The Law of the Angels

This is a book which exhibits an incongruence between the title and what the book actually talks about.  The title “The Law of The Angels” sounds rather mystical and interesting but, once you get into the book, there is very little written about angels.  The one reference I find to the title is on page 41 where, as the author is speaking about the different expressions of love, she injects the statement “This is angel law. This is the way the angels live.”  After this brief reference to angels, there is not much more on the subject of angels.  I have seen in certain blogs that some are saying that this book was re-titled upon reprinting and given the title “Love: The Law of The Angels.”  However, the 1979 edition I was able to obtain is simply titled “The Law of The Angels.”

It appears that the thesis of this book is to give the reader a broad overview of the subject of love and how love is to operate in the lives of Christians.  Then, upon giving a protracted and tedious definition of what love is supposed to be in the life of the Christian, the more subtle and actual core emphasis of the book comes out. 

Gwen Shaw in her book The Law of The Angels portrays love as a more feminine attribute than masculine and thus Shaw puts forth the thesis that the Christian women of the world are spiritually superior to the Christian men of the world. And, because women are more spiritually sensitive than men, then by function women can be used by God to express His love to the world more than can be accomplished through “insensitive men.”

I realized that I needed to activate my theological radar defense shield (discernment of spirits) when on page VII of the Introduction we see Shaw say “I wish I could say that my own love is perfect, or that I myself had attained unto the high degree of perfection which you will find in the pages of this book.  These are truths that God has made known to me.” This type of posturing is something that I have become quite wary of lately.  As you will see shortly, Shaw’s statements were born out of false humility.

Before we get into the “love” part of the book, I do want to point out what I believe is another area of problematic theology in Shaw’s book.  It has to do with why Jesus was crucified and what was accomplished in the crucifixion.  On page 14 we see Shaw state “You see, the Law of Moses will never point anyone to the cross.  You know what the Law of Moses did?  It crucified Jesus.  Do you know that it was on the authority of the Law of Moses that the Jews crucified Jesus?”  One might ask why I see this as problematic.  It is troublesome because traditional and orthodox theology teaches us that the Law of Moses had the function of making mankind aware of his sin.  Then, we see that Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the Law of Moses by offering Himself upon the Cross as a sacrifice for our sin.  And, it was Roman Soldiers who actually crucified Jesus by the insistence of the Jewish Scribes and Pharisees. I see this theological awkwardness as a product of Shaw’s hurried attempt to get straight to her main thesis of her book which appears to be the desire of God to express His love toward mankind, rather than judgment.

One other area to make note of before we get to the main thesis is that of the belief of the eternal existence of man’s spirit or what is known as the “pre-existence and transmigration of souls.” We see this on page 68 where Shaw states “Way back there in antiquity, in the origin of time, far beyond your known history or ability to recall, you were in the plan of God.  You are an eternal living spirit.  Your body is loaned to you for only a season of sojourn on Earth.  As an eternal being, you are without beginning or ending.  And back there, hidden in the midst of a million forgotten eons of time we stood in His glory, being part of His spirit, fashioned even then in His likeness, as He planned for us.  There He created us male and female.”

The above theology is extremely troublesome.  So, according to Shaw, “we always existed”, “we are part of God”, but yet God created us.  So, is God creating “part of Himself” or, what is going on here?

As troublesome as the already mentioned items are, the real “bombshell” of The Law of The Angels happens on page 111.  After having “put men in their place” on pages 72 and 73, we read on page 111 what Shaw is really trying to get the reader to believe.  On page 111, Shaw has been describing a vision she had of Eve praying and asking God to forgive her for her sin of disobedience in the Garden of Eden.  Eve is described as being very distraught and in much aguish before God.  Then, we see Shaw state “I saw how through the centuries, even after her transition (whatever that means), she had wept and cried to God the Father to be merciful to her sons and daughters.  She had interceded for our release and had been permitted to see that her prayers had not been in vain, her intercession had accomplished its goal and she had prayed through.  God is going to begin to show His glory to Eve’s children.  We have finished drinking the cup of our iniquity, our day of redemption is here now.  That is the reason God is using us handmaidens.  Somehow God is going to allow us to make up for our mother’s failure.  We not only want to bless and help our brothers return to the lost paradise, we want to return ourselves.  Oh, God help us!  Brothers, help us!  We need you and you need us!  We went out together and we must return together!…As women travail and intercede, they will be used by the Lord to restore all that has been lost through the fall.” 

