Why is it important?

Okay, I confess...I am using a post from the House2House blog for their upcoming conference this weekend. I am co-facilitating a workshop on "relational Christianity" with Neil Gamble, Frank Viola and W. Paul Young (The Shack). Should be an amazing time! And since I doubt that my "viewing audience" has seen the other blog, I am posting here what I wrote there :-)

So why is it so important to get this “relational Christianity” thingy right? (Do you think the phrase “Relational Christianity” is redundant? Is there an “non-relational” version! Sorry, couldn’t resist!). So why is it so important to live first and most in intimacy with God, then in healthy community with one another which both lead to effective mission? Some of my thoughts are below.

Regarding intimacy with God. This is from my journal not too long ago.

I am now fully convinced that it was Jesus’ awareness of His Father’s love that enabled Him to live the trusting, completely dependent life that He did. And a life of trusting dependence is absolutely essential to becoming like Jesus. No one becomes like Jesus by trying to apply His teachings or follow His example.
Rather we become like Jesus by allowing Jesus to live His life in and through us. Our part is not to try harder, but to trust more and more deeply, and to surrender more completely to His loving guidance and power. Paul sums up both how to live loved and how to have Jesus live His life in us in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Notice how Paul personalizes Jesus’ love and sacrifice for him: “who loved me…” His deep personal experience of God’s love for him is what enabled him to live “the crucified life” – a life by which Jesus lived out His life in Paul.

Regarding healthy community. Consider that Jesus stated that the one thing that marks us as His people and above all other things validates the message of the Kingdom is healthy relationships! See John 13:34-35 and John 17:20-23.

Regarding mission that flows from intimacy and healthy community: Wow, I could write a lot here (indeed I have written a long paper about this one!). In a nutshell, Jesus was the most “missional” person ever to live, but He stated over and over that He did nothing on His own initiative. John 5:19 NASV says: "Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.'" And Jesus ministered from within a community (as did the Apostle Paul). Do we think we can improve on how Jesus did things? And do we really think our mission will have authenticity and power if we embark on it on our own initiative? Yet how many believers do you know who can honestly say, “I do nothing on my own initiative”? I rest my case... :-)

May grace embrace you, love overwhelm you.

Tom, the least of Abba's children

Deep Wounds, Deep Healing

Charles Kraft wrote a book with the title I have listed for my blog this time. The title describes in a phrase my experience with Ellel Ministries in Western Canada July 20 through August 3.

Peter Horrobin, the founder of Ellel Ministries (which started in England many years ago) writes the following in Healing Through Deliverance, Book 2.

It is easy to understand with the hindsight of many ministries how wise some sectors of the early Church were to insist that people went through deliverance ministry after conversion and before baptism and Church membership. In some parts of the world, this is still common practice.
They knew that unless the converts were delivered of both the demonic powers that had controlled their own pagan lives and those that had come down the generation lines, they would end up with a demonized Church that would quickly assume an attitude of compromise with the world and would decline into patterns of spiritual death and religious routine. I believe there would be a far stronger Body of believers if this were normal practice throughout the Church today.
Unless the leaders of the Church embrace an active and ongoing deliverance ministry, I believe that every move of the Spirit of God will, in time, be quenched from within through demonic pressure. It is small wonder, therefore, that Satan so opposes and seeks to discredit the deliverance ministry, for if the Church is being obedient in preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and casting out demons, the Body of Christ will be a force that cannot be stopped from within or without.(pp. 94-95)
In recent years I have ministered to many elderly Christians, some of them with well known and established ministries. In the confidence of the counseling room, they have shared their inner problems, and some have been brokenhearted over the way they have had continuous struggles with temptations, often of a sexual nature, that they have been powerless to fight off. In many cases, such people have never understood that they are not just fighting temptation from without, or their own fallen flesh nature, but are struggling with demons within that have never been recognized. It is impossible to fight an enemy whose identity is never recognized.
How Satan must rejoice when Christians are taught that they cannot be demonized. No other teaching gives such rights to the enemy to walk all over the saints of God unrecognized and unchallenged. What a relief it is for people to realize that the thoughts and temptations they have battled with for years have an origin that can be dealt with through deliverance. (pp. 99-100)

