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I want to conduct an inquiry here especially directed toward those who have been heavily involved in the Charismatic back ground and now, are either ‘outside the box’ of institutional organized religion or you’re some place else.
My inquiry has to do with this; those of you who were visible and vocal with regards to the prophetic, preaching, teaching, worship leading-leader/s, whatever, where are you now that you have NO outlet for your specific ‘gifting/s, calling, anointing, ministry?’
Where and what is your identity now apart from the holy place, holy huddle, with the holy folks?
I hope to be enlightened here if I’m wrong, but from what I can see especially with those who have been heavily involved within the Charismatic stuff, e.g. the Vineyard and others, folks are either, POW’s, statistics-casualties of the war, simply settling into some form or expression of religion or have come to know and experience Life totally apart from the religious land of Oz.
Also I am aware of those trying to reinvent the religious wheel of ‘church’ only trying so very hard not to call it that if possible. Please hear me I am not judging anyone; this is but an observation on my part.
Another thing I’m going to throw in here is this. What’s with those, the ones many of us have looked up to as viable ‘leaders’ who likewise came to a crash and burn reality and encountered the God of Grace, and then slowly walked away from this personal sobering grace wakeup call, and established yet another ministry (identity) only this time its based upon the ‘truth’ of grace verses law?
I find it amazing how this encounter with the grace of God can, like anything else be turned into a means of promoting self and profiting big time by it!
I know I’m drifting away from my original question, but hey, let’s go along for the ride.
If I were to ask one of these folks who have turned grace into a (their) new ministry-calling how and why they did so, I think I might get this kind of explanation. How could this not be of God, just look at the many, many, many cards and letters and emails and on and on that I get in response to what the Lord has spoken through me, ‘my ministry-pod cast-books-my-my-my-! I guess one can’t argue with cold hard facts, or can one?
With the fresh and sobering news leaking out from the Lakeland Florida-Todd Bentley thing, it is very easy to see how as Brad Cummings said on a recent pod cast, ‘It’s not the wickedness of my heart that alarms me as much as it is the ability to be deceived by my own thinking, rationalizing.’On a blog I was led to, I posted this comment regarding the author’s comments revolving around the Lakeland/Bentley issue.
“The carnage continues and will continue as long as we choose to drink the holy 'Kool-Aid’ offered by the angel of light himself. The kicker is that the enemy of our soul is powerless until we give a mind to him. I share this as one who has been resurrected from the dead, one of John Arnott’s former assistant pastors.
It is truly amazing how we allow ourselves to be deceived through the deceitfulness of our own hearts. Father loves us too much to violate us, to force us to choose life verses death, and yet it takes a death to witness His power to turn that which was intended for evil, into the Good only He can bring out of it.
Here is something I want to say as well. If we persist in going our own way the Father will allow us to do so. He will allow us to live with the consequences of those actions. The demonstration of the Father’s love in these situations is not in getting us out of them but in what He does with them. There is no one who can get so much good out of a lousy situation as God can. The Father allows us to experience the consequences of our follies but He is also right there with us in them.”
I look forward to any who wish to respond to my inquiries,
Rich
My inquiry has to do with this; those of you who were visible and vocal with regards to the prophetic, preaching, teaching, worship leading-leader/s, whatever, where are you now that you have NO outlet for your specific ‘gifting/s, calling, anointing, ministry?’
Where and what is your identity now apart from the holy place, holy huddle, with the holy folks?
I hope to be enlightened here if I’m wrong, but from what I can see especially with those who have been heavily involved within the Charismatic stuff, e.g. the Vineyard and others, folks are either, POW’s, statistics-casualties of the war, simply settling into some form or expression of religion or have come to know and experience Life totally apart from the religious land of Oz.
Also I am aware of those trying to reinvent the religious wheel of ‘church’ only trying so very hard not to call it that if possible. Please hear me I am not judging anyone; this is but an observation on my part.
Another thing I’m going to throw in here is this. What’s with those, the ones many of us have looked up to as viable ‘leaders’ who likewise came to a crash and burn reality and encountered the God of Grace, and then slowly walked away from this personal sobering grace wakeup call, and established yet another ministry (identity) only this time its based upon the ‘truth’ of grace verses law?
I find it amazing how this encounter with the grace of God can, like anything else be turned into a means of promoting self and profiting big time by it!
I know I’m drifting away from my original question, but hey, let’s go along for the ride.
If I were to ask one of these folks who have turned grace into a (their) new ministry-calling how and why they did so, I think I might get this kind of explanation. How could this not be of God, just look at the many, many, many cards and letters and emails and on and on that I get in response to what the Lord has spoken through me, ‘my ministry-pod cast-books-my-my-my-! I guess one can’t argue with cold hard facts, or can one?
With the fresh and sobering news leaking out from the Lakeland Florida-Todd Bentley thing, it is very easy to see how as Brad Cummings said on a recent pod cast, ‘It’s not the wickedness of my heart that alarms me as much as it is the ability to be deceived by my own thinking, rationalizing.’On a blog I was led to, I posted this comment regarding the author’s comments revolving around the Lakeland/Bentley issue.
“The carnage continues and will continue as long as we choose to drink the holy 'Kool-Aid’ offered by the angel of light himself. The kicker is that the enemy of our soul is powerless until we give a mind to him. I share this as one who has been resurrected from the dead, one of John Arnott’s former assistant pastors.
It is truly amazing how we allow ourselves to be deceived through the deceitfulness of our own hearts. Father loves us too much to violate us, to force us to choose life verses death, and yet it takes a death to witness His power to turn that which was intended for evil, into the Good only He can bring out of it.
Here is something I want to say as well. If we persist in going our own way the Father will allow us to do so. He will allow us to live with the consequences of those actions. The demonstration of the Father’s love in these situations is not in getting us out of them but in what He does with them. There is no one who can get so much good out of a lousy situation as God can. The Father allows us to experience the consequences of our follies but He is also right there with us in them.”
I look forward to any who wish to respond to my inquiries,
Rich
