Buff Scott Jr.
Junior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2023
- Messages
- 378
- Reaction score
- 119
- Points
- 43
Where I’m Coming From—And Why
A few decades ago, I was set free from partisan religion. The experience was spiritually refreshing! As I sought freedom from spiritual slavery, the Lord altered my self-righteous attitude and modified my life’s course. It was a simple but serious procedure. The only prerequisites were that I cast aside my sectarian, partisan shackles and open my mind and heart. In essence, I was deprogrammed and liberated from the partisan pie
Closer To Jesus
Did I leave Jesus when I abandoned organized religion or the Religious Establishment? Goodness, no! He and I are closer now than ever before. As a result of my surrendering institutional religion in favor of freedom in Jesus, I am now a “believer at large,” a free-thinker, and one of God’s instruments for reform. No human being and no partisan group or church does my thinking for me any longer. I arrive at conclusions after careful evaluation, study, and prayer. Simply stated, I have cast aside the chains of religious orthodoxy and deserted the Establishment’s status quo. God has surely blessed my ministry of reformation.
Diversity
We’re not all colored with the same paint or dyed in the same tub. Each of us have our unique personalities and ministries. We must grow and produce where the Lord has planted us. If your ministry’s methods and manners are different from mine, I must not conclude that you possess a closed mind and are coming over too rudely. Nor should you think I’m crude, harsh, and impolite because my ministry’s techniques do not bear the same trademarks as yours.
No Labels For Me
I’m not formally identified with any church or religious party. I’m a free man in Messiah Jesus. With the Spirit’s direction, I think independently and I arrive at my conclusions independently, regardless of what Calvin, Campbell, Wesley, Luther, and all the others taught. There are good teachings in each man’s history, but neither is my polar star. My Polar Star is Jesus—none other. Consequently, no one may preside over my concepts and teachings insofar as dictating my walk with the Lord.
I will gladly absorb and happily accept advice from godly men if it coincides with what I conscientiously believe is truth and understand as heaven’s grace. But I will no longer bow my knees to the “powers that be” of the religious bureaucracy. I’m a free man in Messiah Jesus. Praise His Name! I will no longer be enslaved by the Institutional Church or organized religion.
Organized religion? Yes, but let me explain. I believe in an organized life. I believe the believer should have his priorities organized. I believe in an organized mind and an organized schedule. Organization, of itself, is pleasant and necessary. But I have a problem with organizational structures and programs and projects within the body of believers that have supplanted the simple, informal but serious life depicted in the lives of early believers. Literally, and in this vein, we have organized ourselves out of practical existence. Overall, our programs, projects, and organizations have deflated our capacity and our enthusiasm to reach the unreached. Jesus said to get out and go, but we have come in to stay.
I will gladly absorb and happily accept advice from godly men if it coincides with what I conscientiously believe is truth and understand as heaven’s grace. But I will no longer bow my knees to the “powers that be” of the religious bureaucracy. I’m a free man in Messiah Jesus. Praise His Name! I will no longer be enslaved by the Institutional Church or organized religion.
Organized religion? Yes, but let me explain. I believe in an organized life. I believe the believer should have his priorities organized. I believe in an organized mind and an organized schedule. Organization, of itself, is pleasant and necessary. But I have a problem with organizational structures and programs and projects within the body of believers that have supplanted the simple, informal but serious life depicted in the lives of early believers. Literally, and in this vein, we have organized ourselves out of practical existence. Overall, our programs, projects, and organizations have deflated our capacity and our enthusiasm to reach the unreached. Jesus said to get out and go, but we have come in to stay.
Our Dollars And Efforts
In essence, we have permitted our internal organizations and materialistic projects to strangle us. There’s no room, no time, and no money for the resurrection message. Our fancy edifices and polished organizations and programs are symptoms of our pride and digressions. Hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted on “materialistic evangelism” while millions of the world’s poor go hungry, not only for food but for the message of salvation. Our priorities are abused and misplaced. We have taken the simple arrangement of communicating the Good News to others and developed it into a complicated mess.
Outspoken But Sincere
We must not, however, be rude or ugly in our approach to reach those still enslaved and caught up in the Sectarian Web inherited from our forefathers of yesteryear. I suspect that if some of us had lived in the days of John when he immersed his believers, we would have frowned upon his tone, for he was far more outspoken than most reformers today. And if we had been in the presence of Jesus when he opposed the religious leaders and sectarian systems of His time, we probably would have objected to His demeanor. Both Jesus and John were reformers in that they opted for change. Both men were outspoken, outgoing, and bold, but lovingly kind to those with receptive hearts.
The Professional Clergy
I do not endorse or support the professional clergy in today’s churches. As one good brother expressed it, “If pulpiteering, as is done in most churches today (one man speaks while all others listen without comment), is regarded by communication experts as one of the least effective means of communication, and small-group dialoguing is regarded as one of the most effective means, why do we choose to do repeatedly what doesn't work instead of doing what works?”—Bill Pile.
Most pulpit clerics are honest and sincere. They’re convinced their ministry has God’s blessings. They, like most of us, are victims of what our schismatic forefathers passed down to us. That doesn’t make it right. Jesus opposed the status quo of his time. It, like ours, had been passed down by divisive forefathers. I love all of my brothers and sisters, whether they stand behind or sit in front of the pulpit.
Most pulpit clerics are honest and sincere. They’re convinced their ministry has God’s blessings. They, like most of us, are victims of what our schismatic forefathers passed down to us. That doesn’t make it right. Jesus opposed the status quo of his time. It, like ours, had been passed down by divisive forefathers. I love all of my brothers and sisters, whether they stand behind or sit in front of the pulpit.
Embracing One Another
We must accept one another, just as Jesus accepted us—warts and all (Rom. 15:7). I love all of those who are caught up in the web of organized religion. When permitted, I will happily work with them in areas that do not violate my conscience. I will try not to be inconsiderate, ugly, or rude. I will speak from my heart out, not from my teeth out. If you can accept me on that level, we’ll embrace each other and serve the Lord together.
I Stand Where I Stand
This is my story, and this is my song. This is where I stand. I cannot stand elsewhere and live with my conscience. If I’m to grow and produce in my ministry of reformation, which the good Lord has placed upon my heart, I must be free to function as a reformer. If you can tolerate me as I pour out my plea for change, I will in turn tolerate you as you cling to the bosom of religious orthodoxy—should that be your walk and decision. We’ll be brothers, not enemies. And we’ll lend a helping hand to each other along the way.
