What is a Pastor?

WHAT IS A "PASTOR?" Someone who is empowered to care for the souls of others-a "soul-tender," NOT A GIFTED PUBLIC SPEAKER. Being an eloquent speaker or administrator is not in the kingdom job description. Only our culture demands pulpit prominence and oratorical skill on a weekly basis--something utterly without a shred of biblicity. Some of the finest potential "pastors" I have ever known couldn't preach worth a lick. They were hindered, stunted, restrained in their gift expression to the body because those who controlled the three "P's" (power, pulpit, and purse) diminished them because of a lack of a public speaking gift. Sad to behold, and the ekklesia defrauded of a blessing. -- Anette Blackburn

Will the Dones Come Back?

"Theories have been produced to explain the 'DONES' PHENOMENON (i.e. those 'done' with building-centric/staff-centric/event-centric, 501c3 'church' models), and strategies formulated to effect a turnaround of the exodus. But what if there's actually nothing wrong with those who are leaving? What if God is calling his people to leave behind the MAN MADE RELIGIOUS TRAPPINGS for a LIFE OF FREEDOM which unashamedly reveals the very Kingdom that Jesus himself declared was at hand?" - Living Liminal

The Church Has Left The Building

Emancipation and Freedom

THE ORGANIZATION IS NOT THE EKKLESIA.* The denomination is not the ekklesia. If we see the ekklesia we will not be able to stay in the “church” long – it simply becomes an untenable position. An untenable position is one that you can not live with.

Someone who has seen the ekklesia and is paying the price to remain on that ground has found in his own personal life an emancipation and a freedom that he did not dream existed. The limitation, the smallness of Christianity and its conception of God’s purpose simply break forth into something limitless and expansive.

Floyd Police

* Ekklesia is the Greek word often translated as “church” in most English versions. The word is a compound word meaning “CALLED OUT” (ek = “out”; “klēsi” = called). The ekklesia is God’s “called-out” ones. The ekklesia is not a building or denomination; not a meeting, or doctrinal creed; it is not somewhere we go, or something we do, it is who we as believers are. (Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.)

Community Vision

A Little History of 1st Century Church

The Ekklesia

The "CHURCH " that Jesus said He would build is from the Greek word "Ecclesia" ekklesia. An Ecclesia (EKKLESIA ) within the Greek and Roman culture of Jesus' day spoke of a governmental, legislative, and judicial body that made decisions and judgments that determined how society functioned. . . This means that as the Ecclesia (ekklesia) of God we have been given the right to stand in the courts of Heaven. . . From there we are to exercise our authority as the Ecclesia (ekklesia). --Robert Henderson in "Operating In The Courts Of Heaven"
(Learn more about ekklesia--the lost word of the Bible--@

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Church-Lost-Bible-Ekklesia/

God’s Ekklesia- Not Ours

The Greek word often translated as “church” in most English versions is “ἐκκλησία” (ekklēsia, or ecclesia). The word is a compound word meaning “called-out” (ek = “out”; “klēsi” = called). The ecclesia is God’s “called-out” ones. The ecclesia is NOT a building or denomination; not a meeting, or doctrinal creed; it is not somewhere we go, or something we do, IT IS WHO WE ARE AS BELIEVERS.

Eight times Paul uses the phrase “the ecclesia of God." This possessive phrase leaves no doubt as to Whom the ecclesia belongs. It is the creation and possession of God.

If “the ecclesia of God” is not ours, how do we presume to start it, form it, name it, organize it and govern it? How do we have the audacity to create its doctrine, articles of faith and bylaws?

GOD STARTED HIS EKKLESSIA, and He alone governs it. It is organic. You can’t “go to it,” or “join it.”

Clyde L.Pilkington, Jr.

7,000 Churches Fasting, Praying Over Terrifying New Persecution Law

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-terrorism law, but for the country’s many churches, the signature sparked a demand for prayer and fasting.

The bill toughens punishment for acts deemed to be terrorism and for the organization of “mass unrest,” according to the Los Angeles Times. It would also introduce prison sentences of up to a year for those who fail to report such crimes.

Furthermore, Great Commission Ministries Chairman Hanny Haukka tells Charisma News the law entails:

Foreign guests are not permitted to speak in churches unless they have a “work permit” from Russian authorities.
If a friend or relative from outside Russia wishes to share his/her faith in your home, the guest will be fined and expelled from Russia.
Any discussion of God with non-believers is considered missionary activity and will be punishable.
Missionary activity will be permitted by special government permission. Example: If one traveling on a train shares his faith without written permission the offender will be taken into police custody for the duration of the journey and will be fined 50,000 rubles ($1000).
Offenders from the age of 14 will be subject to prosecution.
Religious activity is no longer permitted in private homes. Most churches in Russia meet in homes.
Every citizen is obligated to report religious activity (of neighbors) to the authorities. Failure to be an informant is punishable by law.
One may pray, read the Bible at home but not in the presence of a non-believing person. You will be breaking the law and be punished.
If the church has purchased property it cannot be converted into a place of worship.
In church buildings it is not permitted to invite people to turn to God. Worship services are permitted but making a non-believer a follower of Christ is against the law.

In response, thousands of churches across the country have come together to cry out to God.

“The church is appalled at the news of the new law. About 7,000 evangelical/protestant churches are in fasting and prayer at the moment over the news,” Haukka tells Charisma News via email.

Churches aren’t the only residents enraged by the law.

American refugee Edward Snowden tweeted: “#Putin has signed a repressive new law that violates not only human rights, but common sense. Dark day for #Russia.”