So, there you have it.  God is going to use women to restore mankind to Himself.  But, what about the accomplished work of Jesus on the Cross?  Is it not complete?  Didn’t Jesus, through His sufferings and crucifixion restore all?  What was left undone?  What can woman do that has not been accomplished through and by the crucifixion?  If you think these questions are unfounded then, go on to page 115 and see Shaw state “I believe the Blood of Jesus is going to become more powerful in the end time.  More powerful than in the day it poured from His veins…”

If all of this is not a problem for you then, I must direct your attention to the most theologically explosive part of the entire book.  On pages 165 and 166 we see Shaw state “This feminine aspect of the eternal God is the El-Shaddai, the mother-nature of God.  It is in the realm that the Shekinah is revealed and does its high office work.  You will remember us mentioning in chapter 13 that God had created Adam male and female.  If God created man male and female, it was because bisexuality somehow belongs to His own nature.  The fact has been recognized by early rabbinic commentators that this is true.  One even concluded that God had made Adam androgynous, and later separated him into Adam and Eve.  Lantero states that it is recognized that while individuals belong to one sex or the other, we are all androgynous in the sense of having both male and female hormones, as well as potential character traits traditionally associated with both sexes.  This beautiful aspect of the mother nature of God is one which we need to meditate upon more. Why is it that the Glory of God,  His Shekinah, seems to be resting in greater magnitude on the daughters of Eve in this generation? This is very evident, not only in one country but in all the nations where I have worked for God, and especially where women have been permitted by their male elders to let God’s glory be borne witness of through their freedom to speak.  The women are the great intercessors, the fasters, the praisers, prophetesses, missionaries, healers, and they are fast becoming the deepest of teachers.” 

Finally, in reference to the above excerpt, on page 67, we see Shaw describe that when God first created Adam, that he was created with a womb, which God subsequently took out of Adam and used it to create Eve. 

The theology presented in Shaw’s book is simply shocking.  Gwen Shaw, in no uncertain terms, portrays Adam as having been created as an androgynous hermaphrodite.  She even says so in her book.  This depiction simply leaves one speechless.

Such theology by Gwen Shaw opens the door wide open for Satan to flood in with a horde of demonic spirits.  Shaw has theologically emasculated Christian men.  Shaw sets Christian women on a higher plane of greater power and importance than Christian men.  This is a Satanic doctrine.

This book is available through Amazon.com.

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Are Christians destined to take over the world before Jesus returns?  Is there a requirement found in the scripture that Christians must take over the world before Jesus can return?  Or, has Jesus already returned and now, in a corporate sense He manifests Himself in the lives of all believers in the Earth and all Christians are now commissioned to take over the Earth?  Will there be a rapture?

The above questions are being asked within the rank and file of the Body of Christ and you may be very surprised to learn some of the answers to these questions.  Some of the sacred and age old theological beliefs of the church are now being redefined by some in the Body of Christ.  For more than a couple of decades now, we have witnessed an emphasis within certain camps of the Body of Christ on what has evolved to now be known as “Dominion Eschatology”.

Now some of you may be asking at this point “what is he talking about?”  If you are that person, then you need to read this post most of all.  Let’s begin by looking at an article found in the October 2009 edition of Charisma Magazine.  On page 20 you will see an article entitled “Last Days Fever” and as part of this debate there is an inset of two views of the rapture found on pages 22 and 23.  Pay attention to page 23 and C Peter Wagner’s article entitled “The Case For Dominion”.  In this article we see Wagner state “I now regard my former pre-tribulationism and pre-millennialism as escapist eschatology”.  Next, he says “My favorite term is dominion eschatology.  Why? Because Jesus did not give His great commission in vain”.  And finally, Wagner states “We are aggressively retaking dominion, and the rate at which this is happening will soon become exponential”. 

