"Meet Ordinary, a Nobody who leaves the Land of Familiar to pursue his
Big Dream. Once the Dream Giver convinces him to escape his Comfort
Zone, Ordinary begins the journey of his life -- overcoming Border
Bullies [which in real life would include concerned parents and
skeptical friends], navigating the Wasteland, and battling the
fierce Giants in the Land. This modern-day parable will get you started
on your own daring adventure.... Bestselling author Bruce Wilkinson will
serve as your Dream Coach...."[1,
jacket]
The Dream Giver
"The
Dream Giver... by the best selling author of The Prayer of Jabez,
invites readers to follow their hearts and find their destiny in
an inspired Life Dream that is uniquely theirs."
[2]
The Dream Giver by
Bruce Wilkinson, the famed author of
The Prayer of Jabez,
tells us that every person on earth has been given a "Big Dream" to pursue.
He prods us to let go of the "Familiar," stand up against the nay-saying
"Border Bullies," and follow that dream into the Land of Promise. The main
antagonists in this "parable" are those concerned parents or pastors who
might wisely question an exciting, feeling-based "Dream" or captivating
adventure into the unknown.
They might be right, for God tells us that man is easily deceived.
A spiritual war rages around us, and we are
daily bombarded with enticing lures designed to distract us from truth and
weaken our devotion to God. Therefore He lovingly warns
us to beware, be sober, be vigilant, be watchful....[3]
That means checking all things by the wisdom of His unchanging Word. And
since Mr. Wilkinson's books have inspired millions of people and influenced
countless ministries around the world, The Dream Giver warrants our
scrutiny. Four questions we might ask are:
-
What kind of a dream is his "Big Dream"?
-
Does the Dream Giver in the book present or misrepresent the ways of
our Lord?
- Would this Dream-Driven journey be
based on our personal
strengths and wants or on God's Grace and Word?
- Who does Ordinary
actually represent -- any person anywhere (implied) or Christians (those
who know and follow God)?
1. What kind of a dream is
Mr. Wilkinson's "Big Dream"?
On
the jacket of The Dream Giver, we are told: "Everyone has a dream.
You may not be able to describe it. You may have forgotten it. You may even
no longer believe in it. But it's there."[1]
Emphasis added
Does that statement reflect the
truth? We know that God has been speaking to His people through dreams and
visions
ever since the days of Abraham and Jacob.
In fact, Mr. Wilkinson uses Israel's miraculous exodus from Egypt to
illustrate that very point -- with a subtle twist. He equates God's
unique call of Moses with the supposedly
universal gift of Dreams from the divine Giver. He
ignores the fact that
God usually gave that gift to His chosen
servants, not to every person -- pagan, atheist or Christian -- on
earth. Might Mr. Wilkinson be referring to something less miraculous than
God-given Biblical dreams?
The Preface of The Dream Giver helps clarify Mr.
Wilkinson's usage of the word, Dream. It states:
"Do you believe every person on earth was born with a dream for his
or her life? ... I call this universal and powerful longing a Big Dream.
Like the genetic code that describes your unique passions and abilities,
your Big Dream has been woven into your being from birth.... And you
have it for a reason: to draw you toward the kind of life you were
born to love!
"If you read The
Prayer of Jabez, you met a little-known Old Testament man
who refused to settle for less. He desperately wanted to break out of
the confining circumstances and expectations he had been born into. So
he cried out to God for blessing, for larger borders, and for the power
and protection to go with them. And God said yes.
"If you pray that, your life will change.
God will expand your borders. He will move your life in a direction
where you can thrive, but also where you'll face greater challenges....
