Mark Marshall

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Letters to the Dones…pt2

In the book ‘Church Refugees’ by Josh Packard, there is statistical data of those who will become spiritual refugees and Dones. It is alarming to say the least. The book takes data and tells the story, and what summarized is that almost 25 – 40% of those who are faithful builders of the Kingdom will end up as ‘DONES’. They will continue to Love, Serve, and believe in God, but they are done with Church (as we know it). I have experienced the right hand of fellowship as the scriptures say, and the left foot of fellowship when it comes to church life. I am interested in gathering together these like minded people and discover what might be next.

From the Book: Clearly, the dechurched are outliers in the religious landscape. However, they’re extremely important outliers. They’re the ones who, prior to leaving, showed up at worship every week and tithed. They organized and participated in small-group activities, Bible studies, worship planning, church councils, elder teams, and a plethora of other activities and services that are the lifeblood of churches big and small. They were the keepers of organizational history and played a significant role in defining institutional identity. They’re the opposite of the free riders who consume church resources but contribute little. Indeed, their work and activity make it possible for a congregation to support the free riders who often make up the bulk of church attendees on a given Sunday.

Packard, Josh. Church Refugees: Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith . Group Publishing, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Over the last 3 months I have been in intercession for this people group. I have been feeling the in between passion that I believe God is reaching out to them. I just can’t shake it. I know that I know God wants to reach out to these great people. These people possess the riches of the Kingdom within their hearts. They have experienced His Presence, and carry a wealth of treasure concerning community life. My heart goes out to you, whoever you are out there. I see you and hear you. In this intercession time, late at night I began to prophesy through writing letters to them. This is one of the letters that God moved me to write.

LETTERS TO THE DONES 2
I don’t know where you are, or how you got there; but in a real way I totally understand. I too have found myself in a strange land. No matter how many times we say it’s just our new normal; it never really feels productive and or makes a difference in any ones lives. I truly miss that.
I find myself becoming suffocated and exhausted with all of this ‘Me’ time. It’s foreign to me. I have been connected to, loved, and served with others my whole adult life. I never knew what it was like to be disconnected, but I do now.

This strange land where we strive to obtain more and more stuff thinking it will make us happy, free, and safe. But in reality it does just the opposite, it excuses me from experiencing the struggle of the tension of community life with others. Within the community life we feel the most alive. We get many things out of community life. We get feedback on our passions, encouragement when we feel defeated, and exhorted when we get tired and lazy. I know you replaced your divine community with a different one, but the new one is not always spiritually based, and probably you aren’t allowed to manifest your divine life among your new group. Community life used to be my drink of choice. When Jesus said I have food and drink you know not of, I somehow think his community was at the heart of it.

I know you still post scriptures and I’m glad and proud that you do. But the scriptures remain in bible form with out the community. The cross goes vertical and horizontal for a reason, because you must have both to experience the fullness of the Divine Life. But when you study and read the scriptures and live them out within the community, you experience the Living Truth and the Word of God! It’s different.

I know it feels like your name is no longer on the hearts and minds of those who called you friend and brother. This is evidenced by the lack of communication from them. Rest assured that you are not alone. There is an army of forgotten soldiers of the cross. If you feel some kind of way about these letters then ponder it and bring it to God and let’s talk about it. We owe it to our years and years of service to the church to help the next generation whether we are there or not. If we don’t build a platform to tell our story, the church will be doomed to keep repeating it’s history.

I would put money on the fact the beginning of you becoming a DONE has to do with as many as one or two people that made your life miserable. In my time as leadership in the church we would always here everyone is upset about this, or a lot of people are saying that about you etc. My first reaction is ALWAYS – WHO says this or that? As my dad would always say, ‘If I’m lying I’m dying’, when the truth comes out its ALWAYS one or at most two people. The trouble is they didn’t come to you (hence the flaw in the system) and once they begin to tell a few folks it becomes a raging wild fire. Bishop Ashe used to tell me, ‘Mark once someone spins out a lie, there is nothing you can do about it but outlive it! A lie is like the serpent in the beginning in the Garden of Eden. But it becomes a full grown dragon in the end in Revelations. But you can outlive it! It does have a shelf life’.

I have hope that there is no leadership in any organizational church that has a bad heart, but I found that not to be true in my career. But we can not let a few insecure leaders drive us from the people that we have connected to, and grew up with in many cases. Whether you want to deal with it at all anymore is not relevant, because God himself is searching you out. Reaching to heal, mend, and stitch up the broken places. I mean we did at one time only want to be like Jesus! Well here’s the example laid out before us:
1. The prophetic picture of Jesus is the Greater serves the Lessor.
2. It is in the brokenness of his life that multitudes were healed and made whole.

Let these letters resonate and marinate. In the Church Refugees book, over and over people confirm that they don’t miss the preaching or committees as much as the actual worship together and those deep friendships that we built along the way. Oh how we miss these things. Not the drama of it, but the beautiful messy way we used to do life together.

