Rhymes and Reasons from Chuck Solomon

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM (Prov. 9:10a)

2011-10-13T16:24:00.001-04:00

The fear of God is missing
In the affairs of men today;
Being captain of their own fate,
They refuse to allow Him sway.

Being moved by their own passions,
They refuse to allow Him room;
As they're ruled by earthly wisdom,
They have thereby sealed their doom.

All the while, God bides His time
And lets them run their course;
When their wisdom comes to naught,
There'll be ample time for remorse.

We, as Christians, must pave the way,
With the fear of God our guide--
Exposing the fallacy of their unbelief,
On which they have relied.

When instead we live by faith
Lives they cannot explain,
We will have forsaken our wisdom
And in the Life of our Lord remain. (Jn. 15:5)

When they follow the life we live,
They should be drawn to our Lord;
We have been crucified with Christ,
As it is written in His Word. (Gal. 2:20)

- C. R. Solomon 10-12-11

COMPLETING THE REFORMATION

2011-10-03T12:32:00.001-04:00

The Reformation served its purpose,
While needed much in Luther's day.
Again, the Church needs reforming
With fleshly teaching holding sway.

When measured by earthly standards,
The numbers indicate success;
But when assessed by the Spirit,
There are signs of much distress.

With the world in great confusion,
Will the Dark Ages be repeated?
Though we are satiated with knowledge,
Spiritual life has been depleted.

The printing press was Luther's ally,
With the way of salvation needed;
A similar need exists today,
With the way of the cross unheeded.

The internet can be our ally,
With sanctification by faith the cry;
Preaching the cross the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18)
On which the Church must rely.

The Reformation stopped short
Of teaching the believer's cross, (Gal. 2:20)
Thus subverting true discipleship, (Lk. 14:27)
With the Church suffering great loss.

The Reformation must be completed
With sanctification the missing piece;
The bands of flesh must be broken
If the Church is to know release.

The world will soon be clamoring
For the Church to be the Church;
When it fulfills its destiny,
The hungry can cease to search.

Only a completed Reformation will suffice
To make the mid-course correction;
Sanctification must have twin billing
With the foundation of justification.

When we return to preaching the cross,
The power of God will be displayed;
And the world will know once again
That full atonement has been made!

The Light is the Answer to darkness
And only Jesus can it quell;
When the believer's cross is central, (Rom. 6:6-11)
The full story the Church will tell!

C. R. Solomon, 9-30-11

THE WORLD IN TURMOIL

2011-09-27T13:56:00.001-04:00

When your world falls apart
And for answers you are gleaning,
You must forsake the usual haunts
And look to the cross for meaning.

Losing our lives to save them (Matt. 16:24,25)
Is not known by the masses.
We're forced to learn by default;
It's usually not taught in classes.

Discipleship has long been neglected (Luke 14:27)
Such that the Church has suffered loss;
It can only regain its power
By the preaching of the cross. (1 Cor. 1:18)

Defeated and desperate believers (Rom. 7:24)
Cannot settle for justification; (John 3:3, Rom.5:10a)
Spiritual growth is an absolute must,
Which is the object of sanctification. (Rom. 5:10b)

I will settle you after your old estates,
And will do better unto you than at your beginnings;
And ye shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezek. 36:11)
As your battles, within and without, I am winning.

- C. R. Solomon 9-24-11

GALATIANS 5:25

2010-11-17T10:07:00.001-05:00

"If we live in the Spirit", (Gal. 5:25a)

And God's Word says we do, (Rom. 8:29)

"Let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25b)

As He lives His life in you.

"As ye have. . . received Christ Jesus the Lord"

In Him you are to walk; (Col. 2:6)

Only so is our faith demonstrated,

If abiding in Him is our talk. (1 John 2:6a)

- C. R. Solomon 10-6-10

THEN AND NOW

2010-09-27T15:00:00.001-04:00

"And as it was in the days of Noah,"

They married, ate, and drank; (Luke 17:26)

Ignoring the warnings given,

Into the waters they sank.

"Likewise" . . . in "the days of Lot,"

They drank, farmed and built; (Luke 17:28a)

Though warned of godless living,

They were destroyed by their guilt.

"Even thus it shall be in the day

When the Son of man is revealed"; (Luke 17:30)

With such graphic admonitions,

Should we allow our doom be sealed?

"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; (Luke 17:33)

Whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it".

-C. R. Solomon Sept. 25, 2010

LABOR TO REST!

2010-09-08T14:15:00.001-04:00

Laboring to enter rest— (Heb. 4:9, 10)

A contradiction in terms,

The natural mind cannot receive (1 Cor. 2:14)

That which the Word affirms.

Losing our lives to save them (Matt. 16:25)

Is another mind-bender;

Trying to 'figure it out'

Can only the Spirit hinder!

Dying in order to live, (2 Cor. 4:11, 12)

In the spiritual life a must—

Only His direct revelation

Allows us our Lord to trust.

When we're reduced to nothing,

He can be all things;

As He becomes our life, (Col. 3:4)

All that's within us sings! (Ps. 71:22, 23)

- C. R. Solomon 9-6-10

Fwd: Registration for conf. RSBC

2010-05-17T11:18:00.001-04:00

Praise the Lord & thanks for the prayers...

Begin forwarded message:

From: Mary Aman <maryaman@hotmail.com>
Date: May 16, 2010 11:20:48 PM EDT
To: John Woodward <jbwoodward@mac.com>
Subject: Registration for conf. RSBC

Hi Bro. John,

What a sweet spirit we have enjoyed all day!!! It is just SO exciting to see these people of all ages finally "get it"!!!

One man w/ a pentecostal background--65 years old--is one of the hardest workers we have. He went in the cafeteria & met you while you were setting up after you first got there Thursday--Allen Gill. He has always pushed himself beyond what he should at times to do things around the church b/c that is what he believed God expected of him. There was just no getting through to him. I honestly wondered if he would ever be open to believing the truth. I told Tommy earlier last week that I surely wished he would go to the conference. Tommy just said, "Yes, but you know Bro. Allen."
Well, Thursday he had been at the church cutting grass most of the day b/c he wanted it to look nice for the visitors Thursday night. (Yes, we appreciate this attitude!) Well, while you were setting up & I was back in the kitchen baking cookies, Bro. Allen came in to the kitchen to get water & cool down. I told him that he should just stay for the conference that night since his wife was out of town & he'd just be at home alone. Then, I told him that you & Tommy were in the cafeteria if he wanted to go in and meet you. So, he did & he liked you so much right off that he decided to go home & get cleaned up & come back to the conference. He shared an awesome testimony about the conference this morning. Then, this REALLY shocked me...his wife told me after church that he got so much out of the conference that he wants to sit down with her and go through his whole conference notebook with her and explain everything! Wow!!! That is really exciting!!! Here was 1 man that I thought was a case of "this is one too set in his ways to ever see him change!!!" Man, did I ever underestimate the poser of God!!! HOW thrilling!!!

Resting in HIM!

REORDERING SOCIETY

2010-03-05T11:47:00.001-05:00

Our country faces chaos
With wars on many fronts,
With those in foreign countries
Tending to take the brunt.
The turmoil within our borders
Human wisdom has engendered,
With the exporting of countless jobs
The unemployment scene has rendered.

Many adjustments must be made
To cope with politician's decisions,
With multiple families in a residence
Suffering deprivation from faulty vision.
Exporting industry, from textiles to steel,
Combine to reduce the work force,
With all our country being victim
Of the 'one world' agenda's source.

Since the creation of new jobs is
Dependent upon possible sales,
Competition with foreign markets
Reduced salaries and perks it entails.
The combined effects of world trade
Tends to 'dumb down' and income shrink;
With God missing from the equation,
It is much later than we think!

Like the feathers in a pillow
Released to be borne by the winds,
Recovery to the source is impossible,
Just as jobs that open trade rends.
Our indebtedness to foreign nations,
With borrower to lender enslaved,
We are sacrificing our sovereignty
As a direct result of free trade!

With the foundation of the Bible removed
And absolutes a thing of the past,
The behaviors of people and country
To the winds of fate are cast.
Only a return to our roots in God
Will suffice to reverse our heading;
But the Church must take the helm
And recant from the world its wedding.

For the Church to posit, "Thus saith the Lord",
It must return to preaching the Cross;
Continuation of fleshly programmitis
Will ensure that all suffer loss.
When we lose our collective lives
And live in resurrection power,
Our Church and country can once again
Glorify God is this dark hour.
C. R. Solomon 3-4-10

WE WERE THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED OUR LORD

2010-01-13T14:06:00.001-05:00

Saved or lost
We're at the Cross –
In Him victorious
Or suffering loss.
We're there by faith
In Him crucified,
Or in Adam's life
Piercing Jesus' side.

The choice is ours
As Adam's kin –
Receive the Savior
Or die in our sin.
Our debt He paid –
From the Cross forgave;
We receive His life
Or remain Sin's slave.

- C. R. Solomon

GOD’S CHILDREN: THEN AND NOW

2009-12-12T17:21:00.001-05:00

The Children of Israel

And believers of today,

Have much in common

In our learning The Way.

Faced with great odds

They were led to the Sea,

Having no backup plan

If the Sea did not flee!