My experiences during the two weeks of training bear out what Peter writes. Because the western church especially has been woefully ignorant about the need for deep healing and deliverance, many folks--even leaders--have lived with unnecessary battles raging on in their minds. I was one of those leaders. There were generational issues and things from my childhood and things from my "wilder days" that were buried deeply within me. They didn't affect me much, and as Charles Kraft says, any "critters" in there were quite miserable because of the intimate walk with God I have been pursuing, but nonetheless they were there. Looking back at my life up to this time in Canada, I have become painfully aware of how "captive" I was in terms of caring about what others thought of me, or in terms of being intimidated by strong personalities, of ministering many times out of my need rather than God's direction, etc. But the freedom I am now experiencing is so great that I would gladly pay the price many times over. And it was a price, believe me. I have never been so broken, so humbled, so dependent on others, etc. But somehow I also knew that it was safe to be that way, and humbling myself to whatever point was necessary was easier because of that safety. I am deeply grateful to God for the integrity and kindness of the Ellel leaders and staff!

Was the experience perfect? Of course not--nothing human will be perfect. I would have preferred an adult learning approach to the training (10 hours of lecture is a lot to endure in one day!), and I came away with more questions than answers in some areas. I also noticed a tendency in me to be fearful for a time after the training because of the intensity of what was happening and because of the focus on what the enemy is up to, etc. But I have by the grace of God shaken off the fear and am returning to the childlike joy that Father calls all of us to.

Where from here? I don't know for sure, but I am more convinced than ever that we all need to be able to set captives free and make that an integral part of making disciples. Papa God will show me/us more as needed.

Grace and joy to you,

Tom, the least of Abba's children

Healing and Discipleship

I am currently in Canada for two weeks of training by Ellel Ministries Canada West on Healing and Discipleship. It has been an encouraging, humbling and stretching time. Ellel Ministries has an approach to discipleship that is wonderfully close to what I am discovering to be true. They very much believe that healing (in every sense of the word) is essential to discipleship. However, since I am not finished with my time up here, I will wait until my next post to write any more reflections on my time here. For the rest of my blog, I share a few thoughts from a paper I wrote about healing and discipleship for last year's House2House conference. As always, I welcome your comments.

First, ponder this verse for a moment: Luke 6:40 (my paraphrase) “A disciple is not above his/her teacher, but everyone who has been restored and mended so as to be fully prepared will be like his teacher.”

I recently heard Randy Clark describe his grandfather’s conversion as one in which his grandfather was miraculously and instantly set free from addiction to alcohol, abusing his family and marital unfaithfulness. Yet recently I have prayed for several young and not-so-young pastors to be set free from demonic strongholds of rage, lust, etc. Why didn’t grandpa need deliverance and inner healing whereas these other leaders did? Perhaps grandpa did need more work and we just don’t know about it, or perhaps the Gospel was more accurately presented and/or there was more power. (see 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5). But whatever the reason, the fact is that today many believers seem unable to live the Christian life with power and fruitfulness without going through inner healing and deliverance.

Now consider this thought to ponder from a leading Baptist pastor from Argentina.
It is impossible to move ahead in our separation from evil without inner healing. Why? Because sin is nothing more than accumulated frustration that we try to resolve in ways contrary to the will of God. For example, a woman who has not had a good relationship with her father—a relationship which should have taught her that she is loved and valued—may seek affirmation in numerous sexual relationships with different men. Such a woman is seeking for the father she never had. Similarly, the man who was raised in extreme poverty may seek to resolve that sense of destitution and thereby develop an extremely ambitious and greedy personality…. A daughter of God who from childhood felt as if she never measured up to her sister may become the instigator of constant confrontations and divisions in her local church. These are just a few illustrations of the ways in which sin is unresolved frustrations seeking to satisfy itself in the wrong ways.

All these situations come to our attention as sins, such as fornication, unrestrained ambition, greed, lack of submission, or a spirit of division. What we often end up doing is implementing disciplinary measures for those who fall into these sins. We read the appropriate biblical demands. We give them counsel to not fall into the same sin again. We warn them about the risks they are running. We pray for them. And we apply some kind of punitive ecclesiastical measure to them. We do all this to show them the demands of holiness and to help them live out the demands. Yet we are only working with the manifestation of the problem.

