Intimacy: A Post Mortem

The word intimacy stems from the Latin intimus; to make something known to someone else. Another derivation is the verb 'intimate,' which originally meant "to notify." In its original meaning, in other words, intimacy did NOT mean emotional closeness but the willingness to pass on honest information.

There has been something churning inside me and it is time to get it out. I will try to say it as plainly as I can. What I am feeling is a deep sadness, a grieving and a deep sense of loss!

What I sense is that it is time we prepare to mourn the death of intimacy.

In our post-modern world of electronic wizardry and gadgetry - of superficial social media - of texts and tweets - we find words like intimacy, vulnerability, transparency, openness, and heart to heart communication forgotten and almost eliminated from the English language. What is true in Western society at large is also true within the redeemed community - the church of Jesus Christ.

Convinced that "communication is the life blood of relationship" my diagnosis is that the body of Christ is suffering from acute spiritual anemia. She is weak, almost lifeless and lacking in divine energy. She is badly in need of a transfusion!

The church - the body of Christ, is the visible earth bound expression or extension of the life and order of heaven. She is, by nature, first incarnational and then relational! This corporate redeemed community, this community of care and concern, this Ekklesia of God is made up of brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a living breathing entity - a family!

This church of which I speak is NOT an organization but an organism.

She is vibrant - radiant - full of life and purpose for she is animated by the very life of God! She is His spiritual house, His temple, His dwelling place and His "church" - which is built of living stones!

Alas, multitudes of those who proudly wear the label "Christian" have settled for much less than divine life. Many have literally traded their birthright as sons and daughters of the most high for a superficial form of godliness; for a set of precepts; for a belief/value system; or for a new religious set of do's and dont's. The incarnational has been usurped by the institutional.

Instead of relation we have chosen religion!

Though they sound similar, they are in no way the same!

The origin of Religion

The English word religion has an interesting etymology. Most linguistic scholars believe that religion is derived from the Latin re (an emphatic) + ligare (meaning 'to bind'). Hence, the literal meaning of the word religion is "to bind tightly or “to bind fast” meaning “to place an obligation upon.” This is the very nature of religion. It is indeed obligatory. Religion binds a person or group to a set of precepts, to a system of prescribed beliefs, creeds and/or doctrines - too a particular intellectual or theological understanding of holy writ - to certain required religious actions or behaviors (e.g. church attendance, prayer, fasting or alms-giving) - to a moral code, or to certain ceremonial observances (special holy days, seasons, feasts and festivals). Most of all, religion binds one to a set of do's and don'ts or thou shalts and thou shalt nots!

A second but not as widely accepted origin of the English word religion,  is the Latin religiens - meaning "a particular system of faith."  Today, this is the most commonly understood meaning of religion.

A religion is simply a system of faith or belief.


A system is defined as ‘an organized set of interrelated ideas or principles’. The key word is organized. It is from the word organize that we derive the word organization. Most churches begin defining the nature of the organization with a corporate charter or bylaws detailing the nature of the organization.  This document with a statement of faith - We believe...  This document enumerates their core beliefs and/or values and practices.   A phrase often included in many church statements of faith or purpose and goes something like this:  “The local church is a group of believers organized for the purpose or purposes of… (e.g. evangelism. equipping god's people through preaching and teaching sound doctrine, to promote  fellowship, and ... (you may fill in the blanks with your favorite spiritual terminology).  the key phrase is "Organized for the purpose of!"

So there you have it.  Much like the American corporation, the 'church' sees itself as a group people or  a congregation possessing common beliefs and values and which is organized for a purpose, albeit a divine purpose.  Hence we have, The Purpose Driven Church!

Throughout history reformers have set about to re-engineer, re-organize, reinvent, revitalize and reform this 'corporate' community - the church. The modern day seeker friendly movement and the emergent movement are two recent examples. The goal of many of these movements is to make the church more relevant, more acceptable, more responsive or more palatable to the tastes of the modern generation.  My father used to call this 'dressing it up' or putting a new suit on the old man instead of putting a new man in the suit:  doing whatever suits us.

