FAX of Life - Rubel
Shelly - Creative Strategies: Review
First we
should state that Rubel Shelly of The Family of God at Woodmont Hills
has, along with a band of like-minded men, established Jubilee 98,
Jubilee 99, etc. as an exercise in using the methods of commercial
Change Agentry to remove the church from an old, deleterious
"wineskin" ready to burst, and put it into a new wineskin to hold --
as they propose -- worship containg the bubbling, fermenting new wine of
the gospel and kingdom. This scheme has created more division and
destruction of the Christ-given rest than any movement in the 20th
century. The new theology is post modern or post denominational. This
holds that the Bible is hoplessly outmoded and not understandable in
order to make a "church" large enough to hold every theology in the
world. Therefore, if you are going to pay for the new building you
have to turn commercial and become creative. This is a direct
fulfillment of the end-time church of Revelation 18. The expansive quality is to be able to
hold all fellowships into a large, end-of-the-millenium wineskin and to
eleminate sectarianism (a perfectly good word: I am sectarian about
allowing another husband-father into my family). The fermenting new wine is his (and
many, many others) new paradigm (patterns are
out - paradigms are in) which symbolizes an exciting, exhilarating
worship ritual in which professional manipulators "lead the
worshipers into the presence of God." The Biblical fact is that Jesus (and any
Jewish schoolboy) knew that one must put the pure, "juice of the
Word" into a new, sterialized wineskin and then seal it. This would
prevent fermentation which always leads to rot and spoil. If, on the
other hand, one puts new, boiled juice into an old, leavened wineskin
containing all "sects" it will surely begin to ferment and burst the
bag. The bag was never sealed unless the juice
was pure
and ferment would not begin. Jesus put His Word into "earthen
vessels" or ceremonially pure containers. The village idiot knew that you didn't
seal
fermenting wine -- even in a steal-banded cask! All ecumenical
movements are slick ways for me to get your sheep and put them into
my wineskin or sheepfold. The tension will not hold diverse groups
with different norms and it will -- has always -- bursted.
We review this e-mail only because it is
flawed - lying to the cop is a preacher's joke -- and because its
proof-text quality continues to promote a grab-bag approach to faith
and practice such as "raising holy hands, trying to ascend into the
presence of God, musical worship teams, musical instruments (Jubilee
98), Women leadership (for which men may have no authority either), a
false view of baptism and a generally carnal (as opposed to
spiritual) view of worship.
Subject: The FAX of Life
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 02:07:18 EST From: GBCIII@aol.com To: GBCIII@aol.com 1. .....Creativity is in short
supply in most companies. People often depend on doing the same
things in the same tried-and-true ways -- and go bankrupt. A new product
comes along that pushes the
envelope. A competitor becomes more
aggressive with its marketing
strategies. Too much is taken for granted, and the result is
disastrous. 2. Most of us whine about those
creative, right-brained persons who think up new ways to do things and fail to
realize that everyone has the ability to innovate. Originality is not
the province of a select few who are out to sabotage life for
the rest of us. 3. People who change the world are the
women and men who are willing to ask hard questions, explore
new ways
of doing
things, and make changes when change has the prospect of doing things
better. The enemy of creativity isn't really custom or tradition. Its
enemy is a mix of laziness, rigid
control, and self-indulgence. These
sorry qualities of a corporate or personal identity will not permit
vision.
They champion a status-quo mentality that refuses to ask how things
can be improved. 4. Discretion is a virtue, but noncommittal
and fearful control of a situation is the blueprint for failure. The Bible
says: "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at
the clouds will not reap" (Ecclesiastes 11:4). That's another way of saying
that people whose watchword is "We've never done it that way before!"
will soon be watching from the sidelines as life's visionaries pass them
by. 5. The most valuable few hours you use this
week could be the brainstorming time with your colleagues around this
question: What can we do to do things better here? Because each of these last points is a good
launch pad to look deeper into the Word of God, the black-bold comments are
from the e-mail and the rest is commentary and review to help round
out the message of Dr. Rubel Shelly. Still frustrated, Dr. Rubel Shelly
appeals to Machiavelli for help in understanding why new products are often
harder to sell than to invent.