I grew up in the 80’s church. We were drilled year after year, day by day to come out from among the world and have no fellowship with them. That they would corrupt you and quench your anointing, and ultimately your seat at the table. I have been studying friendships for quite a while. I read a PEW report the other day that said Christians mainly only build friendships with those of like minded faith. As a matter of fact an astounding 95% will only have friends that believe like them, vote like them, do the things they like to do etc. So we can’t get mad at the church because once upon a time we were those, only now we know the sting of it because many of us are on the other side of the fence.

I feel your pain, I want to hear your story. I want to see what’s next in our journey and what that will look like. I hope you care enough to explore the possibilities that maybe God isn’t done with you even though you are done with His people. And when you think about it, it’s weird to think that we could have one without the other, but here we are!

Lastly the church has changed a lot since you’ve been gone. They have become more embracing and tolerant as to where everyone is at. I mean I NEVER thought I would see a smoking section behind the church! But they finally are getting the message of embracing the flawed while in process of becoming.

Divine Purpose

Letters to the Dones…pt1

Just Wow!

I have contemplated, prayed, meditated over this part of my journey for several years now. I read and studied many articles, and books, some of which are: Churchless – George Barna Group, the Rise of the Nones – James Emery White, Church Refugees – Josh Packard, Exodus of the Religious Dones – Josh Packard.

I have been in deep intercession for these people, because for all tense and purposes I have found my self in this place. While I believe people who served faithfully, contributed their time, talent and resource to something that did not end they way they dreamed. So where do they go from here? What do they do with all of their spiritual experience and pursuits. Are we supposed to say well that was good while it lasted? Are we going to just ignore it like it never happened? Was is it just a bad dream? 

Please understand at the outset I am NOT talking about a church, or any church in particular, but rather the church in general. The church I go to has been a huge blessing to me, the people are amazing, and the Bishop is a definite father of the faith of which I wouldn’t still be here without them.

I loved and served the church my whole life. I so desire that it succeed it’s mission to build a spiritual community for the healing of our nation. These letters are about the DONES and their relationships to and through the churches. I can’t shake my devotion and love for the church. Everyone around me is checking out, or becoming a consumer of Christianity but I still remain hopeful that she will play a major role in the end of time. My desire and hope is that we somehow gather the DONES and love them back to life by hearing their story! These letters are years and years in the making, I needed a platform to tell my story. It’s not to offend anyone, but rather to inform everyone of what I am seeing and sensing. I met with my Bishop a few months ago, and I asked him if the current consumerism of the church was going to change, and he told me definitely it was going to swing back to more spirituality, I of course was thrilled to hear.

I have come to find out that you can outgrow the modern church, when you get to that place to where you want to explore the boundaries of spirituality, there is no longer a use for you. No matter what you have contributed, you must stay within the confines of the established purpose. If you try to color outside of the lines of the establishment, you will be shunned and avoided. The church in America has always been a “What have you done for me lately?” kind of entity. What you accomplished in your past or for the organization if of no consequence or merit.

Building a long term legacy and retirement plan of spiritual things will be difficult in the modern church. I mean you walk into a church today as a new person, you really never get a glimpse of those who sacrificed yesterday for what you freely enjoy today.  You might be recognized in some religious way whether through some token appreciation day, or your photo might be on a wall: but your true story will never be heard.

That’s a little of what is missing in the modern church, the sense of saintly sacrifice and history. The modern church is so edgy and relevant, there seems to be no room for ancient artifacts and history. It seems relevance has taken precedence over reverence. It’s become fresh paint, catchy slogans, and lighting, cool programs and great sound. But knowing how to have a cool service and knowing how to experience the living God in a deep way are not always the same. And to that end I begin this portion of the Dones Letters with this, ‘Thank you for your Sacrifice!’

Being an older person in the church and faithfully serving and giving my life, my hopes, and dreams, my resources, and all I have for 35 years; I feel sometimes like it must have felt when the Vietnam Veterans came home. There was no parade, no monument, no recognition of service for years and years. It is that feeling of being used, neglected and forgotten that I speak to right now. 

You are the ones I have been intercession over. You are the ones that God is seeking. Those that have become an invisible reality to the church. Let me please interject; I know what it means to give all to a church and or spiritual group and come up empty. The sting of that reality happens when you decide to leave and no one calls or reaches out! The reality when people actually want you to go!  In the Church Refugees book, every single person they interviewed were people that paid their tithes, served, ministry committees etc. But when they finally left the church not one single person was called. Not one single person….saying it again so you can grasp that.

Let me please interject here two thoughts:
1. The church is super great at the front door; greeting, welcoming you, embracing you into the fold and eventually placing you within the organization. But what it desperately lacks is the humility and grace to restore and reach out to those broken or struggling within the system. They 100% will embrace the sinner or the ones who are brand new. They 100% are not equipped to the deal with flawed saints.

