WHAT IS AN "R3" SUMMIT?

by Dr. Dan Light

Dan Light is pastor- at- large for Christ Fellowship of Palm Beach Gardens Florida where he has served along side senior pastor Dr. Tom Mullins and John Maxwell. He also serves as professor of apologetics in the Liberty University DLP program. Dan and Bill McPhail served as co-pastors at West Shore Christian Fellowship in Muskegon, Michigan in the late '70's and early 80's.

“What is this “R3” thing all about that you are conducting here and there?” A friend of mine in Florida began his phone call to me with that question. “I talked briefly with Frank last night”, he continued, “and he said it was life changing for him and his ministry but he had to run and didn’t have time to go into detail. Can you give me some particulars?” I tried to fill him in him about the gatherings that we have chosen to call “R3 Summits”. When I hung up the phone it occurred to me that a lot of people are hearing about “R3” one way or another and would probably like to have a brief explanation.

In 2008 a fresh awareness came over me that the church in America needs true revival to a degree that can be called nothing less than desperate. The only real hope for our nation rests on that certainty. When that realization captured my attention and held it with intensity day and night for several weeks I came to the conclusion that my concern was not being generated by my own personal insight. How can I express it except to say God was dealing with me and I knew it.

During a phone call with Bill McPhail I related to him how spiritual awakening was occupying my thinking in an unusual way and he responded by relating a similar experience. As a result of our conversation we contacted several friends of ours whom we knew had been praying for revival, some for many years. They agreed with us that we should all come together for a couple of days to pray and confer about what God was showing all of us about a movement of His Holy Spirit in restoration, renewal, and revival. The first of these “summits” took place in Muskegon, Michigan in May of 2008 and subsequent get-togethers have followed with encouraging results.

The combination of “R” and “3” focuses on the trio of words “Restoration”, “Renewal”, and “Revival”. These terms that are associated with movements of God and the concepts that underlie them are indispensable to spiritual awakening among Christians. We call the events “summits” because of our desire that all who attend may have the opportunity to share with one another their heart-felt testimonies about what God is showing them through the Word and their own experience concerning…you guessed it, restoration, renewal, and revival. We like to think, also, that a summit means a top-of-the-mountain experience where, together, we come into the presence of the Lord where He may speak to us and we may speak to Him.

In each of the three daily sessions of the R3 Summit designated guest speakers will address one of the three themes which will be followed by an open discussion of the topic by those attending. A period of fellowship in prayer will be a part of the daily schedule. Each day a time will be designated as “TBA” during which we will trust the leadership of God’s Spirit to have some of the attending lay and vocational ministers present a ten to twelve minute message on the topic of the day. We request all ministers of the gospel who are willing to share to come prepared to speak on restoration, renewal, or revival.

One of the things we have learned in conducting R3 Summits is the need to personally activate the attitude of Psalm 139:23-24,

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (NKJV)

We realize that one of the keys to being used of God in genuine awakening is to apply His searching, cleansing dynamic personally to our lives. Rather than merely engage in discussion and review of the principles of spiritual awakening our objective is to put those principles to work in our own lives.

Those of us who are part of the leadership of R3 Summits do not consider ourselves to be experts on restoration, renewal, and revival. We approach every session prepared in mind and heart to communicate about what we have learned through the Word and our own experience, coupled with what God is showing others, and the awareness that, as the Apostle Paul expressed it,

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12 13.

We invite you to join us in the upcoming “R3 Summit” December 1-3, at the Bethel Missionary Church, 63473 County Rd 7, Goshen, IN. No fee is required for participation but we ask that you contact Dr. Jim Smith at bmc39@juno.com so that we will know you plan to attend.

Directions: Bethel Missionary Church is located approximately 7 miles south of Elkhart, Indiana on County Road 7, between County Road 32 and County Road 36, one mile west of Indiana State Road 19. Church phone: 574-862-2631

Housing and Eating Information: Lunch will be provided each day at the Bethel Missionary Church. Breakfast and evening meals may be secured at restaurants of your choosing in the Goshen, Elkhart, Wakarusa, Nappanee, etc. Many are within 10 miles of the church.

