Standing Shoulder To Shoulder Together As We Fight the Good Fight of Faith A personal letter of encouragement to You, written solely

to "lift up hands that hang down".

TO SUBSCRIBE send a blank message to shoulders-subscribe@associate.com . TO UNSUBSCRIBE send a blank message to shoulders-unsubscribe@associate.com . IN EACH CASE click "Return" when you receive confirmation request. FOR BACK COPIES go to http://associate.com/groups/shoulders . Get "HOPE4KYIV", a praise report and prayer request letter of the Tolliver's ministry as missionaries to Ukraine, TO SUBSCRIBE send a blank message to hope4kyiv-subscribe@associate.com. IN EACH CASE click "Return" when you receive confirmation request. FOR BACK COPIES or more information go to http://associate.com/groups/hope4kyiv.

"Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done" is more than a part of Christ's instruction teaching us how to pray. It is God's singular agenda to which He is still committed. It should likewise be ours. T. Allen Robburts +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #585 ---- 2/23/09 Title: "Biblical Revival -- Part Two (Evidences There Is The Need -- 2, Institutionalization of the Church)"

Dear Friend and Pilgrim Partner: Greetings again from southwestern Missouri where we are enjoying Mother Nature's battle where Springtime is trying to route winter from it's rather tentative grip on the region. Last week's weather has been like a see saw between warm sunny days and cloudy windy days, many accompanied by periods of light rain or unexpected snow showers. The past three days have been sunny but chilled by brisk winds, causing the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks to continue their feasting around our twenty bird feeders positioned around the house. Jo Ann reminded me Saturday that we're coming close to spending as much on bird feed as we are on ourselves. As weather warms, however, that expenditure will surely diminish. I trust your week went well, and that you are enjoying God's goodness and His faithfulness. It's so encouraging and confidence-building when we are minded that God cares for us far more than any of His creation, and He has made a commitment to see that our needs and His purposes are both fulfilled in our lives.

POTPOURRI: + Two of my daughters sent me the following e-mail. I think it's a great idea, personally, and thought you might, as well. What if we all forwarded this idea to everyone we knew, and they did the same? Read this carefully. There isn't much time left to get ready for this opportunity <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< Dear Friends , This afternoon I was praying about a number of things, and my mind began to wander. I was deeply distressed at the symbolic actions that President Obama took as he began his presidency. Namely, that he signed executive orders releasing funds to pay for abortions, permission to fund human stem cell research, and federal funding for contraception. I have been involved in the pro-life movement for nearly 20 years, and it pained my heart to see a man and a political party committed to the shedding of innocent blood. This man, and his party lead our country, but they do not represent me or the 54% of Americans who believe that abortion is wrong and should no longer be legal. As I was praying, I believe that God gave me an interesting idea. Out in the garage I have a box of red envelopes. Like the powerful image of the red LIFE tape, an empty red envelope will send a message to Barack Obama that there is

moral outrage in this country over this issue. It will be quiet, but clear. Here is what I would like you to do: Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to . . . President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington , D.C. 20500 On the back, or on a note inside, write the following message. This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception. Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this email to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died before having a chance to live. Maybe it will change the heart of the president. We should all try to mail them on the same day so they arrive within a day or two of each other and be even more of a visual at the White House. With Valentine's Day coming up, red envelopes should be easy to come by, too. Say we all mail them all on the weekend of February 28th to March 1st. . . . Of course, you can send a red envelop anytime you want, but lots at once is great too. I might also add that if many people in your town decide to do this, you may find it hard to find red envelopes. So, you might want to get moving on this quickly. + Recently a twelve-year-old Canadian girl's pro-life school speech has gained international recognition. If you'd like to see this amazing presentation, go to speech on YouTube and take time to listen. It will be worth your time. It's one of the most persuasive speeches I've ever heard. If you'd like to read the news story, go to http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture /Default.aspx?id=425610. Now to the topic of the day:

