Part 5
7 ) C B > * $ ; . ( 8 $ ( ) C B > * ! + * " !! ! ! 8 $ C B > $ * * * % * * * " * + ! ! 4 * * . 8 * ( ( ) C B > 8 * " * * * + " " * % * + !! ! . ( 5 ( C B > !$ * + * $ * * $ " * * " !+ + + $ * ( B < #< C B > + ! ; % $ + * + ./< 0 + $ * ?* * . From the above references we see that the human heart is purified by love that obeys the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:22) and fixes its hope on becoming like Jesus (1 John 3:2,3) as this renewal takes place the person assists the process by fleeing youthful lusts, all that defiles the conscience and all insincerity (1 Timothy 1:5, 2:22) so they are purified in order to love the brethren with a deep and sincere love. (1 Timothy 1:5). Finally all things will become pure for us (Titus 1:5) and we shall see Him as He is ((1 John 3:2).
So we see that purity of heart involves two main aspects. Firstly we hope in God and obey the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit. This establishes the connection with God so He can work in us and renew us. It also activates the law of likeness – that we become like that which we love and adore and respect and obey and this also purifies us. Secondly we do things to purify ourselves. We flee youthful lusts, we avoid the love of money, we avoid insincerity and flattery and we take hold of that which is wrong inside us. We need both aspects. Without the love and adoration all the human techniques will be just futile legalism. Yet without the human techniques the purity we receive through prayer will be constantly sullied, by the mess we leave inside us, or get ourselves into.
Jesus pursued love and was pure, not the other way around. Love purifies us, but purity may not make us loving. So for Jesus His agenda and driving motive was the glory of the Father and compassion for the lost and this burning love of all that was righteous and good and holy ensured that He was pure. For Jesus love was the priority and purity sort of tagged along as a quality of that burning love. Unfortunately many Christians have turned this around and the pursuit of purity as an end in itself has made them legalistic and selfish. The pursuit of purity can turn us into Pharisees or into highly introspective Christians who always worry about this or that thought or sin. Love is the cure for legalism. Purity is at its best when it is a quality of love. The verses above tell us that we are to love one another from a pure heart. The love is first and foremost, the quality of this love is then described as "pure". As we love God and one another in biblical obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit we are purified and as we are purified our love then improves. So then, lets roll up our sleeves and start tackling the bird's nest. Firstly - Why Should We Change Our Beliefs? Why bother? Why not just put up with the internal bird's nest and believe what we like? What's wrong with believing a mixture of a bit of Hinduism, a bit of Buddhism and handful of bible verses? Don't I have the freedom to make a mess of my beliefs if I like? True. You have perfect freedom to be as dysfunctional in your private beliefs as you like. You can choose to be unhappy, unstable and unfulfilled. No-one will throw you into jail if you chose to believe nonsense. Unfortunately God is not as easy-going as society or the government on this issue. God is extremely interested in what we believe and in the thoughts and intentions of our heart. They are not private matters to Him. They are matters of eternal importance that can decide your eternal destiny and your reward in heaven, as well as your degree of happiness in this life. Here are six reasons why you should work on your inner, personal beliefs: 1. God cares about your beliefs and weighs them up. He judges the thoughts and intentions of your heart. (Romans 2:15,16; Jeremiah 11:20; Hebrews 4:12). 2. Jesus expects us to be increasing in our faith and in fact is quite demanding about it! The expectations He had of his disciples included being calm in storms (Matthew 8:26), walking on water (Matthew 14:31), believing in miraculous provision (Matthew 6:30), being able to understand parables (Matthew 16:8), and being able to cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead (Matthew 10:8). When they failed to do any of the above they were rebuked (Matthew 17:20). The phrase "O ye of little faith" (see the references in Matthew above) shows that the disciples were expected to learn to believe Jesus with ever-increasing faith. Jesus does not call us to have a static level of faith. Rather we are called to develop a growing "mountain-moving faith" that starts from small "mustard-seed" beginnings. (Matthew 17:20). 3. Theology interpenetrates reality. Every belief is theological. Carl Jung used to say that every human problem after the age of 35 was spiritual in nature. In a similar vein even the small voices, the dark mutterings of the human heart and the wretched small-minded beliefs that people have are a form of rebellion against God and a dwelling in darkness. For instance to
believe in your heart that the world stinks is to malign the Creator. To vow that you will always play it safe and that you will never love again is to retreat into darkness and flee the love of God that He puts into people to reach you. Thus all your beliefs have a theological component and need to brought into the light of the Word of God. 4. How we believe determines what we receive. "According to your faith be it unto you". (Matthew 9:29, 15:28). Conversely having an unstable, worldly or double-minded faith means we will receive nothing from God (James 1:5-8, 4:1-8). Faith can bring healing (Matthew 9:22, James 5:15-18) is a prerequisite for receiving wisdom from God (James 1:58), for daily provision and reduction of anxiety (Matthew 6:30-34) and makes all things possible (Mark 9:23). 5. Creedal faith is insufficient. Even the demons have correct theology in the sense that they believe that God is one - and tremble (James 2:19). Thus merely creedal belief is insufficient for salvation. Belief must be authentic, loyal to God, of the heart and worked out in real life. (James chapter 2). The great men and women of God all had extraordinary personal belief systems that set them apart from their generation. (Hebrews 11) @ . Letting unbiblical and dysfunctional beliefs linger can cause them to become stronger, more dysfunctional and more painful. Working on them now may take work, but leaving them will make it much worse later on. 5 + ' < C B > C $ * "!* " * . The Difference Every church has miserable grumpy Christians alongside radiant faith-abounding Christians. Well what's the difference between the two groups? Both miserable and faith-abounding Christians have heard exactly the same sermons and been to exactly the same bible studies and mixed with exactly the same people in exactly the same neighborhood church and can tick exactly the same boxes theologically. But only the faith-abounding Christians have taken the time and effort to make sure their inner personal beliefs line up with God's Word. Grumpy cynical Christians have decided not to really believe. They would much prefer to complain. Faith-abounding Christians have decided that with God's help they will interpret reality properly and have paid attention to their heart. They have decided that they will "truly believe" and have put effort into their faith. Now they reap joy and have much more successful Christian lives. An Illustration of Changing Beliefs From The Secular World Even the secular world has discovered the benefits of working on your belief system. The Dale Carnegie / Zig Ziglar "positive-thinking" movement with its affirmations and personal motivation demonstrated the power of working on personal beliefs. It turned lousy salesmen into better salesmen. It turned unhappy, unenthusiastic people into happy enthusiastic people. It caught a fragment of the Truth (taken incidentally from the founders' familiarity with the Bible) and applied it successfully to daily life. Why were salesmen so keen to systematically adopt a new belief system? What motivated them to try? Why wasn't it left in the "too hard basket?" 1. They met other people who seemed successful and who said positive thinking was the key to success. 2. These other people demonstrated an alive and enthusiastic personality they wanted to possess. 3. They compared their personality and results with that of the positive thinkers and decided to change. 4. Positive thinking made intuitive sense and the short sayings had a "ring of truth" to them. 5. The system was skillfully presented. 6. The system was simple and easy to apply. 7. Initial success was swift and this reinforced the effort required to change their beliefs. If salesmen can diligently work on their belief system in order to sell insurance then surely we can work on our belief system in order to grow in the Kingdom and become mature in Christ?
