As mentioned yesterday – there are a number of wars either raging within the Chuirch in these last days or about to be fought in the Church. The first is subjective experiences versus objective truth as currently being seen and fought in the born again, Spirit-filled Church (see The End Times Wars #1).

The second war will be one fought over the concept of biblical authority.

We live in a society where God’s standards for living are no longer considered by many to be the absolute moral standard for life. Each individual apparently wants to determine what is right and wrong for themselves. These personal standards are applied to their life and they live by what they have determined to be correct or appropriate behaviour. These “standards” are not applied to others and they don’t attempt to force others to live by their standards – they are simply their personal beliefs.

Many Christians live this way. Young “Christian” couples living together before marriage and even having children. Then coming to the pastor to be married. No shame. No indication that they think they did something wrong. No sense of godly sorrow and repentance. Why should there be? By their standards they did nothing wrong. And, they don’t live their lives by God’s moral standards (The Ten Commandments). They set their own standards and so they have lived correctly and properly as far as they are concerned and according to their personal standards which is the “authority” by which they shape their lives.

The Christian Church teaches that God has set the standands and that the Bible is our ultimate and only authority upon which to base our lives. The Christian Church – the true Church – teaches that God has set the standard and we are to live up to it. He has determined the Moral Law and we are required to live our lives looking to this law as the standard by which we are to live. Failure to live up to God’s standard constitutes sin. The Bible states: “Sin is the transgression of the (Moral) Law” (1 John 3:4) and thus living together before marriage is, in God’s eyes and by His standards, a sin.

This is just one of many examples I could mention.

God has, according to the book of Hebrews, also placed certain people in the lives of Christians as authorities. The pastor of the Church, the elders, the teacher … these are people that the Bible states we should submit to as they are God-given authorities to help us to live a life pleasing to God. This, of course, assumes that they teach and live by the scriptures and that they understand that the Bible is the ultimate and only authority in the life of a believer and are submitted to it themselves.

So,the war is raging within the Church. We see the battle on nightly internet broadcasts where leaders of so-called “revivals” teach nightly without reading or presenting truth from God’s Word, the Bible. They teach and share based on experiences, dreams, visions, angels showing up, wind, and dead people bring revelation to them in hotel rooms.

We see the battle in many churches which no longer proclaim God’s Word but instead teach man’s opinion about the Word or even simply personal opinion about life with no reference to the Word whatsoever. Denominations ordaining homosexuals, performing same-sex marriages and declaring that homosexuality is a valid and God-given alternative life-style. Good example.

We see the battle in the emrgent church where the “leader” presents the scripture verses for the morning and then becomes an enabler who helps those in attendance to express what they think about the verses being reviewed. Not a teacher teaching God’s Word but a facilatator of a group “pooling their opinions and thoughts” – dare we say ‘pooling their ignorance’. That might be politically incorrect – but it is true.

Submission to authority – people that God has placed into leadership and the Bible as absolute truth – these are the two battle fronts for the second war being fought within the Church; the battle over who and what constitutes authority in the life of the born again believer.

Many people think it would be neat to have a trans-local ministry traveling all over the place preaching and ministering. As someone who does just that – let me assure you that it really does have to be a calling from the Lord that makes you do this as it is neither fun nor exciting and can soon wear thin.

I travel, on average, 5,000+ Km every 6 weeks by car to minister God’s Word – teaching, preaching and prophesying over people. I live in hotels and motels, eat at restaurants, and am away from my family and the sanctuary of my home and study for days at a time – somethimes weeks at a time. I fly from one venue to another doing the same thing on a regular basis. Not my choice of a way to live – but I do it because of God’s call on my life and His grace is there – so I do willingly.

I was reminded of this just now when I received a v-mail (voice mail) on my Blackberry from Dennis Cramer. After a long week of constant ministry I put him on a plane here in Regina yesterday at 2 p.m. He was to go from Regina to Toronto to Philadelphia and then to State College where his car was – then 1.5 hours driving to home base. Missed his connection in Toronto and then missed his connection in Philadelphia. So, he had to spend $280.00 for a hotel room (only 2 available) and purchase meals. So, this morning he finally flies to State College and then finds his car to drive home. Home mid-afternoon Monday instead of midnight Sunday … and out of pocket $325+ for added expenses.

Ah! Life on the road. Trans-local ministry at its norm. Seldom do things go as planned and hoped for. I too can say that from experience. Example: Swiss Air selling our tickets out from under us because we arrived 30 minutes before the flight was to leave and so we were a “no show” in spite of the fact that we were there and could see the plane. 9 hours to wait for another connection to Germany and then a long wait for a different connector to Kiev, Ukraine.