So, what is Wagner talking about?  C Peter Wagner and his ministry is a vanguard for what is known as the Dominion Movement.  This movement and its theology has gone by several names over the last couple of decades.  If you have heard the terms “Kingdom Now”, “Kingdom Dominion” or “7-Mountain Doctrine” they are all one in the same.  You will note that by his own statements, on the issue of the rapture, Wagner does not hold to the orthodox position of the church.

To put it in street, what the Dominionsts are saying is that Christians are supposed to be about the business of taking over the world, and once this has been accomplished, then Jesus can return, and note the emphasis on “can”.  Still not convinced that this theology is all that developed?  I invite you to take a look at the posting titled “Dominionism and the Rise of Christian Imperialism” by Sarah Leslie.  This article can be found at http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/sarah-leslie/dominionism.htm.  In this article, you will see a quite comprehensive description of the development of the Dominion Movement and the theology associated with this movement.  I don’t quite agree with all  that you will find on this particular website but, this overview of Dominionism is too thorough to ignore. And, it proves rather quickly that Dominionism is not a secret.  

Still not convinced?  Perhaps you are thinking, this group is on the “fringe” of Christianity, plus the writer quotes some dubious sources.  OK, fair enough.  Let me ask you then, have you heard of President Clinton?  Of course you have.  Well, he had a high-ranking advisor named Sidney Blumenthal.  Mr Blumenthal has a son named Max Blumenthal.  And, Max Blumenthal has written a book titled “Republican Gomorrah”.  This book has become a media sensation and has been critiqued extensively in the national media. Simply go to You Tube and type in “Republican Gomorrah” and see for yourself. 

In his book, Blumenthal pulls no punches in his all out attack on the Republican Party for what he describes as the hypocrisy of the many Republican leaders who have fallen into various sex scandals.  To be “fair and balanced”, some of Blumenthal’s criticism is justified.  In saying that, mind you, I am certainly not overlooking all of the Democrat sex scandals.  But, that is not the focus of my article.  What I want to point you to is that also in his book, Blumenthal has the dual thesis of chronicling what he perceives as a rising movement within Christianity to vicariously “take over the world” through the Republican Party. 

In his book, Blumenthal comes as close as any secular writer or reporter I have seen, to “connecting all the dots”.  Let’s talk plainly here.  If you are a Jew, a Muslim or an atheist and you hear certain Christian leaders talk of “taking control of the governments of the world” then, don’t you think you are going to get their attention?  I can assure you, they are listening. One thesis in Blumenthal’s book is that he believes there is an underlying design, on the part of the Christian Right, to take control of the government.  I see two theses in Blumenthal’s book.  He himself indicates as much in an interview on “Morning Joe” which can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqeqRf9czAY or, type in “Morning Joe – Max Blumenthal – Has The GOP Been Driven Outside The Mainstream”. 

What I am saying to all my Christian brethren out there is that the secular media has connected the dots of Dominion Eschatology.  If you are an adherent to this particular theology, and you think all of this strategy to “take over the world” is a “well kept secret” then, think again.  You cannot ignore the reality I am laying out in this post.  I was just listening to a news program the other day and a leading liberal news commentator stated that Max Blumenthal’s book is quickly becoming a primary source of information for those wanting to know about the strategy of the “Radical Christian Right” and its designs on influencing government.  I am telling Christian leaders out there, if you ignore such a thing as this, then you are shirking your responsibility to be “in the know” about developments concerning the Body of Christ.

You can go to Amazon.com and type in “Republican Gomorrah” and then go to the book review link and see for yourself the “firestorm” of debate going on between liberals and conservatives over this book. I can tell you, if the Dominionists continue to push this doctrine and move ahead with their attempts to implement these goals, things are going to get very ugly, very quickly.

Did Jesus say He needed Christians to be in control of all systems of society in order for Him to return?  I don’t read anywhere in the Bible where Jesus says that.  Let’s look at Luke 4:6 where, after showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, Satan tempts Jesus when he says “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish”.  It is serious theological error to assume by this verse that Satan is actually in control of the Kingdoms of this World.  This was a falsehood spoken by Satan and Jesus knew it.  How do we know this?  Look at Daniel 2:20-21 “Daniel answered and said: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness,  And light dwells with Him”.   Next, look at Daniel 4:17 “This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men”. 