MORE ON INSTITUTIONALIZING THE CHURCH: I had not intended to dwell on this topic, but response to the last letter has prompted me to provide a little historical background and further explanation to the subject dealing with the institutionalizing of the Church. In my last letter, I referred to the fact that early in its life the Church began moving toward institutionalism as it began to slowly lose focus as to its fundamental purpose and task. It's really shocking to see how rapidly the Church began to complicate the task the Lord had given. This should not be surprising, because, in spite of the fact that Jesus Christ Himself established the Church, gave it a clear singular task, provided all it needs through the presence and workings of the Holy Spirit, and then serves as its head, . . . it is still made up of people. And, wherever you have people, you have problems . . . flaws, failures, and selfish goals and ambitions. It seems human nature just insists on taking matters into its own hands sometimes. In my last letter, I mentioned that the Church lost its focus upon the Kingdom strategy, and began focusing on itself. This loss of focus from "kingdom" work to self serving preservation and exaltation is seen as early as the latter half of the First Century when disagreements over questions about inclusiveness already surfaced in the infant Church. Space won't allow coverage of all the various conflicts that took place under the watch of the early Church fathers. It began almost immediately following the Ascension of Jesus Christ, or at least within the subsequent twenty years. Peter and Paul, the two primary leaders of the Church outside of Jerusalem strongly warned the Church of factions and divisive disagreements. Look at Paul's statement in I Corinthians 11:19, "For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you." Or consider Peter's warning in II Peter 2:1, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves." Again Paul refers to the presence of divisiveness in Acts 26:5 as he appears before Agrippa to defend himself against false accusation

---- "since they have known about me for a long time previously, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion." What the Church today apparently still hasn't learned is that institutionalization usually begins as a result of the loss of vision, a disagreement, or some type of division, and division was certainly evident in the Church almost from its beginning. We know that there was disagreement at least as early as the Jerusalem Council concerning whether or not the Gospel included Jewish believers, and whether or not it was appropriate to have Gentile believers circumcised. More than once Paul had to deal with disagreements and divisive matters, such as the matter of choosing up sides which he addressed in I Corinthians two and three. Have you ever wondered why there are so many denominations in the Christian Church today? There are only four reasons that I can see . . . . cultural, personality, doctrine, or method. The only legitimate reason is cultural; the other three are, for the most part, rooted in personal preference, arrogance, ambition, and a drive to control. People follow personalities, create doctrinal tests, or develop new methods of doing things. It is frightening to realize that the same motivation that caused the ancients to erect the Tower of Babel are often the same ones that have created a fragmented and institutionalized Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a tragedy. "Let's do something, have something, and be somebody." (Gen 11:3-4)

CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTITUTIONALISM: I'm not certain that we can even come up with an acceptable workable definition of Institutionalism. Many evangelical churches are aggressively loyal to their plans, programs, denominational identities, and other things . . . many of which have little or nothing to do with the spread of the Gospel and the building of the kingdom of God. If we are going to blatantly honest, we must admit that the evidence shows most of us are far more "institutionalized" than we are willing to acknowledge. What do I mean, then, when I talk about Institutionalism? For starters, it seems to me this lengthy list of characteristics will illustrate what an institutionalized church or denomination might look like: > Its primary focus is on the form and structure of the church than on the mission of the church. > Many of its ministries continue to exist even after they've lost their effectiveness. > It's more important what you believe, than it is Who you are trusting. > The church is identified by where and when it meets rather than how it impacts a community. > It tends to promote its name and identity more than it does its mission to follow Christ. > It overloads its calendar with activities that appeal to pleasure and comfort rather than those that train and equip for service. > It majors on the appeal of showmanship rather than on deep challenging truths of God's Word. > It has more spectators and observers than it does servants and members on mission. > It is more consumer oriented than service oriented. > It hesitates to change or eliminate things that are not truly kingdom related. > It tends to try to do too many things, many of which have little or nothing to do with the Great Commission. > It expends an abundance of energy and money on things and activities rather than on simple and reproducible expressions of ministry, equipping, and evangelizing. > It refuses to admit its own lifeless institutionalization and instead tries to justify everything it does as being important to the kingdom work. > It wastes much, gives little, and sacrifices almost nothing. > It is more interested in preserving its structures and programs than it is in making whatever changes are necessary in order to fulfill the purpose for which God raised it up. It would rather fight than switch. > It thinks that structure and systems guarantee success. > It thinks that numbers are the evidence of success, and assumes that numbers and fruit are always the same thing. > It doesn't know the difference between organization and organism. It doesn't understand that organization can exist without vibrant life. > It thinks that activity and energy are assurances of the presence of true spiritual life and vitality. It thinks that movement proves there is real life. > It thinks the Great Commission says, "Come to us" instead of "Go out there." > It spends too much trying to entertain and satisfy and not enough trying to equip and send. > It's more committed to preserving its sacred traditions that it is in following Jesus into the harvest fields. > It fails to discern the social indicators around it that are revealing the spiritual conditions of man.