With Pharoah thundering down

And escape routes blocked,

Unto God's timely action

They were obviously locked!

God's miraculous deliverance

Was a pattern for us today;

Foiling our backup plans,

His Spirit must hold sway.

Being brought to the Jordan

With Canaan the destination,

No possible human resources

Causes much consternation!

We have the precedent

Of His opening Sea and River;

With our step of faith, (Rom. 6:6, 11)

He will surely us deliver!

When the only way out is up,

We're locked into His grace.

We have known His hand;
Now, we must see His face!

Having crossed the Red Sea

With salvation from our sin,

At the Jordan He sets us free

From the reign of flesh within. (Gal. 5:24)

Having been faithful to us then

He will meet us in our trouble,

With works in our strength

Being wood, hay and stubble.

Being "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20)

In His Cross we glory, (Gal. 6:14a)

Being seated at His right hand--(Eph. 2:6)

A fitting end to the story!

- C. R. Solomon 12-12-09

“I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE “ (John 14:6)

2009-10-23T17:22:00.001-04:00

"I am the way"

You are to walk; (I John 2:6)

I'm to be the theme

Of your daily talk.

"I am the truth"

You are to believe;

New birth is yours (John 3:3)

When Me you receive. (John 1:12)

"I am the life"

You are to live; (Phil. 1:21)

As yours you lose, (Luke 9:24)

My life I give.

C. R. Solomon 10-23-09

“THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE” - John 17

2009-09-09T09:45:00.000-04:00

Our Savior’s parting words
Were that we might be one, (v. 21)
But He had to mount the Cross
Ere His work was done.

Whilst He was among us,
He could not be within;
His work was not complete
Until He had dealt with sin.

For our sake, He sanctified Himself (v. 19a)
That, through truth, we might be sanctified; (v. 19b)
But His Church today has settled
For being barely justified!

That we might all be one (v. 21)
With the Father and the Son— (v. 21a)
Only so will the world know (v. 23)
God’s life in their midst begun.

That the world may believe, was His prime concern, (v. 21)
By our oneness, Him to make known—
With the proof of our union manifest (v. 23)
By His love within and to others shown. (v. 26)

He wills that we be with Him (v.24)
Which must be in heavenly places; (Eph. 2:6)
Going to, and through, the Cross— (v. 12:26, Gal. 2:20)
Beholding His glory, with love He graces. (vss. 24,26)

C. R. Solomon
September 4, 2009

HIS IMAGE RESTORED

2009-05-26T10:19:00.001-04:00

“God created man in his own image”; (Gen. 1:27)
“And, behold, it was very good”. (Gen. 1:31)
Adam and Eve in the Garden
Could eat what they would. (Gen. 2:16)
But they chose their own way, (Gen. 3:6)
And God’s image was marred;
Sin passed to their descendants, (Rom. 5:12)
And the human race was scarred.

God, in grace, re-created man (John 3:16)
In “the image of his son”; (Rom. 8:29b)
Predestined to be like him,
With victory on the Cross won.
God’s image was restored,
As to his image we’re conformed; (Rom. 8:29)
With the old man crucified, (Rom. 6:6)
Our lives can be transformed. (Rom. 12:2)

Beholding his “face in righteousness”, (Ps. 17:15)
With his likeness we’re satisfied;
We awake to our inheritance, (Ps. 17:15b)
As, with him, we are crucified. (Gal. 2:20)
“We know that, when he shall appear”, (1 John 3:2)
We’ll realize, what a salvation this!
Then, “We shall be like him”; (1 John 3:2)
“For we shall see him as he is”. (1 John 3:2)

C. R. Solomon
May 25, 2009

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS TO THE END

2009-05-26T10:10:00.000-04:00

Lord God, You’ve been “my trust”
From the days of “my youth”, (Ps. 71:5b)
From the time that You called me (Isa. 58:10,11)
To make simple a blessed truth. (Gal. 2:20)
You are “my strong habitation” (Ps. 71:3a)
To Whom “I may continually resort”; (Ps. 71:3a, John 15:5)
“Thou art my rock and my fortress” (Ps. 71:3b)
That Your children I may exhort.

“My mouth shall” speak “thy righteousness” (Ps. 71:15a)
“And thy salvation all the day”;
“I will go in” thy “strength”, (Ps. 71:16a)
Since mine will not hold sway. (Ps. 71:15b)
You have “taught me from my youth”; (Ps. 71:17a)
And I have “thy wondrous works declared”, (Ps. 71:17b)
That Your Church might be set free
From worldly wisdom which has ensnared. (Col. 2:8)

Now that “I am old and grayheaded, (Ps. 71:18a)
O God”, please do not “forsake me”;
“Until I have shown thy strength” (Ps. 71:18b)
And this generation’s guide You make me. (Ps. 71:18b)
“Thy righteousness, O God, is very high,” (Ps. 71:19a)
And You have “done great things”; (Ps. 71:19a)
“My soul, which Thou hast redeemed,” (Ps. 71:23b)
And all that is within me, sings! (Ps. 71:22, 23)

C. R. Solomon
May 23, 2009

OCEANS OF BLESSINGS

2009-05-20T16:31:00.000-04:00

There’s a quietness by the seaside
Except for the ocean’s roar—
A sound that is relaxing
With a clamor felt for more.
The ocean’s distant horizon
Has an apparent tranquility—
One that is deceptive
Since there’s always a restless sea.

An hypnotic trance could be induced
Similar to a fireplace burning;
With waves and foam abundant,
The rolling sea is ever churning.
The call of the sea beckons us
To partake of its immensity,
Reminding us of our Creator
Who set boundaries for the sea.

We’re reminded that our sin,
Like the waters, covered the Earth;
But our God with grace abundant
Deigned to give us second birth.
Our sin was displaced from us
As far as the east is from the west;
Partaking of His sea of grace
With forgiveness and life we’re blessed.

C. R. Solomon
May 20, 2009

GOD'S LOVE MANIFEST

2009-04-11T11:11:00.003-04:00

The Church's marching orders--
To go and disciples make, (Matt. 28:19,20)
Has all but been subverted
With evangelism a tack to take.
While winning baby Christians
Will change their destination,
Their lack of power in living
Will cause much consternation.

Obedience to God's command
Involves "preaching of the Cross"; (1 Cor. 1:18)
With all emphasis on the Blood,
The new believer suffers loss.
But the preaching of the Cross
Must be backed by personal teaching,
That application might be made,
If heartstrings they are reaching.

Since many suffer alienation,
Personal acceptance is sorely needed;
Corporate teaching can be lost
If a person's hurts are unheeded.
Love is the key to hearts
And must be shown in flesh and blood;
Though it's expounded from the Word,
Personal embodiment brings the flood.

With believers treated all alike,
The personal touch is denied;
Getting to know personal struggles
Allows the pulpit to come alongside.
When a person needs a friend,
Objective teaching may not suffice;
But some personal time and caring
Can be the 'pearl of great price'! (Matt. 13:46)

From now until our Lord comes,
Personalized ministry is vital;
Such time will pay dividends,
Faultfinding knowing no recital.
'Pew sitting' without a personal touch
Can result in much dejection;
Good intentions by the Church
Can be perceived as rejection.

When a person feels rejection
While searching for healing love,
He may perceive God's absence,
Though he could abide above. (Eph. 2:6)
God's love by the church shown
Will draw the hurting to hear;
Sensing God's love in His people,
Will compel them to draw near.

C. R. Solomon 4-10-09

PREACHING THE CROSS

2009-04-07T12:01:00.002-04:00

"Preaching. . . the cross", "the power of God", (1 Cor. 1:18)
Is the need of the Church today;
But it will not be our portion
While the flesh yet holds sway.

With pastor and people broken,
We can know the Church of old;
Those who are "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20)
Will have a witness bold. (Acts 4:13)

The watching world waits,
Though not knowing what it's seeing;
So there must be a major shift
From frenetic 'doing' to 'being'.

All believers "have crucified the flesh", (Gal. 5:24)
But few have had illumination;
We can know the 'old man' died (Rom. 6:6)
But still be lacking in revelation. (Rom. 6:11)

The weakened state of the Church today
Makes it impotent to lead the way;
With the world approaching chaos,
The Church must no longer stray.

"Thus saith the Lord" is the maxim (Zech. 8:3)
That we all need to hear;
A broken Church, in a broken world,
Will cause it to draw near.

With the "life. . .of Jesus". . . "made manifest", (2 Cor. 4:11)
The Church will regain respect;
Continued ministry in human strength--
The world can, and should, reject!

The Church empowered by the Spirit,
With dead men made alive-(Rom. 6:3-6)
"Preaching. . .the cross", "the power of God", (1 Cor. 1:18)
Will cause the Church to thrive.

C. R. Solomon 4-6-09

IN CHRIST

2009-03-19T11:31:00.001-04:00

"...and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"

(Ephesians 2:6, NKJV).

In Christ (2 Cor. 5:17a)
Oh, blessed word,
Deep truth
To be heard.

Abiding in Him, (John 15:5)
We can ask
What we need
For any task.

Losing our lives (Matt. 16:25)
That He live,
Revival power
He does give.