So, after reading the above scriptures, it is clear that God is in control of the systems and governments of the world.  Understanding this, could it be possible that Satan today, is using the same trickery and temptation with certain religious leaders to get them to think that the kingdoms of the world are “up for grabs” and thus he is using the thought of being in control of these governments as a temptation once again.

Let me talk plainly.  I see that the Dominionists have gotten way off base theologically.  They are more worried about taking over the world rather than “winning the world for Christ”.  They are more worried about being an “Apostle” rather than preaching the Gospel of Christ.  These certain leaders have fallen for the very temptation that Satan tried to tempt Jesus with in the wilderness.  These certain leaders are being tempted with power, wealth, glamour, prestige and control.  It is very dangerous and it is bringing undue and intense criticism against the Body of Christ. 

Pastors and Christian leaders had better “get up to speed” on this.  This theology has made substantial inroads into the Body of Christ. Dominionism was even “in play” in the recent Presidential election.  And, I might add, it is one of the reasons the Republicans lost.

As Christians, we must remember the words of Jesus as found in John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight…”

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Who is shaping the future of America?  What is the future of America?  Do people even care anymore?  Or, are Americans more interested in who will win the next American Idol competition more than what type of world we are heading towards?

It seems almost as if it has become “uncool” to even think and have an opinion anymore.  Our society has become so lethargic and indifferent to certain realities that one could say that America is suffering from “reality avoidance”.

I remember years ago sitting in Economics class while in undergraduate school.  I distinctly remember learning about what is called “diseconomies of scale”.  It is a very interesting and very real thing that can happen to a large corporation.  And, I believe it can also happen to the Body of Christ.  It could be coined a “spiritual diseconomies of scale”.

First, let’s look at what is known as diseconomies of scale in regards to an industry functioning within our capitalist economy.  Let’s imagine a large corporation that has 100,000 employees here in the U.S.  With an organization of this size it is extremely important to keep track of what everyone is doing in order to prevent duplication and even outright competition between the various and different departments of such organization.  When such a breakdown does occur, that is, duplication of effort and competition among departments, it is called diseconomies of scale.  And, if the diseconomies of scale becomes pervasive enough, it can ruin the organization. 

One of the by-products of diseconomies of scale, that is described in Wikipedia, is called “isolation of decision makers from the results of their decisions”.  I encourage the reader, at this point, to refer to the Wikipedia article as it is very good at explaining all of this. 

To expand upon the term, as found in Wikipedia, I will say that what we are seeing today is “isolation of those who are making bad decisions from the consequences of their bad decisions”.  In street, the people who are making a mess of things are not having to deal with the mess they are creating.  Or, even worse, some decision makers don’t have a clue as to the unintended effect of their decisions.  Let’s take a closer look.

As a nation, the United States is facing what I believe to be an impending and devastating diseconomies of scale.  In particular, this problem is occurring in the area of interpretation of law, and the writing of law.  And, the church in America is setting directly in the crosshairs of the negative and unintended (or, in some cases intended) consequences of bad law.  But, it’s not just the church.  In reality, our society as a whole will have to deal with these consequences.  Let’s look at some current and pending examples.

In Massachusetts we see the debate going on about the rights of transgendered persons to have unrestricted access to either Men’s or Women’s restrooms, depending on which gender they have “chosen” to be.  This is impossible to interpret now, and it will be impossible to interpret in the courts once the lawsuits start coming in.  On a practical note, one of the reasons that cities and towns are even open to such a law is because the idea of building, retrofitting and paying for a “third” class of restroom at all public locations is prohibitive.  So, we see cities and towns falling back on the legal system for a way out, but, it will be even worse in the end.  It would be an “unenforceable” law.  Here’s an example.  Let’s say it’s 10:00 p.m. at a highway rest area stop and a young mother of 25 years of age who weighs maybe 120 lbs and her young daughter who is 4 years old start walking toward the Women’s public restroom.   Then, upon making their way to the restroom, the mother notices a large masculine appearing person who is let’s say 6’3” tall and weighs around 230 lbs.  And, this person is, as they say in bodybuilding, “ripped”.  But, upon noticing the hesitation of the mother to go any further toward the Women’s restroom, the person says to the mother “Oh, it’s OK, I’m transgendered”.  At that point, what is the young mother to do?  Would she say “prove it”? 