> It thinks the way to attract people is to appease them, compromise the message until it is palatable, and present it as a stage show instead of a life changing encounter with Christ. > Most of what it does is within its own "walls", and too little goes on out where the real world is. > It's more interested in form than it is in substance. There are certainly other characteristics of a church that has become an institution. You can surely add your own to the list. The question, then, is how does a church or a denomination come to that point? What is the breeding ground for potential institutionalization of a church?

HOW INSTITUTIONALIZATION BEGINS AND/OR THRIVES: Characteristics such as I noted above don't just happen. They emerge out of attitudes . . . attitudes that have been shaped by certain beliefs and values. Even as the infant Church was in its beginning stages, we discover the cancerous strains that would almost certainly lead to either total collapse or institutionalization. Simply read the Book of Acts, and the Epistles. As far as I can tell, every New Testament writer addresses at least some of the issues below that, over time and especially without any resolution, will lead to one or the other. + Controversy: Fragmentation begins through controversy and almost certainly leads to trouble. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Even in the New Testament we find that the majority of problems began over some controversy . . . some disagreement over something. Most of the New Testament came out of a religious tradition characterized by institutionalization. Whether it was Judaism, one of the pagan religions, or the religions of secularism and gnosticism, it took some getting used to. Weaning a person away from the way the world thinks is often a difficult thing, and when it comes to following Christ, it often results in disagreement and controversy. Whenever controversy is not resolved properly and quickly, systems, structures, methods, and other "mechanical" devices are employed to get one's way in the matter. Such courses of action will inevitably create factions. Whether it's over doctrine or function, people choose up sides, rally around the issue or the personality (as in I Corinthians 2 and 3), and a new "institution" has been formed. Paul-ism, Cephas-ism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Methodism, Premillennialism, . . . "Any 'ism' will lead to a schism.". . . and "institutionalism" is born. + Compromise: While it may seem to be an appropriate solution, compromise never really resolves a matter. It simply covers over the matter like icing on a badly burned cake. While compromise may accomplish progress in political and business circles, and while it may shorten wars and create truces, it doesn't have that positive outcome for the Body of Christ. Rather, compromise tends to lead to a diluting of vision, a deterioration of motivation, and the decline of fruitfulness. In order for compromise to happen, everyone has to give something up; and when one has to give something up in kingdom ventures, it's easy to be led astray and find one's self on a pathway leading nowhere . . . still appearing spiritual, but having no evidence of life and fruitfulness. Subsequently, when there is the absence of life and fruitfulness, the temptation to justify one's existence and worth demands that some artificial evidence of value and success be created. In other words, create something that looks life you're succeeding. That's called institutionalization. + Complacency: When one fails to walk intimately with the Lord, even the message of the Gospel can become boring to the carnal mind. Boredom leads to neglect; neglect leads to complacency; and complacency opens the door for those who have their own personal agendas. Personal agendas are usually built from selfish motives and egocentric ambitions. To the complacent one, the work of ministry loses its appeal and deteriorates into just a bunch of activities or programs. To the self-exalting egomaniac, the work of ministry provides an opportunity to spotlight and exalt one's self. The end result is "a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof". + Covetousness: When one group sees another group having great victories in kingdom work, it's easy for the first group to be both jealous and covetous. Jealousy is resentment over the other person's accomplishments or recognition. Covetousness if craving what the other person has or craving the recognition the other person has received for his successes. That type of attitude can produce nothing but a fraudulent imitation of the real thing. A covetous heart will also lead one to stoop to manipulation through carnal motivations and gimmicks of the world system. The end result is an appearance of spiritual vitality, but really an empty shell covered with a lie . . . nothing but structured lifelessness. The Roman Church during the Dark Ages is a classic example of this cancer. But, so are many of the so-called evangelical churches of today that are wallowing in wealth while hundreds of thousands of people live in poverty and equal numbers of evangelists, missionaries, and pastors struggle in Third World nations trying to share the Gospel. + Control: Perhaps nothing is more clearly destined to creating institutionalism that grasping for control. The more hierarchical a church or denominational system is, the greater the change that control will lie in the hands of one main person