Galatians 6:1 “If you see a brother fall into something, you which are spiritual RESTORE such a one in the spirit of meekness and humility.”

Most of the progressive modern churches have data and numbers on visitors, and transitioning visitors into members, members into servants, and servants into leadership etc. But very few keep data on the back door. They may know who has left the church, but they most likely do not know the WHY they left, therefore restoration is beyond them. I somehow feel in a strange prophetic way that those who learn from the back door will be able to transition into tomorrow. 

You know the back door will be the most important door in the future. Because according to George Barna on the research of the millennials, is that only 3 of 10 will continue in the modern church system the way it is currently constructed. Meaning that only 30% of the people ages 22-37 will be in the church functioning in the next generation. 

However the resources of the Dones that go out the backdoor far exceed the 70% that the church of tomorrow will miss out on. I am convinced that if the Dones had another level, or different version of church and community; the longevity of the church would be secured forever. They don’t NOT LOVE GOD! they just can’t do the form of church that it currently is in, consumerism and ministry mindedness has gotten in the way of just doing life together.

2. The DONES are extremely hard to love and reach out to! I sat down 4 years ago and wrote down the DONES that I personally know and have been in spiritual relationship with. In about 2 minutes I wrote down 55 names! These are names that shook the world at one time, not going to church, not interested, or mad about it. Moved on!

What I know about the DONES is they still have that passion for the things of God! They still believe, they miss worship, and they desperately miss the community life in it’s purest form. But I’ll say it again for those in the back can here; ‘DONES are hard to LOVE!’

So for the church to reach back out to you and hear you, it’s going to take a miracle. That miracle I am asking for is just an opportunity to hear you.  There are some DONES on my list that I pray over all the time, but I can’t even get a phone call back, you reach out to them and they just can not give you any time.  I see you as hurt, not finished, and wanting something but not able to trust again, and I totally get it. But I come unarmed. I have no agenda but to love and know you, to hear your story.  I mean spiritual things are so far off their list. It’s frustrating, so don’t blame the church for that!

You’ve either built a barrier against spirituality in all forms, or you have moved onto something that replaces your divine community. 

I feel in my heart of hearts that God isn’t through with us. I believe there is another level of community and spirituality that we can pursue together without the organized part of american church life. But I sit here in my sacred space praying for you and believing God to show me the next step.

Let me close this portion of part one of the letters to the DONES with this thought:

When you run to insulation against the abrasive judgmentalism of the the church, you run the risk of living in isolation. Whether you run from the judgemental opinions or even being totally ignored like you do not even exist you are in isolation.  Isolation is a very hard place to recover from. Because you live in a forgotten place, it’s safe, but there is no life there it’s a spiritual wasteland. No exchange of spiritual energy from others.

Most times I feel like Clark Kent. I have my own sign business of which I am so grateful for, but 98% of the people that I deal with have no idea whatsoever that I am SUPERMAN! on the inside. I have no expression or group that helps me see the real me about me on a daily basis. I have become a mere mortal, along with the trappings of that boring life.  I mean used to the deaf hear, blind see, and hearts are made new again! But those days seem far a few in between.  It’s an unbelievably lonely and painful place. But I still have my suit! I’m ready to break it out!

I’m working through the years and years of spiritual abuse and pain from the church, but I still believe in God and fundamentally in the true church.  She is my mother, the one that borned me. She gave me space to learn and grow, she fed me, she clothed me, she brought me to the Kingdom. 

I am hoping some people that read these letters will feel the same way too, and we can begin to rebuild and discover what is our spiritual next. If not I will live within my own spirit and memorialize yesterday to the next generation. Work my business, worship in my own sacred space until my time of exit comes, I will yet praise him no matter who it irritates….

 

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The Soul of our nation…

I am feeling our nation hasn’t been this divided most likely since the civil war? I have been hearing by the Spirit that a major shift is going to take place after this election. I was talking to my wife tonight, and we were talking about the upcoming election. I have been in prayer about it for the last year. I can say I’m shocked not by what has gone on via the candidates and or from the political speeches and events; but rather I am shocked by the revelation of the soul of our nation.

I told my wife tonight, ‘this election did not cause all of this division and confusion, it has been used by God Himself to ‘Reveal’ the division that is already here!’ We have a sick soul of a people of our nation. People say our nation is become so divided, but I submit rather, this election process has done nothing more than reveal the lack of love, tolerance, and compassion for each other.

If the devil had any mission at all, at the core of his assignment, it would be to cause division between a community or people group. For you see, “Where envying and strife are, there is confusion and every evil work!”James 3:16

“For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” NLT

The fullness of the work of evil is manifest in a community full of strife, selfish ambition, and jealousy.

