Comments on: From Decline to Growth – 3 http://dwhitsett.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/from-decline-to-growth-%e2%80%93-3/ Scratchings from the pen of Dwight Whitsett Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:11:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU hourly 1 By: Zack Blaisdell http://dwhitsett.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/from-decline-to-growth-%e2%80%93-3/#comment-222 Zack Blaisdell Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:26:42 +0000 http://dwhitsett.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/from-decline-to-growth-%e2%80%93-3/#comment-222 Well said dear brother Dwight! I am reminded of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church, where he talks about fishing. He said he liked to get into the water himself instead of just fishing from the shore. What a great concept and a great way to look at evangelism! Let's stop trying to fish from the shore (ie. the assembly at church) and let's get into the water (ie. the world) and let's fish! Thank you for this great post here dear brother! Blessings! Well said dear brother Dwight! I am reminded of Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church, where he talks about fishing. He said he liked to get into the water himself instead of just fishing from the shore. What a great concept and a great way to look at evangelism! Let’s stop trying to fish from the shore (ie. the assembly at church) and let’s get into the water (ie. the world) and let’s fish!
Thank you for this great post here dear brother! Blessings!

]]> By: Bob Chapman http://dwhitsett.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/from-decline-to-growth-%e2%80%93-3/#comment-171 Bob Chapman Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:55:27 +0000 http://dwhitsett.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/from-decline-to-growth-%e2%80%93-3/#comment-171 Dwight, Your reference to the active participation of the Holy Spirit in the assembly at Corinth got me thinking and examining. So long as believers continue to relegate the Holy Spirit to the status of "retired author" and continue to embrace the erroneous teaching that "the perfect" of 1 Cor 13 is the Bible, one can be sure that the 22 charismata of the Holy Spirit will never be witnessed outside or inside any of our assemblies. The spontaneous worship we read of in the early church (Acts 4) will never be seen or experienced in church assemblies today so long as believers in those assemblies continually resist their ministry mandate to reconcile the world to God in co-operation with the Godhead, 2 Cor. 5:15-6:2; I Cor. 12:4-6. Disciples of all ages are mandated to be ambassadors of Christ, working in partnership with the Holy Spirit in all His fullness as He and they engage in this ministry of reconciliation, Hebrews 6:3-5. Sadly, rather than concentrate on the mandate, which creates spontaneous worship because of its God empowered results, we have created religious, man-empowered productions which we performed once or twice a week. Productions which are religious, repetitious in nature and so familiar to all participants that such productions could be likened to the life-style portrayed in the movie “Ground Hog Day”. Our claim to be reproducers or restorers of “the pattern” of true worship is impossible, because there never was “a pattern” in the first place! Even if we point to I Corinthians 14 and declare this is “the pattern”; such a pattern can’t be endorsed in our services because we don’t let the Holy Spirit participate as He did in Corinth! Therefore that can’t be the pattern either. And if we believe that three songs, a reading, a prayer, the Lord's supper, a lesson and a closing song is “the pattern”, where did we get that from? Such a pattern is religiously maintained because fear dictates that anything less or more than that man-ordained pattern is not of God and endangers the salvation of those who engage therein. Do we really believe that the Holy Spirit “retired” at the end of the first century and left behind an infallible pattern of worship from which He excused Himself and went back to heaven! Of course He didn’t. 1Corinthains12 reveals He will remain in the earth ministering to the Bride until she is married to the Lamb, Rev. 19. Then what happened? The reality is – we resist His involvement in our religious productions! But, despite this, it is so good to know He is still waiting in the wings to fulfil heaven’s mandate of reconciliation and fill, lead, empower and anoint believers to accomplish it according to the promise of Joel 2 as preached by Peter in Acts 3:33, 39. Blessings Bob Chapman Dwight,

Your reference to the active participation of the Holy Spirit in the assembly at Corinth got me thinking and examining.

So long as believers continue to relegate the Holy Spirit to the status of “retired author” and continue to embrace the erroneous teaching that “the perfect” of 1 Cor 13 is the Bible, one can be sure that the 22 charismata of the Holy Spirit will never be witnessed outside or inside any of our assemblies.

The spontaneous worship we read of in the early church (Acts 4) will never be seen or experienced in church assemblies today so long as believers in those assemblies continually resist their ministry mandate to reconcile the world to God in co-operation with the Godhead, 2 Cor. 5:15-6:2; I Cor. 12:4-6.

Disciples of all ages are mandated to be ambassadors of Christ, working in partnership with the Holy Spirit in all His fullness as He and they engage in this ministry of reconciliation, Hebrews 6:3-5.

Sadly, rather than concentrate on the mandate, which creates spontaneous worship because of its God empowered results, we have created religious, man-empowered productions which we performed once or twice a week. Productions which are religious, repetitious in nature and so familiar to all participants that such productions could be likened to the life-style portrayed in the movie “Ground Hog Day”.

Our claim to be reproducers or restorers of “the pattern” of true worship is impossible, because there never was “a pattern” in the first place! Even if we point to I Corinthians 14 and declare this is “the pattern”; such a pattern can’t be endorsed in our services because we don’t let the Holy Spirit participate as He did in Corinth! Therefore that can’t be the pattern either. And if we believe that three songs, a reading, a prayer, the Lord’s supper, a lesson and a closing song is “the pattern”, where did we get that from? Such a pattern is religiously maintained because fear dictates that anything less or more than that man-ordained pattern is not of God and endangers the salvation of those who engage therein.

Do we really believe that the Holy Spirit “retired” at the end of the first century and left behind an infallible pattern of worship from which He excused Himself and went back to heaven! Of course He didn’t. 1Corinthains12 reveals He will remain in the earth ministering to the Bride until she is married to the Lamb, Rev. 19.

Then what happened? The reality is – we resist His involvement in our religious productions! But, despite this, it is so good to know He is still waiting in the wings to fulfil heaven’s mandate of reconciliation and fill, lead, empower and anoint believers to accomplish it according to the promise of Joel 2 as preached by Peter in Acts 3:33, 39.

Blessings
Bob Chapman

]]> By: Duane Morgan http://dwhitsett.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/from-decline-to-growth-%e2%80%93-3/#comment-169 Duane Morgan Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:36:41 +0000 http://dwhitsett.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/from-decline-to-growth-%e2%80%93-3/#comment-169 Thank you for the kind words, brother. I hold you in the same high regard and spread the news far and wide about your website. You have responded clearly, logically, and lovingly to my observations, and I have learned in the exchange. I agree with you 100% about the evangelistic imperative, "Go..." That means geting outside the confines of our four walls. Amen, Dwight. I love you sincerely in the Lord. Thank you for the kind words, brother. I hold you in the same high regard and spread the news far and wide about your website. You have responded clearly, logically, and lovingly to my observations, and I have learned in the exchange. I agree with you 100% about the evangelistic imperative, “Go…” That means geting outside the confines of our four walls. Amen, Dwight. I love you sincerely in the Lord.

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