In Christ
Says it all.
Hear it well;
"Christ is all." (Col. 3:11b)

C. R. Solomon 3-19-09

REVIVAL: THEN, NOW AND CONTINUOUSLY

2009-02-25T14:41:00.002-05:00

The subject of revival is bandied about with many different opinions as to what it is and how it is initiated. All will agree that it is a work of the Holy Spirit and that lives are drastically changed when an awakening takes place or when it "falls." As I read the Scriptures, it can only be the filling of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) when an individual or people have met the requirements which are prayer and repentance as a general rule.

In the major awakenings of the past, there have been major life transformations, sometimes on a very large scale. Many times, there are records of prayer on the part of a few or many which seem to have precipitated the awakening. Also, most of the revivals run their course and things tend to revert to the status quo. Much study has been done as to why revival tarries; and once it has come, the article turns to why it is not maintained.

I would like to enter the fray here and pose a suggestion on both counts: preparing for revival and its maintenance once it has taken place. It seems to me that most revivals are a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit with the participants not having the theological framework from which to evaluate His working and, thus, the maintenance of revival becomes a major concern.

Then, there are those who conjecture as to whether major revival will come again or whether we are in the 'last days' and can not expect the Holy Spirit so to move. There are those who are waiting, if somewhat impatiently, and those who have all but given up on His repeating previous awakenings. Many try to copy the events leading up to such awakenings in hope that history will repeat itself.

Frequently, we are admonished that prayer and repentance are keys to revival; and I agree that they are vital ingredients. However, I believe that a major key has been omitted in past revivals which is also the prime reason that the revival did not continue. While repenting of sin is always preached and should be, repentance of the reign of the flesh is not a general topic of preaching. That being the case, a believer repents of what he has done but usually does not repent of what he is!

When true revival takes place, the Cross (being crucified, buried and risen with Christ) becomes a reality; but when revival is a sovereign act of the Holy Spirit, the participants are usually not aware of its involvement . Therefore, when the revival begins to die down, they do not know that they can deny themselves and take up the Cross once again (Luke 9:23) and experience a continuation and/or spreading of the awakening.

Jessie Penn-Lewis, among others, saw this as the weakness of the Welsh revival at the turn of the 20th century and wrote at length about this missing ingredient. At the turn of the 21st century, we are in greater need of the Spirit's moving than was the case a century ago. The Church, as a whole, has imbibed more at the fount of humanism than anyone cares to admit. Since that is the case, there is little prayer and repentance and little faith that the Holy Spirit yet works in this way in the repetition of great awakenings of the past.

In 1967, God called me to such a ministry which was ministering revival or awakening on an individual basis. He has honored such ministry with transformed lives in this country and around the world since that time. However, since the Church at large has not recognized this kind of transformation as "revival," she has become enamored with the church growth movement and Christian psychology as substitutes for the working of the Holy Spirit. Now, both of these have pretty much run their course; and I don't believe that the economic situation will permit their being major players on the church scene. This leaves a vacuum that is waiting to be filled.

While we are praying and believing God for a major awakening, we can expect God to give individual revival on a regular basis (as we have seen Him do for the past 40 years in many languages and cultures). Also, there is not the matter of waiting for the Spirit to come but to fulfill the conditions for personal revival which are radical surrender, repentance of sin, and taking up the Cross (Rom. 6:6, Gal. 2:20, Lk 9:23,24). Personal prayer and that of the intercession others is an assumed prerequisite. This is not engineering revival but taking God at His Word and believing Him to transform lives by renewing their minds which describes that which happened in the major awakenings of the past. Since spiritual discipleship has been the missing dimension in most churches, we do not regularly see such transformation in their ministries. However, we have witnessed His doing so consistently since His call to the ministry in 1967 and have no reason to believe he will not do so in local churches which will take the same approach.

Preaching on prayer and repentance is insufficient since the preaching of the Cross is mandatory as it is the "power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). We find that the preaching of the Cross from the pulpit is rare, and it is no coincidence that revival--individual or corporate--is just as rare. When individual believer's lives are transformed, revival or renewal takes place; when they learn to share that with others in their sphere of influence, the revival spreads and can become corporate.

While it does not require a 'rocket scientist' to understand the basic requirements for revival, God did call me from the aerospace industry (now Lockheed Martin) to develop and implement an approach to personal revival where my family and I were dependent upon His faithfulness to routinely transform lives both for our eternal and temporal destiny. From the beginning, it was a faith ministry that was dependent upon such transformations to convince the watching world that God, indeed, was the author and sustainer of such a movement as was launched and is now known around the world. This contrasts with the usual shrouding in mystery of the term, revival, as though God were capricious in sending or withholding revival, depending upon His whim rather than our fulfilling His requirements where He is faithful to transform or revive such believers.

The continuation of our usual practices of preaching on topics other than the Cross and then praying that God will send revival is but to subvert the biblical requirements for the filling of the Spirit and yet expect Him to honor prayer and repentance alone. Though our prayer and repentance may be sincere, we have not taken our place at the Cross and lost our lives which is the basic requirement for discipleship/sanctification or revival. If this were taught routinely, there would be revival taking place continually rather than the infrequent general revivals or awakenings which are more remedial in nature.

Of course, the preaching of the Cross presupposes that the pastor has experienced the Cross as a prerequisite; otherwise, such a message will have a 'hollow ring', and the Holy Spirit will not honor it. Even if such a message were preached in the power of the Spirit, there would be the necessity of having personal workers who can minister to those who would respond to such a message. For this to be the case, there must be the discipling and training of those who would be used of the Spirit in such ministry. Again, this is not a major hurdle to be overcome since such training has been available for more than 35 years, with time-tested and proven materials and methods.

As the situation in our country becomes increasingly desperate, the Church must forsake approaches which are heavily flavored with self-strength in favor of those which God has regularly honored, even though it will be swimming against the stream. We have to admit that what we are doing has not been blessed with individual or corporate revival and turn to an approach that is.

There is an abundance of books available from trusted authors whose lives and ministries have stood the test of time, such as: Jessie Penn-Lewis, Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee, Ruth Paxson, F. B. Meyer, Roy Hession, Charles Trumbull, Reginald Wallis, Hannah Whitall Smith, and a host of others. Some of these were involved in awakenings or were products of them.

We must forsake the idea that we can conduct ministry in a 'business as usual' fashion and add prayer and repentance and expect the Holy Spirit to send revival. We have found over the last 4 decades that it is when believers deny themselves and take up the Cross that the Holy Spirit attends their prayer and repentance with revival. It is the death/resurrection process that God attends with revival and nothing short of that.

It is leadership that must pave the way since they must go to the Cross ahead of their flock and lead the flock there after them. In doing so, they will lose not only control of their lives but also of the congregation which can be a bit frightening! When we take our hands off of our lives and ministries, the outcome can be radically different from anything we have ever envisioned; and the individual members will be empowered to utilize their spiritual gifts which will multiply the ministry.

Once the leaders have lost their lives and are allowing Christ to live, they are ready to begin discipling or mentoring their people, such that each becomes equipped for ministry as taught in Ephesians 4. This means that the people will have to see such a difference in their leadership that they will want what the leaders have! In many cases, the leaders will require discipling themselves in order to 'take up the cross.' Afterward, they will be able to do the same for others within their ministries.

The above rationale is not something to be entered into lightly since it will involve restructuring of lives and ministries as never before envisioned. But again, what we have been doing is not working and will work even less well as the economic constraints become more stringent. Human need is likely to engulf the average church which will mean that the staff, which may be reduced, will be overburdened to the point that the whole body will have to be involved. Churches which are servicing debt will find the burden particularly stressful.

An entirely different model of ministry must be developed which takes into consideration the discipling of all members and equipping them to be vitally involved in the ministry and outreach of the church. Such a model will obviate the pastor's being the central focus of ministry and will allow for all members to be used of the Lord as the Holy Spirit directs and empowers (Eph. 4:11,12).

SAVED FROM SIN AND OURSELVES!

2009-01-05T15:55:00.002-05:00

Having been born in Adam
Of his nature we partake;
When he sinned and died, (Rom. 5:12)
It did us sinners make.
With our spirits dead to God,
Affinity to Satan was our plight; (John 8:44)
He, and we, became flesh;
To God's family we had no right.

Since our spirits were dead,
We needed a spiritual birth;
We had to die out of Adam
To walk with God on the Earth.
When we were born into Christ, (Rom. 6:3)
We entered into eternal life, (Rom. 6:23)
Only to find another battle (Gal. 5:17)
Since the world with sin was rife.

Victory o'er sin, our birthright,
Is only to be found at the Cross;
Attempting to live in our own strength (Gal. 3:3)
Is bound to result in loss.
The day we are saved, we're crucified; (Gal. 2:20)
The old man is dead and gone. (Rom. 6:6)
But our enemy now is the flesh, (Gal. 5:17)
And victory seems to have flown!

We can know we have been crucified (Rom. 6:6)
But we must reckon it true; (Rom. 6:11)
Not to do so we forsake 'being'
With emphasis on what we must do!
'Doing' and 'not doing' are paramount
In much teaching we hear today;
Attempts to adhere to such
Will result in a world of dismay!

As we come to the end of ourselves
We may cry, "O wretched man"; (Rom. 7:24)
Having tried our best to please God,
We find that only Christ can!
As we take our place at the Cross
And exchange our 'doing' for 'being',
Not only do we have a new future,
But now a new past we are seeing!

