Sorry I’m so late in getting back to you. I’m not sure where you’re at right now spiritually – but I would caution you on the dream and it’s message. The Bible makes it clear that we are to stay away from communicating with the dead especially through mediums and divination. I’m not saying that’s what your dream was, because dreams are a completely different phenomenon then communicating with the dead.

As to consulting a heretic – heretics are people who believe things that are contrary to the popular opinions of the church. Many heretics are ungodly, because their beliefs undermine the core of what Christianity is and who Christ was and is.

If you still have questions, let me know and I can communicate with you privately!

Blessings!

Yes. It is the kingdom Now and not (fully) yet! Jesus told us to pray thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. He wouldn’t have told us to pray an impossible prayer. He also said at another point that there were people who were with him who would not die until they saw the kingdom of God come in power – that verse always puzzled me until I realized that those people died and Jesus didn’t lie!

Blessings!

Good thoughts – some of my favorite verses.

Jesus said that he only did what he saw the father doing. This is what we need to strive for as well – only doing and saying what we see and hear the father doing and saying.

Interesting thoughts. I would propose that the Power of the Gospel – or the Good News of the Kingdom looks a lot more like what Jesus ministry did when He walked the earth. And what I mean by that is this. Jesus never led anyone in a sinner’s prayer, and he healed all who were sick and oppressed of the devil that came to him. He truly set the captives free. The freedom that He offered was not merely pie-in-the-sky, but a present reality. He would say – today the kingdom of God has come near to you.

We in the church preach the gospel of salvation. Say this prayer and you’ll get your ticket to heaven. No, sorry, it won’t help till you leave this earth!

But that’s exactly the opposite of what Jesus preached and demonstrated. The church says we don’t need a demonstration of the gospel anymore for various reasons, but I think that this is exactly what this verse was talking about. Claiming the Gospel and good news of the Kingdom of God, but denying it’s power to heal the sick and set the captives free.

If we don’t return to the ministry of Jesus – healing the sick and delivering the demon oppressed – setting the captives free – then our good news is not really that good!

Blessings!

That movie wasn’t one of my favorites, and I could never quite put my finger on the reason why.

But anyway, I’ve been reading some stuff by Bill Johnson, and he made this statement in response to a lady who believed that God made her sick to refine her character:

“Lady, if I treated my children like that – I would be arrested for child abuse!”

I’ve wrestled with this statement for quite a while now, because I can think of many times that God apparently disciplines His children. This statement latched onto me somewhere – although it was not in my rationale mind. Because my rationale mind can think of a number of different reasons why Johnson’s statement is not true. Yet, my spirit has grabbed hold of the statement, and I keep wrestling with it, because my spirit won’t let it go. I desperately want to believe that God is good like that – but my rationale mind says otherwise. That in God’s goodness He disciplines us when we mess up.

But maybe that’s two different things? Disciplining my children when they’ve done wrong, would be different then breaking their leg to teach them how to endure pain.

Then again, maybe in both instances the pain that we suffer is not God’s choice at all, but rather Him leaving us to our reaping of what we’ve sown in our folly?

Blessings!

Thanks for stopping by! Glad you’re here!

Calvary Chapels’ orthodoxy is often not seen in their orthopraxy, which is to say they do not always practice what they preach.

Zeal and enthusiasm equates to God’s calling.

Many of the pastors teach a functional modalistic view of the Trinity because they are not equipped with a basic orthodox theological education and do not even realize their analogy “God is like H2O and the Father, Son and Spirit are to God like ice, liquid and steam are to water” is inadequate and misses ontologically.

Theological education at a seminary is denegrated and held in no esteem by those who came up the ranks in ministry as laymen. The attitude was that all you need is your Bible, a set of Chuck Smith tapes covering the entire Bible, an open (non-critical, emptied and blindly accepting) mind and the Holy Spirit would sort it all out in your head.

The pastor is infallible and unaccoutable.

The pastor should have an exceptional salary, bottomless church credit card for personal use, the latest electronic gadgets and a luxury import car.

The church is a family business and the pastor’s son should be groomed for suceeding his dad.

The pastor’s wife acts and speaks with the same unchallenged authority of her husband.

It is good to reach out and minister to a higher income demographic.

It is good to have a childrens ministry because the congregation has kids (implication: the kids are not part of the congregation.)

It is good to have a missions ministry because the congregation expects it and it makes for good publicity.

Actual quote: “We get no return on investment with children and missionaries. Kids tithes amount to nothing and missionaries are leeches looking for a handout.”

Never allow the congregation to know when the pastor will not be in the pulpit because the congregation is here to see him and if they know he will be out, then attendance (meaning offering) will drop.

After a the church reaches a certain size the pastor should be on the radio and have books published with his name as author. It does not mean he actually has to write them if he has people to do that for him.

Access and relationship between the pastor and the parishoners is directly
propotionate to the contributions or public personality of the parishoners. Professional atheletes move to the front of the line.

My experiences reflect the similarity of ministry and auto racing – shiny on top and greasy underneath. This is not to be taken as a wholesale characterization of all Calvary pastors, just my observations of a few of the prominent ones; but even those were basically well-intended men who just are under educated for their posts and who have allowed themselves to receive the glory of enamoured congregants.