of the movement to use organic churches?
We have an excellent system of antibodies in the movement of organic churches. In fact, I believe it is better, much better than the solution, which is in the traditional church system.
Heresy usually occurs because of three things: 1. Strong, confident leader who wants to inspire the greatest possible number of followers, whom he can rally. 2. Biblically illiterate group of Christians who will follow him. 3. The scriptures are used out of context to build a false doctrine.
We focused on all these issues at the cellular level of church life - through a strategy of transformation groups of Life (GPZH) [You can learn more about GPZH here, on our website simple churches]. This is the place where the war against the infection won or lost in the body.
In GPZH men or women meet with one or at most two other people of their sex.
In conclusion.
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