Churchless Christian

I've lost another 5kgs since this pic was taken. Hoping to drop another 7kgs by Xmas

In the the NZ Herald today there was an article “Taking the easy way out” from the Observer. It talks about outdated management structures. It outlines about the demise of General Motors which is in a death spiral. Its business model ensures that each car it produces costs $4,500US more than its rivals. It says that the business model of GM and indeed most of the worlds largest traditional companies, is played out. The Proudfoot 2005 international productivity report states that it found that within these companies everyone was “busy doing the wrong things” to raise productivity. The article says that autocratic control is not the answer, they must produce to real demand placing decision making on the front line nearest the customer.

When reading this I thought about the traditional church. I can see that after 40 years in the traditional church in all leadership positions at some time or other, I was busy doing good things. Things that helped keep the wheels of the organisation turning but had little to do with, or little effect upon, the lives of our own people or the community in which we were placed. Busy doing the wrong things really spoke to me.

It alarms me that some churches still see autocratic control as being the answer. Appoint the right person, give him his head, get the right systems and programs in place, get more staff on board to cover various age groups and things will really move. The result is that you have is tension at the top, people feeling driven, slaves to the system. Autocratic control is not the answer really spoke to me.

What is the real demand out there in the world today? Isn’t it Kingdom Building? Pointing people to Christ and helping them to understand how God has acted on their behalf and encouraging them to respond in faith to that and helping one another to greater maturity in Christ. The traditional church places responsibilities to the structure before and between their people and the lost. It subtly says “leave it to the pastor and the staff, they’re the paid professionals”. Faith is not a given. Philip’s grandfather (a minister for 50 years) regularly said not to forget the warning of Jesus “”When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Whatever shape the new structure of the church takes, it must bring decision making to the front line nearest the customer. To my mind that is…leadership must be placed in the family where it belongs, where it is closest to the unbelieving community (the customer). Christians need to understand that you don’t need professional help to be the person you are meant to be for your family and the community in which you have been placed. You need to be dependent on God and subsequently filled with the Spirit. Anything else will be more of a hindrance than a help.

Regaining the 'Brotherhood of Believers

Simple
The church as we know it is the most complex hierarchical system on planet earth. We need to do our part to return it to the simplicity that Christ promised. Instead of looking at the church we need to look at what we believe as Christians, and how we then act that out. I believe that about 90% of what we believe and act out has more to do with tradition and our churched culture than the faith we are called to in Christ. To reach all strata of society we must be as simple as possible. Paul writes "there was a path of faith that did not follow the path of history" (Tyndale NT Commentary), and in Acts 15:28 he tried to reassure the Gentile Christians that they would not have to live out a Jewish culture when he said that they would have "no greater burden" than was necessary put upon them. After reading the first part of this letter my father wrote to me; “How easy it is to put unnecessary burdens on those who come into the family of faith. Burdens that ultimately can be a hindrance to them being who they are meant to be for God; Paul’s attitude is very wise and very liberating. He would want Christian’s to be set free. They have enough demands upon their lives. They do not need additional burdens. Just that which is necessary to be the People of God for this generation.”We too must remove the burden that we place on new believers. Each of us as we read this will come to different conclusions about how we can simplify our faith, and the activity and expectations that arise from it, and that’s great. If we all in our own way par back as much as we can, we are beginning, inch by inch to release ourselves from 2000 years of growing complexity and cultural millstones. Everything we add that is extra to our faith builds a deeper chasm between us and our lost brother. So how can we simplify our faith? Well, don't read a book on the subject! Read the Bible. Read specifically Jesus Christ’s commandments to us, and then look at the book of Acts and observe how the early believers first responded to his commands. Then look at your own life, and consider what you can add that the early believers did and you are not doing, and take out what they didn't do and you are still holding to.

Small
The larger a group is, the more skill, hierarchy and cultural conformity there is needed to maintain it. Staying smaller can help keep a group simple, non hierarchical and more real. Whether you are not a believer, a new believer, rich or poor etc, the way you meet must be familiar and 'normal' to your culture. To a Jewish person, gathering around a Shabbat meal is normal and familiar, to a secular Kiwi it just seems bizarre. How do the people in your relationship networks gather? For some it might be a hui on a Marae, for others it may be big family get togethers with lots of food. In some cultural groups 40 or 50 people is a normal sized get together. For the Japanese, 4 or 5 people is more than enough. In Kenya the Masai people gather spontaneously around a certain tree and stand on one leg leaning against their spears, while they pray and tell stories of Jesus before they wonder off to keep an eye on their cattle. That's a Masai church, to a Westerner going past it would appear to be just a bunch of guys having a yak. Remember Jesus said "Where two or three are gathered in my name there I am also".

