CHURCH GROWTH
It's up to us
Growing the Church is up to us. It's up to us to displace what we know is bad (evil). It's up to us to displace selfish motives and behavior with unselfish motives and behavior.
Most of the time of the general population and especially its leaders is spent in selfish pursuits. If we listen to the voices of the vast majority of political leadership, we hear the call to selfishness. Everything is gauged as to how it serves our own selfish interests. They depend upon people's selfishness. They encourage it. They rev it up so people will consume the planet and work for, and pay, the rich for the privilege to ruin the home world. The system is designed to indoctrinate everyone into it.
At the same time, we receive countless mixed signals, mixed messages, saying things that are in direct opposition to the selfishness promoted from the top down. We hear the word "compassionate," for instance. Those of us in the United States are told by our leaders what great and generous people we are. Think about that. We have the same person who signed into US law that it is right to put people through sleep depravation and artificially induced hypothermia who haven't even been found guilty of anything while at the same time he is advising future presidents to be compassionate.
...Stephanopoulos asked the two-term incumbent which personal quality is going to be important for the next president.
"Determination and compassion," Bush said. When asked what advice he might have for his successor, Bush told ABC News, "Stand on principle."1
What is all this but pure error, sin, and confusion?
Does the legislature of a great and good country with God on its side pass laws allowing, even advocating, torture? I tell you that any nation that puts people through such torture and worse is a small- cold- and hardhearted people. It is a cowardly, selfish, and spiritually dead nation building itself up upon falsehoods and shall fall hard if it does not universally repent.
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. — John 9:41
Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. — Ezekiel 11:4
If we care to know, we find that the system of the United States is a drain on the world. It promotes darkness rather than real light. It devours more than it adds. It brings forth what is called modernity at the expense of less self-centered paths. We find that many people want to come here because of the selfishness that they can exercise.
With all the torture promotion and reduction in what are called civil rights and liberties in the US, it won't be long before many people who would have wanted to come to the US a decade ago will be having second thoughts.
The nation, and all the nations, must be asked to make up their minds. Are those who lead going to be coercive rulers or are they going to be the servants of their fellow human beings?
These things and more are covered in some detail in the work There Is No Such Thing as a Conservative-Republican Christian: Jesus is a small-c communist.
If we want the world to reap the fruit of unselfishness, we must sow the seeds. It's up to us. We must spread the word of the plan of our Church. As John the Baptist said, we must do the deeds "worthy of repentance;" "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance." — Luke 3:8
We must do something different from how it has been where people spend most of their thoughts on selfish pursuits, amassing for self, only to give a little to charity to ease their consciences. That's not the way. That's not good enough.
Oh, we understand that people don't know how to drop everything they are doing and suddenly convert to following Jesus without even grabbing a change of clothes. Jesus didn't even let everyone just drop everything to follow him. He sent some people to do other things that nevertheless furthered Jesus's message in the world. Only those who can drop everything to follow Jesus, do it. Jesus didn't condemn all those who didn't. It was only those who pressed Jesus for more truth who were tasked with giving away every last thing for the sake of the poor and to then follow Jesus. Either they did what he said in full faith or they didn't have what it takes.
So, what is being asked of us? How much must we do as individuals and together?
There are two things that have come from the Holy Spirit that we have never seen or heard elsewhere before. The first is that Good Samaritanism doesn't apply to just individual conduct. It applies collectively as well. Now, many will disagree with this, but so be it. The Church is a nation. It is a spiritual nation, and it is incumbent upon that nation, that new nation, new when Jesus began it, to bring forth in the spirit of the Good Samaritan. We are to be a Good Samaritan nation. All nations are to be Good Samaritan nations and someday will be. Others have perhaps hinted at this, but we must come right out and say it in no uncertain terms.
The second thing, among many others, that has come from the Holy Spirit is that the current system, the capitalistic system, is the old wineskin that cannot hold the new spirit (the new wine, the message and deeds of Jesus Christ). It is incumbent upon those of the new wineskin (holding the new wine, the spirit of those reborn in the message of Jesus that will translate even the flesh) to magnify that out into the whole world. In so doing, the Church will be acting to displace the old system of selfishness, greed, violence, sexual depravity, and all the bad that comes of unrestrained appetites.
The current system is eating everything while holding out the promise that science and technology, per se, will cure it all in the end. It isn't so. Science and technology unrestrained under selfishness and capitalism will always devour more than it adds. The spirit of capitalism runs contrary to the solution for humanity.
Because of all of this, we must undertake a system that will turn the capitalist system on its head. We must create places where people do not have to be competitive but can rather be purely cooperative and serve each other as Jesus envisioned. We must create places where money isn't needed to eat, work, live, pray, study, or exist.
