His Scribbler - 2012

Grace on our knees: 31 days to go

2012-03-08T00:02:00.006-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"Be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we remove any and all robes and hoods designed to hide identities, agenda, and motives.

(more below)

Grace Grieving 25: Pete and Diane Meader

2012-03-08T00:01:00.008-08:00

PeteMeader

Member of GBC for 67 years. Great-grandmother was a charter member. Elder for two years. Taughthigh school Sunday School. TaughtTruthseekers Sunday School. Directedthe choir. Served on Churchministries commission.

DianeMeader Member for 65 years. Family has attended GBC for 67 years. Taughttwo-year olds. Taught VacationBible class. Taught kindergartenSunday School. Assisted with Senior Saints Sunday School. HelpedPete with the Truthseekersclass.

Grace Recovering? 3: Our calling vs Watchmen calling

2012-03-07T13:16:00.001-08:00

Jerry and I are Watchmen--but we're not.

We do not have the same assignment the Watchmen had.

When 176 people from our church signed on as Watchmen, I was excited. Now I felt we had back-up and support for our stand for this church. God was using them, too--through emails and through their website, Watchmen of Grace--to make known outrages going on in the church and as a result, people were being awakened.

I was shocked when, two weeks before the meeting regarding the elders and the Statement of Faith, the Watchmen announced that if the elders were reaffirmed, they were leaving. I spoke up in Agape and said something indignant. I wouldn't have remembered all I said if a friend from class had not called me afterward and left the following voice mail:

"I really appreciate what you shared in class, about waiting for the cloud to be lifted, being ready to go if He goes or stay if He stays, to not have a defeatist attitude, to not expect to lose, to not plan or prepare for retreat or defeat, that we can't presume to know what God wants, can't plan now to give up and flee, that there are angels fighting for this church, that we can't abandon the church [to worship elsewhere.]

"You seem to be a woman of prayer."

After the vote, when the Watchmen did indeed start leaving, I felt bereft. God had not changed his orders to us and I thought the Watchmen's decision was premature. We had just assembled a lot of people to do spiritual battle--and the minute we were all together, our generals were telling us, "I've brought you all here to--desert. We've done our job. Abandon ship!"

That's how it felt.

Thankfully, God had prepared me, as He does for so many things, for this exodus. In my devotional book, Jesus Calling, two days before their announcement, I read, I want you to be all Mine. I am weaning you from other dependencies. Your security rests in Me alone--not in other people, not in circumstances.

He drew me back to that fact.

I realized the Watchmen have a different calling than we do. They are being called out of this church to other churches for the sake of keeping God's word pure, of having their families fed truth and of being nurtured themselves, of having freedom to teach and share the full counsel of God. As with all God's disaporas, the scattered sheep take the gospel with them, like burrs in their wool, spreading it further.

Jerry and I are being called to stay and stand for this church. God wants this church brought back to the truth, resettled on its true foundation. He is not willing to allow a false light or kingdom to infiltrate this community from the lighthouse Grace has always been. He wants His light shed abroad from this property and His kingdom to stay grounded and to flourish here. These physical buildings on this land--He wants them back.

We can't lean on people. We can't insist they do what God has assigned us to do. They have to do what He is telling them to do.

May it be done to us according to Your word.

Grace on our knees: 32 days to go

2012-03-07T00:02:00.003-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! 'But you ask, "What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?" 'You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.'" Malachi 3:8

Grace Grieving 24: Our year so far

2012-03-07T00:01:00.020-08:00

Our prayer badges for the last 8 years.

January 1, 2012--The senior pastor's wife tells me (twice) I am not welcome in our church unless I stop writing His Scribbler and repent. She has a separate rebuke for Jerry, starting with "I used to respect you--".

Jan. 30 - Jerry and I go to Ralph Hampton, Church Administrator (and an elder), privately. We appeal to him: if he knows of any mismanagement of church funds (such as what we have heard from some sources) to report it to the IRS for his own protection.

Feb. 12 - The day before rehearsals start for the Easter choir, choir director Jessie Flasschoen tells us she loves us but we are no longer welcome to sing in the choir unless we stop writing His Scribbler and repent.

Feb. 20 - At our regular tax appointment with Ralph Hampton's wife Sue, CPA, we appeal to her: if she or Ralph know anything inappropriate happening at church to report it to the IRS. We give her a letter we had written both of them expressing our concerns on their behalf.

Feb. 24 - All our tax materials are returned in the mail with a cover letter from Sue dated February 23 saying "The letter that you handed me at the end of our meeting on Monday. . . has made me realize that there is now a 'conflict of interest' between us and that the professional relationship has to be severed. . . You will need to find a new tax preparer."

Feb. 26 - Executive elders Brian Chung and Kurt Victor approach the two of us before church and appeal to us to find a church more compatible and comfortable for us. They tell us they love us but we need to stop writing His Scribbler and repent. We say we have to stay until God releases us.

Feb. 29 - Elder Jerry Giles hand-delivers to our door his personally-signed letter of Feb. 27, "releasing" us "from representing the church in any leadership capacity, including that of 'prayer coordinators'." It goes on, "We ask that you no longer position yourselves in front of the room following a worship service for the purpose of representing the church as prayer team members or leaders."

March 3 - We receive a certified letter from EBOE Chairman Carl LaBarbera referring to our letter to "a Church employee" requiring us to "cease and desist from contacting Church employees in an effort to harass or intimidate them."

March 5 - Elder Ralph Hampton calls Jerry to tell him that since he is no longer a steward he needs to turn in the keys and the dial for the safe. (For 12-14 years, Jerry has led one of the teams that counts the offering and takes it to the bank.)

Funny. The more they clip our wings, the more lightened I feel to soar.

Grace on our knees: 33 days to go

2012-03-06T00:01:00.005-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"The house that is called by my name has become a gathering place for thieves. I have seen what you are doing,'" declares the LORD." Jeremiah 7:11

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we claim God's promise that the Lord will not hold guiltless those who rob Him.

Grace Recovering? - 2

2012-03-05T12:52:00.002-08:00

What this means in a practical sense is that the leadership's attempts to derail the church, the sweeping dismissal of legitimate members without regard to the bylaws, for instance, are increasing--becoming more ruthless, more desperate and more overt--but the likelihood of the takeover being successful is diminishing.
The Fist is tightening--but in the end those controlling it will find it closing on nothing.

Grace on our knees: 34 days to go

2012-03-05T00:02:00.006-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." Psalm 24:1

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we take back every piece of land on which Grace Brethren Church and its offices was built and restore them to the One Who rightfully owns and reigns over all things.

(more below)

Grace Recovering?

2012-03-05T00:01:00.040-08:00

     Something is changing. I have sensed less spiritual warfare during the Sunday services. For a couple of weeks now I have not sensed angels doing battle overhead. There is still deception so I could be mistaken but I believe it is weakening.
     We know that although everything looks wonderful on the surface, there is still something deeply amiss at the core of the church. As one intercessor put it, "This church is like a gift someone presents to you that looks all shiny and new--but [when unwrapped] won't be what it seems." There is still a hidden agenda to subvert Grace from its original foundation. As I pray, in my mind's eye I still see two foundations but now (to my surprise) the false foundation has come significantly back into alignment with God's foundation. I believe that the power and control of the enemy is decreasing while the power and control of God is increasing, that God's sovereignty over His church is being restored.
   Lord, may it be so! Many of you have written to assure us of your prayers and even fasting, in some cases. Maybe your prayers are already starting to work! Hallelujah!

100 Verse Challenge - Week 25

2012-03-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

From dianalovestowrite.blogspot.com:

Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Romans 12:11-12

If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Grace on our knees: 35 days to go

2012-03-04T00:02:00.013-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8b

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we bring the deeds of darkness into the light for God's judgment.

(more below)

Grace Grieving 23: Daniel and Noemi (Mimi) Kanouse

2012-03-04T00:01:00.018-08:00

More victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance:

Dan Kanouse

Have attended over 35 years. Involved in two Spanish ministries. Active in Agape. Substitute teacher for Rick Byrd. Deacon. Have led music for 10 yrs.

Noemi (Mimi) Kanouse

Have attended over 35 years. Involvedin two Spanish ministries. Active in Agape. Deaconness.

1988

Grace on our knees: 36 days to go

2012-03-03T00:02:00.003-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth." Matthew 28:18

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we remind Lucifer that since Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, there is none left for you!

(more below)

Grace Grieving 22: Bob and Margie Goble

2012-03-03T00:01:00.011-08:00

More victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance:

Robert Goble

Attended Grace for 67 years,member for approx 53 years, have served as an elder, Facilities Board, churchrepresentative for the Boy Scouts, usher, steward. Active in Agape.

Margaret Goble

Attended Grace for 50 years,member 50 years, nursery worker, Sunday School worker, Mothers of Pre-Schoolers (MOPS), choir, children'schoir. Long-time member of Agape.

Grace Triumphant: The tightrope

2012-03-02T10:48:00.001-08:00

Peace for fear. That's what God promises. We give Him our anxiety, He gives us His peace.

I feel like God has led me out onto a tightrope across a deep gorge. (Not entirely tight; it sways under my weight.) He promises to be with me and uphold me. Though I am scared of heights I have no doubts and little fear because I know Him. I know He loves me and I know He can be trusted. I take one step after another, carefully but confidently, keeping my eyes on Him. Step by step I follow and I am amazed that He is making the impossible possible.

In the middle of the rope--hundreds of feet long--over the deepest part of the gorge, He has me stop and tells me to lift one foot. I take a deep breath and obey. It's scary and I'm shaking--but I don't fall.

Then He tells me to raise that leg and grasp that foot with my hand. Terrified, I do. He is over me, under me, all around me. I am up in the heavenlies where He reigns and where the angels move freely. They surround us, brushing us gently with their wings. Friends, taking hits for us, are holding us up in prayer. A mighty crowd of witnesses, gone before, cheer us on. My terror gives way to exhilaration.

I feel chosen for a unique purpose--chosen, but expendable. God will protect me. They cannot hurt us. I think I know how this will turn out but I can't know for sure. And my falling from the tightropes may be part of His plan, a means to His end, which is bigger than I am, bigger than our church, bigger than Long Beach, as big as revival spreading across this nation, as Jerry and I walk our tightropes and other believers throughout America walk theirs.

It does not matter how this turns out for me. If I am understanding Him correctly, my obedience, like every individual obedience, will glorify Him and enable Him to do great things, things He could not do otherwise--because He has limited His power in relation to His creation to include, to be partially dependent on, our prayers and our submission. If I have misunderstood, if I am hanging out there in space on my own through my own presumption, I will fall. Yet He knows my heart and even if I am wrong, He can work around my disobedience and accomplish His good purposes in spite of me.

Because He is God and in the end, He wins--and that is all that matters.

Grace on our knees: 37 days to go

2012-03-02T00:02:00.036-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we pull down the strongholds of the enemy exalted above the knowledge of God at Grace Brethren Church of Long Beach and break the chains of lies holding its people in bondage.

(more below)

Grace Grieving 21: Terry and Patti Polley

2012-03-02T00:01:00.001-08:00

Pastor Lou preached four Sundays in a row about how young people are leaving churches in droves because of division, because of what they're taught and how they're treated.

Not at our church! At our church it's the middle-aged and older people who are leaving because of what they're being taught and how they're being treated.

More victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance:

TerryL. Polley

Family attended GBC for 30 years. Elder for 20 years. Chair, Board of Directors of Brethren Christian High School. Founding Chair, BCHS Foundation Chair of Pack21, and Chair of Troop 21 Leader in several Adult Bible Fellowships, Taught 2 and 4 year olds,kindergarten. Home Bible Studies.

PatriciaY. Polley

Family attended GBC for 30 years. Sponsor of College Age Group. Taught 2 and 4 year olds, kindergarten. College Age Mentor. Home Bible Studies.

1988

Terry and Patti are joining former Grace pastor Paul Hoffman and his wife Lynnie to start a church in Downey.

Grace on our knees: 38 days to go

2012-03-01T00:02:00.028-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross." Colossians 2:15

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we remind you Satan, that you have been rendered impotent by Jesus' death for us. All you have to look forward to is eternity in the lake of fire.

Thursday night prayer meeting in our home tonight at 7 PM.

(more below)

Grace Grieving 20: Keith and Ruth Benson

2012-03-01T00:01:00.071-08:00

Keith Benson, GBC member since 1972. Elder. Worked with Boys' Brigade and Awana. Served as liaison between GBC and Boy Scout Pack 21, Troop 21 and Crew 21. Helped train and induct 57 Eagle Scouts. Volunteered with 3-year old children's ministry. Served in bus ministry 40 years.

Ruth Benson, GBC member since 1972. Deaconness. Worked with Awana, children's ministry and junior high ministry. Co-wrote junior high ministry curriculum.

1988

     Ruth's father Harold Dunning had been serving the church as Missons Pastor for two years and led the Adelphian Bible class when the young couple moved in with him and his wife Marguerite.
     Keith and Ruth drove "Mom and Pop" to Grace (First) Brethren every Sunday but Keith didn't want to join because "you have to wear a coat and tie at that church."
     Then someone asked him to help with Boys Brigade at church and find rides for the kids to come to Sunday School. He never looked back. He worked with boys--Boys Brigade was later replaced by Awana, which was for both boys and girls and eventually Keith took over a Boy Scout troop through the church. And he drove the church bus, picking up those boys or anyone else coming to church, for 40 years.
     He finally decided "I might as well join. I'm already serving here."
   Although he officially turned the leadership of the troop over to Dennis Goble a year or two back, Keith never really retired. He kept going to meetings and taking the boys on hikes into the mountains. He helped train Eagle Scouts and had the joy of awarding the badge of rank to their 57th (or is it 58th?) Eagle Scout recently.
     Gosh, it sounds like Keith and Ruth died--when really they were just forced out of the church by interlopers.

Grace on our knees: 39 days to go

2012-02-29T09:12:00.001-08:00

Countdown to the resurrection:

"Upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." Matthew 16:18b

In the name of Jesus Christ and by His authority, we sever all the lines of the enemy and scramble their communications.

(more below)

Grace Grieving 19: Released! (but not by God)

2012-02-29T09:11:00.006-08:00

Pastor/elder Jerry Giles hand-delivered this to our door an hour ago:

Grace Grieving 18: Chuck and Bonnie Horton

2012-02-29T09:01:00.002-08:00

More victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance. Chuck is the second of three current elders who has just quit because of the abuses of the leadership:

Charles K. Horton

Familyattended Grace 35 years. Elder 16 years, served 12 years as 4th Grade BoysSunday School Teacher, led a Men's Bible Study in my home for 3 years,served 30 years visitation at several different venues, served 10years Nominating Committee, last 5yearsas Chairman, served 5 years as Chairman of the Deacon Board, servedseveral times as Life Group Leader, served on Senior CareCommittee through "Hope for Long Beach", Agencies andPrograms on Aging (APA), Elder Abuse Prevention Team (EAPT) and Long BeachSenior Care Commission (of which I'm a Commissioner).

Bonnie Horton

Family attended GBC for 23 years. Mops (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) Mentor Mom. Hope for Long Beach GBC Senior Care Team. Bible Study

Grace Grieving 17: Bittersweet

2012-02-28T22:13:00.016-08:00

Translation: "We have moved in and dispossessed your family. Please feel free to pick another family--ELDER BOARD AUTHORIZED AND APPROVED, OF COURSE--at our WELCOME Center!"

Actually, of course, it has not been discontinued at all, just relocated. Agape-in-exile now meets at 7PM Tuesdays at a home in Long Beach. Hosts: Cliff and Lisa Norman. All comers genuinely welcome!

We had our first meeting there tonight and 36 people showed up. It was good to be together again. As previously, Dan Kanouse and his guitar led music, we shared refreshments and prayer, Rick Byrd continued his series on Revelation.