Sent
One of the greatest fallacies of our Christian walk whether in Institutional Church or as an organic Believer, is the apparent obsession we have with believing it to be Biblical to invite people to 'our thing'. Whether inviting people to church or to a gathering, it seems we have been indoctrinated into believing that this is how we extend the Kingdom of God. Yet no matter how often we invite people to 'our thing' many do not come, and if they do come they rarely stay on. This 'invite them in' fallacy is not mentioned at all in the New testament (In fact the opposite is shown), and I believe is largely responsible for the church turning into a middle class institution with a limited capacity to see the Kingdom of God extended. Jesus told the Ecclesia "to go into all the world and preach the gospel" he did not tell them to bring the people back to 'church'. When someone comes to faith, we often unwittingly rip them out of their friendships and families where they are of influence, and plant them into an alien group which acts unfamiliarly and where they have no influence. We then consider it a success if after a year or two they think like us, talk like us, dress like us, and are growing in influence amongst us. That's crazy. Perhaps if we actually focussed on doing what Jesus told us, we would go to where they are and endeavour to reflect the Kingdom of heaven where they are. Going into their home, taking the church to them. Leaving them in their places of influence, letting them retain their culture and connections. When the Jailer and his family came to Christ, the Apostles did not tell them to start coming along to their local church, the Ecclesia was that Jailer's family, there was no concept of getting them to come along to the Jewish Christians' gathering. One of the reasons that God is moving so mightily in persecuted countries is that it is very difficult for people to be invited to church, so by accident more than design, the Church in these countries is having to follow the pattern of the New Testament, not the pattern of the Western Church. Working so hard at getting people to join us, brings us uncomfortably close to an unbiblical and ego oriented practice. Being sent is all about dying to self as there will be no groupies to validate us or to encourage our pride.

Remember, Simple, Small, Sent

I went to a camp for 'alternative' Believers at Papamoa on the weekend. I took lots of photos and then appeared to have wiped them. There was around 50 people who came and went during the weekend. The food was fabulous and the weekend was well planned.
David Newby (Author of 'The Bubble Will Burst)was the guest speaker.
It was an odd weekend because the institutional church would consider Newby a radical as well as his book. However his audience was far more radical then him as most of them have already left the institutional church and are trying to live out a more organic, New testement way of living their Christianity.
So our radical guest became the conservative flavour of the weekend which was rather bizare. A lot of the discussion from Newby focussed on things like creating an inclusive leadership team and having an open pulpit. This is great if you come from a traditional perspective but the rest of the camp followers were not even doing institutional church let alone having a pulpit that could be opened!
The disapointment with the weekend was the lack of opportunity to hear and share one anothers journeys and thoughts as we walk into this new wine skin. We were so busy learning about the new wine that we did'nt really get a chance to taste it till near the end. As some one said on Saturday night, we were taught about the new wine through an incrediably old wine skin.Someone else said that none of us would of come if David Newby had not spoken. This is not true for myself. I would have come because I am sick of more knowledge and information but I am so thirsty to meet other believers who are journeying towards a confusing destination.

I HOPE WE HAVE ANOTHER GET TOGETHER, BUT I HOPE WE DO NOT NEED A SPEAKER AGAIN. ITS TIME TO BE GROWNUPS AND TRUST ONE ANOTHER!

-The Barna Group.

For decades the primary way that Americans have experienced
and expressed their faith has been through a local church. That
reality is rapidly changing, according to researcher George Barna,
whose new book on the transitioning nature of America's spirituality,
entitled 'Revolution', describes what he believes will be the most
massive reshaping of the nation's faith community in more than a century.

Relying upon national research conducted over the past several
years, Barna profiles a group of more than 20 million adults
throughout the nation labeled 'revolutionaries'. He noted that
although measures of traditional church participation in activities
such as worship attendance, Sunday school, prayer, and Bible
reading have remained relatively unchanged during the past twenty
years, the Revolutionary faith movement is growing rapidly. "These
are people who are less interested in attending church than in
being the church," he explained. "We found that there is a
significant distinction in the minds of many people between the
local church - with a small 'c' - and the universal Church - with a
capital 'C'. Revolutionaries tend to be more focused on being the
Church, capital C, whether they participate in a congregational
church or not."

