If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
I am feeling extra blessed. I've discovered today that some former church members (two of the dozen or so in our sixteen year history who left disgruntled) have said that we are a cult.
I have no clue what the rationale is behind this sad, uneducated accusation, but it is as old as the New Testament church. This seems to be the card that offended or bitter people tend to play, as a means of self justification.
Whatever.
All it means is we're blessed as a church, and Christ is glorified through the preaching of the gospel. Christ is blasphemed on their part. How is He blasphemed? James chapter 3~
But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
The name of Christ is blasphemed (Greek: to speak evil of, to reproach) when a man who calls himself a brother (or a woman who calls herself a sister), turns and brings this level of reproach against sincere and Godly men and women, who are in Christ, quite literally part of His body.
This level of slanderous and evil speaking goes far beyond mere criticism.
No matter how sharp the disagreement I've had with many a church leader in twenty years, some unknown, some famous, I have stopped short of calling their church a cult, though one I have known comes perilously close - partly because I know what a "cult" is. Partly because I fear the Lord too much to cause that kind of division and schism in the body...and I frankly long for the name of Christ to be glorified.
This brings about a teaching moment - you know me. Take lemons and....make lemonade. Or something.
I have several reference materials I could cite and use to describe what a "cult" actually is, but out of curiousity I decided to simply google it. Yeah. I decided to use the research tool that is at the fingertips of almost everyone, including the people who have made this ridiculous accusation. I decided to use the very first resource that Google turned up.
It radically proves how uneducated the accusation is! Anyone with a thinking mind could just google the term "cult" and in ten minutes find out that most Bible believing, established churches don't fall under the definition. Here is what I came up with, in less than two minutes (http://www.csj.org/, article entitled "Cults 101, a Checklist of Cult Characteristics" by Janja Lalich, Ph.D. and Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.) :
The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
The group is preoccupied with making money.
Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.
Obviously, one can see how any church who follows Biblical practices could be mistaken as a cult - the early church was. Church leaders are respected. Strong churches gather zealously around their/our core beliefs - the doctrinal essentials. Some may speak in tongues. Some worship very extravagantly and expressively. Some do not. Some beautiful, effective churches might even be rather preoccupied with bringing in new members. If it is through salvation, the very thought makes me giddy with joy!
Churches collect money. Churches sometimes have to invoke what is known as "church discipline" (an intensely Scriptural practice, if done by consensus and very, very carefully, in a spirit of grace). Wise churches will discourage church hopping, and encourage a basic level of committment. A valid church may even make its leaders accountable to conduct themselves by a higher standard, should there be a disagreement. But these characteristics should never be misconstrued as cultish. Accusations like that are uneducated at best, dishonest and cruel at worst.
If you are in a church that expects you to take part in every single activity of the church (something Tim and I openly refuse to do) and enforces "debilitating work routines in excess" you might be in a legalistic church, or you might be in a cult. I hesitate to use even that as an indicator, because the truth is a new church plant takes a startling amount of work, and it can even feel sometimes like it takes a "debilitating" amount of work to set up, break down, and get a transient (without its own building) church plant off the ground.
Particularly if you are in a church that tries to tell you in detail what you can do or not do, what to wear, and how to spend your time, who to marry or where to work - run.
If you are part of a church, and you discover clearly unethical practices, immorality in the leadership, etc. - run.
If you argue with, or question what the pastor teaches, just once or twice, and you are asked to step down from your position of leadership, or are otherwise taken to task - run. (If you debate with the pastor for six or more months, and he hangs in there with you, having discussion after discussion after discussion...hug the man, and tell him wild horses wouldn't drag you out from under his patient leadership!)
If you find yourself ostracized or censured for having friends outside your church - run. (Most of our church members have as many friends, if not more, outside our church than in it. We're not a large church!)
Just an FYI:
Just because a church is small, does not make it a cult.
Just because a church rallies around its leadership, does not make it a cult.
Just because a church does not condone or pacify divisive behavior, does not make it a cult.
Just because a church believes in the gift of tongues, does not make it a cult.
Just because a group of people pull together for a common goal, does not make it a cult. (Please look up the definition of "unity".)
