references

1
references

• Bill Jackson. The Quest for the Radical Middle.
  Vineyard International Publishing, Stafford,
  Texas,1999.
• William DeArteaga. Quenching the Spirit.
  Examining Centuries of Opposition to the Moving
  of the Holy Spirit. Creation House, Altamonte
  Springs, FL, 1992.

2
finding THE RADICAL MIDDLEWhere Weve Come
From.Where Were Headed.
3
Where is the Lord taking his church?

• As always, there will be individual maturing of
  believers
• But there will also be a corporate maturing
• The one new man of Eph. 2
• The spotless bride of Christ of Eph. 5
• What will the mature church look like?
• She will look like Jesus
• Broken like Jesus on the cross
• Humbled corporately
• Willing to bear the pain of the world like Jesus
  -- not just obsessed with her own pain

4
Where is the Lord taking his church?

• Eph 413-16
• till we all come to the unity of the faith
  and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
  perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the
  fullness of Christ that we should no longer be
  children, tossed to and fro and carried about
  with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of
  men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful
  plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may
  grow up in all things into Him who is the
  headChrist.

5
Where is the Lord taking his church?

• We are in a historic, strategic time
• What PABC, and many life-giving churches, are
  trying to doing may be pivotal
• Pioneering
• Prototypal
• Therefore our course must not be unexamined,
  random
• Many churches may look to PABC for direction

6
Where is the Lord taking his church?

• We must appropriately draw from things old and
  things new
• Matt 1351-52Then He said to them, "Therefore
  every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of
  heaven is like a householder who brings out of
  his treasure things new and old."

7
Where is the Lord taking his church?

• The Lord is not merely creating followers of a
  Christian philosophy / worldview
• But training Christ-like,Christ-in-dwelt
  believers
• Men and women who reason that they have God
  inside them
• Individually
• Corporately
• A Church not just going to heaven but coming
  from heaven to bless the world
• Christendom vs. True Christianity

8
CHURCH MOVEMENTSand REVIVALS

• Catholic / Orthodox
• Lutheran and Reformed
• Anabaptist
• Methodist
• Three American Awakenings
• Pentecostal
• Charismatic
• Third wave
• Each movement builds on the revelation the
• Holy Spirit brought to the previous one

9
CHURCH MOVEMENTSand REVIVALS

• Church movements and revivals
• Start as sects
• Always viewed as heretics by the guardians of the
  consensus orthodoxy
• The movements either
• Become the guardians of the new consensus
  orthodoxy and end up as institutions /
  denominations
• Or become heretical, weird and end up as cults

10
CHURCH MOVEMENTS and REVIVALS An example
of the institutionalization of a church
movement

• The Methodist Church (1738--)
• In its early years the movement was fueled by an
  outpouring of the Holy Spirit
• Methodism was the latest move of the Spirit
• The New Wineskin
• Rapidly grew over Europe and the New World
• Salvations / ecstatic experiences were widespread
• Well organized / disciplined small groups
• Persecuted by the previous denominations

11
CHURCH MOVEMENTS and REVIVALS

• The Methodist Church (continued)
• Split over slavery (Wesleyan Church) in early
  1800s
• Embraced the Higher Criticism of the late 1900s
• Now is a mainline denomination
• Respectable, reasonable, accommodating to the
  culture, less evangelical, less missionary
  minded, flirting with ordaining gays

12
CHURCH MOVEMENTS and REVIVALS An example
of a church movement becoming a cult

• The Radical Reformers (the Anabaptists) (1525--)
• Instituted water baptism of believers by
  immersion
• Separation of church and state
• Autonomous local churches
• Lay ministers
• Became the Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites, The
  Brethren

13
CHURCH MOVEMENTS and REVIVALS

• The Kingdom of Munster (1534-5)
• Radical leaders expecting the Second Coming
• Took over the German city of Munster and
  proclaimed it the New Jerusalem
• Forced conversion of the populace
• Drove Catholics, Lutherans, the elderly and
  invalids out of the city
• Set up communal lands and property
• Declared numerous sins punishable by death

14
CHURCH MOVEMENTS and REVIVALS

• The Kingdom of Munster (continued)
• Thousands of Anabaptist pilgrims came, expecting
  Christs triumphant return
• The leaders crowned Jan van Leyden as King David
• Polygamy was instituted
• The regional German leaders become alarmed and
  attacked the city
• After a long siege, the city is defeated, most of
  the inhabitants killed and the leaders tortured
  and executed

15
CHURCH MOVEMENTS AND REVIVALS

• Start as an organism with life, led by the Holy
  Spirit
• End as institutions run by human opinion, effort
  and error
• Most revivals lose their momentum within a
  generation
• The routinization of charisma (Max Weber)
• Or the corruption of charisma

16
QUENCHING THE SPIRIT

• Touching the glory
• Control
• Greed
• Soulish manipulation
• The Holy Spirit drives the movements initially
• But soulish ambition and financial gain drive the
  movements as the Spirit departs

17
QUENCHING THE SPIRIT

• Counterfeit manifestations
• Criticism leveled against the move of God
• Division / discord
• Elitism
• Sin
• Despising the prophetic
• Leaving the radical middle

18
Quenching the Spirit Features of fading
Movements

• Legalism
• Doctrinal error creeping in
• - heretical teachings
• Human plans, projects
• The Holy Spirit not allowed to interfere
• Compromise / Accommodation
• Teaching centers on
• Past glorious moves of God
• Future glorious predicted actions of God
• Vicarious experiencers

19
THE RADICAL MIDDLE

• A tension must be maintained between new
  revelations and renewal, and the traditions and
  the mission of the church
• The correct balance between both
• Written Word and Holy Spirit power
• Supernatural intervention and human responsibility

20
THE RADICAL MIDDLE
Embracing new revelation
Defending tradition
21
CRITICAL THEOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS of the R.M.

