Category: All Articles

Where Do We Go From Here?

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Church

–Summer of 1999

Where Do We Go From Here?

I’ve been listening with keen interest to the discussion created by Dr. Richard Taylor’s article, “Why the Holiness Movement Died,” published in the Revivalist, March, 1999.  What I have heard has been healthy, encouraging, and hopeful.  The majority of the responses have been very supportive of Dr. Taylor’s insightful remarks.  Most of the disagreement stems from the failure actually to read or understand the thrust of his article.  The responders fall into four distinct categories.

The first category, by far the largest (over 90 percent), is made up of those who understood the intent of Keith Drury’s original article (“The Holiness Movement is Dead,” Revivalist, March, 1995) and Dr. Taylor’s response.  They welcomed the prophetic warning and pled for a response of prayer, fasting, and other corrective efforts to “turn the tide” so that the holiness movement may say that its best days are yet ahead.

The second category of responders agreed with the thesis given by Keith Drury and the article by Dr. Taylor, but were concerned about the language in the title.  They would have preferred words like “decline” or a question, “Will It Die?” rather than the rhetorical use of the word “dead.”  They were concerned that it sent the wrong message or obscured the real message given by each author.  This group, though small, was made up mostly of church leaders.  I believe there is some validity to their view, though I question whether or not Drury would have ever been heard had he not used strong language.

The third category responding was the smallest group of all.  They are what I call the “I told you so” group.  They twisted Dr. Taylor’s article to agree with their long held view that the entire holiness movement is indeed literally dead.  This view offers nothing but hopelessness.

The fourth category was another small group that could be ranked on the extreme opposite of category three.  This group responded with rhetoric to the rhetorical use of “death” and with sarcasm to the whole point of the article by claiming that “the holiness movement is alive and well.”  They have distorted Dr. Taylor’s remarks by making him say what he never said.  They seem to be motivated by a fear that to acknowledge any problem is to breed a hopelessness which will cause the younger generation to abandon the movement.  One can understand their concern and even sympathize with their desire to protect their children from any discussion about the problems within the movement.  However, their approach is fraught with danger.  Any approach that ignores the real problem is an approach that will prevent an appropriate solution and will actually perpetuate the problem.  Man’s natural tendency is not to face up to things as they are.  Human nature has an infinite capacity to jump from one extreme to the other.  To this group it is either “dead and hopeless” or “alive and well.”  They ignore the truth that lies between these two extremes.  I have dealt with young people for many years.  I have two young sons of my own.  What I have found is that young people can smell religious humbug from a considerable distance.  They are not wanting to be sheltered from the truth.  Rather, they want to be challenged to become change agents in a movement that they deeply love and are committed to just as much as their parents.

Furthermore, this approach flies in the face of church history and Biblical precedent.  Never before in the history of the church or in Biblical history did speaking the truth in love cause an abandonment of God’s cause or His work.  On the contrary, it proved to be a fundamental step in return, renewal, and ultimate survival.

We cannot be distracted from a pursuit of revival and renewal for the holiness movement.  The cries of those who are saying they are tired of hearing it must be ignored.  The truth is nobody is talking about the death of the holiness movement, but those in category three.  No one that I know has ever said that the holiness message is dead, that the holiness experience is dead and that holiness saints have passed from the earth.  The truth is, for the first time in my adult life, I hear serious discussion by leaders from California to North Carolina who have been moved to action in response to Dr. Taylor’s article.  I believe it is urgent that we strike while the fire is hot.  We must address the issues that need it and cry to God for a national and world-wide revival of full salvation that will save men to the uttermost.  I believe this can be our day!  We cannot afford to miss it!

 What is a fair evaluation?