The result of this kind of approach is that the people continue to fall into the same sin all over again. Even in the best of cases, though they will stop committing those sins, they will end up seeking to resolve their frustration through other sinful means. We have worked with the consequences of the problem—the sin—but we have not addressed the causes. We are asking for purity from people without healing their wounds. To demand holiness without healing is to push people into guilt and frustration. Therefore, it is necessary to have those encounters with the healing power of the Lord in order to live in holiness. The result is that these basic needs or wants in our personality are resolved by means of the healing grace of God and never again through sinful means.

Confession of sin, an indispensable element for sanctification, is not that moment in which we finally change God's mind and convince him to forgive us. Rather it is the moment in which our minds are changed so that we clearly see our need and accept God's forgiveness. That is healing. St. Augustine said that we must hate the sin and love the sinner. Holiness is not only hating the sin, but also loving the sinner in me. I need to love me enough to seek to heal my past in such a way that I will stop repeating the same mistakes and stop hurting myself. The great men of God were great saints when they saw themselves as great sinners who needed healing. The test of knowing how holy I am in my life is not how close I feel to God according to my conduct, but rather how aware I am of my need for him.
Quoted from "Inner Healing to Live in Freedom," in Power, Holiness and Evangelism, compiled by Randy Clark, article by Dr. Carlos Mraida, co-pastor of Central Baptist Church, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The expulsion of demons was a normal part of the extension of the Kingdom of God.
• Jesus (many, many passages!)
• His disciples (Matthew 10:1, Luke 9:1-2)
• Other (All!) believers (Luke 10:19-20; Mark 16:15-18; Philip in Samaria, see Acts 8:4-8)

It’s feasible that because the early church made deliverance a part of the proclamation of the Gospel, deliverance after conversion wasn’t usually needed. See, however, Acts 5:3 (Satan had filled the heart of Ananias), Acts 8:22-23 (Simon’s heart was full of bitterness and captive to sin).
And the following scriptures are all addressed to believers!

Ephesians 4:26-27 Giving the devil a foothold—written to believers! And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. (NLT)

Ephesians 4:31-32 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (NIV)

Galatians 5:19-21 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (NIV)

After the NT period, the early Church often made deliverance part of the pre-baptism preparation of new converts, and there are reports that demons would often leave as the persons were being baptized!

Inner Healing, too? Yes! See Isaiah 61:1-3—one of the things mentioned is healing the brokenhearted.

The point of all this, of course, is that making disciples needs to include a level of healing that the Church in all its forms tends to neglect. But that is changing, I think.

More next time.

Stay lost in His love,

Tom, the least of Abba's children

Lighting Candles Instead of Cursing the Darkness

I have an amazing friend, Michele Perry, who let's her light shine in one of the darkest places in the world: war-torn and war-weary Sudan. Michele started and oversees an orphanage and outreach center in Yei, in Southern Sudan. Check out her main web page here. Michele recently sent me the following story, and I wept and wept as I read it. It is an incredible story about a man none of us have ever heard of whose faith in Jesus and love for others gives perfect expression to the title of this blog (Michele's life does the same!). Weep with me as you read the following story and let Jesus talk to you.

John Okello, brought five children by faith and he taught me a lot this week. His story undoes me. He is one who will have crowns in heaven none of us can fathom. He doesn’t have to say word. John shines with love and compassion. What I heard floored me. This young man knew more about being light in darkness than most people I know combined. I was deeply humbled. He had light radiating from his pained appearance as he described the journey he had been on with the five children that were seated behind him in our front yard. By the time he was done, I about told the kids to move into my room with me.

Five children from four families all orphaned by recent fighting in their home area along the Kenya border with Sudan in Eastern Equatoria, Didinga by tribe and language. He had been their sunday school teacher. Their church had disintegrated because of a corrupt leader and the 20 children in their care were now destitute. It was the only church in the area, that is unreached. And we are likely adopting it too. Anyone who has this much faith and heart is someone I want to be in touch with.

He had traveled hundreds of miles over five days with five children not even related to him by faith in search of help for them. He had used all of his own resources. Jesus told him to come to Yei and he had heard of us. What could I say BUT yes? It was all I could do not to cry as I saw his heart for these children. He went to a government orphanage in Juba on the way but said even if there was space; he would not want to leave them there. They didn’t love Jesus and he wanted these children to be loved and grow up loving Him like he did.

We literally do not have space physically for even one more child in our present facility. Our staff groaned because they know me too well by now. We are taking the brother and sister, Lakoma and Naonya, to live with us and doing everything we can to help find alternative placements for the three remaining boys in the community. Lakoma and Naonya would be especially hard to place because their family was working for the northern government and their parents killed while working for the arabs. Hatred extended to all related unfortunately, even the most innocent.