One can clearly see by the above scenario that such a “law” will be unenforceable.  Let’s look at another example of an unenforceable and un-interpretable law.  The pending Hate Crime law before congress which is designed to give protection to and special rights to the homosexual community.  Let’s say a Pastor of a large urban Baptist church preaches a sermon that includes a discussion of homosexuality and same-sex marriage in his discourse.  And, in the course of his message, this particular Pastor states that, according to his interpretation of the Bible, he believes that homosexuality and same-sex marriage are sinful and that anyone practicing such behavior will go to Hell.  This is his religious belief.  But, then, a gay person who happens to be sitting in his audience takes a CD of the message to the downtown police station and asks that the Pastor be arrested for “Hate Speech”.  Could such a thing happen?

Here is the complexity and what I see as a “political diseconomies of scale”.   The Hate Crime law, at this point, is un-interpretable and unenforceable.  Because, in order to arrest the Pastor for violating the “rights” of the homosexual, the police will, in turn, have to deny the Pastor his freedoms of speech and religion.  So, which is our society going to choose?  We are getting ready to see a legal environment in which the rights and freedoms of some groups are going to be taken away so that a different group can be free from what they perceive as public expression that they believe violates their rights.

So, we now see that the lawmakers (congress) who are promoting and passing such laws are fitting into the category that we see in the definition of characteristics of “diseconomies of scale”.  In other words, some of the very congressmen and congresswomen that are passing such laws will be “isolated from the consequences of their bad decision making”.  Isolation of decision makers from the consequences of their bad decisions.

It doesn’t stop here.  There is still one developing factor that will dwarf all that we have looked at thus far.  The issue I am referring to is Sharia Law.  This is the body of law that is practiced by Islamic countries.  You may be saying, “Well, what does that have to do with us here in the U.S.?”  Before we get to that point, let’s look at the concept of law and government for a moment.

I remember sitting in an undergraduate class called Federal, State and Local Government.  The professor of this course was a seasoned veteran who had taught for decades.  He was a classic liberal and he and I had an amicable professor/student relationship.  I remember it well, one day in class when a fellow student (the kind of student who thought he was the teacher rather than a student) made the statement “imagine a Presidential election in which the vote count margin came down to just a one vote difference between the two candidates and the winner wins by just one vote!  Imagine what that would do for democracy!”  Then, I’ll never forget the professor’s response (and, this was some 26 or 27 years ago) as the professor said “that really might not be such a good thing”.  And then, the professor went on to explain why he saw it as problematic, as if almost to prophetically describe what we all witnessed in 2000. 

It was this same professor who taught that one of the hallmarks of a government, one of the most legitimizing factors of a government, is to set a body of law and then set a framework to interpret and enforce such law.  So, we now see today, a serious and slowly developing effort on the part of Muslims to set up the practice and enforcement of Sharia Law within our society.  So, what happens when a Muslim and a non-Muslim are involved in a legal dispute over something and both sides are using two different bodies of law to interpret what has transpired and how the matter should be judged?  Which side will carry the most weight? Which carries more legal weight, Constitutional Law or Sharia Law? 

Perhaps, seeing the problem as described above, we could set up yet another 3rd body of law and a 3rd party of law making and law enforcement to weigh out the matter and find the “common ground” between the two other bodies of law? Or, if that doesn’t work, maybe set up a 4th group to try and “work it out”.                       

But, it doesn’t stop here.  Did you see in the news where just recently, the Hizb ut-Tahrir held a “conference” in a Hilton Hotel just outside of Chicago.  The theme of the conference was “The Fall of Capitalism and The Rise of Islam”.  It is reported that several Arab States as well as Russia do not allow this group to operate within their borders.  But, the U.S., in the name of freedom of speech and religion, will allow it.  This represents more political diseconomies of scale.  In other words, this extreme, radical religious group that wants to overthrow the U.S. system of government has every right to express themselves.  It is their “right” to do so.  To put it in street “it is their right to promote and organize as a group and overthrow the very government that “gives them the right to do so”.  Then, the rights and freedoms of expression that used to exist under the old government will no longer exist.  This is exactly the scenario that is developing right before our very eyes.  It is already happening to a serious degree in England, France and Holland. 