I submit to you that this election has not ’caused’ this massive divide, but rather there has been a sound that is already being played in the hearts of people across our great nation. People have heard the sound, and thus the division was made known.

We are going to be severely challenged to put the soul of our country back together again. I am praying for the church, which is a voice of the Almighty, and houses the very Presence; will be able to reach out with a redemptive healing balm. The church forever has been known as the moral compass for the nation, but now more than ever we need to become a calm in the midst of this storm. We need to become healers of this great divide.

I heard and article tonight that said 52% of our nation will be greatly disturbed and very distrustful if one candidate gets elected, and 48% will be the very same if the other candidate gets selected. So you see clearly no matter who wins, or which side; there is going to be distrust and skepticism at the best.

For the first time because of our one sided social media constructs, we are able to spout out what we are feeling without and recourse as to what others may be feeling or thinking. I mean for the most part people are to the point that their motto and claim to fame is now lately, ‘I don’t care what others think’, this is a very slippery slope. We have ceased to listen to each other, validate each others thoughts and feelings. This is very disturbing to me.

We need to remember, that selecting a leader in Samuel’s time / and David’s time, was the beginning of the end of the soul of the nation up to that point. The people wanted Saul to be their leader, in opposition to what Samuel wanted to select. The people selected someone that was in the natural realm the obvious choice. But I tell you this turned out to be a train wreck, and spiritual famine became the norm.

We as the church need to help people understand that God is truly in control, even when we can’t possibly perceive that He is, but I can assure you He is.

Divine Purpose

Naked and Not Ashamed 1



Some of the most profound truths that I have learned and am still learning comes from the first story in Genesis. In our spiritual journey and pursuit of our Divine I.D. this is our beginning. The book of St. Thomas, Thomas asked Jesus when will be the end and what will it look like? Jesus replied, “If you want to know the end you must first go back to the beginning, because there you will find the end.” With that thought in mind I submit the thoughts from the beginning.

I have searched this beginning portion of the scriptures for many years. I still glean from it. It relates to so much in real time with our modern every day lives. That’s because spiritual things, concepts, and realities aren’t affected by time and space. If something today is a spiritual reality and truth it will be the exact same 100 years from now, it will just fit within the modern era.

Genesis 2:25 “And they were both naked the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

This is what I call our created Divine Identity. We were naked but not ashamed is our created I.D. Later on we will see that our human I.D. became fractured and we were still naked and somehow became ashamed and disconnected. We see that Adam was put in a deep sleep in verse 21-24, and Lord God took a rib from him and made a woman. God brought her to him and Adam said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh… In this divine created state Adam and Eve were NOW connected. Meaning in the most divine way, they were present together in the NOW. Now is the only place God really flows, He exists in other realms like the past, and future, but that is only for our benefit. But to walk with the Father and in Spirit will always be in NOW dimension. It would be counter productive to try to engage the Manifest Presence of God without being ‘Present’ yourself. Yet I am afraid so many are today, seeking Presence without being present. We have become so distracted and disconnected that many people have to pay people to listen to them tell their story, because so many of us are so caught up in the current of life. Somehow religion has crept in and deceived us to think it would be good enough to be in Presence without actually engaging and being ‘Present’. When you think about it, Adam was removed from the Garden, not only for his ‘sin’, and for yielding to his wife’s enticement (soul), but I believe strongly that it was because they ‘HID’ from Presence. They no longer could remain open and present in Presence. I mean think about it, the thing that removed them from the Garden reality and Divine presence was their inability to be present. With all of our distractions and internal things going on, it is easy to show up in Presence, but ‘Not Bring Our Hearts’. As being a former Prophetic Revivalist, I can tell you without a doubt what would bring revival to your churches and lives; just be broken enough to be present in Presence! That will bring and awakening and reviving to your souls and churches.

Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed because it was the Divine Created reality by design. But also it was because they were Connected Divinely. It’s what my parents would say about a couple, “They are joined at the hip.” Adam and Eve were Divinely connected to Divine I.D. reality in their relationship with each other, with God the Father, and with their own selves.

With their own selves they were in a Divine space because their nakedness brought no shame, guilt or lack in their minds. They were naked and not ashamed to me speaks to first and foremost about their lot in life, their self image and relationships. These seem to be things that affect our concept of Divine I.D. Our relationships, our position and condition in life, and our own self image diversely affect our Divine Identity perception. I read an article on world statistics that said America was 31st in Math, Science and Technology in the world standards, yet they were 1st in Self Esteem! I find this so comical. We play a good game with our masks in America but our self esteem and image is very fragile, we have to coach ourselves constantly to keep it going. We spend a lot of time, money and energy for others to motivate us in the same way. And this would all be good and well if people would include their spirituality in their ‘finding’ of themselves. I mean to try to find and create the best version of ‘you’ without including God or some Divine sense of reality would be impossible. I believe the ‘sin’ or mistake done in the Garden of Eden was when man tried to take the things of God by his own power. This is the crust of religion and the ultimate plan of the adversary. To get man to discover himself without God. To make himself in his own image and not God’s. But God did not allow him to eat of the Tree of Life in that state.

