Steve Simms's Blog, page 155

Reforming an institutional church doesn’t change human hearts–my take on church history (Part 2)

After many centuries of Christianity being dominated by two huge denominations (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox), Martin Luther, a monk with a hammer and 95 criticisms of institutional church, split things wide open in 1517. That church split opened the door for never ending splits and was called the Protestant Reformation.

An internet search reveals that today there are about 40,000 Christian denominations. (Some people call them “tribes.”) There are also innumerable independent, “nondenominational” churches doing their own thing. That’s some massive “reformation.” What a religious smorgasbord!

Discovering and telling the history of all those 40,000+ definitions and expressions of church is an impossible job, so I’m not going to try. (Nobody would live long enough to read it all anyway.) For me Christianity is about the heart, not about a church headquarters.

About 40,000 “reformations” of church haven’t brought about love, Christian unity, or the kingdom of God, but conflict, competition, and religious pride. Whatever you want Christianity to stand for, you can find (or start) a church that supports and affirms your view. Organized Christianity has been reformed into institutional meaninglessness. No wonder it’s in decline.

Yet, sprinkled in those 40,000 denominations (like the salt of the earth), there are millions of people who have experienced the living Jesus and have an ongoing, daily relationship with Him. There are also millions of people who are following and obeying the risen Jesus without any affiliation with an institutional church (especially in countries that arrest, torture, and murder Christ-followers).

True Christian history is about hearts changed by Jesus, not about religious organizational names. That’s the history that is written in Heaven–the history that really matters. If you haven’t let Jesus reform your life, the form of your religion makes no difference!

Read Part 1: Institutionalism or experiencing Jesus–my take on church history (Part 1)

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30347" />Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Spiritual internal combustion

I continually search the Bible (and other books) for words that ignite internal combustion within me. I find words like that almost every day and they help keep my soul aflame for God.

The more I focus on Jesus and surrender my life to Him, the more God’s fire burns in my heart. He is like an internal combustion engine inside of me. He continually empowers me and fills me with energy.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30337" />Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Institutionalism or experiencing Jesus–my take on church history (Part 1)

The history of Christianity is about the struggle between religious institutionalism and experiencing Jesus. The persecution of the first three centuries kept institutionalism to a minimum. There were no church buildings because they would have put unnecessary targets on Christians’ backs, so they had to meet in secret, underground gatherings instead.

Whenever organizational structure began to creep in, persecution would mess it up. If a leader began to dominate and control, the attention on him could get him arrested, tortured, and killed. Thus, early Christianity was mostly focused on individuals following and obeying the living Jesus and connecting with each other heart to heart.

That all changed in 311. Religious institutionalism rushed into Christianity like a flood. Roman Emperor Constantine released the Edict of Milan that proclaimed religious toleration and ended government persecution of Christians. (A later Emperor made Christianity the official religion of the Empire.)

Constantine became a strong advocate for Christianity. He called for and oversaw Empire-wide religious councils that helped to ignite a wave of institutionalization and formalism that began to organize, structure, and program Christianity, pushing personal experiences with Jesus to the side.

Constantine began to favor Christianity. He would confiscate pagan temples and give them to Christians who turned them into church buildings. Free from persecution, ordinary Christians were placed under a hierarchy of titled Christian leaders who made authoritative decisions about how to organize the religious institution that they were calling church. When they formally established the office of the “Bishop of Rome,” they modeled it after the power and prestige of the office of Roman Emperor. Over several centuries that office gained control over the Western church. Whoever held that office became known as the Pope.

On July 16, 1054, the Pope excommunicated (kicked out) the Patriarch of Constantinople (the leader of the churches in the Eastern Roman Empire) and split organized Christianity into two huge religious denominations. The Patriarch of Constantinople also kicked the Pope out of the churches he led. The church in the West called itself The Roman Catholic (universal) Church. The church in the East called itself The Orthodox (right doctrine) Church. Both groups closely allied themselves with secular human government.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches kept dissent to a minimum (often persecuting, with government help, individuals and groups who wanted to follow Jesus rather than blindly following church leadership). They also tried to minimize the effect of people who wanted to experience and follow Jesus, by trying to keep them away from passive and submissive church attendees. They encouraged them to go and experience Jesus in secluded places. Many went to the deserts of Egypt and became known as the Desert Fathers. Some lived alone. Others established monasteries where they could experience Jesus in small groups.

