Those RE words

16 May 1999

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

They think that just because they have a Mercedes, Lincoln or Lexus SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) they will help save the planet by REcycling their newspapers and pop cans. REwords in the English language, as the case of REcycling, carry more excess baggage than perhaps any other set of utterances.

After I finished the last article on the Diversity, I had fully intended to begin putting some concrete ideas down on what I hoped would take place on this round the world cruise, but before I could begin I felt that it is necessary to say a few more words about the RE, REligious word that packs a whole container full of baggage along with it. That word of course is REvival and its close RElative REvivalism.

Before I could do this however, I had to go to Spokane to finish some work for some relatives that was finally ready to be completed. Once it was done I could tick it off of my list of things that are hanging. That would really be a blessing. The weekend went remarkably well and I was on my way home by noon on Sunday, tired but thankful. Monday however, wasn't too cool and by Wednesday, I was ready to tick off the whole world. Thursday I was still too emotional to write anything, by Friday I was finally able to see that a lot of the problem was my impatience, but I still felt that part of my anger could be justified, but just perhaps a tiny, little portion could be just a bit self righteous. Today, I can say that the whole experience has brought me closer to God, so it has revived my temperament towards the Lord's work.

I brought this up because I want to talk about the role of emotion in revivals after I give a little interpretation of the history of revivals and revivalism in American Christianity. This will be quite condensed but there are a number of good books on the history of the church in America, and if this tweaks your interest, you might want to check to see just how badly or accurately I twisted the recorded facts.

First of all, revivalism and revivals as we generally define the term is an English language phenomenon. There is really no other counterpart within the history of the church except perhaps as it was exported from the English mother tongue. As such, they are always hidden under the schism of English and American Calvinism versus Arminianism. The fact that you must be either one or the other. This gap continues today, as a general rule, Arminians are revivalists, Calvinists are not. From the dogmatic doctrinal standpoint, you must either be Calvinist, Arminian or Lutheran. For Lutherans are not Calvinist, nor are they Arminian. When they came to America, Lutherans never were really part of the development of American religion because they were not native English speakers and consequently brought their own denominations baggage after much of this planting of revival seeds. They were never fully integrated into American Christianity until the rise of modernity, but that is another can of worms.

The God father of revivalism was the Englishman, George Whitfield. Contemporary of John and Charles Wesley, a friend of Benjamin Franklin, who preached in the fields of his homeland and America, many times drawing ten thousand people to his meetings, in the age before PA systems and automobiles. Whitfield was a confirmed Calvinist and remained so all his life, this causing problems between he and the Wesleys over time, even though for the most part they remained friends. What I would like you to notice however, is his success was really during the time of the founding and planting of the American culture, based on individual liberty. For a Biblical foundation of America, perhaps we could adapt Judges 21:25, "In those days there was no king in America; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Whitfield though remaining loyal to the local church in many ways was divorced from them because of his popularity and ability to raise money, among other factors, while local pastors struggled to get by. Whitfield along with another Calvinist, Jonathan Edwards, who is generally described as America's leading theologian, were recognized as leaders of America's "First Great Awakening"

The Second Great Awakening, can be attributed to a confirmed Presbyterian, Charles Finney who one day had a burning bush or bosom experience with the Lord, and was very quickly divorced from his Presbyterian roots and when on to preach Jesus, in what has become known as the burnt over ground of up state New York. With his divorce from the church, Finney also left behind strong doctrines of his faith and focused on the work of emotional preaching to help people make a decision to follow Jesus.

We could look at other persons and places (D. L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Azusa Street to name a few) to bring us up to present day, but after Finney the lines are pretty well drawn putting revivalism as part and parcel of Arminianism and its look at Calvinism as dead orthodoxy. From the eyes of Calvinists, revivalism is a work of emotional manipulation and perhaps a work of the devil. What I want to focus on however, is revivals elevation of the individual and his decision to follow Jesus, divorced from membership in the local church.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association probably puts much more money into trying to get converts planted into healthy well balanced churches that it does on their actual crusades. But the facts speak that it just does not work very well. When it does work most of the time it takes years. No one should ever say that Billy Graham, or his son Franklin, give emotionally charged talks to manipulate people to make a decision to follow Jesus, on the contrary, the simplicity of the preaching and because of the lack of emotion, most should conclude that this is an act of God's Holy Spirit working in the heart of the individual.

For sake of discussion, let us say God has raised up over time for some reason, Billy Graham, D. L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Charles Finney and George Whitfield and countless others to bring him his harvest amongst the English speaking populace and export it throughout the world. Revival by definition takes place where the Word of God is rightly taught and preached in context. That context is the person and work of Jesus Christ in time and space, redeeming, justifying and sanctifying fallen mankind. Revival can also take place in and at other times in ways God chooses, that may seem contradictory or bizarre to us, but by definition God truly receives Glory for all his works even if it is a total mystery from our perspective. Fallen men, again by definition and many times by example, are used to proclaim this good news, that heaven is filled by sinners redeemed by the mercy of God. Hell is filled with sinners in which his mercy is no longer available. That is ulitmately God's choice. We then add to all preaching a layer of ministries, missions, charities, parachurch organizations and you see the work of God going forward in time and place.

