Apostle David Johndrow - Fire And Grace

Division and disagreement in the church is nothing new, but it sure ain't God's fault. For awhile it seemed like the most popular church planting model was a resentment and coffee pot! As I discussed in the blog "The Great Divide ", there needs to be a way to reconcile the opposing views by inserting the will God over everything else. This is not an intellectual endeavor, but a spiritual one. However; division in the church is historical. 1 Corinthians 3:3 For you are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as men? There are more divisions in church then there are denominations! It's still not God's fault. The central problem lies with human nature - but hey, aren't we supposed to control that with the Spirit? In the US Army, AIT is an acronym for "Advanced Individual Training"... but for the purpose of this blog, it means, "attitude, integrity and teaching." Tha...

-10 Lack of Deep Relationship - I think of all the stupid things Christians commonly do, the fact that so many do not understand what it means to be a church family, a brother or sister in the Lord, or a godly friend tops the list. John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Somehow this scripture from John (above) has been Americanized to mean "be nice to each other." Sure, some will take it deeper and pray for others, and some will even serve each other by bringing a meal or visiting someone in the hospital. The deeper the better - but I don't go to church to be "niced" to death! I think the basic problem is that we love as we have been loved , not as Jesus has loved us. The true test of a loving and deep relationship, however; is not good feelings, personal satisfaction and a plaque for expressing love using one of the 5 Love Languages . A deep relationship creates an atmosphere of trust, accountability and camaraderie. It i...

Last time we talked about love, maturity and hearing the Holy Spirit. I have a couple more thoughts. Participation: It is interesting that much of the church have become spectators on Sunday mornings. It's too bad, because it opposes Paul's command to participate: 1 Corinthians 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. Have you been to a service where you can get up front and and speak what God has put on your heart? I find it really exciting that God wants us to participate. Some churches have small-groups where you can participate in such a manner, but not many. How do you join in from the pew? First talk to the pastor. This type of service is hard to control - and most would rather go without it. Some, do work towards releasing folks like you bring something from God. Relationsh...

I have a real heart to see the true church change in such a way that she becomes more effective in people's lives, and that the Kingdom of God is advanced. Recently I have been back doing some simple ministry at a new church - it's a safe place with some folks that love me. That's a real change from the last few years. Thank you Jesus. In the process, I am beginning to experience personal revival - yes - even yours truly needs to press in. Hanging onto our faith; the substance of which is the power of God to work through us to accomplish Kingdom objectives, is not enough. I have been studying, reading, and worshipping. I was before, but I seem to be connecting with God better. In the process I have uncovered few things that make some sense to me now. The first is healing prayer. Luke 5:31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. If you take even a few moments to look over your own life, there is going to be some soul sickness...

Here I go having my own thoughts again – in between the last ones and some time with the Lord. Hopefully you read Part 1 of this 2 part blog series. -1 Church is boring, are we going to blame that on God? I read the Bible and it says that David loved the Law – that’s right, he delighted in God’s law. Some how He saw His savior and messiah reveled in it, and that made him joyful. I also read about the Puritans and how they spent all day in church. Some Pentecostal churches have watch night services that go from sundown until sunrise. How do you think they do that and stay awake - and not get bored? I mean without Law & Order to watch on TV, how do you think they survived? It is an interesting question. I have been to quite a few revival meetings in my tenure as a Christian – some long weekend retreats and even a few of those watch night services. I am from the entertainment generation of radio, TV, movies, music and yes, we had Pong. I would say that it takes more to keep me, ...

Many years ago (1960's) the first Internet message was sent from one computer to another. It said: Hello World! As a computer geek, I have been designing, writing and engineering websites since the early 90's. A lot has changed during my tenure. Do you remember the metallic "hiss" and "boing" of your modem? 15 years I ago I was a guest on a television program  where the advent of the Internet was likened to Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. One might be tempted to think that with all this technology and science, life would be better. I suppose in some way it is easier, but I am not sure about better. If you have a digital clock or DVD player flashing 12:00 , then you know what I am talking about. Amazingly, advances in communication have always had an impact on civilization. If you have been to the Epcot geo-sphere, you toured the history of communication. From stone writings to hand penned sacred texts - to the Gutenberg press and on to Internet ch...

For most of the years our little one has been on this earth, my wife and I haven't gotten a lot of time together. It has only been in the past year that we have had regular date nights. This week was the jack pot. A friend of Charlotte's high jacked her for the whole day on Saturday - all very unexpected - we caught a movie and went for Chinese. Sunday she had a Princess workshop and we went for Italian. Tonight I drove Mary Anne to an appointment and we went to TGI Fridays on the way home. Our regular date is Thursday and who knows what that means. All our days together have converged this week, it's almost like a honeymoon. We have to work at talking about each other, as it's easy to spend time on the kids, in particular our little star. Last weak my wife broke her ankle picking up Charlotte at school. We ordered pizza and when the the delivery man came to the door our 6-year-old opened the door and said "hello." He sort of brushed her off, so she said w...

