Community

Chapter 17 - Community

There is a demonstrated trend toward Secular Humanism and an increasing opposition to Christianity. Secular Humanism is riding on the back of the Evolutionism philosophy and galloping across out culture with devastating effect. Considering that we are entering a period predicted by the Bible in which Christians and Christian values are generally rejected by those in power over our society, we must ask the question: What should be the priority of the Christian community?

Should the Christian community be concerned with arguments over how God organized his creation or should we be focusing on the Gospel of Jesus?

Should Christians be focusing on non-theistic evolution being taught in schools when those same children are also being taught to "celebrate" homosexuality (and even experiment with it) and the media is full of Gnostic teachings that promote heresies and challenge the divinity of Christ?

Should Christians deny the validity of scientific discoveries with a paranoid fear when those discoveries reveal God's glory and fear of science labels those Christians as ignorant, unreasonable and, therefore, brings their evangelism under suspicion?

Should Christians become political activists?

BACK TO THE FUTURE

We discussed in Chapter 11 how the secular world is reverting to the moral culture of the decadent Roman Empire. Consider the success of the early Church at that time. Perhaps the modern Church should return to the ways of a those first Christians. We should learn from the early Church. The Church before the "opening parenthesis" (as shown in Figure 4, Chapter 11)  and the Church after the "closing parenthesis" have a lot in common. The early Church had one aim, one single-minded goal. The Church simply told the world about Jesus. Paul did not argue philosophy. He knew that would lead nowhere and be a waste of his time. However, if he converted a person to faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit would do the convincing.

Let us take a closer look at the early Church. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told the disciples, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Church began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples (Acts, Chapter 2). In Jn 3: 5-8, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again—in the Spirit. This is exactly what happened to the disciples at Pentecost, they were born again in the Spirit; and the Church was born—in the Spirit. What a difference it made! The reticent Peter immediately went out, like Billy Graham on spiritual steroids, preached to a crowd of strangers, and converted 3,000. And that was just the beginning.

There is a word that describes the early Church and makes it different from anything that anyone had ever experienced before: POWER. Acts 2:43, describes how "Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. In Acts 4:33, we are told, "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and much grace was upon them all." Imagine a Church in which the pastor preaches with the POWER of the Holy Spirit and the congregation witnesses with the POWER of the Holy Spirit. That is exactly what Jesus had in mind, and more than that. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, Paul describes the manifestations of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, faith, miracles, prophecy, discerning spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues. However, Paul presents this list as though the Corinthians are already familiar with these manifestations.^[1] His point is that they are all manifestations from one Spirit and, although each person may have a unique gift, we are one body. These manifestations of the Holy Spirit are a given, it is assumed they are familiar with the gifts in their daily lives.

In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul discussed how some of the members of the congregation had become arrogant, boasting and assuming authority. Paul gives them a preview of his testing the wannabe church leaders.

Some of you have become arrogant as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 1 Cor 4:18-20

There are those who would say, "The Age of Miracles is over." Why? In 2 Tim 3:5 Paul says that in the last days men will be, "having the form of godliness but denying its power." If the Church is without the power of the Holy Spirit, it is just another human institution (Political Church, Philosophical Church, and Social Church). As Paul advised Timothy:

--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2 Tim 3:5

Another word that describes the early Church is UNITY. We can learn from the early Church. For them, "church" was not just singing and sermons. The Church was a community. The word "community" is taken from the word "commune," to communicate intimately. That implies a close relationship. Some of the early Christian communities actually lived together.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to one another as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:43-47

Paul compares the body of Christ to the Church (Eph 1:22, 23) and with that metaphor, defines this unity in 1 Cor 12:25-26:

So that there should be no division in the body, but that all it parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

In Matt 18:20, Jesus says, "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." Jesus compels us to take care of each other:

The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Matt 25:40

And,

He will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Matt 25:45

As we study the early Church, it becomes obvious that these congregations had something special. They knew each other. They socialized together. They ate together. From Paul's epistles, we learn that they took care of each other. They loved each other. The apostle John gives a clue to the love that permeated the early Church:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1 Jn:3:16, 17

The greatest challenge facing the Church today is not evolution, Progressivism, or the many assaults from the Humanist. It is regaining the power and unity that the early Church had. Consider their situation. Heretics attacked their belief. They lived in a pagan society. They were socially ostracized. They had to worship in secret. They were tortured and killed. However, they survived because they were not alone. They thrived because they had the Spirit. Their numbers grew in spite of all that Satan threw at them because of the power and unity.