But it was bittersweet. We were doing what the church has always done--but now we are not allowed to do it in church. I felt we were being incorporated into the universal persecuted church. That was sobering.

Many of those we gather with on Tuesdays now have found other churches in the area to worship in on Sundays. Cornerstone is one of those which is receiving with open arms many of our shell-shocked, undernourished members. Our friends Bob and Margie Goble wrote us: We have been used to GBC for so long and in just two Sundays at Cornerstone it seems like the promised land has been found, gospel that makes sense, friendly united people and everything that goes with it.

Another friend wrote, There are more people from Grace there every week. Executive Elder Pete Deeble's in-laws are now regular attenders at Cornerstone. Lahoma Sundstrom told mom she cried through the first sermon she heard Pastor Rueb preach (he has that effect on the weary from Grace. He's aware of the situation). Chuck and Bonnie Horton are now attending. The Bensons were there today as well as the Hagans and Jon Phelps. it's a place of healing and hearing the Word of God preached with clairty and authority once again. It is such a relief.

From Ray and Ann Rittenhouse, who headed our Confetti Kids: Thanks again for shining the light of truth and exposing the apostasy and hypocrisy of Grace. We have found a "home" at The First Baptist Church of Lakewood where the gospel of the saving grace of Jesus Christ is preached, taught and lived. Where Missions and Evangelism are promoted and supported. You have seen the doctrinal statement published by the pastor, Brent Eldridge. How refreshing and unashamed he is to believe and present the Bible in its total inerrancy. I grieve and pray for those who remain “in darkness” believing they are being properly led and shepherded. Stay strong my friends as God shows you what to do even if you must "shake the dust from your sandals" as you leave that place.

We will always remain your loving friends in Jesus.

At least one new church (in Downey) is coming out of this--maybe more than one. Maybe even a Bible Institute.

God brings good out of everything and as He often has historically, He uses the scattering of His sheep--the diaspora--to spread the good news even further than it would have gone otherwise.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Grace on our knees: Call to 40 days of prayer

2012-02-28T00:01:00.006-08:00

Dear Friends of Grace,

As I was praying I realized that as of today there are exactly 40 days until Easter, the day we are scheduled to move back into the remodeled sanctuary. Throughout history God has often done amazing things over periods of 40 days/years--sanctifying, preparing, liberating--and we believe He is calling out people to commit themselves to praying (perhaps with fasting) for Grace for at least certain parts of these 40 days.

Ever since God first told us to stand for this--HIS--church tells us it has been taken off His foundation and He wants it back! We believe that the leadership of Grace is "Transforming Grace" on two levels, one of them spiritual. When the remodeling is completed and we move back into the sanctuary we believe there will be a celebration, a "re-dedication" of the church to a new foundation--

--a foundation which, whether it is admitted publicly or not, will NOT be the foundation of the Most High God.

We know many of you have left Grace but still have the church and its future on your heart. Many of you may never have been personally involved with this church. But we beg you to ask the Lord if He wants you to have some part in standing for this church to be brought back solidly to the only true and sure foundation, Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 3:11). We would like to have every hour of these 40 days covered by prayer but we will leave it up to God to draw you to participate in whatever way He wishes.

It would really encourage us to know you are standing with us and to know what part He is calling you to have in this resistance movement. ("Resist the devil and he will flee from you." James 4:7)

May God richly bless you all.

Love,
Jerry and Jessica
jlrenshaw@juno.com

Grace Grieving 16: Bill and Judy Coon

2012-02-27T07:01:00.006-08:00

CURRENT AND FORMER ELDERS who signed the Watchmen list: John Anderson, Wade Andrews, Keith Benson, Sid Bowen, Richard Byrd, Bill Coon, Bud Davis, Gil Denham, Robert Goble, Gary Guacci, Chic Hagen, Paul Hoffman, Alan Holdich, Chuck Horton, David Karber, L. Kent Lueb, Pete Meader, Ron Phelps, Terry Polley, David Sundstrom and Tris Swan

FORMER CHAIRMEN OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF ELDERS (EBOE) who signed the Watchmen list: John Anderson, Bill Coon, Gary Guacci, David Karber.

More victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance:

Bill Coon was the first of three current elders to resign and leave Grace because of its false gospel and/or mistreatment of members. Bill resigned before the February 5th meeting. Chuck Horton and Keith Benson resigned immediately afterward. (A fourth elder who stepped down--just before February 5--told us he did not intend by doing so to "make a statement.")

William (Bill) Coon
MemberElder Board about 25 years (Chairman Twice), High School SundaySchool teacher, College Sunday School sponsor/part time teacher, Church choir member. Member Paramount Brethren High Gymnasium Building Committee. Adult SundaySchool leader. Member 36th and Linden Building Committee after 5th andCherry church burned down. YouthCommission leader. Chairman Transforming Grace Phase 1 Construction Management AdvisoryCommittee (CMAC).

Judy Coon

Member over 51 years. Served in thefollowing areas: Taught and helped in 2yr olds SS, VacationBible School, High School and College sponsor Brethren District Youth Commission,Women's Ministries Committee, Chair Deaconesses, MOPS Mentor Mom 2 different times, Choir member, Helped Bill with Gospel Transformation andLife Group.

Bill writes, "My grandparents and parents started attending First Brethren Church (5th and Cherry) in thelate 1920's. My mother brought me to this church when I was still in the womb. This has been my home church for 75 years. I came to know the Lord in my 3rdgrade Sunday School Class and was later baptized by Dr Bauman. Judy joined 1st Brethren right after we were married in her church in 1959.
"I am leaving because of the teaching--really the lack of teaching the whole Word of God. We are getting a teaching that will not turn anyone away--no teaching about end times, no place for Israel in end times and a watered-down gospel. I long for teaching that gives a literal interpretation of Scripture which I believe leads to a dispensational view of the whole Bible. Paul's challenge to the Ephesian believers in Acts 20:27-30 and Jude's concern in verse 3 of his letter are challenges that our pastors are missing. We believe our church is going the wrong way."

100 Verse Challenge - Week 24

2012-02-26T21:48:00.001-08:00

From dianalovestowrite.blogspot.com:

Therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is good, pleasing, and the perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2

"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice." How like God's tender timing!

Grace Grieving 15: Our turn

2012-02-26T15:45:00.011-08:00

     Brian Chung. Kurt Victor. Our two designated spokesmen from the Executive Board of Elders. Kurt had tears in his eyes.
     "May we speak to you?" Brian asked. People were coming in for the second service. They had us follow them upstream out into the hall. "We love you two. We hate to do this. . ." We could tell he was in anguish. He was wringing his hands. "Please--you need to stop writing the blog. You are hurting people. You need to repent so we can all have reconciliation. Or find a church where you would be happier."
     It took a long time. We said God has not released us to leave the church, that He has not released us to stop bringing the deeds of darkness into the light for His judgment. "Do you think we would stay, being shunned and hated, if God had not told us to stay?" We said we had to do what we believe God is telling us to do and they have to do what they believe God is telling them to do. The ball is in their court. "If He wants us to go through church discipline for His glory, it will be an honor."
   "Christians can't choose their lions," Jerry said. "Until He releases us we will stay, even if it means being devoured."
     "Then I will pray," said Brian, "that God will release you soon!"
   I put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, Jerry put a hand on Brian's shoulder and I prayed aloud. I prayed that God would give them courage and strength to do what He has called them to do and that He would give us courage and strength to do what He has called us to do. I prayed that if we are the ones causing the problems, God would show us, that He would discipline us, that we would not have to fall into the hands of angry men.
     When I finished, both elders said "Amen!"
     When we came back into the service, which had already started, the couple from another church who had come to Grace that morning just for the purpose of upholding us in prayer whispered, "You look like you were just scolded. We saw the two men approach you and we could see power and control on their faces. We prayed for you the whole time."
     Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your angels Dave and Lorian.

Grace Grieving 14: Kent and Willina Lueb

2012-02-26T08:29:00.007-08:00

Missionaries, current and former, and former pastors who signed the Watchmen list includeJanet Barnes, Richard Byrd, Don Hocking, Paul Hoffman, Dave Riggs, Sylvia Riggs, Kathy Rowell Zorn, and the couple featured below, Kent and Willina Lueb. On this blog, in WOW and the Uprights (Nov. 22, 2011), the Luebs are called "The Uprights."

More victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance:

L.Kent Lueb

Attended GBC for 55 years, served as elder for 2 years, Jr Hi Teacher, Minister ofChristian Education, 30-year missionary to Holland from GBC.

WillinaCoon Lueb

Attended GBC 78 years, Accompanist Jr Choir,Team teach High School, 30-year missionary to Holland from GBC.

The Luebs tried for months to appeal to the leadership to stay true to the Scriptures. They sent out to many of us essays documenting the aberrant teaching based on sources quoted from the pulpit. Finally they were told they are not welcome in this church and they quieted slipped away.

Grace Grieving 13: John and Adrienne Anderson

2012-02-25T14:53:00.012-08:00

Another couple driven out of our church by its warm welcome, more victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance. In posts about John, like Kangaroo court (Dec. 18, 2011) and "Bear" (Dec. 19, 2011), I called him "Bear."

John Anderson

AttendedGBC 40 years

Elder10-12 years, Chair of Elder Board 2 years. Quit elder board, telling Chair: "I won't lie for you." Chairman: Business/Finance,Chairman: School Board/Brethren Christian Schools, Chairman: LB Rescue Mission,Parliamentarian: LB Brethren Elementary School PTF, President: LB BrethrenElementary School PTF, Taught 5^th-6^th grade SundaySchool, Taught 4 year old Sunday School, member of Agape class since the beginning.

AdrienneAnderson

AttendedGBC 40 years, Taught 1^st grade: LB Brethren Elementary School,Taught 5^th-6^th grade Sunday School, Taught 4 year oldSunday School, and Co-hosted 5-day Club, member of Agape class since the beginning.


1988

Anderson family, Christmas, 2011

Grace Grieving 12: Alan and Rita Wignall

2012-02-24T15:17:00.005-08:00

More victims of Grace for our Wall of Remembrance:

See WOW and the Uprights (Nov. 22, 2011), my first post about the troubles at Grace. In that post, "Woman of the Word (WOW)" is Rita Wignall.

Alan and Rita Wignall

AttendedGBC since 1974.

Rita led Women’s Bible study for 25 years. Taught2 years of kindergarten, 3 years of 5^th grade in Sunday School. Served as a deacon for 30 years, belonged tothe Women Action team for 6 years, served as a coordinator for the women’sBible study for 5 years. Attended AgapeSunday School class for 36 years.

For Rita and Alan's story, read WOW and the Gestapo (Dec. 6, 2011) and Glimpsing Grace (Dec. 7, 2011). Rita was offered a choice: leave the church or face "severe church discipline." She and Alan chose to leave.

1988

Grace Grieving 11: "Strike the shepherd" - Rick and Shelley Byrd

2012-02-23T12:01:00.008-08:00

"You will all fall away, because it is written, 'I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'" I think the Executive Board of Elders hopes to re-fulfill Jesus' prophecy in Mark:14:27.

Last Friday they struck down Rick Byrd. (I nicknamd him "Faithful" in posts about his being hauled up before the EBOE. See "Ne-e-ex-t!")

Chairman Carl called Rick, told him he was being removed from teaching the Agape adult Bible class which has been in existence since the early seventies and which he has taught for 15 years or so, and asked him to resign his church membership.

1992

Rick and Shelley have been members of Grace for 40 years. Rick served as Elder for 17 years, MemberExecutive Elder Board, Member Board of Pastors, MemberGrace Seminary and Grace Bible School Boards, Taught Grace Bible Institute, Taught Agape Sunday School Class, Taught Married Again Sunday School Class, Taught High School Sunday School, Taught4-year old Sunday School.

Rick writes, "In spite of [Lou's] teaching of the four-week series entitled 'Livingwith Disagreements' it seems that people are allowed to have differences only ifthey do not express them and only if they do not disagree with Pastor Lou. Ibegan that day to pray and ask my Lord Jesus what He would have me to do—thisletter is the result. . ." [Jessica's note: I wish I could quote this letter in full.]

"[T]his church under the leadership of the currentEBOE has departed from its historical foundations. The belief system as currently taught has,according to the chairman of the EBOE, made this church a different place fromthe church that I joined forty years ago. I concur with his assessment. The question is why? And also, the questionis how? These are precisely the concernsthat I raised with the Elder board months before. The simple answer as to “why” is that thechurch, through its current leadership, has departed from the reliance on andthe adherence to the Word of God. As to “how,”they have adopted a man centered, culturally themed, and mystic synthesis whichserves as their foundational truth. I, along with others, have at firstprivately and then publically called them to account—asking first for personaland then public repentance. They have refused. . .

"Now as to myresignation from this church’s membership, I have sought to turn our churcharound from its current path that many, many other churches are also on andthat our elders are thus committed, and returnour church to its historical roots that puts Jesus the Redeemer at the head ofHis church and His Word at the forefront of the congregation’s heart. I mustremind us all that the Bible encourages each of us to continually examine ourhearts to verify that we are in the Faith. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do younot recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeedyou fail the test?” (2Cor 13:5). Iam praying for our church and for many of you individually. I will continue to do this as the Holy Spiritbrings you to my remembrance.

"I, herebywith a sad and heavy heart, will acquiesce to the desires of the EBOE and leavethis local body that I have called home. I will never leave Him because no manis able to take me out of the Father’s Hand (John 10.29).

"In my Lordand Savior’s Service for all eternity,

"Richard Byrd

"(Dated: 2-19-12)"

The Agape class will no longer meet at Grace at 11 AM on Sunday mornings. Instead, we will reconvene on Tuesday nights at a nearby home. Rick and Shelley, plus many of the 50-60 people who attended his class for the last (teary) time on Sunday, will be scattering, leaving Grace to attend other churches.

Over the next few weeks or months, I would like to honor other victims of Grace over the past two decades in a Wall of Rememberance.

Grace Grieving 10: "Difficult decisions"

2012-02-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

You all received the "Letter from Grace Leadership" last Thursday. Chairman Carl called us "to refocus our attention on the mission God has called us to fulfill. . . to strengthen our community and covenant together to serve God's Kingdom. As leaders, our role is to direct that passion to pursue a greater purpose. But, as a body, we cannot fully embrace our calling without personal and missional alignment among church-wide leadership---including staff, elders, teachers, and volunteers. Achieving such alignment will involve wisdom and possibly some difficult decisions to get us all moving in the same direction. . . For this reason, we ask for your prayers that this can be accomplished wisely and lovingly in the best interests of all concerned."

Carl's "wise and loving" guillotine, wielded "in the best interests of all concerned" to accomplish "personal and missional alignment" and get us all "moving in the same direction" fell on Bible teacher Rick Byrd the very next day. We expect more such blows.

"Difficult decisions"? These decisions aren't hard for the EBOE. Just hard-hearted.

Grace Grieving 9: THE MANUAL

2012-02-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

The "Manual," variously called Manual of Policies and Procedures or The Board Policy Manual, is an extraordinary document--worthy of an extremist political party or a Jim Jones-type cult.

Dated April 22, 2010 when it was approved by the Executive Board of Elders (EBOE), and updated June 16, 2012, it appropriates for itself all power and authority over every minutiae of our church leadership, including the senior pastor.

It is a masterpiece of absolute, chilling control. The Manual is mentioned in the bylaws but it was approved by the EBOE without the knowledge or consent of the members. Until the Watchmen of Grace posted it on their website, we didn't know of its existence. And I hadn't read it until last week.

Although you and I had no say in yielding all power to the EBOE through the Manual, its authority apparently supersedes the church bylaws we did have a say in. It governs every aspect of the Executive Board of Elders, that group which oftenmeets in secret to determine all our destinies and which demands our total allegiance.

