 |
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven? Part 4
by Berit Kjos
|
Skip down to
|
I also believe that pastors are the most
strategic change agents to deal with the problems society faces.[1,
page 20]
Rick WarrenA “change agent… should know about the process of change, how
it takes place and the attitudes, values and behaviors that usually act as barriers….
He should know who in his system are the ‘defenders’ or resisters of innovations….
Try to identify resisters before they
become vocal….”[2,
pages ix, 122]
Ronald G. Havelock, The
Change Agent’s Guide to Innovation in Education.“Change leaders must also be prepared to deal with members who
choose to ‘stay and fight.'”[3, page 91]Leading Congregational Change
(published by
Jossey-Bass)
“The purpose
driven life is being promoted in almost every church in my town. The
banners are hanging everywhere! … We pretty much stand alone with
a few friends.” A visitor to our website
Part 3 of this series, “Small
Groups and the Dialectic Process,” triggered a stream of letters from troubled Christians
around the world. They had watched as the focus of their churches shifted from Bible-based teaching to purpose-driven
experiences. Many had sensed something wrong but couldn’t define the
problem. Some wondered how God’s guidance fit into this tightly controlled
man-made system. They had asked questions, but no one could calm their concern. They
had tried to warn their pastor and friends but had been rebuffed. Some were
even told to find another church. All shared the pain of rejection. The
following letter from
Pat Johnson
illustrates the struggle faced by those who cannot, with a clear
conscience, go along with a church that embraces the world’s transformative
marketing and management methods:“I just read
‘Small Groups and the Dialectic Process.’ Absolutely dead-on! At the end of it, I read this paragraph
which took my breath away: ‘In today’s Church Growth Movement, resisters are usually sifted out
fairly early in the process. In the next installment, we will look
at some of the ways non-conformists are assessed, exposed, vilified
and dismissed from the church families they have loved, served and
supported.“I have been forced out of two churches
for being such a ‘resister.’ I am a normal wife and mom and teacher who
would not conform and, as you stated above, have been shunned and
vilified. This has caused me considerable heartbreak and torment. For
years I have struggled to cope with the shock of losing my
church family and being branded as divisive.“The ONLY
way I have been able to come through this is to
return to
my Lord and trust His Word only. For years, I didn’t
really realize that I had drifted away from Him. Then when the storm hit, I didn’t have the means to withstand it. By His grace and
mercy, I have emerged from the mind-hell that shaming and
shunning create….”Vilifying and shaming “resisters”
is nothing new. Old Testament prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah described
the rejection and mockery they endured for speaking God’s truth. At least
one early Church was torn by similar hostilities. The apostle John told us
about a church who modeled the kinds of
tactics used in the Church Growth movement today:“I
wrote to the church, but Diotrephes,
who loves to be first
among them, does not accept what we
say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds
which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not
satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren,
either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of
the church.” 3 John 1:9-11In 17th century England, Pilgrims and
Separatists faced ridicule, torture and imprisonment for
refusing to conform to the Church of England’s demand for total
conformity and universal participation.
During the Spanish Inquisition, non-conforming Protestants were beheaded while villagers flocked to watch
the show. In
China today, millions of believers who worship their Lord outside the
state-controlled church risk beatings and death under the
capricious hand of Communist prison guards. Human nature doesn’t change, and social
barriers to cruelty
against non-conforming Christians crumble as Biblical morality yields to the world’s sensuality.Who were targeted by the media after the tragic
bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building? Christians, conservative radio
hosts and homeschooling parents together with Militia groups and criminals!
Day after day, the media’s accusing pens
pointed to suspected foes of American oneness those whose “enraged
rhetoric” had created a national “climate of hate and paranoia.” And
their
emotional appeals worked! It’s easier to shout, “Stop spreading hate!” than to
encourage rational debate.
The same is true in postmodern churches. Like
secular change agents, from UN visionaries to local educators, church
leaders are being trained in the latest business management theories. They envision a
unified community where all members participate in the required “lifelong learning” and facilitated
consensus groups. No one would be exempt from the continual assessments that
measure cooperation, monitor compliance and provide leaders with the
feedback needed to periodically adjust the process. All would be tracked
through a vast networks of databases available not just to the local
church and government but, eventually, also to the United Nations.
[See
An International Information
System] And resisters those who
stand back and question the process become enemies to this quest for
oneness and
solidarity.