It is important for the Christian to understand that he or she is not alone and that the Christian community is not a "fringe minority" in the American society. In spite of what the Progressives would have you believe, America is a Christian nation. According to the 2007 Pew survey on religion in America, 75 percent of Americans say they are Christian. However, the number is declining and the Church has its work cut out for it.

An "Early Church" for Today

Today there are serious problems facing the Church. Our children are exposed to the atheistic and anti-Christian values in the public schools and the media. The popularity of, and belief in, Gnosticism is on the rise. Christian values are accepted by fewer and fewer and even scorned by many. Our culture is returning to the time of the early Church when a degenerate Roman Empire was saturated with Humanist values. However, the danger is not only from without; there is danger within the Christian community.

In the last chapter, we discussed the seven churches in the book of Revelation: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatria, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation Chapters 2 and 3). These churches, as types for the Church in the last days, tell us much about the Christian community to day. Two churches, Ephesus and Laodicea, are backsliders and Humanist. Their congregations lack the presence of the Spirit. They have fallen into ritualism. They are the Philosophical and Social Churches described in Chapter 4. Jesus tells them to repent and return to true worship in the Spirit. Three churches are Gnostic Christians, Pergamum, Thyatria, and Sardis. They have been contaminated with the Gnostic philosophies and idolatry of the antichrist (1 Jn 4:1-3). Two churches remained true to the Gospel and remain faithful disciple of Jesus, Smyrna and Philadelphia. Three categories of churches are defined in Revelation and they exist today: Christian Humanists, Gnostic Christians and The Evangelical Church.^[2] To which version of Christianity do you belong? That is an important question because Jesus tells those who are Gnostic or Humanist Christian that they do not really belong to the true Christian community and they will be "removed", Jesus will "fight against them", he will "make them suffer intensely", He will "come against them with a sward", and he will "spit them out of his mouth". So, to which church do you belong?

Can the modern Church return to the Spirit-led congregations of the early Church (Smyrna and Philadelphia) as well? Let us consider some things that we can do. In each of the Christian priorities discussed below, success will be dependent on three things. The Christian community must 1) get informed, 2) get organized, and 3) get active. The Progressives are evangelists too and they are very good at being informed, organization, and activating their followers. Christians can to learn from their success.

Priority 1: Evangelism

When discussing evangelism, we must raise a topic that will be uncomfortable to many. Most Christians do not evangelize. Table 11 summarized the results of the Pew religion survey mentioned earlier regarding Christian evangelizing.

Table 11. Reported frequency in witnessing about Jesus by selected Christian traditions.

Obviously, the Christian community will never be successful witnessing to Humanists if they do not witness to anyone. Witnessing is the Christian’s prime directive. It should be an integral part of our lives. We will discuss this more in the next chapter. Let us now consider evangelizing the Humanist and those who are following the Humanist lifestyle.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and "sinners"?" Mk 2:15, 16

How could Jesus socialize with the worst sinners? What if your pastor routinely had dinner with drug dealers, prostitutes, and homosexuals? Would this type of evangelizing result in an "emergency meeting" of the elders? Mark continues:

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners."

When Jesus was eating and conversing with the "sinners", he was evangelizing. We often emphasize the preaching to the multitudes of thousands but forget that Jesus was a master of the one-one-one witnessing as well. He was not afraid to get "down and dirty" and remind us that God loves everyone! He wants everyone to be saved. However, the focus of this book is the Humanism and that is where we will confine our discussion of evangelism – target Humanists. As I mentioned above, the Humanists, through their implementation agents Progressivism and Socialism, are active evangelists. They promote a "gospel" of sin is acceptable. Sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, drugs, abortion, euthanasia and, "do your own thing" are all acceptable, even good. Many are drawn to this "gospel" even though they do not understand Humanism as a philosophical, social, or political movement. As a result, the Christian effort to evangelize the Humanist is twofold: the Humanist ideologue and those who have been lured into the Progressive lifestyle and merely use the Humanist jargon as justification.