It would be very difficult to improve on Dr. Taylor’s article (go back and re-read it word for word).  I have no real disagreement with him.  (Though, I do think he speaks too uncritically of the 19th century holiness movement.  I also think there are a few other theologians from the 19th century, as well as the 20th century who, along with Mildred Wynkoop, have added to other theological woes.)  Over all, Dr. Taylor’s article gave a fair evaluation of many of the problems that we do have.  However, I think it is important to point out that many of the problems we are facing as a holiness movement in America, such as a steady decline in full membership, a lack of real ethical and moral impact on society, and a difficulty in articulating our belief system, are problems which are not unique to the holiness church.  As a matter of fact, they are problems that are shared by the North American church in general.  Any study of the dilemma of the Christian church in North America would readily acknowledge that what is happening in the holiness movement is also happening in all other denominations across the evangelical mainstream.

It should also be pointed out that many of the problems we are facing today are not necessarily new to the holiness movement.  When a movement institutionalizes and becomes a formal church movement it will naturally experience times of decline.  Almost a half a century ago Uncle Bud Robinson said of the holiness movement, “There are only two things wrong with this movement – too little holiness and too little movement.”  The loss of sanctity and service are perennial problems within any religious institution.  It is also significant to note that when a movement institutionalizes and ages into a second generation, religious experience becomes more theological than experiential.  The holiness movement at the turn of the century was far more dynamic because holiness was more of an experience and a life style than a theological tenet of a particular institutionalized movement.  It should also be pointed out, though it may be a bit painful, that some of those who are trying to analyze our problems are the very embodiment of the problem.  They have retreated form real sanctity, real separation and real service, which have always been at the heart of the holiness movement.

 What can we do?

Let me begin by telling you what I think we should not do.  First, we had better not try to rationalize the demise of the vital signs of life within our movement, nor ignore the warnings of those who have their hand on the pulse of this movement.  Secondly, we dare not continue to accept and tolerate the growing credibility gap between the holiness message verbalized and the holiness message internalized.  Third, we cannot and dare not give up strong confrontational preaching that checks the erosion of ethical standards, Biblical lifestyles and the plaguing problem of materialism.  Fourth, we cannot allow our church leaders and other leaders to negotiate a compromise on long held Biblical values.  We must insist that our leaders, in educational institutions, in denominations and in local pulpits, stand strong on a Scriptural response to the issues confronting our day.  Fifth, we should not continually dwell on our problems.  If we continue to analyze ourselves, we may simply analyze ourselves to death.  We can dwell on the problem until we become problem-conscious rather than God-conscious.  Dwelling on it too much is as bad as ignoring it altogether.  Both can be paralyzing.  We must ask God to give us the sensibility to address the serious needs and concerns within our movement without becoming obsessed with those problems.  Obsession with any problem will produce negativism, censoriousness and despair.

What should we do as a movement?  I believe the answer isn’t as difficult as we want to think.  First of all, I think we need to stop looking around to each other for an answer and start looking up.  So often we are like people stranded on a desert island who rush to retrieve the bottle floating on the waves with a note in it, only to find it is the very bottle and note that they had thrown into the ocean only a few days before.  So often we just rehash our own thinking.  We need a message from outside of ourselves.  We need a word from God.  Every movement, both large or small, has had its beginning with a man or woman who rediscovered who God is and what God can do.  The Hebrew nation was born when Abraham saw the “God of glory” chose to follow Him.  Every great king, judge or spiritual leader in the Old Testament was a man who rose to the occasion because of a revelation of who God was and what He could do for His people.  The gospel literally was carried to the far corners of the earth because Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus and he could never be disobedient to that “heavenly vision.”  Every great revival and move in church history was preceded by a man or a woman rediscovering who God is and what God wants to do.

The generations that surround mine are generations that have not seen the God of revival.  What we do not experience we cease to believe.  My generation needs to understand that God is predisposed to give revival.  There are thousands of good God-fearing people around us who have never really seen who God is and what He can do.  They have lived off of the vision of others and have never caught a glimpse of Him for themselves.  They need to rediscover God.