[See
Ban truth
and
Re-Inventing the Church]And no wonder! “Because you are not of the
world, but I chose you out of the world,” warned Jesus, “therefore the world
hates you…. If they persecuted Me they will persecute you…. for they do
not know the One who sent Me.”
John 15:19-21One reason why people conform to the
seductive “change
process” in evangelical churches is the fear of loss. Rejection hurts. But such fear is useful for
today’s change agents. Just as severe public punishment has through the ages
been used to frighten the masses into outward conformity, so fear of
personal rejection now prompts people of all ages “to go along to get along.”
In order to transform churches from the old ways (where pastors
preach and everyone learns the Scriptures) to the
Total Quality Management model, “transformational leaders” must
find ways to curb resistance to change. The popular church management manual, Leading
Congregational Change (LCC), promoted by Bob Buford‘s Leadership
Network, offers a well-used plan. “This is a book you
ought to read before you change anything,” said Rick Warren in his hearty
endorsement. Ponder its definition for resistance and the tone it sets:“Address
Specific Pockets of Resistance. Resistance is the ‘opposite reaction’ to change…. [It] can come in
many different formsconfrontational or passive-aggressive, from
known troublemakers or loyal supporters, as a result of a specific
change or of an incorrect perception.”
[3, pages 90-91]Since change agents must be
totally committed to their strategic mission or purpose, they must also view
dissenters as wrong. While some issues can be negotiated, this is not
one of them. Successful transformation depends on persuading
the vast majority to share
their single-minded focus. Those who disagree with their
manipulative strategies are viewed as intolerable barriers to the ultimate goal: a new way of
collective
thinking, being and serving. [See
Reinventing
the World]In the end, the specific vision or stated purposes matter little.
What counts are the unity and conformity derived from the common focus, the
feel-good group experiences, the
peer pressure, and the facilitated process. The only real obstacles to mass
compliance are those (usually faithful members) who oppose the essential steps to top-down
control and infect others with their doubts. You may recognize some of the steps:1. Identify resisters. In the Church Growth Movement, the resisters are those who question
the need for systemic change (total restructuring of all facets), distrust the dialectic process, and
criticize the transformational methods. What’s worse, they
refuse to shift their primary focus from the actual Scriptures to
the positively phrased “purpose” or “vision” or “mission statement.”
LCC warns change leaders about this problem:“Change leaders should expect resistance
to team learning. … Recognizing and making this resistance
explicit to other team members tends to lessen its grip. It takes time
for a group to emerge as a team, and all the concerns and resistance related
to teams will resurface during this period.”
[3, page133]Rick Warren is more subtle, and his references to health versus disease cloak
his hostility toward “unhealthy” members who resist his agenda. In
The Purpose Driven
Church, he writes:“When a human
body is out of balance we call that disease…. Likewise, when
the body of Christ becomes unbalanced, disease occurs…. Health
will occur only when everything is brought back into balance. The task of church
leadership is to discover and remove growth-restricting diseases
and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur.”[1,
page 16]Scott Peck, famed author of The
Road Less Traveled,
uses the same analogy. “There’s a term
therapists use; it’s ‘resistance,'” he writes in Reflections on
Leadership, “which refers to people who don’t like to or want to be
healed or converted, so they resist.”[5,
page 92]The Change Agent’s Guide to Innovation in Education by Ronald G.
Havelock tells it like it is. This popular manual for transformational
leaders was funded by the U.S. Office of Education and the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare in 1973 and continued to receive
government funding until the 1980s. Since then, it has been foundational to the training of teachers, pastors, politicians and change
agents in diverse fields. A few years ago, it was
promoted on the churchsmart.com website. (The page has since been removed).
Comparing Havelock’s model for change with the management process
taught by Bob Buford, Rick Warren and their common mentor
Peter Drucker, one quickly
sees the similarities. All use the same basic formulas dressed in different words,
phrases and illustrations. Like LCC, Havelock’s book prompts change agents
to watch out for resisters:“Many social
systems also contain some members who assume the active role of
resisters or critics of innovation. They are the defenders
of the system the way it is, the self-appointed guardians of moral,
ethical, and legal standards…. Resisters of
various orders have been very successful in preventing or slowing
down… diverse innovations.”[2, page 120]
“Resisters’ may
be identified for having spoken out previously on the innovation or from
having come to you with objections…. It is important, however, to try
to identify resisters before they become vocal and committed on this
particular innovation.”[2,
page 122]Charlotte
Iserbyt, in her revealing book,
the deliberate dumbing down of america,(sic) shares her observations of a meeting she attended
many years ago when she worked for the US Department of Education:“The presenter (change agent) taught us how to ‘manipulate’ the taxpayers/parents into accepting controversial programs. He explained how to identify the
‘resisters’ in the community and how to get around their resistance. He instructed us in how to go to the highly respected members of the community… to manipulate them into supporting the controversial/non-academic programs and intobad-mouthing the resisters….