As you are no doubt aware, the world is being privatized. Capitalist corporations are pressing to turn everything into a captured commodity. A drink of water is to cost money or the thirsty are to simply die of thirst. Those corporatists think, so be it. Those without money to pay are worthless as human beings anyway. The savage capitalists imagine that the poor who aren't competitive enough to force their way into the labor market are just a drain on the rich. That kind of feeling is antichrist. Who can doubt it?
We must be missionaries with the mission of creating places out from under that evil, self-centered, heartless system. We must proselytize and convert many to this cause.
Even while we save funds for farm lands and communes, we must remember to organize to visit, encourage, and aid the sick, the lonely, the widowed, the orphaned, the homeless, the oppressed, and the imprisoned, etc., wherever we are able. We must do that by our ambassadors who will represent all of us collectively.
Organizing is key even while we remain supple. Just think of all the different skills and abilities that self-sustaining Christian communes will need. Since we want to be ecologically and environmentally sound (good stewards), think of the people needed and wanted to bring their knowledge and experience to bear in developing whole communities from the ground up. The work There Is No Such Thing as a Conservative-Republican Christian: Jesus is a small-c communist goes into all of this.
We have to reach out, hence this website, for instance. It's the best way for a grassroots effort to get started reaching the world. We will continue to use the Internet to reach people. We'll improve our capabilities on the web for that reason. What we will avoid is doing things on the Internet for the sake of bells and whistles or to be simply entertaining or Madison Avenue. Where to draw lines on this is a question.
There is responsible Christian advertising (proselytizing is advertising) and then there is out-and-out contrivance and manipulation for selfish gain. We will endeavor to deal only with the former. There are appropriate connotations of the terms marketing and advertising and appropriate contexts where those fit in with Christianity and then there are inappropriate connotations and contexts. It is also incumbent upon us to discern the difference and not cave into temptation. Appropriate ad revenue from the website though is fine and in the furtherance of our cause, not inconsistent with it.
This is not the ends justifying evil means. It is engaging the world just as Jesus went into the center of the world (Jerusalem) and ate with publicans (tax-collectors) in public houses for a price. He went there to call them to something higher.
We won't need capitalist advertising in the communes. The word there will be free.
We trust you are able to discern the difference here between the crass world (out for private gain, private, special privilege and advantage) that only seeks to further ensnare versus the redirecting light that the Christian-commune-vision offers.
We need fellowship with likeminded, like-spirited, people. House churches can be instrumental in that. House communes can be also. People can converse there about how all of this fits in with scripture. They can plan and organize and raise funds to share with the larger effort. It would be a good idea to take communion with each other to remember Jesus as he asked. The Lord's Prayer is always good to say together. Taking a common meal is unifying.
In addition to using the Internet and setting up an official office with all the necessities thereof and having house churches, growth will occur through our education and training efforts and our fundraising. Education and training need to be a part of Church membership and ordination
Ordination
All members will be ordained. The Holy Spirit of truth speaking within about all that we are working to do to serve ordains. Read The Bible. Read the work (There Is No Such Thing as a Conservative-Republican Christian: Jesus is a small-c communist). Read this site. Do outside reading and studying and conversing. Learn to speak the language of the revelation. Take it into your heart. Soften. Repent. Atone. Be true to the Church (the people of God). Support the effort with your all (with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength). Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Follow the Golden Rule. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. — Jesus. (Matthew 7:12). Love each other as Jesus loved his closest friends, his closest disciples. That is the new commandment and the summation of all the best.
Once a person is known to the Church consistently to be practicing these things, he or she will be considered ordained consistent with the concept of the priesthood of all believers that is an accurate reading of scripture.
Remember, it isn't we who ordain you in this context. It's God. God knows your heart better than you do. If God has ordained you, all true believers will know it.
We must state though that the United States Internal Revenue Service (federal-tax agency) does not view the "priesthood of all believers" as the Church does. The IRS has its own view, which we will cover on our Ministers page. This is why we are forced to use the term "ordain" in different contexts.
Our education and training efforts will have to evolve over time. There shouldn't be that much to it beyond what has already been mentioned. Each person is free to excel in his or her studies and deeds, etc. None is held back. As for the communes, education and training will cover everything about the theology of the Church and also about living the communal life. Whatever is necessary to learn for the success and unselfish improvement of the communes will be learned and taught and offered in training. It will grow right along with the movement. The communes will be a never-ending learning experience and environment.
As for fundraising, even if people donate organic farmlands, funds will be necessary for interacting with caesar's Empire even on the periphery of the communes. Funds will be necessary to sustain things until the given commune becomes self-sufficient. There will also always be the need to create more such communally owned farms until throughout the whole of the earth selfishness has been displaced. If you are able to raise money for the Church, please do so.