In this book, I call this direction His Dream for you."[1]
So, that's it! The Big Dream is the direction of your life -- one you
"were born to love," one that "will allow you to thrive." But that criteria
could be misleading, for what someone "loves" in this world may be totally
contrary to what God loves. The same can be said for the word "thrive." Is
Mr. Wilkinson simply referring to success and the illusive happiness of the
world? Or would his definition include the lives of the humble saints and
faithful martyrs of history? They thrived in spite of their suffering and
heartaches -- not because they loved their life journey, but because they
loved their wonderful Savior and Lord. Like Abraham, they knew they were
pilgrims and sojourners on this earth, and their treasure awaited them in
heaven. But that kind of supernatural thriving doesn't seem to fit the
affirming message of the book. Nor do Scriptures such as these:
"...he who does
not
take his cross and follow after Me is
not worthy of Me.
He who finds his life
will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
Matthew 10:38-39
"If you were of the
world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the
world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates
you.... If they persecuted Me they will persecute you... for they do not
know the One who sent Me."
John 15:19-21
Mr. Wilkinson continues with this question: "So let me ask: Did you have
a dream as a child that you lost along the way?"[1]
If his dream refers to goals, desires and ambitions, I would answer yes.
I wanted to raise horses, monkeys and all kinds of animals. I wanted to be a
veterinarian. (Our garage in Norway was often converted to a hospital with
boxes for injured animals -- mostly birds mauled by cats). I dreamed of
climbing mountains. And I wanted to travel around the world as a telegraph
operator on a Norwegian freighter and see exotic places such as Shanghai and
Rangoon. I am so glad God had other plans for me -- plans that I never would
have imagined, because I didn't have the needed talents, strength or
courage!
2.
Does Mr. Wilkinson's "Big
Dream" match our personal strengths and preferences?
Yes, according to The Dream Giver, that Dream must match your
strengths and wants. Though you may fear new challenges and not realize your
own strengths,
The Dream Giver's coaching service can give you the confidence and
courage needed to triumph over all the obstacles.
To discover your Dream, just ask yourself the following questions:
- What have I always been
good at?
- What needs do I care about
most?
- Who do I admire most?
- What makes me feel most
fulfilled?
- What do I love to do most?
- What have I felt called to
do?"[1, pages
80-81]
But from a Biblical perspective, these
questions pose a problem. Our personal feelings and preferences are poor
indications of God's will for our lives. Therefore He warns us, “The heart
is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
(Jeremiah 17:9)
What's more, He repeatedly calls our human, feeling-driven
imagination "futile" or "vain." Small wonder, since the
natural inclinations of our
human nature (flesh) are totally contrary to His ways. Yet, none
of those warnings are mentioned in The Dream Giver.
If you are "born again" and filled with His
Spirit, your victory comes through total surrender to His will and
commitment to follow His guidance -- no matter how difficult and unnatural
that way might seem to our "flesh" or nature. God says,
"Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another,
so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by
the Spirit, you are not under the law.
"Now the works of the flesh [human nature] are evident,
which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries,
and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in
time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Galatians
5:19-26
Mr. Wilkinson tells the reader to surrender his Dream to God, then God
will give it back. But God doesn't always work that way in our lives. Much
of what we surrender to Him, we were never meant to have in the first place.
He frees us from our human wants and cravings
[Romans 6:1-13], so that
He becomes our goal, our strength and our delight. In other words, those who
"walk in the Spirit," won't be following the crowded superhighway of popular
culture, for God has shown them a very different way. It will be "narrow and
difficult, and few there are who find it."
[See
God's Way versus our ways]
His way
doesn't beckon everyone to leave the Familiar and venture out on new
adventures. It may mean staying home and trusting His grace in a difficult
circumstance.
Or it could mean heading out to the ends
of the world with His gospel, trusting the Shepherd alone for grace and
strength in every weakness. But if the options for such a journey would be
limited to what we are "good at," we would have little need for our
Shepherd. Nor would God get all the praise.[4]
[See
His
grace in our weakness]
But that upside down result doesn't seem to
concern Mr. Wilkinson. He might even see parents or pastors who raise such
questions as real life "Border Bullies" -- like those in his book. To
help his readers make that association, he shared the following
illustration:
"Once I asked a large group of college
students
who came to mind first when we talked about Border Bullies. Hands
shot up all over the place. And nearly all of them have the same answer:
'My mom!' or 'My dad!'"
