Pastor Paul's Message of the Month - July 2015
Book Review: "You see bones I see an army"
In the past, as a busy pastor the only time I would get to read books was when I was on holiday. I have just got back from holiday in Spain and I am happy that I kept up my tradition and managed to read four books in ten days. I’d like to tell about two of them. The first one was a book I have been meaning to read for some time, entitled “You see bones, I see an army.” It’s by Floyd McClung whom I know personally although I knew his father, Floyd McClung (Senior) much better because that “Prince of Pastors” as people regarded him, took me personally under his wing and graciously invited me to preach on a number of occasions over the years, in his church in Orange County, California, USA.
In the 1970’s Floyd McClung (Junior) and his wife Sally were missionaries on the Hippy Trail in Afghanistan, ministering to young people who were travelling the world, often strung out on drugs and in all kinds of trouble. Many of those kids came to Christ under their ministry. Floyd then became the European Director of Youth with a Mission based in Amsterdam, Holland for a number of years and then he and his wife went back to the States where he was the pastor of a well known Mega Church, but now they are based in South Africa leading a ministry called All Nations, an international leadership training and church-planting network. As well as being a gifted speaker, Floyd has written a number of books - the most famous one being “The Father Heart of God” which has sold nearly a million copies worldwide.
The book I read this summer is written in Floyd’s easy to read style and deals with what he describes as a “new paradigm of church” which he calls “simple church.” Actually it’s not new at all - it’s as old as the church of the New Testament. That’s the reason why I wanted to read it. As many of you know, one of my teaching subjects is Church History and the more I study the subject, the more I see how the Reformation returned to New Testament truth for its doctrine but it did not return the church back to the New Testament for its practice – the New Testament way of being the ecclesia of God.
I believe in the church of the New Testament! When I first started out in ministry at 25 years old, I asked the elders of the church that had invited me to be their pastor what kind of church they wanted us to be -“traditional, denominational or New Testament?” They agreed we wanted to be the last one – but to be honest I am not sure that I fully understood how to be a New Testament church. Over the years we did evangelism, saw people saved and baptised in water and in the Holy Spirit, healed and delivered and going on with God. We even divided the church into small groups meeting in homes like they did in the first century and then we progressed into the Cell Church concept of cells meeting midweek and then those cells meeting as a congregation together every Sunday.
Floyd’s book shows how small “simple” churches meeting in homes in a town or a city, like they did in the first century, can powerfully reproduce and multiply. He shows how a small group of believers – maybe three or four couples and a few single people simply meeting together in a home or workplace or anywhere that is convenient, can grow together in Christ. As they worship, pray, share God’s word together, fellowship and support one another, they can also reach out to their friends and disciple new believers on a one to one basis. As the group grows it can then reproduce other groups which stay connected with each other and meet together on occasions. He argues that this first century apostolic method is the most effective way of church planting, although he does not disrespect other ways of doing church. The last chapter on discipleship is excellent. I wish I had read this book 40 years ago. If you want to stay safe and keep with the status quo of organised church don’t read it - but if you want to be part of church as God intended it to be, maybe this book for you!
One of the other books I read this summer was “The Messianic Church Arising” by Dr Robert D. Heidler. This book was lent to me by some friends and I almost gave it back to them without reading it but I decided at the last moment to put it in my suitcase and I am so glad I did. It is similar to Floyd’s book in that it goes back to the New Testament church, but it is different in that it looks at the Jewish roots of Christianity. Dr Heidler argues that the early church was much more Jewish than we commonly assume. The first century church had the Jewish scriptures for its Bible and it retained much of its Jewish heritage right through the first three centuries, up to the time of Constantine when this was replaced with Roman ideas and Roman ways of doing things.
The early church had continued the Jewish way of families celebrating their faith in their homes and meeting in synagogues for prayer and scripture reading, and had adapted those two Jewish traditions into the new Christian way of being the ecclesia of God. However when Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, meeting in homes finally came to an end and this was replaced by the Roman way of meeting in vast great Basilicas. A Roman style hierarchical system of priests and bishops also continued to evolve. Whether we like to admit it or not, this is the style of church that the Reformation did not change. Protestants simply continued to use the big old buildings and replaced priests with preachers doing the “ministry” from the front while the people for the most part were observers. Does that sound like most organised churches around the world today including Pentecostal and Charismatic churches?
Dr Heidler also shows how the early believers stayed close to their Jewish roots even continuing to celebrate Jewish festivals, although with a fresh understanding of their meaning in the light of Jesus. He argues that the church has lost a lot by rejecting or disregarding its roots and God is wanting to restore the church to its scriptural Jewish roots and the New Testament way of being church in these last days. Furthermore many Jewish people around the world are coming to see that Jesus is their Messiah and this is part of God’s end time plan which is: “the restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began!” (Acts 3:21). Zechariah prophesied this restoration: 1) of the Jews to the land of Israel (10:9-11), 2) of the Jews to their Messiah (12:10), 3) of seekers of God to the Jews (8:20-23). This restoration of Israel (Romans 11:26) will mean “life from the dead” for both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 11:15).
So what conclusions can we draw from all of this? This is mine (you must draw your own of course): It is obvious to me, that most churches around the world are not going to change from being traditional or "organised". God is at work within all groups of His people who are seeking to follow Jesus and please Him. However, I believe that those who seek to get closer to the essence of New Testament church life and apply the basic principles as closely as possible to their own situation, could be far more effective for the Kingdom of God today.
Books reviewed:
YOU SEE BONES I SEE AN ARMY Floyd McClung Kingsway 2007.
THE MESSIANIC CHURCH IS ARISING! Robert D. Heidler Glory of Zion International Ministries 2011