I read an article yesterday about Bill Johnson of Bethel church in Redding, Ca and then did some research on Rob Bell. From the small amount I know of each of these guys and their ministries it seems as if they are nearly polar opposites in their beliefs. Now I'm sure that's not totally true but the self proclamation of core beliefs that they make their stand on and launch from I'd say it's mostly true. Johnson reminds me of the farmer of Faith like Potatoes fame. He is the same miracle working God now as in the first century A.D. Then there is Rob who challenges the traditional view of everything from hell to marriage to most of the basic tenants of the faith.
It seems to me that Bill is pretty right on but I'm not completely sold on his school of ministry. Now, I don't question what goes on there, that all seems legit from my seat in the stands, but I do question what becomes of it when one comes home. There is no reason to doubt that a group of people gathered to worship God daily and dwell in His Spirit will see miracles and prophetic utterances. If they didn't that would be reason to worry. One could stay in that atmosphere forever and get closer to God than they ever imagined. My question is: Can one come down from that mountain top experience back to their home, get a regular Joe job, and continue to thrive in the Spirit? Can that person bring healing and prophecy to those around them? Does the (Force) remain strong with them long after the mountain has been left behind? In the ministry where I've been involved that to me is an amazing mountain experience I find that some people are an absolute mess away from the ministry times. In other words, a camp or retreat or mission experience should serve to feed and grow the roots of your faith in God. The fruit of which should be seen in one way or another all throughout your everyday life. If you only experience the greatness of God in a retreat setting, it's probably time to sequester yourself from those experiences. Not to isolate yourself from God, but to isolate yourself with God. Anyone can be swept away in a raging river but few can be swept away when there is no river in sight. In the quietness of your mind, in the quietness of your soul, God is waiting to cultivate a deep intimacy that just cannot be farmed in the mass produced manifestation of the Spirit. A different type of quality vs. quantity.
I don't know if I can tie this all together in a coherent way. Kinda seems like this should have been two separate posts. So now to Rob. I just finished a Bible study recently that was more than anything a study of the love of God. It really challenged my religion. So much so that in the fifth chapter I think it was I almost threw out the book. If I'd just been reading it on my own that would have been the end. Luckily it was in a group that I treasure. That, and I shared my struggles with my wife and she saw it so differently that she had trouble understanding my difficulty. God continues to bless me through her. So Rob's ministry is based completely on loving people. Coincidentally, God's ministry is based completely on loving people. Where the two clash is in how that love is framed. God has designed us with a very specific set of operating protocols. When that love is framed in God's design it is a very beautiful and powerful thing. We tread on very dangerous ground though when we put loving each other above the laws of God. Those laws are as unchanging as the God who wrote them, yet somehow we think that the principles of God's love have precedence over God's laws. The most obvious area that Rob abuses this is with Gay marriage. Now before you throw this post in the garbage or start to cheer let me just say this: I believe we will see folks who lived a gay lifestyle in heaven. Homosexuality is a clear cut black and white sin. But so is sex before marriage. No one except for Jesus lived a sin free life. All of us will continue to sin and yet some will go to heaven. This is the grace of God. Given freely to those who pursue God with all they have. As the chasing after God comes before and during my sin I will still have sin when I am whisked away to heaven. Some will have great sins and some small. Addicts and prostitutes, gays, saints and sinners will all be there. But we can't endorse the sin. God designed it (us) a certain way for a reason. Whether we understand that reason has no bearing on things. The collective understanding of the human race would not consume one breath of the Lord's lungs. So how is it we think we understand better?
My wife is so amazing. She is showing me by example how one can love unconditionally never compromising God's truth. Never condemning one's sin but not endorsing it either. Jesus didn't condemn their sin but said go, and sin no more. Our sin is a hindrance to God. A barrier between us and Him. If I am therefore hell bent on loving God at any cost, I must strive at all cost to eradicate sin from my life. So my challenge is to give myself fully to loving others and let the Holy Spirit speak to others about their sin. Because I am already loving them, I get to be a part of helping them heal as God points out sins He wants them to deal with.
As God continues to challenge and forge my theology I find myself cheering along with some and totally at odds with others. The funny thing is that I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would stand toe to toe with God and debate for all I'm worth of some things that He is wrong and I'm right. To admit fault is the first step of recovery right? If it is then that's a pretty powerful self eval. The journey is the destination. No one person will ever get it all right. It's never been a journey of finally understanding it all, but a journey of unending seeking. Searching, seeking understanding is the victory. Does that make sense? I can learn lots from Rob, and Bill, and Oprah and Rich Mullins, from Jews and Gentiles, Muslims, Catholics and Christians and a carpenter from two thousand years ago. Every piece I learn must be weighed against God's word, strained by the Holy Spirit.
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