lifeunlimited: SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #10: 3/22/1998
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
FROM:
Bob Tolliver
LIFE UNLIMITED MINISTRIES
ADDRESS: Route 1, Box 87AB, Collins, MO 64738
Ph: 417-275-4854. Fax: 417-275-4855
E-mail: [email protected]
Dear Friends:
Did I ever goof! Instead of sending last week's newsletter to the post
address for delivery, I sent it my mistake to the subscribe address.
MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES!
So, it is probable that you didn't get last Sunday's e-mail.
So, here it is ---- seven days late, but delivered. You'll get the next
part tomorrow.
Again, my deepest apologies.
Bob
--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: lifeunlimited
To: Subscribe Shoulders
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #10: 3/22/1998
Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 22:53:00 -0600
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Standing Shoulder To Shoulder With "Fellow Soldiers In The Trenches",
Encouraging One Another As We "Fight The good Fight":
Title: "Seven Shackles on the Servant"
Dear Co-Laborer:
Have you had a good week?
If you read last week's letter, you know you did!
TWO PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS:
1. It is absolutely beyond my wildest dreams just what is happening with
this newsletter. Please don't misconstrue the following as an attempt at
arrogance, but rather, a sense of utter awe and humility at how God has
chosen to use this little tool to bless others. As of this week,
something that began with a few dozen recipients has, in just twelve
weeks, grown to several hundred in some 30 states and 15 countries on six
continents. I am absolutely dumbfounded!
Quite frankly, I sing the song of Mary (with some adaptations) ---- "My
soul magnifies the the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for He has had regard for the humble state of His bond slave!" (Luke
1:46-48). I'm reminded of a statement by the great missionary to China,
Miss Bertha Smith ---- "God strikes some awfully straight licks with some
awfully crooked sticks!" I can say "Amen!" to that! (She never allowed
anyone she was around to get by with any sense of pride.)
If you have a friend to whom you would like this newsletter sent, just
let me know.
2. I would be foolishly naive to think that every single letter is going
to bless every reader. It would also be absurd and arrogant to so think.
However, I can promise you one thing ---- I never take this assigned
blessing lightly, and I genuinely try to sense the heartbeat of God on
your behalf. Up to this point, I can honestly say I have not written a
single letter that was not accompanied by the burning sense that God
wanted someone specific to receive what He had put in my heart to share.
So, if any particular newsletter doesn't "strike home" for you, just
praise the Lord that it will with someone. I receive encouragement every
week from more than one who has been moved by the Holy Spirit in some
way.
Because of that, I cherish ---- yes, even covet ----- your prayers each
week that I will have a fresh anointing for this unbelievable privilege.
Thank you in advance for that.
NOW TO THE MAIN THING:
I sat there in my office, less than two years out of seminary and, from
all human indicators, in one of the most successful staff ministries a
man could ever ask for ---- in a rapidly growing Wichita church boasting
of twelve choirs, thirteen ensembles, twelve "Sunday morning quality"
soloists, an organist who was a music instructor in a school, and a
pianist with a masters degree in piano. Add to that a youth ministry
touching nearly 100 teens and a Sunday School staff that included some of
the most highly educated and well trained lay leaders a man could ever
ask for.
And yet, as I sat there that cold and windy February day (that's the only
kind there are in Wichita), leaning back in my chair, hands clasped
behind my head, my feet propped up on my desk, and gazing at library of
books on my shelves and the charts adorning the walls of my office, I was
not prepared for the invasive thought that exploded into my mind and out
of my heart toward the heavens.
"God, is this all the more fun serving Yo
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u is going to be?"
If it didn't stun God, it certainly did me. After all, this was a "light
work load" Monday after a very successful Sunday. I shouldn't have said
that or felt that way.
If I had known how, I would have tried to apologize. And, yet, there was
enough anger in my soul at the moment, that I actually felt good that I
had finally had the courage to verbalize what I had heretofore been
unable to articulate even to myself ---- it was just a sense of
frustrated unfulfillment that had been lingering in the dark recesses of
my wicked mind for several months.