As we die and are buried with Christ, (Rom. 6:4)
We are also in His resurrection; (Rom. 6:5)
Ascended and seated with Him, (Eph. 2:6)
The old life is beyond detection.
Since He is now our life (Col. 3:4)
We're to rest and abide where seated; (Heb. 4:10,11; Jn. 15:5)
Having taken our place in Him,
Our redemption has been completed! (1 Cor. 1:30)

- C. R. Solomon 1-3-09

AMERICA, THE UNGRATEFUL

2008-12-30T13:33:00.001-05:00

"Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers...and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them and served them: therefore hath he brought all this

evil upon them." (2 Chronicles 7:22)

The God of our fathers
Led them to this land;
Forsaking creature comforts,
His wish was their command.
Their purpose was to worship God
In accordance with their choosing,
Throwing off the King's shackles
Meant many of their lives losing.

Freedom of worship their motive,
With no other gods before them,
The founding documents writ in blood
That we who follow avoid mayhem.
Two centuries have come and gone
With the god of materialism in place;
As we accede to its demands,
We do despite to the God of grace.

The god of situation ethics,
With everyone doing his own thing,
Maligns the God who made us,
His judgment on us to bring.
The evil which is upon us
Is a ploy of our own making--
The direct result of disobedience
And the God of our Fathers forsaking.

Modern generations pride themselves
On relegating God to mythology;
Assuming He lacks power to perform
They bow to the throne of psychology.
Materialism has proven its mettle,
Having fully run its course;
When the flesh can't be satiated,

There'll be ample cause for remorse.

Our country is in trouble
Because we've turned to other gods;
Our prayer will be heard
When we repent and turn to God.
We can say "There is no God"
And scripture calls us fools!
Or, we can bow the knee
To the God Who reigns and rules.

Judgment begins at the house of God
That it might lead the way;
The people called by His name
Must humble themselves and pray.
Denying ourselves and taking up the Cross,
We turn from sin to seek His face;
As he hears from Heaven and forgives our sin,
We learn the true meaning of grace.

C. R.Solomon 12-29-08

THE CHURCH MOBILIZED FOR DISCIPLESHIP

2008-12-22T12:02:00.004-05:00

THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST, ". . . for such a time as this" (Est. 4:14b)

Introduction

As the world economic situation continues to escalate, it behooves us to investigate its impact on the Church so that the Church impact on the world might be maximized. The modern trend of living beyond our means has been extrapolated from the individual to business and to the government. Businesses operating on a line of credit have become commonplace, and individuals have gone from mortgages on their homes to borrowing to purchase cars to becoming enslaved to credit card debt. Churches have not been immune to such practices with a great percentage of churches financing some part of their facilities.

The scriptural injunction to "Owe no man anything, but to love one another:" (Rom. 13:8a) seems to have become passé, with some churches carrying a heavy debt load in addition to extensive overhead. It has become common practice to create paid positions for ministry that were formerly the role of lay personnel. All of this can be justified in an expanding economy, but a contracting economy rapidly creates chaos such as we are experiencing to some degree presently.

Those churches with large overheads and major indebtedness are already beginning to feel the pinch. Not only will adjustments have to be made to deal with the economic aspects but also to minister effectively to those of the membership and community who are suffering adversity. It is a certainty that such ministry cannot be confined to paid staff, and the vast majority of churches have not trained their populations via discipleship to step into the breach. In fact, scriptural discipleship has been all but missing from the modern day church. Therefore, it must be instituted swiftly with little in the way of precedent on which to base such training. It will amount to a paradigm shift in ministry to meet the possibly overwhelming need. Though few churches have implemented such ministry, Grace Fellowship International has pioneered an approach to discipleship/counseling which would ideally be accomplished as a key ministry in all local churches. There is nothing to be developed or proven as all of this is history; the materials and methodology can be transferred directly to the Church where God intended for it to be. The rationale for doing so is the purpose of this article.

THE CHURCH MOBILIZED FOR DISCIPLESHIP

With the way the country and the world are beginning to shape up from an economic standpoint, it is the part of wisdom that we calculate the corresponding impact on the Church and how it must comport itself to be able not only to minister in the world but to be able to have a positive impact on it. To bury our heads in the sand and wait until the effects are upon us, will be foolhardy to say the least and could bury us alive in the wake of its economic tidal wave. Though we cannot escape the impact, we can take some proactive measures to lessen it and to trust God for a strategy to minister effectively in an adverse set of circumstances with which we have not had to deal heretofore. I am afraid that the 'good life' has been an enemy of the spiritual life, with little in the way of sacrifice required; from this point on, there are likely to be sacrifices on the part of many who are lacking in that experience! Few who went through the Great Depression of the 1930's are alive to recount the deprivation which was rampant at that time.

As the recession begins to take its toll, the local church will be in the forefront due to its dependence upon contributions which is already beginning to be felt. In fact, a recent Barna poll said that the contribution shortage is already in the billions. Of course, those infrequent churches which are debt free will not be affected as drastically as those which have fallen prey to the pervasive trend of living beyond our means. Almost all churches which build or buy facilities think nothing of first seeking a loan with some taking advantage of all assets and giving patterns to enable them to secure a loan of sufficient size to build the size building that is desired, whether or not actually needed. In fact, it is the unusual church which pays as it goes in a building program. Again, in an expanding economy, this has been a way to utilize facilities while paying for them. A large plant, with some the size of a city block, requires a staff commensurate with the ample facilities. The creeping growth usually does not take into account the maximum use of unpaid staff but expands the overhead to take advantage of possible ministry outreaches, including family life facilities with various sports opportunities from walking to swimming to various athletic activities. While there is nothing wrong with any of these, continued expansion and diversification involves continually increasing overhead.

In such a scenario, it is necessary for the pastor to become a CEO or to hire an administrative pastor who fulfills such responsibilities which may tend to detract from the spiritual ministry for which the church was founded. With all of this expansion, the worship center is but a part of the mammoth plant rather than being part and parcel of the mission of the church. Formerly, the non-worship activities took place in homes or in community buildings; but the church facility has expanded to become all inclusive with some even adding restaurants and coffee shops. Coping with the economic situation taking place in our society is inescapable, and reducing the ministry of paid personnel is much more difficult than the happy prospect of adding them! Releasing beloved brethren, when jobs are hard to come by, can be heart-wrenching. Also, it may be that reduction in pay scales will make it impossible for them to maintain the same housing accommodations and standard of living in other ways.

Since many churches will have to reduce the ministry staff, there will have to be a corresponding increase in filling such voids by laity. Also, it will be necessary to rethink the approach to ministry, not only to take up the slack but also to render the ministry more effective and efficient while at the same time not sacrificing the spiritual content.

Concomitant with the decrease in paid staff will, in all likelihood, be a drastic increase in human need requiring ministry, both inside and outside the church. The major material needs created by unemployment and underemployment, along with possible scaling back of salary levels, combine to create massive needs on the part of many who have been able to handle their own families and even to help others.

The auto industry is presently planning on reducing salary scales to make Detroit competitive with imports, and this could signal such reductions as a ripple effect across the country. In some cases, parents will have to open their homes to married children with families which will involve increased stress on everyone. Interpersonal conflict due to several people being confined in close quarters will contribute toward the massive increase in counseling needs throughout the church at a time when most counseling is referred outside. Since family and church budgets will already be strained, it will be necessary to handle it in-house which will require a paradigm shift in the ministry of most churches.

While it is not insurmountable and the training may easily be done, there will have to be the commitment on the part of leadership to gear up for such an eventuality. Waiting until it is upon us is not wise, since those who will be trained to render such ministry must have time to learn and mature in order to discharge such responsibility. The training would be in the nature of discipleship or sanctification which has been all but missing in the ministry of the modern church, whether among staff or laity. Though long term discipleship will be required, most will require individual discipleship or counseling before being assimilated in a group for long term follow up. Individual or clinical discipleship would have the nature of leading a believer to understand the full impact of being crucified with Christ which is the beginning or entry into discipleship, according to Luke 14:27. Though some may live such a life, few have been trained to teach others to embark on such a spiritual journey. All believers are on a spiritual journey, and a few will be at a point of extreme need where understanding this aspect of the Cross will be not only desirable but absolutely necessary!

After it is revealed reality by the Holy Spirit, it will be necessary to learn to walk in such truth before being effective in sharing it with others. Then, there will be a period of time of personal sharing or ministry before being able to train others to do the same. Although it is not a complicated process, it is contrary to most church practice today, which makes it sound like a foreign concept. It is tried and proven over 4 decades, but the Church has not been forced to embrace such ministry because of needs which cannot be outsourced.

Once the need cannot be denied, and the human need must be squarely faced with no referrals as an alternative, it will be necessary to 'hunker down' and prepare for the long haul. A conference on the material content and a workshop on the basic methodology can be done in as little as ten (10) days, once the church is firmly committed to a thorough discipling of its congregation. Believers with less than a high school education have been trained, so formal education in counseling, education, psychology or theology is not a requirement. It is spiritual ministry which has been neglected for most of the last century and will require some crash training to fill the void and to give discipleship or sanctification an equal footing with justification. However, even in the matter of justification, its inculcation in evangelism has largely become a spectator sport with professionals being emplaced rather than major equipping of the saints. While evangelism, or soul winning, is taught in many evangelical churches, it is safe to say that the majority of Christians have never led anyone to Christ.