I have passed the 300 blog mark, and I wanted to take a few minutes to express my thanks for reading along - some since 2006! And no hateful comments; amazing! I have written about a lot of things over the years, but mostly Jesus , Holy Spirit , Stupidity , Politics (some think that that's the same as stupidity) and Relationship . I have been most passionate about the the 5-Fold Ministry . My top 2 most read blogs are The Role of the Holy Spirit and The Cost of Following Jesus . That sort of makes me happy - because they are important topics. I am also a little impressed that my blogs on the Demonic are also well read. The most commented blog on Fire and Grace is yesterday's on No More Church a Usual ! I was a little disappointed that my series on The Top 10 Stupidest Things Christians Do , did not become a best seller. I have written some other blogs that don't appear here, but you can search me out at Tony C Today , and Kingdom Bloggers if you just can't get e...

This morning I received a text-message from my best friend, Antonio (2nd from left); better known as Carlos. To make a long story short, he and I have known each other since the Spring of 1999 and our history of ministering together is as long. We traveled to Brazil on my first International mission trip , he was the best man at my wedding and there is no one friend that I have shared more of my life with. We have often said that we are like David and Jonathan. As you may have read a few months ago HERE , he was picked up by INS for an immigration violation. His friends and I prayed and collected money for his bail. For the time being, he is legal, but that could end fairly easily and he would be deported. His text message was simple, are you available to get together today? Are you kidding me, I pretty much would have dropped everything to see him. The good news is that I didn't haven't any plans for the day. He arrived with a friend, and my wife made us coffee. As much as I ...

Well, I've lost it. I tried so hard to fit the religious mold, I really did. I went to a church for all of 2009; tried to follow all the little programs, got a newcomers gift; mints and all, reached out, gave out business cards, called everyone that gave me a number and emailed everyone else I met. I attended a few small groups, volunteered for some stuff and stood by the coffee pot trying to catch a little conversation. Religion is not working for me. Instead of lifting my spirit, it makes me sad. I finally had to tell myself I am not of this world I call church. I am sorry, this can't be the gathering that I was warned against forsaking! I must be doing something wrong. I might not be needy enough, old enough, short enough, clean enough, interesting enough or of the right lineage. I dunno. Maybe I am in denial, but my daughter's youth pastor thinks I am awesome. Too bad I am not 16, I could go to those meetings! What am I going to do? I am going to pray this prayer ...

. . . Or Happy I Ate Too Much Yesterday Day; depending on where you are from. The sizzle of Christmas is over for most of us. The heightened awareness of giving has subsided - there is still a bit of mess in the living room as daughter number 3 has tried to find her favorite Christmas toy - leaving some unfavorites in a pile. She slept with her new American Girl Doll, "Star" and has already put on her first concert for mom and dad. Please hang on as I post a few random thoughts about Christmas and New Year's - eventually I'll make a point. I had prime rib and pecan pie for breakfast - oh and Mary Anne shared her chocolates - a Christmas miracle. The post office never delivered the Christmas gifts I bought online for the older girls. It wouldn't be a big deal, but I only got them one. The Post Office said they tried to deliver them on the 24th and left a notice - they lied. I filed a complaint. Can't wait for their health care to come online. How about you...

Today I am having a hard time not going to a few churches and turning over a some tables! For years I have attended church with my family in the hope of us growing closer to Jesus and His people. In the process of "not forsaking the gathering of believers," I have watched my family get hurt by shallow religious folks; who were for the most part, clueless. Today, I am mad about it. The lesson our kids have learned is this: If you are normal enough to fit our religious paradigm, we'll be your friend; otherwise, we can't be bothered with you. 1 Corinthians 4:15 (Amplified Bible)15 After all, though you should have ten thousand teachers (guides to direct you) in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. It is stunning to me how often "church" abandons kids to loneliness by buying into the lie that "kids will be kids;" teaching it like truth. The problem with that philosophy is that kids will become immature adults who can't take care of their own k...

-10 Lack of Deep Relationship - I think of all the stupid things Christians commonly do, the fact that so many do not understand what it means to be a church family, a brother or sister in the Lord, or a godly friend tops the list. John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Somehow this scripture from John (above) has been Americanized to mean "be nice to each other." Sure, some will take it deeper and pray for others, and some will even serve each other by bringing a meal or visiting someone in the hospital. The deeper the better - but I don't go to church to be "niced" to death! I think the basic problem is that we love as we have been loved , not as Jesus has loved us. The true test of a loving and deep relationship, however; is not good feelings, personal satisfaction and a plaque for expressing love using one of the 5 Love Languages . A deep relationship creates an atmosphere of trust, accountability and camaraderie. It i...

I loved Jerry Sienfeld's response to the persistent telemarketer. I took the last month to do another survey on the behavior of church people and here are the results. But first a little bit of Jerry to set the tone. How many folks from church call you? 42% said 0 38% said 3 4% said 4-6 14% said 7-10 Nearly half of the respondents, OK, let's not exaggerate 42% - that's 42 in a congregation of 100 or 84 in a congregation of 200, or 420 in a congregation of 1000 -- and for those of you at a mega-church, that's 2,100 out of 5,000 who said zero! Zero people call them. Think about it?!? Maybe I should say think about it hard. If we are going to be known by our love, and we can't even pick up the phone - well, I report you decide. Did you know that the Vineyard Christian Fellowship did a study about 10 years ago? They found that a newcomer - Christian or otherwise -- needs to make six to seven meaningful friendships in order for them to stay at a church and become a produ...