Those Christ-seekers were still considered to be part of the two huge institutional denominations, but they were mostly separated from ordinary church people. Many of them had incredible experiences with the living Jesus. Some people would seek out monks and hermits for prayer and often they would experience miracles. To further distance the monks and hermits from ordinary Christians, the two denominations began to give the most spiritual of them the title of Saint and to exalt them and their experiences with Jesus, implying that they were far beyond the possibilities of ordinary church attendees.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches were able distract most people from personally and radically following and obeying the living Jesus. They kept their institutional control mostly together until 1517. That period in the West was known as the Dark Ages. Then a German monk, who had personally experienced the grace of God in his own heart, nailed a list of 95 things that he thought were wrong with the Roman Catholic Church to a church door and greatly stirred things up.

Today Martin Luther is seen as a hero by most Protestant denominations and independent churches. However, if anyone dares to criticize them, they seem to quickly get offended. The Catholics were no exception. They took great offense at Luther, excommunicated him. and even tried to kill him. A German prince took Luther into his castle and hid him from the Catholic authorities. While there, Luther translated the Bible into German. The Western church was trying to keep the Bible inaccessible to people by keeping it in Latin or Greek/Hebrew.

The German people rallied around Martin Luther and broke away from the Catholic church. Rather than encouraging people to seek the living Jesus, Luther quickly organized them into another institutional church and began to focus more on order than on experience with Jesus. This quick re-institutionalization by the first Protestant Reformers promptly led to the Radical Reformation. It was a spiritual movement led by the Anabaptists, people who wanted to experience Jesus and obey His teaching in their daily life and who wanted to avoid religious institutionalization. When they came to Germany, Luther advocated persecuting them, even to death.

Part 2 will come later.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30324" />Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Fishing for God’s spiritual fish

Any Christ-follower can fish in rivers of living water as the Holy Spirit flows from within and catch fresh revelation, spiritual fruit, and spiritual gifts galore. Instead of listening to Christ in us, tradition has taught us to depend on outward sources for our theology.

We’ve mostly abandoned personal revelation for hand-me down religious information. Think how rich it would be if a group of Christians would meet to listen to the living Jesus and then share what He tells them with one another. Our revelation boat would overflow with God’s spiritual fish!

God’s fish are swimming in your heart. You can catch them and feast on their amazing insight!

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30317" />Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Rules and the Ultimate Ruler

Would life be betterIf we changed the rules?What we really need to changeIs who rules us--To let Jesus ruleInstead of self--Conscience instead of desire.

Religious rules
Too often rule
What the living Jesus
Is supposed to rule
And be the Head of.

When churches
Are just schools
Of religious rules,
They ignore the Bible’s
Spiritual jewels.

Following Jesus
Is different
Than obeying rules.
It’s letting Him
Rule you
From within.

Autobiography of the Perfect Ruler.

Forget about Waldo. Where’s Jesus?

Love is invisible but real. It works in the heart. You know when you love someone. Jesus works in the heart the way love does. Where oh where can Jesus be?

Jesus is invisible but real. He wants to live and work in your heart. You know when Jesus is living in you. If you aren’t daily experiencing an ongoing inner infusion of the living Jesus, He might seem like an illusion to you.

Where’s Jesus? When two or three gather in His name, Jesus is in the room!

Where’s Jesus? “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Are you letting Jesus live and work in you?

Where’s Jesus? “Be still and know” if He’s living and working in your heart (or not).

Where’s Jesus? “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.” Look for Jesus among people who are considered lowly.

Where’s Jesus? “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Where’s Jesus? “You will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.” Invite Jesus in and realize His reality.

Where’s Jesus? “Seek and you will find.”

Where’s Jesus? “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Where’s Jesus? “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Where’s Jesus? “My sheep hear My voice.” He’s speaking inside those who are willing to hear.

Words that are spoken from the mind impart information. Words spoken from an open, humble heart touch many other hearts. Jesus’ words will touch and change your heart. Find them in the Bible. Listen to them and let them ring and sing in your heart.

Jesus’ words will lead us to His presence. Follow the sound of His voice.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30298" />Photo by Nandi Gustian on Pexels.com

Christian revival is new wineskins for spiritual awakening

Religion is when people gather to define, and control God. Revival is when Christians gather to let Jesus define and control them. Revival begins to occur when people meet as an interactive community of Christ-followers, but rarely when Christians meet as an audience.

