Saturday, August 27, 2011

Reformation--(The Holy Spirit working in Ordinary People)

In 1536, in the hamlet of Vilvoorde, William Tyndale was tied to a stake, strangled to death, then burned and consumed in fire.  This all done by the Church of England on demand from the King himself.  What was his crime?  Tyndale had one life-consuming passion; to see the Bible translated into English so that the ordinary person could read and study it for himself.  By 1526 he had accomplished the translation of the New Testament and secretly began to distribute several thousand copies across Europe and England.  Why secretly?  Because the Church Authorities had made it illegal to own the English bible.  Anyone found with one would risk execution.  Bibles found among the people were publicly burned.  Did you catch that.......the Church was burning the Bible to keep it out of the hands of it's congregation.

Why did the Church of England feel so strongly against it's common members having a readable copy of the Word of God?  The reasons given were many; the Church claimed that without training, people would not be able to interpret the Word, that ordinary people were too burdened with worldly business to understand scripture correctly, the people could not be trusted with it, how do they prevent heresy, by what authority do they study and interpret God's Word, they must be accountable to higher church authorities.  There was a great wall dividing the clergy and the laity that must not be broached.  The duties of the laity were simple; faithfully come to worship, faithfully give to the church, faithfully listen to and obey the higher authorities within the church. 

Many could argue what was the main reason for the success of the Great Reformation, for there were many.   The teachings and theology of men like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and others would forever change the landscape of the Christian Church.  Yet the Word of God makes it clear to us that no great work for Christ and the Kingdom is ever done without the Holy Spirit, and the distribution of God's Holy Word into the hands of the common people was the impetus for that great work.

Now let's fast forward several hundred years to today.  A shift with the potential impact of the Reformation is occuring in the Western Church today.  And this time it is occuring as the Church.......instead of the Bible........is being put into the hands of ordinary people.  It comes by many, varied names; "Simple Church, House Church, Organic Church", but they all involve the same features.  Common, ordinary people meeting together in small enclaves to study God's Word, rediscover the work and power of the Holy Spirit, make disciples, and to follow Christ by making real his command to deny self an everyday reality.

What is interesting to me is the response of many (thankfully not all) of the traditional, legacy Churches to this movement within it's laity.  Listen to some of what is being said: How can untrained and unqualified people run churches? Only trained clergymen should hold leadership positions in the church. Ordinary people are too burdened with worldly business to prepare the work of a church, prepare sermons, let alone be trained in hermeneutics.  How will they prevent heresy?  On what basis do they claim authority to act as a church?  Who are they accountable to?  How can ordinary people administer the sacraments?  Is it just me, or does any of this sound hauntingly familiar?

All of the great reformations and revivals began at the bottom and worked its way up, never the other way around.  If revival is to sweep across this country, it will not begin at any organized traditional level and work its way down through the ranks, but will begin with common, ordinary people empowered by the Holy Spirit dedicated to Christ in selfless obedience to his calling.  Just as the Bible in the heart language of the people empowered the ordinary belever in Tyndale's day, Simple Church today allows ordinary men and women to "be the church" rather than just "go to church."

(exerpts included from "The Rabbit and the Elephant", by Tony & Felicity Dale, George Barna.)

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