and a handful of his cronies. Over time, they can become so preoccupied with the operation of the system that the lose sight of the vision. Then, in order to justify their necessity, they must find ways, on the one hand, to show they're doing a great job and, on the other hand, to make sure they don't lose control. This not only happens in security firms, Wall Street agencies, and political circles, but it also happens far too often in parts of the Body of Christ. A craving for authority, control, and power, is a sure guarantee that institutionalism is present or arriving just around the corner.

A BRIEF SKETCH FROM HISTORY: All of these ingredients are found not only in the New Testament accounts of the Church in its infancy, but in virtually every generation of the Church since then. The history books are filled with evidence that, first, the Church was wrought with frequent controversy brought on by preferences and thinking tainted by worldly values, it often led to either a do-nothing compromise or a stalemate, it faced periods of complacency fed by fruitlessness, and there were always key players driven by self gain and a desire for supremacy. By the time the Anti-Nicene period had passed and Roman Emperor Constantine had legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. followed by convening the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., the Church was already well fragmented as people chose up sides around personalities and scriptural interpretations. As far as we can tell, this Council was the first major attempt to bring the entire global Church into consensus over a number of important doctrinal matters. The Council included leaders from the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, the Old Catholic, and a number of other Western Christian groups. Of all that came out of that gathering, possibly most significant of all, the first uniform Christian doctrinal statement called the Nicene Creed was formulated. With its creation, a precedent was established for subsequent general councils of Bishops to create statements of beliefs in attempts to define unity of beliefs for the Church as a whole. There was a general agreement that many heresies had arisen and many pagan influences had infiltrated the Church, and something needed to be done to curb that pattern. What these leaders failed to recognize, well intentioned though they may have been, is that they were contributing to the problem by aggravating the shift from "Who we are to follow" to "What we must believe". While all of this was going on, it also appears that the genuine zeal found among many ardent followers of Christ to evangelize the Roman world was itself being tainted with the misguided temptation to copy Rome in order to both impact Rome on the one hand, and be accepted by Rome on the other. When Constantine legalized Christianity and professed Christianity as his religion, it released an societal acceptance that the Church rightly welcomed. It threw doors wide open to sharing the Gospel without restraint. As a result, thousands came to faith in Christ, . . . along with thousands of others who embraced Christianity for purely personal reputation, business opportunities, and other less-than-honorable motives. The Gospel spread like wildfire, and the Church grew exponentially . . . but now clearly a "mixed multitude" of true believers, token believers, and pretenders. Because the Church grew so rapidly, and because all other religions of the world had temples and meeting halls, the Church moved out of homes and small meeting halls into their own larger and larger meeting places. In order to draw people who were essentially skeptical and accustomed to oratory and debate, the Church leaders began to select only the more educated and better speakers, dress them in special apparel, and build platforms or podiums upon which they would stand so as to be more clearly heard . . . and seen. The professional clergy was born. All of this simply fed the ego of many Church leaders, and numerous key leaders began to exert greater authority and control, declaring more and more expectations of "pious living" and making more and more rules and demands . . . resulting in the massive ingathering of wealth at an unprecedented level. Because other religions had certain rituals, the Church also turned many valid practices into routine events and then into rituals . . . and then added a significant number of rites having nothing whatsoever to do with Biblical teaching, but rather emerging either from other pagan religions or long-standing traditions. For the next 300 years this institutionalization spiraled out of control, eventually leading the world into the Dark Ages, where particularly the Roman branch of the Church became one of the most corrupt and extravagant religious expressions in the world. Yet, through all those black centuries, a true expression of kingdom life survived. Though the moral midnight was so black you could feel it, there remained hungry hearts seeking for God and struggling to share Him with others as they found Him. Some 900 years later, through a series of seemingly unconnected events, it appeared the light of hope could be seen at the end of a very dark, dank, putrid tunnel. Perhaps one of the earliest protestors against the institutionalized Roman church was John Wycliffe of England. He was an