"A common misconception about revolutionaries," he continued,
"is that they are disengaging from God when they leave a local
church. We found that while some people leave the local church
and fall away from God altogether, there is a much larger segment
of Americans who are currently leaving churches precisely
because they want more of God in their life but cannot get what
they need from a local church. They have decided to get serious
about their faith by piecing together a more robust faith experience.
Instead of going to church, they have chosen to be the Church, in
a way that harkens back to the Church detailed in the Book of Acts."

BIG CHANGES in the MAKING

One of the most eye-opening portions of the research contained in
the book describes what the faith community may look like twenty
years from now. Using survey data and other cultural indicators he
has been measuring for more than two decades, Barna estimates
that the local church is presently the primary form of faith
experience and _expression for about two-thirds of the nation's
adults. He projects that by 2025 the local church will lose roughly
half of its current 'market share' and that alternative forms of faith
experience and _expression will pick up the slack. Importantly,
Barna's studies do not suggest that most people will drop out of a
local church to simply ignore spirituality or be freed up from the
demands of church life. Although there will be millions of people
who abandon the entire faith community for the usual reasons -
hurtful experiences in churches, lack of interest in spiritual matters,
prioritizing other dimensions of their life - a growing percentage of
church dropouts will be those who leave a local church in order to
intentionally increase their focus on faith and to relate to God
through different means. That growth is fueling alternative forms of
organized spirituality, as well as individualized faith experience
and _expression. Examples of these new approaches include
involvement in a house church, participation in marketplace
ministries, use of the Internet to satisfy various faith-related needs
or interests, and the development of unique and intense
connections with other people who are deeply committed to their
pursuit of God.

SEVEN PASSIONS of the REVOLUTIONARY

In the effort to increase their obedience and faithfulness to God,
Barna discovered that Revolutionaries are characterized by what
he identified as a set of spiritual passions - seven specific
emphases that drive their quest for God and a biblical lifestyle.
Although these are areas of spiritual development that most local
churches address, millions of adults who are the most serious
about their faith in God were the ones least likely to be satisfied
by what their local church was delivering in terms of resources,
opportunities, evaluation and developmental possibilities. The
consequence is that millions of committed born again Christians
are choosing to advance their relationship with God by finding
avenues of growth and service apart from a local church.

Asked if this meant that the Revolution he describes is simply a
negative reaction to the local church, he suggested that most
Revolutionaries go through predictable phases in their spiritual
journey in which they initially become dissatisfied with their local
church experience, then attempt to change things so their faith
walk can be more fruitful. The result is that they undergo
heightened frustration over the inability to introduce positive change,
which leads them to drop out of the local church altogether, often
in anger. But because this entire adventure was instigated by their
love for God and their desire to honor Him more fully, they finally
transcend their frustration and anger by creating a series of
connections that allow them to stay close to God and other
believers without involvement in a local church.

One of the hallmarks of the Revolution of faith is how different it is
for each person. "It would be wrong to assume that all
Revolutionaries have completely turned their back on the local
church," the researcher stated. "Millions of Revolutionaries are
active in a local church, although most of them supplement that
relationship with participation in a variety of faith-related efforts
that have nothing to do with their local church. The defining
attribute of a Revolutionary is not whether they attend church, but
whether they place God first in their lives and are willing to do
whatever it takes to facilitate a deeper and growing relationship
with Him and other believers. Our studies persuasively indicate
that the vast majority of American churches are populated by
people who are lukewarm spiritually. Emerging from those
churches are people dedicated to becoming Christ-like through the
guidance of a congregational form of the church, but who will leave
that faith center if it does not further such a commitment to God.
They then find or create alternatives that allow that commitment to flourish."

How do most Revolutionaries justify calling themselves devoted
disciples of Christ while distancing themselves from a local church?
"Many of them realize that someday they will stand before a holy
God who will examine their devotion to Him. They could take the
safe and easy route of staying in a local church and doing the
expected programs and practices, but they also recognize that
they will not be able to use a lackluster church experience as an
excuse for a mediocre or unfulfilled spiritual life. Their spiritual
depth is not the responsibility of a local church; it is their own
responsibility. As a result, they decide to either get into a local
church that enhances their zeal for God or else they create
alternatives that ignite such a life of obedience and service. In
essence, these are people who have stopped going to church so
they can be the Church."