There was no such thing as a shame storm in their world up to this point. Can you imagine a world to where you are enough in every situation and circumstance. I mean a place where you can truly embrace yourself the way you do others. You can Think Out Loud, on the inside, to your most inner self; the very things you tell others to do. What I discovered in this passage was the usage of the word naked in the Hebrew.

Genesis 2:25 “…were *naked and not ashamed.”

*Naked here is an adjective meaning to be unveiled, naked, no cover. Means to be bear with nothing to hide. And being not ashamed is a great picture of the freedom in being vulnerable and open with nothing to hide. They were living in their created I.D. But after they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil their perception of their nakedness changed profoundly. We will cover this in part two of this thought.



Divine Purpose , Kingdom Community , Personal Growth

Am I Friend Enough 2…

I have contemplated and mulled over this thought for a couple of years. This idea of becoming and being a friend is pretty special these days in the world we live in today. The definition according to the online free dictionary is:
FRIEND

1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement:
I guess I’m older now and really assessing the value of true friendships. I remember hearing a message by my pastor some 30 years ago, still ringing in my spirit; “You can’t love someone fully and truthfully unless you love what they love!” What a statement, and in the same breath he said, “You can’t save someone at a distance, you must get close.”
And when you think about it our great friendships have been stained with religious ideologies, that don’t really serve anyone. People are more interested in ‘their thing, their faith, their stuff, etc.’ I fear our friendships have been distorted because there are some if not most that actually think ‘Principles are more important than people’. I do not or ever will but into the idea that your belief and doctrine is more important than people, I am pretty confident in saying that Jesus lived that model over and over.
What Jesus really did in His short time was to show people how important they are to the Kingdom. NOT STUFF. One of the last great revelations He spoke to His tribe was the fact that He saw them as friends. If we would learn to truly love and quit projecting a great something beyond the next hill, we probably would find the garden that we are all looking for.  Beloved there is no higher form of connected Kingdom life outside of friendship. It is truly your gift to humanity. Jesus was actually friend of sinners. He was able to live out the ‘Love the sinner / hate the sin’ because He was a friend first.
Word History: The relationship between Latin amīcus, “friend,” and amō, “I love,” is clear, as is the relationshipbetween Greek philos, “friend,” and phileō, “I love.” In English, though, we have to go back a millennium before we see the verb that we can easily connect to friend. Frēond, the Old English source of Modern English friend, is related to the Old English verb frēon, “to love, like, honor, set free (from slavery or confinement).” Specifically, frēond comes from the present participle of the Germanic ancestor of Old English frēon and thus originally meant “one who loves.” 
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
I love here how the term friend and love are so closely related. I fear that in our culture today that has been tainted and lost in translation. I mean with social media we have now learned how to be a friend without the commitment and love that is necessary to be said friend. I have like 1000 facebook friends, I follow most of the people and interact as much as I can, but I have few friends in the real world that I can bend their ear, share my stuff, or even get a cup of coffee!
With that being said I can’t tell you how many ‘friends’ I have that know nothing about my heart and direction. These are acquaintances I have come to find out. Over the years people have loved my ‘gift’ but not necessarily me. I am sure many people feel the same way. I have learned in my short career that I would never surrender my ‘gift’ to any one or group that didn’t want a relationship to me and my family as a person. At one time in my life there were seven pastors and leaders from five different states that were wanting me and my family to move and be a part of their work. I was so confused, but very excited. You know for once you think your hard work and life’s achievements are paying off. Only to realize these people were more interested in building their own thing. Not one of them actually wanted to know what made me tick, or motivate me. My greatest test and struggles have been the result of pursuing these relationships, only to be stripped and left for dead.
Today I have the most amazing Bishop to my soul. He and his team have loved the ‘hell out of me’. I am learning how to be loved for who I am and not what I can do for a group. Believe me it’s foreign to me so please be patient, I’m facing the light and running towards love. My Bishop is the truest friend I think I have ever known, I aspire to be like him when I grow up! I have known him twenty plus years, and he is so purposeful, and kind. He is one of the few that sat down with me and listen to my story with a heart of pure love, no judgement, but rather compassion and love. No matter where I am in my walk, or where he is in the world; time and time he has texted me to check on me or answer….
I strive to be like him, I haven’t arrived by no means. But I am aware that I have short comings, please remember me in your prayers. Honestly I believe this kind of love is what the Kingdom is all about. I was talking to a friend of mine Sunday, and I said, I hate it that most people run around looking for a miracle or revival, when the real miracle is sitting right in front of YOU! I told him that I was so ready for people to re calibrate their directives. I said, ‘So many people are wanting to be healing etc, yet all I can do really is love; it’s up to God alone to heal’.
I am purposing to become a better friend by becoming easier to love. I am using my ‘Lent’ season to commit to those who call me friend. I mean at the end of the day, isn’t that what everyone wants? To those I have let down, misguided, and left hanging; I do love you very much, but I have a lot of untangling to do. I will fulfill my obligation to be a friend to those who call me that!
MM+
When You Love Someone
Bryan Adams
when you love someone – you’ll do anything
you’ll do all the crazy things that you can’t explain
you’ll shoot the moon – put out the sun
when you love someone
you’ll deny the truth – believe a lie
there’ll be times that you’ll believe you can really fly
but you’re lonely nights – have just begun
when you love someone
when you love someone – you’ll feel it deep inside
and nothin else can ever change your mind
when you want someone – when you need someone
when you love someone…
when you love someone – you’ll sacrifice
you’d give it everything you got and you won’t think twice
you’d risk it all – no matter what may come
when you love someone
you’ll shoot the moon – put out the sun
when you love someone
Kingdom Community

