Post by philiprosenthal on May 30, 2006 8:53:56 GMT
Why EveryNation attempts at society reform are failing
One of the biggest emphases of His People Ministries, Maranatha and also to a lesser extent EveryNation Ministries is the reformation of society with a biblical worldview. These efforts have been going in the case of His People since about 1991. Marantha earlier than that.
They have produced some good fruit - but not really what was hoped for. Why not?
This is an area where I fully support the agenda of EveryNation, His People, Maranatha - and am taking a lead through other ministries towards the same goals. Nevertheless, I feel the strategy that has been persued is fundamentally flawed and mostly a waste of energy. Those who want social reform, but who try partner with EveryNation and use the His People/EveryNation strategy, I feel are mostly wasting there time and would better move into other ministries or start their own ministries towards really fulfilling these goals. Alternatively reform EveryNation first. Then reform the world around it.
Essentially the reform strategy of EveryNation can be summarised in their slogan 'Change the campus - Change the world'. Why is this not working? Why after so much good preaching; So many conferences; So much money spent - is there very little to show for it.
Sadly, I feel the reason is that the world is having more influence on EveryNation denomination than EveryNation is having on the world. Until the world is thrown out of EveryNation, then EveryNation Ministries can't change the world because the ministry itself has sadly become worldly - consumed with power, money, status, glamour etc.
Some of this is related to EveryNation theology which justifies and even glamourises aspects of worldliness - but a lot of it is just plain human sin. Nevertheless, lets examine the problematic theology first.
ELITISM AND ISOLATIONISM
A major obstacle to social reform is a set of beliefs which result in elitism and isolationism.
EveryNation falsely promotes the ideas that:
* The false view that EveryNation knows much more about social reform (e.g. Christian worldview) than other ministries and therefore any relationship with other ministries should be one of dominance. EveryNation must be in charge and must get all the benefits of any relationship, while the partner ministry if any must just be exploited.
- Now firstly, other ministries don't accept this and thus become less keen to work with EveryNation.
- Secondly, it is not true and thus EveryNation seldom learns from other ministries which have knowledge that could be helpful.
* The false view that EveryNation is a superior interpretation of Christianity and a truer reflection of the kingdom of God - thus meaning that other ministries basically need to change to become more like EveryNation.
* The false view that everything needs to be under 'apostolic authority' and therefore other ministries (e.g. para church groups) which don't have this form of governance are not really 'under Gods authority' and therefore should not be supported. Therefore, often, EveryNation members working in para-church groups get discouraged from their work and told to do things under the church umbrella.
Why is all this a problem? Because the denomination and local church can't address all the problems of society. Most of the work of social reform needs to be done by independent para-church groups that focus on their 'niche issue', whilst having broad accountability to various parts of the body of Christ through boards. Para church groups stick consistently with their issue while pooling support from many churches and diverse people - while local churches focus on what they do best (looking after their flock). By refusing to support para-church groups, EveryNation gets itself and its members into the long term delusion that social reform can be achieved though local church. Thus effectively EveryNation members are cut off from the wider body of Christ with whom they would need to work to effect social reform.
Furthermore, the elitist attitude encouraged by EveryNation is entirely incompatible with good human relationships with other Christian leaders. Thus EveryNation leaders are generally only successful in projects organised by their own hierachy and in small scale efforts where they have the support to dominate. But on the broader social scene - the contribution is very weak.
Usually it takes an EveryNation member who wants social reform a long time to realise this. When they do, then they join other organisations often without the support of their pastor - and they often achieve really great results by applying the great teaching the movement gives on Christian worldview.
But my message to pastors in EveryNation who want real social reform: Let your people go. Don't try keep them all busy with church activities. If their motivation is in social reform, then let them go join other para-church ministries and pray for them and encourage them. Maybe serve on the board of the external para-church group. Then you will see a lot more fruit of the good teaching you give them on Sunday. Encourage them to have a humble attitude towards other ministries. This is the Christ- like way. EveryNation should be a contributor to the broader body of Christ - not an elite group trying to dominate, control or compete with it.
This isolationism leaves EveryNation like a car stuck in the mud. The wheel is spinning madly with lots of activity, but there is no traction. It is not moving forward. Please be part of the solution and help build good positive relationships of support with other ministries. Then we will see more results.
