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Sorry it’s been so quiet of late, but I’ve been on the road in the Seattle area for the past five days. I’ve been with a wide diversity of people and I wish I had time to tell you about it… But, I have to head for the airport in a few moments and have been in conversations with people almost nonstop. No time to write. Sorry! But I’ve met some fabulous folks at various stages of the journey, and now in the last couple of days with some old friends I have visited before.

Now it is home for two days and then I go again, but this time Sara goes with me, as do daughter Julie and granddaughter Aimee, so that will be fun. And I also understand the family will be over tonight. That’s why I love Flydays… I love getting back to those whom my heart loves so much. I wonder if dying some day will be like that. Just another Flyday to be near those my heart has loved so much. That would bee cool! Blessings on you all.

Our latest edition of The God Journey entitled Religion’s Antidote has just been posted on our sister website thegodjourney.com.

Why do passionate disciples of the Living God continue to get caught in the system of religious obligation? Because they have not understood that God has satisfied in himself all that he would ever require of us to have full and complete access to his presence. He did that in the cross of Jesus Christ, and if we understood the power of the cross, we would never fall victim again to the manipulations and appeals of religious obligation. In their latest podcast Brad and Wayne discuss what happened at the cross and how it frees us from the bondage of religion so that we can live together as Father’s family.

In the morning, I am off to Seattle and a weekend retreat there with a group from a nontraditional fellowship and then some time in the Tacoma and Port Orchard area with some old friends and some new ones…

It seems there is fresh interest these day from a number of people about Authentic Relationships, , especially the part about how our expectations of others destroy authenticity in those relationships

Here’s a question I got from Chris today:

Here was my response: Wanting people to respond rightly isn’t a problem. Demanding that they do, or treating them with disappointment when they don’t, is the problem. External conformity is never God’s goal anyway, but inner transformation that grows out of their relationship with him.

In that vain, all we have to do is love people! Take an interest in them. Serve them where you can, but never pushing our agenda on them. Servants never push anyway. They always are responding to what others are doing or desiring. I am having so much fun just loving people in their space and time, not thinking I love them by getting them to do what I think is best. It makes relationships so much more real and genuine and takes all the exploitation and manipulation out of it.

I hope that helps. That’s the way Jesus treats you after all. He loves you where you are. He invites you to better things if you’ll come, but he doesn’t badger you at every moment with his expectations or reject you when you disappoint him. Watching him do that with us, is the best tool to learning how to do it with others. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have wonderful desires for us. He does. But he realizes we can only experience them when we freely choose to come, not when we’re manipulated into it.

Another letter I got recently from Aida, might be helpful here as well:

In my own time in the Scriptures I am heading back into the life of Jesus, this time through Mark’s eyes. I always enjoy getting back to one of the Gospels and getting another chance to see more of the life, nature and character of Jesus. I am amazed not only by his teachings and miracles, but also by his person and the way he treated people. The other day, I ran across this definition of his family:

Religion teaches us that we belong to the family by making a confession of faith, saying a sinner’s prayer or observing the right obligations. Jesus says that membership in the family is a reality for those that do God’s will. Now that makes sense! It also explains why attempts at body life with some people can be so difficult.

You can’t experience real fellowship in this family with those who only claim to be followers of Christ, who are not actually following him. They might think they are, but in fact they are only doing what they do to satisfy their guilt or fulfill their spiritual aspirations. Trying to walk in fellowship with people like that is just impossible. It can also be exhausting. I don’t know about you but I find the most exhausting people to be around are those who are pushing some agenda—especially if they think it is for God.

Ultimately real body life isn’t rocket science. It’s the simplest thing in the world. When people come near each other who are looking to live by what Father wants, not what they want, fellowship is immediate, thrilling and life-changing. It’s not some thing we have to work at, but to enjoy. I can get off of airplanes and meet strangers at airports and find myself within a few moments enjoying the reality of Father’s family. That tells me I’ve found people who are seeking to do what God wants.

Yes, I know a religious mindset could pervert this into thinking we have to judge whether or not others are doing God’s will. How would we do that? It is not our place to judge others, but to love whomever God allows to cross our paths. With some that will lead to incredible fellowship. With others it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. I don’t think I’m bright enough to account for the difference, but I do feel free to stop ‘working at’ fellowship. When it’s there, it’s there. When it’s not, no amount of work will change that reality.

