Breaking Radio Silence
“There’s no hurry.” These are the words God whispered in my spirit just before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
After publishing “The Lights of Christmas,” a devotional book for the Advent season, I was tired and more than a little bit stressed. It’s my own fault, the stress that I allow into my life. I love what I do, and I’m passionate about it, but all too often that passion produces unbridled energy (there are so many things I want to devote my time to) that, frankly, causes me to lose focus. And stress is the inevitable result.
So when I heard the Spirit speak the words, “There’s no hurry,” I let out a long sigh and decided it was time for a break. Time to rest and reflect. And as I’ve done that, I’ve found myself living more from the center. More from where life is found.
Life in the Spirit is lived from the center.
Dallas Willard was once asked by a young pastor how to be more fruitful and effective in his ministry. His response? “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
When we are driven by hurry, we are not living from the center. We are not living life in the Spirit. Jesus was never in a hurry, but he was always on time. Consider the Lord’s response when he heard about the sickness of his dear friend, Lazarus - So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
What could have been a deliverance from sickness turned out to be a deliverance from death because Jesus was not in a hurry.
JESUS LIVED FROM THE CENTER. JESUS LIVED IN THE SPIRIT.
You may be asking, “Well, Dan, what have you been doing?” Here’s a brief summary.
I’ve been reading. A lot. I always read a lot, but I’ve doubled my reading in the last two months.
I’ve been reflecting. A lot. That reflection has led to some writing, but it is writing for a smaller audience - God and Dan.
I’ve been praying about where the Lord is leading me in the days ahead.
I’ll be honest with you. I am grieving over the state of the church in America. A deep sorrow threatens, at times, to overwhelm me. The truth is I’m far less concerned over the state of my nation than I am the state of Christians in America and the insidious rise of Christian nationalism. The spirits of fear and anger are having their way with us, leading us further down the path to what Martin Luther described as “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church.”
I fear we are no longer “in the world but not of the world.” We are immersed in the muck and mire of worldly thinking and worldly ways. Take time to do a search on the net worth of so many of our celebrity Christian leaders. Listen to what they say, where their passions lie. And don’t be fooled by their orthodox doctrine, as if that is the sign of a godly shepherd.
The apostle Paul warns about those who teach a different doctrine; then he describes what that different doctrine is -
It does not agree with the sound (healthy, whole) words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords (agrees, is in line with) godliness.
Instead, these teachers have an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels.
This, in turn, leads to envy, dissensions, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind (corrupted in their thinking) and deprived of the truth imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
What does that mean? Are those who imagine godliness as a means of gain charlatans, tricksters who are only in ministry for the money? Not at all.
The prevailing theology in Jesus’s day was that material blessings were a sign of God’s favor. That’s why when Jesus told his disciples that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God, they responded by asking, Who then, can be saved? And let’s not forget the occasion of Jesus’s words - the rich young ruler (the official in charge of his local synagogue), who valued his wealth more than the call of Christ to follow me.
I’m convinced that this same kind of thinking exists today among many of our popular, celebrity, millionaire religious leaders. They see their status and wealth as a sign of God’s endorsement and approval. But when their words and lives are examined more closely, it’s not hard to recognize the tree by its fruit.
I’m not a fan of Twitter (X), but because of the many Christian leaders who post their thoughts there, I take time to read what they have to say. Not long ago, a prominent Christian celebrity leader posted some harsh, demeaning comments about a popular singer who had made some negative comments about Christians in America. As I read his words, the counsel that comes to us through the words of 1 Peter came to mind —
Keep your conduct among non-Christians honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
and
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.
This man has close to two million followers. Doubtless, many of them are evangelical Christians. What kind of impact do his words have on his followers? Sadly, it only fuels his and their self-righteousness and sense of entitlement. The spirit of so many of his posts is far from the Spirit of Jesus, who was derogatorily called “a friend of sinners” by the self-righteous religious leaders of his day.
Jesus taught that the student becomes like his/her teacher. And he was talking about more than doctrinal confession and belief. He was talking about attitudes of the heart, perceptions and ways of thinking and seeing the world.
You travel land and sea, Jesus told the Pharisees. And you are willing to do that, he said, to make one single convert. Then you make that convert into twice the sons of hell that you are.
The words of Jesus about the religious leaders in his day were shocking, considering he shared most of the doctrinal beliefs of these guys. The difference was not seen in their doctrine. The difference was seen in their hearts.
It’s time for a new reformation. One that I like to call a reformation of the heart. But for that reformation to take place, two things must happen -
First, followers of Jesus must find the courage to think for themselves.
And yes, it takes courage to think for oneself. Courage, because the pressure to conform among evangelicals can be overwhelming. Once we begin thinking and saying things that go against the grain of the accepted norm in our churches and families, we will become, in the eyes of many, misguided at best, and our relationship with Christ will be questioned. And who wants that?
But isn’t that what happened to Jesus? And isn’t that what Jesus told us? - If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even their own life — such a person cannot be my disciple.
Remember, Jesus spoke these words to good, synagogue-attending Jews, the majority of whom believed in a conquering Messiah who would save them and their children from the oppressive and encroaching pagan world.
What courage it took to follow a crucified Messiah!
That’s the kind of courage it takes in an American church driven by fear and anger and believing our salvation is found in strongmen, both in the pulpit and political arena.
Second, pastors and other leaders in today’s churches must be willing to pay the price to lead God’s people.
Leading in the way of Jesus is not easy in this climate of militant Christianity. Rather than foregoing our “rights,” we fight tooth and nail against those we believe are out to take them from us.
Maybe our “rights” are in jeopardy. But like Jesus, who rebuked Peter for drawing his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane and who refused to call on twelve legions of angels to deliver him, we entrust ourselves not to worldly powers but to the divine power that is ours in Christ.
Have we not learned that crucifixion comes before resurrection, that worldly death produces heavenly life?
When God’s shepherds begin teaching and modeling the crucified life of the servant, we will begin to see our people and churches transformed. Yes, it will come at a high price for many, but that’s the way of Jesus.
And that is what it will take to deliver American Christianity from its Babylonian Captivity to a world whose thinking and ways are anti-Christ.
So yeah, breaking radio silence. I’m back with an edge. That’s why I began “Church on the Edge,” and that’s where I’m headed in the days ahead.
In Christ,
Dan
Scripture references: John 11:6, 17:14-16, 1 Timothy 6:4-5, Luke 18:25-26. I Peter 2:12, 3:9, Luke 6:40, Matthew 23:15, Like 14:26.
Learn more about “Church on the Edge” at https://www.danarmistead.com/
Learn more about Embrace Church at Embracehp.org.
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