WORLDLINESS
Another problem linked to the above is the worldliness that has crept into the church in the form of a love of power, money, status, popularity, fame etc. Contrary to popular opinion, these things do not help reform society. Basically if you want to reform society, you need to be prepared to sacrifice these things - do the opposite and give them up - in the cause of reforming the world for Christ. If you love them too much then as soon as you get put under pressure, you are going to buckle and chose the world rather than Christ. Christ gave up all these things to save us. So we should give them up for Christ. But EveryNation tends to promote the idea that Christian leaders need to accumulate as much of these worldly things as possible in order so that they can use them to reform the world for Christ. Sorry, but God doesn't need your worldly methods. He wants devoted servants who give up on the world and seek him for his power and ability. To give up - not to accumulate. A problem with the 'worldlings' who believe they need to accumulate lots of these things in order to reform the world is that they never quite have enough before they are ready to confront the world. And when they have accumulated a lot, then they are afraid of losing it all - so they don't want to be controversial or upset people - in case they might lose their position or popularity or whatever.
Worldly rubbish. Throw it away and chose the cross - the method Christ chose to reform the world. I don't accuse all EveryNation leaders of being worldly, and thank God for the humble servants of God who are faithful to him - but this is what the ministry glamorises - and very few speak out against it. Please be one of them.
HYPOCRISY
A last area which destroys the effectiveness of His People/EveryNation is a lack of moral integrity in leadership. Leadership sin is covered up rather than properly disciplined and repented of. God is treated as if he doesn't exist. The show goes on no matter what the private lives of the leaders. Nothing will stop it. Those who challenge it get threatened and marginalised.
God doesn't bless that kind of behaviour - and never will. Thus His People/EveryNation operates without Holy Spirit support. Real reformation requires spiritual revival and spiritual revival requires repentance from sin.
Please be part of the solution and help call the ministry to repentance for its cover-up corporate sin - even if these happened before your time. In God's eyes, they are still big issues and part of a pattern of cover-up, abuse and double standards.
GOVERNANCE NOT WORTH COPYING
EveryNation teaching on human government is based on the biblical reformed view of the sinfulness of man - as practically implemented in the American system of constitutional, representative, government. This system came mostly from the Reformed Calvinist churches who fled persecution in Europe - and who practiced accountable government. Nevertheless, EveryNation does not practice this form of government in the church itself. There is little or no accountability - and rather leaders tend to take the powers of absolute monarchs and medieval Popes - that the reformers tried to stop.
Really, EveryNation needs to reform its own system of church government first before it tries to reform the state. I personally would be frightened as to what might happen if any state was to come under the control of people who behave like some EveryNation leaders. So lets be consistent. Do what we want the government to copy. Have accountability and reform inside first.
One of the biggest emphases of His People Ministries, Maranatha and also to a lesser extent EveryNation Ministries is the reformation of society with a biblical worldview. These efforts have been going in the case of His People since about 1991. Marantha earlier than that.
They have produced some good fruit - but not really what was hoped for. Why not?
This is an area where I fully support the agenda of EveryNation, His People, Maranatha - and am taking a lead through other ministries towards the same goals. Nevertheless, I feel the strategy that has been persued is fundamentally flawed and mostly a waste of energy. Those who want social reform, but who try partner with EveryNation and use the His People/EveryNation strategy, I feel are mostly wasting there time and would better move into other ministries or start their own ministries towards really fulfilling these goals. Alternatively reform EveryNation first. Then reform the world around it.
Essentially the reform strategy of EveryNation can be summarised in their slogan 'Change the campus - Change the world'. Why is this not working? Why after so much good preaching; So many conferences; So much money spent - is there very little to show for it.
Sadly, I feel the reason is that the world is having more influence on EveryNation denomination than EveryNation is having on the world. Until the world is thrown out of EveryNation, then EveryNation Ministries can't change the world because the ministry itself has sadly become worldly - consumed with power, money, status, glamour etc.
Some of this is related to EveryNation theology which justifies and even glamourises aspects of worldliness - but a lot of it is just plain human sin. Nevertheless, lets examine the problematic theology first.
ELITISM AND ISOLATIONISM
A major obstacle to social reform is a set of beliefs which result in elitism and isolationism.
EveryNation falsely promotes the ideas that:
* The false view that EveryNation knows much more about social reform (e.g. Christian worldview) than other ministries and therefore any relationship with other ministries should be one of dominance. EveryNation must be in charge and must get all the benefits of any relationship, while the partner ministry if any must just be exploited.
- Now firstly, other ministries don't accept this and thus become less keen to work with EveryNation.
- Secondly, it is not true and thus EveryNation seldom learns from other ministries which have knowledge that could be helpful.
* The false view that EveryNation is a superior interpretation of Christianity and a truer reflection of the kingdom of God - thus meaning that other ministries basically need to change to become more like EveryNation.
