Should Glenn Beck Speak For Christians?

“Mormonism and Mammonism are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They offer another Lord Jesus than the One offered in the Scriptures and Christian tradition, and another way to approach Him. An embrace of these tragic new vehicles for the old Gnostic heresy is unloving to our Mormon friends and secularist neighbors, and to the rest of the watching world. Any “revival” that is possible without the Lord Jesus Christ is a “revival” of a different kind of spirit than the Spirit of Christ (1 John 4:1-3). – Excerpt from Dr. Russell D. Moore’s article in Relevant Magazine.”

I have been agonizing over writing a piece in response to the unbelievable mania and misdirection that is gripping a substantial number of “Christians” today in America. Titles that have come to mind are, “The New Billy Graham?” or “The Angel Moroni Reincarnate?” or “The Holy Bible and Book of Mormon Merging?”

But alas! No need. Dr. Moore, more educated, knowledgeable and articulate than I, has captured it marvelously in the following piece. “If anyone has an ear, let him hear” (Revelation 13:9).

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/current-events/op-ed-blog/22717-should-glenn-beck-speak-for-christians

Street Pharmacist!

Read Matt’s amazing testimony about his encounter with a street pharmacist in the following link: http://www.saynetwork.com/revhi2/?p=43 Also the comment following. You will be blessed. God is doing a great work through Revolution Hawaii. Fortunately, I get to see a lot of it first hand.

JN

Breaking New Ground!

Continuing with another gem from the book pictured in the post below – Maintenance Vs Leadership:

J. Richard Chase: “A definition I’ve run into says, ‘You manage what’s there.’ Leaders should be good managers in the sense that they ought to be looking for more creative ways to enhance what they’re already doing. But if you equate management with maintenance, then you’ve got a problem. As a leader, you need to be out front, breaking new ground, providing vision. Maintenance can push aside visionary leadership, and that’s not good.

Pastors easily get into that situation: They preach every Sunday, teach the Bible on Wednesday, and do discipling on another day, until there’s little time to capture a vision, a new challenge for their congregations to impact the world for Christ. Managing can become a leadership role as long as it challenges others to do more than attend and listen.”

Hmmm. Some pretty good counsel here don’t you think?

JN

Manipulative Expectations!

I came across this pictured book recently:

Leaders” – Learning Leadership from Some of Christianity’s Best. Harold Myra, ed.

There are some gems within worth sharing here, especially for those engaged in denominational leadership at every level. Here’s one piece of advice, looking back, that resonates particulary. Too late for me, hopefully not so for you emerging leaders reading this:

Richard Foster: “I went to a tiny church in Southern California that would rank as a marginal failure on the ecclesiastical scoreboards. I went in there and worked and planned and organized, determined to turn this church around. But things got worse. Anger seemed to permeate everyone: the conservatives were mad at the liberals, the liberals were mad at the radicals, and the radicals were mad at everyone else. I hated to go to pastors’ conferences because I didn’t have any success stories to tell. I was working myself to death, but it seemed to do no good. Then I spent three days with my spiritual director. Toward the end of that time he said, ‘Dick, you have to decide whether you are going to be a minister of this church or a minister of Christ.’ That was a turning point. Until then I had allowed other people’s – and my own – expectations to manipulate me.”

A Slightly Irregular thought: In my experience, most of our corps would “rank as marginal failures on the ecclesiastical scoreboard,” thus encompassing Divisions and Territory’s as well.

Good advice for leaders at every level.

JN

Scary Statistics/Terrifying Trends

You can access my take on these statistics and trends over at http://therubicon.org/category/think/

I’ve written a book titled, “HOPE! Flight Manual for Prospective Angels.” I outline some disturbing trends therein, with suggested solutions. With this in mind, I happened upon a FaceBook thread instigated by Steve Bussey asking questions relative to the decline in Sunday School attendance. His comment:

“Did you know? That in the 1950s, The Salvation Army in America had 'Century Sunday Schools'? Every Corps that had more than 100 kids coming to Sunday School would be part of this group. Some Corps even had 200 kids on a Sunday! Why not revive the Century Sunday School club for the 21st Century?”

Unless I’m hallucinating, there seems to be some interest/concern and a very long thread developing over there on this vital subject. The answers to some of these questions are simple, yet complex. Following is an excerpt from a post I found that may give us some hints:

“Young Adults today are looking for depth. And the Bible is full of it. In fact, the life of Jesus Christ could not get deeper! So why is that young adults who have grown up in the faith are now finding that their heart’s desire for more meaning is leading them outside of the local church? Why are young adults starting non-profit organizations instead of volunteering to be a youth leader? What is the church missing that they are looking for? Perhaps the answer is best found in asking them.” Go to the following link for their answers:

http://www.youngadultsagblog.com/2010/07/we-dont-go-to-church.html

JN

An O&R Litmus Test!