Just because you left a church, does not make it a cult.
You might be touching the apple of His eye...
Big, Big, BIG Announcement...
Today, November 21st, 2009, my beautiful daughter Sarah became engaged to Jonathan Howe. He took her out on a date, and proposed in the most romantic way. He purchased a stunning ring for her, getting every detail right, artist that he is. Impeccable taste in women and jewelry.
Hannah and Justin came over, and we all eagerly awaited Sarah and Jonathan's arrival back home, and they were glad and gracious to share the moments with us. I joyfully share them with you~
Presents from Hannah, all tied up in ribbons...
Our family's chalkboard wall - keeper of many happy moments!
They're HOME!
Proud, proud daddy. Emotional moment. Jonathan is a man of God - that is what matters intensely to him.
THE ring. Wish you could see the gallery...simple, elegant, yet unusual and beautiful.
Giddy couple...
Hannah, beginning the season of engagement for her sister with a hand written, hilarious, dramatic rendition of her own...
Listening and snuggling...
Dad absolutely must now have "the apple talk". Jonathan was laughing so hard he couldn't speak.
Telling her Mima and Granddaddy the big news...
Sisters forever...best friends forever, too.
Arranging the massive amount of flowers Jonathan got for her today...
Hannah and Justin came over, and we all eagerly awaited Sarah and Jonathan's arrival back home, and they were glad and gracious to share the moments with us. I joyfully share them with you~
Um, I sort of wrote the words. I did my best.
Presents from Hannah, all tied up in ribbons...
Our family's chalkboard wall - keeper of many happy moments!
They're HOME!
Proud, proud daddy. Emotional moment. Jonathan is a man of God - that is what matters intensely to him.
THE ring. Wish you could see the gallery...simple, elegant, yet unusual and beautiful.
Giddy couple...
Hannah, beginning the season of engagement for her sister with a hand written, hilarious, dramatic rendition of her own...
Listening and snuggling...
Dad absolutely must now have "the apple talk". Jonathan was laughing so hard he couldn't speak.
Telling her Mima and Granddaddy the big news...
Sisters forever...best friends forever, too.
Arranging the massive amount of flowers Jonathan got for her today...And tonight, I discover (with delight, I add) that tomorrow I will be hosting lunch for about 14 people - Jonathan's family, our family. And so it begins! Whew. Two weddings in one year. I don't know when exactly they will get married, the date has not been set, but yeah...these daughters of mine are my double portion - I've had to do everything in two's for the last twenty-two years, and my heart is beyond glad.
If you are near and dear enough to come along for the ride, please fasten your seatbelts, and keep your hands and arms inside at all times.
Precious friends, the words of a poem come to mind:
"Grow old along with me
The best is yet to be
The last of life for which the first was made
Our times are in his hand
Who saith, 'A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'”
So here we go. Are you ready? I'm so glad you are here with us! This is going to be great!
Grace+Good Friends=Good Times
The doctor (l) and pastor (r)
Inside the Tennessee Theatre
Ceiling detail
More detail overhead...
The orchestra, preparing for gorgeous renditions of Haydn, Mendelssohn, Wagner and Strauss
Happy birthday, dear Cheryl!
Big grins, handsome faces...
Grace+Good Friends=Good Times (me n' Cheryl...isn't she the cutest??)Random but Sweet...
I'm being sweetly bitten by the redecorating bug. That is a very, very good sign. You see, when I am in my happy place, I find myself full of creative ideas and creative energy, and there is always a project brewing. All of last year, and some of this year, I had no interest in my surroundings. How unlike me.
As my heart and mind have been washed and renewed again and again with the gospel, as I've shaken off negative thoughts and negative influences, the Spirit of God has restored my soul over and over this past year. The results are so far reaching, I have found my prayers radically altered, the hours spent in the study of Scripture multiplied, my family relationships transformed, and this gospel has touched even the place in my heart given to hearth and home...embers gently breathed upon, everything set to rights, aired out, and refreshed. The fire now burns cheerily again, and the emotional surfaces gleam, and I discover that I still really do...really, really do....love interior design, I love my home, and its atmosphere is still incredibly important to me.
