“If only I had some courage.”

...and the Gates of Mordor shall not prevail!

Last night at Fire-starters we discussed the prophetic voice of the church to the culture. I said that the Church is not to be on the defense but on the offense! For too long the body of Christ in general has been listless and docil in the formal irradication of injustice and suffering on the earth.

I explained for us to know our role to the world we much look at three things….

1. What was lost in the fall?

2. What was restored by Jesus?

3. What was his mission?

Once we understand these two areas we will see correctly what our mission should be to the culture.

This morning Sherol Chen posted an amazing quote from Martin Luther King Jr. I took the liberty of reposting it below and compared King’s mission to that of the fictional character Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings. Thanks Sherol. See her post here.
http://www.facebook.com/l/87e40lmco07k1rmeG4hV3JZ39UQ;www.delawarereclaim.com/2011/01/18/remembering-martin-luther-king/

Martin Luther King Jr. – A prophet to America

Did not sit idly hoping things would change in a society that did not live out its professed ideals. Instead he became a force of change to see the current social order to reflect the order of heaven. In a sense he did what is depicted in the final battle of the popular films The LORD OF THE RINGS. In this final battle the free peoples of middle earth unite against the forces of darkness and march on the black gates of Mordor. Led by the recently returned heir to the throne of Gondor, the people march towards almost certain defeat to draw Saron’s eye away from Frodo who is only moments away from destroying the evil ring of power. Gates are used as a defensive structure to protect the status quo. The Church today must become emissaries of the rule of heaven against the status quo that stands in defiance of love, peace, justice and all other characteristics of the Kingdom of God. If the Church is to fulfill charter and advance the mission of Jesus on the earth, the church cannot be on the defense. It must take up its birthright as an agent of change.

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority. If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause men everywhere to say that it has atrophied its will. But if the church will free itself from the shackles of a deadening status quo, and, recovering its great historic mission, will speak and act fearlessly and insistently in terms of justice and peace, it will en-kindle the imagination of mankind and fire the souls of men, imbuing them with a glowing and ardent love for truth, justice, and peace”

Strength to Love, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., p. 62

The Church Cannot remain Docile or listless!

Our role to the world really comes from our understanding of what was lost in the fall and what was restored in Christ. The role of the Church in this cosmic conflict will remain a mystery that it periodically and haphazardly stumbles upon if we do not understand the clear answer to these questions.

1. What things were lost at the fall? The fall corrupted relationships. This is why all power encounters are meant to transform and restore relationships. If you take a close look at Genesis 3, you will see what was lost in the fall.
   1. God with Humanity – The free open intimacy with the father was lost.
   2. Humanity with Humanity – human conflicts and injustice with each other
   3. Humanity and the Creation – toil, suffering, sickness, disease, etc.

I didn’t know that when I signed up to lead a house church I also signed up to be a animal rescue specialist. Well today I learned that it is so. My wife has a chick’s discipleship/Bible study here at our home on Mondays and Tuesdays. Today one of the disciples called 1/2 an hour late due to a dilemma involving her “fe-lion” and a small wood bunny.

Yes, the dastardly creature brought into her house a tiny baby bunny smaller than the size of my palm. The “Predator” (our new name for the cat) was just playing with the poor creature before it became an afternoon snack.

In the attempt to make a long story shorter, I told the team of ladies that I would keep the snack in my office until the volunteer animal rescue person came by to pick it up. And off the ladies went shopping, while the prey and I hung out and worked on ministry items together.

I found out that this prey was not called to ministry, for soon enough she had exited the laundry basket/make-shift cage and found a corner of the office.

I located her and put her away again. My wife, now back at home, was freaked out by the whole thing.

To add to her excitement I jokingly said “oh oh” the rabbit has gotten out again. She freaked again. I chuckled to my self, and then….. just before I could tell her “just kidding” I peeked into the laundry basket and actually found the WHHHHAAAABIT GONE AGAIN! So I diverted from my ministry tasks to look for the creature that was now becoming a pain in the rear. Thinking to myself, “why couldn’t that cat have been a little quicker with the snackin?”

After about 1/2 hour of looking and praying for the prey (I did the looking… my wife did the praying,) we finally found that the Houdini back in the basket. It seems it outsmarted us by hiding in the crevice of the towels, and out of sight! Moral: Don’t prank you wife where wooded creatures are concerned.

After our hunt the Animal Rescue Specialist (ARS) called with bad news. “Our volunteer was on her way to your neighborhood….” (to save the bunny from certain death from an irritated clergy man) “and she got a flat tire, could you drop the bunny off at our sight on 17th street?”

I began to wonder, “hmmmmm, a flat tire and now I am the ARS!” Am I cut out for such a job? I am here to tell hUmAns about salvation to be found in Jesus, I don’t have time for this. I wasn’t called to bunny ministry.” LONG PAUSE……”sir are you there?” Long Pause…OK I WHAT IS THE ADDRESS?

After a few wrong turns we found the grossly overgrown landscaped home turned animal rescue shelter, delivered the prey, and back to work. “Is this the ministry I was called to?”

Needless to say, I need to make up new business cards. House Church Planting Missionary Pastor, and Animal Rescue Specialist.