Tag Archives: david d. flowers

April 28, 2009

Heaven to Earth: The Christian Hope in the Resurrection, Part I of III

By David D. Flowers

“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Paul, 1 Cor. 15:13-14

In Acts 17:16-34, the apostle Paul, while in Athens, was brought to the Areopagus because he was preaching “the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Athens was the center of Greek philosophy. The popular view of resurrection among the Greeks was… well, there wasn’t one. That is of course if you have in mind a physical resurrection from the dead. If a person actually believes that the dead can rise, then no, according to the Greeks, there can be no such thing as “resurrection.”

Greek Philosophy

The Platonic view taught that heavenly bliss was an escape from our physical bodies for a purely spiritual existence where the “shadows” become reality, but only in a disembodied state. No wonder their response to Paul was, “You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean” (Acts 17:20).

The Greeks, the wisest of the wise, did not accept a literal and physical rising of the dead. Resurrection, or anastasis (lit. to stand again), can only mean a spiritual rebirth or gnosis of the eternal things, not an actual dead body coming to life again. For the Greeks, it goes beyond the belief that a dead person could live again. Rejection of the resurrection was founded in the philosophical idea that the physical world was evil and only a shadow of that pure spiritual realm.

Greek philosophy largely embraced the idea that the soul needed to be freed from the material world of imperfections into the eternal realm of ideas. Some believed this meant there was, therefore, no moral code because material things were of no consequence.

The Corinthian church saw these ideas threatening its community. Immorality was being accepted among the saints, and they were gathering around one or two individuals like unto the way of Greek philosophical practice. This is still popular today.

“Where is the philosopher of the age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world… But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise… We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom…” Paul, 1 Cor. 1:20, 27; 2:6-7

Whether it was of the Stoic or Epicurean flavor, there was no room for Paul’s message of resurrection. According to the Greeks, dead men can’t rise, nor should we want them to. Therefore, many of the leaders rejected the idea, but others would hear Paul again and become followers of Christ (Acts 17:32-34).

Gnosticism

Plato’s teaching on life after death was the prevailing view among the Greeks. As the good news of Christ was being preached in the first century, these philosophical ideas slowly merged with Christian doctrine and sort of a Christian Gnosticism was born.

Paul was constantly combating these foreign ideas and the threat of “another” good news. It was a century later that we have the Gnostic “apocryphal” books written to promote this merging of Greek ideas with Christian teaching (e.g. Gospel of Thomas, Mary, Judas, etc.).

You can see the continued popularity of these teachings in movies today (e.g. The Matrix, V for Vendetta, The Truman Show, etc.). Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is the latest to promote the Gnostic view of Christ.

The goal is to strip Christ of his divinity and his sinless human nature. The same teachings that promote this disembodied spiritual future also accept the idea that the Creator (Yahweh) is evil and the serpent of the Garden of Eden is the agent of good come to cut man lose from his puppet strings.

According to Gnosticism, the serpent, the devil, brings knowledge of what is really going on. What man needs is to be freed or “awakened” by the “secret” knowledge or gnosis. Man needs to throw off rules and regulations of the flesh in order to embrace “spiritual” living. He needs to recognize his own divinity apart from God. Taking from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would do just that.

If man will only take the “red pill” and choose enlightenment, he shall indeed see “how far the rabbit hole goes.” We should find a sobering reminder from the movie, The Matrix.

“Zion” in Gnosticism leads us on a ship, named after the God-defying Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, to a dark city below the earth (i.e. hell). It will not be an orgy or a party portrayed in The Matrix, but an eternity separated from Christ where man ceases to bear the divine image. Hardly a future any of us would hope for.

If you can prove Jesus of Nazareth was like the ordinary man on the street, having that corruptible nature called “flesh,” and that there was no physical resurrection of the dead, that Jesus was merely revived after his crucifixion, and that he spent the rest of his days in Spain having kids with Mary Magdalene, then you can undermine the entire Christian hope. It is a distortion of the first century synoptic Gospel’s account that is satanic propaganda disguised as “knowledge.”