This shall be a mixed blessing for my husband, who fortunately is very handly with tools. Because I very much want to repaint my kitchen and dining room, get a new couch and a couple of comfy arm chairs, shop out a round dining room table, and I'd absolutely love to add some steps and a sidewalk to my front porch, and finish my kitchen cabinets (a project begun 6 years ago).
On the evening of December 6th, 2003, Tim and I spent our first night in our new master bedroom. God had done what only He can do, and so we'd been able to purchase the home we had been renting for over ten years. The Lord also enabled us to renovate and add on to it. The home got spruced up, painted (a total palette change), and everything from windows to roof to siding, all but the oak floors got replaced.
That was six years ago. I'm ready for more changes, here and there.
Therefore, just for fun, I'm sharing a few pictures from my digital "idea folder". (If I run across something I totally love, I save it to this folder, without analyzing it...not yet. I'm waiting until the resources come in to make the changes I want to make, and then I will analyze my idea folder and choose a workable design scheme...)
See the red? Beautiful!
I also love the craziness of this creative space...
The idea of a sewing area in a closet is a workable solution for me. I don't have the space, even when kids all move out, for a dedicated sewing room...
I so need steps to my front porch. (You have to walk up my adjacent driveway and enter my front porch from the right side...)
Bigger isn't necessarily better. This is my "dream house"!
Someday, my kitchen will have a center island exactly like this - simple and old. Isn't that so do-able??
As my heart and mind have been washed and renewed again and again with the gospel, as I've shaken off negative thoughts and negative influences, the Spirit of God has restored my soul over and over this past year. The results are so far reaching, I have found my prayers radically altered, the hours spent in the study of Scripture multiplied, my family relationships transformed, and this gospel has touched even the place in my heart given to hearth and home...embers gently breathed upon, everything set to rights, aired out, and refreshed. The fire now burns cheerily again, and the emotional surfaces gleam, and I discover that I still really do...really, really do....love interior design, I love my home, and its atmosphere is still incredibly important to me.
This shall be a mixed blessing for my husband, who fortunately is very handly with tools. Because I very much want to repaint my kitchen and dining room, get a new couch and a couple of comfy arm chairs, shop out a round dining room table, and I'd absolutely love to add some steps and a sidewalk to my front porch, and finish my kitchen cabinets (a project begun 6 years ago).
On the evening of December 6th, 2003, Tim and I spent our first night in our new master bedroom. God had done what only He can do, and so we'd been able to purchase the home we had been renting for over ten years. The Lord also enabled us to renovate and add on to it. The home got spruced up, painted (a total palette change), and everything from windows to roof to siding, all but the oak floors got replaced.
That was six years ago. I'm ready for more changes, here and there.
Therefore, just for fun, I'm sharing a few pictures from my digital "idea folder". (If I run across something I totally love, I save it to this folder, without analyzing it...not yet. I'm waiting until the resources come in to make the changes I want to make, and then I will analyze my idea folder and choose a workable design scheme...)
Call me crazy, I just love the simplicity of that Christmas tree...
And this bedroom...
See the red? Beautiful!
I also love the craziness of this creative space...
The idea of a sewing area in a closet is a workable solution for me. I don't have the space, even when kids all move out, for a dedicated sewing room...
I so need steps to my front porch. (You have to walk up my adjacent driveway and enter my front porch from the right side...)
The ideal home office...full of old, fully functioning objects and natural light.
Bigger isn't necessarily better. This is my "dream house"!
Someday, my kitchen will have a center island exactly like this - simple and old. Isn't that so do-able??
Bringing in More Sheaves - a Harvest of Thoughts of Gentle Gratitude
in keeping with this month of harvest and Thanksgiving, I am incredibly grateful for...
the free gift of grace, the courage i've seen in one man to preach it regardless of what it costs him personally, the courage i've seen in one church to walk in the revelation of it regardless of what it costs them, the courage i've seen in faithful friends to embrace a pure, New Covenant gospel...knowing full well that it means that satan has declared war upon them.
the overthrow of the tyranny of my own ability to perform. the rule and reign of Jesus Christ who said
It.