CHALLENGES and OPPORTUNITIES

While the Revolution brings with it some very promising qualities -
an intense pursuit of godliness, new networks of believers
supporting each other, heightened financial giving to ministry
endeavors, greater sensitivity to the presence of God in the world,
a greater sense of freedom to be a genuine disciple in the midst
of a secular society - Barna also pointed out that the Revolution
brings great challenges to those who choose that pathway.

"There is the danger of exposure to unbiblical or heretical teaching.
There is the possibility of experiencing isolation from a true
community of believers and the accountability and support that
can provide. It could become easier to hoard one's treasures rather
than giving generously. Some might find it more difficult to sustain
a life of worship without a place or means of expressing that
praise to God."

Barna contends that these are very serious challenges faced by
Revolutionaries - but that they are no more serious than the
threats to the spiritual health of regular church-goers. "Objectively
speaking, these are the very same problems that we identify
among people who rely upon the efforts of a local church to
facilitate their growth. We find plentiful evidence of unbiblical
teaching in small groups, Sunday school classes and other local
church venues. We know that few churched Christians give 4% of
their income back to God, much less 10%. We recognize that
most people attending worship services in a church sanctuary
leave feeling that God was not present and that they did not
personally connect with the living God through that experience.
We have identified the relative absence of accountability within
most congregations. So even though Revolutionaries face serious
challenges in blossoming into the fervent God-follower they hope
to become, perhaps the main difference is simply that they
have a wider range of options for achieving their faith goals than
do people who are solely focused on faith delivered through a local
church. In either case, it is ultimately up to the individual to make
sure that they have their spiritual priorities right, that they are
investing themselves in activities that draw them closer to God,
and that they stay focused on pleasing God more than themselves
or other people."

The explosion of Revolutionaries in the U.S., however, raises new
challenges for people involved in ministry. "This new movement of
God demands that there be new forms of leadership to
appropriately guide people in their faith journey," Barna said. "It
requires new ways of measuring how well the Church at-large is
doing, getting beyond attendance figures as the indicator of health.
And it demands that new tools and resources be accessible to a
growing contingent of people who are seeking to introduce their
faith into every dimension of their life."

AN INTRODUCTION to the REVOLUTION

Having written three-dozen previous books about faith and culture,
Barna feels that this book may ultimately wind up being the most
significant volume he has written. In the course of doing his
customary national research studies, he stumbled onto the
Revolution. "Having been personally frustrated by the local church,
I initiated several research projects to better understand what
other frustrated followers of Christ were doing to maintain their
spiritual edge. What emerged was a realization that there is a
large and rapidly-growing population of Christ-followers who are
truly want to be like the church we read about in the book of Acts.
We began tracking their spiritual activity and found that it is much
more robust and significant than we ever imagined - and, frankly,
more defensible than what emerges from the average Christian
church. But, because the Revolution is neither organized nor
designed to create an institutional presence, it typically goes undetected."

Revolution, published by Tyndale House, is what the author calls
"a brief introduction to the most important spiritual movement of
our age." He believes that fifty years from now historians will look
back at this period and label it one of the most significant periods
in American Church history. "I would not be surprised," the
California-based researcher noted, "if at some point this becomes
known as the Third Great Awakening in our nation's history. This
spiritual renaissance is very different from the prior two religious
awakenings in America, but it may well become the most profound."

.

Many older New Testament converts came into the church through the synagogue. Naturally they expected that subsequent gentile converts would conform to their Jewish rules of circumcision etc.

Thankfully Paul confronted this attitude and he had a vision that “there was a path of faith that did not follow the path of history” (Tyndale NT Commentary).

Ultimately a letter was sent to Antioch reassuring the Gentile Christians that they would have “no greater burden” than was necessary put upon them.
(Acts 15:28).

How easy it is to put unnecessary burdens on those who come into the family of faith. Burdens that ultimately can be a hindrance to them being who they are meant to be for God.

Unfortunately the historical church has become very good at this. How many of us have been drawn into a life of added responsibilities, fruitless meetings, increasing demands on our time and energies. So much so that our families and spiritual lives have suffered and we have become more and more withdrawn from the world in which we are meant to be salt and light.

Paul’s attitude is very wise and very liberating. He would want our house churches to be set free. Their members have enough demands upon their lives. They do not need additional burdens. Just that which is necessary to be the People of God for this generation.

