Author Archives: Jim Wright

A Virginia Morning

August 4, 2013 By in Faith 3 Comments

It’s a beautiful Virginia morning and I’m watching, coffee in hand, creation stir in Marianne’s garden and on into the yard and woods as the sun rises…

“Morning Has Broken”

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dew fall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day

~ Traditional Hymn

Christ is All

August 1, 2013 By in Creation, Culture, Great Commission, Kingdom of God, Society, Sovereignty 1 Comment

I came across this quote from professor Karen Swallow Prior:

“Christ belongs in places outside of my heart, too – indeed, in all places.”

god_loves_the_world

Christ is all, because He’s Lord of all.

 
Yes, indeed –

Over every square inch of creation…

Over all nations, societies and culture…

Over all spheres of human endeavor…

Christ now boldly proclaims “mine!”

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Come to the Waters

July 22, 2013 By in Fellowship, Redemption, Water Baptism 4 Comments

Just some of many who gathered Saturday to celebrate new life!

On Saturday, over sixty people gathered for a mass baptism at our house, involving various fellowships and ministries relating together here in Virginia.

After we buried lots of old natures, and lifted lots of new believers up into that same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead, we enjoyed a cookout and just hangin’ with each other.

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Celebrating

July 21, 2013 By in Love, Redemption Leave a comment

Oscar and Nicole

 
This is the one year anniversary of a wedding I performed for Oscar and Nicole.

Marianne and I hosted the wedding in our home, and they are part of the fellowship that meets there.

I was very sick at the time, and had to have a stool beside me just in case I felt weak and needed to perform the ceremony sitting down. But I made it through on my own two feet and it was a great time of celebration!

This was a highlight of ministry for me. Oscar and Nicole mean a lot to Marianne and me, and are evidence of how God delights in redeeming lives.

Here’s more of the story…

Another Great Wedding

~ Jim

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Pendulums and Plumblines

July 20, 2013 By in Authority, Catholicism, Existentialism, Organic Church, Truth 8 Comments

the_pendulumThe Christian Pundit published an interesting article, Young Evangelicals Are Getting High.

It claims that the trend among young people now is towards “high church”, including Catholicism and Anglicanism, where they can find “a holy Father who demands reverence, a Saviour who requires careful worship, and a Spirit who must be obeyed. They are looking for true, deep, intellectually robust spirituality…”

This a clear reaction against the recent fad of Christian existentialism – in all its many forms.

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Intentional Discipleship and Sound Doctrine

July 11, 2013 By in Discipleship, Elder, Fellowship, Leadership, Teacher 6 Comments

Among the fellowships relating together here in Virginia, we’re seeing a deep hunger for mature discipleship, in-depth training and sound doctrine.many_pieces

That hunger was reinforced earlier this year, when Miguel Labrador visited several of those fellowships. Miguel, with his wife Claudia, has been a catalyst for the rapid spread of the gospel in Ecuador – where they’ve helped birth many generations of new believers and fellowships over a relatively short time.

Like us, they have a “go and sow” approach – where we go and sow the gospel in existing communities, thus allowing local fellowships, believers and leadership to emerge indigenously within those communities.

This stands in stark contrast to the more common “come and gather” approach, which urges people to organize around a single church with its central building, programs and pastor.

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Integrity

July 9, 2013 By in Prophetic, Repentance 1 Comment

It’s great to write books and blogs promoting the role of women in the church, finding “ekklesia”, and all sorts of other local church issues.

masksBut the rubber meets the road when it comes to those with a history of using the church to sexually prey upon and exploit others.

It is hypocrisy to then defend and promote them, to discount the properly issued warnings of their own local church (see 1 Tim. 5:19-21), to ignore the evidence you personally have seen, and to stand quiet as they continue a campaign of cover up through threats and intimidation against anyone who dares bear witness against them.

When it really matters, do you put your values – and the things you write – over personal friendships and your network of mutual promotion?

It’s time to walk in integrity once again…

God wants leaders who’s public persona, words and values match their private lives.

~ Jim

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Finding Freedom in a Prison Cell

July 5, 2013 By in Faith, Jail, Redemption 1 Comment

Finding Freedom in a Prison Cell, by Marty Friedman

This is a wonderful story of redemption. Marty Friedman came to the Lord in jail, and for two years was part of a fellowship we helped start in the housing unit where he lived. He became a leader in that fellowship, where he profoundly impacted many, many lives. Now that he’s out, I am privileged to call him my friend.

BTW, I’m not sure about that reference to me as his “Sunday pastor”.

Marty, we gotta talk about that… 🙂

True Church

June 26, 2013 By in Community, Faith, Fellowship, Great Commission 12 Comments

Do we minister “to” the poor, despised, destitute and abandoned…

Or do we open our lives to each other, in mutual ministry one to another?

circleDo we have programs “for” the poor, despised, destitute and abandoned…

Or do we open our tables to each other, in mutual fellowship one with another?