Then, those who are most proficient in evangelism have led few, if any, believers to the Cross for sanctification or discipleship. In fact, it is not accorded a place in the curriculum of most seminaries or Bible schools. This means that the whole Christian community is lacking in this vital aspect of ministry which, in all likelihood, will become front and center as the most needed emphasis in the Christian Church. It is a very simple approach to implement and can be done speedily with all necessary materials, methods, and message readily available. The only lack at this point is the distribution system for the materials/media which have been proven in a number of languages and cultures over the past 4 decades with approximately a dozen books published to support such study/training. It is a simple matter of publicity, logistics, and finance that are required to implement the approach widely and witness the Holy Spirit's transforming lives to the glory of God. Each life so transformed experiences revival or renewal which can easily spread from church to church as the message of the Cross is clearly taught from the pulpit and translated into the pew by means of one on one discipleship.

Summary

The discipleship herein described and commended has been the major need of the Church in recent decades, but there has not been the 'open nerve' to necessitate its inception. As a result, those needing a deeper walk with the Lord to resolve inner and interpersonal difficulties have been unhesitatingly outsourced to world system developments in psychology, with much of this being taught in our seminaries. That being the case, pastors have largely bought into the notion that counseling is a specialty which requires advanced education, so neither they nor their staff usually minister to such living needs, most of which should be the domain of clinical discipleship [Christ-centered counseling].

This mindset must be reversed so that the average church member will be equipped to live and share the Cross in a meaningful way and see the lives of other believers transformed. Those who have matured in their walk, where the experienced Cross is reality, will find that learning to share it with others in the Spirit is a simple matter. Hurting believers, as well as unbelievers, could then turn to the Church and get an answer rather than a referral! Though such ministry is presently not even on the horizon, much less in the comfort zone of the average church, the basic training could be done in as little as ten (10) days if pastor and people had a mind to do so. Such a church could have a whole new lease on ministry with a vision for the Holy Spirit to be regularly transforming lives and releasing such believers for ministry according to their spiritual gifting.

While there are a number of exceptional churches which are implementing the above to one degree or another, Dr. Phil Jones at First Baptist of Powell, TN has done the most thorough integration into the ministry of the church. In doing so, he has developed TELL (Teaching Exchanged Life Living) material for use in the local church; all who desire to unite with the church participate in such teaching. This was the project for his doctorate at Southern Seminary in Louisville KY. www.FBCPowell.com

SUFFERING IN PERSPECTIVE

2008-11-25T09:12:00.003-05:00

Suffering is God's crucible, (1 Pet. 1:7)
Our value to refine;
Since God is our example (1 Pet. 2:20,21)
It is His grand design.
Not only to believe on Him (Phil. 1;29,30)
But to suffer for His sake;
It is by taking up the Cross (Lk. 14:27)
That He does disciples make. (1 Pet. 5:10)

The godly shall suffer persecution- (2 Tim. 3:12)
A source of great pain;
But we have His promise:
"If we suffer, we will also reign". (2 Tim. 2:12)
Jesus learned obedience by suffering (Heb. 5:8)
Which took place without the gate; (Heb. 13:12)
Being partakers of His sufferings (1 Pet. 4:12,13)
Allows us His passion to relate.

Though no ne enjoys suffering
It perfects our walk in Him (1 Pet. 5:10)-
Establishing, strengthening, settling,
So our vision will not dim.
When suffering has had its way
And the way of the Cross we've trod,
We can comfort them in any trouble (2 Cor. 1:3,4)
As we ourselves are comforted of God.

C. R. Solomon, Korea 11-25-08

THE ULTIMATE BAIL-OUT

2008-10-06T11:13:00.001-04:00

We know our country's in trouble;

Fewer know the Church is, too.
Politics based on human wisdom
Is the expected thing to do.
The birthright of the Church
Is to follow the Spirit's leading;
But ministry in our strength holds sway
While ignorance we are pleading.

Many are those which are seeker friendly
So the world we will not offend;
Others preach a clear gospel
That sin to Hell does send.
But once the person comes to Christ,
The Cross for the believer is seldom preached; (Gal. 2:20)
The eternal destination has been changed,
But the goal of discipleship is not reached. (Luke 14:27)

We decry the need for bail-out
To compensate for government's failing;
With most of our churches in decline,
We can't deny the Church is ailing.
As with the government so with the Church,
We have fallen short of the mark;
We have taught the way of salvation
But on a "doing to be" syndrome we embark.

When we conclude the Church is powerless
We plead for God to intervene;
We know revival is the answer
And pray that God will grace the scene.
Though we have failed to preach the Cross
We ask God for His visitation,
Not realizing that our crucifixion
Must precede our resurrection.

For a gracious bail-out we are asking
To compensate for our disobedience;
We are asking that the Holy Spirit fall,
While to the Cross we should give credence.
When the Holy Spirit sends revival
Though the message has not been taught,
The problem will be its maintenance

Since we knew not what we sought.

God in grace does bail us out
Though the results of the flesh remain;
The Spirit moves with consummate ease
While we continue to grunt and strain.
The Cross must be made central,
That the fruit of the bail-out will remain;
Preaching the Cross, the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18)
Brings constant revival-clear and plain!

C. R. Solomon 10-3-08

STEWARDSHIP OF THE CHURCH

2008-08-29T09:56:00.001-04:00

In meditating on the subject of stewardship, I find it is usually restricted to the responsibility of the individual church member. Frequently, the parable of the steward in the New Testament is used to teach that we, as believers, must give account of our stewardship.

But, if we carry it a little farther, should not the body of believers in the local church be accountable for corporate stewardship? Since the church is all about ministry, there will have to be agreement on the results of the ministry put forth by the church. As I see it, there are only two main objectives in such ministry, with all of the church's activities working together to produce the desired results. One of the aspects is evangelism which can be evaluated is the number won for Christ; the other is discipleship of believers that results in their maturation.

Evangelism could be termed those who are saved from sin, while the beginning of the process of discipleship is a believer's being saved from himself. This is defined in Luke 14:27 where we read: "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." The sinner repents of sin and believes that Jesus died for him; the believer repents of flesh and believes he died with Jesus. The unbeliever is saved from his sin, and the believer is saved from himself!

Just as the number of those who are born again is frequently tabulated to portray the results of evangelistic thrusts, the same may be done of those whose lives are transformed as believers-the beginning of a life-long process of discipleship. However, the latter is ill-taught in the majority of churches with little or no discipleship being done.
If both of these avenues are assiduously pursued, there should be results which can be quantified; if we do consistent planting, there should be some reaping in due season. Negligible results in either category should be cause to question the stewardship of the church. The machinery may be kept running with all of the gears properly oiled, but the lack of tangible and quantifiable results should bring stewardship into question.

In either case, something is amiss if souls are not being saved or lives of believers are not being regularly transformed. At least, a regular report should be given to the body for praise and thanksgiving. The waters of the baptistry should be stirred regularly. Then, the Holy Spirit would transform the lives of believers on a regular basis if scriptural discipleship were routinely practiced, which would result in greatly increased evangelism. Why should believers desire to export what is not working at home in their own lives?

In any church, there is a good percentage of hurting believers who would be candidates for intensive discipleship which would result in transformed lives, if it were offered. However, an unbeliever goes to a church and is given an answer by being led to our Lord; on the other hand, a believer goes for an answer and is given a referral all too frequently. The vast majority of believers who are presently treated by mental health workers could be ministered to by the local church if credible, remedial discipleship were an option!

As far as I can read from the scriptures, these are the only two reasons (evangelism and discipleship) for the existence of the local church besides fellowship and worship. A possible third emphasis would be to do the same in missions outreach. Accountability for the funds invested in missions should be reflected in stewardship reports from affiliated ministries or from those who go out from the local church on short-term missions.

Rarely does any one of them report the lives of believers being transformed due to missions outreach or discipleship; just as at home, precious little is done on the mission field besides evangelism and some community projects.

The lack of tangible results in both areas should be sufficient cause to evaluate the entire ministry and make the necessary adjustments that the body of believers might be productive. Continuing to support a ministry where lives are not being impacted regularly indicates a lack of stewardship oversight on the part of church leadership.
Of course, the whole congregation has such responsibility; but the elected leaders bear the brunt of such breach of stewardship before God. It is obviously easier to let a church ministry rock along until it becomes so ineffective that everyone can see that it must be addressed.

However, those who were in need during all of this process will have been neglected when many would have been open to ministry in their lives. Lacking such ministry, they drop out of church or move on to another where the same syndrome is very likely to be repeated so that such a hapless individual concludes that the church does not have an answer.

Since human need is going to multiply exponentially in the very near future, isn't it time that we examined individual and corporate stewardship to prepare for such an onslaught? The need has been there and has gone wanting, but it will soon be impossible to ignore. Too, those to whom referrals are made routinely could be too busy looking for answers to give any . . . . What will the church tell them?

- Charles R. Solomon, Ed. D.