It has been my experience that the typical evangelical technique of presenting the "plan of salvation" is rejected by the Humanist ideologue outright. For the alcoholic to begin the process of recovery, he must first admit that he has a problem. The traditional plan of salvation applies the same principle by starting with Romans chapter 3—all have sinned and no one does good. When the Christian witnesses to a Humanist and starts with this approach, he immediately slams into a very solid wall. The Humanist does not define sin in the same way that the Christian does. For the Christian, the Bible defines sin. For the Humanist, society and the individual define sine. Humanists begin with the premise that humans are essentially good or, at least, can become good. It is intellectually difficult for the Humanist to accept the need for salvation in the first place.

Most, if not all, are aware in at least a general way of what Christians believe. However, they have taken a philosophical position diametrically opposed to the Christian message. The Christian’s message is about the spirit; the Humanist philosophy is about the intellect. The Christian’s message is about the supernatural as revealed by God and accepted by faith; the Humanist philosophy is about the natural and accepted through reason. Arguing the pros and cons of the dividing issues usually falls on deaf Humanist ears. Since the Christian’s reasoning begins with a premise based on faith, the Humanist usually dismisses the arguments as superstitious babble and illogical. The problem is similar to that faced by the Philosophical Church. As the Renaissance ushered in a flood of Atheism, the Church tried to "fight fire with fire" and argue on their level. It did not work. Flatland-Spaceland. Christians can oppose evolution, abortion and the like, and should; however, that opposition is not an evangelical tool. If anything, used as a method of evangelizing, it immunizes the Humanist against the Christian message. The Humanists cannot be reached by philosophy or science; they are reached through the heart and that mean you must, hold on--love them! John states it very well in his first letter.

Dear friend let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we may live through him. This is love: not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent is Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 Jn 4:7-12

In a sermon I heard many years ago, the pastor said, "I you were the only sinner in the world, God would still send his Son to die for you." That statement is true of everyone on earth, Humanists included. We need to practice seeing the Humanist as God does; as an object of divine love. We are not to judge the Humanist. Paul was very clear about Christians not judging nonbelievers.

I have written you my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church. Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you. 1 Cor 5:9-13

When we approach our evangelism of the Humanist with the position that we are to love them and let God do the judging, we are much more likely to bring them to Christ. Let them see God’s love first and then let the Holy Spirit to the restoration.

I have had the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of evolution with several Humanists. In most cases, I have been successful in convincing them that evolution is a philosophy, as described earlier in the book. In no case has that success led to anyone totally rejecting Humanism, let alone accepting Christianity. However, I have found that being true to my faith in the Gospel, asking hard questions about Humanism, and gently and politely engaging Humanists in debate has an impact.

Three scriptures that are important to remember when witnessing about Jesus in general and particularly when witnessing to Humanists and those who have been drawn to their lifestyle. The first is Jn 16:8-11; Jesus is speaking to his disciples regarding the Holy Spirit:

When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

The second scripture is from Jn 6:44; Jesus is speaking to the self-righteous challengers:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

The third scripture is from 2 Thes 2:10-12; Paul speaking about the resistance of  unbelievers to the Gospel:

They perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

As we discussed in Chapter 4, Paul provides the best example regarding witnessing to philosophers and ideologues. Simply stay on message, stay with the Gospel. Present the message of Christ and let the Holy Spirit do the work. The first scripture cited above tells us that the Holy Spirit touches everyone in the world and convicts him or her of sin. Deep down in every person’s soul there is a "tug" from the Holy Spirit that tells us what is right and what is wrong. The Humanist may have satisfied himself that his philosophy is rational and that Christianity is superstitious bunk, however, in the wee small hours of the morning, there is that "tug" and there are doubts, admitted or not.

For this reason, we must work with the Holy Spirit when witnessing to the Humanist. The Holy Spirit touches each person and deep down each is called to the truth. Arguing philosophy, sociology, or politics merely confirms the Humanist’s mind-set. Working with the Spirit, we aim for the person’s spirit. The next chapter discusses this in detail.

The second scripture tells us that the Humanists, or for that matter everyone, cannot come to the Lord unless drawn by the Father; again, the work of the Holy Spirit. In spite of the Humanist rhetoric, there resides in each a yearning. Often this is undefined and difficult to identify. However, when presented with the truth of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit "tugs" at that yearning and seeks a response. This is not an intellectual exercise; it is Spirit to spirit. Working with the Spirit, we aim for the person’s spirit.