Author Max Edwards (My Dad)

Had the gathering at our house today. We storyed Peters fluctuating faith, had a time of worship and prayer, with a great lunch afterwards. Had the first Strawberries of the summer. I love summer!

By and large, however, the church capitulated to Hitler. Hitler scorned this cowering response from the religous leaders. He said, 'Do you really believe the masses will ever be Christian again... The parsons... will betray their God to us. They will betray anything for the sake of their miserable little jobs and incomes."

Many Churches in that part of the world are little more than museums to a period in history of past spiritual vigor.

"The Christian Church contributed to the rise of the modern world; the modern world in turn, has undermined the Christian Church. Thus, to the degree that the Church enters, engages and employs the modern world uncritically, the church becomes her own gravedigger."

Modernity causes the church to buy into the business model for doing its work and defining its success.

We live in a society that is in great pain. How can it be that this wealthy, richly gifted church of ours can coexist alongside of it and demonstrate so little redemptive influence?

The chapels of Wales are closing at one a week.

There are more than 5000 chapels in Wales, more than in all England and Scotland put together. Of these at least 1000 are currently under threat of demolition and nobody seems interested in there fate.

Some have become Islamic centres, mosques, lingerie factories, strip clubs, recording studios etc.

At one stage following the religious revival of 1885 one chapel a week was being built or extended. How often have I seen proud plaques “Built 1850, Extended 1855.”

The early chapels of the 17 and 18 Century were little white washed rooms where a man might talk to his God, humble and beautiful so as not to draw attention to themselves. The fields where persecution forced them to worship were then still a living memory to their congregations.

Anthony Jones who went through the 1906 Census found that there was a chapel for every 106 people in Wales.

By the mid-ninetheenth century chapels were going up in the booming industrial towns, on which the shadow of the architect had fallen. This was a heaven-sent opportunity to ape every building style they had ever read about with the possible exception of the igloo and the pagoda.

There was a common rhyme

The Trellewyn Methodists have built a church
The front looks like an Abbey
But thinking they can fool the Lord
They’ve built the back part shabby.

But inside they were all the same. They were designed so that attention was focused on the pulpit. Vast structures floating in the air, in which stood a man who seemed more than a man…

THE TRUE CHURCH IS NOT AN ORGANISATION CONTROLLED BY THE RULES OF MEN BUT A HOLY COLLECTION OF LIVING STONES WITH JESUS CHRIST AS THE CORNERSTONE (THE HEAVENLY MAN)

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Poor people at the Back
My Father in Law who is now 74 years old, vowed never to enter a church building after an incident at the age of 12 years old. In the little village church his family attended in Holland, the best pews were at the front with the pews getting cheaper the further back they were. At the very back of the church was a space where people could stand. On each pew was a plaque announcing which family owned and sat on that particular pew. Because of this system the richest families sat in the front rows, with the least wealthy families sitting behind. My Father in Law would stand at the back with his family and the poorer members of the congregation who could not afford seats. Even as a 12 year old my Father in Law could see the injustice and the conflict with what was preached and sincerely asked the Minister to explain it to him. The Ministers reaction is unprintable but 62 years later my Father in Law is still unwilling to enter a Church.

When I first heard this story I was very much a classical Christian, and if the story meant anything to me it was most probably thankfulness to God that the churches I was involved with were nothing like that. Looking back now I am not actually sure that my Church was any different. Circumstances were different, but similar values to the little church in Holland were perhaps being expressed in the Christian culture which I inhabited.

Most radical Principle of the Early Church
Early in the year I read an interesting book. I cannot recall the exact details, but the book was a secular book written by a Jewish Professor at Harvard University about ideas that have transformed the world. The largest chapter in the book was given over to what he stated was the most impacting idea that the Church had given the World. That idea (which was lived out in the New Testament) was that 'all men are equal under God'. Coming out of stratified societies of Aristocrats and commoners, Jews not wanting to be contaminated by Gentiles, and Romans not wanting to be contaminated by everyone else. There were more slaves than free people, and where Priests in all religions separated people from their God. Out of this stratified and segmented world view came this odd group of people who lived the very opposite. This odd group calling themselves Christians, sat and ate together not worrying about what race each other was, whether they were slaves or free, rich or poor, aristocrat or common. There were no Priests, everyone including the slaves had as much to say as the aristocrats. This was an incredible paradigm shifting action which according to the author is the most significant transformation the church introduced to the world. Sadly even this non Christian author points out that this principle was completely forgotten by 300AD as the church started reflecting the opposite and became in his words the most hierarchical and position focussed organisation in existence. Instead of the marginalised and the poor being the Church, they became a project of the Church.