Shamrock Inn 1501 East Market Street, Nappanee, IN 46550 574—773-3193 - Double or King: $45.00 per night in older unit/ $50.00 per night in new units. Many nearby restaurants. 9 miles south of Church

Amish Acres Historic Farm, Restaurants, Theatre, Shops & Inns – 1600 West Market Street, Nappanee, IN 46550 800-800-4942 www.AmishAcres.com email: AmishAcres@AmishAcres.com Double $79.00 per night; King $99.00 per night. 9 miles south of Church then 2 miles west

Comfort Suites 27838 County Rd. 24 & SR 19, Elkhart, IN 46517 574-293-9390 or 800.4CHOICE $75.00. Indoor Heated Pool, Breakfast 1 mile west of church then 4 miles north

Limited housing available in host homes. Contact Dr. Jim Smith at bmc39@juno.com

OKAY, HOW DO I LET GOD LEAD?

by Dr. Dan Light

One of the top-of-the-list interests of this blog is to emphasize and prioritize the guidance of God in determining how we conduct our lives. The “signature” of this web spot is letgodlead.us for the specific goal of letting God lead us while encouraging others to be led of Him. That sounds simple enough but when we decide to actually put God in the driver’s seat the apparent simplicity of the concept of letting God lead starts to get more complicated. Dozens of questions pop up immediately, abuses of the claim to hear from God raise their ugly heads, and most of the people we meet at work, at school, in our social circle, or even in our churches, are reluctant to acknowledge that being led of God is provable, plausible, probable, or possible. This being the case, the mother of all questions about being led of God seems to be, “How do you let God lead?”

Volumes upon volumes have been printed that deal with the subject. Some of them are very thorough and helpful but, for most of you, the authors plunge into far more detail than you probably care to know. What follows here is not intended as a lengthy tome but a glimpse at some of the principles we can put to use in determining direction from God. If you can get a handle on these few principles you will at least be a little further down the road and it will be a safe route by which to follow the God who leads.

First of all, God leads us by revealing His guidance through the Scriptures. Any of us who have a sincere hunger for finding God’s revelation should begin with hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the written Word of God. The longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, is entirely focused on emphasizing the priority of Scripture as the source of finding out where you are, where to go next, how to get there, and how to stay on course. The 105^th verse of Psalm 119 says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” One essential test to being led of God is the directive that our Lord will never lead anyone to do anything that is counter to what the Bible teaches. The best place to start finding out what God is straightforwardly attempting to get across to you is in there somewhere between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 21:21.

Next, you can hear from God through other people. God sometimes chooses and uses fellow human beings to get through to us. It's possible for God to use anyone at any time, but Godly guidance that is on target almost always comes from individuals who have an identifiably close walk with God and a maturity that has been developed in the crucible of a consistent integrity and prayer life. The caveat to this source of guidance is the risk that some people are capable of dispensing directions to you from their own self-centered motives. This caution light should constantly flash in your mind, but it does not negate the fact that, at times, you can be led of God by tuning in to the counsel of “ambassadors of Christ.” Often the counsel is given as a word of “course correction”, motivated by personal concern from those who recognize that something has gone haywire with your compass and love you enough to “mind your business” when the need arises.

God can also show you the way by means of circumstances. Sometimes the only way God can teach us something is to allow circumstances in our life to lead us to and through the very thing we need to discover. Circumstances are not always as circumstantial as they may seem. What happens to us on any given day, whether it seems good or not-so-good, should not be regarded as accidental or happenstance. The question, “Is God trying to teach me something through this?” should be the first place your mind goes when something “happens”. Experience is the best teacher only when we are teachable. We should also be sensitive to doors that seem to be open and the ones that are apparently closed. But in addition to this seemingly obvious open-closed indicator we need to read the situation for the possibility that God may want us to take a careful look through the open door before we charge through it. On the other hand, we may need to, at times, refuse to be intimidated, per se, by a closed door. If you have a suspicion that someone has shut a door without God’s permission, don’t hesitate to give it a healthy nudge.

Now let’s approach the issue of “voices”. Most of the time God uses a tiny voice inside us to let us know we are on the right path and at other times what some refer to as a “still small voice” will prompt us to stop, look, and listen, then proceed with caution, hold steady, or exit stage right.

Sometimes, however, we're able to "hear" something within our spirit that is not so still or small. It sounds to us like an actual audible voice. You just know you heard something. Pay attention to those occasions because it is very likely God is trying to tell you something.