I left this trainingwith my very valuable textbook, The Change Agents Guide to Innovations in Education, under my armfeeling very sick to my stomach and in complete denial over that in which I had been involved. This was not the nation in which I grew up; something seriously disturbing had happened between 1953 when I left the United States and 1971 when I returned.”[4]
2.
Assess resisters and
determine the degree of resistance.
Negative or uncompromising attitudes will be tracked using
the sophisticated data
systems that monitor each member. “Continual feedback” from these high-tech systems (made
available to many large churches through Bob Buford’s Leadership Network)
provides the data needed to make necessary adjustments. It’s all part of
Total Quality Management. As we read in The Change Agents Guide, “Resisters
should be judged for relative sophistication and influence.”
[2, page 122]
LCC’s suggestions
fit right in:“Treat Each New Initiative as an Experiment. …
People are less resistant to a short-term experiment than they are
to a ‘permanent’ change. … An experiment signals that the leaders
do not claim to have all the answers. Experiments give people more
room to innovate, learn and improve with less risk of
repercussion. … Measure,
measure, measure. Before beginning an experiment, a scientist
defines the desired result and establishes procedures to measure the
outcome. Measurement implementation requires clarity about the goal
and process for evaluating progress.”[3, page 82]
“Continually
Monitor the Commitment Level. Healthy congregations have good feedback
systems. As change occurs, commitment levels will vary. For some people
any change calls for a ‘withdrawal from the emotional bank account’
(Covey, 1989). When the account is overdrawn, people become unwilling to
make further changes. As withdrawals are made, change leaders should
intentionally replenish the account through acts of kindness, good
communication, love and concern.”[3, page
104]3.
Befriend, involve and persuade borderline resisters.
Participation in small
group dialogues
may encourage borderline resisters to trade their traditional convictions for
a more permissive fellowship. Some will reconsider their objections and conform
to group demands. Others will quietly leave on their own.“Coercive power only strengthens resistance,”
wrote Robert Vanourek in Reflections on Leadership.
“…Instead the leader’s
skills at ‘facilitating’ the group should be used. The ideas should evolve
from the group. Then the leaders can simplify them in a persuasive fashion.
Then commitment to the vision can be gained.”[5,
page 301] Emphasis addedThe words, “simplify them,” means rephrasing
and adapting the group views to the pre-planned outcome — a shrewd and
subtle way of giving the people the impression that they actually conceive
and “own” the results. This strategy works well in community forums around
the world. As Ronald Havelock wrote in his Change Agents Guide,
“Increasing pressure against the opposing forces usually will increase the
resistance pressure. Frequently, but not always, the wisest and most
effective course of action is to focus on ways of understanding and reducing
resistance rather than trying to overwhelm it.”[2,
page 301]The most effective solution is friendly persuasion.
“For unity’s sake, we must never
let differences divide us,” wrote Pastor Warren. “We must stay focused on what
matters most learning to love each other as Christ has loved us, and
fulfilling God’s five purposes for each of us and his church.”[6,
pages 161-162]That sounds good. But
how can concerned Christians embrace a
unity that involves compromising the truth? Only if our primary focus is
fixed on Jesus
and His Word can we truly share His agape love in a darkening world. For His
name’s sake, we can’t let a human vision of unity force us
to minimize His truth.Change agents have
little tolerance for such an uncompromising Biblical position. It gets in
the way of total and continual change. Therefore, LCC warns its
readers to remain vigilant, keep promoting the vision (or purpose) and build
congregational support. Notice that the strategic vision, not the Holy Spirit, must guide the process:“Never stop. The change process never truly ends. … The art of leadership is
knowing when to pause and when to press forward…. It is easy
to be lulled into a premature feeling of victory after the first
round of implementation. Established momentum and alignment will
Spread
the vision … to a congregation-wide effortSteadily
break down the residual places of resistanceInstill
a new approach for vision-guided, strategic decision making
throughout the congregationCreate
the mindset and systems that will help the church… maintain or increase its impact on its
community.”[3, page
93] Emphasis added.“There is no
‘next stage,’ but the change process is never-ending. The
eight stages of the change process need to be revisited often. This
cycle becomes a part of the congregation’s culture and way of
life.”[3, page
94]
4. Marginalize
more persistent resisters. They obstruct progress and undermine the needed unity,
momentum and passion for change. That’s why pastors often
suggest to “divisive” members that they might be happier elsewhere.