The third scripture tells us that, if the Humanist is convicted by the Spirit, called by the Father, hears the Gospel of the Son’s redemptive work, and still rejects God, he will be allowed to perish. The Christian's role in this is to reveal the Word of God both by telling and by example. It is God’s role to convict and call. If the Humanist rejects both God’s and your efforts, then leave him or her to God, but without judgment. As my grandmother often said, "Let go and let God." The only thing left is to pray for the person.

How can we change the Humanist mind-set and effectively witness to them?

There are millions of people who have been drawn to the Humanist message, not for philosophical or political reasons, but because the Humanists accept them as they are. The homosexual rejected by society, the young, accidentally pregnant, woman seeking an abortion, the prostitute whose life gets more miserable each day – all are accepted by the Humanist as they are. Too often, the recruits eventually become Humanist ideologues adopting both the Humanist lifestyle and the Humanist philosophy. Too often, the Christian’s attempts to evangelize these "sinners" drives them away because of judgmentalism. For these, there are three additional scriptures that apply to the witnessing process. The first is from James 2:14-18:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has not deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without cloths and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same sense, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.

The second is from Matthew 25:34-40. It is one of my favorite scriptures.

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited my in, I needed cloths and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

The third scripture is from Luke 10:30-37:

"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of is clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. So, too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘And when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise".

In the first scripture, James exposes the hypocrisy of the "pew sitter" that prays for the poor, but does nothing to help them; who condemns abortion, but does nothing to help the confused and scared young girl; who mocks the "sinful" homosexual, but never invites him to church. If we are disciples of Jesus, we must show it by acting like Jesus.

The second scripture, Jesus tells a similar story, but he makes is point a bit more dramatically. Jesus continues in the verse to tell those on his left to depart from him because they did not do those things mentioned above for which he praised the righteous, because in denying these acts of mercy to fellow humans, they denied Jesus. He tells us, if we do not feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and meet the needs of our brethren, we will not enter the kingdom! And in the third scripture, he expands our responsibility to include strangers.

This is not contributing to the missions; this is one-on-one ministering. This is touching people with compassion and love. This is not telling them about Christ; it is showing them. The Humanists have done a much better job of evangelizing their message and drawing the disenfranchised into their ranks. While the pregnant teenage girl pushes through a crowd with signs shouting murderer, the Progressives inside giver her cup of tea and sympathize with her dilemma. Homosexuals are ostracized, rejected, mocked, physically abused, and told they are sick perverts. The Humanists tell them they have rights too and society should, no must, accept them. Jesus never condoned sin in any form, but he never rejected the sinner, he died for him.

Back in the ‘70s there was a small Evangelical church in my city. The congregation was made up of average folks, conservative biblical fundamentalists. Mostly they were middle-aged and elderly with a smattering of youth. One of the youth, who was attending the local college, became friends with a "hippy" classmate. When I say "hippy" I mean smoking "grass", free sex, and do your own thing. For some reason, the two hit it off and became friends. The Christian invited his friend to church and was surprised when he accepted the invitation. The next Sunday, not only was the friend in church, but three of his "hippy" friends. Needless to say, the conservative congregation was not sure what to do with the guests. However, at the end of the service, the pastor gave an invitation to repent and accept Jesus as savior. Much to everyone’s surprise, two of the four walked to the front of the church and received Christ.

Over the next few months, more than 20 young "hippies" received Christ and attended the church regularly. "Attending church" does not adequately describe their participation. They were on fire for the Lord. Long hair was cut; those who were drifting got jobs, couples got married, and two began seminary studies. The personality of the church changed from sober to youthful enthusiasm and even the elderly found the change refreshing. A year after the first "hippy" friend attended his first service there the congregation had doubled in size, largely due to its growing reputation of being "alive." However, the growth was also due to how the new Christians evangelized. They befriended others who were using drugs, were gay, and were homeless. They could empathize with them because they had been there. One-on-one. Two years after the friend made his first visit to the church the congregation build a new building and used the old church building as a school.

Even though the congregation grew, the value of personal contact and caring was not lost. Every Friday night families met in assigned groups for potluck, prayer and Bible study. There, people ministered to each other. There, you could bring a friend, listen her problems, and help her find a solution. I moved away from that city 25 years ago so I do not know what the status of the church is today. But the last I heard, they had set up branches in neighboring small towns, continuing the one-on-one ministry with the "hippies."