Our target is not just being happy, positive and motivated, though that's not a bad place to start if you are unhappy, negative and apathetic. Our goal is to have a sanctified and transformational set of beliefs that give us the emotions that make us whole Christians and empower service in the Kingdom. Praxis - A Weird Word For A Great Way Of Changing Yourself I don't know what your wrong beliefs are so I cannot write a book that says "if you believe X, then you are better off changing and believing Y". That would be long, unwieldy and overprescriptive. Instead of individual answers I need to give you some sort of a system that you can put into action each day to steadily create more functional beliefs. This method needs to be fairly simple so it can be applied to a wide variety of situations. That method is called praxis (think of practical) and praxis is a cycle of action and reflection. Its like the experimental method applied to real life. With the disciples we see them having some tough experience such as failing at healing then asking Jesus a question like "why could we not cast it out.." and then learning from the combination of action and reflection. Many of us faced the same task as new converts when we first started sharing the gospel. Our first attempt might have been something fairly tactless and naïve like "Dad if you don't believe in Jesus you will wind up in Hell." The resultant reaction may have caused us to consider wiser ways of sharing Jesus with those we love! Then we shared the gospel much better next time around. Lets look how praxis can help us to change our belief structure and consequent emotions. Here are the 7 steps: 1. We enter into a situation where we do not function as well as we would like emotionally. 2. We reflect and ask : "What beliefs are underlying these undesirable emotions" 3. We probe further and ask: Are these beliefs true and biblical and in accord with the facts? 4. We construct new better, more factual and more biblical beliefs about that situation. 5. We reinforce those beliefs to ourselves. 6. We then re-enter the situation and test our new beliefs to see if they help us function better. 7. We look at the results scientifically and objectively and decide whether to keep the new beliefs, modify the new beliefs or to stick with the old beliefs. Dysfunctional Situation: You cannot pray aloud in a prayer meeting. You just sit there in silence terrified to speak. What Beliefs Are Underlying These Undesirable Emotions? : The beliefs might be "I am unworthy to pray" Or "I don't have anything important to say" Or "They will just think I am stupid." Are These Beliefs True And Biblical And In Accord With The Facts?: No they are not. I am unworthy to pray: In Christ you are worthy. You are worthy to stand before God. There is no condemnation before Him. You have open access to the Father. You have just as much right to pray as a pastor or missionary. I don't have anything important to say: Every prayer is important to God and the prayer points that have been shared are surely important. You can pray for them. They will just think I am stupid: Who cares? God does not think you are stupid. Besides if the people are men and women of God then your lack of fluency will not bother them one bit. Construct New Better, More Factual And More Biblical Beliefs About That Situation: "I am fully worthy to pray, I have important things to say and my lack of fluency in prayer is no issue with God and should be no issue for others either. I will not fear man's opinion. I will be a bold and powerful Christian who can pray for world mission."
Reinforce This New Belief To Yourself: Drill the new constructive belief into you. For instance - say it aloud ten times, or write it neatly on a card and place it in your bible where you can see it each day until the next prayer meeting. Re-Enter The Situation And Test Our New Beliefs: Go to the prayer meeting and pray aloud even a short prayer. How does it feel? Did a new confidence emerge? Did you suddenly find new friends? Did someone come up afterwards and say "Glad to hear you pray.." . Perhaps there is still some nerves but you feel you made a major step forward. Look At The Results Scientifically And Objectively: Rate things out of 10. "OK that was 7.5 out of ten, my new beliefs are much more functional but I am still a bit nervous. I'll keep the card in the Bible another month and give it another try." Perhaps you have noticed that you have also become more confident in meetings at work as well. As we change beliefs in one area it may benefit other areas of our life as well. This seven step process is very similar to how we unconsciously revise our beliefs from day to day. As life situations confirm or disconfirm our beliefs we continually learn and adjust and retest the beliefs. However in "real life" we do it unconsciously, partially and are subject to denial and distortion in the process. By making our formation of beliefs conscious, objective, logical, factual and Scriptural we are more likely to come up with beliefs that work in healthy and constructive ways. Lets try this process again in another situation - that of finances. Dysfunctional Situation: Bill feels a call to Bible College but is afraid of the fees and of the loss of income. What Beliefs Are Underlying These Undesirable Emotions? : The beliefs Bill finds in the "thoughts and intentions of his heart" are a whole mixture including :
"I must always have a good amount of money in the bank." "Its foolish to just trust God when you cannot see how to pay the bills" "I need to be independent" "I would feel ashamed to take money from others and have supporters pay my fees" and "I'll never get the money back again that I lose in wages and in school fees". Are These Beliefs True And Biblical And In Accord With The Facts?: Bill has a read through the gospels and the Sermon On The Mount in particular and writes down the following conclusions: "Having a good amount of money in the bank is desirable and good but having the word of God in my life is even more important. What I will gain from bible college is worth more than money in the bank." "Its not foolish to trust God financially, Jesus, Paul, the apostles and many great Christian leaders have done this. I will walk by faith not by sight. God promises to supply my needs if I seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness." "I might feel I need to be independent but that is just pride talking. The Scriptures say I should be dependent on God and inter-dependent with others, giving and receiving in community - particularly with believers." "Its not shameful to receive from others providing you do not use or manipulate them. If they wish to give, that is God's work in their hearts. Both Jesus and Paul accepted support from others so its OK for me to do so." "I might never get the money back again but it is like losing earthly treasure to gain heavenly treasure. Besides God is no man's debtor." Reinforce This New Belief To Yourself: Bill goes to his trusted prayer partner Sam with his thoughts and his responses to them written out. Sam reads them through and talks them over with Bill and says "You have come to some pretty amazing and biblical conclusions here Bill, I wish I could think like that, its spot on. You are right, God can provide for your needs." Together they pray that Bill will have the courage to apply to the Bible College and that his financial needs will