[1,
pages 104]
Where does the fifth Commandment -- "Honor
your father and your mother" -- fit into this new system? Might the second
point in this list of "Bullies that you might recognize" apply to your
parents or pastor?
- "The Alarmist says, 'It's not
safe!' This Bully (Ordinary's Mother) is motivated by fear...."
- "The Traditionalist says,
'It's not the way we do it!' This Bully (his Uncle) doesn't like
change...."
[This apparently points to those who resist
today's pressure to change and are unwilling to bend God's
unchanging truths]
- "The Defeatist says, 'It's
not possible!' This Bully (Best Friend) sees problems
everywhere...."
- The Antagonist says, "I won't
let you!' This Bully (the Landlord) uses authority or
intimidation...."[1,
page 104]
A few pages later, Mr. Wilkinson writes, "The
single biggest reason Border Bullies stop most of us from pursuing our
God-given Dream is our fear of man. 'The fear of man brings a snare,' the
Bible says."[1, page 106]
Yes, but that's only half of the verse. It
continues, "but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe."
[Proverbs 29:25] Why
would he leave out that important second part? It clarifies why we
don't need to fear man!
3. Does the fictional
"Dream Giver" reflect the nature and ways of our sovereign Lord?
Though Mr. Wilkinson tells us repeatedly that the Dream Giver is God,
there are some discrepancies. Consider these quotes:
"...one morning Ordinary woke
up with these words echoing in his mind: What you're missing, you
already have....
"Could it be? Ordinary looked and looked. And then he discovered that in
a small corner of his heart lay a Big Dream. The Big Dream told him that
he, a Nobody, was made to be a Somebody and destined to achieve Great
Things.
"Jumping out of bed, Ordinary discovered something else--a long white
feather resting on the sill of his window.... With a jolt of excitement,
Ordinary decided he'd been visited by the Dream Giver."[1,
page 14]
"Ordinary decided to use the
long white feather to help him remember the Truth. ... Then he dipped
the quill in permanent ink and wrote on the first page:
-
The Dream Giver game me a
Big Dream before I was even born. ...
-
My Dream is what I do
best
and what I most love to do."[1,
page 20]
Do those two points reflect the
ways of our Lord? I don't believe so, for His Word shows us a different way:
"God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are
mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are
despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to
nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His
presence.'"
1 Corinthians 1:27-30
"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of
speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of
human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that
your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
"...a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet
me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded
with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said
to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made
perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I
take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions,
in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am
strong."
2 Corinthians 12:7
When God gives a dream or a vision, He also interprets the message and
guides the faithful believer according to His own purpose, not their human
ambitions. The Holy Spirit might speak through one of God's chosen vessels
as He did when Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream or when Daniel explained
Nebuchadnezzar's dream. But those faithful men simply listened to the Lord
they trusted. They didn't need a modern "dream coach" to interpret the
dreams or to follow His way.
[5]
Near the end of the book, you find a section called "A Closing
Invitation." It shows the next step on the dream journey:
"Of course, living your Big Dream is much more complex and
challenging than can be described in a 160-page book. Visit us at
www.TheDreamGiver.com to find additional coaching tools
and resources, including a daily e-mail from me about pursuing and
living our Dream.... Now may you devote yourself to His Dream for you.
And may heaven describe you as one of these rare people who live to
achieve Great Things for the glory of God."[1,
page 157]
That sounds good, doesn't it? But do the Biblical words actually reflect
God's truth in a Biblical context?
If you follow that link, you come to The Dream Giver website. It
welcomes you with this message: "Bestselling author
Bruce Wilkinson will serve as your Dream
Coach, offering insights and practical solutions." Next, click on
The
Dream Giver Coach. This website will gladly "provide you with
professional DreamGiver Coaches whose purpose is to give you hope,
inspiration, and unconditional support
in discovering and living out your DREAM." It doesn't mention God or His
Word."
