Jesus Led

I noticed a pattern in the many books on house church that I’ve read (see my Resources page). Earlier works began by defending house church as a legitimate venue, followed by books on ecclesiastical history and then “how-to” books. More recent works, such as Jesus Led by John C. White, Toni M. Daniels, and Dr. Kent Smith, discuss discovering how to connect with God and with each other. This book is healthy and profound, and if you are involved in small-group gatherings, you will recognize how much it is needed. Healthy community does not simply happen on its own. The excerpt below offers a glimpse into the process of cultivating a healthy spiritual life.

We are never alone. Never! God has promised us his very life-presence always, and not just near us, but in our “innermost being.”

Those are strong words, even strange words for many, but they are true words. Unfortunately, even though God is near, we often cannot sense him with us. As Ephesians 1:18 says, we don’t know how to see with “eyes of our heart.” There could be many reasons for this:

-We are not connected relationally.
-We dismiss our own need for sensing God’s presence.
-We do not know how to quiet our minds.
-We do not know our own feelings enough to distinguish God’s presence within us from our own thoughts.
-We are afraid of perceiving God’s presence.

There may even be a dismissive tendency hardwired into our brains that keeps us from consistently recognizing God’s presence. If, for example, our caregivers were emotionally unavailable to us when we were growing up, then we will automatically dismiss our need for connection. We will downplay any need for intimacy, and our relationships become intellectualized.

This automatic dismissive pattern can divide our souls, resulting in our loving God with only half of our heart and mind. Our brain is comfortable with this experience because it is all it knows. We used to think spiritual life was about changing behavior through correcting wrong intellectual ideas. If we just memorized Bible verses, studied Scripture, sang songs, and listened to sermons, we would know God. We believed that the more we could absorb into our minds, the more we would obey God and please him. Sensing him or feeling loved was not even something we aspired to because we were told it was not necessary. And because dismissal of emotion felt true, we did not question it.

The reality, however, is that God delights in us and wants us to sense his pleasure in us! He knows we have needs, even if we are detached from them. Paying attention to whether or not we can feel his love for us (even when we are not trying) is the doorway into healthy connection with God and a transformed life. After all, it is what Paul prayed for the Ephesians:

That you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

This “knowing” is not merely an intellectual understanding, Paul used every word and image he had (rooted, established, surpassing knowledge, fullness) to describe what this “knowing” was like. The image depicts a person so deeply immersed in love that they feel stable, grounded and empowered. This love that penetrates every cell of mind and body must also impact feelings.

Don’t misunderstand us. Theology, Bible study, and good teaching are very real components of our lives together as Christians. We want to be whole-brained Christians. However, as Wilder and Hendricks explain in The Other Half of Church, our character is not transformed by information, correct thinking and good choices. These activities only appeal to the left side of our brain (the logic center), which is actually not the part of our brain that controls our behavior. It is the right side of our brain, where our emotions, experiences, and relational attachment are lodged, that shapes our character.

The New Testament speaks repeatedly of this relational component.What do these verses have in common?

But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Intercessor-Advocate, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. John 16:7 (AMP)

He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’ But he was speaking of the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in him [as Savior] were to receive afterward. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor). John 7:38-39 (AMP)

May he grant you out of the riches of his glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through his Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality]. Ephesians 3:16 (AMP)

In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26

Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on him, for he cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)

These verses point to the part of the Trinity Jesus called the “Spirit” who would come to our innermost being to comfort us, take joy in us (i.e., is glad to be with us), care for us, guide us, intercede for us, and correct us. It is a promise of God living with us and within us. Immanuel…enjoying us no matter what.

When we have a secure relational bond with God and others, our character grows and changes. Information alone cannot do that. Believe it or not, someone can have a securely bonded relationship with God even if they do not have all the correct information. It’s like a child who knows nothing about her parents’ history or present-day lives, yet she knows their love, comfort, and safety.

Unfortunately, even individuals who understand correct theology can succumb to various addictions and personality disorders. Regardless of what intellectual truth or theology a person mentally assents to, it is their emotional attachment and maturity (or lack thereof) that will lead their life, whether it is healthy and secure or distorted and harmful.

You can find out more about the book, authors and ministry by going to LK10.com.

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