I believe the natural result that will follow a rediscovery of God is a rediscovery of Scripture.  God’s Word is indeed relevant to the problems of our day.  The central themes of Scripture can and must become the major priorities in our lives.  Holiness and holy living must be more than a buzzword or a doctrine that we Wesleyans have captured.  It becomes a way of life.  Far too often we have taken the Bible and just extrapolated a second blessing rather than allowed the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to produce sanctity in our lives.  In rediscovering Scripture, we will rediscover that we can love God with all of our heart and our neighbor as ourselves.

In rediscovering God and His Word, we will rediscover our neighbor.  Wesley was right when he said there is no holiness but social holiness.  It is absolutely impossible to speak of loving God with all of our heart and not recognize our responsibility to our neighbor.  If Biblical holiness does anything for us, it enables us to become focused on redemptive activity.  The holiness giants of yesteryear (men who knew the holiness movement in its best of times) were men who were totally captivated by redemptive activity.  John Wesley said to his itinerant preachers, “We have nothing to do but save souls.”  Frances Asbury brought Methodism and holiness to America.  In one generation he changed the religious complexion of America from one in forty being a Methodist to one in four being a Methodist.  These men were driven with a passion to redeem lost mankind.  The holiness movement at the turn of the century was led by men who were gripped with the responsibility to take the message of full salvation to the far reaches of the earth, to put it in print so that every man might read it, and to start Bible schools that would promote and preserve the holiness message to another generation.  They established orphanages, homes for unwed mothers, and rescue missions in all of our major cities so that they might literally take the message of full salvation to those who needed it most.  To these men a holiness message that didn’t reach out, a holiness that didn’t help heal the hurts of fallen mankind, a holiness that didn’t offer to the world an answer to the sin problem was a holiness that was neither real nor inspirational to the masses.  To speak of holiness and not couple it with social concern for their neighbor would have been to these men pure hypocrisy.

I thank God for the insight of both Dr. Drury and Dr. Taylor.  I don’t want to end up on either extreme in response to what these men have said.  I intend to thank God for the warning, to move ahead as never before, to do my best to correct the wrongs, while continuing to preach, teach and live holiness to the best of my ability.  I intend to pray and fast for a mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit that will help my generation and the coming generation rediscover God, what His Word says and who our neighbor is.

The Great Omission

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Education, Theology

–April of 1999

The Great Omission

For the last half of this century, the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian.  Contemporary American churches, in particular, do not require following Christ in His example, spirit, and teachings as conditions for membership in the local body.  Discipleship has clearly become optional.

This is not the New Testament way.  The word “disciple” occurs 269 times in the New Testament.  The New Testament itself is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ.  The kind of life we see lived out in the earliest glimpses of the church is that special life that has all of the markings of a dedicated follower of Jesus.  All of the assurances and promises afforded to mankind through the gospel message presupposes such a life and makes no sense apart from it.

The first command that Jesus left for the early church was to use the power of the Holy Spirit within and the authority of His Name to make disciples.  Having made these disciples, they were to “baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”  This was Christ’s plan for the growth of the church.  Today, however, we have jettisoned the disciplines of discipleship and rushed wobbly-legged believers into membership.  Many of these “converts” aren’t even converted.  Thus we have filled the church with people who haven’t a clue as to what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and live out the life that He requires.

What it meant to be a disciple back then on the dusty roads of rural Palestine is essentially the same in today’s world of advanced theology.  It still means to follow Jesus in an attitude of study, obedience and imitation.  Disciples always seek above all else to be like Him.  They are so intent on becoming Christlike that they prioritize their life around His Word and the affairs of His kingdom.  They love their enemies, bless those who curse them, and in general seek to live out Christ to the world around them.

Dietrich Bonheoffer wrote the book, The Cost of Discipleship.  It was a powerful essay against cheap grace.  In it he writes, “One cannot be a disciple of Christ without forfeiting things normally sought in human life, and that the one who pays little in this world’s coinage to bear His name has reason to wonder where he or she stands with God.”