In other words, what we are really saying is that what we need is not a new driver but a shiny new car. What we need is NOT the life of God transmitted by the Spirit and incarnated within the redeemed community but a better leaner more attractive and dynamic organization. Instead of a new corporate man we seek a new Christianized corporate paradigm - a culturally and more socially relevant institution.  What is required is what is desired: - not a radical transformation but a cool hip modern Jesus with whom we can identify because He is more like us!

This modern day market place Christian paradigm is best expressed by the sign on the office wall of one very successful pastor. The Sign reads:

What Is Your Product?

Who is Your customer?

The church that Jesus is building however, is NOT an organization with a mission. Christianity is NOT just another religion ABOUT Jesus but a relationship WITH Jesus! Jesus Christ is NOT just another prophet, sage, philosopher, teacher, rabbi, wise man or spiritual visionary or celestial corporate CEO.    He did NOT come to open a window of enlightenment or to teach us about the ways to God.  He was NOT some spiritual guru who came to teach us the deeper truths about God.

He WAS God!

He IS God.

As mind blowing as it may seem, Jesus said of himself:

I AM the door!

I AM the way!

I AM the truth!

I AM the life!

No man comes to the Father but by Me!"

Jesus did NOT come to show or teach us some new way of doing church...

HE IS THE NEW AND LIVING WAY.

The Called Out Ones- Pt. 1

I believe that within modern Christianity we have a serious problem. Because of the emphasis being placed on "the church” rather than on Christ, there are many people who have been converted to the church or institution, to a worship style, a set of precepts or doctrines, to a theological system, a denomination or to a movement or a Sunday worship experience rather than to Jesus Christ.

I was one of these for many years. Born and raised in 'the church' I was institutionalized, but not regenerate. I was safe from the “world” but not saved. I was the product of a Christian religious system but not of the new birth by the Holy Spirit.

As Tom Skinner used to say:

“The gospel is not about the church. It’s not about going to church or joining the church. The gospel is about Jesus Christ. The root of the word Christian is CHRIST. C H R I S T - i a n - “Christ in you, living His life through you - without any help or assistance from you!”

To quote the late Keith Green:

“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to Mc Donald’s makes you a hamburger.”

History reveals that the early followers of Jesus did not call themselves Christians. In actuality they often referred to themselves as "the Way". They wore no denominational labels and were primarily called by their given names like, Bill, Sue, Corneleus, Nicodemas or of course, George.

The term Christian was a label placed upon the early believers by the surrounding pagan culture of the first century. It was because of their radical identification with Jesus Christ, which bordered on obsession, that “they were called Christians first in Antioch”.

It is true that the prevailing culture always seeks to identify or vilify any new sociological phenomenon by giving it a label - so, they labeled these Christ followers as "Christians". When you read how these early followers of Jesus were persecuted and even martyred, it is obvious that the term “Christian” was a derogatory label - much as we might identify followers of Sun Yung Moon as Moonies! I think “those Christians” was said more with a sneer than with a smile or with adoration.

Much of our Western obsession with the primacy of “the church" finds its roots in a single encounter with our Lord and Peter. The Lord asks Peter:

"Who do you say that I am?"

Peter's reply:

“You are the Christ the Son of the Living God!"

Our Lord’s response to Peter's statement of faith was;

“Blessed are you Simeon Bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven. And I say that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church (ekklesia in Greek or 'called out ones') and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

The mistake we have made when we have read of our Lord's reference to the Greek ekklesia or "church", is that we have placed the emphasis on the wrong thing! We have put the emphasis on the word “church” rather than where it belongs! It properly belongs on the revelation (or epi gnosis) of the diety of Jesus Christ.

Jesus says to Simeon, “What you have just said, Simeon; that I am the Messiah the son of the living god is not something you have figured out for yourself. It's not just some new 'truth" . It is more than some memorized creed or knowledge (gnosis). You didn’t figure this out for yourself but what you have professed is a revelation which came directly from my father in heaven. And so I tell you, that upon this revelation I will build my ekklesia - my church - my called out ones - my congregation.”