Do we “go” to the poor, despised, destitute and abandoned…

Or do we hang with each other, in mutual friendship one for another?

Do we “fix” the poor, despised, destitute and abandoned…

Or do we need each other, in mutual humility one with another?

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Resurrection Power and Water Baptism

June 17, 2013 By in Faith, Great Commission, Jail, Water Baptism 12 Comments
water_baptism

The Resurrection Power of New Life

This weekend, I met with one of several fellowships in our county that’s primarily comprised of men who surrendered to Jesus while in jail.

They are now out, and meeting weekly in different gatherings as they encourage, support and move forward together in the Lord.

Because they came to the Lord in jail, many of these men did not have an opportunity to be water baptized quickly after conversion. Some ended up serving the Lord – and the State of Virginia! – in jail for several years after becoming believers, and were only recently released.

As a result, they now want – and need – to be water baptized.

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Glasses

June 10, 2013 By in Church, Fellowship, Gifts 8 Comments

In this journey of faith and fellowship, I keep coming across books and blogs by authors who decry this or that perspective in the Body of Christ, while then arguing that we must see things through the glasses of their own unique perspective – often under very enticing rhetoric.

diversity-clipartIn essence, their books and blogs express unrealistic aspirations – as they promote some theoretical concept of church and community that looks, thinks and acts just like them.

If truth be told, we’re all guilty – to some extent – of trying to do the same thing.

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Two Recent Blogs Worth Reading

June 5, 2013 By in Frank Viola, Grace Movement, Prosperity Gospel, Sex Abuse Leave a comment

I’m recovering from a heart operation, so I’m taking it slow right now.

In the meantime, here are two blogs with timely insight on two very different but important issues – but both with broader implications:

Depreciating Humanity: The Importance of Being Best at Being Right, by Thad Norvell

Despite multiple witnesses who’ve confirm a history of sex abuse and exploitation within Sovereign Grace Ministries under C.J. Mahaney, several of his friends and national leaders came out supporting him.

By way of disclosure, Nathan’s Voice (a ministry of our fellowships) – and Marianne and I – know and have been involved in helping some of the victims of leadership abuse at SGM, so we’ve seen the carnage up close and personal.

In his blog about the SGM scandal, Norvell says:

I fear those public statements [of support for C.J. Mahaney] reflect the private thoughts of men who, whether by will or ignorance, are clustering around the spoils of the proud when their calling is to be of a lowly spirit with the poor and oppressed. Even if Mahaney is a victim of some false accusations, his rush back to the platform and the efforts of his friends to protect his place at the head table ought to prompt some deep, Gospel-driven questions about how insulated some of these men seem to be from the thousands of sincere, Gospel-loving followers of Jesus they lead, formally and informally.

As our own fellowships have confronted the history of sex abuse by Frank Viola in the organic church community, and watched the desperate efforts by those who are “clustering around the spoils of the proud” by defending him to protect their “movement” and their own status, we see the same thing happening.

I wept as I read Norvell’s blog. Change the names, but the story’s the same. I’ve seen it time and time again.

When will we ever learn?

It’s sad. Very, very sad…

Why do Word of Faith Christians Become Jaded?, by Eric Hyde

“After years of involvement with [Word of Faith] thinking this is often what the believer is left with – a unidirectional love affair with God where God does all the active-loving (i.e. ‘works’) and the believer does all the receiving. The trouble, of course, is this simply doesn’t work (and, it’s incredibly boring). God is not in the unidirectional love business.”

Ditto, it seems to me, with the faddish hyper-grace movement.

~ Jim

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Breaking Out

June 1, 2013 By in Creation, Culture, Fellowship, Great Commission, Kingdom of God 9 Comments

What is the church and it’s purpose, what is God’s grand design, and what is our calling in Christ?

Talking about those questions often is muddled by all the either/or, false dichotomies touted by various voices in the Body of Christ who want:

  • the Living Word without the authority of His written Word
  • grace without transformation
  • relationship without discipleship
  • fellowship without accountability
  • favor without sacrifice

It often seems that these either/or false dichotomies are rooted in the prevailing existential, post-modern perspective of this age – which heavily influences many Christians and seems to stunt us from growing up and reaching out.

This produces a very self-content, “I’m OK, you’re OK” mentality that seldom breaks out of its insular cocoons.

With them, Jesus seems little more than a friend with benefits.

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Elitist Racism

May 30, 2013 By in Existentialism, Frank Viola, Organic Church, Sex Abuse 25 Comments

Elitism and racism in the Body of Christ are very ugly things. Lately, they’ve reared their ugly heads in some very nasty ways that hit close to home.

Over the last several months, we’ve been promoting Crossroad Junction through some very limited, non-targeted ads by Facebook on Facebook.

stop_racismDuring the same period, we also have received a high percentage of new followers from the Philippines and other overseas places. Whether it’s due to those ads or not, we don’t know.