Crowding the Church to Christ

2008-08-26T10:16:00.001-04:00

As with the individual,
So is the church's plight;
Holding steady or losing ground,
Though trying with all its might!

Consisting mainly of believers
Who are giving life their best,
It should come as no surprise
That few have entered promised rest. (Heb. 4:10,11)

Death must work in us (Gal. 2:20)
So that life might work in others; (2 Cor. 4:12)
Conversely, when self-life works in us
Death will result in our brothers.

With the church being a composite,
Its identity drawn from within;
There'll be a downdraft on its efforts
Caused by the power of sin.

Revival is the only answer
Following the preaching of the Cross; (1 Cor. 1:18)
Ministering in the strength of flesh
Will cause the church to suffer loss.

The flesh must be exposed,
Whether in the pulpit or the pew;
The Spirit reveals the Cross one by one
If believers He's to live through.

When Christ-life shapes the church,
Petty bickering is bound to cease;
As the Spirit is allowed full sway,
It will know His promised peace.

When lives are transformed
And renewed minds are the norm,
New Testament living will again be seen
As to His image we're made to conform. (Rom. 8:29)

The lost will come to Christ
When they witness resurrection power;
Churches becoming known for this
Is the urgent need of the hour!

C. R. Solomon, August 25, 2008

A Church Being Saved from Itself

2008-08-22T13:48:00.004-04:00

In a day when the majority of churches have either reached a plateau or are declining in most aspects of measurement, there are many speculations about a remedy to render the church both effective and efficient in a culture with dire needs. However, most adjustments in ministry are just that, rather than a drastic overhaul to match ministry to the glaring need.

Messages on evangelism, prophecy, history, and the like, will result in new believers and some adolescent Christians; but very few are nurtured to maturity. That being the case, there is much infighting and competition, but precious little in the way of true discipleship. The seeker sensitive movement has given people what they want, rather than what they need, which has resulted in large numbers in attendance in a short time, but few disciples, at a time when true disciples are the need of the hour! It is reminiscent of comparing the growth of an oak and a squash; the squash will grow very quickly, but a strong oak will take years.
In order to understand what must take place, it is necessary to analyze what has brought us here in an overview of the history of a typical church in recent generations. Understanding the pattern of the waxing and waning of a church can lead to the solution that the Holy Spirit would bring about to revive the church and set a new course.

Since churches have been built primarily on evangelism, to the near exclusion of discipleship, various programs and incentives have been implemented which substituted activity for productivity, to a large degree. Most such programs were designed and implemented in human strength and wisdom.

As will be seen in the following diagram, the life of the church begins to sag and is bolstered by more programs with the eventual conclusion that a new pastor with differing gifts will be the 'shot in the arm' that is needed. When a number of solutions and pastors have been tried, the church may be reorganized; and the process is started all over again, or it may be declared dead and have its doors closed.

Rarely is it discerned that it should not be allowed to die a natural death but, rather, be guided through a spiritual death and resurrection to minister in the power of the Spirit. Just as an individual believer may try all sorts of self help, Christian and otherwise, prior to coming to the end of himself and finding victory, it is my conviction based on four decades of experience, that a church can, and should, experience a similar transformation. Since most have never been through this process, they do not know there is a bottom, nor that the Spirit will transform the life of the church and give a whole new lease on ministry.

Since comparatively few believers have been guided through this process, it will be obvious that few, indeed, are the churches which will have been transformed in this way. Since it is difficult to guide one believer through the death/resurrection process with his full cooperation, it will be vastly more difficult to convince a church, consisting of mostly fleshly believers, that such is the problem and the solution. As a comparison, it is much easier to turn around a canoe than a large ship!

During the downward progress to the Cross, there will be much resistance, both voluntary and involuntary. For the church to experience victory, it will be necessary for the individual members to experience such victory. Once a number of individuals have appropriated the Cross, they will have to lead, by lip and by life, others who have yet to enter in. When a church recognizes the downward progress for what it is, it is possible (and preferable) to heed the signals and submit to the Cross voluntarily rather than wait until the inevitable happens where there is no choice. In other words, it is not necessary to go all the way to the bottom and learn the hard way when we can become obedient and cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He purposes to do a deeper work in the life and ministry of the church.

However, just as with the individual believer, most churches will have to exhaust their own resources before casting themselves on God's merciful intervention. With the wealth of materials, media, and resources at its disposal, there is much to bolster human wisdom and dedication in the discharge of ministry. Since "everyone is doing it", there is little reason to question an approach to ministry that has numbers and facilities to buttress the appearance of success. The mega churches have had success based on numbers, but they are finding that they have made few disciples and, therefore, have gone the wrong direction.

Usually, it is only as the indicators all turn in a negative direction that our Lord can get the undivided attention of the leadership for a prolonged period of time. When they have given it their best shot and must admit defeat, God can use it to open them to an answer not previously considered. Sometimes, it is only at this point that they will be ready for an answer rather than an argument!

As with the individual believer, so with the church, it always boils down to an issue of control, however defined. If our Lord is to take control, the church must lose control. If it has not lost control, it is yet in control; if it is yet in control, it is really out of control! Losing control is always a frightening prospect, even though we know that His control will be infinitely superior to our own. The way ahead is uncharted, but the Holy Spirit is eminently qualified to navigate troubled waters to His destination for which He will receive all the glory.

Needless to say, it will require leaders who have undergone the process to supervise during the transition, and afterward, as the church enters upon a spiritual ministry which was heretofore unknown. Not only that, but it will be called upon to coach other churches in the same process. Just as individual believers who find victory need fellowship with other such believers, revived or renewed churches need to band together to encourage each other and to inspire other churches which, knowingly or unknowingly, have the same need.

Whereas the individual must learn the daily walk in the Spirit, the individual church must learn the expertise of daily ministry in the Spirit with few guidelines to pattern after. In past major revivals, the process was mostly administered by the sovereign working of the Holy Spirit. Due to leaders' lack of understanding of that which He had done, the revival fires soon died out and the church was back to its fleshly self to repeat the whole process over and over and pray that the Spirit will do it again!

The church cannot speak to the world with one voice until the Cross becomes central and replaces the program-centered ministry which we have known for most of the last century, with rare exceptions. Just as in individual witnessing, where the lost need to see Jesus in a believer's life before his witness is effective, the world needs to see Jesus, not man-made programs and answers, in the Church. It is impossible to follow the world and lead it at the same time!

Holding up the banner of the Cross presupposes living in the shadow of the Cross. The Church must lose its life based upon living and witnessing in human strength, while asking for God's help, and demonstrate to the world that our Lord yet lives through His Church.

We have seen the Holy Spirit reveal Himself in individual lives for the past 40 years; it is my contention and conviction that He will do the same through individual churches which will obediently yield to the death/resurrection process as herein briefly described. This rationale is outlined in more detail in Handbook to Happiness and You: A Spiritual Clinic by the author.

However, both pastor and people will necessarily be swimming against the tide of public and theological opinion when embarking upon this path! It will be fraught with obstacles, as well as resistance from Satan. He was defeated at the Cross; and it is losing our lives and the life of the church through the preaching of the Cross, the power of God, where Life in resurrection power is yet available! As with the individual so with the church, once it is accepted that the church must come to the end before it can start at the beginning, cooperation with the Holy Spirit can hasten the progress to the Cross so that resurrection life may be released.

The world must see a church triumphant if it is to be taken seriously! Once the miraculous is commonplace, the Church will have again earned the right to speak for God, and the world will once again stand in awe of a Holy God.

- Charles R. Solomon

Materialism: A Paper God, Running Out of Gas!

2008-07-11T16:31:00.002-04:00

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender" (Prov. 22:7)

Over the past half century, we have developed a lifestyle where we buy things we can't afford, with money we don't have with deferred payments and establish a family budget that is largely based on servicing debt. It is the rule rather than the exception to have a house payment and car payment as a minimum. The price and size of the house are usually determined by the payment that the salary will cover without exceeding a certain percentage of the monthly salary, which dictates that the set salary must be maintained over the term of the loan. In a continually expanding economy, such a rationale is workable; however, over a period of years there can be "crunch times" (such as are upon us!) where contractions may occur which can apply stress to the borrower. In years gone by families lived on a cash basis, only buying that for which they could pay out of current income; the life style was determined by the money available--not that for which their credit would qualify them.

After the former mentality was firmly established, the credit card industry was launched which capitalized more on greeds than needs. The idea of instant gratification became the rule of thumb in many arenas. Paying cash for purchases is unusual, and the ease of running up exorbitant credit card debt has forced many into bankruptcy.

Those who build considerable equity in a home mortgage are regularly taunted with the idea of taking an equity loan with no closing costs to consolidate high interest credit card debt which they have amassed, financing current expenses over the term of the loan. Thus, the cycle continues unabated. With many, the idea of paying off the mortgage is not even considered, except to refinance or to sell the home and progress to one with larger principal. Thus, a person 50 or 60 years of age will sometimes get a 30 year loan!

The borrower becomes servant to the lender(s) with life decisions being made (or forced) which are based on debt which must be serviced (feeding the monster). (Prov. 22:7) This being the case, such a person has done involuntary obeisance to the false god of materialism--a paper god that can never be satisfied.

