Stand-up comics or fathers & mothers?

LEADERS : children see, children do…

I look for a place where people gather and are intent in relating to God on a personal level… where nobody is going to belittle my immaturity or mock my shortcomings, trying to shame me into compliance to their strange code of performance and mislead zeal. I look for the eyes of my Saviour through the acts of my elders, because I may need for them to confirm how God loves me, not just theologically, but in reality. How else could I learn to love my brother and my sister, my neighbour, the poor, the broken, my enemy?

I cringe every time I come across those well-known and (strangely) popular televangelists whose faces contort and voices change as they proceed to mock, amidst roaring laughter, certain ways of thinking that lead many to remain burdened with their old selves and some yet unsanctified areas of their lives. What a pitiful and cruel spectacle, to use the weak among us as the butt of jokes, in a bid to entertain crowds as well as the illusion that they do have a “flock” because people laugh and come back for more.

How sad that so many of our leaders create and maintain a ministry based on mockingly looking down on and making fun of others… and how many people thank them for it by pouring into their buildings every week, sowing their money into their so-called ministries, and ending up being acting just like them with one another… It should not be so.

Why do so many run to these conferences, TV shows, and purchase and feed on the resources they sell? It seems to me that the demands of the traditional entertainment value selected by our leaders and teachers, have caused them to insinuate in the message of the Gospel elements that are not only foreign to it, but have also contributed to disfigure the face of the Lord and His voice.

This deeply affects the message and wrongly turns the attention on the messenger rather than those to whom the message is intended. It certainly would trigger the manifestation of a sense of shame that would remain and affect how we then hear the message, and how we respond to an invitation for change. I submit to you that this is like peer-pressure, and may not lead lasting fruit, but later on come back to discredit the original decision to take action and prove that we’ve changed.

I don’t believe Jesus had time for this type of clownesque representation of the well-meaning immature. He would be stern, yes, but he wouldn’t mock. The enemy is the mocker.

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Why am I saying this? I would like this to be an encouragement for us to oppose to this kind of public treatment, the true image of Christ in us and the true essence of our heavenly Father’s heart.

My vision for Soaking.Net is to offer a welcoming place, where we sit or kneel together as equals. No one has it all together. We all are on a journey to have Christ formed in us. The Holy Spirit is doing this work, the Father is guarding it, and Christ our Risen Lord is the image of God in us that we want to reflect unto others.

There is a shoutbox for blessings and prayer requests on Soaking.Net. When we read about a prayer request, something in us jumps right away and reaches out with either of these: compassion, understanding, or unwittingly, rudeness and judgment. Concerning the latter, let me say this: Jesus does not tell us to just pull ourselves by our bootstraps, nor does the Holy Spirit shame us by mocking us. We are not taught by the Lord to be Pharisees, but to “beware” of their leaven, what stirs them.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, and so we do have the opportunity to witness what comes out of our hearts when others share their prayer needs, fears, concerns, and need to be assured of God’s love.

Let us be careful not to ourselves fall as we utter exhortations. That’s why I prefer encouragements to exhortations. Consequently, Soaking.Net isn’t meant to be a replica of the type of contemporary church culture where exhortations are often fleshly, given in arrogance, and devoid of compassion.

Such “exhortations” overlook the divine mapping of the human heart and give precedence to shame, as if it was a proper incentive to encourage a walk of holiness. Clearly we know that Christ bore our shame for the last time, and restored our true dignity in the eyes of God by giving His own life on our behalf. That’s spelled: He bled to death so we could be lead to Life.

PULPIT vs STAGE

As for the flippancy that has at times crept into our churches pulpits and communication channels, I ask: would we stand before God and make clever jokes about someone’s immaturity or weakness, mimicking them in a mocking voice, an act that would essentially be saying that this ridicule caricature represents what the Holy Spirit is telling us about them? Is this how the Holy Spirit speaks? Undoubtedly not.

Holiness and conformity to Christ are of tremendous heavenly importance, and though at times we can enjoy some humor to help lighten our load and not take ourselves too seriously, it should not be at the expense of others or ourselves.

Sometimes, this type of attitude may betray the speaker’s own belief in the power and necessity of shame - deflecting it upon others through a not so clever cover up that simply presents itself in bad taste and poor judgment.

In my opinion, it tells of something deeply wrong in our corporate understanding of eternal life, and our discerning Christ’s body that we tolerate, even encourage and mentor down this type of attitude.