"Are you excited about your Dream Journey, but aren’t
sure where to start?" This question is posed by
The Dream Assessment
support team. It continues with references to
DISC, based on the personality theories of two behavioral psychologists,
Carl Jung
(an occultist inspired by his spirit guide Philemon) and
Dr. William
Marston. Here you learn that "DISC and the Dream Assessment
will give you the tools you need to pursue and achieve your Big Dream. To
identify your unique personality type, DISC is a simple, effective tool that
has been tested and used by millions of people worldwide. The short,
online assessment helps you understand what motivates you, your personal
strengths and weaknesses, and how you relate to other people."
[For more information about Carl Jung, Dr. Marston and modern psychometric
tools based on their research, click on
Excerpts:
DISC and
The Dream Giver."
[6]
Notice again that the psycho-social tools
that Mr. Wilkinson promotes as his
Dream Giver Assessment
have nothing to do with God and His ways. If anything, they encourage us to
shift our faith from God Himself to the secular world's system of managing
and monitoring
Human Resources.
And unlike God's grace which is free, this coaching service is costly. You
start paying the fees when you sign up for the assessments that will monitor
your personal transformation into a Great Achiever.
What's more concerning, this coaching
service relies on the same
DiSC
technology used by corporate managers in the secular and global arena to
test emotional and attitudinal "fitness" for group work and a collective
society. They want to know if each team member has the relational skills
needed to build
synergy
and conform to the corporate community or
local service groups? That's a crucial
question for today's success-oriented and purpose-driven managers.
[7]
At the Dream Giver website, you will be referred to
Christian Financial Professional
Network. Its
Personal DISCcernment inventory
(PDI) is also "based on the time-tested DISC theory that provides powerful
insights into your work and social style. ...
This customized report ... describes the unique
challenges you will encounter due to your style's particular strengths and
weaknesses. ... [D]iscover how to successfully navigate the path to
fulfilling your Dream."
[8]
Finally -- in case you are
totally confused by now -- let's go to
What is DiSC? Here we
learn that --
"DiSC is a model of
human behavior that helps to understand 'why people do what they do.'
The dimensions of
Dominance,
Influencing,
Steadiness,
and
Conscientiousness
make up the model and interact with other factors to describe human
behavior. ... The original DiSC model was originally based on the
1928 work of Dr. William Moulton Marston at Columbia University. ... He
was also the creator, writer and
producer of 'Wonder Woman' which
introduced into comic strips, the role model of a strong female."[9]
The supposedly "private" DISC personality
profiles are gathered and stored in vast -- often global -- digital data
tracking systems. These life-long data files help employers and leaders
around the world to continually assess, mold, manage and monitor their
"human resources." It's sobering to realize that this same system is now
used by the mega-churches and Christian ministries to assess their members
and place them in various volunteer service "opportunities." After all, to
"grow the church" and win favor from secular leaders -- whether in
schools, business, politics or media -- you must learn to adapt to diversity
and "serve the greater whole."
That's not all. This kind of tracking lies at
the heart of UNESCO's plan for a global workforce. It enables our global
managers to monitor individual progress in "lifelong learning" aimed at
global citizenship, then prescribe remediation in areas of resistance. The
end point is behavioral control. Remember the statement by
Professor Raymond Houghton:
"...absolute behavior control is
imminent.... The critical point of behavior control, in effect, is
sneaking up on mankind without his self-conscious realization that a
crisis is at hand. Man will... never self-consciously know that it has
happened."[10]
This is big business! The DISC assessments will measure, monitor and mold
"Human
Resources"
for the global workforce,
[11]
for your local community, and for the planned "social
sector" with its volunteer welfare service. This global
management system has already been writing the behavioral and attitudinal
standards for "human resource development." It intends to assess and monitor
everyone to make sure they comply with the planned solidarity or "unity in
diversity." It's sad to see how churches and "Christian" managers are
leading the campaign for bringing people willingly into this massive web of
human resource development.[12]
This process trains people to ignore or adapt
God's guidelines to cultural changes. It desensitizes them to the contrary
philosophies and values. In other words, it prompts Christians to justify an
unbiblical consensus and embrace an Hegelian worldview that blends good and
evil, light and dark -- all the opposites that God describes in passages
such as
2 Corinthians 6:12-18.
Many believers will never recognize it for what it is: the world system
cloaked in Christian terminology and idealized through Christian ministries.