Gnosticism is an absurd attempt to falsify the Gospel message and its presentation of Jesus as the promised Messiah who was both God and man. I am confident that, at least for now, the idea is only embraced by a few who live with their heads in the clouds. However, these ideas have indeed wiggled their way into Christian eschatology and our teachings on heaven and the resurrection.  (I’ll address this in Part II.)

This fabricated “secret” message may be able to make money at the Box Office, but the Gnostic Jesus holds no weight when it comes to reliable testimony and the historicity of the New Testament. We have plenty of evidence that suggests that the account of Christ we have in the New Testament Gospels is the real deal.

“Jesus is either the flesh-and-blood individual who walked and talked, and lived and died, in first-century Palastine, or he is merely a creature of our own imagination, able to be manipulated this way and that.”
N.T. Wright, Who Was Jesus? p.18

We, therefore, must decide what we do with Jesus and his recorded resurrection from the dead. Everything hinges on the resurrection—everything. We will choose to align ourselves with orthodox Christian belief or be swept away with the rising tide of heretical doctrines of demons.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” Paul, 1 Cor. 15:3-5

Heaven to Earth: The Christian Hope in the Resurrection, Part II of III

27 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Christology, Church, Deeper Christian Life, Religion & Spirituality, Theology

April 9, 2009

Organic Church Life: The Lord’s Supper

By David D. Flowers

If you haven’t been following the Organic Church Life series, I recommend you start at The Beginning.

I was prompted to write on the Lord’s Supper because of the Easter season, and because of the great need there is for others to have a window into the Lord’s meal experienced in simple community.

The following post is a “play-by-play” account of our fellowship sharing the Lord’s meal together. I pray you are encouraged.

The Gathering 4/8/09

Tonight we met at the Price’s house to share the Lord’s meal together for the first time. We started off talking in the living room and then made our way into the kitchen after everyone had arrived.

We feasted on roast, mashed potatoes, cantaloupe, and mixed veggies. Yum! We spread out at the table and the bar. We were eating and laughing with each other.

Earlier I had stopped by the grocery store to pick up some bread for the Lord’s meal. I mentioned that every time I go through the self-checkout line I have problems. Kerry couldn’t understand how anyone could have problems with it. She said, “you people” are the ones taking so long in the line.

Everyone was having a good time laughing at us. I told her if they didn’t throw up Mission Control at you on the little screen, it would help!

After everyone had finished eating and were just talking, we began to move toward the bread and wine (juice). A few of us men had already discussed the “Lord’s Supper” a day or two before. We recognized that the practice was intended to be a meal, at least part of the meal.

What should this look like? We concluded that it is a meal and that we shouldn’t lock ourselves into any certain way of practicing it. The important thing is that we do indeed share the meal together as an extension of what we are already doing as a family.

Joel grabbed another chair and we made room at the table for everyone to sit down. Grant placed the loaf of bread on the table with the juice and I reached for the cups. I began by mentioning how the Lord told his disciples that he “eagerly desired” to have this meal with them (Lk. 22:15).

Normally this upper room conversation is completely reflected on with emphasis on Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ talk of his upcoming suffering. He did speak of these things.

However, Jesus was also joyful over his sharing of the meal with those he was closest to in this world. He longed for the intimate fellowship. And he wanted to tell them the real meaning behind the Passover meal.

Jesus did not let anything keep him from this communion with his followers. Not only would the disciples have this event etched in their memories for the rest of their days, they would continue sharing the meal “until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God” (Lk. 22:18)—until they shared it together at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Grant spoke on the betrothal and marriage ceremony of Jews. He talked about how the cup of wine was given to the bride for her to accept the groom’s proposal.

This cup of destiny is also offered to us, the Bride of Christ.

Jesus offered this cup and still offers this cup to us who belong to him. Our acceptance of this cup is the embrace of a new covenant with God’s people.

This covenant gives us reason to celebrate our hope that we will be joined with Christ in the coming of his Kingdom.

We made mention of the meal’s first purpose and how radical it was for the Lord to reveal its fuller meaning. Can you imagine what these guys must have been thinking to hear Jesus seeming to change/add the symbolism of the Passover meal? They must have recognized that they were witnessing something of great significance, but still a little unsure of its meaning for the future.

What an intimate time of expectation that must have been!