Where don't you see this happening? In many cases in the local church or in the interaction of local churches. Ichabod, the Glory of God has departed the temple, or in this case the tabernacle. Why? For the most part because the local churches are ruled by the individual, we have elevated the individual to god-hood, as has our society, and we then question why the sinner can't see the difference. Because there is no difference. The reason that the evangelist, ministries and missions etc. work is because they have to work together in order to survive. But those people over there are different. They believe in that and I (we) don't. They are a different denomination or are part of that movement. What is happening here? Non essential Christianity is elevating itself by its doctrine to the role of gospel and God's Word and his Holy Spirit have left, leaving pastors ministering to an empty building, or the spirit of the age. Where then is the essential gospel, the gospel of salvation of fallen sinners, by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone? Buried in the Bible, and in old out of print books by a bunch of dead guys. Only those with time and inclination can seek them out by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The church, the Bride of Christ, is not a democracy as we Protestants would like to think. It is to be ruled by our Prophet, Priest and King, Jesus Christ. Roman Catholics may have forfeited the true gospel, but at least they still have the most efficient management system the world has ever known. That organizational theory and operation says that the church is a diverse community of believers. I would add that the true church is not composed of individuals but eternal or everlasting personalities functioning in community. Like a physical body, a garden or natural area. Functioning not just in the present, but also into the future, from the eternal past, a continuum of God's people from Genesis through the actual physical return of Christ and the restoration of creation at the end of time in Revelation. One God one chosen people, Jews and Gentile, which we one day shall see it as it is.

Now let us return to my little revival. Through that experience I was able to see I was becoming divorced from God and his people, and this was really on the basis of my emotions. I was not and still can not truly discern whether those emotions were God caused or self inflicted. In this everlasting journey, it truly is not for me to know. Emotions most of the time are divorced from reason. But we as personalties, or individuals for that matter, have to deal with them in one body. Most also have to deal with these differences also in marriage and the family. We in the church body do not do that, even though we should. This is where the divorce of revivalism from a sound doctrinal basis becomes acute. For it was the Word of God and what I have learned in books by a bunch of dead guys, that truly allows me to see what God has done for me in Jesus Christ and how important it is for us to boast only in the cross, and not our individual gifting or talents. To carry this illustration further, we as personalties in Christ can only be married to those who are also in Christ, we have to work at being a family. It won't just happen. We may cohabited with someone who is not part of the bride of Christ, actually or as a member of a church of Ichabod, but we can rest assured that this is only a temporary condition, and that the grace of God is sufficient for these circumstances. Through that experience, it will be divorced from our emotion and become part of our doctrine of life, forever enriching our experience in a Godly marriage or a church in which the Word of God is truly elevated. For it is through the Word sharper than any worldly sword (Ephesians 6:17 & Hebrews 4:12) that God's kingdom truly advances. Then true Biblical revival takes place and does not carry the baggage of our religious heritage.. Amen.

Prayer Plants

During this time of restoration, I have come to the conclusion that this trip around the world in a ship named Diversity is really something I want to do, it is something that I think I have been gifted to perform, and I think it is a service that will be truly beneficial to the proclamation of the gospel and the discipleship of true believers reaching far beyond the trips actual contacts. I also can not think of anything that I could do right now that has more everlasting consequences. I therefore have to conclude that right now that this is God's will for my life, both doctrinally and emotionally. Therefore I must take steps to allow God's provision in this light, stepping out beyond the security I can see, into His care. I've done that before but I don't think it ever gets any easier. The bills are paid until the end of the month.

I outlined in the last letter a means of financing and upon reflection and input from others, I don't like the bond financing at least in the way it was presented. Most of my experience in corporate America (as an individual) was in proposal writing and the related project management, perhaps that is the way to proceed. At the level of funds required, this truly cannot be done on the cheap, thrifty yes, but cheap no. Commencement of this project however, through my sight says cheap is also beyond the horizon.

There are a number of other financing alternatives that include socially conscious alternatives for the little guy, similar to the revolving loan fund described last time. Other financing alternatives could include the sale of our Web site, meyersfalls.com/munity, the world's oldest virtual reality community now in its 70th year, to Microsoft or some enterprising Christian internet guru, who thinks that selling low margin books and similar material, losing $4-7 per sale and hyping your stock to the $150 per share range in the hopes that someday we will make a profit is a whole lot worse than any scheme any tele-evangelist ever dreamed of. I could also sell rights to the only enviromentally sound commerical prescious metal mining and refining equipment or the only solvent extraction technology that can safely clean up Whatcom Creek in Bellingham, site of the recent pipeline leak and fire. All can be made available to someone with the right motives and a calling that allows them to spend their resources on their development.

To bring this Diversity cruise about requires input from many people, I am willing to take the lead and to take devil, worldly, and religious shots, but I do need other people, many of you in foreign lands with contacts, ports of call, and more importantly, integration with the local church through on for works of charity. To actually develop the local church as personalties in community and not saved individuals on their own. Individualism might work to some extent in the prosperity of the western developed world, but I do not believe it works with a hoot in most of the places I would hope Diversity would see port. Beyond that, prayers to set a course of travel are always requested.

Finally, if you look at the acrostic in the signature, you will notice that the words have changed. Protestant has replaced Promoting, I never really liked that word for gospel work, could it be revivalist? As part of the baggage of RE words. REformation along with REvival is one of those heavy baggage container words of our REligion, therefore REformation has been REplaced with REstoration. I really am a REstorationist rather than a REformer anyway (Isaiah 58:12). Before I began this work, REvival went the way of Everlasting REnaissance, everlasting meaning beginning now and continuing forever, not just in the sweet by an by. REnaissance in a God centered context, rather than a man centered context, is something that can be explained.

Next time we will begin by starting some of this community development work with an article on community I wrote in 1992. Until then, Shalom!

Jerry