What’s more, critics are now declaring the Yarovaya laws, aka the “Big Brother,” laws as a sign of the end times: If these amendments come into force, prison sentences for certain non-violent “extremist” crimes will potentially be twice as long as, for example, murder committed in the heat of passion, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.Despite receiving nearly unanimous support in parliament, the Yarovaya laws have triggered a flood of apocalyptic commentary. Many wonder why Russia’s already excessively harsh criminal laws are being made harsher.

The only official criticism of the legislation, however, has come from the Presidential Human Rights Council, which has highlighted ways in which the proposed amendments directly contradict the Constitution and existing laws. This criticism has been almost entirely ignored.

The Duma has already passed a number of laws that have harshened Russian law in the name of fighting terrorism and extremism. It criminalized “public calls for the violation of territorial integrity” and “rehabilitation of Nazism,” a direct affront to the freedom of speech. In 2013, it passed a law that allowed the state to confiscate property from individuals affiliated with terrorists, including their relatives.

The government has long used the “fight against terrorism and extremism” to justify repressive laws, no matter how obviously senseless they may be. As a result, Russia’s statutory framework can now be effectively used to target not only credible extremist threats, but also political opponents of the state. A large group of prominent Russian lawyers decried this problem in an open letter in 2013, saying that the “parliament’s legislative work has acquired a distinctly prohibitive and repressive character.”

In response, Haukka pleads with believers around the world to join with Russian churches in prayer and fasting.

“Russia is closing down in an awful way. The new law is in total conflict with the purpose and the task given to the church by the Lord. The law will send the church back into Soviet-era Communist persecution,” he says.

Link: 7000 Praying Over New Persecution Law

What Are You Occupied With?

What Are You OCCUPIED With?

How many Christians are taken up with something short of Christ! They are OCCUPIED WITH THEIR HOLINESS INSTEAD OF WITH THE HOLY ONE; they are occupied with the promises instead of with the Promiser; they are occupied with the blessing instead of with the Blesser. And yet having Him we have everything.

The promises of God “in Him are yea, and in Him Amen.” His holiness is mine. His blessing is mine. The full occupation with a heavenly object will alone make us heavenly without an effort. We have not to try to be this or that: We “beholding… are changed” (II Corinthians 3:18).

E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913)

THE ORGANIZATION IS NOT THE EKKLESIA.* The denomination is not the ekklesia. If we see the ekklesia we will not be able to stay in the “church” long – it simply becomes an untenable position. An untenable position is one that you can not live with.

Floyd Police

"Most churches have a vision to reach people who are outside the church to bring them in... when KINGDOM vision is to get those inside the church back outside into the COMMUNITY." Bishop Jamie Englehart (church = ekklesia)

Eight times Paul uses the phrase “the ecclesia of God." This possessive phrase leaves no doubt as to Whom the ecclesia belongs. It is the creation and possession of God.

If “the ecclesia of God” is not ours, how do we presume to start it, form it, name it, organize it and govern it? How do we have the audacity to create its doctrine, articles of faith and bylaws?

GOD STARTED HIS EKKLESSIA, and He alone governs it. It is organic. You can’t “go to it,” or “join it.”

Clyde L.Pilkington, Jr.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-terrorism law, but for the country’s many churches, the signature sparked a demand for prayer and fasting.

The bill toughens punishment for acts deemed to be terrorism and for the organization of “mass unrest,” according to the Los Angeles Times. It would also introduce prison sentences of up to a year for those who fail to report such crimes.

Furthermore, Great Commission Ministries Chairman Hanny Haukka tells Charisma News the law entails:

Foreign guests are not permitted to speak in churches unless they have a “work permit” from Russian authorities.

If a friend or relative from outside Russia wishes to share his/her faith in your home, the guest will be fined and expelled from Russia.

Any discussion of God with non-believers is considered missionary activity and will be punishable.

Missionary activity will be permitted by special government permission. Example: If one traveling on a train shares his faith without written permission the offender will be taken into police custody for the duration of the journey and will be fined 50,000 rubles ($1000).

Offenders from the age of 14 will be subject to prosecution.

Religious activity is no longer permitted in private homes. Most churches in Russia meet in homes.

Every citizen is obligated to report religious activity (of neighbors) to the authorities. Failure to be an informant is punishable by law.

One may pray, read the Bible at home but not in the presence of a non-believing person. You will be breaking the law and be punished.

If the church has purchased property it cannot be converted into a place of worship.

In church buildings it is not permitted to invite people to turn to God. Worship services are permitted but making a non-believer a follower of Christ is against the law.

In response, thousands of churches across the country have come together to cry out to God.

“The church is appalled at the news of the new law. About 7,000 evangelical/protestant churches are in fasting and prayer at the moment over the news,” Haukka tells Charisma News via email.

Churches aren’t the only residents enraged by the law.

American refugee Edward Snowden tweeted: “#Putin has signed a repressive new law that violates not only human rights, but common sense. Dark day for #Russia.”

The only official criticism of the legislation, however, has come from the Presidential Human Rights Council, which has highlighted ways in which the proposed amendments directly contradict the Constitution and existing laws. This criticism has been almost entirely ignored.

In response, Haukka pleads with believers around the world to join with Russian churches in prayer and fasting.

“Russia is closing down in an awful way. The new law is in total conflict with the purpose and the task given to the church by the Lord. The law will send the church back into Soviet-era Communist persecution,” he says.

What Are You OCCUPIED With?

The promises of God “in Him are yea, and in Him Amen.” His holiness is mine. His blessing is mine. The full occupation with a heavenly object will alone make us heavenly without an effort. We have not to try to be this or that: We “beholding… are changed” (II Corinthians 3:18).

E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913)