Several years ago Christians from several churches got together and formed FISH. FISH was an informal effort to help people in the community, Christian and non-Christians, who needed help. Christians registered and indicated when they were available and what skills they offered. FISH had a standing ad in the classified section of the local newspaper. Word spread and the calls for help increased every week. The rules concerning witnessing were simple, don’t witness about Jesus unless asked. If someone asked about FISH or why you were helping, just say, "We are Christians and this is what Jesus would have us do." If they responded to that, then you could continue the witness. However, the primary goal was to help. I had an old pick-up truck and got a call at least once a week to help move a large item or, sometimes a household. Occasionally I got a call to help a single mom clear a plugged kitchen sink. About one in four calls resulted in some serious witnessing.

One evening I got a call from FISH and was asked if I could put someone up for the night. She explained that a backpacker had been robbed and his pack with all his possessions, including his wallet, were gone. He had nothing and no place to stay. He was hungry. I checked with my wife, she agreed so we said sure, we will take him. She paused for a moment, and then said, "He’s black." I said, "No problem." Then she said, "He is quite dirty." Same response. A half hour later, I picked up "Bear." Bear was in a sorry state. He had not eaten in two days and his clothes were rags. That evening I witnessed the greatest exhibition of plate cleaning before or since. The next day we got Bear deloused and a set of new clothes. In return, Bear built the kids a tree house and took care of some badly needed yard work. During our conversations, I came to learn that he had attended a college in California for two years, most of his friends there were Marxists committed to the Humanist lifestyle. He had not gone to church since a child and had no use for religion. Distracted by drugs, he flunked out of college and had been drifting ever since. In spite of his aversion to religion, he accepted an invitation to attend church service on Sunday. We went to the church mentioned above; I thought it would be more to his liking. He did seem to like the service, but said nothing. Some of the people from FISH donated money for a new backpack and stuff to fill it. After five days, rested and hunger appeased, Bear said it was time to move on.

I thought that was the end of the story until six months later we got a letter from Bear. It was from a prison in California. He explained that the five days spent with my family changed his opinion about religion. The people at the church were different, he said. He explained that reason he was on the road was that he was wanted for robbery. When he left us, he went back to California and while traveling, God began to work on him. When he got to California, he found a church and received Christ as his savior. Then he turned himself in to serve his prison term. He told how in prison he met other new Christians and they met whenever possible for prayer and Bible study. One-on-one.

A year after my encounter with Bear, I learned of another group of Christians who visited inmates in prison. Inmates would register if they wanted someone from the group to visit them once a month and the organization would make the match. Over the years, I heard many interesting stories but the one I like the most came from the women’s prison. A woman, let us call her April, was serving her term at the women’s state prison and signed up for the visitor program. The woman selected to make the visits, let us call her May, lived in a large city about an hour’s drive from the prison. On her first visit, May learned that April had eight children who were living in foster homes in May’s city. April could not talk about anything else; she was so worried about her children. The next month, May had nine visitors, May and April’s eight children. For the next two years, May rounded up the kids and they visited April one Sunday each month. With April’s permission, on the day of the visit, May collected the children early and they went to church before going to the prison. The children began to witness to April and three months before her release, she accepted the Lord. May arranged for a job interview when April left prison. She got the job. The last I heard April and her children were attending May’s church and doing just fine. May spent just one day each month, but that page in her Book of Life has nine gold stars. One-on-one.

These are examples of how we can witness through action. One-on-one action. It is "get out of the pew and answer someone’s prayer" type of action. Here are a few suggestions.

Priority 2: The Christian Community

I thought about it for a long time. Should Priority 1 be Evangelism or the Christian community? I think they are equal; it is difficult to conceive on one without the other. Before the Christian Community can be effective in the struggle against Humanism, it must be healthy. Individuals are vulnerable, but in the strength of a community, we are safe. A strong, harmonious, and loving community will provide the resources we need to withstand the onslaught and even a devastating attack; things we cannot do as individuals. However, a community filled with petty complaints, jealousy, and indifference is merely a collection of individuals. Even Priority 1, Evangelism, discussed above is less effective without the support of a dynamic Christian community. It is important, therefore, that our communities are spiritually healthy and strong in the Lord. As the perfect storm develops, we need each other more now than ever.