be met. Bill asks Sam to keep him accountable and to check back with him next week to see that he has actually sent the forms in. Re-Enter The Situation And Test Our New Beliefs: Bill goes back home picks up the forms and fills them in. He hesitates a few days but eventually posts them off to the college. He feels a sense of relief and gladness that he has had the courage to obey. Look At The Results Scientifically And Objectively: Pretty good , at least 9 out of 10. Bill no longer feels paralyzed by his beliefs about money. His obedience is no longer limited by his bank account. He has broken through and begun putting into action into a new set of beliefs about provision and finances. He still has a bit of hesitancy and nerves but feels a new world opening up before him. Serving God will be good! So we see that the praxis method can help us to adjust our real life operational beliefs until they line up with Scripture, logic and the will of God. It may seem a little long-winded at first but once you become conscious of your belief system and aware of your weak areas then you will find correcting one area opens up others, and soon the new good beliefs reinforce one another, and then you feel much stronger inside. This active cooperation with the renewing work of the Holy Spirit can be of great assistance to your practical sanctification. Faith and Works, Beliefs and Action Incorrect beliefs can give rise to strong negative emotions such as fear, doubt and hesitancy. These emotions can hinder or even paralyze our ability to obey God. Faith and obedience seem to be connected to some extent via the emotions. Remember what we said earlier – God connects to us through faith, which works through love, which applies specific and focused wisdom and knowledge to do good works. The good works need the motivating power of the master emotion called love. The word emotion comes from the same Latin root as motive, motor etc. It means to "move toward". Emotions are feelings that move us to action or in some cases block us from action. When the thoughts and intentions of our heart are not aligned correctly, our emotions will not help us obey God, and may even hinder our service for Him. As we correct these beliefs, then our emotions will tend to follow suit and we will be more able to enact the commands of Scripture and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This of course has strong theological implications in the faith-works debate. My position is that faith that is of the heart, and continued over time, will result in works consistent with that faith. If a person claims to believe something, but never acts in accordance with that belief it can be assumed that that belief is either held very weakly or is, as James says, "dead" (James 2;20,26). For instance someone may say "I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting". That is good. Such a person should then do works consistent with a belief in an after-life and a reward in heaven. For instance they should be able to sacrifice material reward in order to gain spiritual reward. Or they should do good deeds that no-one notices believing they will be rewarded in heaven. But if they live entirely materialistically then they are denying their professed faith. If we were to look at the true "thoughts and intentions of the heart" of a materialistic person their real beliefs would probably have very little to do with eternal life. Their belief in the resurrection is simply held for the sake of doctrinal conformity or intellectual conviction and has little power in the person's life. It is in effect a very sick or "dead" belief. Works are a guide to us as to whether or not our faith is truly alive, saving, living and productive. Our works indicate to the world which beliefs we hold that are strong enough for us to live by and act on. Works are a reliable guide to what we truly believe in our heart. In a sense our works are our true doctrine. Our works are the outworking of those beliefs, which we are prepared to act on, live by and stand for in daily life. Paul is very definite that we are not saved by works of the law.
But he is also very definite that faith working through love (Galatians 5:6) should result in good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10). Faith works, faith does things, faith expends energy to do good. Jesus' beliefs resulted in action (Acts 10:38) based on compassion (Matthew 9:36-38, 14:14) On various occasions compassion "moved" Jesus to act in prayer, healing, cleansing and teaching. Thus faith springs into action via love and compassion. Faith that refuses to spring into action through love is lazy, sick or dead. Moving From Paralysis To Power The connection between what we believe and how we put it into action is through our inner motive power - our emotions. Our emotions can paralyze our ability to be obedient. When this happens we need to do what Bill did and examine the thoughts and intents of our heart to see if there are some that are contrary to what we are trying to do. As we correct the beliefs in our heart we will find new liberty to obey God and a freedom from anxiety and inner conflicts. To do this you will have to give up the belief that you are a being of perfect consistency, that all the thoughts and intentions of your heart are consistent with each other. As an example of conflicting beliefs take someone who vowed early in life "I will never be poor". Later in life this person feels a strong call to be a faith missionary. It can be predicted that the old vow and the new resolution will be in conflict and that he or she may experience some reluctance, confusion and hesitancy. This attack of hesitancy may be first attributed to a lack of faith or commitment. However if the early vow is remembered and renounced then the conflict will be resolved. It was not so much a lack of faith, as a hindered faith. How The Mind Works To understand the power of these conflicting thoughts, intentions vows and desires you have to understand a bit about how the mind handles its data and in particular how it handles time. The mind has no actual awareness of clock time such as hours, days, months and years. The mind uses event time where actual events are the indicator of when things should happen. For instance "At two o'clock I will have a sleep" is clock time while "After lunch I will have a sleep" is event time. The event is the "clock". The mind uses event times such as "when I am grown up I will", "After I am married I shall…" "Until I leave home I will have to" etc. Events and instructions continue in the mind until the event time is reached for them to terminate. Where there is no termination date included in the instruction it continues indefinitely. Take a student who has often told herself "I've got to study hard all the time" and who has now internalized this instruction. What's wrong? There is no time given for this instruction to switch off. She has not said "I have got to study hard until the exams then I can relax". Instead she has said "I've got to study hard all the time". Because of the absolute nature of this instruction even on holidays her subconscious will be reminding her that she "has to study". There is no "off" switch, no resolution, and in some cases the study moves from being beneficial to being a compulsion. The over-use of such instructions, without a "switch-off date" can lead to a person feeling very stressed as the programmed subconscious keeps popping up reminders "you must do X now, and Y and Z and P and Q and R…" The same thing happens if the terminating event does not occur, or is not noted. Sometimes the subconscious mind needs to be told that a particular event has taken place in order for some emotion to be properly resolved. For instance someone may need to tell himself or herself "you are no longer a small defenseless child, you have grown up now, you can feel safe." Or more