But we Christians have a problem. We immediately recognize the words “build” and “church”. It does not require much of a stretch of the imagination to construe that our Lord is going to “build” something called a church. Since Jesus was a carpenter’s son it is natural to assume that He (Jesus) is talking about constructing some natural edifice. If only Jesus had Home Depot...!

But there is more to our Lord's reply than meets the eye. Let’s look at this statement again. I will use bold and CAPS to signify where I believe we place emphasis and where it should be!

“And upon this rock I will BUILD my CHURCH”...

As opposed to “And upon this rock (this revelation) I will build MY church!"

I believe our Lord’s emphasis is on I & MY.

My church, My called out ones, My ekklesia, My congregation as opposed to someone else's

My My My!

Because of our cultural christian conditioning, it is true that for almost all of us the English word “church” is a loaded word. It is pregnant with meaning and imagery. It is a word that immediately paints a religious word picture. Be honest.

When I say the word “Church” what do you see?

Most people see a building – a sacred space – a place set aside for the purpose of gathering to worship. If it was our Lords intention to refer to a religious gathering, why did He not use the term synagogue? Peter, as a Jew, would have immediately understood the Lord’s reference as meaning a sacred space where Jewish believers gathered to worship and read the Torah or words of God given to Moses . Peter would have instantly gotten the picture. But, for some strange reason our Lord chose a secular governmental GREEK word - ekklesia - instead of synagogue or even "temple". Interesting! Is this perhaps significant?! (we will explore the implications of this further in a subsequent article).

Given my early childhood christian cultural conditioning, when I hear of the word church I immediately remember this little rhyme I learned in Sunday school.

This is the church and this is the steeple

Open the doors and see all the people!

Hmmmmm, Church, steeple, doors, people.

The truth is that the ekklesia or church of Jesus Christ, is NOT a gathering to worship or even a place of worship. The ekklesia of God is a people, His family, the called out community of the redeemed to whom He "adds daily those who are being saved" (i.e. born again of the Spirit). Jesus’ church, as scripture attests, is built with living stones! It is a living, breathing spiritual entity which only HE builds - not an edifice or organization which WE build!

Though the church, the redeemed of the Lord, will gather or congregate, it is not the act of gathering that makes it a church - no more than gathering or congregating around the dinner table in a home makes you a family. "Church" an organic term that describes an organic or blood relationship - a people - a family - offspring of God - the called out of the Lord.

It is a fact that within western Christendom there are millions of believers who are leaving or have left the institutional church or organized religion. Despite the phenomenon of the mega-church, statistically, church attendance and membership in America and in the Western world is in serious decline! As George Barna points out, the current exodus from the institutional church cannot be attributed solely to rugged American individualism, or the "just me and Jesus" or 'Lone Ranger' mentality! This 'going out' is not just because people are disgruntled, desiring a less restrictive environment or because they are apostate. It is not necessarily because they are rebellious against authority or not willing to "be accountable".

For many it is not because they are no longer desirous of "fellowship" or closeness with our Lord and each other - IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE!!

I believe that for many, not all, this exodus from traditional 'church' structures is the result of a deep desire for something more! It is an expression of a desire to experientially know Christ - not only individually but also within the context of corporate community life.

Although the perception of many is that these “marginal Christians” are “dropping out”, quitting God or “backsliding”, this is not necessarily the case. Leaving the institutional church for many is not running away FROM something but running TO something. For many "defectors" it is a breaking free from legalism and the religious performance trap. It represents a reaching out for a deeper and more intimate relationship with God and brothers and sisters in Christ.

The one word which I think sums it all up is a desire for

INTIMACY.

It is about the pursuit of a personal intimate loving relationship for which there is no satisfying substitute.

Though some are simply leaving for whatever reason, still many others are being “called out” which is the essence of the word church. Many are leaving their nets, their religious preoccupations because they hear hearing a clear clarion call to “Come follow Me!”

To me this "being called out" is indeed a sign that our Lord is still building HIS church.