So, the Christian church is caught in the crossfire of all this and the rights of the church are slowly slipping away in our society.  The respect that the church once enjoyed in the U.S. is no more.   We, as Christians, must give up our religious freedoms in the name of diversity.  We, as Christians, must give up our freedoms in order that those who want an entirely different body of law and government can have what they want.   Things are getting very interesting.  Perhaps, as a society, we are entering into a period of which the old Chinese proverb could apply.  “May you live in interesting times.”  I think with all the “pushing and shoving” between the different groups within our society, it is naïve to think that things are not going to get interesting.   

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We read in John 17:21 where Jesus prays to the Father “…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I, in You…”. 

Then, in the preceding verse of 17:20 we see that Jesus was clearly talking about the believers of that present day and all future Christians.  This is very important.  Jesus specifically denotes that He was praying about, and praying for, those who had believed on Him and had accepted Him as Savior of their souls.  Jesus was not talking about those of other, non-Christian religions.  Jesus was not a schizophrenic.

Jesus made it very clear that He and He alone is the Son of God and that He and He alone is the only way to get to Heaven.  Jesus says exactly this in John 14:6.  So, having established Himself as the Savior of mankind, and as the only way to get to Heaven, then, it would be completely inconsistent with His message to all of a sudden suggest that others, who did not (or, in the future would not) believe that He was the Savior, were somehow now included in this prayer to the Father that all believers and non-believers would somehow dwell in unity.  Such an interpretation is just plain crazy. 

To say that Jesus was praying this prayer for the unity of anybody and everybody, regardless of what they believe, is simply an attempt to take away words that Jesus actually said, and in turn, attempt to “put into Jesus’ mouth” words that He never said.  Jesus was praying for the Father to bless those who had believed on Him.  If you don’t believe in Jesus, then these words of blessing are not for you.  You can torture the scripture, you can philosophize “until the cows come home” but it won’t change the fact and reality.  In order to receive eternal life and experience the good things of God to come, one must accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. 

If you are a believer in Jesus, then His emphasis on unity directly and without question apply to you.  It is God’s desire that all believers dwell in unity.  This starts with the local church body of believers.  Show me a church that has even the slightest degree of unity within its walls and I’ll show you a church with some power.  Show me a church where the congregation is of one purpose and of one mind and I’ll show you a church where you can see the miracle power of God!

Unfortunately, we see some ministers, particularly some of those of national prominence, who have imposed it upon themselves to launch out on a quest to bring unity in the world.  They are going about speaking to this group and that group talking about a philosophy of love and acceptance that does not have Jesus Christ at the center.  There is talk of “finding the common ground” and “meeting in the middle” and “focusing on the issues we agree about” and on and on.   All of this sounds good, if you are a politician seeking to win votes in the next election.  But, if you are a true Christian, such talk and philosophy is all very contrary to the actual words of Jesus. 

When it comes to Jesus, His deity, His blood sacrifice for sin, His exclusive status as Savior of mankind, there is no compromise and there certainly is no “middle ground”.  Look at it this way, Jesus said that He is the only way to Heaven, so, where is the point of “middle ground” or “common ground” on this issue.  What “part” of Jesus being the only way to Heaven is the Christian supposed to “give up” to get to the “middle”.  It cannot be done.  So, all this talk about the “family of man” and the “Dawning of the age of Aquarius” and the “Dawn of a new age” and all that, these are in essence Satanic counterfeits to the true unity of believers that Jesus prayed about. 

How can true Christians be yoked in any way whatsoever with another religion that denies that Jesus is the Christ?  For the Christian to compromise on this issue, is for that particular Christian to relinquish his or her very salvation. 

It is becoming increasingly clear that the world is growing ever so hostile, even violent toward Christianity.  We hear all this talk about equality, rights, dignity, self-worth, self-esteem, human dignity, human rights, freedom, freedom of religion, freedom to vote, freedom of self-determination etc.  All of this is promoted for anyone and everyone except the Christian.  Let a conservative Christian give his or her opinion in the national news media and watch how the very news company employees themselves go after that Christian and cut him to shreds.   