1 Rubel
Shelly:.....Creativity is in short
supply in most companies. People often
depend on doing the same things in the same tried-and-true ways --
and go bankrupt. A new
product comes along that pushes the envelope. A
competitor becomes more aggressive with its
marketing strategies. Too much is
taken for granted, and the result is disastrous. Having earned a living as a creative engineer
and inventor of mechanical and electronic devices, this reviewer is
aware that there are two forms of creativity: First, the
right-brain tends to be creative in singing, playing instruments,
dancing, drama and the visual arts. God cannot use creative talent
because Christ does not judge by what He sees or hears (Isaiah
11:1-3) Second, the
left-brain tends to be creative in listening, observing, finding
problems and proposing solutions. This reviewer is a technically-fair
painter but could never be an artist primarily because he cannot
abstract reality and make it into something else. The following comments discuss the urge to
treat "church" like a corporation which is
successful only if it comes up with new products and pushes them with
aggressive marketing strategies. If people are doing "church" correctly
there is no need to change even if rejected by every man, woman and
child on the face of the earth. To change just to be Seeker Sensitive
would be cowardly in the face of Satan. If we are doing things incorrectly then we
need to run to the Bible rather than to Willow Creek or commercial
forms of Change Agentry which forces change psychologically.
Unfortunately, many "creative" worship teams don't create a single
thing. Rather, they run to another fellowship practicing that which
attracts the masses (Jesus would not do that). As a result, they look
just like the denomination down the street. Willow Creek and Jubilee 98 - Jubilee 99
chooses to use commercial methods (see Rev. 18), promote new products
(books, tapes) which push the
envelope. See our Change
Agent Index to see how Jubilee 99
will use Lynn Anderson whose methods are old educational techniques:
push the envelope or upset the equilibrium until people are about to
go over the brink. Then jerk them back and try again at a later day.
We are not in competition. Indeed, our "work product" is hated with a purple
passion by the majority of people. It got Jesus, Steven and Paul
murdered by the competing commercial forces. 2. Rubel Shelly: Most of us whine about
those creative, right-brained persons who think up new ways to do
things and fail to realize that everyone has the ability to
innovate. Originality is not the province of a select few who
are out to sabotage life
for the rest of us. While many churches do more damage than good
(1 Cor. 11:17f) and are shackled with a pyramidal "ministry
structure" which God warned would be the result of Israel's rejection
of Him as their Theocratic Ruler, a creative, visionary approach
would be to retire those who created the problem in the first place
and restore a true "family" or a one-another ministry. Innovation by
hiring a musical worship facilitator is what McClintock and Strong
identified as "the first heresy widely
pervading the church." Jubilee 98 originally estimated spending 1/4
million dollars ($250,000.00) to aggresively promote the new
products. One major product was the praxis effort to experientially
train attendees to "lift holy hands" as an acceptable "act of
worship" and to Lay hands on people -- the purpose escaped me. We saw
nothing
creative about it except singing their own compositions and
"improvizing on instruments like David." According to the Septuagint,
Amos wrote that "They thought of them as having abiding value but
they were just temporary pleasure."
3. Rubel Shelly: People who change the world are the women and men who are willing to ask hard
questions, explore new ways of doing things, and make changes when
change has the prospect of doing things better. The enemy of
creativity isn't really custom or tradition. Its enemy is a mix of
laziness, rigid
control, and self-indulgence. These
sorry
qualities of a corporate or personal
identity will not permit vision. They champion a
status-quo mentality that refuses to ask how things can be improved.