Last night I watched Paul Blart Mall Cop. I had seen the previews as well as having some co-workers that were extras in the film. I have also been to the Burlington Mall in Massachusetts and eaten at the Rain Forest Cafe. Familiarity, relationship and the few tenths of a second where I knew someone, peaked my interest. As I think about some of the scenes, it still makes me laugh to myself. It wasn't a 10 for sure, but I did find the relationship, the action and some of the characters pretty interesting. It also made me think about church. I always think that it's funny how Hollywood sees life-- I am glad it was comedy. But so much of what we are taught in church is out the window in this film (and hundreds of others). I did like the fact that the father protected his teenage daughter from the evil theives. She actually listened to him-- now that's not reality! I was also thinking about a recent incident that happened with someone at church. Have you ever had someone say, ...

This weekend I was in CT visiting some long-time friends with my 18-year-old who came along for the ride. We stayed with a family that I met 10 years ago at a conference. We've kept in touch by phone, taken mission trips together, and gotten together whenever our schedules permit. I took a ride back to my old neighborhood, where I noticed that the street sign is probably the same one that was there so many years ago. And that it apparently hasn't been stolen I moved out. Saturday afternoon I enjoyed a cool drink with the daughter of a another long-time friend; the miracle of Facebook Mobile. Her dad and I bought guitars the same day back in August of 1978 in downtown New Haven. I also had lunch-- sushi-- with another friend. She and I have known each other since kindergarten (1964), went to same schools, were in an occasional class, and finally went our separate ways in 1976-- she 11th in the class and me 222. Wow! I am having trouble wrapping my little mind around 30, 40 , no ...

Today Mary Anne and I celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. And tomorrow will mark the passage of eight years since we sat across from each other at the Way-Ho, peering into each others eyes over a flaming Pu Pu Platter-- her in a floral blouse and blue skirt-- me probably in jeans. On our weekend retreat, we laughed about her shaking hands at the altar, and my miraculous inability to say "I do" with not so much as enough volume to be heard by even her. We talked about the ceremony starting late because the hairdressers were one short that morning. Last year we laughed about the candle ceremony, in which all the guests held a lit candle, which the pastor was certain would start a fire. However; he forgot to ask for everyone to extinguish them. To the relief of all our friends and family, I stepped in and suggested to him that it was probably a good idea to do that before moving on. I can still hear the music -- With You I'm Born Again -- as she and her dad walked the a...

Ecclesiastes 3:1 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Today is a somewhat emotional and eventful day. It has been five long weeks since I was gainfully employed; I start a new job on Monday! The good news is that during this time, I have graduated my high-schooler and my preschooler, I had date nights with Mary Anne, I celebrated Father's Day, my child support ended, I learned the country code for France so I could speak to my oldest daughter in Paris, wrote blogs, played guitar, consolidated boxes of "stuff" from my 50-year history here on earth, and took our little JA to daycare and back almost everyday. JA's been with us three months, and she is going to live with another family tomorrow at 10 am. This morning she came in my office to say "I love you Daddy J." Last night we took the little ones to the carnival. (If you are on Facebook, you can see the photos there.) They road the dragon coaster, fishe...

I don't know about you, but I have been online since AOL was text based chat and Microsoft had a six page web site with a black & white photo of Bill Gates. I was there in the early days of AIM, Yahoo mail, Amazon, eBay, MySpace-- I probably have some AOL floppy discs some where. And, I even owned my own Internet Service Provider and hosting company (see my promo pic 1997)... but I was not prepared for Facebook. What makes Facebook so different? I actually know some of these people-- and for a long time! Like how about 1964! Sure there are issues with social networking sites-- social "not working" sites if you use them on the job. Too bad for those that abuse them and do stupid things. I guess that after all these years; all within the last few months, faces and profiles of my now, over 50, childhood friends are appearing at the rate of about one per day. I scoured Google, Yahoo and MySpace for years trying to look up some of these kids- now turned AARP members! Sure,...

I don't know about you, but some days I go through the motions of Christianity... too many days in fact. I can be blatantly religious about my faith and worse, my experiences. But on occasion, God shows up in spite of my stupidity. If you have a minute, you might want to listen to this tune before you read on. It's really central to today's blather. He Reigns - Newsboys Last night I took the older girls to the 10th Anniversary Celebration of a church that I once attended. I actually had two tenures with them. I first met Pastor Mike when my own church's worship team helped them kick off their regular meetings at the local Baptist Church as they transitioned from a home-fellowship. I sat in on electric guitar that Saturday night in early 2000. I liked them and decided to stay on the worship team for about a year. When they moved from regular Saturday night services to Sunday morning services, I sadly had to step down. But I had built relationships that were meaningful an...