Man, that took me back, too. I didn't realize it, but I had completely forgot what it felt like to have spent an entire holiday weekend in meetings, furiously flipping Bible pages & writing notes in pidgin shorthand, spending the brief hours between meetings discussing the messages over rushed meals, getting short nights' sleep between evening times & morning times. But it all came flooding back after about 1/2hour of reading Brent's several posts. One thing I realized this time around: That elated feeling I used to have at the end of a three-day seminar-- the feeling I used to attribute to having been singularly blessed to have been in the Lord's place at the Lord's time-- was really just a feeling of great relief that it was over and I could drop my guard and possibly get a few hours of
real rest before having to return to work the next day!
Thanks Brent, I needed that (see Marcia's penguins for illustration)!
The person who wrote this is doing what they were trained to do, and based on how they were taught to think.
The teaching lacks humility and borders on condescension. I also have no doubt that this person probably does not intend this and may not even be aware of it.
Unless I'm mistaken, the material Brent posted was taken almost verbatim from a GG seminar and/or a series of Sunday afternoon ministry from back in the early days of Fullerton. I can remember sitting under most of it, if not all.
The outstanding feature to me is that of all that is quoted, so much of it is good material terribly, criminally misapplied. That is, in its proper context, much of what is quoted would be good teaching. I may be oversimplifying in this statement, but much of what should be understood as the
fruit of the work of God's Holy Spirit in the life of the individual and of the church was being presented as the
means to the working of the Holy Spirit-- as if the gifts of God's grace must be earned by human effort.
A few notes on a few quotes:
If you are attending the coporate meetings regularly but there is sin in your life, then you are not enjoying or experiencing fellowship.
There is a fundamental truth here: that sin can disrupt fellowship with God. But the way it was mistaught in the assy was: If you are attending every meeting but are not reveling in feelings of exultation and joy, you need to do some deep soul-searching to find the hidden sin in your life. The idea that your feelings are not the final authority was bypassed in favor of your lack of joy indicating the presence of sin. Genuine faith is thus eliminated from the equation.
Important decisions should always be made after counselling with the leadership where you are in fellowship. Such counsel should never be laid aside lightly, because they will be called to give account concerning your soul.
This was a perverted carrot-&-stick routine: The carrot was that you can know God's perfect plan for your life by submitting your inclinations and desires to the assy leadership. But the stick was not just used for dangling the carrot-- it was then detached & used to beat the saints into submission to whatever misshapen ideas the leaders might concoct by which to run & often ruin their lives.
Did you catch all the suggestions that most churches were wrong, and that God has a special way he wanted to be worshipped, Head Coverings and Lord's supper every sunday?
How about the "you must get counsel from the leaders" phrase at the end? The elitist mentality is thinly veiled, as is the frank assertion that most of a person's salvation is dependent upon how well they use the anchors.
Here again is the cart-before-the-horse scenario. Those things which
may occur as a result of the Holy Spirit's being free to work in the hearts and in the midst of His people are being taught as the
mandatory means to get the Holy Spirit to show up-- a works-based avenue to earning grace, whereas grace, by definition, is freely bestowed, unearned.
...and finally:
You can tell those who are in the Lord's word, because they start looking like Him. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 As we behold Him in His word our faces start to reflect His glory also.
Whether or not there may be any truth at all to this allegation is immaterial when considering its source. Even in the early days, when George was at his most charismatic, it would be an impossible stretch to think of God (even on a bad-hair day) looking anything like him, much less vice-versa.
al