This reviewer's view is that the great enemy
of change and creativity is the lack of correct and well-digested
factual information about the problem. Before attempting to invent a
new product, a common scheme is to do a patent search to determing
whether we are just trying to invent the wheel. The Incarnate God of the Universe (there is
just one and not Father and Holy Spirit tricking the Son to do their
sacrificial work - Creative Jubilee 98 joke). This God does not need
our creativity, talent or vision. Indeed, these new schemes which
take so much legal-like
work and divide so many people just
move further from the vision God has already given. This effort is
indeed ceremonial
legalism. Look at two passages which speak of
vision
as being revelation which none of us can do: Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall
give delight unto thy soul. Proverbs 29:17 Where there is no vision (revelation, oracle), the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy
is he. Proverbs 29:18 A servant will
not be corrected by words: for
though he understand he will not
answer. Proverbs 29:19 Seest thou a man that is hasty in
his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. Proverbs 29:20
Perhaps, this is why Jubilee 99 gets
sentimental about Machiavelli and Promise Keepers promises some
shepherding (discipling) methods of controlling the "human material"
which it collects by mass hysteria. See what
Hitler thought about that. Being a visionary about faith and practice is
the belief that one is an apostle or
prophet
or, as we have heard, even Christ's representative in this church. We
can dismiss, out of hand, any visionary who is getting visions out of
their own head: Wherefore I will bring the
worst of
the heathen, and they shall possess their houses (family): I will
also make the pomp (arrogancy, pride, swelling often included music) of
the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. Ezekiel
7:24 Destruction cometh; and they shall
seek
peace (friends and prosperity), and there
shall be none Ezekiel 7:25 . These ancient Seeker Services were
named after: Baqash (g1245) baw-kash'; a prim. root; to search out by any method, specifically in worship or
prayer; by impl. to strive after: - ask, beg,
beseech, desire, enquire, get, make inquisition, procure, (make)
request, require, seek (for). In addition to this almost-desperate search
for commercial methods to attract the crowds from the aggressive
competitors, at least one of this team claims to be inspired to have
visions and write material so good that God directs the reader to the
bookstore rather than to the Bible!! Click
Here. However, Mischief shall come upon mischief,
and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the
prophet; but the law shall perish from
the priest, and counsel from the
ancients (elders). Ezekiel 7:26 The ultimate sign of Laziness is becomming a
colleague and then refusing to fulfill the professional
responsibility to "go into all the world and preach the gospel." The
upside down method is the Seeker Service method of using
entertainment and commerce to bring the "world" to the building
(theater, etc). It might be prudent to repudiate the American
Restoration Movement because its early leaders almost universally
condemned and anathamatized professional preachers
who refused to go out. Click
Here to see the truth.
4. Rubel Shelly: Discretion is a virtue,
but noncommittal and fearful control of a
situation is the blueprint for failure. The
Bible says: "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks
at the clouds will not reap" (Ecclesiastes 11:4). That's another way of saying that people whose watchword is "We've never done it
that way before!" will soon be watching from the sidelines as life's
visionaries pass them by. First, let's
look at the word visionary: "Existing only in the mind; not
real; imaginary, not capable of being put into effect; not realistic;
impractical; seeing or disposed to see visions;
characterized by impractical ideas and
schemes.
A person who sees
visions; prophet or
seer.
Webster I agree with Amos: I am not a professional
prophet and my daddy was not a professional prophet. The implication
of the new charismatic movements and Jubilee 99 is that
visionary or pretend prophets can speak for
the "family." On the other hand, true visionaries return to
the old paths which means skipping over both right and left wing
professional prophets. Second, the
evidence is that schemes attempting to build a structure (tower)
beyond the local congregation (Promise Keepers, Jubilee 99) cannot
long exist without exercising extreme, cult-like control. Any effort to
manipulate the mind by body motions or sound is a cult device and it
will fail. Third, this
passage is distorted -- as in almost all sermonizing -- to minimize
the message of the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11) and maximize the
message of the improviser or visionary. Rather than a warning to
those who refuse to lock-hips with modern, denomination-like change
agents, this message is a resounding,
changing
warning against spending obscene fortunes trying to promote new
schemes which are as new as the
towers of Babylon; as visionary as the
Israelites condemned by God through Amos. Let us look at Ecclesiastes 11:4
in its context as if we really cared what God wanted to reveal. This
does not have to do with spending 1/4 million dollars for show and
tell of new books and music. Rather, it has to do with spending that
waste on the poor or using it to "go" and preach the gospel to the
overwhelming majority who do not know the word "Christ." Look at the
context: CAST thy bread (grain) upon the
waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1
Give a portion to seven, and also to
eight;
for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the
earth. Ecclesiastes 11:2 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty
themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or
toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall
be. Ecclesiastes 11:3 He that observeth
the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not
reap. Ecclesiastes 11:4 The Israelites at Mount Sinai and the
believers in churches like Rome and Corinth wanted to perform the old
"ascending-descending" fertility riuals of Babylonia, Egypt or
Canaan. They wanted to see, feel and hear the intimate
(sexual) presence of their God whom they believed they could drag
down with powerful, commercial worship rituals to make "the worship
service meaningful for the 20th century." On the other hand, the eye of faith which
Christ uses does not ask when and how much the yield (collection
plates?) the seed will produce before sowing it. It simply goes
out into
the fields, sows the seed, keeps the weeds on the other side of the walls and waits for God to give the increase -- perhaps
giving the credit to a "little gun" from the ancient "rural" world.
It does not take up collections or count the attendance or coversions
"for my resume." As thou knowest not what is the
way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her
that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who
maketh all. Ecclesiastes 11:5 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the
evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall
prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike
good. Ecclesiastes 11:6 Solomon, who tried all of the visionary schemes under
the sun to try to find the lost gods while refusing to teach his
children, amassed the gold and errected his powerful pillars.