Am I Friend Enough…

I love a girl, she is not mine by birth, but by the spirit. If I had a daughter she would be the one I would choose!
Of course I know she isn’t perfect, but to me she is. In God’s eyes she is known as one of the ‘favorites’. She has
been such a friend to me and my family for about 20 years. And back in the days when everyone and their brother
couldn’t get away from me and my family fast enough; there she was. I think when the scriptures talk about; “there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother”; I’m pretty sure she’s that friend to me.

She had complications during pregnancy, and had an emergency C Section. And by complications, I don’t mean it didn’t go as planned. And by emergency I don’t mean we couldn’t plan everything. I mean all hell broke loose! And the bottom line she just about stepped into glory. I talked to her husband a few days ago, and he told me the news and all the details. I mean like AFTER the emergency C Section she had a 3 hour surgery just to stop the bleeding.

And when I got the call I was on the way to a meeting that I could not get out of. But I was so distraught that I had to pull over and have a talk with Father. After I got my peace I fulfilled my meeting obligation. I got in my car, and immediately texted her husband for an update. When I got the update it was still not that great, but stable.

I remember hearing those words and thinking that I may not see her again. My heart was open and filled with presence. In that moment I had a thought; “Was I friend enough?” I mean was I real friend to the person that I truly love so much. I thought about how good of father I need to be to my sons. And even those in the faith. I thought about it all night didn’t sleep hardly at all. The next morning I got up and went to the hospital. But all the way there I was worshiping and realigning my thoughts to the fact that the one gift I have is ‘Friend’. Am I friend enough…. this has really occupied my thoughts these last few days.

I mean, am I friend enough?. If Kindness is my religion, then surely Friendship is my doctrine! I am exhorting you to be better friends to those that call you that. Ask yourself am I friend enough? I am going to do my best to stay connected and be a friend, because that is the highest calling on earth, to be called friend. Jesus said, I show you these things because you are friend. So to my ‘friends’ I say I love you and hope to catch up with you soon. Remember me in your prayers. Like St. Paul I hear, Oh wretched man that I am….

Much luv
MM

Kingdom Community , Personal Growth

Faith to be Made Whole 1

I know it has been a challenging week for everyone on our side of the pond. But some great wonderful things and meetings transpired for me. I have had some incredible insights to the revelation this week, and as equally saddened by all of the up-evil in our world. I shared this quote before but it is resonating in me today.

“The Naked Now”, by Fr Richard Rohr,  ‘Humans tend to think because they agree or disagree with the idea of a thing, they have realistically encountered the thing itself.’

I totally agree with this statement. Believing and encountering are not always one in the same. We may ‘believe’ in things, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we have already experienced it in fullness. It should be a natural progression, but I have found it to usually be the former than the latter.

I had the privilege of meeting with a dear pastor friend of mine yesterday. We got to talking about our world, and what God might be doing next in it. The subject came up about the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the Capital grounds. This has caused quite an uproar to say the least. My friend was telling me about all the Facebook comments from people she knows about the ruling. And she said something that stuck in my mind. She said, ‘The sad thing about the people complaining about the court’s decision, is that probably 95% do not know what the Commandments even are! Much less live by them’!

My thoughts today are that our beliefs have become a religious artifact. An replica of days gone by. Something that now belongs in a museum. I don’t think people have affection for the words that are written on that monument, and most probably don’t know the spiritual significance. I liken it to a friend of mine that always had a bible in the car everywhere he went. I asked him why he had a bible everywhere, I mean it never left the car, it wasn’t like he was reading or anything! He told me it was for protection; both spiritual and physical. That sounds like the 80’s sayings in the churches, that said if you go over 55 mph in your car, then the angels would fly off. I know it sounds ridiculous, but in those days it was a little bit more than a joke. Kind of went along the lines of ‘parking angels’.