Inspired by Satan, the "ruler of this world,"
it distorts our understanding of God and twists His holy truths into
positive affirmations and sentiments that
please the world.
In other words, the Dream Giver does not represent the God of the
Bible! And our true God warns us:
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness....
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own
sight!"
Isaiah 5:20-21
While Mr. Wilkinson tells us
to trust and follow a Big Dream, God's Word tells us to trust and follow God
alone. We cannot do both!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on
your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from
evil."
Proverbs 3:5-7
4. Who
does Ordinary represent -- any person
or
Christians who know and
trust God?
Our God does indeed
give dreams and visions to His people. But, throughout history, those dreams
and visions have been granted to His chosen servants -- not to everyone
(pagan, atheist or Christian) on earth. Occasionally, He gave special
messages to those who didn't know Him, in order to accomplish His own
purpose. But the reason for those gifts had nothing to do with Ordinary's
dream of his own "Great Thing" or feel-good activity.
God told the Old Testament prophet Joel that "it shall
come to pass in the last days... that I will pour out of My Spirit on all
flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see
visions, your old men shall dream dreams." As the apostle Peter explained in
Acts 2:17, Pentecost was a partial fulfillment of that prophecy. A more
complete fulfillment lies ahead, but that wonderful blessing has little to
do with today's churches where only a small minority of "born again"
believers take time to study God's Word and build a Biblical worldview.
[See
Statistics for the Changing Church]
Instead, truth-twisting has become the norm. Mr. Wilkinson tells us that
-
"...your Big Dream was planted in you before you were born. The
psalmist David wrote that all the days of his life had been 'fashioned
for me, when as yet there were none of them."
[Psalm 139:16]
Yes, God knows exactly what will happen in each of our lives. He has
total foreknowledge. He knows who will trust Him and who will reject Him.
But this Scripture has nothing to do with the feel-good, universally given
dreams Wilkinson promises everyone. Instead, God warns us that His purposes
will not please everyone. He is the sovereign King of the universe -- the
"Potter" who does whatever He wills with His creation, whether we like it or
not:
"Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made
me like this?' Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the
same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" Romans
9:20-24
Those who truly are "born again" can be assured that all our days are
written in His book. But that doesn't mean that our life journey would be
spelled out for us ahead of time. While God knows each part, He rarely tells
us those steps ahead of time. "For we walk by faith, not by sight." [2
Corinthians 5:7] Therefore, we need to keep our eyes on Him, our Shepherd,
not on our dreams and expectations. Then, day by day, year after year, He
will lead us along His perfect plan laid out for us before the "foundation
of the world."
Ephesians 1:4
It's no small matter to misrepresent God, His will and His ways. Yet it
happens in churches as well as in schools, movies, politics and the media.
We are easily deceived, because Scriptural integrity is no longer
emphasized. All too often, our minds are steeped in captivating fiction and
entertainment rather than in truth and reality. So when "the deceiver"
tempts us to twist God's truth into a culturally acceptable message, we take
the bait -- and help him spread
those enticing distortions, lies and
counterfeit promises. As in Old Testament
days, this adversary gladly works through God's own people when we are not
alert to
His schemes.[13]
The Bible shows us two very different
kinds of people on earth. They follow three different sources of our
dreams, visions, and guidance:
-
the sovereign, all-knowing God of the universe
-
their human imagination and deceitful hearts
-
Satan, who masquerades as an "angel of light."