English theologian, translator, and reformer, especially known as an early dissident in the Roman Church during the 14th Century. His followers were known as Lollards, and the Lollard Movement is generally seen as a precursor to the Protestant Reformation. He was one of the earliest opponents of papal authority influencing secular power. He and his followers not only tried to correct doctrinal error, but also break out of the institutional expression of the Church. Wycliffe is probably best known for having translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into the common vernacular English of the people in 1382 A.D. It is known as the Wycliffe Bible. This is the first time the Bible is written in a language people can read and understand. Two generations later, a great Czech thinker and theolog greatly influenced by Wycliffe, Jan Hus, was a major influence in the continuing attempt to break the grip of the institutionalized Church, particularly as it was expressed in Rome. His followers were known as Hussites, with a more radical group of followers known as The Taborites who rejected any ideas the Roman church had that were not Biblically founded. Later, in about 1450, some of the Taborites founded a group known as the Bohemian Brethren. Hus particularly fought against the practice of "indulgences" carried on by the Roman church and eventually paid the ultimate price with his life, burned at the stake in Prague on July 6, 1415 A.D. The institutional Church can be so powerful that the cost for breaking away from it can be extremely costly. Hus knows. Just seventeen years old when Hus was burned at the stake, Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith by trade, invented a moveable type printing process around 1439 A.D. followed by a printing press capable of the mass printing of books. The first book he printed was the Bible that was later to be called the Gutenberg Bible or the "42-line Bible". The timing could not have been better, because the mass production of the Bible, making it possible for the Bible to be available to the common man for the first time in human history, exposed thousands of ordinary people to the Bible. The availability of the Bible to both common men, educators, and theologians, certainly paved the way for Catholic priest Martin Luther, who would later declare "the just shall live by faith" and not by works, indulgences, or baptism into the Catholic Church. The Bible had been circulating throughout Germany and neighboring countries for some four decades when Luther was born, so by the time he presented his "Ninety-Five Theses" in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517 A.D., people were well aware of his efforts to break the shackles of an institutionalized Church. Luther taught that salvation is a free gift of God and received only through true faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin. His theology also challenged the power of the papacy by using the Bible as the only infallible authority and by considering all baptized Christians to be a universal priesthood with direct access to God's grace without the aid of the Roman Church's many priests. Luther also translated the Bible into the common language of the German people, furthering the spread of the Gospel message. Thesis number 86 which Luther presented says, "Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?", indicating his extreme opposition to the vast wealth of the institutionalized Catholic Church. With such a fiery message as Martin Luther's and thousands who followed him, one would have expected the institutionalized Church to finally be set free from its bondage of death, but it did not happen. While Luther got the message right, he not only failed to break away from the ritualism of the Church, but he embraced it and promoted it as the norm, apparently not recognizing the need to return to the simplicity of the Church as taught in scripture and generally manifested during its first three centuries. By this time, the Anabaptist movement, the "rebaptizers" known as Christians of the "Radical Reformation" of 16th Century Europe had broken away from the institutionalized Church at great cost, and probably was the first expression of what the liberated Church might look like. Others such as the Bohemians, Waldensians, and Hussites also contributed dramatically to this new breath of fresh air. The price was costly, especially during the 16th and 17th Centuries, but it was willingly paid by tens of thousands. More than a century later, a nobleman, Count Nikolas Ludwig Zinzendorf, born in 1700, was a strong witness of Jesus Christ and the true Body of Christ as an organism, leading to the development of the Moravian missionary movement. He committed himself to the Lord at age six, and lived his entire life for the cause of Christ, and was driven until the day he died at age 60 by the passion to see the Church once again become a united body of believers. The institutionalized Church, however, could not (or would not) bend and reshape itself to fit the model he espoused. The year before Zinzendorf died, a British nobleman and philanthropist, William Wilberforce, was born. He entered politics in 1780 and became an independent member of British Parliament in 1784. A year later he had a salvation encounter with Christ, and became an ardent evangelical follow of the Savior. As a politician and a Christian, he fought against slavery and slave trading, and sought to break the grip of institutionalized Christianity. Through him and others like him, the struggle against a lifeless and restrictive religious system continued, fueled by the vibrant growth of those earlier groups who had

sought and found freedom in Christ through a personal relationship instead of a corporate ritualism.