God is given a token, flowery nod at the beginning of the Manual but it is really all about THE BOARD. Loyalty must be to THE BOARD. No elder can do anything without the permission or imprimatur of THE BOARD. Despite lots of good-sounding verbiage throughout, certain passages assure that the Board--particularly the Chairman of the Board--retains a tight fist around the church.

"Board members will support the legitimacy and authority of the Board on any matter, irrespective of the individual elder's personal position on the issue." I guess this is where the Board can declare a decision unanimous even when it isn't--and require all elders to concur.

The Board "will direct, control and inspire" the church--don't miss that word "control". You'll read lots of examples in the Manual of how this control is applied. It will also "enforce upon itself whatever discipline is needed. . ." (They are big on conformity and discipline.) They will "allow no officer, individual, or committee of the Board to hinder or be an excuse for not fulfilling group obligations." I can hear boot heels clicking together.

The EBOE looks over the shoulder of every elder as he speaks to the Senior Pastor or the staff: "Board Members' interactions with the Senior Pastor or with staff must recognize the lack of authority vested in individuals except where explicitly Board authorized."

Board members are to report on each other if one "may be falling significantly short of adherence to one or more of the qualifications," at which point "communication and potential discipline shall be followed." We know what happened to Jesus Eyes when he tried to take exception to some of the board policies early on. They "communicated" with him and threatened "discipline" so effectively that he not only came back into lockstep with the leadership but became one of their most effective enforcers.

Much of its interpretation rests on the meanings of words whose definitions are not given. "The purpose of the Board is to. . . ensure that GBC achieves appropriate results for appropriate persons. . . and avoids unacceptable actions and situations. . ." What results and persons are "appropriate"? What actions and situations are "unacceptable"? I guess we'll find out when we cross their invisible lines.

   There are some odd additions in the Manual. Why is there a section on how to conduct "interfund shifting"? Is there a legitimate purpose for "interfund shifting" of church monies?
   Why is the Senior Pastor instructed to keep the Board informed of "anticipated media coverage" and "threatened or pending lawsuits"? Why would a church need to have rules covering potential confrontation with the community?
     And why would our leaders need a document regulating their private conversations, personal opinions and thought life--and by extension ours, when we talk with them.

"The Chairperson" of this powerful Nine is "a specially empowered member of the Board." (emphasis added) He seems to hold himself above all the rules. For instance, when we reminded Chairman Carl that the elders are required by the bylaws and Robert's Rules of Orders to publish in the minutes of the February 5 business meeting the number of votes--not just percentages--received by each elder, he could blow off those requirements with, "We decided not to because it would just look like a popularity contest." And then "Maybe we will before our next business meeting in June. We'll think about it."

The existence of the Manual explains so much! It explains Board directives like the one we've been told about whereby a single elder is designated to speak to each of us dissenters. All others are apparently forbidden to approach or respond to us--even with a greeting or a smile.
It explains why the elders--men we've known, respected, and considered friends for decades--have turned into automatons, like someone stole their souls and consciences, why you can't sit down with them and discuss concerns, human being to human being, without their reporting to the Board that we are deviating from their script. It explains why they are all so intimidated by their own Board--and why they turn around and pass that intimidation on to us with a vengeance.

The EBOE (hereinafter called "THE FIST") is a pocket of power, submitting to no authority but their own, as determined and defined by their chairman.

Call it power grab, coup, or hostile takeover, now I finally know where all this bizarre cult-like Big Brother stuff is coming from.You might want to refresh your memory on cult characteristics in our post of January 5, 2012. You may be seeing more examples of them in the very near future.

Now everything makes sense. This is where all the fear is generated. This is where all the threats come from. This is where mindless conformity is turning good men into cold-blooded agents of a dictator.

This is where God is stepping in and saying, "NOT IN MY CHURCH!"

100 Verse Challenge - Week 23

2012-02-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

From dianalovestowrite.blogspot.com:
On Valentine's Day, I. . . felt strongly that He was observing me to explore new ground by observing Lent. As I prayed I felt more and more certain that He was asking me to give up Facebook for that season. I'm going to be honest, it will be a HUGE challenge for me. But I know it is what God is asking of me. I need a personal revival, to get connected with the Lord, and get my focus righted. It's not that I am in sin or have wandered from the Lord, but there is an impression about going deeper, growing. Like in labor, it feels like it's time to push. And removing Facebook is going to help me push.

This morning the Lord gave me confirmation to exchange Facebook for what my pastor called "Face time," time seeking the Face of God. I am excited and hopeful about what might lie ahead.

Then today I opened 100 Verses Everyone Should Know By Heart by Robert J. Morgan, and interestingly enough, even our scripture fr this week feels like another confirmation, because it is in essence, a scripture about revival.

Typically the verse is referenced to be talking about "national revival," but I believe the promise could be held to on a personal level as well, and as I am meditating on the verse this week and memorizing it as Lent begins this Wednesday, I am even more excited about what God may do since I am confident this fast is one He has called me to.

(If) My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
Morgan points out in his book that there are 4 requirements of revival, and three promises to it in this passage.

Four Requirements:1. Humble yourselves. Pride (me-centered-ness) has got to go.
2. Pray.
3. Seek His face. (Face-time)
4. Turn from your wicked ways. Sometimes we get blinded to our own sin (remember, sin is just missing the mark) and we need to remove the distractions around us to really hear what the Lord is speaking.

Three Promises:
1. I (God) will hear from heaven. It's nice to know that Face-time is something God will show up for.
2. I (God) will forgive their sin.
3. I (God) will heal their land. I know this is a promise for a nation, but I am believing God will do healing in me and in my life as well. But even if that's not what this upcoming season is about, I know God has some good purpose in it. He is faithful!

Transforming Grace: Filters

2012-02-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

   Often, before Lou preaches, whoever leads in prayer will ask us to set aside distractions and any filters through which we pre-judge or criticize message or messenger. This is reasonable--to a point.
     When I watch movies, I watch them on several levels. As an author, I evaluate dialogue and plot. I watch for things like plausibility. I watch through filters that critique acting and lighting and photography. I have a filter through which I make moral judgments about the message.
     I try not to use any of these filters when I attend church or listen to sermons. I am not there to judge.
     But there is a filter God says we each must use when we listen to any teaching or claims made in His name. Acts 17:10-12 commends the believers in Berea: "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (italics mine.)
     This filter is not optional and to set it aside is to make ourselves vulnerable to error. We are to be like the Bereans, examining the Scriptures every day to see if what Lou and other pastors teach is true.
   This morning Lou preached a sermon on I Peter 1:1-12. My "Biblical" filter was in place. I listened carefully to every word and I made notes of everything Lou said. And everything he said was right on.
     It was wonderful. The message was true, it was honest, it was life-giving. He actually taught the text. He said, "In this passage Peter asks what God has done, what is He doing, and what difference does it make?
     "What has God done? Being a Christian is not a choice you make. It means God chose you. It means knowing Him in a relational way. He has set you apart through His spirit to belong to Him. If you're a Christian, you need to see yourself this way.
     "It's not because of something you are or do. It's simply beause of His love and His grace. Your primary identity is your having been chosen by God simply because He loves you.
     "Has that happened to you? Have you been chosen by God? Philippians 1:6 says the One who began a good work in you will perfect it. He has called you to live as an obedient person, as a forgiven person.
     "There are two births. You had no control over your first birth. Peter talks about being born again, of having a new birth, a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has raised Jesus from the dead for us. It actually happened. This is His guarantee that He will raise us from death, too. Jesus' resurrection is the guarantee that it can and will happen. God's hope can never perish, spoil, or fade."
   There was a spiritual battle in the room but God was using His words from Lou's mouth to win it, driving out darkness, bringing peace and true unity. Jerry and I stood against the back wall and I marveled, seeing this church as God wants it to become--keeping all the earnestness and energy and creativity of our youth, all the powerful passages of Scripture, all the worship and substance of the songs with the added dimension of messages proclaiming the real Jesus.
     "What is God doing now? He is guarding you by His power--because there is no use guarding an inheritance if there are no heirs. This is the great anticipation of what we'll enjoy fully in the future. Like someone shopping for a new car, we are already enjoying a test drive in anticipation of the actual release of that car.
   "Right now, in all this, we should have joy. Our faith is tested by fire so it will result in praise and glory. Can you trust God in your present trials so that your trust will grow stronger? It is the embrace of faith that produces joy. Peter says 'obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.'
     He said the Lord came into this world to give us life. He told us, "If you have never entered into that life, never experienced that living hope, you can now." He called us to sit silently for a few minutes. "If you already have that life, thank Him for it."
     He closed with the words, "Thank You that we can trust You with our life. Thank you that You have called us to Yourself."
     Standing with Jerry against the back wall I thought, If Lou preaches the truth, the whole gospel, without a private agenda or ulterior motives, there is no pastor I would rather sit under and no church I would rather be part of.

Grace Grieving 8: An apology to Lou

2012-02-18T23:19:00.000-08:00

I owe Pastor Lou Huesmann an apology.

Lou, I really thought you were responsible for all the grief the leadership has given so many of us. I thought you made the decisions and had the ultimate say about what happens in this church.

But I have just read a document written and adopted by the Executive Board of Elders (EBOE) that opened my eyes. It says the Chairperson of the EBOE is a "specially empowered member of the Board" while the Senior Pastor is only a member of the Board at all "at the pleasure of the Board."
The Chairperson leads the Board in their decision-making. He monitors and evaluates your performance. He conducts the Board's "systematic and rigorous monitoring of Senior Pastor job performance" based on their "Board-stated ends" and contingent on your staying within their "boundaries" and accomplishing their "ends." They can assess your "compliance with the appropriate policy criteria" by "direct Board inspection" of "any policy at any time by any method," reserving the right to be the "final arbiter" of your performance. That's a lot of hoops to jump through if you want a boss to "view (you) as successful."

In your attempts to accomplish their ends, the Board "will [not may] develop policies to limit the latitude (you) may exercise in choosing organizational means." They will limit your choices if they are unacceptable to them "even if they are effective."

They reserve the right to change the rules of this curious but sinister game: "The Board may change its Ends and Executive Limitations Policies, thereby shifting the boundary between Board and Senior Pastor domains. By doing so, the Board changes the latitude of choice given to the Senior Pastor. But as long as any particular boundary is in place, the Board will respect and support the Senior Pastor's choices."

Sounds to me like a potential bait and switch. They set the boundaries, give you choices, change the boundaries, limit your choices--pulling your chain at will.

The chairman even has in place, in this document, a provision to "protect the Board from sudden loss of Senior Pastor services." Almost as if he anticipates that circumstances will require him to put them into effect.

     Why would such provisions be necessary in a document regulating the running of a church? Doesn't something about this seem fishy to you, Lou? Sounds like you work for them, not for us. We'd be a lot more lenient on you than they are. Feed His sheep, tend His lambs. That would do for us, Lou.
      The Board did grant you the $25,000 you asked them for, as a kind of petty cash fund--so you wouldn't have to keep nickel-and-diming them for small purchases. They granted you $25,000 of our money (annually, we've been told) for whatever these petty items are--but they put in writing that you are not to have a penny more!
     They really keep you on a tight leash.
     Of course in return you get to manage the staff. If you're happy with that and if you trust the Chairperson of the EBOE to have your best interest at heart, then I guess you don't mind being his lackey.
     Anyway, my point is not to say you seem to be a pawn just like we are but to say I apologize for having thought you run the whole show.

For anyone reading this who is unfamiliar with that particular document--it's called "the Manual."

Grace Grieving 7: Who "won"?

2012-02-17T20:53:00.000-08:00

   One (hopefully) last post on the debacle of February 5:
     Someone who supported the proposed changes to the Statement of Faith said we (Watchmen) won because we were able to block those changes.
     It's hard for us to see it that way. First, the Bylaws require members not only to support but to "advocate and propagate" the existing Statement of Faith. Not to do so is grounds for dismissal. Yet the Executive Board of Elders has been ignoring the Statement for years. They haven't taught it to new members since 2006 and they do not require church leaders to believe it. Instead, they've advocated and propagated their proposed version, the one that officially lost the election. It has been posted on the church website for a long time as "Our Core Commitments."
     Second, the Statement of Faith is part of the proposed Bylaws, which will be voted on in June. (In keeping with the trend of this church, the proposed Bylaws continue to remove substantial rights from members. You will lose the right to have any say about the budget, choice of senior pastor, missionaries, staff appointees allowed to become elders without requiring membership approval, women given all the rights of pastors, etc.) Since every elder was re-affirmed, those who want those changes are still in power--and their agenda has not changed. Regardless of the wishes of the congregation, legal or not, they are determined to ram their agenda through.
     Third, even though the Statement of Faith was in effect when the names of those who supported it were made public, and even though the Statement of Faith is still in effect the leadership has used that list to punish and discriminate against those who signed it.
     So in what sense can we be said to have "won"?

Grace Grieving 6: Update on election results

2012-02-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

According to an e-mail sent by "the leadership" (Carl LaBarbera) to the entire church on February 15, the elders received votes varying from 76-89%. This means not one elder received even the minimum number of votes required for elders to be approved before Lou came.

P.S. by John Anderson

2012-02-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

"The current Bylaws, Article V Section D 10 provides that any matter which comes up at a meeting and which is not specifically covered by our Bylaws shall be governed by the most current edition of Robert's Rules of Order. That is the 11th edition. WELL, I requested the tabulations from the vote at the meeting and it was refused. Our Bylaws set forth that these records (the minutes of the meeting) shall be kept at our business office and be available to any member. Robert's Rules Section 4, page 48, lines 18-23 and page 50 lines 21-27 require that the tabulated numerical vote be given to the members and then the percentage. The Robert's Rules, newly revised In Brief, 2d edition, which is correlated with the official Rules, on page 74, discusses the handling of a ballot vote and on page 75 discusses the "required" Teller's written report which is to be entered into the minutes. In other words. . . the actual vote must be entered into the minutes of the meeting and be available to the members. . .
"This, together with the fact that every vote at the meeting was invalid because of the Point of Order I made, in timely fashion, that they had improperly denied the vote to numerous people (the number or affect on the outcome is not relevant), really shows what the wolves in leadership at Grace is composed of."

Grace Grieving 5: Two lists

2012-02-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

     The Executive Board of Elders (EBOE) has a list of the members of our church. It's the list they used to determine who could vote on February 5. We didn't know there was a list. We have never laid eyes on it and do not know anyone else who has, other than the executive elders.
   We are baffled by the criteria used to create this list. It doesn't follow the rules of Membership and Dismissal in the bylaws. It eliminates an unknown number of people who, according to the bylaws, qualify as members. (People once accepted into membership who have neither requested to be removed from membership nor been removed after a specific disciplinary process, are still members.)*
     It is not derived from the current church directory, which lists any members and attenders who want to be included in it without distinguishing between them.
According to what seemingly arbitrary criteria were some members included and others excluded? Is it age? Some older members who attend and give regularly were excluded. Is it race? Sam and Ruth Sebabi, point persons for our ministry to The Ugandan Lambs, AIDS orphans in Africa, did not make the cut. If they excluded those they consider their enemies, those who have openly questioned their motives and actions, why were one couple who have been openly critical of the EBOE excluded but not John Anderson and his wife--or us?
     Shirley Haralson (see last post) was told members can be dismissed for "not attending for a period of time," which is true. But the only ways they can be dismissed are by their requesting it or being taken through church discipline and notified of their dismissal--NOT, as Shirley was told, "be mentioned at a board of Elders meeting" at which elders "vote to remove the name."
     If the EBOE has been dismissing members in this unauthorized way, they have not been notifying members of their changed status. To our knowledge no person thus "dis-membered" ever knew about it until they were denied the right to vote on February 5.