My own personal call to come follow me and subsequent exodus from organized religion has made it possible for me to "grow up" and to learn to function as something more than just a Sunday spectator. It has challenged and empowered me to grow in intimate fellowship with the Lord and with His people. I have grown into a discovery of my unique person-hood and position in Christ. I have begun to mature and have learned to be an instrument of His love to others.

Instead of being a 'Christian consumer' I am becoming a giver, a builder and a channel of God’s grace and love to others. Instead of doing for Jesus, I am learning to focus on becoming like Jesus! Instead of being on the sidelines, sitting on the bench or pew as a passive observer or paying consumer, I have become an active participant! Instead of being a perpetual spiritual infant crying to be fed, I am growing up in the Lord, maturing and learning to feed not only myself but others. Instead of remaining in a state of perpetual infancy, I am growing and moving towards spiritual maturity. Instead of being a child I am becoming a son!

I must admit this has not been an easy road to travel. Since being called out of my Christian comfort zone, much of my journey has been spent wandering in the wilderness. It has often been a lonely, difficult and painful experience but growing pains are a part of growing up and, as my athletic daughter loves to say, "No pain no gain."

Modern Christianity or “Churchianity” often refers to the need to reach 'the unchurched', as though integrating everyone into 'the institutional church' or 'building the church' organization is God’s ultimate purpose. I do not find the concept of the churched or unchurched anywhere in the New Testament. The two groups I see are the saved or redeemed and the unsaved or lost. We, as believers desperately need to acknowledge that "the church" or building the church is not the reason d'etre or end all and be all of the plans and purposes of God. Our Lord is not building an institution, a denomination, organization, or a new religious system.

Jesus IS building His church, His ekklesia, His “called out” ones, His body!

The scriptures attest that what our Lord is building, He is building out of living stones! It is His Church (ekklesia), a spiritual house which He 'edifies' (builds up) to the praise of His glory. It is His and not OURS and personally, I don’t think He needs our help half as much as we think He does.

It is imperative we understand that Jesus did NOT come to create a new religious system to replace Judaism or Paganism!

God’s ultimate purpose has always been to have a people for Himself - children, offspring, sons and daughters – a family! God’s new creation is His body which is a living breathing expression of Himself - an extension of the life and order of heaven.

The church is not an organization but a living organism!

Our calling is not about "building" a house for the Lord as did Solomon for we are told: "Our God does not dwell in temples made with hands."

He dwells in US!

"Know you not that YOU are the temple of the Holy Spirit!"

It is neither a divine institution nor a new religion but Christ in you (and I ) that is the hope of glory!

Religion - A Proper Foundation ??

I'm reminded that the English word religion comes from the Latin Re & Ligare....Re is an emphatic and ligare means "to bind"...hence religion means "to bind tightly".

Religion, i.e. Christian religion, is a system which binds God's people to a set of 'doctrines" (hence Christianity is believing the right things).....a set of moral and ethical principles of conduct (doing the right thing)… a sense of belonging to the right ‘church or denomination” (joining the right thing)…or to a set of prescribed religious activities or obligations (e.g. church attendance, prayer, quite time, tithing, prescribed worship, acts of charity and or other religious activities referred to commonly as "works").

For many, religious faith rests upon a foundation do’s and don’ts (formerly called thou shalts and thou shalt nots)!

Religion can also be described as the attempt of the natural man to imitate the things of God or to curry, deserve, or earn God's favor and acceptance through proper beliefs, actions and/or behaviors. Religion provides a scaffold - a skeletal structure – a way of life - but NOT LIFE itself. Often religion appeals to our desire for acceptance by other ‘believers”. One great benefit is a sense of identity that results from belonging to a special group, denomination, class or faith community. Within the context of religion, spiritual maturity is often demonstrated by the mastery of religious speech, theological concepts or the mastery of “spiritual” language often called ‘God talk”.

In many circles spiritual maturity is demonstrated by what you know not who you know!

Re-ligion is all about legalism and performance – praise and reproof - the carrot and the stick – reward and punishment. It is rooted in the tree of knowledge of good and evil but not the tree of life. Like the Matrix, religion is a system governed by rules. True Christianity, on the other hand, is life animated energized and governed by love.