However, in the end, he concluded that all that he did was just
vanity. If we follow the advice of David or Solomon the writer says,
"go get it." However, be warned that being visionary or walking in
the ways of thine heart will result in great damage: Rejoice, O young man, in thy
youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days
of thy youth, and walk in the ways of
thine heart, and in the
sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will
bring thee into judgment. Ecclesiastes 11:9 This is a warning to those who
cannot hear the parabolic language which Jesus said, "Was hidden from
the foundation of the world." This is symbolic of the Egyptian form of
planting. They sowed their seed on the quiet backwaters (never in the
main river stream) and when the water (pagan influence) goes away,
the seed will settle down and produce fruit. On the other hand, the
visionary Seeker Service demands action: make hast that we may see thee; or
Drag Christ down from heaven and cause us to ascend up to usurp His
throne. This passage also has a warning that putting the wine into a
new wineskin is to preserve something. To observe means "to hedge about as with
thorns, to guard, preserve, reserve, save
self." In Isaiah 5, God built a
wall around His vineyard. A similar
word is: Shemer (h8105) sheh'-mer; from
8104; something preserved, i. e. the
settlings (plur. only) of wine: - dregs, (wines on
the) lees. If the new juice is allowed to rest, the
yeast, like the seed, will settle down. The juice would be poured off
carefully from vessel to vessel until it was pure. Even then, it
might be boiled to kill the yeast. However, to allow the juice to
settle on the lees meant that it would ferment and spoil:
Moab hath been at ease from his
youth, and he hath settled on his
lees,
and hath not been emptied from vessel
to vessel, neither hath he gone into
captivity: therefore his taste remained in him,
and his scent is not changed. Jeremiah 48:11 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I
will search Jerusalem with candles (in silence like Passover or the Lord's
Supper), and punish the men that are settled on their lees:
that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he
do evil. Zep.1:12 "Wherever we are, we may find good
work to do, if we have but hearts to do it. If we magnify every
little difficulty, start
objections, and fancy hardships, we
shall never go on, much less go through with our work.
Winds
and clouds of tribulation are, in God's hands, designed to try us.
God's work shall agree with his word, whether we see it
or not. And we may well trust God to provide for us, without our
anxious, disquieting cares. Be not weary in well-doing, for in due
season, in God's time, you shall reap, (Galatians
6:9). It is those pouring heaps of ferterlizer,
flooding the plant with water and watching over it as if they could
make it grow who do not trust God when He said to just plant and
water and allow Him to give the increase. "Hastening" efforts always
look so wise but are a sign of deep, desperate lack of faith.
5. Rubel Shelly: The most valuable few
hours you use this week could be the brainstorming time with
your colleagues around this
question: What can we do to do things better here? A colleague is "to appoint
as deputy, legate, a fellow worker in the same profession; associate
in office" (Webster). Brainstorming is: "The unrestrained offering of ideas or suggestions
by all members of a conference to seek solutions to problems."
Brainstorm: "A series of sudden, violent cerebral disturbances, a
sudden inspiration." (Webster) It is clear that ideas are stopped and
unwanted from the laity whatever their background or condition. Only
a member of the professional clergy is a suitable candidate for
generating new ideas by inspiration. This supports the idea that it
is the self-imposed clergy (against God's will and Paul's will) who
exercise the total control and don't you forget it. If the "brains"
for the storm are restricted to all of a class you will just have
spiritual incest. Why wouldn't all of the colleagues be out
"preaching the Word?" Why would you need Lynn Anderson's expertise as
a Change Agent against the collective will of the congregation or
fellowship if you were interested in brainstorming? Rubel Shelly is
recalling Lynn Anderson to Jubilee 99. Lynn promotes the idea of
gradually changing the Lord's Supper by overpowering the congregation
by having one week's Lord supper with noisy songs. The next week, we
can be quiet. This is not an alternative. The model of Passover and
the command to search our own hearts demands that there be absolute
silence while each member search their
own heart for leaven. This may be
visionary and creative but it does not get its visions from the
Word but
perhaps from an old wineskin. How about returning to the Word as the
sole-source of teaching and preaching to the local flock rather than
"sending across the seas to find someone to come and teach when the
Word is free (Isa 55) and has already been sung and preached?"
Look at this fragment
and Romans 9. Respectfully Reviewed by
Kenneth Sublett