     The other list is the list signed by those, like Shirley, who were told they were not members and were denied the right to vote. Actually it is just a partial list because it does not include those who, though denied the right to vote, were not told about the list and therefore could not sign it.
    This (second) list disappeared sometime during or following the business meeting on February 5. To date, the EBOE has not released either the number or the names of those people. I imagine if they did anything with those names, they just compared them to their first list and confirmed, "Yup, their names aren't on it." As far as we know, the EBOE has made no attempt to address these people's grievances, nor to give any legitimate members on the list a chance to vote after the fact, nor have they declared the vote invalid because those members were wrongfully excluded.
     Yet according to Robert's Rules of Orders, because members were kept from voting, the vote was invalid.
     John Anderson, the church member and attorney who kept the meeting honest by insisting on adherence to the church bylaws and to Robert's Rules of Order, points out, "Robert's Rules governs our meetings in any area not covered by the bylaws. Section 23 of Roberts Rules covers Points of Order and the effect of not allowing a person who is qualified the right to vote. At any time this can be brought up but it only affects the outcome if the vote would change the total vote. However, if the Point of Order is timely made (I made it timely) the entire vote is void. Therefore, if anyone wants to raise this point, the meeting is a nullity."

Jerry and I hereby raise this point and call the EBOE's attention to the fact that the entire vote is nullified by the fact that some qualified persons were denied the right to vote.

*Our church bylaws list five reasons a member can be dismissed from membership:
   --Persistent engagement in sinful practices without repentance.
     --Denial of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ either as the Son of God or as personal Savior.
     --Failure to agree with the Statement of Faith as set forth in Article II. [Ironically, this applies to many of the members of the EBOE.]
     --Advocation or propagation of any belief contrary to the Statement of Faith as set forth in Article II or the additional theological positions as set forth in the Article III.
     --Prolonged lack of interest or inexcusable failure to attend the services of this church.

     For each of these five reasons the bylaws allow only three methods by which membership can be revoked:
     --A Member may withdraw his/her membership by submitting a written request to the Executive Board of Elders.
     --A member may request a transfer of his/her membership to another church by submitting a written request to the Executive Board of Elders.
     --In a manner consistent with Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1, and Hebrews 10:24-25, a Member may be dismissed and his/her name removed from the membership roll of this church. The procedure will be consistent with Matthew 18:15-20 and as explained in the Manual of Guidelines and Procedures [hereafter referred to as the "Manual"]." (Note: We could not find anything in the Manual explaining or even referring to dismissing a church member.)

Grace Grieving 4: Members denied the right to vote

2012-02-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

Letter to John Anderson, GBC member, att'y:
     Hello John, I wanted to let you know what I experienced when I went to the church vote last Sun. [Feb. 5] I met Nelline and Betty Frank when I arrived and b/f heading over to the gym, Nelline mentioned that I needed a packet to be allowed in the meeting. She said members could pick theirs up at one of the tables in the patio, so I headed over to the one that listed Ha and asked for my member packet, which. . . wasn't there.
     When I said I was a member and should have a packet, he sent me over to another table where 2 women had a tablet to sign if you didn't get a packet and felt you should have had one there. One of them asked me if I was a current member at the church, which I replied that I'd been a member since 1947 and had not sent the church a letter of intent to remove my membership. Also, I had not received a letter telling me that my membership at this church had been removed. I mentioned that I had been attending Los Altos Grace Brethren Church but had not changed my membership.
     The other lady told me that there were criteria for removing members from the church membership, one of which was not attending for a period of time. The member would then be mentioned at a board of Elders meeting and they would vote to remove the name. I was so taken back that I didn't think to reply with, "How would they know I wasn't attending here unless they have members sign in as proof"?
     Anyway, standing next to me was a member, Mrs. Schilling, whom I remembered from our days together at the church at 5th and Cherry, many years ago. She spoke up and said, "I'm a member of this church and also send in money and also attend, so why don't I have a packet?" They said they would look into the names on the tablet we were to sign.
     I was told non-members could observe the meeting from the chapel on closed circut TV. I went into the Chapel and saw Betty Frank sitting in the back and sat down by her. She told me that she was a member who has been attending and sending in contributions, but was told she didn't have a packet. She wasn't told of the table with the sign-in tablet for those who felt they should have a packet. I would like to know if removing my membership without proof of my non-attendence and not notifying me of the removal is contestable? Do you have any suggestions for me?

Thank you,
Shirley Ketchum Haralson

Response from John Anderson:

Love you Shirley! Be advised that not allowing you to vote was illegal. I corrected the Chairman during the meeting when he tried to say that was the rule. To apply the section they "cited" incorrectly to you, you would have had to have been taken through a Mt 18 discipline process. . . someone has to approach you about your "sin" (which in this case would be the man-made sin of failure to regularly come to Grace).
If you heard me during the first part of the meeting you heard me raise the issue of denial of the right to vote. By being timely raised it does not matter whether or not your vote would have changed the outcome. It automatically voids the entire vote. They will not respond or accept this but it is correct. . . I am so sorry that you and others were abused like this and I hope that someone will raise this issue to Chairman LaBa[r]bera, the elders . . . at the EBOE meeting, and anywhere else they can. They will not provide us the exact vote or the list of people (all. Not just those that went the extra mile they were not legally required to by signing their list) who were denied the right to vote. John

Grace Grieving 3: "76%" of one mind

2012-02-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

After the vote on February 5, John Anderson wrote the Watchmen, "In the days since the meeting I have reached out to Mr. LaBarbera, the chairman of the Executive Board of Elders. I gave him my view of the vote as indicating a church that is sick. Here is his response:

     “Contrary to your view regarding the reaffirmation of Elders and the ordination of Kurt, I see the results as a very strong endorsement of the current leadership and direction of our church. The lowest percentage received by the Elders was 76% approval, which in legal terms is a “super majority”. This endorsement is significant, due to the fact that we have a known group of members who are opposed to leadership and have tried everything they could to discredit them.”
   Back to John (an attorney): "Of course there is no such thing in legal terms as a 'super majority'. That seems to be the only thing about the law he appears to know and it is wrong. But you see, they believe they received a significant endorsement, like this was politics and not the church, and we are 'a known group of members who are opposed to leadership and have tried everything they could to discredit them.' That is how your elders view you."
   Maybe in the corporate world "76%" is a "supermajority." But under the bylaws in effect when Lou became senior pastor, elders had to be approved by 90% of the vote. In 1992, the year after he came, it was changed to a two-thirds majority.
     In the body of Christ only "76%" agreement is a cause for grief. Acts 2:37-47 speaks of the early church being "of one mind." That unity was based on each member having been "pierced to the heart" by personal sin to the point of repentance and having been added to the church by the Lord on the basis of being saved. That church "continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine" (NKJV).
   We haven't heard sermons in this church for a long, long time that pierced any listener's heart with a sense of personal sin and the need for repentance. We haven't been continuing steadfastly or any other way in the "apostles' doctrine" regarding salvation.
     The other night some of us heard, second-hand, the salvation testimony of a man over at Cal Heights Baptist Church. He was an ex-drunk, ex-addict, ex-atheist, tatooed-all-over biker and he got saved. I mean, he got genuinely, marvelously, once-for-all forgiven, set free, glory, hallelujah, dancing in the aisles, praise God, passed from death to life, delivered out of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son SAVED!
     Made me nostalgic, even wistful. God used to do things like that at our church.

Clarifications made on Grace under Siege #52

2012-02-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

I talked with the woman who had the vision recorded on January 15 and she clarified a few points: GuS 52: We are not alone

P.S.

2012-02-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Immediately after Jerry approved my posting about the choir, I heard a chorus of chirping in the winter-bare tree off our bedroom balcony. Three finches were in the dead branches singing their little feathery hearts out! I called Jerry over to listen. We both thought of the words of Jesus in Luke 19:37-40: "When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

It felt like one of the Lord's sweet, personal reminders of His love for us (of which there have been many over the last few months), assuring us that if we can't celebrate His resurrection in public song, He will appoint birds to praise Him for us!

Grace Grieving 2: Not welcome in choir

2012-02-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

   Rehearsals for the Easter service begin tomorrow night. For the first time in Jerry's 36 years here at Grace and my 8 years married to him, we won't be participating in them.
   We've been told we are no longer welcome to sing in the choir.
     Yesterday, we received a letter from one of the basses, stating that since we stand against our church leadership, we would be hypocrites to sing at Easter. (As my gatekeeper, Jerry suggested I not read the actual letter.) I wanted to tell this man that we have no problem with our real church Leadership (capital L). He's the One we sing to and sing about. Where the leadership fails to submit to His authority, we cannot in good conscience submit to their authority. Acts 5:29.
     It hurt but this was just one member's opinion. Jerry emailed the gist of his letter to Jessie, our choir director, adding, "Please let us know as soon as possible if this is also your view. We do not want to cause dissension in the choir and would appreciate your opinion."
      I was confident the choir director would overrule him. She is a young woman with such an exuberant love for God and music, such a profound mastery of the craft and of communicating it that it has always been a privilege to sit under her direction. I've told her often that it is like--no, it is--studying under a godly, musically gifted professional--for free. Painful experiences in a very shy childhood convinced me I could not sing. But Jerry encouraged me to take choir with him and for a couple of years I glued myself to Donna, who reads music and has a clear accurate alto. I'd copy her notes and expression, singing "solo" I couldn't hear myself. Gradually Jerry, Jessie and Donna brought out the confidence in me that even my joyful noise honors the Lord. To my own surprise, I had actually begun to like singing.

Jessie has never indicated that she is on either "side" of this tragedy. She always stresses that in choir we are united in our praise and worship of Jesus Christ.
But she sought us out after this morning's service and said that although it is hard for her because she loves us, she agrees with the choir member. We have hurt people in the choir through this blog. Unless we repent, we are not welcome back.

I hurt for Jerry, because the choir was always a big part of why he was here. Between marriages, when other groups in Grace started taking turns leading worship (good as they are), and choir shrank down to rehearsals for two occasions, Christmas and Easter, he made the rounds of other churches. Actually I was doing the same thing between my marriages--looking for another church.

On February 1, 2004, we both "happened" to be back at Grace and that's the day God brought us together. We got engaged two weeks later on Valentine's Day and were married before the entire congregation on May 2. We have attended Grace (again) ever since. We're certain God drew us back to this church.
We love Jessie. She has to do what she believes God is calling her to do and we have to keep doing what we believe God is calling us to do. We ask God daily to speak truth to any lies we believe and we stand ready, moment by moment, to repent to anyone anywhere for anything if God convicts us of sin. I hope those who stand against us are doing the same.

*Jessie Flasschoen has a BA and a credential in music from Cal State Long Beach. She needs a job and I hope someone reading this can offer her one worthy of her briliance. I'm serious!

100 Verse Challenge - Week 22

2012-02-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

From dianalovestowrite:

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalm 55:22

Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7

From Jessica: I'm glad these are the verses for this week. I need them!

Grace Grieving

2012-02-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

   a time to plant and a time to uproot. . .
             a time to tear down and a time to build,
   a time to weep and a time to laugh,
             a time to mourn and a time to dance. . .
   a time to tear and a time to mend,
             a time to be silent and a time to speak. . .

I don't feel a sense either of victory or of defeat. I just feel sad. I think all of us do, no matter what "side" we identify with. We finally saw laid out before us in black and white that the family at Grace is deeply split.
That and other evidence convinces us that the vote was counted with meticulous care and integrity. One of those who counted the votes (until 1:30 this morning!) said to us today, "Everyone is hurting. There is carnage everywhere. It's a time to be silent and a time to reflect, to give God's spirit space to work."

We agree. It's the end of a chapter, if not an era. Jerry and I have been part of this church for 36 and 39 years, respectively. We came with our first spouses as young couples, were baptized here, raised our children here, were widowed and married again here. Whether we leave or stay, we will never be the same.

The church will never be the same, either. We can only hope Biblical faith will be restored, the body of Christ here will be healed, and from what we hope will just be a close call it will emerge stronger and better than ever.

But right now it is at least a time to step back and grieve.

Grace under Siege 75: Members Meeting Results

2012-02-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

Member votes tabulated – 438

ELDER AFFIRMATION:

All Elders met the 2/3’s threshold to be affirmed.

ORDINATION OF KURT VICTOR:

Met the 2/3’s threshold (78.3%).

STATEMENT OF FAITH

Did not meet the 75% threshold to pass (70.3% ).

Grace under Siege 74: "The fear of Lou is great."

2012-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

GRACE: A community of people who do good works living out of the (abridged) gospel for the flourishing of those who agree with them?

(continued from #73) I was remembering Lou's sermons over the past five weeks, stressing love and unity. This morning his voice was silky. "God is love. Our standard is love. 'If someone says "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar.'"
   Love and unity.
   I remembered the bulletin covers we have had during this five-week series, featuring the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 15:7, "Therefore WECOME one another as CHRIST has WECOMED YOU for the glory of GOD." (Their emphasis.)
   Love and unity.

     After the service, Jerry and I had gone out on the plaza to get our ballots, weaving our way past elders and their wives who pointedly shunned us, avoiding our eyes and smiles. WELCOME ONE ANOTHER obviously doesn't apply to us. Interwoven with Lou's words and Paul's words in my mind were the cold words of Lou's wife and the memory of her stony face as she told Jerry and me on January 1st, "You are NOT welcome here! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"
   Love and unity.
   I remembered Alan Holdich describing Lou as "intensely intimidating" when he was telling Alan not to let the congregation know what he really believes.

"I accused him to his face of deceiving his congregation.. . His reaction to my accusation convinced me I had hit the nail on the head. Lou came apart and I knew I couldn't stay [at the church] any longer. I shared this with the other elders and realized that the fear of Lou was great."
Love and unity.

I remembered Jerry Giles telling my husband and me that we can't pray for our church in our home without his permission. I remembered Dave Parsons refusing to let Rita Wignall speak in her own defense, insisting she sign a list of confessions or face "church discipline." I remembered John Anderson being called before the tribunal of nine executive elders to face charges that he would be removed from membership for sending out emails about them unless he repented.
Love and unity.

All these words played a kind of counterpoint in my mind: "Our standard is love. Therefore welcome one another--YOU--with all humility and gentleness--ARE--be of one mind--NOT--showing tolerance for one another in love, WELCOME--preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace--HERE--love one another--NOT--as we are one--WELCOME--as Christ has welcomed you--HERE!--if anyone says 'I love God' and hates his brother--intensely intimidating--he is a liar--for the glory of GOD."

Grace under Siege 73: Secret ballot

2012-02-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

"It's not the people who vote that count. It's the people who count the votes." (Josef Stalin)

The vote went civilly enough. Carl LaBarbera, who recently assumed the leadership of the Executive Board of Elders, presided. A number of guidelines had been put into place to assure that only members voted.
In the past, members over 18 just stood to indicate they were authorized to vote and the ushers handed them ballots. This time members had to line up out on the patio to be given their ballot--in an unmarked envelope inside an envelope with their name printed on it--based on a membership list we have never seen and didn't know existed, whose criteria were never divulged to us.

Only members who were on this list were given ballots and only those given ballots were allowed into the social hall where we were going to vote. By the way, there were two police cars outside, presumably to keep order. (One member asked the policewoman, "Why are you here?" She said, "That's what I'm here to find out.")

Carl had hired a parliamentarian to help us all stick to Robert's Rules of Order but on the whole attorney John Anderson ("Bear") was the one who kept us on track.

Bear called a point of order when Carl took a motion to close down the debate after a couple of members had made comments, while a third one was standing at the microphone waiting to speak.