Fortunately, not every church has abandoned our Lord’s commission.  The narrow road to Heaven is still trod by a faithful band of men and women wearing a cross-shaped yoke, who know the joy of being His disciples and following in His steps.

We Are Holiness People

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Church

–March of 1999

We Are Holiness People

On the cover of this issue of the Revivalist you will see a distinguished vanguard of holiness theologians of this century who have nobly declared and defended the doctrine of entire sanctification for the various descendants of Methodism.  These men were more than academicians.  They were men who saw the holiness training as a doctrine to be believed, an experience to be enjoyed and a life to be lived.  They were indeed holiness men.

As the holiness movement, internationally and nationally, has lost momentum and drifted toward mainstream evangelicalism, the identifying title “holiness people” is used less frequently.  Some see it as an antiquated term associated with derision and scorn.  (To them it conjures up images of snake handlers and holy rollers.)  Others feel that it no longer identifies in any meaningful way what the holiness church really is.

I believe it is still a good term and we shouldn’t shy away from using it.  I don’t think we should use it in the sense to advertise or emphasize our personal righteousness, but I do believe it is a term that identifies what we believe doctrinally and what we practice freely.  We are holiness people…are we not?

 Dr. Taylor points out in his article that holiness people are those who have found an answer to the problem of the “Christian’s wobbling” and the “church’s feebleness.”  They understand that at the core of the unsanctified believe is the sinful self that seeks always to turn “to its own way.”  They recognize the sophisticated antagonism of the carnal heart as a “hangover tendency” of self rule and self centeredness that needs to be cleansed by the refining fire of the Holy Spirit’s baptism.  They still preach and teach that the sin nature can be and must be cleansed.

It is the holiness people who offer hope for the Christian who lacks love for the brethren, personal victory in the inner man, stability in the Christian walk and freedom from the love of this present world.

Holiness people offer a message of entire sanctification that promises: (1) the power of Spirit fullness that enables a person to be what God wants them to be; (2) a dispositional alignment with the plan and purpose of God for their lives; (3) a new thrust of single-minded devotion that will help one stay focused; and, (4) a passionate love for mankind that is grounded in a perfect love towards God.

Are you a holiness person in more than just name?  Are we, indeed, worthy sons and daughters of such noble fathers?  If not, why not seek to be so today?  Confess your need, ask God to sanctify you wholly, and believe Him to do it.  The assurance of inner cleansing can and will be yours.

Giving Away Your Money

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Ministry

–Winter of 1999

Giving Away Your Money

Money has been a favorite topic of conversation for Christians since the earliest days of the Church. Scripture itself gives a significant portion of its content to the subject. Money ranks near the very top of subjects most often mentioned in the Bible; only idolatry is mentioned more.

Most of us have a fairly good understanding of why the Bible has so much to say and so many warnings to give about money. We have all seen what the power and influence of money can do. We have watched as those who craved it and clutched it became so twisted and bent that their chances of being a blessing and making it to heaven are indeed as probable as a camel getting through the eye of a needle. On the other hand, we have seen the example of those who have held it loosely and given it generously to the benefit and blessing of thousands.

“Why do some people and their money part so slowly, while others give with such freedom and ease?”

The Old Testament has numerous passages that refer to God’s people giving a tithe (tenth) of their money back to God. Upon close examination, one will find that the tithe doesn’t have its origin in the law. The first in the Bible was given by Abraham 430 years before the Mosaic Law was revealed. The reason Abraham tithed was to acknowledge God’s sovereignty (Heb.7:1-10). He tithed as a testimony that God owned everything in his life. This is a practice that Jacob took up as well. Since the minimum amount mentioned in the Bible is a tithe, it would seem that if we cannot return to God this small amount we are acknowledging that the whole has not been surrendered. The giving of the smallest requirement is an outside indication of an inside spiritual condition. It is our testimony that God owns everything in our lives.

