Loose Ends
It appears that Saeed Abedini has taken down his “ministry” page on Facebook after someone (hee hee) posted his mugshot and articles about his latest court appearance on it.
Other folks have posted questions about his alleged long time affair with a woman who is in some sort of confinement in Turkey.
Despite this, his fans rally round the idol and curse the mugshot posting, alleged affair reporting, people.
The same thing happens when people report on the wayward ways of Ravi Zacharias.
Christian moral standards depend on popularity and assumed agreement on positions theological and political.
Assumed agreement and popularity covers a multitude of sins…at least on earth…
I made a critical comment about the current state of some charismatic churches Monday which I’ll amplify a bit now.
I get newsletters and other communications from the “prophets”…the vast majority of which are nebulous nonsense that is written carefully enough to claim veracity no matter what happens.
God spoke clearly through the biblical prophets and what they said came to pass.
Lowering the standard lowers the church to the level of Miss Cleo and her 1-800 number.
They continually talk about “healings” …seems to me that at least a few could be actually documented by physicians.
If I got “healed” I would be able to produce a cardiac ultrasound that showed before and after.
All my scans are available online now for me to see…I’m sure that most medical providers do the same.
What we get instead are a lot of anecdotal “leg lengthenings” which is the oldest scam in the books.
I believe in divine healing…but I also believe God can tackle the hard stuff like heart disease and cancer if He so chooses.
Finally, an “encounter” with God is some individual experience of bliss that is sought after as some sort of divine refreshment and assurance.
I experienced something like that when Diggs made that catch against New Orleans, but alas, Philadelphia must have had an “open heaven’…
It just seems to me that if you have to try so hard to prove that “something happened”…nothing did.
On the other hand, I could be just an old crank…
My guts (and my email) tell me that the Calvary Global Network side of the Calvary Chapel split is floundering.
Here’s why…it has no unique identity… why join up with something you can’t define?
Hey I routinely lengthen legs to random people on the street. So what if Jesus didn’t include that in His repertoire. Reattaching severed ears is really hard!!! Also don’t forget to attend my latest upcoming conference where I will tell you how to go deeper into God’s power, it’s only $200 to be there, don’t you care about the things of God?
The Saeed page is still there. You’ve just been blocked.
You *almost* convinced me there, Todd. 🙂
Michael,
Yes, I can attest, it was heaven in Philadelphia. 🙂
Didn’t you see all that gold dust and angel feathers falling from the heavens after they won the Super Bowl? …….Or maybe that was just confetti. 🙂
I lengthen the truth from time to time…until I have no leg to stand on.
Abedini in the Greek means “dung-beetle.”
Regarding CGN floundering, that’s very subjective and depends on what one assumes CGN is trying to do/be in the first place. I’m not in any way on the “inside” of CGN so I don’t claim any authority in these observations or speculations. One person’s “floundering” is another person’s being cautious, and/or making room for The Lord to define it as it needs defining.
From a marketing standpoint, what CCA has going/is doing seems to be built on the very things that caused the split in the first place; an overdeveloped sense of identity to the point of behaving very Pharisaical in some instances. They have a name with recognition for those who are into that brand. They have a dove to get behind, or in front of, or underneath, or whatever. They now have Chuck’s archive. But they also have the leadership that is well documented in terms of how they have handled themselves with previous CCA council members and their open criticism of Brian, all of which is deplorable and I don’t know why anyone would follow those guys. But to some, they appear to be “winning” whatever that means.
My guess with CGN is that they are deliberately not trying to compete. They aren’t trying to come up with a brand as such and as yet. In relative terms these days, they should have folded, but they aren’t playing that game or by those rules. They just now have a Twitter feed for example. I think they are taking it slow on purpose and I think that’s a very good thing in light of the split. Sometimes the need comes first and then the solution presents itself. Other times the solution is there first and the need for which is exists comes later. Perhaps the later is true here.
I know that Brian isn’t hated here in this community, nor is he overly admired. But I will say that I listen to CCCMs Sunday podcast and him teaching (which I know people here don’t think is very dynamic). What he is saying, what he is emphasizing, the way he is handling the issues of our day and the building up of believers is exactly what is needed. He is setting the right tone. He is allowing room for and in fact encouraging people in different contexts to serve the gospel in their communities in ways that make sense and not according to one narrow way which was the case before. But with that openness, that broadness, comes an inherent lack of clear definition. Perhaps that is contributing to the perceived “floundering.”
Just some stream of consciousness thoughts. If I had a church I would join up with CGN.
Corby,
Any group has to have identity markers to survive…it’s what delineates them from everyone else.
What are CGN’s identity markers?
I assume ” floundering” means there is no money? That’s what it means in my ledger.
Michael – agreed. However, I think that they are in a unique position. I would suspect that those who are currently a part of it are fine with it with the limited identity markers that are defined in their “Join” page. They are getting out of it what they want out of it, even if that is very little for now. Some would argue, “What’s the point then?” The question itself is moot because it’s based on the individual need/preference, not an absolute one.
For myself, I don’t need much from it to be a part of it beyond knowing that there are others out there who believe like I do theologically and methodologically. What they are now, as limited as that may seem to some, is enough. More than that, it can only get better.
Jerod,
Not in this case…
Come to my conference and get your healing, or stay sick and poor. Why do you people hate prosperity?
Now that is a compliment… Proud to be a part of “you people,” the group who identify with the Phxp peeps ?
Saeed has a post up on his FB ministry page about being arrested:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10212032415385313&id=1221674324
Saeed, stop talking. That would be the best move for your family. Save it for the court.
Typical Saeed…the devil made him do it…and do it again and again…
The devil has the same name as his ex-wife? Hmm..
Michael,
Your comment to Corby on identity markers caught my eye. I just finished John H. Walton & J. Harvey Walton’s “The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest” on my commute this morning. Identity markers is a big part of their take on the conquest and on herem (hebrew word). But they say (in proposition/chapter 21) that scripture teaches us that we need more than just markers, we also need to set aside priviledges or statuses from identities that will contaminate through syncretism (Jew/Greek, slave/free, male/female) and to remove from the community those among it who deviate from the parameters of the community identity (heretics). I know you said back on the 13th that both CGN and CCA will remove from their database those who deviate enough for discipline. (And I note that Morningstar is not so listed any longer) Does either group draw boundaries about alternative identities?