INSTITUTIONALISM REMAINS: All in all then, and with the exception of the general Anabaptist movement, instead of being set free from religious ritualism, performance, ornate edifices, and a complex leadership hierarchy that kept the "clergy" and "laity" separated and isolated from each other, the institutionalization simply intensified, and eventually came to be seen as the norm and the acceptable paradigm of church life. Tragically, institutionalized religion has not only survived, but has been generally viewed through the ensuing centuries as an acceptable and scriptural form of Christianity. A careful and honest search of scripture, however, quickly shows that to be a false conclusion. Yet, it is what you and I have inherited. Tragically, even the Anabaptists and other Reformationists failed to break away from all the trappings . . . and traps . . . of institutionalism. James Rutz, in his book, The Open Church, says that from Constantine on to this very day, the Church generally is still void of true biblical expressions of "open worship", "open sharing", and "open ministry" ---- a form of church life in which every member of the body is released to worship, minister, witness, and evangelize. But, unfortunately, we evangelicals have our own form of the institutionalized Church. We just haven't been able to break out of the paradigm so ingrained into our traditions. It is my personal opinion that we evangelical Christians are as guilty of institutionalizing religion as we accuse the Jewish faith and mainline denominations of having done. Every denomination I know anything about, including the one from which I come, is still in bondage to some type of religious form, function, and fervor. You would think that it was not the case, but if we really understand what it means to be "institutionalized", it might help us understand. For a church to become "institutionalized", it essentially means that the focus, intent, methods, and resources for ministry have become more important than the call of the Lord to go to all the nations, preaching the Gospel, and building the Kingdom. In other words, when our attention is given more to our own identity, our activities, our programs, even our beliefs, than is given to the message and to people, we have become an institution. When we are more interested in promoting our causes, our denomination, our beliefs, and our particular brand than we are in simply seeking, preaching, advancing, and expanding God's kingdom, we are guilty of the very thing which we abhor. Now those of us in strong Bible preaching, evangelistic, mission-minded denominations or local churches assume we're exempt from institutionalization because of our beliefs and our zeal. But, we are in just as much danger as the obvious ones who are clearly just playing church and functioning as either a religious country club or a museum of past accomplishments. We also have our "sacred cows" that we don't want to give up. We have our own image we want to preserve. We have our own beliefs we want to defend. I suppose every missionary comes home from the field feeling the way Jo Ann and I do, but a little over a week ago all those feelings and frustrations rose to the top again when we made an unexpected trip to Atlanta to pick up the remaining eight pieces of baggage from our December return to live in the U.S. Virtually every town and city through which we drove was filled with reminders of just how institutionalized and often self-focused churches have become. Let me illustrate. As we drove through eight Bible belt states in four days, I found my mind filled with a flood of questions. Why do our churches all have unique and personally selected names? Why do we feel we have to make sure our identity is known and is special from other congregations? Why do we have to be called Methodist, Free-Will Baptist vs. General or Southern Baptist? Why must we identify ourselves as a "full Gospel" church as if other churches are only "half-full" or "partly-full" or "empty" Gospel? Why do we have to build bigger buildings when we could have instead gone out and planted a new church? Did we think that new church might become more competition? Why do we feel we have to flaunt our individual uniqueness and difference from the others? Why do we have to gather ourselves around certain pet doctrines or forms of church governing and function? Why do we feel threatened or intimidated if another church of another flavor accomplishes something we couldn't or didn't? Why do we construct our buildings so that people will be drawn to us instead of our going to them? Why do we each think we're the special ones and all others are secondary to us? Why do we think we're the only ones who are right? Why do we expect God to treat and bless us in special ways?