And please don’t turn ‘doing God’s will’ into some perfectionist standard that seeks to earn our place in his life. It’s not our performance here that counts, but the desire of our hearts and our willingness to follow. Look at Jesus’ own disciples. They misunderstood a lot, argued with him, and even exhibited some fleshy motives at times. But they were learning to live in the Father’s desires. It doesn’t matter if you’re just at the starting line of that process, or far down the road. If you have a heart for Father’s will and look to follow him each day as best you see him, that is what Jesus is talking about. Those people experience the reality and joy of his family!

A quote making the rounds today is sure a good one. As far as I know, no one has been able to ascertain who first wrote or spoke this:

As long as we’re not talking about the burn-out due to human effort trying to accomplish God’s will, I embrace this point of view whole-heartedly. Whoever said life was about staying safe—doing only what serves my needs for comfort or convenience? What fun is that? This is an adventure with our older brother Jesus, as the kingdom of God makes itself known before the kingdoms of this world. Who wants to be on the sidelines watching that?

As I write this I have just been informed of a dear friend of mine who was airlifted out of a rural area to a hospital in New Guinea yesterday with a rampant infection in his left leg and a severe case of malaria in his lungs. This man is in his 60’s and could stay home with his children and grandchildren, but instead spends months at a time in some of the most difficult countries of our world to help people there live outside the box of organized religion. He’s in the game! Yes, he could be safer, but he couldn’t be freer! His name is Bob and I would invite you topray for him as God brings him to your mind.

One of the men who helped me write the current BodyLife article on the Tree of Life, sent this to following to me. He lives on Vancouver Island and does a bit of sailing. It resonated with my heart, and I wanted to pass it along to you:

Our latest edition of The God Journey entitled Looking for Real Body Life has just been posted on our sister website thegodjourney.com.

During my recent trip to South Africa I met with many brothers and sisters who are in various stages of transition from the system of religious obligation and sorting out what it means to live as God’s people outside of institutional approaches. My experiences there provided an excellent backdrop for Brad and I to discuss further the transitions many of us go through and how some are finding meaningful expressions of body life around the world.

We’re also introducing some new changes with this podcast and would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts you might have on those.

During the last week of my stay in South Africa I got three emails from three different people with three very different reactions to my article, Why I Don’t Go to Church Anymore. I thought you’d enjoy a chance to read over my shoulder, because some of you might have very similar questions or concerns. The first is from Timothy:

This was my response to Timothy: I’m afraid you may not have read my article carefully enough. My point was that none of us really go to church, even those who think they do. I think the New Testament is clear that the church is God’s people on the earth not a building or an organization.

The reason I didn’t use ‘references’ in the article is because of its format. It’s not a treatise but a letter of explanation. Proof texts can be used to justify just about anything, unfortunately, and I much prefer to think Scripture through in context not in individual quotes that are distorted from their original meanings.

As to the Hebrews 10 passage to which you prefer, there are many of us finding far more effective ways to meet together by sharing Jesus-centered relationships over the whole of our lives, and not just attending a meeting once or twice a week with a roomful of strangers where participation is left to only a few up front. I realize it isn’t for everybody, but there are lots of people who are finding that the church is a living group of people who share the life of Jesus together as they grow in him.

There are some wonderful ways to discover God’s life with a group of people, outside the systems we’ve inherited over the generations. If those systems work for you, I don’t have any problem with that. I hope you can also make room for others who have found ways that are more effective for them in living out the reality of the New Testament.

Jesus is the head of the church after all, and it is far more important that we are following him than just fitting in to other people’s expectations.

Then I got this one from Lisa:

And finally I got this from Nancy:

This was my response to Nancy: It always amazes me what God uses to bring people to Lifestream. I had a good laugh at your entry, though I’m sure it made sense to you. Someone else got here simply by searching for, “Am I nuts?” Funny!

Anyway, yes I still don’t ‘go’ to church. In fact I continue to meet hundreds of people who are thriving outside the structures of organized religion and are finding life in God and connections with other brothers and sisters to be greater than they ever imagined. What a deal! I am sitting in Atlanta airport at the moment connecting home from my trip to South Africa where I met hundreds of out of the box Christians who are growing by leaps and bounds…

It is interesting to discover that these are not focused at all by their ‘not’ going to church, but on the simplicity and joy of living as his church in the world… I hope that’s what you were asking. I don’t know what kind of journey you are on but pray that God continue to lead you closer to himself and free you to know the fullness of his life and joy.