Occasionally I would put it on a leash and take it for a very controlled
walk around the corridors of my relationships, always careful to keep it
in check everywhere I went while allowing it to growl and snap under
certain circumstances and to certain people ---- everywhere, that is,
except at home with my wife and four little girls where I habitually
walked in the door and turned it loose to vent unabated vindictiveness
and miserable, pathetic, anger.
That went on for months. I awoke every Monday and Thursday with severe
nauseating headaches. I was one of those guys who could never say, "Good
morning, Lord!", because none was good ---- and He was certainly not
Lord. I was more prone to say, "Good Lord! Morning!".
Finally, (in order to make a very long process brief) God, in His
sovereign wisdom and long suffering compassion, moved us to another
ministry where my family and I quickly dived into the challenge of a new
and exciting ministry, bathed ourselves in the splendor of new and less
pressured surroundings, and immersed ourselves in the love and kindness
of a wonderful people ---- where I immediately had a head-on collision
with the pastor. Why, he hadn't even been in town when I first came on
the field. He was on vacation in California!
But, God had something amazing up His sleeve! I will deal with that
later. Suffice it to say that God had sovereignly decided to invade a
city, and He knew I needed to be there when He did. Though it happened
nearly thirty-two years ago, it is as if it happened yesterday ---- and I
weep when I think of it. The pain ---- the wonder ---- the humiliation
---- the glory! For nearly three years God walked up and down the
streets of that town, in and out of the doors of businesses, homes, and
churches. He left nothing untouched.
As I sat in the sanctuary one weekday morning, all alone save His own
atmospheric presence, I found myself saying, "God, is serving you always
this much fun?" I could hardly contain myself. I was walking in the
cloud of revival. Rather, WE were walking in the cloud of His Glory ----
not just a few, but literally hundreds. The entire town was shaken. The
city newspaper carried a front and center banner headline ---- :GOD IS
ALIVE! The only two other times in its history it had carried such a
large print headline was when Pearl Harbor was bombed and President
Kennedy was assassinated.
While I cannot and must not pursue my desire to describe it further, I
will tell you this ---- it changed my life forever pertaining to Who God
is, who He made me to be, my family, and The Church of the Lord Jesus
Christ! Even in numerous subsequent times of blackest darkness and
deepest valleys, I have not been able to shake the memories or marr the
images of those days when we walked with Him side by side. Some of the
men and women with whom we walked that path are reading this newsletter
today. If they could, they would tell you the same.
Perhaps one of the strongest agonies of those days, which has remained
with me all these more than thirty years, unabated, undiminished, and
unchecked, is the passionate craving to again see what the true New
Testament Church walking in the fullness of Christ and the anointing
power of the Holy Spirit would look like in our day.
I do have good news. There are places today where that Church is
beginning to walk out of the dull mist of carnality and into the light of
Christ's glory. It is my firm conviction that revival and awakening are
both en rout
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e, and will be arriving shortly on a massive scale, rather
than in somewhat isolated arenas as they are today.. If nothing else I
write today lifts your spirits and strengthens your hope, I pray that
statement will.
What I really want to address now, however, is the question of what
happened that caused the Church of the First Century Fire to become the
Church buried in the Twentieth Century Mire? There is hardly any other
organization in the world today with more resources at its disposal and
yet more inept and ineffective at what it is doing than is the
present-day church.
HOW DID IT HAPPEN?
While I will address this question in more depth in later letters, let me
encapsulate it by referring to two major events in the history of the
Church ---- the reign of Constantine in Rome, and the Protestant
Reformation.