If you have legal, accounting, fundraising, or computer science talents or gifts you can see how to employ on behalf of the Church, please do. If you have farming (especially organic), construction (especially manual), or other talents you can see how those talents or gifts may be beneficial to communal life, please keep us in mind for when we have land to work and the need for building repair or construction. Think about it.
We'll need experienced commune livers, those who know how to put up food (canning, etc.), cooks (especially vegan; this is not to say that non-vegans cannot be members or that non-vegan cooks won't be welcome), bakers, vintners, teachers (everyone will teach; everyone will learn), clothing makers, shoe makers, office workers, mechanics, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, masons, alternative-energy experts, water-usage and conservation experts, writers, artists, acoustical musicians, and on and on.
Eventually, we will have architects, engineers, doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, optometrists, etc.
We're going to want vines of all sorts, herbs, food producing trees, sustainable-yield forests for construction material and fuel (certainly not primary where it can be avoided), sheep for wool where appropriate, horses and oxen as draft animals, and more. If an ecological community should use it, we'll want to do that.
With this vision and knowing that the greedy way is not the right way, we'll grow in righteousness.
Start spreading the news. Don't wait for us. Be a self-starter so to speak. Be moved by the Holy Spirit within.
1 Ed O'Keefe. "Bush Accepts Iraq-Vietnam Comparison: George Stephanopoulos Interviews President Bush on Iraq, the Midterms and His Legacy." ABC News. October 18, 2006. http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2 583579&page=1. (accessed: Friday, October 20, 2006).
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- The views expressed by Authors, Contributors, Commentators, and the like, are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Real Liberal Christian Church.
Tom Usher
Standing Comment, all posts and pages:
To all homosexuals and their supporters, condoners, promoters, accepters, confirmers, and the like:
Unless you have something completely new that hasn't already been refuted, don't bother. It won't show up.
Rehashing what has already been refuted is a waste of everyone's time.
I'm not interested in casting pearls before swine, giving the children's bread to the dogs, or rebuking a forever scorner.
Learn or go away: There is zero wisdom in homosexuality. Homosexuality is wrong. Nothing any homosexual or anyone else can say or do will alter it. No one needs the Bible to know it either. It's prima facie. There's no such thing as an unrepentant-homosexual Christian. There never has been and never will be. That's the way of it. If you don't like it, change.
Do site searches on the various topics concerning homosexuality to determine if your "point" has already been handled. Currently, I provide three different search methods. The "WordPress" search is still the most thorough.
The same can be done regarding militarism, capitalism, coercion, and many other main issues and themes.
TREATMENT, RUDENESS, POLITENESS, OFFENSE, TRUTH
Many times over the course of this website's existence, I've had commentators complain about how I've treated them and/or others. Much less frequently has anyone taken exception to those commentator's comments. I assume that's because for one, I appear to be holding my own.
Often, I have raised the fact that Jesus called certain people "serpents." I've often also mentioned how he cleaned the temple with whip in hand, not that he used it on anyone. It certainly doesn't say that he did, and neither was he charged with it in the kangaroo court of the serpents who ended up murdering him by proxy just for, among other wonderful things, speaking out and speaking truth.
If I say that those who are engaged in serpentine behavior are the New Testament "serpents," then why take offense at my saying it rather than standing with Jesus and me about it?
If others don't like it that I treat others or them the way I have in this regard, why don't they take it up with the serpents and/or their own consciences and God?
If I wanted to catch flies, I'd use honey. I don't want flies on this level. Human beings aren't to be on the level of flies. If the truth is bitter as vinegar, then ask yourself why and learn to taste it as sweet but not sickeningly so. Why attack the message and messenger, as the serpents did, and become a serpent by so doing?
The issue is not "name calling" on some bratty, childish level. When Jesus said "serpents," he was not being as a brat. His level was completely adult to adults and children. He dared say that the children understood the clear and plain truth before the adults who, afterall, had been abused and socialized by the serpents. He still calls adults back. Those who hear him and know his voice (truth) turn around and do the other required things together as well.
What is it for a human being to be more serpentine or reptilian than what God initially gave? What was and remains Jesus's point? What is the reptilian brain versus the vastly higher human brain with its cerebral cortex and frontal and temporal lobes and specific areas of altruistic sentiments and abilities? What are those higher areas before they are damaged, before the communication pathways to them and between them are diminished by evil that is always some form of abuse? How are those pathways reestablished or created where they never were in this fleshly life?
The snake lays its eggs. The eggs hatch. The snake parent doesn't nurture or raise the offspring. It's every snake for itself. Human parents and family are not designed to be that way. Humans hand down the learning of nurturing. Many people get better training than do others, and many people have a greater aptitude for learning and predisposition for the higher and highest virtues. Many are less abused. People can change for the better and best though, no matter where the starting point. They only can't if they don't — if they reject it.