commonly "You can relax now, you are not at work any more." Telling yourself to switch off is an important instruction. Secondly the mind stores things in binary states" such as "on" or "off", "resolved " or "unresolved", " accomplished" or "still to be completed", "satisfied" or "unsatisfied", "guilty" or "forgiven". It may also store things as "a cause" or "an effect". (Incidentally these binary states are elegantly reflected in the time-free verb tenses of the Hebrew language used in the Old Testament.) Memories, thoughts, intentions, vows and inner promises exist in these binary states. The only way to deal with them is to dispute them or resolve them or somehow move them from one state to the other. Thus an old vow using words such as "I will never" or "I must always" can live as an ever-present subconscious reality all through a person's life unless it is resolved. To illustrate, think of a recurring and embarrassing memory that seems "as vivid as yesterday". When it pops up it has all the intensity of twenty years ago. Time has not healed. Time does not heal. The only way to deal with that memory is to resolve it by switching it off and saying "Hey, that's old history, I've grown beyond that now." One thing some of my clients have found useful is to imagine they are on a boat at sea and dropping their embarrassing memories into the ocean one by one and watching them sink. This resolves them and presses the "off" switch in the subconscious and it moves to the "dealt with" category and it is thus deactivated. Many people have reported that it has brought real release. Thirdly the mind works by rather loose associations. Some of these associations (especially with great pleasure or great pain) are very rough and quick while others, processed at higher levels of the neo-cortex are much more sophisticated. It is not uncommon to experience chains of associations where one thought leads to the next which then leads to something else. This can be quite bizarre in patients with a psychosis. When something "looks like", "feels like" "smells like" or "sounds like" something else then a whole cascade of thoughts, memories and emotional reactions can be produced. The emotion is often transferred from the original to the copy. Someone may react to their boss like their father or to their new spouse like their ex-wife. These associations and the reactions and consequent emotions that follow can produce tragic misunderstandings. "It looks like, therefore it is, therefore I must, because once.." So inner life plans, vows, self-promises and deep desires retain power in the psyche for as long as they are "active". When, later on in life, we try to do God's will and find that we are "sabotaged" from within it may be that some of these inner motivational factors are at work. Take Pablo the programmer, a fine Christian and a very competent computer technician. He failed first year at University due to heavy drinking just prior to his conversion. He came to me for career guidance and when he did the IQ test his score was so high it was "off the chart". I recommended a medical specialty after doing some other tests but Pablo never even attempted to take the advice. His inner vow "I must never fail again, I must always be perfect" was totally in control and I failed to get anywhere at all. It has been twenty years now since he failed at University and still Pablo lives a life of inner safety largely wasting his God-given abilities. Old fears, vows, and promises to self can wreak havoc with our potential. So can "games" and life-scripts. Games and Life-Scripts Games and life-scripts were first identified and popularized by Eric Berne who developed Transactional Analysis in his well-known book "Games That People Play". While I do not entirely subscribe to his analysis and the three ego states, his observations are of real and genuine importance. He has observed people very closely indeed. Games and life-scripts are very complex and involve an often sinister "pay-off" for the person playing them. An example is the game "You and Him Fight" where an attractive woman sets up a situation where she brings two men
into conflict - the pay-off being the sense of power over men, having people fight over her and her own amusement at their behavior. Playwrights and novelists are keen observers of these inner games and scripts that people live by and enact almost unconsciously as if it is their fate or doom to do so. Some tragic life-scripts are indeed from God such as that of Judas who was scripted to be the "Son of Perdition" who would betray Christ. On the other hand John the Baptist had a clear life script as a prophet. Such ultimate life-scripts are rare. More often than not we program ourselves and can un-program ourselves as well. Some people create complex scenarios to avoid taking responsibility for our life and actions. For instance the person who always "tries" but never succeeds, for to become successful would bring responsibility and the fear of blame and failure. This is an interesting area but I need to move on. Sufficient to say that the intents of our heart can be very complex like a play or novel and work out over many years with a few central motivations driving the plot forward relentlessly. The person may be completely unaware of the game or life-script. Complex intentions can successfully dwell below the level of awareness - especially if they are somewhat dishonorable! Thus to move from paralysis to power we need to be able to work with the thoughts and intentions of our heart and to bring them into conformity with God's will. Here are some techniques in addition to the seven steps of praxis that I outlined earlier in this chapter: • Face Up To And Become Aware Of The Intentions Of Your Heart: It can be difficult for some people to admit that they are complex and full of conflicting motivations. To admit to sneaky, dishonest, crafty or manipulative intentions is not easy for Christians. Many people are completely blind to this darker side of their character. Pray and ask God to reveal the thoughts and intentions of your heart to you so that you can bring them into the light and deal with them. • List The Various Conflicting Intentions: This is sometimes all that is needed. For instance a teenager may find that he has two intentions 1. To be on fire for God and a powerful witness for Jesus and 2. To still be popular with the cool, tough, non-Christians he knows. Once he realizes that he is trying to do two things at once and that he is asking the impossible then common sense and Christian maturity will help him choose to suffer a little for the Lord. Simply listing the various intentions of our heart then judging them biblically may be enough to resolve the dilemma. • Confess Them to God: Confess your wrong motives and intentions to God and ask His forgiveness and cleansing. • Make No Provision For Evil Intentions: Do not give yourself the means of carrying out your wrong intentions. Deny them what they need if they are to be implemented. If your wrong intention in your heart is murder - don't buy a gun. If the wrong intention in your heart is adultery - don't rent a hotel room. If the wrong intention is stealing from the church offering, make sure someone is with you when you count the money. This principle is what helped Augustine give up his loose living and become a Christian..