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
[14]
See
Biblical Division
The latter two work well
together; for both oppose or twist God's truth. Such counterfeits have
deceived God's people since the beginning of time. Throughout history,
so-called "prophets" have shared popular and positive promises from their
own "imagination"
while claiming to speak for God. They didn't fear offending Him. Instead,
they claimed the honor and authority that came from their identity as a
spokesman for the Lord of heaven and earth.
[15]
What was God's response to such
mockery of His truth and holiness? Ponder these warnings:
"Behold, I am against those who prophesy
false dreams,' says the Lord, 'and... cause My people to err by their
lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or
command them. So when these people or the prophet or the priest
ask you, saying, ‘What is the oracle of the Lord?’ you shall then say to
them, ‘What oracle?’
I will even forsake you,” says the Lord. ''...for you have
perverted the words of the living God.... I will utterly
forget you and forsake you... and will cast you out of My presence."
Jeremiah 23:30-36
"Do not listen to the
words of the prophets who prophesy to you...
They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the
Lord.
They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, 'You
shall have peace’;
And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart,
they say,
‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
Jeremiah 23:16-17
"I have not sent these
prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they
prophesied...."
Jeremiah 23:21
"Do you suppose that I came to give peace
on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division."
Luke 12:51
"Beware lest anyone cheat you
through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of
men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according
to Christ."
Colossians 2:8
Those are hard words! They clash with the new
"positive" gospel taught by Robert Schuller,
John Maxwell and Rick Warren. Such
"negative" images of God won't draw the masses into the Church! Instead they
offend casual seekers and chase them away! That's why "divisive" people who
might share such Scriptures are often
asked to leave today's
purpose-driven churches.
[16]
5. Whom do we trust -- our human
dreams or the sovereign King of the universe?
God's Word is totally incompatible with
today's human resource development for a global society. Much of the Bible
is simply too inflexible and incompatible with the
new way of thinking! That's why "change
agents" around the world are training people to "think outside the box" of
traditional values. And since many parents still trust in God's unchanging
truths, their children must be freed from parental boundaries. That may
sound like a good idea in general, but when "the box" is God's unchanging
truths, this amounts to mutiny against our Lord.
This revolutionary notion of social
transformation has been growing for over a century. Professor John Goodlad
used the word resocialize. One of the most influential change agents in the
global as well as national arena, he served on the governing boards of
UNESCO's Institute for Education and as head of the Institute for
Educational Renewal four decades ago. In 1970, he warned his fellow
educators that -
"Parents and the general public must be
reached... Otherwise, children and youth enrolled in globally-oriented
programs may find themselves in conflict with values assumed in the
home. And then the educational institution...comes under scrutiny....
Most youth still hold the same values as their parents and if we don't
resocialize, our system will decay."
[17]
Other change agents in the fifties and
sixties established "educational laboratories" and behavioral research
institutes that would lay the foundation for postmodern society and its
rejection of absolute truth. These behind-the-scenes revolutionaries knew
well that to transform the world, you also had to transform churches and
free their members from the old guidelines found in the Scriptures.
[See
Steps toward Global Mind Control]
Few noticed the signs of the times. Among
those who did discern the trends was A. W. Tozer. As early as 1959, he
describes the sobering changes:
"T
he
flaw in current evangelism lies in its humanistic approach.... It is
frankly fascinated by the great, noisy, aggressive world with its big
names, hero worship, its wealth and its garish pageantry. To the
millions of disappointed persons who have always yearned for worldly
glory but never attained to it, the modern evangel offers a quick and
easy shortcut to their heart's desire. Peace of mind, happiness,
prosperity, social acceptance, publicity, success in sports, business,
the entertainment field, and perchance to sit occasionally at the same
banquet table with a celebrity—all this on earth and heaven at last.
Certainly no insurance company can offer half as much.
"In this quasi-Christian scheme of things God becomes the Aladdin
lamp who does the bidding of everyone that will accept His Son and sign
a card. ... This gross misapprehension of the truth is in back of much
of our present evangelical activity. It determines directions, builds
programs, decides the content of sermons, fixes the quality of local
churches and even of whole denominations, sets the pattern for religious
writers and forms the editorial policy of many evangelical publications.