In conclusion, let’s zero in on three indispensible ingredients to letting God lead you. First, a conscientious effort to living a daily life in obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord in all situations is a prerequisite to hearing from God. Second, an unconditional commitment, a holy “want-to” in following through with what God communicates to you. The third issue is being constantly aware of opposition to every attempt to follow God’s leadership from an enemy who is a master of deception. Satan will try to sabotage all the principles of guidance we have just mentioned. He can be counted on to impersonate the Holy Spirit by misinterpreting a Bible passage, using another person to deliver a wrong message, managing circumstances to cause us to jump to incorrect conclusions, or doing a kind of mimic of the Spirit’s voice within us, still and small or large and audible. In as vulnerable a position to the Devil’s deception as this seems to place us, we should, nevertheless, be pro-active, rather than reluctant in tuning in to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The effectiveness of the kingdom of God operating through His people in our day is dependent on whether or not we focus on doing ministry His way, directed by His dynamic or go right on flying by the seat of our pants.

PREBENDS, PIETY AND PRONOUNCEMENTS

-by Bill McPhail

More years ago than I would like to admit to, I picked up a used book, and spent all of a dime for it. That book was the Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Now while I hardly agree with Emerson’s transcendentalism that suggests that God does not have to reveal the truth but that the truth can be intuitively experienced directly from nature, it is difficult to ignore his keen intellect and his great skill as a lecturer, essayist, philosopher and poet.

While I may be inclined to agree with American novelist Herman Melville of Moby-Dick fame that Emerson indeed had “a defect in the region of the heart”, few men of his time were his equal in diagnosing the spiritual impoverishment of the mendicant church of his day which was failing to be a countervailing voice to an increasingly secular society.

Upon visiting England in 1833, he made few friends with his subsequent essay on English religion. “The curates¹,” he wrote, “are ill paid, and the prelates² are overpaid. This abuse draws into the church the children of nobility and other unfit persons who have a taste for expense. Thus a bishop is only a surpliced merchant. Through his lawn I can see the bright buttons of the shopman’s³ coat glitter. A wealth like that of Durham⁴ makes almost a premium on felony. Brogham⁵, in a speech in the House of Commons on the Irish elective franchise, said, “How will the reverend bishops of the other house be able to express their due abhorrence of the crime of perjury, who solemnly declare in the presence of God that when they are called upon to accept a living, perhaps of £4000 a year, at that very instant they are moved by the Holy Ghost to accept the office and administration thereof, and custom-house oaths. The Bishop is elected by the Dean and Prebends⁶ of the cathedral. The Queen sends these gentlemen a conge ďélire, or leave to elect; but also sends them the name of the person whom they are to elect. They go into the cathedral, chant and pray and beseech the Holy Ghost to assist them in their choice; and after these invocations, invariably find that the dictates of the Holy Ghost agree with the recommendations of the Queen.”

Surely, one does not have to wonder long what Emerson would write about “the name it and claim it clergy” of our day who build their personal financial kingdoms on the contributions of the poor.

Closer to home, however, and even more pointedly would be Emerson’s distain for those carefully orchestrated moves we often make in the church in our staff or board meetings in which after participating in a perfunctory prayer, we pronounce our plans and programs to be the will of God. One suspects that much of what we claim to be “dictates of the Holy Ghost” are little more than our own wills, hidden behind a façade of piety.

When we spend more time organizing than we do agonizing, more time planning than we do praying, and then cavalierly declare our decisions to be the will of God, how to we maintain our integrity with God and our credibility with man?

I wonder what our next staff or board meeting would be like if each decision were truly initiated and led of the Holy Spirit?

May God deliver us, lest we prove to be 21^st century prebends who not only fall prey to the materialism of our day, but whose piety is little more than a hollow pronouncement devoid of true spiritual reality.

¹A curate is one who is invested with the care, or cure, of souls of a parish. ²A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who oversees the curates. ³The shopman referenced was a salesman come to sell high price goods. ⁴ The Lord Bishop of Durham who had extraordinary leeway to appoint his own Sheriffs and Justices, administer his own law, levy taxes and mint his own coins. ⁵Henry Brougham was a British statesman who became Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom. ⁶A Prebend though a stipend given by a collegiate church or cathedral to the clergyman (Dean) came to refer to the one who benefited from such stipends. An Act of Parliament dissolved the system of Prebends in 1836; three years after Emerson wrote his essay.