( < ( #( ' 8 " " $ .4 * $ * " ./( < 04 * + $ $ !* " * F * !* $ * $ ?* $ ./( ' 0* * 4 B * , + " * . • Put It On Paper: By externalizing our beliefs and intentions we sometimes can get a handle on them and deal with them. This is often the real benefit of those management exercises such as setting priorities and doing mission statements. On a personal level if you start setting goals and priorities and coming up with a personal mission statement you will
often run into awkward uncomfortable feelings of resistance. When you do get them try and identify them, and write the feelings of resistance beside the goal or priority. Bring the conflict to the surface and into the open. For instance a student may initially draw up a very demanding study schedule and after an initial burst of enthusiasm look at it and feel "trapped"; perhaps think "this is stupid" and perhaps even desire to quit. He should stop and ask: "Why do I think its stupid?" and the answer might be "Because I need a life". Once that need is identified blocks of time for socializing can be scheduled in, along with plenty of time for study. Thus the two intentions "I need to study" and "I need a life" can both be met and conflict avoided. Then progress can be made on the major goal of getting a good degree. So put your thoughts, priorities, goals and intentions on paper paying attention to internal resistance as you do so. Identify and resolve the conflicts that emerge. This way you can end up with goals that meet your needs and all major conflicts satisfied so you can move on in life. • Prioritize and Schedule Good Intentions Using Event Time: Sometimes the paralysis comes from a whole host of good intentions all wanting urgent attention at once. All having their "ON" lights flashing so to speak. . The resulting overload, confusion and stress can be stop us getting much done at all. Use the event time of the subconscious to prioritize them. First I will do A, then, after that's done I'll pay attention to B, then when that's completed to C and D. Jesus gives nearly all His instructions in event time "after you have" "when they" "wait in Jerusalem until" etc. This is the most peaceful and relaxing way to do things. So when you are clogged up mentally with a whole lot of competing good intentions in your heart write them all down on a sheet of paper and then group them first these, then after those then these here etc. Though the tasks are not done yet the issue of their urgency is resolved in terms your sub-conscious mind can understand and you will feel more at peace. Try it! • Revoke Personal Vows: Revoke old vows that are now contrary to the will of God. Your promises to yourself are not as important as Christian obedience. Even do something as formal as writing the old vow on a piece of paper and writing "revoked" across it and then burning the piece of paper. Sometimes you may have to revoke a foolish vow you made to God in which case you should tell Him the reason you are revoking it and ask His forgiveness. It is for good reason that oaths and vows are banned in the New Testament (Matthew 5:33-37, James 5:12). • Change Absolute Language: If you say to yourself "I have always got to.." then its like fixing a mental switch in the "always on" position. You have told your mind that you have always got to do X and it will receive and record that instruction as a permanent injunction, a law of the Medes and Persians. The mind is fairly literal. It will take always to mean always and never to mean never. Words like "always", "never" "have to", "go to", "perfect" and "100%" jam our mental switches in the "on" position. With enough of them we feel stuck, anxious and stressed as we receive multiple simultaneous urgent instructions that we have programmed into ourselves. . It is much better to give yourself an "out" by using language like "generally I should" and reserving the absolute language for situations that are truly absolute. • Avoid Psychosomatic Language: The repeated and emphatic-use of the language and metaphors of illness can sometimes make us ill. For instance men who often tell themselves that their wife is a "pain in the neck" tend to suffer from - you guessed it - a pain in the neck - and people who "can't stand it any more" get knee trouble! This is termed psychosomatic language, somatic metaphors or "conversion" depending on your school of thought and was first noted by Sigmund Freud. Self-talk such as "If that happened I would die.." can become like an internal vow. The promise to die if X happens dwells in the sub-conscious and is then triggered when the dreaded event occurs. The unleashing of the "I would die" vow can then increase the chances of a major psychosomatic illness. Let me say that it is generally only the
repetitive, habitual and emphatic use of such metaphors that makes them a problem. Some self-help books I have read have a quite alarmist and superstitious understanding and use terms such as "cursing ourselves" and even assign supernatural powers to such language. I am not of that panic-stricken view. The terminology needs to be well embedded in the psyche first, only then does it attain any psycho-physiological power. Even then, research findings show, psychosomatic illness is only at its most damaging where there is some physical weakness in that area already. But still predisposing oneself to it by the inappropriate use of language is to be avoided. • Frame Thoughts and Intentions Concretely And Positively: When you rework your thoughts and intentions it helps if they develop into a concrete picture of a positive desirable future. For instance a struggling student should frame the goal "I will pass in Mathematics" rather than "I will not fail in Mathematics". When we see the biblical healing commands they are faith-filled, positive and have the desired end state in view. Jesus did not say to the lepers "Leprosy be rebuked" instead He said "Be clean" and Peter and John did not say to the lame man "Lameness be gone" instead it was "Rise up and walk". We need to be solutionfocused not problem focused. The positive end result is what is to be put before the eyes of our heart. These positive end results in Scripture are also expressed in concrete terms. This seems to work better. "They will beat their swords into ploughshares" has more power in our being than "weapons will be recycled into agricultural implements". I do not know precisely why but when we state our goals and beliefs in concrete, positive, picture terms we seem to lay hold of them much more effectively. • Constantly Review Your "Plausibility Structures": We have limits to what we believe is possible and impossible, probable and improbable, plausible and implausible. The anthropologist Peter Berger calls these our "plausibility structures" and says they vary greatly from culture to culture. I was challenged in this area when I was a missionary to Papua New Guinea. A respectable Christian told me that his brother had turned into a python and slithered out the door never to be seen again. While this was a credible normal explanation to him, it was utterly impossible and implausible to me. My plausibility structure was challenged. While I do not advocate Christian gullibility I do advocate reworking our limits so that they line up with Scriptures view of what is possible and impossible, plausible and implausible. Jesus says nine times in the gospels "nothing is impossible with God" or "all things are possible with God". His life and miracles reflect His commitment to this belief. The limits we place on our life are often really limits we have placed on God through having plausibility structures inherited from the world rather than from the Scriptures. There is so much more that could be written on this but I hope you have grasped the central idea that we need to work on the thoughts and intentions of our heart, becoming aware of what is really going on in there, uprooting the weeds and setting the good plants in proper order. However this is a large task and it is very hard to do it alone – we need others, and in particular we need a Christian community dedicated to the same ends. That is the subject of the next chapter. Discussion Questions
1. Does God want you to work on your belief system? How much do you "really believe"? 2. Would you be confident in a small boat in a storm on the Lake of Galilee? How do you think Jesus managed to totally believe God?
3. Are people always consistent in what they believe? What are the thoughts and intents of the heart? How can they end up in conflict with one another? How can they tangle us up and stop us doing God's will?
4. At the start of this book I said God links to us through faith, which works through love, which employs specific focused wisdom and knowledge, to do good deeds. How does that apply here? How does our beliefs work through love to do good deeds?
5. What is praxis and how can we use it to change our beliefs for the better?
6. How does the mind work? What is event time?
7. Why can vows be emotionally dangerous? Do you think that the intentions of your heart are always "above board"? What can you do to change?
The Learning Organization – Christians In Community Undergoing Radical Transformation Of Their Belief Structure
Mystery Quote: "No-one was ever matured in a theatre."