Bear called a point of order to announce that at least seven members had been told they were not eligible to vote. (We heard of more later.) Carl had elder Ted Moncure, on stage with him, quickly check the (mysterious) list and confirm that indeed they were not members. I knew most of these people and have no idea by what criteria they were excluded. A few had been attending other churches lately but had not removed their membership from Grace. Doris Schilling, a member since 1945, attends regularly but hasn't been able to give much money to the church. Did those things count?Yet the leaders of the Watchmen--and we--were acknowledged to be members.

Bear then pointed out that members can not be removed from membership unless they themselves request to be removed in writing or unless they have gone through the complete Matthew 18:15-20 disciplinary process, the one which had been begun on himself.
Carl conferred with the parliamentarian and then agreed--but those members were still excluded from voting, at least at that time.

At the end of the hour, when the debate, which never became inflamed, was over and the ballots were marked, Carl instructed us to put our ballots back in the unmarked envelopes, and put the unmarked envelopes back into the marked envelopes before turning them in.

My Jerry took the microphone to challenge the "secrecy" of turning in ballots in envelopes with our names printed on them. Carl assured him that the inner envelope and outer envelope would be separated before the votes were counted. He said they needed the outer, marked envelopes to "know who voted."

He asked Jerry something like, "Is there something you need to keep secret?"

Jerry asked, "Do you not understand the term 'secret ballot'?" Carl brushed that off with a comment to the effect that it wasn't important, we're all friends, we all trust each other and "everyone knows what we're up to anyway-" hastily changing that to "what we're doing."
I see. That's why we needed to have people who claim to be members checked against a membership list for the first time in the history of our church, why we had to hire a parliamentarian and why there was a police presence. Because we trust each other.

I wanted to ask why, since the envelopes were already separate, we could not turn them in separately, why the leadership needed to know who voted and why they couldn't determine who voted by checking names on the envelopes which had been picked up against names on the ones which remained. But I didn't have an opportunity.

I wanted to say, too, that no, frankly we don't trust them, that the Executive Board of Elders has a history of declaring bogus results of their votes and that although I trust each of the five individual men doing the counting, I could think of all kinds of ways of abusing the process between "the cup and the lip."

But we had no choice so we turned in ballots with our names emblazoned on the outer envelope and left for lunch where I had my first solid food for ten days. When we drove back by the church the two police cars were still there. I felt a little better, hoping that the officers were inside monitoring the count.

Then we went home where Jerry, always unperturbed, bless him, finished reading Nicholas Nickleby and I lay on the bed with pesto pasta and fudge ice cream competing in my stomach, trying not to throw up. I regretted letting myself getting so caught up emotionally in the day. (continued)

Grace under Siege 72: WHATEVER HAPPENS TODAY. . .

2012-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

Whatever happens (happened) in the church election today: Thank You, LORD! We love You!

P.S. Results will be posted on gracelb.net tomorrow.

Grace under Siege 71: Deep peace, sweet sleep

2012-02-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Fellow Watchmen,

We are having such deep peace and sweet sleep these past few days and nights. Such confidence in God--not in the outcome of a vote. The vote is hardly a blip on the screen of what God is doing at Grace. Some will see tomorrow's outcome as victory, some as defeat, but that's all irrelevant. It won't make any difference in the long run. It's God's church and He is still actively involved in getting it back. He is in total control of something much bigger than our marking a ballot. What He has begun He will continue to do, the evil He has started to expose and unravel He will continue to bring down until it is utterly crushed beneath His feet. Those who may rejoice tomorrow will still have to face truth and repentance down the road.

Wishing the same (deep peace, sweet sleep,and confidence in God) for all of you tonight!

Jessica and Jerry

Grace under Siege 70: Your right to vote this Sunday

2012-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to all of you who truly worship Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. As we approach the congregational meeting Sunday, some are confused about whether they have the right to vote.

Like all churches, we exist as a church under the auspices of the State of California Department of Corporations, where our Articles of Incorporation have been accepted. As a legal requirement, and in order to remain qualified as a church, these Articles of Incorporation require us to abide by our current Bylaws.

ACCORDING TO THE BYLAWS, YOU CAN VOTE IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN A MEMBER AND HAVE NOT

A) REQUESTED, IN WRITING, TO WITHDRAW YOUR MEMBERSHIP;

B) REQUESTED, IN WRITING, TO TRANSFER YOUR MEMBERSHIP; OR,

C) BEEN DISMISSED AFTER A MATTHEW 18 DISCIPLINE PROCESS.

ACCORDING TO THE BYLAWS, YOU CANNOT VOTE IF YOU DO NOT FULLY BELIEVE IN AND PROPAGATE ALL THE TENETS OF THE EXISTING STATEMENT OF FAITH, even if you have been told otherwise.

If you don't or can't agree with this requirement, we welcome you to worship with us anyway, but please, as a Christian, be honest with God and yourself, and don't vote on any part of this ballot. Doing so could invalidate the election.

May God's will be done!

February 2, 1964

2012-02-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

     February 2, 1964. That was the day I walked into a Chinese church in Tokyo, Japan as a seeker of truth and walked out a grateful recipient and follower of the One who is truth (John 14:6). It was the day I was born again, became a child of God, and passed from spiritual death to eternal life (John 1:12, 3:3, 3:16, 5:24). It's the day I gave the self-centered, mocking, confused, desperate, hurting, hungry self I was to Jesus Christ in exchange for the privilege of doing life within the perfect, whole Self He is and having Him live His life through me. (Galatians 2:20).
     In accepting His offer in 2 Corinthians 5:21 ("God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God"), I got by far the better of the bargain. When Dr. David Needham at Multnomah Bible College (now Multnomah University) took us through John 17 he pointed out that Jesus thanks the Father (multiple times) for giving believers to Him. Dr. Needham said giving us to Jesus Christ "is like giving weed seeds" to a farmer.
   But He welcomed me and I am and will be eternally grateful. I came into God's family through The Four Spiritual Laws. You can, too! Consider this an altar call. . .

Law One:

God LOVES you and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.

God's Love
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

God's Plan
(Christ speaking) "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (that it might be full and meaningful) (John 10:10).

Why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life?
Because...

Law Two:

Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Thus he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.

Man is Sinful
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way, and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

Man is Separated
"For the wages of sin is death" (spiritual separation from God) (Romans 6:23).

\ HOLY GOD /
-------------------

                                 ^         ^
                            ^    |    ^    |
                            |    |    |    |
                           -------------------
                          /     SINFUL MAN    \
                         /                     \

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that man is continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through his own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion.

The Third Law explains the only way to bridge this gulf...

Law Three:

Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.

He Died in Our Place
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

He is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).

                    
                          \ GOD       ---          /
                           ----------|   |--------
                              |   ___| J |___
                              |  |           |
                              |  |___  E  ___|
                              |      |   |
                             \|/     | S |
                              |      |   |
                              |      | U |
                              |      |   |
                              |      | S |
                             \|/     |   |
                           ----------|   |--------
                          / MAN       ---         \
                         /                         \

This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

It is not enough just to know these three laws...

Law Four:

We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

We Must Receive Christ
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name" (John 1:12)
We Receive Christ Through Faith
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
(Read John 3:1-8.)
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
(Christ speaking) "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us the kinds of people He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
These two squares represent two kinds of lives:

           -------------------------          -------------------------
          |          @              |        | @                    @  |
          |       \             @   |        |  \   \   |          /   |
          |        |                |        |   \   | -|-        /    |
          |        |        @       |        |       |  |              |
          |   @    | self           |        |       |  |              |
       |  |        |_____           |        | @<--  |-----      -->@  |
      -|- |        |     |      @   |        |       |     |           |
       |  |        |     |          |        |       |     |           |
       |  |        |     |          |        |       |     | self      |
          |       /       \         |        |      /   |   \     \    |
          |              @          |        |          |          \   |
          |   @                     |        |          O           O  |
           -------------------------          -------------------------
              SELF-DIRECTED LIFE                 CHRIST-DIRECTED LIFE
            Self is on the throne               Christ is on the throne
           Christ is outside the life         Self is yielding to Christ
      @ Interests are directed by self,    @ Interests directed by Christ
        often resulting in discord and         resulting in harmony with
                frustration.                          God's plan.

Which square best describes your life?
The following explains how you can receive Christ:

YOU CAN RECIEVE CHRIST RIGHT NOW by FAITH THROUGH PRAYER

(Prayer is talking to God)

God knows your heart and is not concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:"Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."
Did you pray this prayer?

I still have questions
If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life
Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would come into your life. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)
The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ
"And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13).
Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life, from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.
An important reminder...

DO NOT DEPEND ON FEELINGS

The promise of God's Word, the Bible-not our feelings-is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. This train diagram illustrates the relationship between fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience) (John 14:21).

                              o o o o o
                             --                 -----
                            |  |                 | |
                       ----------     -------    ---------
                      |          |   |       |  |         |
                     /|   FACT   |---| FAITH |--| FEELING |
                    / |          |   |       |  |         |
                   /-- ----------     -------    ---------
                        O      O      O     O    O       O

The train will run with or without a caboose. However, it would be useless to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, we as Christians, do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word.

NOW THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST
The moment that you received Christ by faith, as an act of the will, many things happened, including the following:

Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20 and Colossians 1:27).
Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
You became a child of God (John 1:12).
You received eternal life (John 5:24).
You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than receiving Christ? Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what he has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.
To enjoy your new life to the fullest...

SUGGESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN GROWTH
Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:
G. Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).
R. Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11)-begin with the Gospel of John.
O. Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).
W. Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8).
T. Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).
H. Holy Spirit-allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:)

FELLOWSHIP IN A GOOD CHURCH

God's Word admonishes us not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25). Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians. If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

Grace under Siege 69: High noon at the Grace Corral

2012-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we will be voting on three things:

1. The revised Statement of Faith

2. The affirmation of each of the current 29 elders, including Lou, Hachet Man/Saul, and Jesus Eyes.

3. The ordination of one of these elders as a pastor.

Personally I am going to vote "no" on everything,* as a vote of "no confidence" for the whole leadership. All but two of the elders have violated Scripture and the Bylaws and are following a man who does not preach or value the Bible. So I will vote "no" on all but those two. *Keith Benson and Chuck Horton have stayed true to the Lord and the Bylaws, indicating so by signing and returning the document sent to all of them by the Watchmen. (I have posted this document below.)

I cannot in good conscience vote for any of the others as long as they see their purpose (as two of the elders told us--neither of them one of the ones named above) "to make Lou successful."

If you vote "no" on a candidate, you may have to indicate on your ballot whether the man is not qualified Biblically to be an elder at all or is not qualified for a specific job as an elder (in which case he can remain an elder). If you mark "not qualified Biblically," you can use one of the following passages which list the qualifications for elders, I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-16, or I Peter 5:1-4. I quoted them in my December 29, 2011 post, grace-under-siege-38-qualifications-for-elders:

"If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach. . . temperate. . . respectable. . . not. . . pugnacious but gentle, peaceable. . ." (I Timothy 3:1-7).

"(A)ppoint elders. . .above reproach . . . not quick-tempered. . . not pugnacious. . but. . . self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many . . . deceivers. . . They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him. . ." (Titus 1:5-16)

"Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you. . . [not] as lording it over those alloted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." (I Peter 5:1-4)

---

As I wrote on that post, "If, at the next annual business meeting, we members of Grace Brethren Church are asked to affirm that these men are qualified to continue as elders, before God, how can we?

Grace under Siege 68: Questionnaire from the Supporters of the Statement of Faith

2012-02-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

NOTE: Of the 30 elders, only Chuck Horton and Keith Benson signed and returned this document.

From Concerned Members of

GraceBrethren Church

OfLong Beach

December 16, 2011

Dear Elder or Prospective Elder:

Thisletter comes to you from some current elders, four prior chairmen of the elderboard, eight missionaries and former pastors of this church, at least sixteenformer elders, long time members and concerned individuals that are supportersof the Statement of Faith (the “Supporters”). There are now well over 100 Supporters. This letter is sent to you on their behalf.

Webelieve that the pastoral staff and members of the EBOE have not been followingthe church’s bylaws, which they are required to do by the CaliforniaCorporations Code. We believe that oneexample is their failure to properly qualify candidates for the office of elder. As a result, some of you do not qualify to bean elder because you do not accept as true all of the tenets of our Statementof Faith.

Article II, Section C, Statement of Faith, has the followingintroductory statement:

The Statement of Faith underwhich this church exists, by which its Members associate themselves as adistinct body, and which every Member must accept, is composed ofbelief in the following: (emphasis ours)

Ourby-laws furnish the reason that this is so critical: “in order to preserve the doctrinal unity of this local church.” Itis this failure, this lack of a thorough examination of potential members and eldersthat has led to the disunity that our church currently faces. Acceptance of the Statement of Faith is a covenant ofeach member to every other member that they personally believe that each andevery proposition in the statement of Faith is true. The necessary corollary is that a person mustbelieve that any proposition that is contrary to or in conflict with anyproposition in the Statement of Faith is not true.

During the nominatingprocess, some of you objected to paragraph 9 of the Statement of Faith dealingwith end times. Paragraph 9 provides asfollows:

Future Plans of God. Jesus Christ is coming back before the Tribulation to remove His Church toheaven. Following the Tribulation period of seven years, He will returnto this earth with His saints and angels to rule and reign for 1,000 yearsafter which “eternity future” follows. (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew24:15-31; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10;Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:4-6, 21-22).

If a person does not believe that this is true, thensuch a person cannot be an elder. Nevertheless,some of you were allowed to become or remain anelder contrary to the bylaws and Statement of Faith. Youwere told that you merely had to acknowledge that this is the position of thechurch and that you personally need not hold this position. That is not true. If that is your belief, you cannot sign theenclosed declaration.

Nextmonth you are set for affirmation. Youmust get 2/3 affirmative vote to be affirmed. Enclosed is a declaration for you to sign and return in the envelopeprovided. If you cannot sign this declaration in good conscience towards God, youshould withdraw your name from consideration. In theevent that you do not sign and return it by December 30th, we will submit yourname to the EBOE as being unqualified to be an elder because you do not possessthe requisite belief(s) in our Statement of Faith as required by our bylaws.

Tobe clear, if you do not accept as true all of the propositions in the Statementof Faith and believe that any propositions contrary to or conflicting with thestatement of Faith are false, then you cannot be an elder of this church. Please print and sign your name at thebottom of the declaration and return it in the envelope provided. You may fax your declaration to [--]or you can scan and e-mail it back to indicate that the original is in themail. However, in all events, we willneed to have the original with a “wet” signature.

Wewill report to the Supporters the names of those who have returned thedeclaration with a “wet” signature. Wewill ask each of them to go before the Lord and ask for His direction in how tovote in the meeting of the congregation.

John T. Anderson, Richard Byrd, Terry L. Polley*

on behalf of The Supporters of theStatement of Faith

*[Bear], [Faithful], and [Straight Shooter]

Grace under Siege 67: Peace

2012-02-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3

Grace under Siege 66: Gathering inward

2012-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

     Fasting is a kind of dying--a weakening, a shrinking inside, a submitting, a letting go. It is grieving.
     At least this fast is. It is the dog whose master has died turning from his food and flopping across the doorway with a sigh, his head across his foreleg.
     In my case, it is gathering myself inward, silently praying, grieving and listening to the voice of God. It is waiting for God to work, standing when all that is left to do, all that can be done, is stand. It is bearing in my body the rage and contempt of the enemy, letting it batter me until it gives up and Christ wins.

