What's the minimum?

I have spent a lot of time thinking and reading and praying about a problem that is troubling me. Most churches seem to have large documents saying what they believe and what you have to believe to be a member. According to these documents I am not sure there is one church in our town that I can be a member of! I was becoming very negative and fed up with them all.

So in an attempt to be more positive, I decided to try to work out what is the minimum we need to believe to be a member of the worldwide body of Christ. From that I was thinking that if this could become the criteria for being a member of a local church maybe I would find a place I could call home here in Larnaka. This is what I came up with:

The early followers of Jesus called themselves followers of the way. This is based on Christ's words of 'I am the way, the truth and the life' [John 4:16], in other words, they are followers of Jesus. We can comfortably, therefore, call ourselves followers of the way.

From the beginning there were differences of opinion as to what being a follower of the way actually meant. These have continued and increased both in breadth and ferocity. The early followers of Jesus drew up a minimal creed to identify what is needed to be believed to be a follower of the way. We call this 'The Apostles Creed' and dates back to AD140:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord, who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, from where He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body and the everlasting life.

As far as the law is concerned Jesus was asked what was the minimum or most important part of the law. He replied:

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' [Luke 10:27]

Why not add to these? I was looking for the minimum in each case. If we want the maximum we would return to the legalism of the Old Testament. With these as a minimum all the debates about baptism, gifts of the Spirit, church management and leadership and whatever else we want to argue about can be relegated to differences of interpretation.

What I still don't know is how to resolve within a fellowship opposite interpretations - for instance when some believe that women in leadership is acceptable and some do not. For me, I look to the minimal and see if it conflicts. If not, then its permitted. This is similar to the problem the early followers of the way had with meat sacrificed to idols. Jesus summary of the law gives us the guidelines that Scripture then unpacks - yes, its permitted but not necessarily helpful within the fellowship.

The problem we face is that most churches do not allow for disagreement. So if we have a bunch of believers who claim that the modern state of Israel is the outworking of God's plan we can either join them or reject them. There lies the problem - I love the people but totally disagree with them over this. With each of the churches in this town there are problems I have with their belief structure.

Within any church there is a centre of power. That centre of power determines, as I said at the beginning, the belief structure of that church. It creates a very excluding structure. It makes people like me feel like outsiders. I believe this is the opposite of what Jesus intends for His body. I long for a church which I can call home...

Streams in the Desert

One problem I find with people is that they rationalise man made structures [like countries] into God ordained institutions. As I read the scriptures I see God calling His people to be a blessing to the nations, we are to be salt and light within our communities. To leap from that to some meta-plan of international political intrigue is, from what I have read of the Scriptures, plain rubbish and dangerously misleading.

Usually such a leap is based on taking Scriptures wildly out of context, a danger Evangelicals suffer from - 'proof texting' it's called. An example of this I have just come across is the 'Streams in the Desert' programme sponsored by Gateways Beyond. I like the people at Gateways Beyond. They are a great bunch of guys and many are good musicians, something lacking in the churches here in Larnaka. Theologically Gateways Beyond is a mix of messianic Jewish outreach and political Zionism under a guise of end times prophecy. The first I am encouraged by - I long to see Jews, as with Arabs, worship and enjoy a relationship with our Lord. The second, political Zionism under a guise of end times prophecy I am appalled by.

I stand and watch appalled as Israel takes Zangwill's untrue statement that 'Palestine is a country without a people; the Jews are a people without a country' and turn it into a battle cry to create genocide against the Palestinian people. Each Palestinian killed is a person Jesus died for and loves dearly. Each Israeli killed is a person Jesus died for and loves dearly. But just a casual look at the numbers of casualties shows a story that, while not being annihilation of the Palestinians, is way unbalanced in favour of the Israelis. Until justice prevails or all the Palestinians are killed we will have no peace in Palestine.

There are two contenting perceptions about the role of the Jewish tribes which some see as polar opposites: There is Zionism, which claims that the Jewish people were and are still a critical part of God's plan and there is 'replacement theology' which claims that the Christian church has replaced the Jewish people as the critical component to God's plan. In both cases there is one special group to receive God's blessing. Neither of them seem to actually capture the heart of God and both are equally wrong. Zionists also tend to interpret Scripture to suit their own ends as far as land rights are concerned.

However, from what I see in Scripture, though God's heart is to bless us, he calls us primarily to be a blessing to others. This is what the Jews seemed to miss from day one - they were supposed to be a blessing to the nations. Yes, check it out, each time its plural nations. And they failed miserably in this calling! Within the Jewish tribes there were the people of God. Abraham was called a friend of God. God had his friends within the Jewish tribes. It wasn't that the whole Jewish tribes were his equal friends. Though Scripture shows he was calling all the tribes to truth and justice.

I suspect that He also had his friends outside of the Jewish tribes too, but I cannot prove that. Maybe my first question to our Father in Heaven will be something along the lines of, 'Who were your friends outside of the Jewish tribes? In Egypt for instance...' but that's another story.

The Bible talks about 'grafting' as the analogy, not replacement. We who follow the Lord are grafted into the root stock, like sweet oranges in Cyprus are grafted onto bitter orange root stock. Thus we continue on the calling of God to be a blessing to the nations. To be a minority within a majority.