Lets just pause a moment and think about how the communities we have been part of have shaped our beliefs. Our family formed our first beliefs and our school and social context many of our other beliefs and the church community then added yet more. On top of this networks you have belonged to and groups of friends that you have talked things over with have probably shaped you. Being involved in community placed an enormous amount of what we believe there. Communities have formed both our formal and informal beliefs, our doctrines, our prejudices our hopes and our paranoias. If beliefs are critical to our emotional health and beliefs are formed in community then fairly logically having the right kind of community will be a big help in emotional transformation. A dysfunctional family is an emotionally destructive community that places wrong beliefs and perceptions in people. The early church was a highly functional community that was emotionally transformational, full of joy and a peace-making, gospelproclaiming, and miracle-working place to be. It certainly made sure the right beliefs; perceptions and practices were instilled in people. Thus the transforming power of an authentic loving Spiritfilled Christian community that is rightly grounded in the Scriptures cannot be underestimated. We learn, change and grow best in an adventurous, faith-filled Christian community. That seems a simple enough statement but it is one of those important things that are often neglected. Trying to transform ourselves while neglecting the importance of true community is unfortunately rather common. If we forget about community what are the alternatives? I see only two, a) learning alone by suffering, introspection and "bootstrap" self-help books and b) learning in a classroom. Now God does use suffering to teach us and he does use classroom instruction and sermons – however in my opinion these are His "fall-back" alternatives to adventurous discipleship in loving community. Lets look at the fall-back alternatives first and see why they are less than optimal ways of learning. We tend to do what we have always done and get the results that we have always got. The Hard Way To Change…. Bootstrap learning, on our own through suffering and discipline and the use of self-help books is the hard way to change. Some devotional writers glorify suffering as the true path to spiritual transformation that is intended to show us what we are like and to get us to trust God in all things. Their basis for this has some validity and is more or less as follows: 1. Even theologically correct Christians may have dysfunctional beliefs at the level of the "thoughts and intentions of the heart". 2. Generally we are blinded to what we truly believe in our hearts. We like to think we believe X when in fact we believe Y. Our real beliefs shame us so we hide them from ourselves. 3. Generally only trials and tribulations can expose our true beliefs and allow us to perfect our faith. In trials we find out what makes us anxious and fearful and we can then learn to trust God more fully in these areas. 4. Being perfected in obedience means allowing trials, tribulations and temptations to show us who we are and what we believe. We are then to adjust to a more biblical set of beliefs which we then live by with a single mind. 5. We can do this on our own through bible study, prayer, discipline, self-control, reflection on our sins, and the use of self-help books. The problem is that suffering is a very slow teacher. For instance how many years of financial struggle does a person have to endure before they learn to trust God for provision? Also how do
we distinguish suffering that is God's teaching and suffering that is Satan hindering? Though suffering has an honored place in the Christian life it is the hardest and slowest teacher of all. There must be an easier way. The Slightly Easier But Fairly Powerless way To Change A book came out entitled "Why Most People Learn Almost Nothing At Church And What To Do About It". I like the title. It points out an important truth - Church, bible college and Christian education is not as transformational as we would all like it to be. As a part-time bible college lecturer I have taken classes in biblical exegesis, theology, church history and counseling. I see some change, some growth but rarely the transformational change that I hope for. The classroom can give you helpful information once you have realized that you need to change in a particular area and are truly searching for answers. If you are desperate to fix your marriage a Christian marriage seminar may well prove transformational. You were ready to learn. However most students in most classes are not ready to learn. They are just there to pass Church History. Worse even, because the students are extracted from real life they do not have much opportunity to apply what they have learned in a real life context and thus the learning does not "stick". You see some of them five years later and shake your head at their mistakes. Did they learn a thing? Others of course are a source of joy. Books and classes and sermons can only take you so far. Academic, classroom learning is not powerful enough, it cannot blast through the huge blind spots we have. We go to the classroom but we don't really learn much that changes us. So teaching stalls and suffering takes over. So most Christians end up with classroom teaching where they are teachable and suffering where they are not teachable. Classroom teaching plus years of suffering – are they the only two ways we can be made to change? What about the transformational power of love? What about the challenge of adventure? Can we learn from powerful life-changing experiences? Might these move us along the track a bit faster than teaching and suffering alone? There must be a better way - and there is! It's the method Jesus used to change His disciples and greatly enlarge and transform their belief structures. It's the process of discipleship and of being a disciplined learner in a learning community. Lets see what led the disciples to be so transformed. Having Our Beliefs Changed The Jesus Way - How Did The Disciples Learn? How did the disciples get to increase in faith? How did they learn? How did they go from astonishing incomprehension at the start of His ministry to men of God and founders of the faith at Pentecost? These were the most successful spiritual learners in history so lets look at how they learned and maybe we can learn the same way. 1. The disciples made themselves teachable apprentices of Jesus. The decided to be learners not know-it-alls. They were prepared to give up significant comfort in order to learn. (Matthew 19:27) . They broke with their usual patterns of living that reinforced their current belief systems. They left their fishing nets or tax offices and followed Him. 2. They planted Jesus' teaching in their hearts. They probably learned the same lessons over and over again because years later they could reproduce them word for word to their hearers. 3. They had a strong desire to inherit the Kingdom of God. In fact it dominated their personal ambitions. (Matthew 18:1-5) 4. They expressed a strong desire for specific personal growth e.g. "Lord, teach us to pray". 5. They accepted Jesus' authority over them and simply went where He went, ate what He ate and did whatever He commanded. Even when Jesus rebuked them they did not sulk. 6. They believed that what Jesus said was true, absolutely true and sought to align their beliefs with His. (John 6) 7. They watched what Jesus was doing. They saw miracles and had their view of reality enlarged.
