From an article by Don Nori that can be found in its entirety here:
Church as we know it is over. He is about wrestle control of His own church from the carnal hands of insecure, angry, controlling and legalistic men and women, build His own church, just as He promised He would.
Church as we know it is passing away. The thing we have called church is but a dim shadow of the life-giving, empowering wholeness of that for which Jesus died, rather, rose from the dead to lavish upon mere mortal men.
We have asked for wealth when He wanted to give us nations. We focused on our healing when He wanted to make us healers. We have searched for mercy and compassion when He had called us to carry those same treasures to a dying world. We are self-examining when He wants us to be pouring ourselves out so others can find Him.
There is no doubt. The self-centered, need-oriented, program-driven, growth-addicted destiny-snatching, dream-killing counterfeit is about to be replaced by His church; a company of loosely connected people held together only by the bonds of love. This people is the Christ-centered, Kingdom-declaring, light-shining heart throb of God Himself. His people hear His voice and respond with joy and anticipation, not fear and uncertainty. They are a devil-ignoring, life-giving, God-honoring group of worshipers whose greatest fulfillment in life is to be called to His service by the gentle sound of His voice.
Comments
11 responses to “Church As We Know It Is Over”
Radical! I have seen that this is true and is in the works now. However, I don’t quite agree that there will be much wrestling. I have seen it as a breaking down, a fracturing, fragmenting force that will tear away at our traditions of church that are not from our Lord. The satisfied and content will not see it. Those in heirarchies, in positions of (man’s) authority will miss it. They may wrestle with it but they are no match for the Lord!
I sometimes fear the antagonistic tone coming from the house church movement. It’s not us against them, it’s each brother loving every other brother. How much more does a brother who is misguided, confused, or hurting need the love and support of others. We outside the traditional church are sometimes guilty of celebrating the “mistakes” we see in the traditional church. We seem to want to say to them a collective “I told you so”. We should be on our knees seeking Gods heart and asking how can I Love my brothers. We seem to forget that God will work where, when, how, and in whom he wants. I whole heartedly believe in the house church and its structure, but I also believe that the traditional church is not going anywhere soon. Like it or not the traditional church is part of the body and we need to at least recognize them as such. If we don’t we run the risk of creating rifts that will alienate US from the larger body.
While I agree with many of Nori’s sentiments, I, too, fear that its harsh tone will send the wrong message. I could only use a portion of it in a recent speech to my entire university, because nearly all of them are members at institutional churches and likely would be offended by some of the language. Nori’s thoughts are right on, but I think we should be careful who reads this.
With all due respect to the above comments, either a church is wrongly under the control of men or it isn’t. Remember that we are a body – we are the parts of a body – the head is Jesus Christ, not men. The purpose is His, the vision is His, we are all His that are of the Body. Whether someone is misguided or confused is not the central issue here, the issue is the return of the local church (body) to its rightful owner and King. I see it much the same as when Jesus faced off with the Pharisees. They had hijacked the religion for their own use and benefit, leaving the purpose of God alone to …. cry out in the wilderness: “prepare the way for the Lord, make your paths straight”… All I’m saying is the body is an organic, spiritual entity that is Spirit led and fed, not an organization of men led by a man, that’s where we have all been wrong. It’s coming time to correct it.
I agree, a church controlled by men is wrong and leaders that have “hijacked” a church need to be confronted. My concern is that I feel the problem goes deeper. I have been witness to people who have told me “I just want someone to tell me what to do”. To most already involved in house church this sounds insane, but many in traditional church are not ready to take full responsibility for their walk with God. I believe that these are the ones who need our love and support. They will not respond well to attack. As for the leaders who take advantage of these peoples fears and manipulate people for their own glory they deserve the wrath of the righteous. (But I’m pretty sure that’s not me…I can’t throw the first stone.). See you tonight John
those wanting more on DestinyImage publishers shoud check out the gene edwards article on the house – church.org site. I think it is under articles. gene is published by DI and claims to be the “father of the house church movement” and the “greatest living historian of the church.” You decide.
I empathize with your concern for people, Aaron. I am not talking about condeming anyone. I am speaking of confrontation, correction and truth. And yes, in love. Yet, God’s love is not always soft and fuzzy but can be hard and cold, as Jesus was to the Pharisees and scribes. I think Don Nori’s diatribe is way over the top and I see how scary it can be. I don’t agree with his style. But he is on to something big. God is moving us toward a truer expression and richer experience of being a Body. I am really excited by it.
One question I have for those of us outside of “the box” (institutional/traditional church) is this – How many of us are committed to actually seeing the body become who we are to be?
By that I mean this.
Many of us have left the institutional church altogether…never desiring to go back at all, not wanting anything to do with “them.” Instead, we opt for starting something new, drawing a completely different kind of people, growing our own “homemade body” if you will. Eventually we end up with a body that has three arms or twelve fingers. Or perhaps some underdeveloped limbs.
So then, what about those that we “left behind” back in the traditional/institutional church(es)? Do we just leave them there? Cast them to the wind and think of them no more? Or are any of us willing to go back once in a while to try to show them what we have found? Are any of us willing to work with those IC’s to try to reach out to our communities? Are any of us willing to try to connect with them and help network them in a way that would better demonstrate this love that we are to be known by?
Yes, I know…many will despise that sort of effort, and probably lash out at those of us who would try. Few will honestly desire to look into a different light. But there will be those few who choose to step out in this new direction, who choose to wade into the water of simple church life. And I say it is for those few that we must return every so often for however long Father leads us and beckon them to come. It may take months, years even, but they will come.
God has not changed. He will take His church back one way or another, and if we do not return to the Word and to the fear of God, He will go after His church and take it by force. I do NOT want to get caught up in that whirlwind! So, I choose to walk in the light of His word and with those who desire to do the same.
Even in this late stage of my life, I’ve discovered correcting habits not pleasing to God do not come easy until vivid pictures are placed right in front of me. Then issues which seem to almost drown me, rescuers throw a life buoy’s my way to keep me afloat until I’m brought to solid ground. This is one of those happenings. God’s servant Don Nori was interviewed by Faisal and Sabrina Malick on a discussion: “In The Holy Place,” on The Miracle Channel. A few days ago this discussion rescued me from almost drowning.
No criticism of Gene Edwards and his disciples should proceed without a heartfelt acknowledgment of the great good that has been accomplished by many of Gene’s writings. Gene Edwards used many of their writings with profit, and have recommended many of their works to those uninitiated to out-of-the-system Christianity. In Gene Edwards books one may discern a wholesome focus on knowing Christ as the central purpose of our being, a call for the recognition of the oft-neglected ministry of the church planter, passionate appeals for unity between the brethren, articulate appeals for open, participatory meetings with no dominant and controlling leaders, deep knowledge of both church history and the bogus ecclesiastical traditions that have sprung from it, a profound appreciation for organic community life not centered on meetings, a perceptive psychological analysis of the house church Christian driven by a hidden agenda to construct his fantasy church, and a deep understanding of the parallels between the koinonia in the Godhead and the community in the Bride of Christ. So, with so much good, why do we presume to criticize the Gene Edwards?