Grace under Siege 65: Why we stood up

2012-02-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

    This past Sunday Jerry and I stood up in the middle of Lou's sermon. Some of you noticed and wondered why.
     We have sensed for some time that standing for truth might require us to physically stand against lies coming from the pulpit. Much of what is said sounds wonderful, although it may be extra-Biblical or unBiblical. But we knew if Lou said something ANTI-Biblical we could not let it go.
   For the last four Sundays Lou has preached on unity. This Sunday someone read Ephesians 4:1-16 aloud and then Lou preached on part of that passage. As usual much of what He said was beautiful, eloquent, even true. Also as usual, about 3/4ths of the way through his message he slipped in a one-sentence zinger that contradicted a foundational, non-negotiable teaching of the Bible in a major way. This time he contradicted the commands throughout the Bible to value, seek and know truth.
     His subject was Living into Your Calling. He asked, "What does it look like to faithfully perform our part as God's called people?" Answering the question, he said, "Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:1-3: 'As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. . . . walk worthy of your calling with all humility and gentleness.'"
     Then he said, "None of that involves knowing the right doctrine. None of that involves understanding the correct meanings of theological terms and Greek words." It isn't the first time he has dismissed Bible study as irrelevant and even mocked it.
     So Jerry and I stood up.
   Doctrine means teaching. Lou said in effect that right teaching is not important. He implied that knowing and understanding truth is one of the "non-essentials" of the faith. His repeated negation of the necessity for knowing and anchoring our attitudes and behavior in the truths of Scripture is appalling.
      Let me assure you, Jesus Christ takes strong exception to that view! He speaks truth, His word is truth, He is truth. He is all about truth.
     The apostle Paul, too, would take exception to Lou's emphasis on the importance of unity while blowing off truth. I can't imagine Paul talking about unity without sooner or later pointing out the need to balance unity with truth--and sure enough, if you keep reading the rest of Ephesians 4:1-16 after Lou stopped expositing, Paul says that church leaders are to equip believers for service not only to bring about unity but to bring about knowledge. Knowledge of the Son of God.
    "As a result," Paul writes in verses 15-16, "we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
     If we have no solid Biblical teaching about who Jesus Christ is, Paul is saying, we will not mature and we will be vulnerable to false doctrines. That is where our church is. Our leaders do not ground us in true teaching so we are tossed about by all kinds of theories and philosphies and can not even recognize false teaching. Teaching truth, accurately dividing the word of God right down to the definitions of individual words keeps us anchored, keeps us from being vulnerable to lies.
     "The plenary [absolute] inspiration of the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit guided men into truth and away from error. In this process the Spirit of God used language, and the units of language are words and thoughts. The thought is the thread that strings the words together. Therefore, our very exegesis [critical interpretation of a text] must commence with a study of words and grammar, the two fundamentals of all meaningful speech." Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, pp. 54ff.
     Quoting this passage from Ramm, J. Dwight Pentecost writes, "Inasmuch as God gave the Word of God as a revelation to men, it would be expected that His revelation would be given in such exact and specific terms that His thoughts would be accurately conveyed and understood when interpreted according to the laws of grammar and speech." Things to Come, p. 10
     What is the alternative? What happens if church leaders neglect "right doctrine" and "correct meanings of theological terms and Greek words" regarding the knowledge of the Son of God? Paul says that the alternative is to 1) remain spiritual infants, 2) be tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching, 3) to be defenseless against the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Vulnerable to lies.
     The alternative is where our church is right now. We are not taught sound doctrine. In Life Groups we discuss the Bible, everyone sharing their own opinions and interpretations, which are all given equal value. (Very tolerant, very post-modern. As Jesus Eyes, one of our pastors/edlers, explained to a church member who has since left, "Well, you know, we are in the post-Christian era.") There is no right or wrong, no "Thus saith the Lord!" in our church. There is no "studying to show ourselves approved to God," no "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
     We have no plumb line. A plumb line is "a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight and is used to determine verticality." To know error we have to have a plumb line, a standard of truth against which to measure ideas. How can we recognize and reject the counterfeit unless we are rooted and grounded in a knowledge of the true? Scripture is the plumb line to which we must compare every teaching that seeks to take root in our minds. If we don't study the Bible and are never taught facts about Jesus Christ, Paul says, we don't grow and we don't fit into our place in the body of Christ so it can grow.
     But Lou gives us no plumb line and indicates that we don't need one, that truth doesn't matter. Once more, Lou is devaluing God's Word by discouraging us from taking it seriously and from devoting ourselves to reading, studying, and understanding it.

Grace under Siege 64: Observation

2012-01-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

This time it only took ten minutes. It used to take a couple of hours before I would feel in my spirit and body Satan's rage against something I posted. This morning within ten minutes of posting "Lions," I saw in my mind's eye a very angry man (whom I recognized) with his hands around my throat and I felt intense pressure cutting off my breath.

Jerry prayed in the name of Jesus Christ for the demon energizing the man to loosen his grip. It got a bit better. By the authority of Jesus, we cancelled all demonic assignments against me, us, everyone in this battle and claimed Proverbs/26-2: an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.

The pressure went away.

Grace under Siege 63: Lions

2012-01-31T07:17:00.000-08:00

Christians can't choose their lions.

I wish we could. If we could I'd choose an old, feeble, toothless one, a benign one.

I'd choose one that had been used on the MGM movie set for years, one that everyone trusted. You just steer around him when you move across the set, absent-mindedly stroking his fur as you go past. Little kids make a point of visiting that set, tumbling over him with squeals of delight.

I don't think I'd even mind the fierce ones, the ones that you meet in the arena, the ones that immediately lunge for you and gobble you up and you're home free. It would all be over so fast you wouldn't have much time to be terrified. Besides, I've heard that in the shock of being attacked--by a bear, a shark, maybe even a human--you don't feel any pain.

But some of these lions look so righteous--a stiffness in the spine, a firmness around the mouth, a determination in the eye that could never be mistaken for compassion. Others look sincere and gently reproachful. Lions that genuinely don't know they are lions, who think we are the lions and they are the martyrs.

It's these last that are the hardest to face. They seem genuinely sorrowful that they have to eat us--but they will eat us all the same. Grind up our bones and spit out the gristle. And they will tell themselves they are doing it for God.

That's not why I mind facing them. I regret it because we have known them so long, many of them--respected them, trusted them, served with them, cared about them and their families, sharing a common faith. I regret their decision to give their loyalty to a Pied Piper leading them farther and farther astray, rather than to the unchanging Son of God and His word. I regret their inability or unwillingness to see this, the deception that holds them in bondage.

They may not be martyrs but they are the captives, not us.

P.S. If I could choose my lions, I'd choose Aslan.

Electronic generation

2012-01-30T21:18:00.000-08:00

This morning, from my brother Ted. His son Vyron is ten. My other nephew, Andrew Haislip, is 20--but they're in the same generation.

Ted Reynolds 6:34 AM

to Ted, Tim, Naomi, Lisa/Scott Walk., Margot, allan, anthony, Mio

This morning I called into Vyron's bedroom, "Time to get up and go to school." A drowsy voice answered, "No! Access denied!"

Love to all,
ted

Jessica Renshaw 6:42 AM

to Ted, Tim, Naomi, Lisa/Scott Walk., Margot, allan, anthony, Mio

I'll have to share that with my other nephew Andrew, two weeks a father. He calls the baby's pacifier his "mute button."

Love,
J

Grace under Siege 62: Tell. Stay. Stand.

2012-01-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

Tell. That was His command to us. After 21 years of our leadership instructing members of the flock whom they had wounded, "Don't tell," God told us to tell: Bring the deeds of darkness into the light for My judgment.

At that point we only knew of a few "deeds of darkness." But as we obeyed, other people started contacting us: "That's what happened to us!" "That pastor refused to listen to me, either!" That elder yelled in my face, too!" "That's why we left!"

     Stay and stand. That's the other thing he commanded us to do. Not only is He still saying this every time we check in with Him but others who get discernment for us as they pray for us and for Grace Brethren Church confirm it over and over:
     "You can't be moved.You are to stand. Don't slide from that decision. You've got to do this on your knees. There is an all-out attack. It has been camouflaged. You are feeling the backlash."
   "You are in a fiery furnace--and all that will burn off are the shackles. You and Jerry are going to be able to walk out of the fire into freedom, without even the smell of smoke on you."
   "You two will stand through the test, through the fire. Others will come to you. You're going to come through this because your beliefs are strong. God has got you where He wants you. Both of you have had bold leadership, standing on the Rock. Those around you are beginning to turn. The tide is beginning to turn. You are a beacon in this church. There are those who respect you, who trust your judgment. They look to you for guidance. Some are saying "If they're standing, there must be something to it. What do those two people know that we don't." You'll show the body at church how to stand.
     "Something is wrong. There is a breach of contract somewhere. A covenant has been broken. They are not obedient to the Holy Spirit and there is a Satanic covenant. Somebody has made a vow to the enemy. They got off track. I feel a spiritual disconnect. There has been a disconnect in the head of the church whether it's the head pastor or executive elders, a disconnect between the pastor and the elders. Something is not right. Something he's been into is not right. He needs to repent or he's going to fall. He's going to his knees on this.
     "Stand strong. They're picking on you because you're willing to stand for the truth. You're the head of the turnaround. God says, 'I'm going to put their feet on that Rock.' You will stay solid on the Rock. You will not be moved. God says, 'Those who've misrepresented you I will deal with at my time. I will give you wisdom and discernment. I will call people to surround you. This church will be restored. My written Word and the work I have done in this church will remain.'
   He's going to expose those who are playing games. Something's going to get tripped up, will pop up--a red flag so big they won't be able to get over it."

Stand. What does that look like? Stand when they won't let us speak, stand when they tell us not to pray without their permission, stand when they tell others we are liars, stand when the doctrine (or lack thereof, like the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20, which has become the Great Omission)* coming from God's pulpit defiles it, demeaning Him and incurring His wrath. Stand when they shun us, stand when they slander us, stand when the poisonous fog of deception soothes people with a distorted view of the truth, preventing them from believing God's opinion of this farce.

Stand when I am too intimidated by their power and fury to say a word.
Whatever the results of the vote on the elders and the Statement of Faith on February 5th, we will keep staying, standing, and telling until God tells us to stop.

*Thank you for the way you put it, Jerry.

100 Verse Challenge - Week 21

2012-01-29T21:56:00.000-08:00

From dianalovestowrite:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Join the Challenge.

Based on the book 100 Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart by Robert J. Morgan

Grace under Siege 61: Restoration

2012-01-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

December 5, 2011

"I see this man getting on his knees

like a little boy

crying.

"The LORD is going to humble him.

"It will loosen the chains that are around the church:

major bondage.

"They have no idea

what they're dealing with.

"The enemy is right in front

of their faces.

They'll find out.

"God will allow it to be exposed.

"It will work out."

December 13, 2011

"He stands at the front of the church,

his hand propped on the lectern.

"All of a sudden something hits him

and I see him folding right there--

on his knees

knees buckling.

Down on his knees.

"I see him crying--

tears coming from his eyes--

in repentance and shame.

"I see an arm on his shoulder.

The LORD has been grieving over this,

over him.

"I see the LORD's hand on his shoulder

because he is truly repentant.

"The LORD is gathering him up

reassuring him

he will be used."

"This church will be restored."

Grace under Siege 60: Is God through with the Jews?

2012-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

One page of Dr. Pentecost's 70 pages on the millennium deals with "The Millennium and Israel's Covenents." Here we are on solid ground when we compare Scripture with what Lou believes because he states his views in a document we can consider a reliable and honest reflection of them.
We know, both from this document and from his admissions to former GBC member Alan Holdich (confirmed by someone whom Alan shared with afterwards), that Lou believes God is through with the Jews. He has abandoned them, there will be no restoration of Israel and she no longer plays a part in His plans.

     In his 2005 doctoral dissertation, "Spiritual Renewal and the Kingdom of God," from Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Lou asserts "Israel failed (to) bless the world." (pp. 34-5) He quotes theologian N.T. Wright as saying, "God's purpose would not, after all, be to vindicate Israel as a nation. . . Jesus announced increasingly clearly that God's judgment would fall . . .on Israel, that had failed to be the light of the world. . . ." He claimed "Jesus himself and his followers" were "now the true, reconstituted Israel." (p. 41).
   (Note: This is called "replacement theology.")*
     That's what a theologian named N.T. Wright says. But what does the Bible say? Were God's covenants with Israel conditional? Has God rejected Israel because she failed to bless the world? Has He replaced Israel with the church?
   In Section 2: "The Biblical Covenants and Eschatology," J. Dwight Pentecost lists four covenants between God and mankind: the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New covenants. Of these only one covenant was conditional and that single condition (Genesis 12:1) was "based upon Abraham's obedience in leaving his homeland and going to the land of promise." Each of these four covenants was expressly declared to be eternal and therefore unconditional: Genesis 17:7, 13, 19; I Chronicles 16:17; Psalm 105:10 (Abrahamic), Ezekiel 16:60 (Palestinian), 2 Samuel 7:13, 16, 19; I Chronicles 17:12, 22:10; Isaiah 55:3; Ezekiel 37:25 (Davidic), and Isaiah 61:8, Jeremiah 32:40, 50:5; Hebrews 13:20 (New).
     As a friend reminds me, the covenants were promises, not demands. God did not command Abraham to "bless the world." God promised him that through him God would bless the world. Moreover, they are unconditional promise--"I will bless you"--and God doesn't break His promises. (In the following paragraph Pentecost uses "should" to mean "shall.")
     "The things promised by God [to Abraham] are the following: 1. That Abraham's name shall be great. 2. That a great nation should come from him. 3. He should be a blessing so great that in him shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4. To him personally ('to thee') and to his seed should be given Palestine forever to inherit. 5. The multitude of his seed should be as the dust of the earth. 6. That whoever blessed him should be blessed, and whoever cursed him should be cursed. 7. He should be the father of many nations. 8. Kings should proceed from him. 9. The covenant shall be perpetual, 'an everlasting covenant.' 10. The land of Canaan shall be 'an everlasting possession.' 11. God will be a God to him and to his seed. 12. His seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. 13. In his seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
     In the last days God will keep His covenants with the Jews. God has already restored the Jews to their own land (Jeremiah 23:5-8, 32:37-39; Ezekiel 36:28, 39:28). In Jeremiah 32:40 God says "I will never stop doing good to them." Hosea 3:5 says the Jews "will come trembling to the Lord and to His blessings in the last days." Zechariah 10:6 says God "will restore them as though I had not rejected them." Romans 11:26 says "All Israel will be saved."
     Dr. Pentecost writes, "This age (the millennium) will see the complete fulfillment of all the covenants that God made with Israel. . .
      --"the Abrahamic covenant concerning the land and the seed: Isaiah 10:21-22, 19:25, 43:1, 65:8-9; Jeremiah 30:22, 32:38; Ezekiel 34:24, 30-31; Micah 7:19-20;
Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:16-18. Israel's perpetuity, their possession of the land, and their inheritance of blessings are directly related to the fulfillment of this covenant.
    --"the Davidic covenant concerning the king, the throne, and the royal house: Isaiah 11:1-2, 55:3, 11; Jeremiah 23:5-8, 33:20-26; Ezekiel 34:23-25, 37:23-24; Hosea 3:5; Micah 4:7-8. The fact that Israel has a kingdom, over which David's Son reigns as King, is based on this Davidic covenant.
    --"the Palestinic covenant concerning the possession of the land: Isaiah 11:11-12, 65:9; Ezekiel 16:60-63, 36:28-29, 39:28; Hosea 1:10-2:1; Micah 2:12; Zechariah 10:6. These references to the possession of the land promise fulfillment of the Palestinic covenant.
    --"the new covenant concerning a new heart, the forgiveness of sin, the filling of the Spirit through the converted nation: Jeremiah 31:31-34, 32:35-39; Ezekiel 11:18-20, 16:60-63, 37:26; Romans 11:26-29. All the blessings Israel receives are fulfillment of this covenant."
(Pentecost, Things to Come, Ch. 28, pp. 476-7)

Numbers 23:19 says "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" God is a promise-keeper. He will do what He says. He always has.