Snakes, of course, also come in venomous varieties and in strangling varieties, etc., such that they have been attackers and even devourers of humans for eons, guilty and innocent alike.
Now, Jesus knew that most people could relate to what were, and still are, largely considered "good" parenting skills and "good" "family" relations. He regularly used those concepts to get people to consider the wider implications for the whole of humanity. He did know that many would refuse. He let them go. He didn't demand secular or false-religion legislation to rein them in with threats of violence and imprisonment. He was not and is not coercive. Even his Church is a voluntary place to be.
What he still teaches (through the written words in the New Testament and as those connect with the Old and also teaches through the Holy Spirit he definitely sent as he said he would) is, among many other things, that "good" is vastly better than has been commonly accepted and that real "family" is everyone left after all the rest have rejected the higher and highest good. He raised the standards far above the Old Testament and far above the "modern" standard.
The American Empire and the American people in general aren't even touching the hem of his garment, let alone even attempting to stand upright and side-by-side with him.
I point out that Jesus was, and is, a Real Liberal Christian. He is the one who brought back this censored truth that is the light. After he had spoken it and lived it and was murdered for doing so, the censors set about to re-censor it and did. They couldn't put it out though — couldn't completely extinguish the truth. I wouldn't be saying it now again with all credit to God, just as Jesus, if they had been able to completely block it.
I point out that each of those terms ("real," "liberal," and "Christian," along with "Church") are actually redundant terms — synonyms that are so close that they become one. The term "liberal" here is not the common usage, which common usage is a deliberate corruption of the term. There is no harm in real liberalism. There is no vileness in it. There is only beneficence. "Real" may be understood as the opposite of false-hearted, dark side, and dead of the Holy Spirit. Christian is both real and liberal in those senses. To arrive at living, doing, being those full senses requires what Jesus lives, does, and is in the highest. Finally, the Church is the whole.
Who are they who want to drag it down, censor it, work against it, lessen it, ignore it, etc.? Well, who sides with Jesus and who sides against him? Did the serpents side with him then? Do they now?
We call war-mongers "hawks." We call "peacemakers" blessed and "doves." Why do the hawks not take offense at "hawks" but do take offense at "serpents"? "Hawks" is not yet as telling to the general public, but I must tell you that all hawks are serpents. Why do some say, "Greed is good" but take offense at "serpents"? I tell you there is no difference between the selfish and the serpents. Why do people take offense at serpents when they do not take offense at homosexuality? I tell you the homosexual spirit also comes out from the dark side. It is a choice. It is harmful. Many are abused with it. Many never overcome it. Their very brain matter is transformed by it. Then they claim it is good when it remains confusion and definitely wrong and harmful.
Many arguments were put forth in support of tolerance. I understood that Jesus "tolerated," as in he did not execute wrath but rather told the truth and let the blind follow the blind (blind to the truth) into the ditch of their own making. I have watched while the movement has been corrupted into condoning what was once only to be tolerated. I have watched further while it has moved from condoning to promoting even to the youngest children to get to them before the truth does. I have seen evil at work, and I sound the alarm. I face censorship and other negative reactions for it.
As the American Empire claims to be a light to the world, it murders innocent babies by Hellfire missiles fired from predator drones controlled by armchair, video-gaming serpents in uniform. It tortures those who are not even suspects. It spies on its own without even probable cause or reasonable suspicion. It lies its way into wars for spoils and control. It neglects its poor, whom it treads down for the sakes of the superrich — for the sake of the massive flow of mammon from the bottom up (no trickledown — trickledown is a farce and always has been). All is claimed to be okay in America though — that America is headed in the right direction — because soon, even "don't tell, don't ask" will be a thing of the quaint past and homosexuals may be able to sleep together and have sex in the barracks with the "blessing" of the Empire while they practice murdering the innocent for the sake of homosexual, greedy plutocrats who own them and who, in turn, are owned by the dark-side spirit named by God and Jesus as Satan.
Whose side are you on? I speak truth to warn. I don't tell the secular government what to do other than occasionally to say what at least would be less hypocritical within their fallen, unenlightened system. I do so for spiritual reasons. What I want is the Christian Commons.
Now, if you submit a comment:
What you write here against the Real Liberal Christian Church founded by Jesus Christ will mark you in the Biblical sense unless you show that you have turned and are repenting in time to escape the damnation of your own choosing. That's the way of it. Don't be tempted by the devil to stand opposed to the call of righteousness. Overcome such evil temptation. Help others to help yet others to come to righteous behavior through-and-through.
Check out how even after reading this, people will still take it out of context and twist it to an evil end.