When the unhappy members leave, they usually, out of
obedience to their Lord, follow the pastor’s request that they not speak to
anyone about their reasons for leaving. The congregation will be told not to
ask any questions. Thus the change leaders avoid potential conflict. The LCC
summarizes this stage:“Some loss of
members is likely throughout the change process. Even at this
late stage, some people will decide that they are not on board with
the vision and that they need to leave. When this happens,
leaders must be willing to allow people to find a different place to
worship…. The worst mistake is to compromise the vision to try to
retain a few members.
“Change leaders must also be prepared to deal with members who
choose to ‘stay and fight.’ When the resistance is overt and
destructive, failure to act on the problem is far worse than the
cure. The Bible gives clear principles in Matthew 18 for how to
handle these conflicts.”
[3, page 91]Actually, Matthew
18:15-17 shows God’s way of dealing with an actual sin a violation of God’s law
or guidelines not someone who, in obedience to God’s Word, takes a stand. Yet, in spite of the enforced
tolerance
toward moral and spiritual sins within the Church Growth Movement, there
is little tolerance toward those who appear to disobey the top-down mandates of
this manipulative management system. Sold out to pragmatism, it often turns
a blind eye to
Scriptures such as Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than man.”
Pastor Warren is
more subtle,
yet he models an attitude that breeds intolerance and judgment toward individuals
who violate his politically correct guidelines concerning unity and
relational synergy. As you saw
earlier, he equates sincere Christians who question the adoption of the
world’s methodology with germs and disease within the body.
And he calls on the church leadership to “remove growth-restricting diseases
and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur.”[1,
page 16]
What are those barriers? Are they the thoughts and
actions that the Scriptures call sins, or are they attitudes and values that
clash with psychological criteria for a politically
correct “healthy church?” As Pastor Warren demonstrates throughout The Purpose Driven
Life, it’s all too easy to prove a point by cloaking the world’s
psychological notions in short, simple or paraphrased Scriptures taken out of context.
5. Vilify those
who “stay and fight.” At this stage, negative labels, accusations and
slander are permitted, if not encouraged, to circulate. Resisters
now labeled as divisive troublemakers are blamed for disunity, for slowing the change process,
and for distracting the
church body from wholehearted focus on its all-important vision, mission or purpose.
Ponder the subtle suggestions and negative labels Pastor Warren
attaches to individuals who question his purpose-driven
management system:“The Bible
knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from
other believers….”[6,
page 130]“Today’s culture of independent individualism has created many
spiritual orphans’bunny believers’ who hop around from one church to
another without any identity, accountability or commitments. Many believe one
can be a “good Christian’ without joining (or even attending ) a
local church, but God would strongly disagree.”[6,
page 133]“A church family moves you out of self-centered isolation.”[6,
page 133]“Isolation breeds deceitfulness.”[6,
page 134]
Emphasis added in each itemNotice the derogatory implication in each statement. We discussed some of
God’s special “solitary saints” earlier. Trusting God alone, they grew
strong in Spirit. Those who have searched long and hard for a Biblical
church with solid teaching and edifying fellowship may identify with what
Rick Warren mocks as “bunny believers.” And the “isolation” of a faithful
Christian who obeys God’s call to separation from worldliness and unbiblical
fellowship produces purity, not deceitfulness.
[2
Corinthians 6:12-18]Yet unfair and misleading labels continue to undermine the
credibility of faithful believers. In the article
“165 members ousted from Gardendale Baptist,”
Brad Olson wrote,
“Members of Gardendale Baptist Church voted Sunday to expel about 165 members from their congregation because they did not support the leadership of the church’s pastor….