Everyone poured their juice and began to drink as we continued speaking about the blood of Christ and the new covenant in the partaking of the wine.

The conversation naturally shifted to the bread, which the Lord said, “This is my body given for you.” Everyone pinched off a piece of bread from the round loaf in the middle of the table. We continued eating and drinking as we remembered the Lord.

Several of us spoke on how in the past the meal was no meal at all, but a solemn ceremony where believers turn inward only to think about their sin and the death of Jesus instead of moving on to the forgiveness of sin and the resurrection of Christ.

James and Joel both shared about how they once dreaded the practice of communion. It was a burdensome ceremony that left no room for life. We all agreed with one another that the meal was to be a celebratory meal in remembrance of our Lord and the foreshadowing of the Kingdom to come.

Gone are the days of taking the shot glass of grape juice and the Jesus chick-let from the cracker plate while sitting in condemnation being isolated in our pews.

We have been forgiven, the Lord is risen, and now is the time to celebrate!

I mentioned how the Gospels tell us that after the meal they sang a hymn before leaving for the garden where Jesus was arrested. Someone said, “Let’s sing a hymn then.” So we did.

We sang several with our voices only. How sweet it is to hear all the voices and to know we are one in the Spirit of Christ. What a blessing it is to share the Lord’s meal as a family of saints learning about the depths and riches of Christ in simple community.

A few departed when we got up from the table. The rest of us talked for a little while longer in the living room. What a wonderful time we had this evening!

Thank you Lord for your blood of the new covenant, your body that was broken for our sins, and your resurrection that has given us your very own LIFE!

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Church, Theology

March 18, 2009

Surprised by Hope (Book Review)

By David D. Flowers

Getting It Wright!

A Book Review of “Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church” by N.T. Wright Reviewed by David D. Flowers

Tom Wright undoubtedly stands at the summit of New Testament scholarship. I sincerely believe he is the most important of Christian thinkers alive today. His writings are a refreshing challenge and a beacon of hope in a world where much of Christianity has lost its way. Wright’s work is unsurpassed as it reminds us all that our faith is not founded on shady history and loose myths about Jesus.

In his book Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Wright challenges this notion of “going to heaven when you die” and spending an eternity in some bodiless future. For if this was the case, Wright’s concern is “then what’s the fuss about putting things right in the present world?”

Is our present language of our future existence reflective of sound New Testament orthodoxy? Do we have a consistent biblical message on “life after death?” Wright doesn’t believe so, and he claims we have instead embraced a Gnostic idea of the future that fouls up our presentation of the Gospel in the present.

Our future home is not “heaven”–for this is where God is presently; another dimension altogether. Our hope is in this spiritual heaven coming down to earth. The climax of all human history is the consummation of God’s spiritual realm (heaven) breaking through to our earthly existence. Therefore, in Wright’s view, it is “life after life after death” that ought to be on our minds.

Only this sort of thinking will lead us to a proper practice of the church. If our beliefs about heaven and the resurrection are wrong, then we are not about the Lord’s business in ushering in the Kingdom of God in ways keeping with the example of Christ.

Wright’s greatest emphasis is on “resurrection” and “new creation” that has already begun in this world. It is time to realize the great significance with that which is at the heart of our faith in Christ (1 Cor. 15:12-28). He writes, “it is (resurrection), principally, the defining event of the new creation, the world that is being born with Jesus.”

It is in the resurrection of Christ that happened in this old creation that gives us hope for a new creation taking place right now in the twenty-first century. “Hope is what you get when you suddenly realize that a different worldview is possible…” (pg.75).

This “new creation” should not be confused with baptizing the culture into Christianity and attempting to enact a utopian dream, as so many in evangelicalism have embraced. This misplaced trust in the myth of progress does not work because it does not account for evil, Wright says.

This myth may sometimes run parallel to our Christian hope, but it “veers off toward a very different destination” that ignores the need for the cross of Christ upon the natural fallen creation. It doesn’t see the need for change within, only uniform capitulation to a set order of ideas.