We all have had those humorous “light bulb” moments where God visited us and gave us understanding. No need to turn this into a preferred tool for change. Not everyone has to be told something or see the light the same way we had to be shown. That is to say, we don’t change deeply when we are mocked and shamed. The fruit of such “exhortation” leads right into the trap of conformity, peer pressure and is a tempting invitation to the path of least repentance.

God’s deep work of transformation, on the other hand, is a holy work; He reaches down and takes our hand even when we are surrounded by the enemy’s mocking and demeaning crowd of lies and insults, He reaches for the one who’s hidden in the corner, burdened by rejection and shame, unaccustomed to kindness and compassion. And He lifts their heads up in front of those who have no need, a loud statement of love restoring their dignity amongst their community. He teaches us to love, by loving us the way only He can. Disciples passionately want to learn the ways of their Master.

IMMATURITY ISN’T A SIN

Immaturity isn’t a sin. It is a normal stage of being, Christ being our comparative value, and God’s inner handiwork moving on behalf of our spiritual birth and growth.

We come to love “soaking” because it allows us space to be ourselves before God, alone or among others. No Bible study, no comparative witnessing, bragging rights, no religious exercises or accountability, no public rebuke or case-study, simply being as we are in all honesty, one on one with God, even though others may pray for us (only encouraged where true compassion and wisdom rule…).

In truth, the act of soaking is the age-old abiding quest of a kneeling heart: to know as we are known, to be effectively embraced, and accepted in the Beloved.

We freely drink this love as water of life, as it refocuses us on what is important to God: to be a son or daughter that pleases Him, still anchored in grace, at peace just being “home” with Him, in His arms of love. Isn’t that what we all longed for and isn’t it the thing that convinced us to enter into covenant with God: His love for us manifested through Christ?

“PERFECT” OR GODLY CHILDREN?

God isn’t after flawless people but godly people. Opposed to technical religious performance, he is close to those who know they don’t have it all together and who don’t pretend otherwise.

I share all this because my heart and vision is to maintain an atmosphere of humility on Soaking.Net’s shoutbox, a core place of interaction on the site. It is meant to be a safe and gentle place, without shame or exhortations that, though possibly well-meaning, may only serve to add religious burdens on those already struggling.

For this reason, we again turn our attention back to the power of simple encouragements as we walk shoulder to shoulder with those who seek, not lording anything – including the word of God, our prayers, experiences, teachings or words - above others.

Remember, Jesus didn’t come to us to preach to us out of His divine strength. Instead, He set aside His power and came to us in weakness, becoming one of us, a baby in a manger, affirming humanity as glorious, and thus He continued to relate to us out of unequalled humility.

In the same way, we are invited to minister to people out of an incarnated awareness of our own weakness, our victories being to God’s glory, and not our own. And with this heart attitude, we model our Lord, embracing each other in our humanity and need.

That is why brokenness isn’t a curse to command away with Bible verses or positive thinking, but a refining journey, laying down our lives daily to take up His.

Hence, a humble and inspired preacher of the gospel might inspire change, but will not demand it, and the true minister will walk with the weak and love them, whether or not change manifests itself as they think it ’should,’ even if the cost to pay is the faltering of their present ministry for lack of an “audience.”

We’re to love the poor, not create doctrines to convert them to riches. We’re to lay down our lives for our friends, defer to one another as much as possible. We’re to provide for the orphans and widows. God said that as we treat these well, we are treating Him well, and that is what we all want isn’t it? Treating God right, not as if he was a mere ‘god’ who needs endless summoning and appeasing sacrifices.

SOAKING DOTH REST

Thank you to all who bring this gentle compassion of our Saviour through your understanding, compassion and prayers of encouragement on the site. This washing of one another’s feet brings so much joy to the Father, and in no way does it suggest that a walk of holiness isn’t necessary, but that holiness is to walk and conduct ourselves with God’s heart in this world.

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6-8)

All who come here, the invitation remains: soak, abide, rest, expecting to be inwardly moved and touch Jesus’ garment, as He turns around and validates us in the midst of a noisy and distracted crowd. Let us continue to bless others through the comfort and blessing we receive. Encourage one another in the same manner we’d want to be encouraged if it was done publicly.

In this way, may Soaking.Net continue to be a refuge from the noise and loud demanding voices that weigh on the weary - a place to hear and learn the language of the Father’s heart of love. From there, we won’t really need anyone to teach us, for the indwelling Holy Spirit will remind us of all that Jesus said and did. To live our daily lives beyond that secret room, will be to walk in the dignity of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. And this is the light that is supposed to shine in the darkness, light that is ours to shine in the sight of all.

Grace and peace,

Andre Lefebvre
http://www.soaking.net

…unto greater works…