In a letter to the congregation, Micah Davidson, the church’s pastor, called a business meeting after a July 18 baptismal service at which members would vote on the following statement:
‘Pastor Micah is the God-called pastor for Gardendale and is leading us in God’s direction or not.’…
‘If the church votes for me to stay,’ he wrote, ‘those who vote against
me will be removed from membership in the family immediately.’
“The vote was about 750 to 165 in favor
of the pastor, according to John Gilbert, administrative pastor of the
church. Immediately after the vote of confidence,
members voted to revoke the memberships
of those who voted against Davidson.
Gilbert said that of the 165 members who were ‘removed from membership,’
all could come back to church if they ‘signed a covenant for church
unity.’…“Gilbert said the controversy arose over
Davidson’s leadership and changes relating to certain programs in the
church. ‘Most of it centered around Micah’s leadership,” Gilbert said.
“Some people liked it and some didn’t like it. This whole thing is like
a divorce. You have new leadership and some of the old leadership
decides they don’t want to follow the new leadership.’“Our church is totally committed to reaching people in the community.
Some people were willing to sacrifice some personal preferences
[set aside offensive Scriptures and Biblical
teaching in order to gain more members?] and traditions and
some were not willing to do that.”
“Gilbert said opposition in the church was impeding the church’s progress. He said the members could not vote on every decision Davidson made, but could vote on whether he was called by God to be pastor.’ They just couldn’t continue with the gossip and slander and misinformation,’ he said.”
www.caller.com/ccct/cda/article_print/0,1983,CCCT_811_3050141_ARTICLE-DETAIL-PRINT,00.html
Gossip, slander and
misinformation? Statements from those who were forced to leave the church
community they had loved show that their concerns about the shift to a more
contemporary model were
valid. During a televised interview, one person wept as she expressed both the
pain of rejection and the confusing new rules for the church. The actual “misinformation” seems to come from the
new pastor and other church managers who have little tolerance for anyone who
questions their absolute power and unbiblical commands. No wonder, since
contemporary “church leaders” are trained to use tough words to discredit
dissenters.In a review of the book, Making Change Happen One Person at a Time:
Assessing Change Capacity Within Your Organization, resisters were
labeled “tares in a wheat field.”[7] In other words, a negative Biblical
image was used to disgrace those who couldn’t conform. Those who flowed with
the change were the “wheat field.” Resisters were tares:“At the opposite end of the leadership spectrum are the resisters who resemble the
tares in the wheat field. They appear willing to change, but use a variety of ever-so-subtle tactical means to prevent the organization from reaching its objective.”[7]Where pragmatism
rules, anything goes. As The Change Agent’s Guide to Innovation in
Education
tells us:
“Sometimes collaboration will not work and, when it fails, there are a
number of alternatives that should be considered, ranging from complete
abandonment to complete deception.”[2,
page 131]
No doubt many
are being deceived. And all who embrace this process of “managed change”
tend to share its
hostility toward resisters. Some of you may identify with the pastor who
sent us the following letter:“I am a pastor of a small
congregation in Australia that grew out of a desire for the
TRUTH…. Having
been branded rebellious and out of divine order for
challenging the senior leadership of a large church, (of
which I was a pastor) and having been disciplined by the senior pastor and the elders because I
dared to address the errors of our ways and to challenge
even our vision and church programs (which were hurting more
people than healing) my wife and I soon found ourselves
‘churchless.’“Following some painful experiences of ostracism and
spiritual rejection, I sought God in fasting and prayer for
a week in solitude…. Our glorious and faithful heavenly Father finally broke
through and after much weeping, brokenness and repentance
for the sins of self-effort and trying to please man rather
than God, we were led into His
wilderness for more trials and testing. We grew
stronger in faith and deeper in His Word than we ever had
before, and found refuge and strength in Him alone.“Since then God has taken us through a time of
searching the
scriptures and fasting and prayer for His church. In time, God sent
those who had also been ‘rejected’
or left the church because they could no longer tolerate the
sin, compromise and false or diluted teachings, and we found
ourselves meeting and worshipping in homes as in Acts 2. We now meet weekly and are growing in His glorious Word, and in biblical fellowship
together.
“Rick Warren’s ’40 Days of Purpose’ is taking this country
by storm and just about every church is running it. Before I
even looked at it I felt a heaviness on my heart and a check
in my spirit…. I began to read the book. Having already heard of the
damage done to many churches by his ‘Purpose Driven Church’
years before, I was reluctant to do so, but I felt it my
duty to at least look at the material. It wasn’t long before
I began to see the deception, not so much by what he
taught, but by what was missing.” Emphasis added6.