• Complementarity vs. mutual exclusivity
• Jesus is both man and God
• Grace and faith / Predestination vs. human
  responsibility occurring simultaneously
• In physics, the fact that light is both a
  particle and a wave
• Consensus vs. true Biblical orthodoxy
• The Torah vs. the Talmud and Jesus ministry

22
BIBLICAL TENSIONS

• Holiness/Pentecostal/ Baptist/Evangelical/Reforme
  d
• Charismatic
• Saved by faith and works Saved by grace and
  mercy
• Human responsibility Divine sovereignty
• Future yet to be determined Future predestined
• The kingdom of God is here The kingdom of God is
  future
• Intuitive/emotional faith Rationalistic/intellect
  ual faith
• Prophets/exhorters Teachers/pastors
• Spirit-led life Word-based life
• Accepting of new revelation/ Guardians of church
  doctrine/ church practices church
  practices

23
BIBLICAL TENSIONS

• Spiritual interpretation Literal interpretation
  of Bible of Bible
• Spirit baptism empowers Word understanding
  empowers
• The gospel demonstrated The gospel proclaimed
  (signs and wonders)
• Awaiting the Spirits move Strategic planning
• Services are Spirit-led Services are decent and
  
  in order
• Worship songs/prophetic Hymns/responsive
• words readings
• Informal, spontaneous Formal, liturgical
• Lay leadership/ministry Professional leadership

24
BIBLICAL TENSIONS

• Training in bible schools/ Training in
  seminaries
• on-the-job
• Elder/deacon government Pastor/congregational
  (democratic) government
• Emphasizes the book of Acts Emphasizes the
  letters of Paul
• Purpose-driven Program-driven
• Historical leaders Historical leaders
• Jacob Arminius Augustine
• John Wesley John Calvin
• Charles Finney B.B. Warfield /C.I.
  Schofield

25
THE RADICAL MIDDLE

• Assaulted by Satan and human sin
• Always driven to the right or the left
• Criticized by the right and left as either too
  weird or too dead
• Not a compromise
• A recognition of the not either or but the
  contributions of both sides
• A willingness to embrace the whole counsel and
  life of God
• A willingness to not criticize, but bless the
  left and the right (but not their extremes), and
  to learn from them being an advocate, not
  accuser
• Emphasizes the gospels and Jesus ministry

26
THE RADICAL MIDDLE

• Like pedaling a bicycle
• One pedal is divine sovereignty
• One pedal is human responsibility
• Hard to maintain the balance
• The ideal
• Empowered evangelicals
• Or, Word-based charismatics
• Working together not judging and criticizing
• Historically, imbalance tends to occur
• Either weirdness and cultism takes over
• Or dead orthodoxy and bureaucracy occurs

27
THE RADICAL MIDDLE

• Teachers of the radical middle
• Jonathan Edwards
• Calvinistic/postmil/cessationist
• Spiritual affections
• John Wimber
• Charles Kraft, Jack Deere, Dallas Willard, John
  Piper, C. Peter Wagner

28
THE MISSION OF THE RADICAL MIDDLEAdvancing the
kingdom through

• Evangelism
• Planting new churches
• Support of missions
• Community service
• Concern for the poor

29
THE MISSION OF THE RADICAL MIDDLEAdvancing the
kingdom through

• Developing the gifts of the saints
• Training leaders
• Worship
• Fellowship
• Intercession

30
THE MISSION OF THE RADICAL MIDDLEAdvancing the
kingdom through

• Personal ministry
• Deliverance ministry
• Covenant community
• Pursuing personal and corporate holiness
• Pursuing the Presence of God

31
THE MISSION OF THE RADICAL MIDDLE
A Church that seeks to bless its community

• Community and national transformation
• Through cooperation with our communities
  government, businesses, schools, media, families
• Jer. 297
  Seek the welfare of
  the city where I have sent you into exile, and
  pray to the LORD on its behalf for in its
  welfare you will have welfare.

32
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE RADICAL MIDDLE

• Remembering
• Not just what we are saved from
• But also what we are saved for
• Being a church for the sake of the world
• Karl Barth
• Not just a church for the sake of ourselves

33
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE RADICAL MIDDLE
Design our churches to be a places where there
is evidence of the Holy Spirit working

• Salvations / baptisms
• Repentance
• Deliverance
• Overcoming
• Healing
• Forgiveness / reconciliation
• Spiritual maturing

34
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE RADICAL MIDDLE
Speak, act in the spirit of Jesus

• Not accusing
• Not criticizing
• Understanding complementarity
• Urging, persuading
• Coming along side
• Thinking redemptively
• Always seeing the potential in people
• Bearing burdens

35
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE RADICAL MIDDLE
Draw from the helpful traditions and historic
mission of the church

• But learn from the churchs mistakes
• Use the technology of the 21st Century
• Embrace the recovered truth of the latest revival
• Seek to create a multi-generational revival
• Listen to the youth

36
HOW TO MAINTAIN The RADICAL MIDDLE
The culture, the mind-set of the radical middle

• Caught, and taught
• Put off by the fake, the soulish
• Not impressed by pretense
• Desiring the real Jesus
• Desiring community with committed followers of
  Jesus
• Preferring the humility of Christ to the pride of
  institutional Christianity
• A member of the tribe