Is.
Finished.
the epic drama of the cosmic battle between good and evil, human effort and grace, flesh and spirit...only the God of story could weave such a captivating masterpiece, narrated from genesis to revelation to right this very moment...
seasons of harvest, bare limbs of trees, the aesthetic of winter as the earth reveals her "good bones",
23rd wedding anniversaries, friends in texas and scotland, hearing the voice of a trophy of grace via skype all the way from cambodia just today, the miracle of email, the 'block' feature in facebook, and the blessing of old fashioned pen and paper mail,
hope that maketh not ashamed, chanel purses, the designer barbara berry, the composer schubert, target stores, the kitten heel shoe style, and being a girly-girl.
missionaries in columbia, tim's kind brown eyes, new construction going on at my church, my teacup poodle's smooshy mustache - all crooked and cute at the moment, doctors, nurses, and chiropractors, teachers and engineers, and home makers who are the most brilliant of them all.
whole grain pasta, pine nuts, the revelation of the gospel found in the book of romans, friends with november birthdays, having a house full of musical instruments, and the fact that i still believe in speaking in tongues and that God heals today - even instantly...
...for having been instantly healed of a migraine the first week of august, and never again having another migraine headache since that day.
that we've managed by the grace of God and against great odds to not become cynical and jaded, for my grandma's antique furniture, cute reading glasses, and for still caring whether or not my reading glasses are cute.
books, coffee, and a friend who dearly loves both. sparkly crystals on jewelry but not on my jeans, the knowledge that cute swarovski crystal studs are just as an "authentic material" as diamonds and no one but the inauthentic care about the difference in cost.
a throne of grace to which to run in time of need, knowing my need, having my needs met according to the riches of His glory by Christ Jesus, not by my own education, hard work, or morality...
...that i hold in very high esteem education, hard work, and clean living, because this sort of life beautifully adorns the gospel of the God i serve.
the fact that my husband and son just now got home, and i know both will kiss me hello...
the free gift of grace, the courage i've seen in one man to preach it regardless of what it costs him personally, the courage i've seen in one church to walk in the revelation of it regardless of what it costs them, the courage i've seen in faithful friends to embrace a pure, New Covenant gospel...knowing full well that it means that satan has declared war upon them.
the overthrow of the tyranny of my own ability to perform. the rule and reign of Jesus Christ who said
It.
Is.
Finished.
the epic drama of the cosmic battle between good and evil, human effort and grace, flesh and spirit...only the God of story could weave such a captivating masterpiece, narrated from genesis to revelation to right this very moment...
seasons of harvest, bare limbs of trees, the aesthetic of winter as the earth reveals her "good bones",
23rd wedding anniversaries, friends in texas and scotland, hearing the voice of a trophy of grace via skype all the way from cambodia just today, the miracle of email, the 'block' feature in facebook, and the blessing of old fashioned pen and paper mail,
hope that maketh not ashamed, chanel purses, the designer barbara berry, the composer schubert, target stores, the kitten heel shoe style, and being a girly-girl.
missionaries in columbia, tim's kind brown eyes, new construction going on at my church, my teacup poodle's smooshy mustache - all crooked and cute at the moment, doctors, nurses, and chiropractors, teachers and engineers, and home makers who are the most brilliant of them all.
whole grain pasta, pine nuts, the revelation of the gospel found in the book of romans, friends with november birthdays, having a house full of musical instruments, and the fact that i still believe in speaking in tongues and that God heals today - even instantly...
...for having been instantly healed of a migraine the first week of august, and never again having another migraine headache since that day.
that we've managed by the grace of God and against great odds to not become cynical and jaded, for my grandma's antique furniture, cute reading glasses, and for still caring whether or not my reading glasses are cute.
books, coffee, and a friend who dearly loves both. sparkly crystals on jewelry but not on my jeans, the knowledge that cute swarovski crystal studs are just as an "authentic material" as diamonds and no one but the inauthentic care about the difference in cost.
a throne of grace to which to run in time of need, knowing my need, having my needs met according to the riches of His glory by Christ Jesus, not by my own education, hard work, or morality...