Jesus did NOT come to establish a new religion to replace or improve upon Judiasm or Paganism. He came that we might have life...eternal life...spiritual life...abundant life - the life of God. He came so that our dead selves might be redeemed, resurrected and raised to walk in newness of life. Halelleujah!!! Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law (sin and death) and cleanse us so that our mortal bodies might become more than houses for our soul but elevated to become temples of the Holy Spirit! No more religion, no more covenant based upon obedience to law or righteousness derived from human performance, but LIFE – eternal life which is only in His son. No longer is it about us keeping the law but HIM KEEPING US!”

As the scriptures attest:

“He who has the Son has the life...he who has not the Son has not the life!”

As He declared, “I am the way the truth and the life…”

When I look upon the state of the church and our contemporary religious system I say to myself, “O Lord can these bones live???? “

And the Spirit says, “Prophesy !!!” And so I am reminded of the word of the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel.

"Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." Again He said to me,

"Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.'

"Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 'I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will (I)know that I am the LORD.'"

“So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. “

Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life."

“So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.!”

Today, in my spirit I hear a sound - a rattling of bones coming together and I’m filled with the expectation that perhaps I may yet live long enough to see the raising up of that great army of the Lord.

Halelleujah

Upon This Rock, Pt. 2

"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples,

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

And they said;

"Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."

He said to them,

"But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter answered,

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

And Jesus said to him,

"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."

Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

Our Lord makes a very interesting statement to Peter when He says,

"Simeon do you know how truly fortunate, favored and consecrated you are?! You are so blessed that from now on I think I'll call you Rocky! Do you have any idea why you're so blessed Peter? It's not because you just parroted some memorized creed back to me. It's not because you joined my discipleship group. You didn't just "learn" this in Sunday School. It's not something you just figured out on your own - but you are blessed because you have received a revelation of who I am and you received it directly from My Father who is in heaven"

Peter thought to himself, "How cool is that?! I don't know how come, or why - BUT I GET IT, Lord! You're the Messiah, God's King, the 'Consolation of Israel', the Anointed One, the Christos, the Son of the Living God! Hallelujah!"

When I read Peter's response to our Lord, I just can't help being reminded of the film, As Good As It Gets. In one of my favorite scenes, Melivn (Jack Nicholson) - a loud, brash, obnoxious obsessive compulsive patron of the restaurant says to Carol (Helen Hunt) - a waitress and struggling single mother of a chronically sick child:

"I might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you're the greatest woman on earth. I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and how you are with (your son) Spencer, "Spence", and in every single thought that you have, and how you say what you mean, and how you almost always mean something that's all about being straight and good. I think most people miss that about you, and I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food, and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I 'get it' makes me feel good, about me."

Melvin, like Peter, received a vision, a revelation or epi gnosis (greek). In Greek gnosis refers to knowledge. This is the word from which was derived the term Gnostics. who were a early heretical sect that claimed special or secret spiritual knowledge. EPI (meaning - upon) and GINOSIS (meaning - knowledge), hence 'upon knowledge' or superimposed knowledge. It implies detailed knowledge that is 'received' rather than learned.

This is what we mean by a revelation (epignosis), a seeing, an unveiling of something that was hidden from view, something others do not or cannot 'see' - a spiritual insight!

As John Newton wrote, "I once was blind but now I see."

Jesus IS building His church, His ekklesia, His congregation, whether we recognize it or not! It is not being built upon the shifting sands of public opinion or educational theory. It is not built upon some theological position, a religious creed or statement of faith. It is not built upon some new spiritual Guru or your or my religious experiences. Jesus' church is not built upon some great prophet, charismatic leader or visionary. It is not built upon some sacred book, religious writing, or oral tradition.

The Church which Jesus is building - out of living stones - is built upon a single revelation. It is a revelation of who He, Jesus Christ IS and upon that revelation it is being built up one person at a time!

So only one question remains.

"Who do YOU say that I am?"

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