Ministry In California

Melanie and I are in California, where I spoke at a pastor's retreat at Tayman Park Golf Course in Santa Rosa on Monday and Tuesday. The group of pastors and their wives were a warm, receptive group. It was refreshing to me to share with them and to see their enthusiastic response to the message. On Wednesday, I spoke at a local pastor's alliance.

I love speaking to pastors and other ministry leaders. I know that, when they get excited about the message of the grace walk, the potential for the message to be multiplied is exponential because each one represents a whole congregation or ministry.

Yesterday we came to Los Angeles, where I spent the better part of the afternoon with Greg Albrech, the editor of Plain Truth Magazine. You can check out Greg's ministry at www.ptm.org. You may remember that this was the flagship magazine for the Worldwide Church of God for many years. Are you familiar with the miraculous changes in the Worldwide Church of God in recent years? Joseph Tkach became their leader after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong. As he studied the Bible, he began to see that the group had not been a church at all, but in fact had been a cult group. This link will take you to the letter he wrote (called "Forgive Us Our Trespasses") renouncing their past beliefs and embracing Christ and salvation by grace -- http://www.wcg.org/lit/AboutUs/media/forgive.htm
It is the first time in church history that a cult has turned to Christ.

Today we head to Victorville, near Palm Springs, where I will spend time speaking and sharing with another group tomorrow. Afterward,we'll return to L.A. to visit with friends before returning home on Tuesday.

It is such a joy to share the message of our Father's unconditional love and incomprehensible grace with spiritually hungry people.

Gaining 20/20 Vision

When I first began to understand the grace walk, I was a bundle of contradictions as far as my preaching was concerned. I had spoken from a legalistic viewpoint for so many years that I still found myself at times saying things that would cause me to later think, “That’s not right! I don’t see it that way anymore! Why did I say that?” (It’s sort of sad when a man disagrees with his own preaching! )

I had gotten “my grace eyes,” but I sure didn’t have 20/20 vision. I often grappled with grace, trying to sort out how it applied to various biblical topics. I also wrestled with how it fit many areas of my lifestyle. In other words, the initial revelation of the truth didn’t cause me to automatically understand all the fine details. (For that matter, I’m still learning.)

I find that the experience I had isn’t at all uncommon. As a person moves into a grace walk, he begins to see things differently, but not necessarily with perfect clarity. He finds himself still asking many yeah-but-what-about type questions. The revelation and ongoing learning of the grace walk also requires a lot of unlearning in order to see clearly. It reminds me of a man Jesus met. Mark 8 records the story:

22 When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch and heal the man. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man's eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, "Can you see anything now?" 24 The man looked around. "Yes," he said, "I see people, but I can't see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around." 25 Then Jesus placed his hands over the man's eyes again. As the man stared intently, his sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.

Note that when Jesus spit on the man’s eyes, he did begin to see, but he couldn’t see “very clearly.” When Jesus touched his eyes, he began to see everything clearly. There are many sincere pastors who are like that man, and like I was when I was a pastor first learning the message. They have embraced the truth of grace and identity, but sometimes still preach a mixed message. It will be grace this week and law next week.

A grace Pharisee might accuse these pastors of being sczophrenic, but they really should be shown grace by those who may be further along. When Apollos came to Ephesus to preach, he was a man who had a thorough education in the Scriptures. However, he did miss the mark on some things. A loving couple named Priscilla and Aquila invited him into their home and “explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:24-26). They didn’t pounce him, but lovingly encouraged him in the truth.

The bottom line is we don’t have 20/20 vision when we first begin to see. This is even true with a small infant when he is born. Good vision comes over time. Be patient with those who are learning the message. Be patient with yourself too. Little by little, the Great Physician will continue to heal you, performing legalism Lasik on you until your focus through grace becomes crystal clear!

Condemning Preaching And The Power Of The Law

The video below may offend you. It is a Twisted Sister video. I don't listen to or like this kind of thing. In the first place, I'm too old for it now and, in the second, I didn't like this kind of "music" even when I was young. I was a Herman's Hermits guy, remember? So why would I put something like this on my blog? This is one of those "shake 'em up to wake 'em up' things I do now and then. I think it's along the same line as when Paul told those who were promoting circumcision at Galatia to "go the whole way and emasculate themselves" (Galatians 5:12). Sometimes you just have to be harsh, even at the risk of provoking the ire of the hyper-religious. There is no place for gentleness with cancer.

So I'm posting this blog to take a jab at the legalistic, heavy-handed, condemning preaching that happens in so many churches. I think this is a fairly good depiction of what this type preaching creates in the hearts and lives of those who suffer its abuse. You have "the legalistic preacher" at the beginning of the video and the results of legalism among those in "the congregation" as the video progresses. On one hand, I think it's funny. On the other, it's sad because it is too close to real church life in some places.


Okay, those whose religious sensitivities are sharply honed have been warned. For the rest of you, see if you don't agree that this is a fairly close metaphor showing what happens when people are subjected to constant attacks by preachers who get excited by condemning and judging instead of sharing the good news of the gospel.

What do you think?

Twisted Sister - were not gonna take it

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Thanks to Joel Brueseke for first pointing out the similarities mentioned here in his blog.

Ministry In Canada

On the last Sunday in March, I spoke at Toronto Celebration Church and Niagra Celebration Church in Ontario. Pastor Peter Youngren's life has been transformed by understanding his identity in Christ and he is leading his church (one church, two locations) in moving ahead in grace in a profound way. He is a powerful communicator of God's grace and the fallacies of legalism. I was encouraged by the enthusiasm of the people in the congregation as I shared in both places.

During the week, I had the opportunity to spend time with Grace Walk Canada's Director, Mike Zenker. One night all of those who are working together with Grace Walk Canada met together for dinner and a time of sharing. It is so encouraging to see how God is opening the hearts of Canadian believers to the message of the grace walk. I am very happy with how the Lord is using Mike to share the message.

On Wednesday, I spoke at the Canadian national office for World Vision. As you probably know, World Vision is the largest Christian relief organization in the world. The I.T. Department had their staff from around the world there for meetings that day, so there must have been a dozen countries represented. Isn't it amazing how our Father works? Not only did He allow me to share the message of the grace walk with this wonderful organization, but He brought in staff from around the world to hear the message :)