Saturday, November 24, 2012
Creature of the Word the Jesus centered Church
It is rare that I will consider a book by multiple authors. One could argue for the Bible, but Id say not really since it was written by the Holy Spirit.
Creature of the Word had a few stumbling points; for instance it said children dont need to be protected but transformed..yeah I get what they mean,but Im a student of, say what you mean to say!
All in all the book is very similar yet much harder to read than Warren, Purpose Driven Church. Creature does not flow well. The focus is on the church becoming properly centered around Christ and holdong members accountable for actions to facilitate the spread of Christ. While I am a strong advocate for action, Creature seems to pull on the strings of shaming the modern church as if we are doing something wrong and in need of reformation.
While I am all in favor of putting a new paint job on the car, I think its better to build a garage around it to protect it in the first place and that is where my thinking diverges from the books tone. Protect what you have and you wont need to transform it: or remodel it. The Creature seems to imply that we need to transform our churches: I dont hink so! God transforms US when we come to Him...ours is not to do the remodeling; ours is to be AVAILABLE for the Masters remodeling works.
I did find parts of the book, or sections if you will that were well meaning and due to its being written by 3 differnet people, most people will likely find a section which they enjoy or can relate. If you enjoy David Jeramiah you will likely enjoy this book.
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I have not read this book but you made a point that I think is the key, not only to corporate Church transformation but also to an individual's transformation, "God transforms US when we come to Him...ours is not to do the remodeling; ours is to be AVAILABLE for the Masters remodeling works."
ReplyDeleteIt is not that we are not to do the remodeling, it is that we CANNOT do it in our own strength. However that does mean that we are to sit on the bench as a spectator. As the Follower of Christ We must "turn from" our sin as the Holy Spirit not only prompts us, but empower us to move forward. Galatians 5:16 says we must "walk by the flesh or so we will not gratify our flesh." It is the Holy Spirit that produces the "remodeling works" within us as we exercise our faith by denouncing and turning from the works of the flesh and submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit.
My two year old grandson cannot walk up the steps alone. By submitting to my strength, holding my hand, he can get up the steps. If he rejects he will resort to crawling. Get this, and this is the beauty, the longer we walk in the spirit easier the walking becomes. One would say, "I can walk by myself now." Not so, but we can so submit to the Holy Spirit that his nature becomes our nature, but we must keep our focus on God and under the submission of the Holy Spirit. Example: If we are tempted to sin, the Holy Spirit will convict us of the sin, and we can denounce Satan immediately and choose to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with what is needed, (Fruit of the Spirit such as love, forgiveness, kindness, etc.) or we choose to operate in the old flesh and act and react without Christ.
Churches are made up of people, and many are content to live with unresolved personal sin just as the church had resolved to live in corporate sin which results in disunity, stagnant growth and conflicts.
If you are interested in being transformed into the likeness of Christ, you should get these two books, an excellent book, Extreme Church Makeover by Neil Anderson and Charles Mylander, that focusing on achieving unity and freedom in Christ. There is another one, Bondage Breaker by Peter Wagoner deals with person transformation.
Thank you, Patsy. I will read those two books. Your words are refreshing and transforming! I love the idea of the Walking becoming easier over time. Sometimes we want to do it our selves when we must realize that we cannot. The danger is that so many people believe they cannot period when we can with the Holy Spirit.
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