In the face of poverty, violence, fear, the unknown with next to nothing but his faith, this dear man gave all he had to follow Jesus clear across a war-torn nation to find a better life for these five children. I couldn’t turn him a way… now seven year old Naonya’s bright smiling face lights my day up every time I give her a hug or smile at her and Lakoma’s gentle ways with the little children here remind me of our Papa’s gentleness with us. Our mamas and children have grown so much too. They all responded with great joy in welcoming a new tribe to our home- we want every tribe to be with us here loving Jesus they said. That is not common sentiment here.

This Friday I leave for Canada for 2 weeks of training with Ellel Ministries West Canada. I am glad for the opportunity, but sometimes I wonder... It's good to wonder, isn't it! Papa, search me and help me when I grow up to be like John Okello!

Grace to you,

Tom, for sure the least of Abba's children!

Some Unrelated, Unrefined Thoughts

We were on vacation last week, so I didn't get anything posted. But I wanted to share three "raw" and somewhat unrelated thoughts from recent my history with God.

First, my young (to me) friend in Las Vegas, Scott, in a response to one of my posts mentioned a book by Frank C. Laubach called Letters by a Modern Mystic. I sensed that I was supposed to read that book while on vacation, and I am glad that I did. Frank Laubach seems to describe as well as any I have ever read what it's been like for me to be on this "Secret Place Journey." Here's one brief quote to give you a sample: "How infinitely richer this firsthand grasping of God Himself is than the old method which I used and recommended for years, the reading of endless devotional books. Almost it seems to me now that the very Bible cannot be read as a substitute for meeting God soul to soul and face to face." (p. 18)

Now here's a raw thought that came to me on May 13. I welcome your comments.
I wonder if people gravitate towards public ministry because it's so much easier. It requires so much less of us. All it really requires is "anointing." But making disciples, allowing people into our lives and walking deeply with them requires a great deal more! It requires a great deal more maturity and change on our part, and it requires a great deal more of us in general. Public ministry has its place, but those who gravitate towards it without allowing room for making disciples are missing with how Jesus and his apostles functioned. Yet in our culture this is exactly what has happened and the results are evident, I think.

Here's another one from May 23. Your thoughts?
Why is it so important for leaders to be broken and weak as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians? It is far too common in the church for leaders to appear to be confident, competent and really in charge, etc. But since the Kingdom is about God's competence and the Kingdom is about example and modeling, it's very important for those of us who "lead" to be broken and weak, so that anyone and everyone--the everyday person so to speak, does not get discouraged by what they see in us. If we model brokenness, weakness and humility, we show them something anyone can relate to and aspire to. If on the other hand we appear to be superhuman in all of our abilities, etc., then most people will look at the Christian life as unattainable.

That's it for this time. I welcome your thoughts!

Stay lost in His love,

Tom, the least of Abba's children

Are We There Yet?

When my sons were young and we would go on family vacations, the question "Are we there yet?" was a remarkably frequent one in our car! And this question forms the basis of my thoughts for this post. I find myself asking this question of God often--probably more often than my sons did on our vacations!


I ask this question because of God's words to me on the first few days of my "Secret Place Journey" which started on July 2, 2004. When God brought me into that first face-t0-face encounter with Him, He promised me that the day would come when I would live in uninterrupted awareness of His presence. The following is one of those promises and is from my journal entry on July 3, 2004.

Can we, can I, Abba, hope to have a relationship with you like Moses—“face to face”? Surely the answer is “yes,” and for all believers, not just a few. 2 Corinthians 3:7ff seems to indicate that we all can have “unveiled, face-to-face” intimacy with you because of the new covenant and by your Spirit.
Oh, Abba, what have we been missing?!! We have feared subjectivity and error so much that we have cut out the heart of what Jesus died to give us: true face-to-face, communication-filled intimacy with you! But my heart sings at what I am starting to see. Show me all that you choose, Abba! Show me more!
The implications of this are huge! We have inadvertently—with good intentions—cut out the heart of the good news. No wonder your people are burdened and powerless. No wonder they resort to legalism. They think that they are alone! For most of us, walking in the Spirit means filling our minds with Scripture and then hoping that we will guess what you are saying.
We need not fear deception or imbalance if we keep our balance via Word and Spirit! The Word isn’t a substitute for Your Spirit or vice versa; the Word informs and gives clarity and depth to your speaking voice.
Are you doing this in me because You are up to something, Lord, or is this how it should always be?
God's reply: “Both! This is how I want all my children to walk, but my people have so lost this that I have to restore it before I can bring my next great move on the earth. I am calling you and many others to experience this and then lead others to the same place. I am raising up an army of those who know me so intimately that I can guide them with my eye.”