My friend, the media industry has set a tone that has gotten to the point to where it is OK to discriminate against a Christian simply because that person is a Christian.  It is open season on Christians and Christianity.  We are entering into a period in history the likes of which the world hasn’t seen since the Ancient Roman Empire.  It is a perplexing quandary how the leaders are talking about all these “rights” but at the same time, blatantly discriminate against Christians. 

Getting back to the concept of unity.  Today’s Christian needs to be extremely cautious when they see a Christian leader launch out on his own initiative to attempt to bring unity among the world’s religions.  It cannot be done.  Who is going to compromise their position?  The Muslims?  The Hindus?  The Mormons?  The Jehovah’s Witnesses?  The Baha’i? The Black Hebrew Christians?  The Messianic Jews?  The Oneness or Jesus Name Christians?  The Dominionists?  The Christian Evolutionists?  The Atheists?  The Church of Satan? Which one of these groups is going to compromise their position to “make the other group happy?” None.

The reality is that none of these groups are going to give one single inch.  For the true Christian to even think for one second that such an idea has any possible chance of working is naïve at best, and jeopardizes that particular Christian’s eternal destiny at worst. 

The deity, sovereignty, majesty, holiness, rank, and position in Heaven that Jesus holds is not up for negotiation.  For any man, even a national Christian leader, to think that he has the authority to negotiate the person and position of Jesus to the world, is most treacherous.  The world has to accept Jesus as He is, not as the world would like Him to be.  The world must come to God on God’s terms, not the other way around.

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The following is a word of prophecy as given to Pastor Connie during her personal prayer time in the early hours of May 09, 2009:

Go tell my people by My loving kindness I have drawn them and by My faithfulness I will preserve them.  Speak kindly to My people for they are confused because of the many voices.  I will not cut My people off because of the shepherds who have drawn them to desert places. Woo them back to Me.  I will put a wooing spirit upon you to gather My sheep.  The longing of My heart will be heard in your voice.  All their confusion will be lifted as you speak.  For I will enlighten the eyes of My people to see truth and to know truth in the inward parts.  No longer will My people go hungry while the shepherds feed themselves as they gorge themselves on the delicacies of My house, while not caring for the orphan and the widow.  No longer will the shepherds hold My people in captivity.

For I will come down and in My anger scatter the shepherds who scatter My people.  They will not walk in unity with one another while strengthening each other’s agenda.  But they will be torn from each other one by one.  Watch and see if I will not do it.  For I love my people, My purchased inheritance.  I love them with an everlasting love. 

I will arise as a man out of My sleep when the thief has broken through to steal what does not belong to him.  This is My house that he has broken into. I will not continue to sleep while he steals that which belongs to Me.  I will arise in great abandonment and fury and destroy the thief.  Then I will take what is in his bag and put it back where I have placed it.

So in the days ahead be vigilant. Do not be slack or slothful. Be alert. Be ready to receive what I have stored up for the armor bearers who have gone out before Me.  You are My armor bearer.  I will fight and have already begun to fight for that which belongs to Me.  These crazy shepherds believe the sheep belong to them to do with them what they desire.

Stand firm in your convictions. Do not be swayed and in right time you will come and possess your possession.  It is at the door.  Open the door.

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A good leader will be able to influence people to set their energy and resources to achieve a specified objective.  And, accomplishing the objective must be done within the moral and social framework of the society in which the leader and his followers live and function.

So, there are good leaders and bad leaders.  A Pastor is a leader.  There are good Pastors and bad Pastors.  A good Pastor is one who is sensitive to the leading and inner voice of the Holy Spirit.  The Pastor who follows the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit will never see failure, that is, not in the sense of reaching and accomplishing the overall objective.  This is not to say that there won’t be trials and tests along the way.  For we know, every leader will be tested.

A good leader must be able to influence others.  A good leader cannot be shy or timid.  And, a good leader must be a person of vision and be able to effectively communicate that vision to others.  To be a Christian leader means that you must be a person of faith.  You must have faith in God and believe that He will lead you and guide you to success and give you the ability to overcome the tests and challenges along the way.  You must be a man or women of faith.  If you cannot have faith for yourself, then, how can you teach faith to others?