Oh, by the way--the Jews didn't bless the world? A young Hebrew girl breathed "Yes" to the Almighty and the whole universe was blessed with a Savior. Scribes in their dark cells washed their hands so as not to desecrate the words--words with holy meaning--they were painstakingly transferring to parchment and because of their dedication we hold virtually the original Scriptures, with no major contradictions, in our hands today.

*Question: "What is replacement theology / supersessionism?"

Answer: Replacement theology (also known as supersessionism) essentially teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. Adherents of replacement theology believe the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people, and God does not have specific future plans for the nation of Israel. All the different views of the relationship between the church and Israel can be divided into two camps: either the church is a continuation of Israel (replacement/covenant theology), or the church is completely different and distinct from Israel (dispensationalism/premillennialism).

Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. So, the prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are “spiritualized” or “allegorized” into promises of God's blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God, and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1900 years?

The view that Israel and the church are different is clearly taught in the New Testament. Biblically speaking, the church is completely different and distinct from Israel, and the two are never to be confused or used interchangeably. We are taught from Scripture that the church is an entirely new creation that came into being on the day of Pentecost and will continue until it is taken to heaven at the rapture (Ephesians 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). The church has no relationship to the curses and blessings for Israel. The covenants, promises, and warnings are valid only for Israel. Israel has been temporarily set aside in God's program during these past 2000 years of dispersion.

After the rapture (1Thessalonians 4:13-18), God will restore Israel as the primary focus of His plan. The first event at this time is the tribulation (Revelation chapters 6-19). The world will be judged for rejecting Christ, while Israel is prepared through the trials of the great tribulation for the second coming of the Messiah. Then, when Christ does return to the earth, at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be ready to receive Him. The remnant of Israel which survives the tribulation will be saved, and the Lord will establish His kingdom on this earth with Jerusalem as its capital. With Christ reigning as King, Israel will be the leading nation, and representatives from all nations will come to Jerusalem to honor and worship the King—Jesus Christ. The church will return with Christ and will reign with Him for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1-5).

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament support a premillennial/dispensational understanding of God's plan for Israel. Even so, the strongest support for premillennialism is found in the clear teaching of Revelation 20:1-7, where it says six times that Christ's kingdom will last 1000 years. After the tribulation the Lord will return and establish His kingdom with the nation of Israel, Christ will reign over the whole earth, and Israel will be the leader of the nations. The church will reign with Him for a literal thousand years. The church has not replaced Israel in God's plan. While God may be focusing His attention primarily on the church in this dispensation of grace, God has not forgotten Israel and will one day restore Israel to His intended role as the nation He has chosen (Romans 11).

From http://www.gotquestions.org/replacement-theology.html

Recommended Resource: Bible Answers for Almost all Your Questions by Elmer Towns.

Grace under Siege 59: Millennium

2012-01-25T18:09:00.000-08:00

   "A larger body of prophetic Scripture is devoted to the subject of the millennium, developing its character and conditions, than any other one subject. This millennial age, in which the purposes of God are fully realized on the earth, demands considerable attention. An attempt will be made to deduce from the Scriptures themselves the essential facts and features of this theocratic kingdom. While much has been written on the subject of the millennium, that which is clearly revealed in the Word can be our only true guide as to the nature and character of that period." Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come, chapter 28: "The Scriptural Doctrine of the Millennium."
     For my money, Pentecost's classic volume, after more than 50 years in print, still reigns over every other attempt to gather and group all the relevant verses on prophecy yet to be fulfilled. His examination of the texts and the possible interpretations to be made from them are exhaustive. His conclusions based on this research provide the most thorough and convincing chronology of the events ever put forward, in my opinion.
     Dr. Pentecost quotes or cites hundreds of verses in his four chapters (70 pages) about the millennium. I would like to post every verse on the millennium here but obviously that isn't practical. I refer you to the book itself.
     One of the primary passages on the subject is Revelation 20:1-9:

Satan Bound

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years ; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection ; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Satan Freed, Doomed

7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth , Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

Pentecost writes (p. 491), "It is generally held, even by those denying the literalness of the thousand year period, that the angel, heaven, the pit, Satan, the nations, the resurrections mentioned in this chapter are literal. It would be folly to accept the literalness of those and deny the literalness of the time element. . . Six times in this passage it is stated that Christ's millennial kingdom will continue for a thousand years."
Amillennialists argue that "the eternality of Christ's kingdom does not permit any place for a thousand year reign on earth." Pentecost suggests (p. 494) that His millennial reign will lead into His eternal reign: "By the establishment of the theocracy for a thousand years, under the Mesianic theocratic King, God has accomplished His purpose of demonstrating His rule in the sphere in which that authority was first challenged. By merging this earthly theocracy with the eternal kingdom God's eternal sovereignty is established. Such was the purpose of God in planning the theocratic kingdom and developing it through successive stages throughout history until it reaches the climax of the program in the theocracy under the enthroned Christ in the millennium. That authority, which Satan first challenged, Christ has now demonstrated belongs solely to God. God's right to rule is eternally vindicated."

Grace under Siege 58: Photos posted

2012-01-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

Now that the names of the Watchmen have been released we have posted photos of their first meeting, January 8, 2012 at Grace under Siege #48 - Historic date in Grace Brethren History. Those pictured who are not on the list were only there to gain information.

Last Sunday a second meeting of the Watchmen was held at a nearby church. It too opened with an hour of spontaneous prayer. Of the 80-90 people present, many prayed on their knees and most of those who prayed aloud were men. Information was made available to visitors and Pastor Paul Hoffman gave a message on unity.

Grace under Siege 57: Rapture of the Church/Tribulation

2012-01-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

See also Things to Come chapter 13: "The Pretribulation Rapture Theory," by J. Dwight Pentecost. He devotes 12 chapters, over 200 pages, to passages on the rapture and the tribulaton.

Is the belief in the Pre-Millennial, Pre-Tribulation Raptureof the church an essential belief?*

Essay by Rick Byrd, Bible teacher, Agape Adult Bible Fellowship:

Concise answer: Absolutely yes! There is one key verse Rev 3:10 in conjunction withthree main passages: 1 Thess. 4:13-18, John 14.1-4, and 1 Cor. 15:50-58, whichall proclaim the rapture of the Church. Moreover, the driving result of the belief in the imminent Rapture ofthe Church is the need to fulfill the Great Commission. Those who hold this teaching make thesnatching of the lost and dying from the very flames of hell their life’squest. A church, which does not maintainthis belief quickly, substitutes the pursuit of “good works” for the necessityof saving the lost.

Detailed answer: Belief in the Pre-Millennial, Pre-Tribulation Rapture accomplishes twothings: one, it drives the church to maintain an expectancy for the Lord’s soonreturn for His Church; and two, it drives the church to fulfill the GreatCommission that it was given. This eager expectancy on the part of the churchfor the imminent return of Christ is taught in many verses:

John14.2-3 “InMy Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would havetold you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place foryou, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

Acts 1.11 “They also said,"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, whohas been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as youhave watched Him go into heaven."

1 Cor. 1.7 “so that you are notlacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ”

1 Cor. 15.51-52 Now I say this,brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does theperishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will notall sleep, but we will all be changed”

Phil. 3.20 “For our citizenship isin heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”

Col. 3.4 “When Christ, who is ourlife, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

1 Thess. 1.10 “and to wait for HisSon from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

1 Tim. 6.14 “that you keep thecommandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord JesusChrist,”

Titus 2.13 “looking for theblessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, ChristJesus,”

Heb. 9.28 “so Christ also, havingbeen offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time forsalvation without reference tosin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

James 5.8 “You too be patient;strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

While these verses address this blessed hope, the followingarguments strengthen this position. First, the Bible mentions no needed sign to take place before therapture. Second, meaning of immanencyhas the idea of certainty but not immediacy (i.e., soon but that it musthappen).

Before we turn our attention to the three main passageswhich teach the Pre-Millennial, Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the church: 1 Thess.4:13-18, John 14.1-4, and 1 Cor. 15:50-58, we will examine Rev. 3:10:

“Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also willkeep you from the hour of testing, that hourwhich is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on theearth.”

To begin with the word church (ekklesia) occurs only one time afterthe first three chapters of Revelation (Rev. 22:16). It occurs nineteen times within the firstthree chapters. In chapter 4:1 we have abeautiful picture of the church being raptured is illustrated by John beingcalled to heaven. The church is neverpictured as on earth but only as being in heaven in chapters 4-18. The absolute silence of those chaptersregarding the church is deafening. In Revelation 19.7 she is referred to as theBride of Christ and then in 22:16 she is then for the last time called thechurch.

Next the promise “Ialso will keep you from the hour of testing” uses the words “ tereo ek” for tokeep, preserve, protect out of-- thehour of testing. Furthermore,the Lord promises to keep them from the very time of the testing which is tocome upon the whole world. The way inwhich He will do this is by the rapture of the church. Also the article “the”occurs before both the hour and from the testing; therefore, this confirms aspecific test coming upon the whole world.

Now we willturn our attention to the three clear passages.

1. 1 Thess. 4:13-18:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about thosewho are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring withHim those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the wordof the Lord, that we, who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord,will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself willdescend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead inChrist will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught uptogether with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shallalways be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thess. 1:10 states: “andto wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us fromthe wrath to come.” Allbelievers are rescued from the wrath to come. This is echoed in 1 Thess. 5:9 as well: “For God has not destined us forwrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So the church is not destined for the wrathto come, “the Great Tribulation” to come. In 1 Cor. 15:50-58, Paul is endeavoring to comfort those who have lostbelieving friends and family to physical death (.13). The encouragement he gives is based on thefact of the resurrection of Christ (.14). The first to join Christ in the airat His coming are the dead in Christ and then we who are alive (.15). The Lord Himself gave this to Paul (thismystery according to 1 Cor. 15.50-51) (.16). The Lord Himself will descend fromheaven (.16a). If one considers John14.3, he realizes that the place, where Jesus Himself was going to and theplace He would take the church, was to heaven. And according to 1 Cor. 15: 53: “For this perishable must put on theimperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality (translated).” Theliving must have their earthly bodies changed. Once this occurs then they willbe “caught up together with them in the cloudsto meet the Lord in the air;” the word “caught up” is the word“harpazo” to be snatched or seized suddenly. It is this word through the Latin that the word rapture is derived.

It is thisevent: going with any who have died in Christ to meet the Lord in the air andto always be with Him that produces comfort (.18).

One of thegreatest encouragements that these believers have is that while they may facetribulation they will not go through “the tribulation,” “the Day of the Lord.”In the very next section 1 Thess. 5:1-10 Paul who introduces a new subject with“peri de” “now as” to the Day of the Lord.

Robert DeanJr. provides the following fifteen differences between the Rapture and theSecond Coming:

• At the Rapture Jesus comes for His own [church age believers],at the Second Coming

Jesus comes with His own [church age believers].

• At the time of the Rapture Jesus comes only in the air (1Thessalonians 4:17), at the

Second Coming Jesus comes to the earth (Revelation 19:11-18).

• At the Rapture, living saints receive resurrection bodies (1Thessalonians 4:17), at the

Second Coming, no living believers receive resurrection bodies.

• At the Rapture translated saints go to heaven, at the SecondComing translated saints go

to earth.

• At the Rapture, Jesus comes in the air and returns to heaven(John 14:3), at the Second

Coming Jesus establishes His kingdom on the earth.

• At the Rapture, there is no judgment on the unsaved upon theearth, the Second Coming

Concludes God’s judgments on the earth dwellers.

• At the Rapture Christ claims His bride, at the Second ComingChrist comes with His

Bride.

• The Rapture delivers the saints from the wrath to come, theSecond Coming concludes

the wrath to come (Daniel’s seventieth week).

• The Rapture is imminent and its proximity is not announced byany prophetic signs; the

Second Coming is preceded by specific, recognizable signs.

• The Rapture involves only the saved of the church age, theSecond Coming involves all

on the earth. The saved of the Old Testament are resurrected afterthe Second Coming.

• The Rapture is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but theSecond Coming is predicted

often in the Old Testament.

• Satan is not mentioned in reference to the Rapture, but afterthe Second Coming, Satan is bound (Revelation 20:2–3).

• No prophecy must be fulfilled before the Rapture, manyprophecies must be fulfilled

before the Second Coming.

• At the Rapture only those who meet Him in the air will see Him,at the Second Coming

every eye shall see Him.

• The Rapture is called the Day of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:2;Philippians 1:10; 2:16), the Second Coming comes as part of the Day of the Lord(Joel 2:31–32; 1 Thessalonians

5:2). (Robert Dean Jr. “Three Foundational Rapture Passages,” http://www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/Dean-theThreeMajorRapture.pdf.)

2. John 14.1-4.

We will examine the Upper Room Discourse significance (John13-17), the congruity with the Jewish marriage analogy, and the parallels with1 Thess. 4:13-18; each provide the necessary support for the Pre-Millennial,Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the church. Next we will examine the details of thepassage.

To begin with the Upper Room Discourse provide in seedform the following New Testament truths:

Thebelievers' oneness in Christ (John 17:20-23; Eph 2:11-22), the Spirit'spermanent residence in the believer (John 14:16; Eph 4:30), the believer'sunion with Christ (John 14:20; Gal 2:20;Rom 6:1-14), the believer's oppositionto the world (John 15:18-19; Jas 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17), the necessity for thebeliever to stay in fellowship with Christ (John13:10; 15:1-17; 1John 1:5-7,9), abiding in Christ as a prerequisite for fruit bearing (John 15:1-7; Phil4:13), the believer's election (John 15:16; Eph 1:4); Christ as the ultimatemodel of sacrificial living and service (John 13:1-20; Phil 2:5-11), thenecessity of divine discipline in the believer's life (John 15:2; Heb 12:5-11),Satan as the god of this age (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2),the defeat of Satan at the cross (John 12:31; 16:11; Col 2:15; Heb 2:14), theSpirit as the inspirer of all Scripture (John 14:26; 16:13; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet1:20-21), the Spirit as the illuminator of all Scripture (John 14:26; 16:13; 1Cor 2:14; 1 John 2:20, 27), Christ's provision of peace in the midst ofadversity (John 14:27; Phil 4:7), the necessity of the Spirit's convictingministry as a prerequisite for salvation (John 16:7-11; 1 Cor 2:14; 2 Cor 4:4),the normalcy of tribulations in the present age (John 16:33; Jas 1:2-4), thebeliever as the ultimate overcomer (John 16:33; 1 John 4:4; 5:4-5), Christ'spresent session at the Father's righthand (John 14:12-14; 17:5; Heb 8:1;10:12-13), the power of prayer (John 14:12-14; Eph 6:18- 20; Jas 5:16), theinerrancy of Scripture (John 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16), and the disclosure ofEschatology (John 16:13; 2 Thess 2:1-12). (See Andy Woods paper “Jesus and the Rapture,” http://www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/woods-JesusandtheRapture.pdf.Where he gives an exhaustive treatment to Jesus and the Rapture).

TheUpper Room Discourse provides eschatologicalsetting. It is sandwiched between theChrist promise of Matt. 26:29 (the promise of drinking from the fruit of thevine in the kingdom) and the Seder celebration of Psalm 118:26 (Blessed is Hethat comes in the name of the Lord).

The Jewish Marriage Analogy. Woods gives seven aspects to this relationship:

1. the groom travels to the home of the bride’s groom (Christbecoming flesh paying the betrothal price with His death on the Cross 1 Cor.6:19-20);

2. During the betrothal period, the groom is temporary separated fromthe bride (the preparing of temporary dwelling for the church, John 14:2);

3. At an unknown time the groom returns to the bride’s home 1 Thess.4.16-17;

4. The bridal party returns to the groom’s father’s home (equivalentto the raptured church being taken to heaven the home of God;

5. The consummation of the marriage where the Bride is now formallymarried to Him;

6. The groom emerges from the marital chamber announcing to thewedding party the reality of this new physical union (this step is equivalentof the church being with Christ during the seven year tribulation period (Dan.9:27);

7. The groom and the bride emerge from the marital chamber unveiled(this is equivalent to the Second Coming of Christ with the church).