Regardless, this heightened overseas interest is not due to any directed or targeted effort on our part, and Marianne and I are thrilled to connect with other believers from across the globe.

Now, however, our increasing readership is provoking a very elitist and racist series of attacks – directed against us, our fellowships, and our new Filipino followers.

Some of our Filipino brothers and sisters have seen those attacks, and have been deeply offended.

In the face of those attacks, I want welcome to you to our blog – and offer my apologies for the ugly efforts by some of my countrymen to discredit you by questioning your motives and capacity to follow the somewhat intellectual and substantive articles found here.

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Real Grace

May 29, 2013 By in Confession, Forgiveness, Grace, Grace Movement, Repentance, Sin 6 Comments

Facebook seems to be a hot bed for the new distorted view of “grace”.

taking-up-your-crossThe other day someone posted that through grace, God finds our sin acceptable. He thus no longer “deals” with sin in our lives – and we are free of sin – because it no long exists.

According to their “logic”, sin ceases to an issue in our lives because it ceases to be considered sin by God.

That neat theological sleight of hand was followed by lots of “likes” and “amens”.

To deny the reality of sin and its bondage – and to say God doesn’t deal with sin in our lives or that we are free of sin – is an abuse of grace.

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Bart Breen and Frank Viola – Lies, Sex Abuse and Cover Up

May 26, 2013 By in Frank Viola, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse, Truth 18 Comments

Last updated 1/10/2015

Lately, some guy named Bart Breen has been attacking, with increasingly shrill and outlandish behavior, anyone who dares expose the history of sexual abuse and cover-up in a cult he’s involved with.

Bart Breen

Bart Breen: Stalker

That cult centers around author and so-called “apostolic worker” Frank Viola, who has used his position and influence to sexually prey upon and exploit teenagers and other young women.

Rather than protect folks from Frank Viola’s misconduct, Mr. Breen and their network of self-appointed “apostles” at House2House Ministries (including Felicity Dale, Jon Zens, Milt Rodriquez, Keith Giles and Ken Eastburn) have engaged in an ongoing campaign of intimidation and cover up.
Bogus Press Releases and Stalking My Wife

In all my years helping church abuse victims as an attorney (now retired) and as a local church elder, I have never seen anything as nasty or as vicious as the cultish efforts by House2House – and its mutual promotion network of self-appointed “apostles” – to attack and personally destroy anyone who dares reference their history of abuse and cover up.

It is ongoing and gotten so bad that Bart Breen, a frequent House2House Magazine co-contributor who is associated with a struggling Frank Viola affiliated “church” near us, has been stalking my wife while also putting out false blogs and press releases in a desperate attempt to silence me.

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Discombobulating Fellowship

May 25, 2013 By in Community, Fellowship, Institutional Church, Organic Church 6 Comments

Lately, I’ve been hearing more and more from folks who are frustrated because they are wanting, but not finding, participatory fellowship rooted in ongoing community.

Discombobulated

Discombobulated

In our area, we’ve been seen such fellowships emerge over the last several years. Many of my blogs arise from what God is doing among us.

Those fellowships typically involve anywhere from eight to as many as twenty-five people intentionally meeting at least weekly to encourage and minister to one another.

More importantly, folks in those fellowships are relating together and supporting each other throughout the week.

Such fellowships don’t look anything like traditional “church” or even appear on traditional organizational radar screens – often because they are informal (even though intentional) and functioning within communities on the fringes of society.

Rather than come together for directed meetings or spectator “services”, we are learning to allow Christ in us to be expressed among us and through us – both in our gatherings and in existing communities.

Lately, though, things have become somewhat comical as we watch others try to figure us out.

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Spectator Church

May 23, 2013 By in Fellowship, Institutional Church, Organic Church 2 Comments

church-service

“Years of sitting in traditional church has not prepared us to do church in the manner described in the New Testament. We have been taught to come, to sit, to watch, and to listen to what others have prepared. This is Spectator Church.

By contrast, the church described in the Bible invites us to engage in a kind of Participatory Church, where everybody talks, laughs, eats, worships, in an atmosphere where all learn, all minister, and all grow.

These groups are not cell groups, or even just Home Groups. They are real churches, complete and autonomous.”

~ Graham Cooke and Gary Goodell, Permission Granted to Do Church Differently in the 21st Century

The Prophets?

May 20, 2013 By in Courage, Faith, Prophetic 7 Comments

German martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Where the world seeks gain, Christians will renounce it; where it exploits, they will let go; where it oppresses, they will stoop down and lift up the oppressed. Where the world denies justice, Christians will practice compassion; where it hides behind lies, they will speak out for those who cannot speak, and testify for the truth.

Do we really want virtue, justice and truth – especially when they challenge the status quo of our settled lives, churches and ministries?

Do we really value virtue, justice and truth – even if they challenge any self-affirming relationships with Jesus and each other?

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:5-6)

May God send prophets among us yet again.

~ Jim

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