Wright declares, “What matters is eschatological duality (the present age and the age to come), not ontological dualism (an evil “earth” and a good “heaven”)” (pg. 95). We all have seen how this belief in a Platonic escapism has pervaded our theology and demanded that we adopt a popular dispensationalist view of the future; a future where we “fly away” to “Beulah Land” and spend eternity in a glorified retirement home in the sky.

It is time we abandon this empty belief for one that appreciates the hope given to us in the New Testament; a hope where God restores his good creation and finishes the work he began in the universe. Wright states, “What creation needs is neither abandonment nor evolution but rather redemption and renewal; and this is both promised and guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead” (pg. 107).

Wright draws our attention to Christ’s ascension as well as his resurrection. Because of the ascension of Christ, we not only have a savior who is indwelling us and present with his people, but a Lord who is at the same time “gone on ahead of us” by being the first to enter in to our promised resurrected existence. In other words, the work of Christ is finished and yet to be realized. It is reflective of the “already, but not yet” tension of the Kingdom of God.

We await a savior to complete the work he began in us. This completion shall come by way of the parousia or his “coming.”  Wright very simply writes, “he will in fact be “appearing” right where he presently is—not a long way away within our own space-time world but in his own world, God’s world, the world we call heaven” (pg. 135).

Wright challenges our traditional picture of our journey being completed upon death. He argues that there is indeed a temporary “paradise” for believers awaiting the resurrection of the dead and the completion of all things.

Likewise, there would appear to be the same for those who have rejected Christ in this life. When Jesus spoke of “many dwelling places” in his Father’s house, he is speaking of a temporary stop on the journey.  To ignore the finished work of Christ through the final resurrection of the dead is to miss the entire Christian hope.

God’s judgment is a good thing, something that believers ought to celebrate—for evil will be dealt with once and for all and heaven will make its home on earth. On the other hand, the non-believer has much to worry about. Wright calls into question our modern interpretations of hell that reflects a theology from the church of the Dark Ages. Yet, he doesn’t go as far as some “emerging” leaders who, I have reason to believe, may never emerge.

Wright finds it impossible not to believe in some sort of “ultimate condemnation” and loss to human beings that have rejected God’s good grace. He simply says that these folks cease to bear the divine image and by their own choice become “beings that once were human but now are not.”  Whatever “hell” is in reality, none of us would ever desire such a place. The important thing Wright wants to note is that heaven and hell ought not be the focal point of the Christian message.

In the last part of the book, Wright does a wonderful job with making this challenge practical for us all. The resurrection and ascension is not designed to take us away from this earth but instead to make us agents of transformation, anticipating the day when, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Wright looks at the themes of justice, beauty, and evangelism. What do these things look like in light of this radical message of hope?  What does this look like in retrospect to the resurrection of Christ and the promise that we will inherit the same? Wright believes it is “to live consciously between the resurrection of Jesus in the past and the making of God’s new world in the future” (pg. 213).

My only point of disagreement with this book is in the last chapter. Although I do believe there are nuggets of truth founded in Wright’s attempt to manifest our hope in church practices, his commitment to not only his Anglican heritage but to high church in general is reason enough to move beyond his conclusions and on to a narrative ecclesiology that mirrors the earliest disciples.

It seems to me that this is his only break from a legitimate concern for a Pauline hermeneutic. His hope in a revival within the church practices that came years after Paul, as evident in church history, is wishful thinking indeed. It is here that we begin to replace hope with doom and despair.

“Surprised by Hope” is an excellent book that breathes out an overdue challenge to believers in every corner of the earth. I do hope and pray that its message will start a move of the church to return to the Gospel that looks like Jesus and offers the world more than an escape from a devil’s hell.

N.T. Wright is presently one voice among many that is being heard and has earned the right to be heard in a post-Christian world of conflicting voices. How will we respond? Shall we cling to those chains presently dubbed as “tradition” or will we allow the resurrection of Christ to give us wisdom and understanding into that beautiful hope known as the age to come?

I am pleasantly surprised by the hope we have in Christ… for whose sake I am able to reimagine a world without evil.

 

*Please take the time to vote on this review at Amazon.