TextualDetails of John 14.1-4

“Donot let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In MyFather's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have toldyou; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you,I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you knowthe way where I am going.”

Jesus has returned to heaven to prepare temporary dwelling placesfor the believer (14:2). He then addsthat He will come again. The word “again”(palin) signifies that He will come back in the same manner. Acts 1:9-11 provides that manner. The word “to” (and receive you to Myself) isthe word (pros) with the accusative denotes movement towards something; here,movement towards heaven. Next, in the phrase that where I am, thereyou may be also the word “where” refers to a specific location in the present andgives the designation of place (i.e. heaven). Lastly, the phrase where I am going has been used constantlythroughout the gospel as the return of Jesus to the Father. In summary Woods adds:

Whatall of these textual details reveal is that Christ would return through His

Ascensionto His Father's heavenly abode. While there, He would prepare temporarydwellings for His disciples. However, He would also return for His disciples ata future time. His return would be just as personal as was His First Coming andAscension. Upon His return He would physically take believers to be with Him byspatially drawing them to Himself. The ultimate purpose of this event is sothat believers could dwell in their prepared, temporal, heavenly places as wellas be with Christ in the specific heavenly place where He is. All of thisinformation would serve as a tremendous comfort to the disciples who weregreatly troubled over the announcement over His soon departure (John 13:1). Infact, John 14:1 makes it clear that Christ unfolded the reality of thisglorious event for the specific purpose of comforting His distressed disciples.Of course, such revelation of this phase of Christ's return represents mysterytruth never before disclosed. Its description is out of harmony with any pastrevelation

concerningthe Messiah's Second Advent. (Woods also furnishes sthe following earlyAnte-nicene church fathers who gave evidence of eschatological interpretationof John 14.1-4—Papias (ca 110), Irenaeus (ca. 130-202), Tertullian (ca.196-212); Origen (ca. 182-251), and Cyprian (ca. 258)).

3. 1 Cor. 15:50-58

Paul in this chapter makes the followingpoints:

· inverses 1-22, he gives evidence for the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus;

· inverses 12-34, he exclaims that without the physical resurrection of Christbelievers are without hope;

· inverses 35-49, he answers two questions: “How are the dead raised?” and “Whatkind of body do they have?”

“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inheritthe kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, Itell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in amoment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet willsound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Forthis perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put onimmortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, andthis mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying thatis written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE ISYOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin,and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victorythrough our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil isnot in vain in the Lord.”

In verse 51Paul explains a mystery. The word “Mystery” is used by Paul to disclose adivine revelation never before revealed. While Daniel 12:2 presented key information about a future resurrection,never before has the Old Testament given any details about the rapture of thechurch. Both 1 Cor. 15:52 and 1 Thess.4:16 give the details of the rapture. The trumpet blast signals the end of the Church Age while simultaneouslytranslates the Church, the Body of Christ, in the twinkling of an eye. Then Jesus takes His Bride into heaven forthe duration of the tribulation period.

Theresurrection of the Tribulation saints occurs only after the return of Christand His victory over the Antichrist and False Prophet signified by His castingthem into the Lake of Fire; at this time, He imprisons the Devil, Satan of old,in the Abyss.

At theoutset, it was pointed out that only the Pre-Millennial, Pre-TribulationRapture of the church allows the imminent Return of Christ to drive the churchto be obedient to the Great Commission. But only the Pre-Millennial, Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the churchallows for the Scriptures to be interpreted in a literal manner. This view then teaches that Jesus could returnany second and at His Return He will take the translated Church into heavenwhere He has prepared a temporary place for her protecting her from thetribulation, taking place on earth. Following the purification of the bride at the judgment seat of Christ,Jesus will take the sealed Book that no one except for He was worthy to open. After the horrors inflicted on theunbelievers leading to countless tribulation saints accept Christ as theirMessiah, Jesus will return with his bride and defeat the armies of theanti-Christ. He then begins themillennial rule of Christ upon the earth fulfilling God’s promise to David.

*"By "essential," Rick says he does not mean essential for salvation.

Grace under Siege 56: Shifting the bedrock

2012-01-23T10:08:00.000-08:00

     Those who tell us, with graphs and dates, that the pre-millennial view* of Biblical eschatology is recent (it isn't*) and that a pre-tribulation rapture, the second coming and the millennium were not always written into our Statement of Faith fail to recognize that prophecy of the end times from this perspective was always an integral part of the teaching of this church. When these views came into doctrinal fashion in church history or whether or not they were written into our Statement of Faith is utterly irrelevant. They didn't have to be in the Statement of Faith. They were common knowledge. Our understanding of Biblical eschatology was what our church was known for.
   Since the foundation of First Brethren Church on May 20, 1913, this is what our people found in the Bible, what we stood on, and what all four previous generations of pastors taught--Louis Bauman, Charles Mayes, David Hocking, Dick Mayhue. The statement merely reflects the reality that this is what Grace Brethren Church always stood for.
   I don't think any of us realized when we called Lou to be our senior pastor that he was not committed to the same eschatology the church was founded on. I seriously doubt if the search committee who voted Lou in would have done so had they known he would not continue this 78-year heritage of our church. For 21 years he has "silenced" our eschatology and now he wants to kill it off once and for all by silencing any reference to it in our Statement of Faith.
     Through the years there were people who came to this church because of its eschatology. Mary Mulloy has been in this church for 86 years. In 1925, she was brought to "Fifth and Cherry" as they called it then a 10-year old by her Uncle Coot and Aunt Carrie Mulloy. She says, "It was Dr. Louis Bauman's messages on prophecy that drew them to the church."
   Four decades and two senior pastors later, it was Dr. David Hocking's series on Revelation that drew my first husband, Eric, and me as well as my second husband and his first wife Gretchen--plus many others--to settle in this church.

This view of the end times was believed and taught on a regular basis not only from the pulpit but in every age-level Sunday School class. Every pastor taught that the "things to come" prophesied in Scripture--the rapture, the second coming, the Millenium, God's ultimate restoration of the Jews--to their land and to their God--would be literally fulfilled.

Current GBC members with roots back to the early days of this church can testify to this:

Taylor VanBuskirk was raised in this church. His family have been members of Grace since his great-grandmother Elsie Scovil joined the church when it was at Fifth and Cherry in 1913, the year it was founded. Taylor says, "Her daughter Gladys Scovil married my grandfather Donald Van Buskirk and they attended as well. My grandmother was a church pianist at times and my grandfather was a soloist. Of course, my dad Ray and his sister Verda grew up in the halls of Fifth and Cherry back in the 1930’s. The church always held a pre-trib position. What Pastors Bauman, Mayes, and Hocking taught us is happening today. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. The Lord knows the future and He decided to share it with us.”

Wendy Austin was also raised in this church. "My great-grandparents Harvey and Amanda Daudell were the first of our family to find 1st Brethren. I do not know the exact year, but it was around 1919. They came to California from Indiana. My Grandparents Jim and Helen Schilling, my parents Doris and Gene Schilling and my family all were taught what our church believed. I can remember being in the Cradle Roll, and moving into a regular class. One of the first songs we learned was 'Onward Christian Soldiers'. I was always taught that we believed in the "Bible the Whole Bible and nothing but the Bible," and we would sing "The B-I-B-L-E, oh that's the book for me, I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E," and then shout "Bible!"

"I know that when I would sit up in the balcony at 5th and Cherry and hear Dr. Mayes talk, I really wanted to know more about the tribulation. I would talk with my grandmother, Helen Schilling, and she would go over what our church believed. We would talk about the rapture of the church, pre-tribulation, and the second coming and the 1000 years reign on this earth. This is what was taught and what set Brethren church apart."

Shirley Todd's grandparents Walter and Ruby McPheeters were from Nebraska and joined First Brethren Church in 1934. Shirley's mother was six years old. Shirley says, "We were absolutely taught dispensational theology--the rapture, the tribulation, the millenium, the new heavens and new earth. They were taught at this church for as long as I can remember."

These members, along with many more of us, are concerned that by dropping Point #9 from the Statement of Faith in order to be "more inclusive," the teaching of prophecy and the last days will be abandoned permanently. These things have not been taught from our pulpit for the last 21 years; what are the chances they would be added back to the teaching of our church once the Statement of Faith has been rewritten to exclude them?

     Those who do not believe in the historical positions of this church, including its eschatology, have no right to change or eliminate them. Deleting Point # 9 in the Statement of Faith to conform to a lack of belief in its contents is inappropriate.
     The only way the leaders could make this right is if, having deleted pre-trib, pre-mill eschatology from the Statement of Faith, they resume teaching and promoting it from the pulpit and in all the age-level classes.

*From Pre-millennialism - The Oldest View:
     The pre millennial view isthe view that holds that Christ will return to earth, literally and bodily,before the millennial age begins and that, by His presence, a kingdom willbe instituted over which He will reign. In this kingdom all of Israel'scovenants will be literally fulfilled. It will continue for a thousandyears, after which the kingdom will be given by the Son to the Father whenit will merge with His eternal kingdom. The central issue in this positionis whether the Scriptures are to be fulfilled literally or symbolically.
     In fact, this is the essential heart of the entire question. Generallyspeaking, one's view of interpreting the Scriptures determines whetheror not he or she is a pre-millennialist. For the most part, all who believethe Bible to be literal are pre millennialists. Some Bible scholars, however,separate prophecy from other passages. They interpret the rest of the Bibleliterally, but whenever they come to prophecy, and particularly the bookof Revelation, they tend to spiritualize it. Only in taking the Bible otherthan literally can a person be anything but a pre millennialist.
     The early Christians were almost unquestionably pre millennialists. TheNew Testament itself indicates that the apostles expected the Lord to returnand set up His Kingdom in their lifetime. In Acts 1 v.6, just before ourLord ascended into heaven, the disciples asked a question that revealedtheir understanding: "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdomto Israel?" The Lord did not deny that He would set up a Kingdom, but Hetold them, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father hasset by his own authority."
     So we find the disciples and those they taughtanticipating the return of Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom.Many of the detractors of the pre millennial position suggest that it isa relatively new theory, having come on the scene during the days of JohnDarby and others. The truth of the matter is that pre millennialism heldsway during the first 3 centuries of the early church and was known as"chiliasm". Dr. Pentecost quotes from Lewis Sperry Chafer's SystematicTheology:
     Pre millennialism generally holds to a revival of the Jewish nation andtheir repossession of their ancient land when Christ returns. Satan willbe bound (Rev. 20 v.2) and a theocratic kingdom of righteousness, peace,and tranquility will ensue. The righteous are raised from the dead beforethe millennium and participate in its blessings. The wicked dead are notraised until after the millennium.
     The eternal state will follow the judgmentof the wicked. Pre millennialism is obviously a viewpoint quite removedfrom either a-millennialism or post millennialism. It attempts to find aliteral fulfillment for the prophecies in the Old and New Testament concerninga righteous kingdom of God on earth. Pre millennialism assumes the authorityand accuracy of Scriptures and the hermeneutical principle of a literalinterpretation wherever this is possible.
     Toward the end of the 3rd century the spiritualizing and allegorizingof Scripture began to take over theological thought, and together withthe merging of ecclesiastical and governmental Rome under Constantine,pre millennialism fell into disrepute. With the advent of Augustine andother Catholic theologians, theology and philosophy supplanted the studyof Scriptures.
     The Dark Ages are well named, for the Word of God, whichis the light of life, was hidden from people by the Church, which had beenentrusted with the responsibility of propagating it. As the light of God'sWord was extinguished, the hope of the Church, the literal return of Christto the earth, was eclipsed.
     Not until after the Reformation was there a revival of pre millennialism.. . It is probable that the premillennial view, though subject to many attacks, will remain a dominantinfluence upon the Church until the Lord returns.

Grace under Fire 55: The Cost

2012-01-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: This man has been reinstated as a leader of the life group book study, Crazy Love.

     A little over one week ago Watchmen of Grace released to everyone in our church the list of those who have signed to retain the current Statement of Faith. The proposed changes will not even be voted on until February 5 and the current Statement of Faith is still in effect, but the leadership is already punishing those who do not support them.
     The first casualty so far is a young husbamd and father who was scheduled to lead a Life Group. He was told he won't be allowed to lead the group after all because his name is on "that list."
     If any of you are members of Grace Brethren Church and are considering adding your name(s) to the statement supporting our current Statement of Faith, you may want to count the cost for doing so. The leadership will not like you and will not take kindly to your thwarting their agenda.

100 Verse Challenge - Week 20

2012-01-22T19:58:00.000-08:00

From dianalovestowrite:

This week's verses:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
Think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Sanctity of Life Sunday, 2012

2012-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Diana DePriest at dianalovestowrite.blogspot.com:

VIDEO: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

2012-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

I got tired of writing about what the gospel isn't. I needed to spend a couple of days being refreshed by reminders of what it is.

The John 3:16 phenomenon - Part 4 "The Room"

2012-01-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

"THE ROOM"
as written by a 17 Year Old Boy.

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings.

As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed." The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read,""Lies I Have Told,""Comfort I have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At.."
Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger","Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived..

Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I Have Watched," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me.

One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards.

But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room.. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.

No, please not Him. Not here.. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes.

Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room.. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me.. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files.. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. "No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, and so alive.

The name of Jesus covered mine.. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

By Brian Moore, age 17, 2 months before his death on May 27, 1997.

If you feel the same way forward it to as many people as you can so the love of Jesus will touch their lives also. My "People I Shared the Gospel With" file just got bigger, how about yours?

P.S.

2012-01-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

Grace Under Siege #49 has been rewritten and reposted on January 12.

The John 3:16 phenomenon - Part 3 Letter from the Bells

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

January 14, 2012

My head in her hands; her heart in God's hands!

Meet Erin

Yesterday Erin, a young wife and mother of two toddlers, cut my hair. She is a God-seeker and I have been planting myself into the soil of her heart over the years through friendly "God-talk."

"Jay, that's so weird!"

Hey Erin, have you been keeping up with the "Tebow talk?" She said, "Yeah, kinda, but what's it all about?"

Well, Erin (as she is clipping), it's about a Bible verse, the number 3-16 and his journey as the quaterback of the Denver Broncos (as I am praying). I then explained how he wore John 3:16 as eye reflectors during his years as QB at the U. of Florida. She asked, "What does John 3:16 say?"

Slowly, with a smile, I quoted the verse with passion.

But, Erin (clip, clip), check this out. During Monday nights play-off game against the favored Pittsburgh Steelers he threw for 316 yards. She exclaimed, "No way!" And, Erin (pray, pray), each pass averaged 31.6 yards. "Get outta here!" And the Broncos' time of possession of the ball was 31:06 minutes! "Jay, are you making this up?" And, Erin, the TV rating of the number of people watching the fourth quarter was 31.6. "Jay, that's so weird!" And the only interception of the game was thrown by the Steelers QB when the play was 3rd down and 16 yards to go. "Jay, what does all this mean?"

Erin, may I answer your question with a question? And my question is just one word: Coincidence?

Erin, do you have a Bible at home? "Um, let's see, yes." Let me send you these 3-16 numbers in an e-mail and then lay the verse and the numbers on your husband.

My head is no longer in her hands, but her heart is still in God's hands!

We love you!

Jay and Jan Bell, Director, Internationals USA with Encompass World Partners

The John 3:16 phenomenon - Part 2 Video interview with Tebows

2012-01-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

Here's their story! Pam Tebow and her Hubby, 2010 Re: their son Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, re: their appearance in the Focus on the Family commercial that aired Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7, 2010) on CBS.