1. Constantine in Rome: Quite simply, when, for whatever motives,
Constantine tried to Christianize the Roman Empire,many zealous but naive
believers of that day also helped Romanize the Church. At that point, a
process began that ultimately divided believers into two groups ----
laity and clergy. The intimate fellowship of believers meeting in small
groups of families gave way to ever-growing corporate gatherings in
public buildings erected to compete with the great halls of debate for
the Roman orators and politicians. Christianity became the "in thing"
for any Roman citizen who wanted recognition and influence. The Church
slowly shifted from being a People where all participated and ministered
to a Place where spectators gathered to watch ---- and critique ---- the
performers.
2. The Protestant Reformation: In spite of all the great benefits it
contained, what could have possibly become, at least up to that time, the
greatest revival in the history of the Church and the most sweeping
awakening of all time, ended up failing to break loose from those Fourth
Century manacles; and the attempted escape brought the vented rage of
deeper bondage of spiritual life and greater darkness of the soul. What
had at one time been the hidden death of the Dark Ages had risen to the
surface and been exposed, and then made acceptable by disguising itself
in the dank and musty shroud of institutionalized religion which
cancerously replaced intimate relationship as the standard of holiness.
Incidentally, if you want a profound and frank account of that process
written in understandable terms, I recommend two books: James Rutz' "The
Open Church" (be prepared to be challenged and possibly offended!), and
"Dynamics of Spiritual Life" by Richard Lovelace (IVP). For the more
faint of heart, Lovelace approaches it with sparring gloves on; Rutz goes
at it with bare knuckles. I highly recommend both.
WHAT IS THE SUBSEQUENT RESULT?
Because I have taken so much time already, I am simply going to identify
what I believe to be seven life-sucking death-dealing consequences that
clearly differentiate the First Century Church from that which we loosely
call the Church today. As we examine these areas in subsequent letters,
I believe you will see the stark contrast that has come close to "killing
Christianity" as it was intended to not only exist, but flourish. I
recognize that the Church does exist in certain places with life,
vitality, and impact. However, in general, I believe we must admit that
there is more lifelessness than life in most locations.
Just to test that out in your church, let me ask two questions:
1. What is going on in your church that is unexplainable apart from God?
2. If God were to leave your church, what percentage of your church
activities could go on without Him?
CONSEQUENTIAL CONDITIONS:
The slowly creeping, strangling vines of Eden's weeds have generated the
following conditions we now have to face today. And, I dare say, dear
friend, that at least some if not most of the ministry struggles you face
today have a connection that can be traced to one or more of the
following:
This centuries-old process has . . .
1. Institutionalized the Church.
2. Intellectualized the Bible.
3.
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Credalized our Doctrines.
4. Culturalized our Approach.
5. Rationalized the Supernatural.
6. Compartmentalized God's Activity.
7. Minimized Holiness and Obedience.
ITS AFFECT ON YOU:
Any One of these cancers can prove to be fatal. The thought of having
all seven is heart breaking, and the anticipation of having to deal with
them and rectify the situation is, at the least, intimidating, and at the
most, debilitating and exhausting.
Dear friends, I believe with all my heart that many among us have
collapsed in the fox holes from sheer exhaustion while others have fallen
in the fight, mortally wounded, victims of sniper fire from a system that
fosters these life smothering conditions.
It is time to be renewed! It is time for us to receive healing from His
wings! It is time to see the King again! It is time to lay aside the
weights, gird up our loins, and get back in the race!
There is new energy for all who will. There is the faithfulness of our
Christ for all who will endure. There are open doors for those who will
dash toward them.
If you, dear friend, are a victim of one of these cancers, I am here to
tell you the Healer has come!
In spite of the conditions, the one great hope is this ---- there is no
way but up! So ---- let's get on with it! Praise Him! Adore Him!
Exalt Him! Follow Him! Love Him! Obey Him!
May God bless you above and beyond all you could ever ask or imagine ----
today!
In Christ's Bond of Hope,
Bob Tolliver
ADDRESS: Route 1, Box 87AB, Collins, MO 64738
Ph: 417-275-4854. Fax: 417-275-4855
E-mail: [email protected]
--------- End forwarded message ----------
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