Establish
rules, regulations, laws and principles that silence, punish or drive out resisters.
At Saddleback,
every new member must sign a
“Membership Covenant.” It includes this innocuous promise: “I will
protect the unity of my church… by following the leaders.”This covenant is backed by Scriptures such as
Ephesians 4: 29 (“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouths….”) and Hebrews 13:17 (“Obey your leaders and submit to their
authority….”)But taking a stand on God’s Word is hardly what
the Bible refers to as
“unwholesome talk.” And, if church leaders followed
the world’s management system rather than God’s way, the command to “obey
your leader and submit….” would be overruled by other relevant Scriptures. For example, when the
religious leaders in Jerusalem told John and Peter to stop teaching “in the
name of Jesus,” they answered,Whether it is right in the sight of God to
listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the
things which we have seen and heard. Acts 4:19Church management consultant and interim pastor, Jim Van Yperen, might
disagree. Teaching on submission at a church where he had been hired to lead the
change process, he said,“It’s sin not to submit…. By my refusal to
admit it is sin, it’s a further problem. That’s what Satan wants to do. He
wants to separate us. And if he can give me the idea that I’m right and you
are wrong so I’m not going to submit to you because you are crazy or I don’t
like you or I’m not going to listen to you or I won’t come to church… that’s an act of sin.
It’s rebellion. It’s sin. It needs to be confessed, repented of and forgiven. Most
of what happens in the church that get us into trouble are these relational sins
that we want to minimize and say, ‘No I just disagree.’ We’ll talk about
disagreement. There’s not a lot of things you have permission to disagree
about.”[8]
Emphasis added.Van Yperen wrote a chapter
titled “Conflict: The Refining Fire of Leadership” for George Barna’s book, Leaders on Leadership
back in 1997. “A leader
of leaders,” George Barna calls him. Like other leading change agents, he is “a
marketing strategist and communications consultant,” who “has worked with a
wide variety of churches, parachurch ministries and non profit organizations
in the areas of vision development, strategic planning, communications,
resource development and conflict resolution.” His international
influence makes his next statement significant. Notice its emphasis on
collective, holistic or “systems thinking” one of the more
important outcomes of the world’s new
management system and its consensus process. Ponder the far-reaching
implication of this postmodern principle:“Think in wholes,
not in parts…. God views sin as a community responsibility. When one person in the community
sins, the whole community bears the guilt.”[9]You saw evidence of Pastor Warren’s holistic
views in the chapter on “Unity and Community.” Some of the following rules
or principles also reflect a collective ideal. Violations open the door to
various disciplines:“God blesses churches that are unified. At
Saddleback Church,
every member signs a covenant that includes a promise
to protect the unity of our fellowship. As a result, the church has
never had a conflict that split the fellowship….”[6, page 167] Emphasis
added“Rick’s Rules of
Growth….
Third,
never criticize what God is blessing, even though it may
be a style of ministry that makes you feel uncomfortable.”
[1,
page 62]Who determines what God is blessing? Does the
growth come through the Holy Spirit or through the latest strategies in
behavior modification? The assessments that measure progress toward
pre-planned outcomes don’t discern spiritual influences whether from God
or other forces. Like public schools, they measure personal change toward
collective thinking and readiness to cooperate, but they can’t test the
heart or measure obedience to the promptings of the Spirit. So the question
remains: are new members added because they were seeking God or because they
liked the feel-good fellowship, the sense of belonging and the unconditional
respect?
Listen to the words Jesus spoke to the crowds
fascinated with His message and healing power. Most assuredly, I say to
you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the
loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for
the food which endures to everlasting life….
Matthew 6:26-27
Peter Drucker‘s unbiblical emphasis on success
by man’s standards should stir great alarm among Christians. What happens to
people who don’t fit his blueprint for productive human resources? Sarah
Leslie, co-author of The Pied Pipers of Purpose, a vital document
that makes the complexities and connections behind the new management
systems understandable, wrote:
“Weve come across numerous references in the Purpose-Driven literature
to a concept called ‘abandonment.’ It is a
Peter
Drucker concept that has to do with businesses
abandoning parts of their business that dont make money. In the private
sector (churches) it translates into churches abandoning projects that
dont produce pre-defined ‘results’ (the measurable kind, ‘outcomes,’
etc.). This also means abandoning people who dont go along with the
flow the ‘laggards’ who wont participate in the transformation. A
church split is seen as a good thing, in that it gets rid of those
people who are blocking progress towards church restructuring.”