Three guys (my team traveling to Ukraine for two weeks of ministry) in an airport in Switzerland for 9 hours waiting after they actually saw their original flight take off. This after 15 hours in airports and planes just to get to Switzerland. So, a wash down in a washroom sink (so much for privacy), a change of clothes, brush your teeth and then go find something to eat and a piece of floor in a corner to stretch out on to catch a few hours of sleep in the public waiting room of an international airport where no one spoke your language. Then on to Germany and another wait and then a flight to Kiev arriving 26 hours late and having missed your first speaking engagement.

Yup! Not sure why anyone would think trans-local ministry is “fun” and something to covet. Unless God calls and pours out His grace on you to do it – run as fast and as far as you can from it.

By this time my friend and internationally known prophet – Dennis Cramer – will hopefully have arrived home … unless weather, natural disasters, car trouble, or some other unexpected event prevented him from reaching home plate and his family.

The joys of a trans-local ministry!

We have two more days of the first of two annual visits of Dennis Cramer the prophet. He has been coming to my neck of the woods now for 13 or 14 years. He is a personal friend to me and my family as well as a loyal worker for the Network of Churches and ministries that I founded almost 30 years ago. (www.denniscramer.com / www.lifebuildersnetwork.org)

Yesterday he ministered to 60 leaders from around our Network. Those attending also included some leaders from several other networks. He taught on the Church today as compared to the Church of the book of Acts. And brought it right home to the heart by discussing the changes we need to make in our leadership style and in our churches to bring them up to biblical standards.

His main point was that the Charismatic or Spirit-filled Church needs to return to her roots. We were born in power (Azusa Street) and the gifts flowed as the power began to work. It is time to return to those roots and expect God’s power to manifest and move in each and every assembly of our respective churches. It is time to function in the gifts as leaders. It is time to teach on the gifts and then train, equip and release our people to flow in the gifts.

Will this be somewhat messy as the saints practice and learn “on the job”? Yes! But nothing that the Holy Spirit cannot gently handle. The problem is not in the messyness – it is in the settleness of the leaders. We are concerned about the mess that we will have to work with. We are concerned that some people may leave and take their tithe with them. We are concerned about what others may think if things really do break lose and the gifts and power manifestations begin to appear in our services. We are concerned about what people might think of us as the leader of such a church. If only you realized how seldom they do think of you. The problem in our “branch” of the church today is not with the people – it is with the leaders. We have settled. We have camped. We have become CEOs of small, medium and large-sized corporations. We are no longer pioneers. Vance Havner once said – “It is a terrible shame to have been born again in the fires of revival and now find ourselves living in the ashes”.

It is time for leaders to stand up and be just that, leaders! It is time to close the door to your study and become reacquainted with the Holy Spirit and resensitize yourself to His presence and His power. It is time to become filled to overflowing with His power and presence and have a daily encounter with the Spirit of God. Then, to step out of the study and simply obey what the Holy Spirit is saying.

Long post – but I need to say several other things.

Pastors and leaders – get away from your office. When did the “pastor’s study” become the “pastor’s office”? 15 years ago I purposely created a second room for myself and designated it a study. It has a desk, laptop, comfotable reading chair, coffee pot, etc. just like an office – but without a phone. Paperwork is kept in the office and only my Bibles and note pad are allowed in the study. It is lined with shelves loaded with books, CDs and DVDs that I use in my studies and research. I spend from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in this room without even thinking of the office that is 6 feet away. I study, pray, write, read… then I go and shower and shave and ‘report for work’ at the office around 11:00 a.m.. This still allows more than an 8 hour “work day”.

Let me suggest that by 2:00 p.m. pastors should be gone from the office and be out in the coffee shops talking with their people and witnessing to or sharing with those that are not saved. Listen pastor: this is what you signed up for – to be with God and with God’s people. You didn’t sign up to be a paper pusher for the organization known as the church. You were called and ordained to be a leader and an important part of the organism called the Body of Christ.

Then, in the evening, a time of direct ministry to the Body – meetings (cut out as many as possible), services, and outreach where you can preach and teach, equip and release the people of God to do what they are called to do – minister.

Just a thought or two that arose in my heart after listening to a prophet of the living God call us all back to the task at hand – to be involved as Jesus builds His Church. He stepped on a lot of toes, shot a few sacred cows, and set a few truths in order as he brought the Word of the Lord to the leaders and helped to repair the foundations.

It is always profitable to our Network to bring in the prophet of God. Although, at times, painful.

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