Attractive Worship Teams
Have you ever seen a Church Worship team that reflects the marginalised or the poor. To be honest, when I have viewed the many worship teams that I have over the years, what I see reflected is the values of our secular society (especially those churches on television). The females are all attractive, slim, with an incredible number being blonde! I often joke that to join the Hillsong worship team it appears that one first needs to reflect the values of the church which is being blonde and size 10! Watching (and having been involved with some of these kinds of churches) it appears that those who are of a larger size or who do not appear attractive are at best popped up the back in the choir! "The trouble with you is that you make your decisions on the basis of appearance. You must recognise that we belong to Christ..." 2 Cor 10:7

The more complex an organisation is the more highly skilled the members have to be. As I love to quote, "The church is the most complex organisation on earth." (Bill Hybels) I don't think the Church as we know it (Institutional) has purposely gone out of its way to lose the power of equality amongst brothers and sisters. The reality is highly skilled people are needed, desired and cherished. Unskilled, uneducated and poor people cannot function fully and equally in a complex organisation. They are either marginalised or made paternalistic targets of evangelistic social welfare. They are unable to express there equality in Christ in a practical sense (and a spiritual sense). Below are two points that I believe back up the point that Institutionalised Christianity has by it's very shape excluded the poor and the 'ugly' (metaphorically speaking).

1. White Collar Elders
One observation I have made over the years is that as soon as a church grows larger than what I would call a self maintaining group (50 people and under) it begins to crave organisational skills more likely to be found in professionals then in 'blue collar workers'. In every single church I have attended or led, the wealthier you are, the more educated you are, the more likely you are to be involved in Eldership or top leadership in the church. As a church grows, the most desperately needed skills are not spiritual gifts but organisational gifts. The church does not crave five-fold gifts but excellent administrators and managers. The larger the church is the less likely you will find a fork lift operator for example on the Eldership!

Story
Have you ever wondered why so many pastors and there wives wear black clothes (especially in pentecostal and larger churches)? During the 1990's as part of the Church Growth push we were taught management techniques. One of them was that black was a very dominating colour which portrayed that you were 'in control'. Some added benefits were that it went with everything and was slimming, helping to create the right professional image as a Pastor. I kid you not when I tell you that I was taught this during my ministry internship. I remember being at a Pentecostal Pastors Conference in about 2001. I was with a friend from my church who had become a Christian about three years previously. I remember turning to my friend and laughing about all the pastors sitting up the front because all of them without exception were dressed in some kind of black ensemble (though I was a Minister at that time I was already a rebel sitting in the back and not wearing black!). My friend turned to me and said surprisingly, 'but I thought that was their uniform'. I nearly died laughing!

2. Blue Collar White Males
The most unreached people group in New Zealand are white kiwis who are not middle class, who lack education and are in lower income brackets (especially men). While the church (which is a bastion of middle class culture) busily institutes strategies to reach other racial groups it seems powerless (or unable to notice) to impact the poor and the disenfranchised amongst them. I remember when as a young Christian I went and worked at NZ Rail. These men at the Railways were completely untouched by the Gospel and I often thought that the church was such an alien and intimidating world for men who hid behind a drink, had dropped out of school, and where every second word was a swear word. Even if they found a relationship with Christ, they would have to perform a greater miracle in pretending to be something they were not to function in a church. I confess that those men impacted me more then I impacted them. Over the years I have often heard of great moves of God amongst prison inmates and Maori gangs. Sadly though, the chasm of middle class church has been too great and they revert to being marginalised by it until they limp away.
New Zealand is beginning a dangerous journey which is similar to the United Kingdom (which is our closest culture). Over the centuries Christianity and the Church were part of wealth and priviledge. Most of the great moves of God happened amongst the middle and upper classes who became incredible catalysts of change. However because of the classed society, the lower classes were basically untouched. Today this has caused the UK to have one of the lowest church attendance rates in the Western World, with its Church floundering. Australia is another classic example of this trap. The middle classes and the wealthy are being impacted by the church more then ever before in that nation, but the typical Aussie 'ocker' is completely unreached by these revved up middle class churches.

CHURCH AS WE KNOW IT IS STOPPING CHURCH AS GOD WANTS IT (Wolfgang Simson)

So what can we do to make a change?

Next Week Part 2

Have a Great Week
Philip and Kim