But was I being deceived? Is such a life of "constant intimacy" possible? There have been times since July 2, 2004, when I have wondered myself about that. Am I there yet? Not yet, but I know that others have made this journey before me. And I want to leave you with some encouragement from a married couple who both found this life, Andrew and Emma Murray.


Excerpt from Deeper Christian Life by Andrew Murray
"There are some people who seem to think that God, by some unintelligible sovereignty, withdraws His face. But I know that God loves His people too much to withhold His fellowship from them for any such reason. The true reason of the absence of God from us is rather to be found in our sin and unbelief, than in any supposed sovereignty of His. If the child of God is walking in faith and obedience, the Divine presence will be enjoyed in unbroken continuity."
A Quote from Emma Murray (from Andrew and Emma Murray, by Leona Choy, pp. 214-215)
"There is a step higher than just looking forward to Heaven. We may have our life so in Christ that even here below we may enjoy peace and happiness in Him which no earthly events can shake or destroy. And it is not by despising or trampling upon earthly things, but living above them, willing and loving to live for His glory and the good of others, and counting it all joy even in tribulation for His sake.
"God means us to know and experience that perfect peace and quiet of mind under all circumstances is possible. Nothing interferes more with work or renders it more difficult than fretting or worrying. In such a state of mind we can do nothing well. We must in a childlike way acknowledge God's will in everything with His peace in our hearts and a truly humble walk with God, bowing to his will....
"All this is attainable through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, through receiving Christ as our Sanctification as well as our Justification. It is through an entire, unconditional surrender of ourselves to Him and an entire cessation from our own efforts and works, while waiting for the suggestions and influences of the Holy Spirit. And through believing in His indwelling and expecting His guidance even in the minutest concerns of our daily life."

Are we there yet? I am not, but I can at least see the possibility! What about you? Does your heart burn like mine with a desire to be so lost in God, so surrendered to His will that constant saturation with His presence is normal? Make it so, Abba, in all your children of the burning heart!

Tom, Abba's least child

Living Out Our Death

Living out our death?

I often hear believers talk about "dying to self," and I myself have used that language often and know the passion and desire that gives birth to such statements. But recently I have sensed God telling me to check out the Scriptures to discover what He really says about us being dead to self. When I did, another old paradigm bit the dust. I discovered that I am already dead! Yep, that's what Paul says, and in more than one place! So instead of dying to self, I am instead to by faith live out the implications of being dead :-) Let me quote a few scriptures that Papa showed me.

Romans 6:3-7, 10-11 (NRSV) Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For whoever has died is freed from sin.
10 The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

And Colossians 3:2-3 (NRSV) says something similar: 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

So, we are already dead, and by faith we now get to "put to death" the ways of the old nature (see Colossians 3:5ff and Romans 8:13).

Next, if we go to Galatians 2:20 we discover another very important thing about all of this: we can't live out our death unless the Life of God is fully at work in us. There Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." What this means in a nutshell is that if I resort to human effort and try to "put myself to death" or please God, I will fail. Instead I must open myself up ever more fully to the power of God's Spirit, allowing Him to pour love into me, speak into my life and empower me to obey Him. He will also, of course, give me the power to trust what God says about me: that I am indeed dead to self!

Well, I could write more, and perhaps I will at some point. There is a place for us to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2), and I don't want to suggest that we shouldn't do this daily (but please note that in Romans 12 Paul says to present our "bodies," not our "flesh" to God--think about this and God will show you why this is an important difference!). And there is a place to seek to live in absolute surrender and enter ever more deeply into a yielded life. But if we think of putting our self to death, we are trying to do something that God has already done and we are putting the focus back on human effort (I put myself to death rather than living out the death Jesus gave to me as I shared in His death with Him).

Just a thought. What do you think?

May you become totally lost in His love and never find your way back out!

Tom, the least of Abba's children