"This concept of Christianity is in radical error, and because it
touches the souls of men it is a dangerous, even deadly, error. At
bottom it is little more than a weak humanism allied with weak
Christianity to give it ecclesiastical respectability.... Invariably
it begins with man and his needs and then looks around for God; true
Christianity reveals God as searching for man to deliver him from his
ambitions."
[18]
Born After Midnight
The Bible gives us an even more sobering picture:
"... in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers
of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors,
headstrong, haughty,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of
godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
"...all who desire to live godly in
Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will
grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must
continue in the things which you have learned..."
2 Timothy 3:1-14
In the midst of it all, we can put our trust in
the true God who has revealed Himself in His Word. When we look to Him and
seek His ways, He will surely lead us!
"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me....
Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my
salvation;
On You I wait all the day."
Psalm 25:1-5
See The
Prayer of Jabez | Quotes
-
Management |
You've Got Potential!
How God Maximizes Your Life
The end of a
dream? On December 19, 2005, The Wall Street Journal
published this article about Bruce Wilkinson:
"In Swaziland, U.S. Preacher
Sees His Dream Vanish:"
"In 2002
Bruce Wilkinson...
moved to Africa and announced his intention to save one million
children left orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. In October, Mr. Wilkinson
resigned in a huff from the African charity he founded. He abandoned
his plan to house 10,000 children in a facility that was to be an
orphanage, bed-and-breakfast, game reserve, bible college, industrial
park and Disneyesque tourist destination....
" Mr.
Wilkinson won churchloads of followers in Swaziland, but left them
bereft and confused. He gained access to top Swazi officials, but
alienated them with his demands. And his departure left critics
convinced he was just another in a long parade of outsiders who
have come to Africa making big promises and quit the continent when
local people didn't bend to their will....
"Perhaps Mr. Wilkinson's most successful venture in Swaziland was
a conference in June -- funded by a $108,000 grant his group received
from the U.S. government -- aimed at engaging churches in
the fight against HIV."
|
Endnotes:
1.
Bruce Wilkinson, The Dream Giver (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers,
Inc., 2003).
2.
The Dream Giver
at
www.thedreamgiver.com/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=80
3. See
Watchfulness at
www.crossroad.to/HisWord/verses/topics/watch.htm
4.
His grace
in our weakness
5.
www.tdp-project.co.uk/New_Site/New%20Site/prodservs/204.htm
6.www.crossroad.to/Quotes/management/DISC.htm
7. Human
Resources,
DiSC®,
www.crossroad.to\Excerpts\community\synergy.htm and
www.tdp-project.co.uk/New_Site/New%20Site/downloads/TDP%20Case%20Studies2.pdf
8.
www.pdiprofile.com/pdi/login.asp?res=15
9.
www.progressagents.com/article6.html
10.Raymond Houghton,
To Nurture Humaneness: Commitment for the '70's (The Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development of the NEA, 1970), pages 46-47.
11
.
Molding
Human Resources for the Global Workforce
at www.crossroad.to/text/articles/HumanResources.html
12.
"Social
Change and Communitarian Systems" at
www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/6-purpose-communitarian.htm
"Reinventing the World"
at
www.crossroad.to/articles2/Reinvent1.htm
13. See
The Nature and Tactics of Satan
at
http://www.crossroad.to/charts/sin&satan.html
14.
Topical Index of Scriptures:
www.crossroad.to\HisWord\verses\topics\division.htm
15.
"Imagination"
at
www.crossroad.to/HisWord/verses/topics/imagination.htm
16.
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven, Part 4: Dealing with
Resisters at
www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/4-purpose-resisters.htm
17.
John
Goodlad, "Report of Task Force C: Strategies for Change," Schooling for the Future, a report to the President's Commission on
Schools Finance, Issue #9, 1971.
18. A. W. Tozer,
Born After Midnight
(Christian Publications, 1959), pages 22-23.