...that i hold in very high esteem education, hard work, and clean living, because this sort of life beautifully adorns the gospel of the God i serve.
the fact that my husband and son just now got home, and i know both will kiss me hello...
Coming to Harvest Church...
Our college/career age small group begins this comprehensive Biblical curriculum this evening:
Got a gigantic pot of chili on the stove, and the Frito's and sour cream ready. Candles are lit. Small group begins at my house in less than half an hour.
And so the Truth Project, Harvest style, begins.
Got a gigantic pot of chili on the stove, and the Frito's and sour cream ready. Candles are lit. Small group begins at my house in less than half an hour.
And so the Truth Project, Harvest style, begins.
Underlined Bits
I don't underline and highlight only spiritual books or my Bible. I also underline and highlight any beautiful thought, any well turned phrase, from any good book.
I received four (gleefully count with me...one...two...three...four) books by Glady's Taber for my birthday this year, from someone in North Carolina. I thought I'd gotten three - but another one came in the mail today, and I vocalized my delight.
read: I squealed, ever so briefly.
The writing of Gladys Taber will make you feel as though you have been on a vacation. She is hard to categorize, but she usually is found under the heading of "nature writers". When I read her, I can feel my shoulders relax, and my heart unwind from its cares, as I am transported to a little farmhouse in New England, surrounded by Connecticut countryside and cocker spaniels. Now that I've joined the ranks of dog lovers, I can relate to Taber on that level as well.
Here is the lovely thing. A ministry friend of mine from New Jersey also took the time and effort to send me a blissfully long excerpt from one of Gladys Taber's books...for my birthday, arriving on my birthday.
This is the sort of writing I underline and highlight. I had bought one of Taber's books for someone, way back early-spring, and I put it away to give to them this Christmas, thoughtful friend that I am. But this person has lost touch with me, and so...their loss is your gain.
I gift you, this evening, with an ever-so-brief respite from the stresses of the day. The first person who emails me (email address is on the left side-bar) and does not mind sharing his or her address privately, via my email, gets the book I had saved as a Christmas gift. It shall be your gift, from me. I'll pay to ship it to you wherever you are, even Australia. (hint, hint) If you have ever lived in, or wished to live in a historic, cozy home...if you enjoy dogs...if you enjoy the countryside and creation....if you enjoy great writing...you will love this book.
If you want more where this came from, I can't give you any of my birthday books. But you can go to your favorite used book website and purchase one of Gladys Taber's "Stillmeadow" series of books. Enjoy this excerpt!
"Now in November, the leaves spread cloth of gold and red on the ground.
The open fields take on a cinnamon tone and the wild blackberry canes in the swamp are frosted purple. The colors fade slowly to sober hues. The rain falls with a determination in long leaden lines, and when it stops water drips from the eaves.
The voice of the wind changes, for winds are seasonal too. Summer winds blow soft, musical with leaves, except for thunderstorms. Hurricane winds scream. In blizzard time the sleet-sharp gale has a crackling noise. But now the wind has a mournful sound, marking the rhythm of autumn's end. The first beat of winter is not yet here, and country folk tend to spend extra time doing chores or puttering, just to be out of doors.
When Indian summer comes, nothing indoors seems important. I must carry my breakfast tray to the terrace and eat in the wine-bright sun. There is always a haze on the hills, making them dream-like. Eternal summer shines from a soft sky. Perhaps it is such an enchanted time because it is a promise that another summer will come, after winter goes.
In the evening we go outdoors again to be sure the moon is where she should be. The night is cold, but it is not yet the cold that chills the bones. The stars seem very close, some of them seem to be blossoming in the bare branches of the sugar maples. Night is a vast dark sea with the moon a distant light in a mysterious harbor. Stillmeadow seems a small ship to be in such a limitless ocean, but how steadfast it looks under the tall spars of the giant maples! Light shines through the small-paned windows, and I am extravagant enough to keep the house lighted all over just because it looks, in my eyes, so beautiful glowing in the dark."
~Gladys Taber, The Stillmeadow Road - November
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