8. They asked lots of questions and sought to understand. 9. They discussed among themselves what Jesus said and did. (Matthew 16:7, Mark 10:26) 10. They accepted Jesus' high view of the authority of the Scriptures. (Matthew 5:17) 11. They took risks in order to learn such as Peter trying to walk on water or their various attempts at healing. 12. They lived with high levels of ambiguity, confusion and mystery. They seemed to accept mind-stretching confusion as the price of learning anything worthwhile. (Mark 9:32 , John 10:6 etc.) 13. They very gradually moved away from being competitive to co-operative. They stopped trying to outdo each other and instead, by the time of the resurrection appearances were trying to encourage and edify each other. They became an encouraging, learning community. 14. They tried to do what Jesus was doing. They started with baptizing people in large numbers(John 4:1,2) and continued to exercise their faith in healing and deliverance ministries and did so with some success (Luke 10:1-24). 15. They increasingly accepted responsibility for ministry. At the beginning they were fairly passive followers by the end they seem to have roles assigned to them. Eventually Jesus was able to deliver the Great Commission to them without incongruity. (Matthew 28:18-20). The communities in the early church and the traveling bands of apostles and missionaries that spread the gospel in the 1st century also took adventurous discipleship in community very seriously. The reason we see so little change is that instead of being adventurous we try to stay in our physical and emotional and intellectual comfort zones. Instead of accepting legitimate spiritual authority and accountability (though it can be abused) we are independent and unteachable. Instead of tolerating ambiguity and confusion we demand simplified, watered-down paradox free theology. Instead of letting God set the learning agenda we try to decide what we will learn and how and when. We want to be in control of our learning, our lives and ourselves. We do not want storms as teaching aids. We value the Kingdom a little and the world a lot and consequently we don't take the risks and make the sacrifices to find the "pearls of great price". Deep and revolutionary change of our belief structures and the emotional authenticity and joy that follows requires a very costly commitment to learning and personal transformation. While the Holy Spirit can work through a course or a book or a set of tapes and produce some personal change this is not the sort of deep change you get with adventurous discipleship over a number of years. I have seen greater change in young people in a one-week Christian camp or a four-week short-term missions trip than in years of good youth group bible studies. While information has its place and can be transformational if given at the right moment it is not the major means of transforming our beliefs. Revising our beliefs starts with becoming an active learner about life, about God and about people and plunging into experiences and relationships yet always being guided by the Scriptures rightly interpreted. To create the right belief structures in our lives we have to try to approximate the conditions the disciples lived under as much as is reasonably possible. The early Franciscans took being like the disciples with total seriousness and turned Europe upside down. It works. The Importance Of A Learning Community Jesus and the disciples formed a learning organisation, a community filled with disciplined learners in which beliefs were transformed and spiritual greatness produced. It is almost impossible to be deeply transformed outside of community or as part of a community that is antithetical to one's new beliefs and growth. Cults take this power to transform beliefs in and through community to a destructive and harmful extreme. It is the growth of the person not the service of the organisation that is of critical importance. A true leaning community is the opposite of a cult. It is a place where individual personalities are developed - not squashed into clones of
each other. Unlike a cult a learning community is a place where difference is permitted and where accountability is mutual and constructive not hierarchical and destructive. A true transformational learning community is a place of great freedom and love and adventure. I once experienced a bible study group that was like this and it was an exciting and transformational place to be. I have seen families that were learning communities and mission teams that were on the edge of adventure and both changing the world and the people within the team. Small groups of friends seeking God together such as the Holy Club at Oxford under John Wesley and the Haystack Prayer Meeting have produced mighty revivals. How do we find or create such a learning community? The Eight Creative Tensions Of A Learning Community
( 5 ) ( #A C B > 8 "$ * 2F 2 * " , "$ + / 0 !; ! "$ * + " + $ ! * * "$ " * "$ %/< 0 " + * $ * * "F !%/' 0 , $ * ! + ! "$ $ ./) 04 $ * $ * " * $ * + $ * .9 $ * * + ! * $ L; * * " + "! * .M/@ 0 8 * $ * + * " $ ; $ F $ * * /A 0! "$ * ! * !$ * . There are numerous bible passages describing the ideal kind of Christian community and the atmosphere of a learning organisation. One of these is quoted above. It seems to me that learning community revolves around two things – leadership and ethos. In reflecting on what makes good community I find that it involves balancing creative tensions. Too much one way and the community becomes dull and bureaucratic, to much the other and it self-destructs in disorganization. I have listed seven tensions (I am sure there are others as well) that my reading of Scripture sees as foundational to good Christian community they are:
1. Emotional safety - Spiritual adventure 2. Clear basic doctrines - Room to experiment and discover new things about God 3. Clear and definite leadership - Being without compulsion, exercising Christian freedom. 4. Sense of history, common purpose and tradition - Open to new methods & new territory, adaptable 5. Know they are part of the solution – Humbly dependent on God. 6. Homogeneous and united leadership - Great diversity in membership 7. God has brought this community into being - The drive to add more to the community . Not focused on money - True abundance, care of the poor. Explanation of the eight creative tensions above:
1. Its impossible to grow very far in God or go on much of an adventure if the atmosphere is emotionally unsafe and you do not know when you will next be criticized or hurt. Christian communities must be safe for learning to occur. On the other hand they also need to stretch people because it is when we are stretched that we learn best. So we also need spiritual adventure.. Some churches over-emphasize emotional safety to the point of coziness and become nurseries. Others over-emphasize spiritual adventure and become demanding, strained and critical. Thus emotional safety and spiritual adventure need to both be present in every learning community. . Clear basic doctrines are needed for spiritual stability. A learning community needs its "times tables" and alphabet so to speak. Well-established doctrines such as the Trinity and salvation by faith are not up for grabs. Good churches teach solid foundational truths at great depths. Good Christian communities also build on the foundation. They try to
find out new things for this generation and discover truth about missions, counseling etc. This book is one such exploratory attempt to build on the foundations. Good churches explore God's truth so that as Martin Luther said "More truth may yet break forth from God's Word". < . Good communities have good leaders. Jesus led the disciples, the apostles led the early church and Paul led his band of missionaries. These are definite clear leaders who tend to call the shots and who are treated with respect. The leaders impart definite vision and set the clear bounds in which the learning community joyfully operates. Such leaders lead in freedom and refuse to compel people to follow them. Jesus never forced anyone to follow Him. In fact He seemed to drive many away. (See John 6). Leaders of learning communities are not obsessive, compulsive people who fret over every detail and create an air of dread and compulsion in their wake. They do lead and they lead in a clear and definite manner, however it is without any heaviness, without "lording it over" the flock, and without compulsion. 4. Learning communities are well-defined. Somehow tradition helps learning. It is a different kind of education at Cambridge than at a new university – no matter how wellequipped it may be. Some of the most creative and successful missionary societies today such as OMF, CMS, Scripture Union, IVCF and SIM have long histories and a definite sense of tradition that gives them wisdom and the psychological foundations to tackle new ministries and territories. Stability enables learning and innovation. Some small missions have a new "mission statement" every 6 months which is the path to chaos and an indication of organizational immaturity. We need a solid sense of who we are and what we are about, common purpose, continuity, clarity of vision, and wisdom passed down through the informal teaching and discipling structures of the community. On the other hand such long-lived organizations can become smug and bureaucratic and sometimes have to pass through traumatic periods where the organization is swept with a "new broom" and is re-envisioned. No mission statement can be so authoritative that it can overturn God's will. No tradition or corporate culture can be so "good" that it does not need new ideas from the Holy Spirit. When God reveals a new area of ministry to us we are to go into it boldly, wisely and well. When God speaks about a change in our culture then we are to listen and implement it. The learning organization uses its strong foundations to confidently plunge into new things for God. Balance is needed here. I think we have swung to one extreme – too far away from tradition. Too many organisations are busily doing "this month's new thing.." to the point where nothing is built properly and half completed ministries and projects litter the landscape. Folly has become rampant under the guise of the leading of the Holy Spirit or innovation. In fact it is often just an immature "gold-digging" approach to ministry, trying first this for a season and then that until they find "the one" that will take them into the big time. Learning communities are stable and continuous allowing people to learn deep lessons in relative security and to prudently and wisely explore new options for ministry and Christian living. 