To piggy back upon Fr. Rohr’s comment I was meditating on this thought. My ‘believing’ in a thing, does not change the thing. I know it seems odd but the reality is; if you believe in a thing or idea it will ‘CHANGE YOU’. It is downloaded in our Spiritual DNA. I call it Divine Nature Attributes. Every cell of our body carries the genetic code of ‘our life’ in the physical realm. This code has been passed down through our ancestors.

The exact same is true for our spiritual sDNA. This code through revelation is passed down through spiritual time as well. The natural DNA in our bodies uses RNA to link to creating our human attributes according to the manufacturers specs. This RNA is referenced as the messenger gene. Carries the keys to infusing and creating genetic material. In the spiritual sDNA process we have sRNA which is the God breathed ‘message’. So in truth what we believe does change us. It has the power to shape our realities, and even manifest in our physical realm. We have the divine spark, spirit, and or seed of God within us. This sDNA is spiritual material or matter to create our spiritual lives. Our spiritual lives is designed to overtake our physical and mental limitations. The key is the sRNA; the ‘MESSAGES’ you believe and receive.

This sDNA process is foolproof. Eventually your life will reflect what you believe (be lived by). So it isn’t merely the confession that changes you it ultimately is your belief. You will not only reflect what you believe, but also mirror and manifest that belief. It is this kind of faith that grants us the power to be made whole. When you realize that you are downloaded and pre-ordained for overcoming.

Faith to be made whole happens when my belief lines up with the messenger code! When the revelation of the message is revealed it is un-packaged and applied to my inward life. Ultimately it will manifest in my walk and daily life. So this is why many confess or say what they believe, yet their manifest lives reveal the contrary. You can’t help but be made whole when you are in alignment with the internal. I want my faith and belief to be actively serving its purpose, not in a museum to preserve yesterdays victories. There is plenty of time for that after I am gone. Right now I want my faith to reflect the revelation of the Christ.

Divine Purpose , Kingdom Community

8 Things Open Minded is NOT

I have had a lot experiences and thoughts about open mindedness. I am fully aware of the fear people have concerning those of us who have ventured out in uncharted waters of thought and process.  Open mindedness is not something you usually equate to religious people.  But certainly Spiritual people have learned to embrace new things, thoughts, and realities. I am pretty sure I could write books on this subject, but I will give you the cliff note version.

When we used to travel all over I remember one of my biggest challenges was the Leadership.  I have always never been satisfied with the status quo.  I have always sought new ways of doing things, thinking things, system updates etc. So coming into churches and leadership training I would always bring new ideas to the table.  I quickly learned that it wasn’t difficult to get the people to think new things, but my number one challenge was the thought processes of the leadership and people.  Someone asked me during a radio interview about what is one of the things that are my biggest challenges in working with churches. I told them, ‘The hardest thing to change is the MIND’.

And lets face it, we all have experienced change in our lives. We will go through that process of change either via the way of Love and choice, or suffering the reality of fighting the will and choice.  The most important thing in our lives is our thoughts. It is the key to life, freedom, and spirituality. It is the only channel for change of any kind.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

So here are the 8 Characteristics of Open Mindedness:

1. An open mind is NOT merely a gullible mind.

2. An open mind is NOT necessarily a skeptic against the norm or against the established realm.

3. An open mind is NOT: not open to Change: All change and new perspective come from a space of open mindedness.

4. An open mind is NOT merely being relative or siding with current culture.

5. An open mind is NOT wishy washy; and or lacks a backbone.

6. An open mind is NOT having a (non opinion).

7. An open mind is NOT: not believing in (non Essential Truths, or the Concreteness of them)

8. An open mind is NOT a non spiritual reality.

Divine Purpose , Kingdom Community

Polarization of Humanity

I have been contemplating the thought; humans have no patience or endurance and therefore have long left the idea of a spirituality that actually practices. Aesthetic is so vital to the experiential realm of true spirituality.  Today’s society is transforming from the idea of hearers, to feelers.  At least the pendulum is swinging back to a spirituality that has experiences along with the concepts.  St. Symeon the Theologian says that, “Only through the experiences of God is He truly ever known.”

Today’s version of spirituality and conviction for life breathing decisions has come down to hearing.  You see the phases of spiritual constant renovation must go something like this: 1. Experience the presence and inward / outward reality. 2. Contemplative inward knowing beyond knowing, which leads to supernatural expression through practice. 3. Thinkers on a more educated life level, putting all of the pieces together for the logically dissemination to the masses. 4. Hearers are very easily ad-hearers, and become believers on hearing only platform.

This cycle will continue to come to the end of concepts and get reformed over and over again via the same process. The depths of reality of the Presence and awareness, can not be logically explained / taught. The true Spirit life can not be packaged for the masses!