THE PICTURE OF TODAY'S CHURCH: Then this last Saturday, as Jo Ann and I sat eating pizza in a small booth of a Bulls Eye quick stop gas station in the little town of Weaubleau, MO, the thought occurred to me that the New Testament Church is a great deal like a giant flotilla of ships sailing a great river separating two kingdoms . . . the kingdom of darkness, and the Kingdom of God. While the Church is made up of many vessels of varying sizes, shapes, and purposes, we are still one flotilla under the total command of one Admiral, and with one fundamental purpose . . . that of storming the shores of Satan's kingdom with special forces in life boats, rescuing those enslaved to his powers and their inevitable death, and transporting them to the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, many of those ships have failed, while others have forgotten both their functions and the overriding purpose. Some ships are content to navigate the center of the river, satisfied to be individual kingdoms unto themselves, while others have run aground on a hidden sand bar or drifted into a shallow and superficial eddy of favorite doctrine. Some have become so infatuated with their individual captain that they simply stand around idolizing about him and talking about him to other nearby ships. Still others have yielded to the sirene calls from Satan's shores, and are now rotting, useless and cast off in the harbors of the enemy. There are also those who have become so enamored with the safety and splendor of the Kingdom of God on the other shore that they've furled sails, dropped anchor, and cast mooring lines along the docks of redemption, completely content to enjoy the riches of the kingdom, lounge in the luxury of divine provision, and feast at the many eating places that line the shores which, once loading and supply docks, are now nothing more than tourist attractions for preserved pilgrims. Fortunately, there are still some ships in the flotilla who haven't forgotten . . . or have recently rediscovered the agenda . . . and are constantly ferrying back and forth, sending special forces into the darkness, and bringing prisoners out of captivity into the freedom found in Jesus Christ. When one becomes enthralled with the journey or enamored with the ship/s, it's easy to forget the mission and its focus. The focus is on the kingdom, and not on the Church; and the mission is to seek the kingdom, preach the kingdom, build the kingdom, and extend the kingdom. If there is any single thing that I believe has caused the Church at large to miss the mark, it is the fact that most attention is given to building individual kingdoms first, assuming that the Kingdom of God will, therefore, automatically grow. A good ship captain keeps his focus on the battle, realizing that his ship was built for that purpose. He knows his ship is even expendable for the sake of the kingdom. If he thinks otherwise, he should not have signed on. The bottom line is simple ---- the flotilla thinks it is the agenda, not the means of a greater agenda. It has become its own kingdom, and has forgotten the Kingdom of God. It has become the "main thing" instead of being an instrument for accomplishing the main thing, namely the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What was Christ's Gospel? What was His message? It was the message of the Kingdom . . . not the Church.

FINALLY: My friend, the institutionalized Church is a terrible obstacle to the cause of Christ. My question, therefore, is not about how organized or structured your church is. It's not about what your doctrinal statements might be. Organization and structure are not the same as institutionalization. Having a statement of beliefs and practices doesn't make you institutionalized. It's a matter of the heart . . . of the attitude and motive. So, . . . what's your motive? Are you out to build your church . . . your own little kingdom? Or are you out to expend every ounce of energy you have in helping build and advance the Kingdom of God? Answers to that question determine whether or not revival is needed in the church and/or denomination of which you are part.

In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom, Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11 Copyright February, 2009 Life Unlimited Ministries lifeunlimited@pobox.com http://community.webshots.com/user/KievIBC?vhost=community -- Info about KIBC http://www.praykiev.org for our city-wide prayer strategy. If this letter has blessed you, feel free to forward it, with proper credits, to any and all you wish. Please do NOT hit reply to this letter. This is an automated unmanned system. If you want to write Bob, send directly to lifeunlimited@pobox.com. Replying to "Shoulder To Shoulder" mailer gets you nowhere.

REMEMBER ---- "God's Work done God's Way never lack's for God's supply." (George Meuller) It's our desire to provide you links to helpful resources. However, the contents of these sites do not necessarily represent the views we personally hold. These are sites we have found helpful in the past for various topics, and want you to know about them. Use at your own discretion.

Websites Crucial For Today:

Consider these special websites that are particularly important in light of world conditions.

Resources and News from balanced and Family Friendly Perspectives:

www.onenewsnow.com -- an excellent news website giving you more thorough news reporting. www.cnsnews.com for daily world news without a liberal, godless bias. http://www.leadershipletters.com/ -- an outstanding resource for anyone wanting to become or help raise up a great leader. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page -- excellent on-line encyclopedia on almost every topic, usually unbiased. http://prayercentral.net/baghdad/today -- to pray for troops in Iraq. www.wallbuilders.org -- Tools for understanding and responding to America's moral decay.