It is important to be sure your Christian community is on the right track, scripturally. In Chapter 4, we discussed the fact that the Church can wander or be contaminated by ideas in conflict with the Bible. Concepts such as Gnosticism or collective salvation are readily found in some Churches today. The Pew survey on religion cited above revealed some interesting statistics regarding beliefs about salvation and the existence of a personal God. These are given in Table 10, below.

Table 10. Pew religion survey results regarding Christian beliefs about God.

These figures are alarming. The fundamental teaching of the Christian Church is that salvation comes only by faith in Jesus and that God is a personal God who is to be worshipped. This survey exposes that fact that Humanism has had an enormous affect on the Social Church and that many Christians have opted for political correctness rather than biblical truth. The survey also indicates that those who attend church services weekly are less inclined to accept the Humanist philosophy. It appears that pastors and priests have a lot of work ahead of them. However, in some cases, the pastors and priests are the problem. Therefore, the first step in a healthy Christian community is to assure it is on a sound biblical foundation. If your church is not, find another. Only when your Church has a true biblical foundation can it give the support necessary to oppose the tide of Humanism.

How close to the early Church is your congregation? Paul gives us an example of how the early Church worshiped. Remember, there were no stained-glass cathedrals or mega-churches back then; everyone met in someone’s house.

When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet and speak to himself and God.

Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 1 Cor 14:26-33

That sounds outright … Pentecostal! Could it be …? The fact is, a congregation without the Spirit actively at work is a dead congregation, a human institution no different from any Progressive bureaucracy. As Paul told Timothy (2 Tim 3:5): avoid those congregations that have the form of godliness but deny its power. To be an effective ministry, the congregation needs the Spirit and needs to be an "early Church."

Many Christian families are in need of financial and social help. That person sitting next to you at the Sunday service may be one of them. Do we know each other well enough to identify our brother and sister’s needs? Do we know their needs? Do we care? I am not talking about a "Social Church" here. This is ministering to our brothers and sister in our own congregation on a one-to-one basis. Remember what Jesus said, "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." Of course, to do this, we have to become acquainted. We cannot do that by sitting in the same building for an hour or so on Sunday. I guarantee that there are families in your congregation that have needs – some physical, some not physical.

Jesus set the example at the Last Supper (Jn 13:1-17). Before Jesus and his disciples began the Passover feast, Jesus took off his robe, placed a servant’s apron around his waist, got down on his knees, and washed his disciple’s feet. When he got to Peter, Peter objected, "No, you shall never wash my feet." Jesus responded, unless I wash you, you have no part with me." Then Jesus said:

Do you understand what I have done for you? He asked them. You call me "Teacher", and "Lord", and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

If you do them. As James said (Jas 1:14),

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds?"

Does that woman sitting in the pew in front of you go home to an abusive husband? Do you know? Do you care? That gentleman over there to your right, did he just loose his son in Afghanistan? Do you know? Do you care? The family that arrived to the service early in a 15-year old car, are they worried about this month’s rent? Do you know? Do you care?

Have you noticed how God answers prayer? With very few exceptions, God answers prayer through people. By the Spirit working through you, YOU are the answer to someone’s prayer. That is how the "Body of Christ" works. I mentioned earlier in the book that Christianity was not a religion but a relationship with Jesus. It is also a relationship with his "body" the Church. That is why he said: whatever you do to the least of the brothers you do to him. How can we assure our Christian community, the "body of Christ" is healthy and strong?

Think big. In the last chapter, we discussed how the perfect storm is growing in intensity and the Christian community will be swept away by the Humanist winds if not prepared. The very best way to survive these attacks is through a unified community the larger that community the better. Perhaps it is time to put aside the petty human-made differences that divide the Christian community. It is time to unify our community based on what we have in common. There are many things a large community can accomplish that a small community cannot. In his letters to the Church, Paul addresses the community at Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, and so forth. The churches in each city were united.

Think small. How can we become acquainted and minister to each other in a church of 150, 400, or 2,000 members? Paul considered the church in each city to be a unified community, but he also recognized that that community functioned in smaller groups. For example, In 1 Cor 16:19, he send greeting from those who meet in the house of Aquila and Pricilla. These houses were typically small by today’s standards and we can expect the group was small enough for personal interaction.