In George Scott Railton’s biography ‘General Booth,’ he quotes what Booth said about change 17 years after issuing the first Orders and Regulations for Field Officers:

“The Regulations…must not be regarded as a final authority on the duties and responsibilities to which they refer. Development has been the order of the Army from the beginning, and will, I hope, remain so the end. Our methods must of necessity be always changing with the ever-varying character and circumstances of the people whom we seek to benefit. But our principles remain as unchangeable as the Throne of Jehovah.”

The problem is that most of the time we unfortunately confuse‘ methods’ with ‘principles’ (core values). In other words, regulations have more to do with our methods than they have to do with our core values.

Speaking of core values, the National Community Church (http://theaterchurch.com/) has some good ones. I wonder how ours would stack up against them? Or do we even know what they are?

“NCC's twelve core values are part of the DNA of National Community Church. They are both descriptive and prescriptive of who we are as a church.

• Expect the unexpected
• Irrelevance is irreverence
• Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it
• Playing it safe is risky
• Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you
• Everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable
• Everything is an experiment
• You cannot out give God
• Maturity does not equal conformity
• Go the extra mile
• It's never too late to be who you might have been
• Do it right and do it big”

How do your own core values stack up against these? Use Jesus as the Litmus Test when examining the above.

JN

The Rebellious Nature!

Love this quote from Rob Bell, founder of Mars Hill Bible Church, Michigan, USA, with a congregation of 7500 (http://marshill.org/):

“I’ve always liked the rebellious nature of Jesus. He seemed to make uptight religious people nervous, while the ‘sinners’ seemed to delight in his presence.”

Check out Steve Court’s August 9,10,11 posts over at http://www.armybarmy.com/blog.html. “Nervous” or “Delight?”

Lord, stir our rebellious natures, even though it’s going to get uncomfortable at times.

JN

Challenging the Generals!

Steve Court has put up an insightful post - http://www.armybarmy.com/blog.html (August 9, 2010) - based upon a magazine article, “Challenging the Generals.” I reference this article at the end of my e-book, “Out of the Rubble…Revolution!” This reference can be found in the final section titled, “The Repertory (A Sampling),” along with a number of other samplings. The Salvation Army is also one of those samplings. Actually, this section is critical to an understanding of the books main thesis.

The e-book can be accessed as follows: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14719. You can download a sampling of the first half free, and for a mere 99 cents the book is yours in its entirety. All emerging leaders (secular and spiritual) need to consider the implications of this book, written in allegorical form, its message relevant to our future.

JN

The Broadway Era!

The Past, Present, Future video produced with the groundbreaking of the South Mountain Kroc Center brought to mind some blogs I wrote about the (1967 – 71) groundbreaking, dedication, opening, etc., of the Broadway Youth and Family Center, as we so named it then. Some bright fellow came along later and had the name changed to “South Mountain,” but that’s another story for another day. If interested go to the following link: http://joenoland.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html.

Begin with the May 7 post at the bottom and read upward through the end of May. Also, I neglected to mention that the very popular comedian/celebrity, Godfrey Cambridge, performed during the dedication ceremony. These posts will represent chapters in my autobiography, “The Eras of His Way,” still a work in progress. And I’m not yet finished with the “Broadway Era,” more to come. Enjoy!

Incidentally, for historical accuracy, the center actually began operating out of a mobile office (donated by the Salt River Project) on the property, September 1967, not in 1968 as often reported. We had Pop Warner football practice on the field as the building was going up, among other things.

JN

Officer Outliers!

Have you read the book, Outliers? For a peak preview and my take on how it applies to TSA officership, check out the latest post over at http://therubicon.org/2010/08/officer-outliers/. After that follow the link on over to http://www.armybarmy.com/jac.html for “the rest of the story.”

JN

Wise Words of Counsel!

Journal of Christianity (JAC) August/September issue #68 - “CHARGE! Looking Back. Facing Forward: 5 Wise Words of Counsel.” is now posted over at http://www.armybarmy.com/jac.html. I had something to do with compiling it (but don’t let that dissuade you from reading it); following is an outline of its contents. It’s worth a read. Attention, Training School Principals! Might even make good curriculum fodder for a course at SFOT (TSA 101):

“For(e)ward… CHARGE!” Editorial Introduction, Guest Editor, Commissioner Joe Noland

“A Compromising Joe!” (Part 1) Commissioner Joe Noland

“Five Words of Counsel” - Colonel John Bate

“Marked Urgent!” Commissioner Wesley Harris

“Set Apart For Jesus" - Commissioner” - Carol Bassett

“If I Had My Time Over Again” - Major Harold Hill

“You Did Not Choose Me...” -General Bramwell Tillsley (Rtd)

“Five Words of Counsel” - Lt. Colonel Mervyn Leach

“They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love” - Commissioner John Nelson

Five Wise Words Of Encouragement And Counsel For Newly Commissioned Officers Of The Salvation Army” – Lt. Colonel David Hammond

“Looking Back and Facing Forward” - Commissioner Todd Bassett

“A Gentrified Joe!” (Part 2) Commissioner Joe Noland

Our hope is to add more contributors and bring this out in soft/hardcover (SFOT Textbook?). This Friday, August 6, check The Rubicon for a more detailed introduction of this project: http://therubicon.org/

JN