* The false view that everything needs to be under 'apostolic authority' and therefore other ministries (e.g. para church groups) which don't have this form of governance are not really 'under Gods authority' and therefore should not be supported. Therefore, often, EveryNation members working in para-church groups get discouraged from their work and told to do things under the church umbrella.
Why is all this a problem? Because the denomination and local church can't address all the problems of society. Most of the work of social reform needs to be done by independent para-church groups that focus on their 'niche issue', whilst having broad accountability to various parts of the body of Christ through boards. Para church groups stick consistently with their issue while pooling support from many churches and diverse people - while local churches focus on what they do best (looking after their flock). By refusing to support para-church groups, EveryNation gets itself and its members into the long term delusion that social reform can be achieved though local church. Thus effectively EveryNation members are cut off from the wider body of Christ with whom they would need to work to effect social reform.
Furthermore, the elitist attitude encouraged by EveryNation is entirely incompatible with good human relationships with other Christian leaders. Thus EveryNation leaders are generally only successful in projects organised by their own hierachy and in small scale efforts where they have the support to dominate. But on the broader social scene - the contribution is very weak.
Usually it takes an EveryNation member who wants social reform a long time to realise this. When they do, then they join other organisations often without the support of their pastor - and they often achieve really great results by applying the great teaching the movement gives on Christian worldview.
But my message to pastors in EveryNation who want real social reform: Let your people go. Don't try keep them all busy with church activities. If their motivation is in social reform, then let them go join other para-church ministries and pray for them and encourage them. Maybe serve on the board of the external para-church group. Then you will see a lot more fruit of the good teaching you give them on Sunday. Encourage them to have a humble attitude towards other ministries. This is the Christ- like way. EveryNation should be a contributor to the broader body of Christ - not an elite group trying to dominate, control or compete with it.
This isolationism leaves EveryNation like a car stuck in the mud. The wheel is spinning madly with lots of activity, but there is no traction. It is not moving forward. Please be part of the solution and help build good positive relationships of support with other ministries. Then we will see more results.
WORLDLINESS
Another problem linked to the above is the worldliness that has crept into the church in the form of a love of power, money, status, popularity, fame etc. Contrary to popular opinion, these things do not help reform society. Basically if you want to reform society, you need to be prepared to sacrifice these things - do the opposite and give them up - in the cause of reforming the world for Christ. If you love them too much then as soon as you get put under pressure, you are going to buckle and chose the world rather than Christ. Christ gave up all these things to save us. So we should give them up for Christ. But EveryNation tends to promote the idea that Christian leaders need to accumulate as much of these worldly things as possible in order so that they can use them to reform the world for Christ. Sorry, but God doesn't need your worldly methods. He wants devoted servants who give up on the world and seek him for his power and ability. To give up - not to accumulate. A problem with the 'worldlings' who believe they need to accumulate lots of these things in order to reform the world is that they never quite have enough before they are ready to confront the world. And when they have accumulated a lot, then they are afraid of losing it all - so they don't want to be controversial or upset people - in case they might lose their position or popularity or whatever.
Worldly rubbish. Throw it away and chose the cross - the method Christ chose to reform the world. I don't accuse all EveryNation leaders of being worldly, and thank God for the humble servants of God who are faithful to him - but this is what the ministry glamorises - and very few speak out against it. Please be one of them.
HYPOCRISY
A last area which destroys the effectiveness of His People/EveryNation is a lack of moral integrity in leadership. Leadership sin is covered up rather than properly disciplined and repented of. God is treated as if he doesn't exist. The show goes on no matter what the private lives of the leaders. Nothing will stop it. Those who challenge it get threatened and marginalised.
God doesn't bless that kind of behaviour - and never will. Thus His People/EveryNation operates without Holy Spirit support. Real reformation requires spiritual revival and spiritual revival requires repentance from sin.
Please be part of the solution and help call the ministry to repentance for its cover-up corporate sin - even if these happened before your time. In God's eyes, they are still big issues and part of a pattern of cover-up, abuse and double standards.
GOVERNANCE NOT WORTH COPYING
EveryNation teaching on human government is based on the biblical reformed view of the sinfulness of man - as practically implemented in the American system of constitutional, representative, government. This system came mostly from the Reformed Calvinist churches who fled persecution in Europe - and who practiced accountable government. Nevertheless, EveryNation does not practice this form of government in the church itself. There is little or no accountability - and rather leaders tend to take the powers of absolute monarchs and medieval Popes - that the reformers tried to stop.
Really, EveryNation needs to reform its own system of church government first before it tries to reform the state. I personally would be frightened as to what might happen if any state was to come under the control of people who behave like some EveryNation leaders. So lets be consistent. Do what we want the government to copy. Have accountability and reform inside first.