Resources on Middle East, Israel, Bible Prophecy:

http://www.aish.com/search/article_search_results.asp?article_author=Rabbi+Ken+Spiro&title_text=&date_amount=&date_option=year -- one of the most COMPREHENSIVE HISTORIES of Israel I've ever seen, written from a Jewish Perspective. A Profound resource for those interested. www.bible411.com/nationofmiracles/index.htm -- excellent website on Israel http://favorminded.com/pray/3300israel.html -- excellent website on Israel www.sidroth.org -- excellent website on Israel, especially evidences of God's supernatural intervention www.hallindsey.org -- current events as relating to Bible prophecy www.christiantrumpetsounding.com -- excellent source of articles on Israel and Bible prophecy and other topics www.levitt.com -- strategic newsletter, reports, resources, particularly on Bible Prophecy www.jewishsoftware.com excellent Jewish sources on Hebrew language, Jewish history, beliefs, practices. http://www.4922trust.org/ -- an excellent site on Christian relationship to Israel. http://www.ajhs.org/ American Jewish historical society. www.israeltoday.co.il Israel today news and resources. www.jpost.com Jerusalem Post newspaper. www.jewishvoice.com Jonathan Burness ministry with excellent info and resources www.jerusalemconnection.org good Jewish culture/beliefs source www.favorminded.com good source for those supporting Israel www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org exceptional sour of information on Israel, ancient and modern www.aish.com comprehensive site on Jewish history including famed "Crash Course In Jewish History" www.israelimages.com hundreds of excellent photos, old and new, of Israel and her people. www.jerusalemshots.com/en another great source of pictures. www.technorati.com/tag/antisemitism a sobering source of anti-Semitic photos. www.yadvashem.org martyrs and heroes of the Holocaust www.favorminded.org excellent historic and contemporary information on Israel

Helpful General Resources

http://www.impactapologetics.com/default.asp?cookiecheck=yes& -- Great source for information on Christian apologetics. www.sermonindex.net for access to over 3900 downloadable audio sermons. Exceptional site. www.bible.christianity.com an excellent general source for quality Bible study tools and other things. Links to other great sites. www.illustramedia.com a great site for video on creation and evolution. www.livinit.org a super source for Christian extreme sports witness to youth www.creationscience.net an excellent source for dealing with evolution and creation www.crosstv.com a great site for video on creation, evolution, and apologetics www.onechurchsource.com a good site with links for many resources. www.biblemaster.com for great Bible resources and downloads. Exceptional site. www.e-sword.net ---- one of the best free download Bible study sites I've ever seen! http://www.discipleshipdirect.com/ for new and fresh evangelism & discipleship materials. www.multilanguage.com -- a great source for resources for language ministries. http://www.answersingenesis.org/ ---- one of the best Creation websites I've ever seen.

http://frangipane.org ---- for excellent brief words of encouragement from one of America's premier evangelical writers/thinkers. www.worldprayerteam.org ---- A world-wide network for praying together. www.watchword.org ---- excellent resources on revival, prayer, missions. www.waymakers.org ---- resources on prayer, evangelism, etc. www.missionvisionnetwork.org ---- resources on prayer & missions www.global-prayer-digest.org ---- resources on world-wide prayer www.theworldprayercenter.org ---- resources on world-wide prayer http://www.nppn.org ---- "National Pastors' Prayer Network" newsletter. ~ email: phil@nppn.org. Register your PPG: http://www.nppn.org/ppg/ . www.LifeAction.org ---- "Life Action Outreach".

Valuable Resources on Islam:

www.muslimjourneytohope.org filled with testimonies and resources. http://bibleprobe.com/islamapostates.htm ---- fantastic website on ISLAM (amazing testimonies and excellent resources) www.johnankerburg.org ---- excellent resources of facts, testimonies, and tools http://cbw.strang.com/c.cgi?ProdID=8847&Source=CNSITE www.elam.com ---- source of testimonies and resources www.ethnicharvest.org ---- resources www.answeringislam.de/main/farsi ---- resources www.persianchristianity.com ---www.farsibible.org ---- Bibles

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