With an entire society built on being servants to lenders, most are forced to play by the golden rule--he who has the gold makes the rules! Almost all businesses are run on a line of credit of some sort with precious few being run without borrowing money for operating expenses as well as for capital improvements.

An executive making a large salary will generally adjust his/her lifestyle to match the salary. A sudden downturn in the economy or losing the position because of the ubiquitous mergers and shifting of management personnel can wreak havoc with the family budget, if not force bankruptcy. Those in the family, not just the executive, will usually develop an identity made possible by such a salary. A major downward adjustment can be a decided blow to the identity; an identity based on money and things must fluctuate with the economy. In the oil crunch of the 80' s in Denver, there were cases where such families went to the back door of churches and picked up food baskets in a Mercedes.

When materialism is providing the needs and many of the greeds such as we find common in the West, it very subtly becomes a substitute god--one that is insatiable, unpredictable and capricious, though it be but a paper god. Obviously, such a pervasive societal trend, can not be reversed overnight. Indeed, such an ingrained identity which is based on the paper god of materialism can only be conquered by shifting to the one true God and finding identity and meaning in Him.

Before there will be the willingness to make such a change, it will probably require a major disruption in the life and economy (such as greatly inflated oil prices) that the paper god can not overcome. Having been slaves to the system and covertly serving a paper god, it will take divine intervention to effect such a transition. Barring that, the stage will be set for a dictatorship to bring order out of chaos, if there is a broad failure of the paper god to continue to service the system.

The extra demands that are presently being placed on the financial system combine to place pressure on lives and families that may already be near the breaking point due to having been built on the shifting sands of the flesh. These pressures include the cost of war preparations, financing a war and rebuilding all that we have destroyed, damage inflicted by terrorism to installations, the downturn of the economy caused by war jitters, oil prices, unemployment, natural disasters and rolling back of salaries. With a preponderance of our population stretched to the limit with debt, such assaults on the economy could make bankruptcy and foreclosures a common occurrence. In such a scenario, it is inevitable that there will be a drastic increase in suicides, as well.

With the identities of the individual, the church and the nation having been based, with few exceptions, on the profferings of the world system, the only answer is for these to come under the influence of the Cross of Christ such that a resurrection life identity may be manifested. (Luke 9:23, Gal. 2:20) When that quality of devotion becomes a significant percentage of believers, there will be repentance on the part of the church which can have a major impact on the nation. Radical Christian Living must become the rule rather than the exception if societal trends, not just financial, are to be reversed and the God of the Universe is to take precedence over the paper god of materialism. Only as we find our identity in the Lord Jesus Christ by having revealed to us, one by one, our death and resurrection with Him, will we be able to transcend the world system and have victory over false gods to which our flesh has become accustomed. (Rom. 6:6-14; 2 Cor. 2:14) Only so will revival begin to spread across our country such that the enemies of the Cross will begin to be pushed back to the glory of our Lord.(Phil. 3:18)When the flesh has been satiated with materialism, the identity and lifestyle are dictated by its demands. The expanding economy to which we have become accustomed in the last half century has accommodated its continuation, with the last two generations knowing nothing else, other than minor recessions. The present oil crisis, itself, can have just such effect as was mentioned above.

Since long distance commutes have been feasible, the property values at a distance from cities and the workplace have greatly escalated, with only those able to work locally or by computer avoiding commuting. Not only in travel to work, but also in leisure time activities, driving great distances has been commonplace, as has attendance at many megachurches.

Since the almost unlimited consumption of oil (our life blood as a nation) has been greatly curtailed, it will have the effect of shrinking the economy. Since a great percentage of our population has become accustomed to using almost all of their income each month, the major increase in fuel prices means that many will have month left at the end of their money!

Many will not be able to reduce spending or obtain additional income to cover the deficit. If a way is found to do so, it can be at the expense of family time, which will negatively impact relationships. If the family already tends toward being dysfunctional, the additional financial down pressure can bring many families to the breaking point.

As has been the case in recent years, the trend of adult children returning to live with their parents can accelerate, with the added feature of bringing their families with them! The cost of distance commuting and the inability to find work closer home may mean that the younger families will be unable to support a separate dwelling.

When that is the case, two or more families forced to share the same home will generate tension in relationships, which can reach the breaking point. As this becomes commonplace, the need for spiritual counseling will multiply exponentially! Since most churches are not even equipped to do it presently, the additional demand can also overstress churches.

On another dimension, distance commutes to megachurches will become increasingly burdensome, which will negatively impact such churches as well as to tax community churches. The former will have surplus staff, and the latter will have insufficient staff to cope with an influx of those making life-style adjustments, with house churches becoming more common.

With the likely demographic shift described above, a significant percentage of our population could be adjusting to a lifestyle which is not friendly to self-centered expectations! Those individuals/families currently living on the edge could easily be pushed over the brink.

With such a scenario, it is obvious that some of those becoming have-nots could be tempted to take from those who have, thus drastically increasing such things as burglary, stealing gasoline, etc. Unsettled people can easily precipitate further unsettled conditions in society.

A forced return to community living, as opposed to bedroom communities in proximity to cities, can cause unrest in society as a whole. Since this would undoubtedly be characterized by lowering the income of many, the financial pressures will be exacerbated.

Since the prognosticators do not see a return to comfortable living in the predictable future, with ample supplies of reasonably priced oil a distant prospect, the Church must gear up for a major role in such a paradigm shift. Business as usual will not suffice when the remainder of society is forced to abandon business as usual!

While the Church has the answer, few indeed are those which are prepared for such an influx of human need--financial short fall resulting in massive interpersonal conflicts within and between families and affecting church budgets.

Self-centered living has never been scriptural, but it has become the norm in today's society with Christian families not escaping it. Only the Church can minister to this malady, but the 'physician' must first heal itself since it has fallen victim to the same trend.

The Cross is the only answer; but its teaching is in short supply, even among sound evangelical churches. While the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the Crosscross of Jesus is commonly taught with its emphasis on justification, the cross for the believer (Rom. 6, Gal. 2:20), or deeper life sanctification, is very uncommon since it runs counter to the self-life.

I have found that believers are not open to ther crucified life (Col. 3:1-9) so long as the self life can cope; when the self life is curtailed, the Cross for the believer may become appealing! The same is true of the Church which has fallen prey to marketing church growth and other fads which run counter to a Christ-centered and cross-centered approach to life and ministry.

The negative impact of the fuel crunch can be used of God to prepare both the believer and church leadership for the return of the role of the Cross in living and ministry. (Gal. 6:12-15) However, it does not promise to be an easy transition from the flesh to the Spirit.

The message, proven materials, and methods are readily available, awaiting the receptivity of church leadership to utilize them. Widespread desperation, which could be upon us, can force the church's hand to return to First Century ministry twenty centuries later! (Acts 2:42-47) This would entail more widespread use of lay ministry and less dependence upon paid professional staff to accord with reduced income. It could easily be increasingly difficult to get blood from the turnip"! Churches can prepare for such societal change by seeing what is coming down the pike or can have it forced upon them as the ripple effects spread out and choice is no longer an option.

DISCIPLESHIP OR LEGALISM?

2008-07-07T14:19:00.001-04:00

Sound teaching heard today
Leaves much to be desired;
The same clarity on salvation,
For discipleship is required.
Sanctification's been neglected
Since our life we must lose; (Matt. 16:24,25)
Between the flesh and spirit
Is left up to us to choose.

Systems of theology
Can a bane or blessing be;
The scriptures may be twisted,
With a system to agree.
Faithfulness to God's Word
Insures the Spirit's moving:
Being crucified with Christ,
And the flesh's reign reproving.

The 'old man' is dead and gone, (Rom. 6:6)
With the body of sin destroyed; (Rom. 6:6)
As we yield to sin's power, (Rom. 6:13)
The flesh is yet deployed.
The 'old man' was our taskmaster
When to Satan we were alive;
As it's dead to Satan, alive to God,
In the Spirit we're set to thrive. (Rom. 8:9)

Absent a spirit in our makeup,
There is nothing to be crucified;
So an alternate explanation
Must deal with that which died.
When we're dead and raised with Christ,
Our doing proceeds from being;
Since our 'new man' is who we are,
Christ in us others are seeing.

Since we are dead to the law (Rom. 7:4,6)
And alive to God in Christ Jesus,
All glory goes to Him
As the world, in Him, sees us.
Thus, sanctification is reality,
Not a doctrine to be defended-
Christ is us, the hope of glory, (Col. 1:27)
Not effort that is expended.

- C. R. Solomon 6-22-08

GRACE DISCIPLESHIP OR FLESH ENHANCEMENT?

2008-07-07T13:58:00.004-04:00

Soul or personality problems have long been a topic of discussion as we read in the New Testament-particularly in First Corinthians where the behavior of believers went far afield from that preached by Paul, so corrective measures had to be taken. From then until now, there has been an ebb and flow, both of the behavior stemming from such aberrations and the solution which was prescribed.

We know that Islam goes so far as to sever hands of those caught in thievery or other severe punishment of untoward behavior. In Christianity there have been extremes as well. In the Middle Ages, spiritual direction was advocated and practiced by some mature believers who came to be known as mystics.