17 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Reviews, Theology

March 15, 2009

Organic Church Life: The Beginning

By David D. Flowers

Organic Church Life: The Beginning

My wife and I left the traditional church in September 06 and began a search for authentic church life around Jesus Christ. In November 06 we began meeting with a group of folks who all left the same organized church in East Texas. We call this our “experimental house church” when telling our story. Why? Well, frankly, we didn’t know what we were doing.

We were all reading books on house churches and studying the Scripture in new ways. It was simply a time of discovery and of detoxing from religion. This is when I first began a long-distance relationship with Frank Viola. The Lord is still using his influence in our discovery of Christ in the church.

We were largely concerned about “what to do” than simply letting Jesus give us that familial community that is in Christ. Yet, this was the season the Lord had us in and it was an essential part of the journey.

In January 07 we went to the North Texas House Church Conference in Dallas. It was there that we learned not everyone was gathering in homes for the same reasons we were learning about through Viola and a few other authors.

We learned a huge lesson at this conference. Some folks had just switched venues (from the building to the house) but had no new revelation of Christ. It was really sad to watch. But we are thankful that the Lord allowed us to see the difference and draw close to him.

We were in this experimental stage for about 7 months. In the Summer of 07 we moved to Houston to seek new jobs and a new life. Our move was primarily made as a result of connecting with a group of believers who had been meeting in homes for 7 years in West Houston. I can still remember that first visit. Wow! That was when everything clicked.

The brothers and sisters there were radiating Christ in their gatherings. It was the first time I saw Jesus lead a gathering where there was no man leading. There was leadership, but not in any way I had ever seen.

It was also the first time I had ever met an 80 year old man who knew the Lord as a Person. He is now in heaven awaiting the resurrection of our bodies and the fullness of the Kingdom of God on earth.

The Lord moved us to The Woodlands in July 07 just north of Houston. It was clearly where the Lord wanted us… even though it was 45 minutes from the believers in West Houston. To keep this note short(er), I will just tell you we met with the saints there for a year. In that year, the simplicity of church life gathered around Christ had become natural for us.

We quickly began sensing the Lord calling us to meet where we lived. Not only were we convinced that this is how churches ought to be established (locally), we felt a deep desire for greater community with believers in our area. We knew the Lord wanted us to be an expression of his Person where we lived.

So, my wife and I, along with our friend Grant (27) who lived down the road from us, decided together that it was time to begin meeting in our city.

I wish I could tell you that the people started knocking on our door, but I would be dishonest with you if I did. We waited patiently for the Lord to naturally cause us to cross paths with folks who longed for more of Christ. The three of us met in our home (with an occasional visitor) for about 6 months before Jesus began moving around us.

We were just about to the point of discouragement (OK, maybe we were already there) when the Lord brought Michael (39) to us. He had been on a similar journey as the three of us. Toward the end of the year, we had another solid addition. Rita (50) committed herself to the fellowship.

Joel (39) e-mailed me after having read my Confessions of an Ex-Clergy Member. He and his family had been detoxing from the religious “mega-church” life for about a year. They lived right down the road from us! I met Joel at Starbucks for coffee and a bit of convo and we hit it off! His family of four (with one on the way) has been meeting with us since the first of the year.

Presently, we gather on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights regularly. These times are etched out in our schedules and are the easiest for sure times to meet. Every other week it seems we have a visitor.

The Lord is really busy around us. I have met with two brothers this month who just wanted to talk about Christ and our journey. I am meeting another brother this week who lives in Houston. I constantly have folks writing and inquiring about the gathering of the saints in our city.

Three weeks ago we had a gathering of house churches from all over the city. It was the first of its kind that we know of in Houston. There were about 60 there from all over Houston. One older brother there said he had been meeting in homes for 25 years and never knew we all existed. This tells me that we are on the front lines of what Jesus is doing in the greater Houston area.

We feel blessed to be included in the Lord’s work. In August, we will be having an Organic Church Life Conference in The Woodlands with Frank Viola and Milt Rodriguez. We are excited about what the Lord is going to do between now and then.

Finally, I just want to add what a joy it is to know Christ in community. As a local expression of Jesus in our city, we feel like we have known each other forever. We are beginning to see Jesus build his Body through real relationships that have him at the center. Thank you Lord!

3/15/09

22 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Church, Deeper Christian Life, Religion & Spirituality