A Christian leader must be bold and fearless.  A true Christian leader will stand in the face of adversity and trust in the Lord to deliver him out of any situation.  No matter what the problem is, no matter how daunting the task, no matter how difficult the circumstances, a good Christian leader will have that quiet inner confidence of knowing that God is with him and that God wants him to succeed. 

A Pastor must be humble in the sense that he recognizes God as his source, however; at the same time, leadership does not mean the Pastor is to exhibit some type of false or pseudo-humility.  And, this is what we are seeing more and more of in today’s pulpit.  That is, Pastors who exhibit a sort of vague desire to lead people, and may even think they are good at being a leader, but they cannot project true leadership. 

Some Pastors have taken it upon themselves to fulfill the role of the “anti-leader”.  That is, these Pastors, at some point in their life, believe that they were called by God to be leaders of men, but, when it comes to truly exercising leadership, they perseverate.  They perseverate because they have adopted a false, pseudo-humility about themselves.  They have developed the hubris of imagining that they have a “need to be humble” because of the greatness of their position and responsibility.  But, when it comes to exercising true leadership and offering true spiritual guidance and insight, they simply are not providing leadership to the people.  These Pastors want to be recognized as being great leaders, but in reality they are not leading.

The truth is, these Pastors are men-pleasers.  They seek the accolades and praise of men, rather than God.  To the untrained ear, these men come across as being able to lead and make decisions in the most difficult and trying of times and circumstances, but a closer examination shows that they are not leading people at all.  Rather, these pseudo-leaders are simply “empty suits” who say nothing.  They are “straw men” who blow here and there with every fad and trend coming “down the pike”.  These men want to be seen and known as having keen insight and knowledge, but, yet when it comes time to exhibit character and leadership, they are bankrupt.  A closer examination of their lives will reveal that on the more difficult issues, they don’t make decisions.  They abdicate their decision making responsibility to others, or, even worse, through their agonizing and tortuous indecisiveness, they really don’t come to a conclusion about anything.  It leaves you with the impression that these men feel they have accomplished their duty and fulfilled their responsibility by simply drawing attention to the problem, without making a decision to do anything about the problem.  In other words, “we all know the ship is taking on water, but, let’s all now just remain calm and drown gracefully”.

What the church lacks in this hour is a clear sound coming from the pulpit.  Where are the preachers who will sound the trumpet of the Lord? Where are the preachers who are not afraid of the media?  Where are the preachers who are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Where are the preachers who even have the guts to speak that name anymore – “Jesus”?  Where are the preachers who are willing to give everything for the cause of Christ?  Where are the preachers who will preach the truth of the Word of God, even as the world heaps ridicule upon them?  Where are the men who will say “I will be a fool for Christ’s sake”?

There is a type and style of leadership that has evolved in the church that has down-played the characteristics of leadership to the point that what we are seeing now is an actual model of “anti-leadership”.  Any hint of strength of character is quickly subdued and apologized for, as if it is somehow “offensive” to others.  Any hint of being strong and bold is quickly emasculated by an effeminate culture of pseudo-conformity.  It is kind of like doing away with the grading system in school.  After all, isn’t everyone the same?  Should anyone be allowed to stand out and show the gift of being able to exhibit strength of character and leadership qualities?  Or, are we all just simply products of a chance occurrence in the universe who are now collectively groping and morphing along in our evolutionary process?  And, as we grope along in our aimless existence, let’s be absolutely sure that no one exhibits any leadership traits or characteristics that would distinguish them from others.  It would be “wrong”.

What the church desperately needs in this hour are men and women who know that they have been called by God to be leaders.  A true man or woman of God will not apologize for the call of God on his or her life.  A true Christian leader will not perseverate or fawn when it comes time to exhibit the anointing of the Holy Spirit.   Consider Moses at the Red Sea, David standing before Goliath, Deborah riding out to battle with Barak, Esther standing in the court of King Ahasuerus, Elijah standing before the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel, and Peter on the day of Pentecost.  These leaders did not dink around or game-play when it came their time to be used by God.  They boldly took their position in the role of leadership and did not apologize for being used by God.  And, I might add, afterwards, these same men and women fully received the recognition of the people as being their leader.  The men and women of the Bible are to be our examples today.  We can learn from them, imitate them, and be led by the same Holy Spirit as they were. 

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