I read  from a great book, “The Naked Now”, by Fr Richard Rohr,  ‘Humans tend to think because they agree or disagree with the idea of a thing, they have realistically encountered the thing itself.’  This strikes a chord in my heart. I fear the majority of our beliefs are based loosely on teachings or sermons from a Sunday morning service someone, and most of our theology too. The lack of practice and community, contemplative prayer and old fashion study and devotion, even void of experience, is a recipe for a people unable to see with eyes wide opened.

This totally happened to Adam, in Gen 3 He hid himself with his wife, from the presence! With their fragmented perception they could no longer make sense of the mystical union. We certainly still struggle with it today, our fragmented polarized perception has produced just over 50% divorce rate. That was still a mystical revelation of the relationship of Christ and the church.

My life changed some 13 years ago again! I got born again again! I became not afraid for once in my walk, and turned over every stone that I had been taught about God and spiritual reality. I measured them in the light of my new place. I can assure 32 years later I am much closer to KNOWING …than when I first believed.

People ask me all the time how I come to this realm and thoughts. I tell them its easy:

Get rid of your polarized identity, of good and evil. Reconcile both on the cross, and learn to walk free from the duality of this lower realm.
Learn to see all as one!
Endeavor to See God in ALL things…….and surrender to who we all say who God is…………selah

Divine Purpose

How I became Open Minded…

As God has blessed me, I have lived a humble but fruitful life. I have had the  opportunity to be a part of many notable miracles, served under some mighty men and women of God. Have had great success in the Business world, but my greatest of all achievements is definitely my family and who they have become as people.

I remember the night that the new Texas Stadium opened up, I think that they hosted an OU vs BYU football game, I’m not sure.  At halftime they asked Jerry Jones the Guru and owner of all of that monstrosity; “Jerry is this your crowning achievement?” His reply was no, my greatest crowning achievement of my life is not this Billion dollar stadium, but the 7th grade season in football I got to coach my son, THAT Jerry says, was my crowning achievement.”

That rang true for me. We moved to Michigan in the summer of 2000, in a strange land, with no family, support, or friends. We went on faith and hope. I can say it was totally a God thing the whole way, I made friends for life.  One thing I was blessed with as an independent business owner, is being in control of my schedule.  The boys were in the 4th grade when we moved there. I always played and still love all sports. My boys were so awesome at it. I began volunteering on the fourth grade team in football. After football then came baseball, I volunteered. Then after that came summer basketball, I became a coach as well. You see I was blessed to not only attend, every single sporting event for my boys, from 4th grade to college, I was blessed the opportunity to coach them as well.  I was able to move from little league, to Jr High, to High School, which I count as a huge blessing. If I died today I would be a fulfilled and happy man believe me, I have been given so many blessings and opportunities that most will never see in a lifetime.

My greatest blessing to date is knowing all of my sons, and wife are all humanitarians, full of love for all mankind. They have no judgement in their hearts, and are not prejudice in any way. This I am the proudest of in all my life. This brings me to reality that brought us to this path. Since the fall and winter of 1999 I was  invited by force, to become a mystic with an open mind.  My wife and 3 young sons had lost all of our income through ministry. We were betrayed and rejected by prominent ministry friends.  At the time for a few months after we lost all of our house and cars, we were living in a two bedroom apartment on the campus at Stillwater OSU.  We had no car, my wife took a taxi to work to cook at a sorority house, and I caught rides to work part time remodeling a kitchen for an awesome friend. We were paying 25.00 a month for rent, because of the graciousness of an amazing woman who still thought I was a man of God in spite of what others thought. I mean I have no way to convey to you the history, the magnitude of being lied about on a daily basis, etc…but all the while maintaining an amazing walk with God that honestly I havent seen the like since.

I believe open mindedness is truly achieved through a series of events that force no other course of action. As long as your ducks or in a row ( or appear to be to all those around you) Im sure you think Im nuts; honestly you are supposed to, move on and we will see you later on. If you think I’m crazy, or a loose cannon it’s all good, you are just not ready.  But to those who have been through some things that don’t fit any of your models of training, not understanding of what has happened, then you are at the right place and the right time. Let me tell you the magnitude of events that may cause you to ‘Open your eyes NEO’, from the Matrix movie. We had a prominant minister friend steal my data base of all of the contacts I had, they had spread damning lies about me and my ministry team. Consequently all of the meetings I had booked for two years straight for every weekend was cancelled. Every single pastor cancelled, without the exception of two, which are still great friends of mine for life. Not one single person called to see how we were doing, or etc.

Believe this………..EVERYONE LOVES you when you are winning…….. NO ONE wants to be associated with a shady loser….You will find your friends when you have nothing to offer them by way of fame or recognition, or pay….believe me, and if there is a great call on your life you may walk the same shoes.

The beauty of the whole story is; it created an open spirit and mind within my heart! I began to question everything and every one that I believed in. My criteria for love, and truth and for what was important changed dramatically. I began the journey of the open mind / open heart.