5. Learning communities know they are part of the solution not part of the problem.. They know they have something to offer their members and even to offer the world. They are positive and they are going places. On the other hand they do not think they ARE the solution. They humbly point beyond themselves and say "Jesus is the answer!". They combine humble dependence on God with a deep sense of mission and calling and the belief that they can do something for the world – with God's help. 6. To be a bit controversial it seems that homogeneous, united leadership and diverse membership is a Scriptural pattern for effective community. The apostles were all Jewish males mainly from Galilee. They were culturally homogeneous and good friends, some were even related to each other, yet they would lead a church that would soon be
comprised of many nations. David's choice of leadership was very homogeneous – people he knew were absolutely loyal to him and had shared his troubles, mainly from his own tribe and clan line. His generals were his cousins! Yet David ruled all 12 tribes. In modern times George Whitfield and the Wesley brothers formed the "Holy Club" at Oxford that ended up becoming the Wesleyan revival. All the early leaders of that movement were educated white males, Anglican clergymen to be precise, yet the Methodist revival touched all levels of society and was very inclusive. The reason for this seemingly unfair principle is probably that if the leadership is not knitted together the whole community will fragment. The leadership needs to be able to deeply understand each other and to get along and have similar objectives and strong loyalties to each other. This requires both cultural and personal affinity. On the other hand no Christian learning community can exclude or demote someone because of gender, race or class. The community is to welcome diversity in membership while it maintains loyalty and unity in leadership. There needs to be a balance even in this – especially in interdenominational works. Nepotism and preferential treatment or the predominance of a particular denomination can destroy a work of God. Homogenous united leadership is separated from the sin of partiality (James 2) by a very fine line. 7. The 1 Peter passage above talks of the "sheep allotted to your charge". God forms the community and it is God who allots the members and builds the Church. To be aware that God has brought you into existence is a good and empowering thing. All learning communities should believe that they are God's people, called out of darkness and commissioned for His transformational purposes on earth. The early church saw itself as a community formed by divine mandate for divine purposes. This sense of being formed by God and used by God gives a powerful dynamic to the learning organization. However the learning organization should not be unduly puffed up by this and thus become exclusive or spiritually proud or separate themselves from other believers who do not seem to share their sense of vision and mission. They should not draw boundaries around themselves too tightly. The early church in Jerusalem was a very open, humble and welcoming place. Learning organizations should always be open to new members and believe that there are yet more to be added to the flock, "others not of this fold". They should also maintain open linkages of real integrity with the rest of the body of Christ. To draw the boundaries too tightly is to become a club or even a cult. A learning community sees itself as formed by God and involved in His purposes yet is humble and gracious and open to new people and to fellowship with the rest of the body of Christ. 8. A learning community has a healthy attitude to its financial needs. On one hand it knows what it means to be dependent on God, excited about His provision and free from the love of money. It is thus free to experience His transforming challenges to material comfort. On the other hand the learning organization truly cares about its members and their financial needs. The early church took great care of its poor and in the postPentecost Jerusalem church "there was none among them who lacked" (Acts 4:34). Thus it is God's clear desire that His Kingdom should not contain any abject poverty. The twelve fasted from discipline but there is no indication that they starved from want. The New Testament regards God as the Master and money as the servant to be used for Kingdom purposes. Learning organizations need to be free from the love of money, living lightly, simply and adventurously but able to take care of people and their financial needs and use finances to accomplish God's will on earth. Neither crass materialism nor financial disorder is God's will for a learning organization. The Learning Community, Beliefs and Emotional Health Lets put this together. First we looked at the disciples as the ideal community members with their high commitment to finding spiritual truth and allowing themselves to be stretched. Lately we
have looked at the eight tensions that the leadership of a learning organization need to be aware of and bring into balance. In such a community grace and truth and love will meet and people will be transformed in their belief structures and emotional lives. They will learn, they will grow and they will have lots of fun. How can we do this? How can we create a therapeutic, healing, loving, sanctifying community that really works? I have explored these issues in two ebooks that can be downloaded from www.eternitymagazine.com . The ebooks are Beyond Denominations – The Networked Church, and Temples and Tithes. The first looks at abandoning denominational hierarchical structures in favor of networks of churches in a local area. The second looks at some of the doctrines, particularly misinterpretations of the Old Testament and the law, that keep Christians in bondage or which confine them in dysfunctional structures. Traditional church structures are not transforming people at the rate they should be. It is imperative for our own personal spiritual and emotional growth to find or create alternatives. Here is my suggested pathway:
• Create a united leadership group that shares the same passion and direction. Pray for 6-8 people (say 3-4 couples) to start things rolling. • Don't decide on any forms or structures at the start. Just meet in a home and spend some time studying the Gospels and Acts together and looking at early Christian community. Allow the Scriptures to speak to you and the Holy Spirit to lead you into the forms the groups should take. • Act on what God reveals to you. • Invite others to join you after a while. On the other hand you may just want to make your current church more transformational. In that case start by throwing out those things that don't work for you and doing more of those things that do work for you. Ask God to show you where to start. Generally if you spend more and more time doing things that do work for you they will gradually and naturally push out the dysfunctional elements along the way. For instance if you find that small groups help your people to grow then have more small groups! Get more and more people into small groups and delegate more and more functions to them. Even allow the small group leaders to baptize and administer the Lord's Supper. After a while you will have most of the preaching and teaching and praying and counseling and baptizing and sacraments being done in people's homes in small groups. They will be in small mutually accountable communities and the pastor will be teaching the leaders to lead and dealing with the most complex questions. Maybe everyone will be so involved in their small groups that they won't "come to church" any more. They will just be the church. That will solve the problem of the parking lot. The above example may shock you but it poses a fundamental question – what is our community for? Is it for the people? Is it for God? Or is it for a structure? We need to find a way of being together that makes us most like Jesus Christ. The present way of being together does that a little and is better than nothing. However there has to be a better way of being church and thousands, if not millions, of Christians are searching for it. What has this got to do with Biblical EQ and in particular with our belief structure? Church structure seems a long way from emotional health. To answer that - emotions flow from beliefs and beliefs are formed in community and how far we can go with those beliefs and what they really mean is often reinforced day by day in that community. An extreme example of dysfunctional communities is the cults. Cults are communities that form wrong beliefs and produce destructive emotional states. Cults are community gone wrong and are