At the turn of the twentieth century, psychology and psychiatry had their beginnings. About the same time, the German theologians began their Higher Criticism. As Freud gained popularity with his psychoanalysis, there were offshoots of various kinds. As it gained in strength, there was a corresponding liberalizing of theology which sapped it of its power. Conservative Christians steered clear of it, and the Fundamentalist movement began which had nothing to do with psychology and very little with counseling in general. Slowly, but surely, seminaries began to imbibe at this fountain to the point that most seminaries now have a licensing track to prepare their graduates to collect third party payment from insurance companies and compete in the market place with secular therapists.

As Christians resisted the encroachments of psychology, there began an anomaly called Christian psychology which seemed to be a good compromise. Some made an amalgamation of psychology and the Bible in an effort to integrate the two; however, psychology began to get the upper hand, with the Church gradually ceding its God-given mandate for soul care to the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry so that the trend today is to go outside the church for a resolution to mental/emotional/behavioral problems and for pastors to deny a counseling role.

In this paper, I will be addressing the field of biblical counseling as contrasted with that which borrows heavily from the methods and goals of secular counseling. Though it is called Christian counseling, it is usually some watered-down psychological counseling with scriptures added-- more or less.

There is much that passes for Christian counseling that is not evaluated for its theological presuppositions. One of the early approaches is nouthetic counseling which was developed by Dr. Jay Adams. Since that time, there are a number of deviations from the general Reformed Theology constituency. However, Jay Adams' is probably the best known and most utilized of them all.

There are a number of pastors and schools which utilize his approach who are unaware of its presuppositions based in Reformed Theology. As a result, they espouse one theology from the pulpit and another in the counseling room, while being unaware of the inherent contradiction. About the same time that Dr. Adams was writing his first book, Competent to Counsel, God called me to develop and pioneer a Christ-centered approach to counseling where the theology could be described to follow Keswick teaching or, as Hudson Taylor termed it, exchanged life teaching. It has also been dubbed, crisis sanctification, as contrasted with the progressive sanctification of Calvinism. Handbook to Happiness (1971) was my first book which laid the foundation for this approach and is a polar opposite of Dr. Adams' work, from a theological perspective.

Since scriptural sanctification teaching is the missing ingredient in most churches due to the lack of emphasis on discipleship, I think it is incumbent upon us to bring such teaching to the fore. To do so, it is necessary to search out the role of the cross in the definition of sanctification which should be synonymous with true discipleship. Luke 14:27 tells us that taking up the cross is the key to true discipleship. Without the cross' being an experiential reality in the believer's life, discipleship or disciplines would serve to strengthen the flesh.
Since progressive sanctification does not allow for the application of the cross to the life due to a usual teaching of a dichotomous stand on biblical anthropology, a successful culmination would result in the flesh's being strengthened for its inevitable conflict (Gal. 5:17) with the Spirit. By contrast, an approach to discipleship/counseling where the flesh comes under the work of the Cross, would weaken the reign of the flesh as the believer is filled with the Spirit.

A fair comparison of the efficacy of the clinical teaching of sanctification would be to analyze the utilization of each in a crisis situation. Let's assume, for example, that a believer telephones for help who has a gun to his temple and is crying out for spiritual help. Let's further assume that only an hour or so is available to resolve the situation to see the Spirit transform the life and prevent the suicide.

How would progressive sanctification be applied to defuse the suicidal ideation and lead the believer into a life transformation within the allotted time? The same would be required of a Keswick or exchanged life model of counseling. It would seem obvious that the Holy Spirit must necessarily honor this ministration; otherwise, a suicide or, possibly, a homicide followed by a suicide could be the result!

We have seen a number of such situations, where suicide was definitely planned, that were resolved as the cross was applied to the life in the power of the Holy Spirit. One was the exact situation where the believer had a gun to his head and called 2 or 3 churches but could find no help. One of the churches gave him our phone number, and he found victory; and, subsequently, his marriage was restored from an abusive relationship. The defusing of the situation and his finding of victory was done by the Holy Spirit in about an hour.

Howe would this have been handled when coming from a progressive sanctification stance with no therapy?   Or, how would such a view of sanctification handle a pedophile or someone who is clinically depressed? It is not unusual to see a believer who is clinically depressed freed literally overnight, although it is the exception that proves the rule. I witnessed the Holy Spirit's setting a pedophile free in 3 weeks, as he was born again and understood his death and resurrection with Christ at the same time. We have seen many desperate people find victory in Christ in the first interview, where most of the work is done in a short span of time, though this is not the experience of the majority of those exposed to cross teaching.

If progressive sanctification is biblical and honored by the Holy Spirit, there should be miraculous results; and it does not take the Spirit long to do a miracle! Of course, it may take Him years to get us ready for one!

Biblical counseling is not always Christ-centered, but Christ-centered counseling will always be biblical!

Someone has said, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating!" I think we can also say that the proof that sanctification or discipleship/counseling is Spirit-anointed and directed is the results in transformed lives. Theoretical theology is good for arguments; but if it is not attended with life transformation, of what practical good is it? And what is the proof that the Holy Spirit is doing it, rather than an assiduous application of human strength, both that of the counselor and counselee?

A seminary professor once told me that his school had the proper theology whereas my theology resulted in more life changes. I replied, "If I have to choose between something works and something that doesn't, I will choose that which transforms lives in the power of the Holy Spirit".

In an experimental approach, a new development must be capable of being replicated with no dependence upon anecdotal data. We have seen the Holy Spirit honor the model He gave, which utilizes scriptural truth, in other languages and cultures around the world to transform lives for almost 4 decades.   Some of these have been followed for more than 30 years, and a good number have been called into such ministry. A number of books have been written which are variations of the core teaching that God has honored with transformed lives.
One young man in Ukraine who spoke Ukrainian and Russian had taught himself English. Sharing the truth with him via internet not only transformed his life but also those whom his life and ministry impacted. Subsequently, he translated 5 of my books into Russian, among others, and published a Russian/Greek Interlinear New Testament with Strong's numbers, revising the New Testament as he went. I met him for the first time when we released my first book in Russian in Bucharest, Romania. Incidentally, he is now 30 years old with no formal education beyond high school!

Last year marked 40 years since God called me to found such a counseling approach based on Romans 6 and Galatians 2:20-a new approach which is 2000 years old! Incidentally, God was honoring it for more than 15 centuries before Reformed Theology was even formulated and more than that before I arrived on the scene! Someone has accurately stated, "If it is true, it is not new; if it is new, it is not true!"

Much time and breath is spent on comparisons regarding soteriology. Who can be saved? How do they get saved? What do they do after they are saved? Will they stay saved? And other such questions about justification. Reformed Theology takes much stock in the 5 points of Calvinism, but I note that not nearly as much paper is consumed writing about progressive sanctification and putting forth lives transformed in a short period of time as an exhibit of its efficacy.

So, laying aside the first principles of justification, regeneration, etc. which the Reformers majored in, where do we find great strides in the transformation of the lives of believers? It seems to me that the emphasis on sanctification by faith leaves much to be desired in the teaching of Calvin, Zwingli, Luther and others of their ilk. While justification by faith was heralded and necessary because of the contradictory teaching of the Roman Catholic Church in their time, Calvin's Institutes tend to make more hay in his 5 points, all of which have to do with justification.

Agreeably, the foundation of justification has to be firmly laid; but once it is, shouldn't we be about building the superstructure of sanctification? Believers from all denominations and no denomination are saying, "I'm saved already; now what?" But adherents of Reformed Theology join the ranks of those in typical evangelical/fundamental churches in withholding practical theology to meet struggling believers at their point of need.

A church built on a solid foundation of justification, but continuing to build layer after layer of justification, does precious little to mature believers. Absent the teaching of sanctification which is cross-centered, the admonition of Galatians 3:3 goes unheeded; and solid biblical teaching serves to entrench the believer and the church in fleshly pursuits. The current seeker sensitive movement has proven the validity of this in amassing great numbers of people in their meetings with very few disciples among them. Now, they are going back to the drawing boards to discern what they have missed in the process-lost, but making good time!

Now, we are facing the prospect of one crisis after another, with a Church woefully unprepared to deal with them in the Spirit.   The wholesale referral of soul problems outside the church to the behavioral sciences, a pattern over the last several decades, must give way to providing spiritual answers for non-organic symptomatology. One of the key ingredients is in the training of ministers; their spiritual growth must keep pace with their theological understanding, which is greatly underemphasized in most Christian institutions of higher learning.

Due to the present emphasis on Christian psychology, it is virtually impossible to engage the leadership of seminaries in a dialogue on Christ-centered, cross-centered discipleship/counseling, as I have found in my attempts over the years. Western Europe, the UK and North America are all but closed to the consideration of such teaching, while the developing nations are much more open to solid teaching on the cross for the believer. Brokenness is not in the vocabulary of today's average Christian, and losing their lives is the last thing they want to think about! And yet, the theme of the New Testament is that we must lose our lives in order to save them. (Matt. 16:24, 25)

- Charles R. Solomon Ed. D.

Beginning to Blog

2008-07-07T13:02:00.002-04:00

Since I continue to write poetry and articles related to Christ-centered discipleship and counseling, a friend has set up this blog for me. Those who have read my books and/or have been through Grace Fellowship International's training or counseling can have access to my more current and brief writings.