Christian revival is experiential not organizational. To experience genuine revival, we must go beyond Christian institutionalism. Revival begins to happen when Jesus is allowed to replace human control of a Christian meeting with His direct Headship & control.

One reason Christians don’t experience ongoing revival is because we rely on Christian organizations more than on the risen Jesus. The history of revival is the history of God overriding the institutional control of gatherings of Christ-followers.

The key to experiencing revival in a church is turning the control of worship gatherings over to the risen Jesus. Ongoing revival requires “new wineskins” that are flexible to the Headship of Jesus. Rigid institutional wineskins resist revival.

Revival happens when Christians begin to do what God requires and to choose His inner fire over our desires. Aligning the way that we’re thinking and behaving to God (repentance), leads to spiritual awakening.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30287" />Photo by Luiz M. Santos on Pexels.com

The first Christian history book

The first Christian history book is a collection of writings that span more than 1,500 years and were written by about 40 different authors. The first 3/4s of the book contains the history, culture and experiences of the Jewish people. That portion is called the Old Testament. Since the first Christians were Jewish, that was their first Bible.

The next section, called the Gospels, contains the history of Jesus and His life on earth. It starts out by tracing His genealogy through Old Testament people.

Next comes Acts which is the history of the first Christians and their encounters with the risen Jesus until about 60 AD. After that follows the Epistles, letters written by some of the earliest Christ-followers.

The book ends with Revelation. It was written by the last of Jesus’ original 12 disciples, John (who also wrote the Gospel of John and the Epistles of 1, 2, and 3 John). All the other original 12 disciples had been murdered for their faith in and obedience to the living Jesus. John was exiled to an island called Patmos. There John had an extended vision of the risen, glorified Jesus and wrote it down.

The living Jesus showed John 7 letters written to 7 communities of Christians that gathered in 7 different cities. He praised and corrected those communities and told them to hear what the Spirit is saying. To the Christ-followers that met in the city of Ephesus, Jesus told them that they had “left their first love.” Then John described many amazing, heart-stirring, and confusing scenes that Jesus showed him in the vision.

Since that time, the history of Christianity has been the story of people experiencing the risen Jesus and following him with fire in their heart. It has also been the story of people losing their first love for Jesus and institutionalizing Him with religious organizations and programs. It’s the history of how people who had lost their first passion for the risen Jesus (or never had it) have run religious organizations. But it’s also how Christ-followers overflowing with first love for Jesus have reformed parts of those organizations and/or broken away from them to freely follow and obey the risen Jesus.

A man named Eusebius (260-339 AD) is often called the “Father of Church History,” because he wrote a book about Christian history up to the time of Roman Emperor Constantine. However, Dr. Luke, the author of the Bible book of Acts should really have that title.

DNR? Should Christians meet as scattered exiles or as church?

There’s a letter in the Bible that is addressed “To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.” (1 Peter 1:1.) Many preachers say that it is written to churches in those places. However, the word church isn’t mentioned in this verse.

When we use the word “church,” people picture either a Christian building, a Christian organization, or a Christian meeting centered around a Bible lecture. To assume that those scattered exiles looked and acted like what we call “church” is a bold assumption not based on that Bible verse.

When exiles build buildings, start organizations, and have comfortable, weekly lecture meetings, they usually cease to be true exiles and begin to embrace the culture around them. They become immigrants instead of exiles. Then their children and grandchildren begin to love the world of their new country more than the homeland of their old country. True exiles resist institutionalizing their life in their new country, because their heart still resides in and longs for their old country.

The Greek word that the New Testament uses to describe gatherings of Christian exiles is “ekklesia” which is probably best translated as “assembly.” It was also the proper name of the interactive governing body of an ancient Greek city-state where any citizen was free to openly speak out in the gathering.

Ekklesia didn’t look like our present-day concept of church. It looked more like what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 14:26. Jesus gave the size requirement as “Where two or three are gathered together in My name . . .”

When separated from a sense of awe, disobedient to the conscience, and influenced by pride, the human heart hardens. Experiential Christianity warms the heart, resuscitates it, and fills it with spiritual life. Institutional Christianity too often puts up a DNR sign.

Jesus can take us
By the heart
And guide us
From within.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30266" />Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

The elephant in the churches

The elephant in the room of institutional Christianity is the refusal to let the living Jesus be the literal Head of meetings of His body.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-30259" />Photo by Flickr on Pexels.com