Jesus continued to expound the calling of God's people to be 'salt and light' as He put it, and the early disciples never thought of themselves as citizens of a country but as sojourners, just passing through. That is the healthy and Biblical perception of how we see ourselves and the nations we live in. Patriotism should be an anathema to a follower of Jesus.

So, when you look up all references to Cypriots and then claim that these are the 'specific ways God used the Cypriots to bless the Body in the first century and will again in these end times' this is simply proof texting and misleading people to believe things that are plainly untrue. There is no reason for God to repeat Himself. He might, but He is not bound to do and my reading of Scripture suggests he rarely does repeat Himself.

As I read Scripture and observe God working in the hearts and minds of people who follow Him, I see Him treating people according to the way He made them, not according to their nationality. Thus Barnabus was annointed not because he was Cypriot, but because of his character or nature. He could equally well have been Sudanese, Greek or Moroccan!

'Cyprus: The Barnabas Anointing' is thus a collection of proof texts, intragesis rather than exegisis, helpful in part to support the second strand of Gateways Beyond, that of political Zionism. This comes through clearly in their text:

Defenders of Israel Numbers 24v24

Ships will come from the shores of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin.”

Daniel 11v29-30 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

Most exciting, there is a purpose for the nation of Cyprus with respect to Israel that is yet to be fulfilled. Cyprus is also referred to as Kittim in the Scriptures. The Bible speaks of ships from Kittim coming against the enemies of Israel or discouraging the enemies of Israel.

No, this is not Scriptural interpretation or prophecy, but wishful thinking on the part of Jewish believers still stuck in the perception that the Jewish people were and are special. God weeps over each and every one of the people on earth who die without knowing Him. The story Jesus told that we call the 'Prodigal Son' tells us that. Every person on earth is special in God's eyes.

We need to be clear that political Zionism has nothing to do with following Jesus. Following Jesus is about laying down our lives for our friends, its about going the extra mile, not attempting to clear out a country of those living there so that Zangwill can be proved true that 'Palestine is a country without a people; the Jews are a people without a country'. This is not end time prophecy. It's a crime against humanity. The same humanity God sent His Son to die for.

Paul commended the Bereans for searching the Scriptures to check out what he was saying. I wish more people would take a Berean approach to programmes like 'Streams in the Desert'. From what I see, Streams in the Desert does not appear to be 'Contending for Cyprus and her regional calling' but contenting for Israel and finding any people who can help her. As such it's political rather than spiritual. I won't be going!

The gathering

I left late this morning. It was deliberate. I was going to a gathering that normally starts late and because I prefer to creep in at the back I was leaving later even than the time it was due to start.

As I arrived I could hear music floating out from the building. As I opened the door I could see six people at the front playing musical instruments or singing into microphones. At the back I could see six people also standing. Part of the reason they were standing was that there were not enough chairs. So I joined those at the back and shook their hands or gave them a hug depending on the relationship.

As I looked out over the people standing between those at the back and those at the front... at the people who had arrived early and therefore had chairs... I saw different reactions going on. Some were singing, some were not, some had their eyes open, some closed, some had hands above their heads, others by their side. All were peering at a screen onto which an overhead projector was showing words with some letters missing off the side of the screen and some letters with parts removed where the printing had been scratched away over time.

I had been been only fifteen minutes late and over the next twenty minutes two families and a few other people arrived. They crept in, looking for chairs. Except those young enough to be in a buggy and therefore took their chair with them. A whole mixture of clothing, nobody dressed smartly, some more interesting than others - like the jeans with almost more hole than material. Nice jeans, but why let all the cold air attack your legs in winter?

The music continued. One singer was too far from the microphone to hear her. The other was singing passionately, eyes closed and obviously highly involved in the song, but singing flat. Maybe it would have been better if she had been too far from the microphone.

Within the middle ground had evolved a row of young people. They were distracted by each other, enjoying their own company. Not singing. Chatting quietly while not disturbing others. Or they were exchanging meaningful glances along the line. At an unbidden signal the young people stand up and leave. They climb the stairs to gather together away from adults.

The adults meanwhile sit down. Fortunately someone had found some more chairs so we could all be seated. Some bright blue bags are passed round and people stuff money into them.

At length the trumpeter from the band clips a microphone to his shirt and starts to talk. It's nothing new he is saying. I have heard it before, many times. With variations, as other people have alternative perceptions about the book and person he is talking about. Everyone who manages to get hold of the microphone at the front is 100% convinced they are right about their interpretation. They often spend as much time correcting the errors of others as espousing their perception as truth. I am sure I would be the same if I got the microphone. Probably a good job that it happens very infrequently that I get it.

The people at the back are muttering corrections to the person at the front. At least the muttering will stop me falling asleep, as I normally do. The person at the front has just said there was a time a few years back when God told him to play. A mutter from the person on my right wondering if it was Scrabble and not the trumpet.

Funny gathering this. At length we shall have coffee and everyone will relax.

Today there is cake as well as biscuits to go with the coffee or tea. People talk about their week. Good or bad. People express how good the cake is. Others wonder about the recipe and how it was made.

People talk about next week and what will happen. Animated, lively discussion. Someone asks where the cake came from and who made it.

All manner of questions until they find the maker of the cake. Nobody brings out a book. Nobody sings about the cake or the maker. But it was good cake and the maker told us how bake another.