If someone were to rewrite the parable of the
Shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to search for the one that was lost, do you
wonder if he would check to make sure the one lost sheep would fit the new
management standards?
One of the standard
rules for small group dialogue tells members to respect every diverse
position or point of view. Don’t
violate someone’s comfort zone by implying that an unbiblical behavior or
lifestyle constitutes sin. As LCC tells us, “Create a
safe environment. Participants in the process must feel that they have
permission to raise questions, challenge assumptions, and explore a variety
of options. In transformational planning, there can be no sacred cows.”
[3, page 124]
Emphasis
added
Do you see the
inconsistency? There is little respect for the old views and standards. Resisters within the church have no permission to question or
challenge the change process. Why then would its change agents encourage critical challenges to truth
in a group setting that discourages clear Biblical answers? And why would the “critical thinking”
strategies used by public schools to change our children’s home-taught
values now be
used to transform churches?
The answer is
simple but shocking. First, LCC tells Christian leaders that, “Using
critical thinking intentionally to challenge the mental models
of an organization is a key skill. Critical thinking is the process
of taking a fresh look at a problem by stripping away the
assumptions and constraints that may have been imposed in the past.
It requires probing deeper than most groups are comfortable
doing.”[3, page
120-121]
Second, the goal for
change agents in mega-churches matches the goal for UNESCO’s worldwide
education system. Concerned parents who have been watching the changing
education system will be familiar with the term critical thinking. In
the
Glossary
of
our 1995 book, Brave
New Schools, we defined it as “Challenging students’ traditional beliefs,
values and authorities through values clarification strategies
and Mastery Learning.”
(See Sex Ed
and Global Value and
Three Sets of Meanings of Educational Buzzwords)
Don’t minimize the
significant parallel between the school and the purpose-driven church. The words and phrases used
by the two systems may differ at times, but the manipulative management
methods and change processes are the same. Both fit into the “seamless”
structure of the global management system. Both would agree that it’s okay to criticize and tear down the old
ways of thinking and believing. But it’s not okay to criticize the
global vision for a utopian future or the march toward solidarity in a new world order.
Both the vision and the method were planned by
socialist leaders back in 1945 through 1948, when Alger Hiss, Julian Huxley
and Brock Chisholm (the first heads of the United Nations, the UNESCO and
the World Health Organization) outlined the ambitious plan for global solidarity
through education and mental health standards around the world. Their vision hasn’t
changed in the last 59 years. If anything, it’s stronger and more acceptable
to our culture and churches than ever.
[See “Legalizing
Mind Control” and
The
Revolutionary Roots of the UN]
Where do God, the Holy Spirit and the Bible
fit into this monstrous worldwide system that uses deception and behavior
modification to mold
Human Resources for the Global Workforce? They don’t. That’s why schools
must either ban or adapt religion to the ultimate goals of our globalist
manager. And that’s why
change agents
assigned to transform churches must redefine Biblical terms, paraphrase
Scripture verses, and determine which truths are useful and which are offensive. Behind the familiar sounding
mission, vision and purpose statements stands a system that leaves little
room for the actual guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is no room for God’s
ways if they can’t be conformed to the detailed man-made plans for change.
Confidence and peace in the midst of change and struggle
Man’s grandiose aims and deceptive strategies never surprise God. He sees the end as well as the beginning,
and He warns us to watch for signs of things to come. He tells
us to guard against the world’s illusions and promises His
strength in our weakness. He calls us to separation unto Him even as we love the lost and share His truth.
He tells us that His ways, His truth and His nature never change, for
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
The almighty Father and sovereign Lord of the Old Testament is still our Father
and Lord in New Testament times. And this holy and righteous Lord will judge His
people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”
(Hebrews 10:30).
By His grace, His faithful followers find “refuge to lay
hold of the hope set before us … an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Heb
6:18-19). But those who hop on the bandwagon of “continual
change” have no such anchor. Nor do they know where their ride will end, since
they leave behind the unchanging absolutes of God’s Word.