In Africa someone asked if I read Your God is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan. I was ambivalent about the title, because I think in the Father is the safest place to be to be in all the universe. But the book wasn’t about that. It was about making God in our own image, so that we never think he can lead us into risky places or does things we don’t understand. I get that! Living in the Father’s reality is one constant adventure that frequently pushes us to our extremes. But that’s not because he isn’t safe, but because we trust ourselves more than him. I was able to read about a third of the book and loved what he was saying. Here’s one story from that book that is painfully true, unfortunately:

I’ve been home for a few days now, trying to get my head back in my home time zone and trying to process the incredible experiences I had in South Africa. First of all, let me thank those of you who helped make this trip a reality—those who kept us in prayer and those who shared with us financially in the expenses and ministry of this trip. It was awesome in every way. I have posted some photos at Ofoto.com if you want to view them.

On my last Friday in South Africa Phillip and Vicky took me to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. What an awesome experience. This is more than a museum—it actually invites you into the experience of what apartheid felt like for oppressed and oppressor alike and allowed you to experience the triumph of its end and a fresh new hope for a country that faces incredible challenges in transitioning to a democracy that all can participate in equally.

I was struck by a number of things there—how easy it is to justify, even in theological terms, what serves our own self-interest, the oppression on indigenous peoples that European civilization exported to the world, and courage it took for the disenfranchised to stand up at great personal cost and demand liberation for the oppressed. Everyone hails Nelson Mandela as a gift from God to help build a new South African society that includes all races. I am reading his autobiography to understand how this man could have suffered so much and come out with heart for reconciliation and not vengeance. It is great reading

As we drove away from the museum that day I was greatly encouraged by those who put the ideal of freedom above their own personal expedience. Mandela spent 27 of his prime years in prison for treason because he dared to try to overthrow the apartheid regime. Many more were imprisoned, persecuted even killed for challenging the status quo. I was reminded of the many people I’d met in South Africa who have struggled to leave the religious institutions that have become such a part of Christianity to seek a greater life and freedom in the reality of Jesus. Many felt the were alone and one man said leaving the institution he’d been part of for life was like ‘crucifying his mother’. Many of you reading this know what it is to suffer the rejection of family and friends, maybe even mentors to you in the faith because you felt you could no longer fit in with a system of religious obligation that you found lifeless and empty. It is those first few years that are most difficult, and, yes, it can be painful to experience disapproval and judgment by people you care deeply about.

But in the end, it is just disapproval and that is an incredibly small price to pay to find your way into the life of God. No one is putting us in prison. No one is killing us, torturing our children or burning our homes. As people remind me often, “Do you realize they were killing people only 400 years ago for writing the things I write?” Yes I do know.

If people can give up their own self-interest for freedom in this age, how much more can we lay ours down for the freedom that supercedes all other freedoms—life in Christ? I know it may be difficult for a season, but no one I’ve met who has broken free of the system of religious obligation and discovered the life of God beyond it, has had any regrets. The life deeply lived in him is worth any cost or risk in this age. Let us pursue him with firm resolve, laying aside any thing that entangles us and love him more deeply than anything else. Who knows? We may yet suffer again for doing so, but the wealth within easily overrides any pain without!”

We have reached the day of my departure. In a couple of hours I will be heading to the airport and the long flight home. I honestly can’t wait to reconnect with my family there. This has been an awesome trip and the last weekend in the Johannesburg and Pretoria area has been no exception. I have met so many believers hearing God say similar things about escaping the clutches of religious obligation to live in the life and freedom of Jesus. It is truly a call that has gone out over the whole world. We need to live to him a lone, and not be seduced into any system of man that seeks to replace his living presence with rituals, traditions and regulations.

Yesterday morning I met with a large group of Christians in Pretoria in a lovely home overlooking the national government buildings of South Africa. They had left the reformed church they had all grown up in some years before at God’s leading, even though they were misunderstood and rejected by close friends and family. They were seeking a place in the reality of God’s presence they had not found yet. They had a copy of an earlier incarnation of The Naked Church that had spurred them on from more than 15 years ago. When I came in they were in a large circle with pens and notebooks ready asking me to share with them how to live in the affection of the Father of all! I now know just a little bit what Peter felt when he showed up at the House of Cornelius. The four hours I had with them flew by and I could hardly pull myself away. What an awesome group of people, and I hope to cross paths with them again.

Then I spent my remaining hours with some out-of-the-box believers around Johannesburg. Last night we were in a coffee shop exploring the power of the cross. This morning we went on an hour and a half walk through the bush and then spent a few hours cooking breakfast on portable cookers and sharing our lives together. They do this ever few weeks as God leads and it was such an amazing expression of body life. Young people and unbelievers joined us as well because they just enjoy being together and sharing life. What a great way to hang out as the body! As excited as I ham to get home, I have been deeply touched by my many experiences here and the people I have met. May God lead them with his great grace into ever-deeper expressions of his love. I do hope to return someday. They have all said I must bring Sara when I do. Amen!