For many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the
cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and
whose glory is in their shame who set their mind on earthly things. For
our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ….
Philippians 3:18-20Those whose hearts are set on eternal life, but
walk with Jesus in this life, will share in His suffering and rejection. Even
His disciples complained about some of His teachings, which was anything but
politically correct. In John 6, we read His response to their grumbling:’Does this offend you? … It is the
Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak
to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not
believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not
believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, ‘Therefore I have said to
you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My
Father.’ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked
with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to
go away?’ John 6:61-67What about you? Walking with Jesus may mean that
you must speak unwanted truths, share the offense of the cross and separate
yourself from the crowd. But when you face hostility, rejection and abandonment,
Jesus is there softening the pain and replacing it with His sweet presence.
After reading Pat Johnson’s opening letter,
I asked her how God strengthened and sustained her
during the painful exclusion from her church “family” and friends.
May her answers encourage you:
- By never leaving me even when I turned away from Him in hurt and
anger
- By forgiving me daily for turning to the flesh and mercifully
waiting for me to return to Him
- By speaking to me loud and clear through His Word.
- By increasing my faith, a prayer of my heart for a long time
- By steering me away from the instant gratification that the rock
and roll churches tend to foster
- For teaching me to have more confidence that I am His child and
am able to hear His voice
- By teaching me about His providence
- By lovingly revealing my own sin in response to
being shunned
- By giving me a wonderful husband who has loved me without
condition, even though this trial has surely tested us and our
marriage
- By restoring my relationship with my parents and siblings.
(They believed we had belonged to a cult.)
- By giving me 3 very active children to keep me going and focused
and feeling loved, even when I was so very rejected (I was very
worried that they would turn from God and reject His church, but
thus far, it hasn’t happened)
- By pruning away my self-pity
- By keeping me healthy and giving me the gift of running
- For giving me encouragement from believers on the Internet when
I had no one else to turn to that understood the dynamic of
controlling churches/church leaders
- By showing me that there is no other way but through humility
- By freeing me from the dangerous practice of pleasing man (a
life-long sin)
- The thing I am grateful for the most is the first thing I
started with: He has never left me or forsaken me (though many
have). This, to me, is mind-boggling and requires a faith that has
only come from severe rejection by those I have loved and trusted.“…we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of
the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard
pressed on every side, yet not crushed… perplexed, but not in despair
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck
down, but not destroyed always
carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our
body.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-10
For encouragement, read
The Loneliness of the Christian
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven, Part 1
Part 2
–
Part 3
–
1.
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 1995), page 20.2. Ronald G. Havelock, The Change
Agent’s Guide to Innovation in Education (Educational Technology Publishing: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,
1973). According to Charlotte Iserbyt (note #4) “This Guide, which contains authentic case studies on how to sneak in
controversial curricula and teaching strategies, or get them adopted by
naive school boards, is the educators manual for bringing about change in
our childrens values. Havelocks Guide was funded by the U.S. Office of
Education and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and has
continued to receive funding well into the 1980s. It has been republished in
a second edition in 1995 by the same publishers. [Ed. Note: Why is it that the change agents plans and their tools to
transform our educational system never change, while parents and teachers
are told, repeatedly, that they must be ready and willing to change?]
3. James H. Furr,
Mike Bonem and Jim Herrington, Leading Congregational Change (San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000). Authored by James H. Furr,
Mike Bonem, and Jim Herrington in 2000, it was published by Jossey-Bass, the
main publisher for the
Peter Drucker
Foundation (now called Leader to Leader)
and the “Christian”
Leadership Network
founded by Bob Buford.
4. Charlotte Iserbyt,
the
deliberate dumbing down of america (sic),
http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/
5. Larry C. Spears (Editor),
Reflections on Leadership (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995);
pages 92, 301.
6. Rick Warren,
The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2002).
7. Book review:
Making Change Happen One Person at a Time:
Assessing Change Capacity Within Your Organization (Amacon, 2000),
posted at
http://www.booksunderreview.com/Society/Genealogy/Surnames/Organizations/Organizations_13.html
8. Jim Van Yperen. Transcribed from
taped message. Chain of Lakes
Community Bible
Church (CLCBC), Illinois, Sunday evening, April 14, 2002.
9. George Barna,
Leaders on Leadership (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1997),
page 254.
Home
|
Articles |
News
|
Chart |
Re-Inventing the Church