So the bottom-reason people struggle over giving is the issue of sovereignty. Does God own it all or is it mine to do with as I please? When God told his people that they did not love Him, His proof or evidence was that they had withheld the tithe from Him. At the heart of giving is the heart. Giving indicated more than anything else who is really in control of our lives.

Are there biblical guidelines for the giving of our money?

A very simple study of God’s Word will produce a number of principles that should guide our giving. The first principle is that we should give “willingly”. II Cor. 9:7 teaches us that we should give to God with a willing spirit, not reluctantly or from a sense of pressure. Cheerful giving can only stem out of a love for God and a desire to advance His cause. Gifts given from a willing spirit bring untold blessing on the giver as well as the recipient.

Another principle in giving is that we are to give “liberally” (II Cor.9:6). Our giving should be marked by generosity. Our frame and reference should not be, “How little can I give and still give.” Giving should be as generous and liberal as our means will allow.

II Cor. 8:13-14 gives us a third principle. The principle of giving sensibly. Our giving should be guided by good sense. We are not to endanger the welfare of our own family and personal responsibilities by giving beyond our means. Paul admonished the Corinthians, “not to get yourselves into trouble in order to offer relief to others.” Rather share what is fair and appropriate so that none, including yourselves, will have any lack.

Paul gives a fourth principle in II Cor. 9:5-7. The principle of giving thoughtfully. Paul lays down some excellent advice on “planned giving.” Giving should not be spasmodic and emotional. It should be well thought through. We should plan ahead for special offerings and other gifts. Making provision in advance for giving is a sure way to make giving a greater blessing for all involved, as well as a way to insure that we do have something to give. There will always be times of “special direction” from the Spirit in our giving for which we may not be prepared and for which He will provide the extra funds in ways to increase our faith. Generally though, people who make plans to give not only accomplish their plans but give far more less strain than those who do not.

A fifth principle that we rarely ever hear about is the principle of proportionate giving (Lk.12:48). If I could change our church our manuals I would change the section on giving to read, “We covenant with Christ and one another to give proportionately beginning with the tithe of our income.” Our giving should not be regulated by the tithe. The tithe ought to be the base or minimum level of our giving. Jesus said, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required.” Proportionate giving may well be the standard for New Testament believers. None of us has to be an accountant to know what ten percent of our income is, but each of us has to a person on his knees before God if we are to understand our obligation to give proportionately.

Proportionate to what you say? Proportionate to the accumulated wealth of our family? Proportionate to our income and the demands upon it? Proportionate to the keenness of our awareness of those who suffer and are needy? Proportionate to our understanding that our God owns all? The answer, of course, is in proportion to all of these things and any others God may enlighten us with. The widow’s mite teaches the clear lesson that giving is not measured by the amount we give but by what we have left over when we have given.

The last principle is the principle of giving sacrificially (Lk. 14:33). I remember taking an offering one time in the Philippines among rural farmers who were very poor. They had no money, but still wanted to give. So they gave their rice, eggs, chickens, goats, and pigs. Literally, taking the food from their mouths to give. God expects us to give at times until we feel it. In all reality, we have never really given, until we have felt the self-denial of a sacrificial gift.

Where do I give?

Most Christians receive an unbelievable number of financial appeals each week. They have become frustrated and confused and even angry about so many letters “asking for money.” Many requests are indeed counterfeit, but not all are promotional rubbish. Many represent fine Christian organizations with real legitimate needs.

How do you know which to support? Let me offer you four suggestions that may serve as guidelines in choosing where to send your money.

First, in all your giving make sure that you are faithful to support your local Church. Studies indicate that twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the giving. If every member would be faithful in his giving, the local Church would have more than enough for its own ministries as well as the others it may support.

Secondly, understand that you can’t give to everything and ask God to carefully lead you in adopting a few ministries as your own. This will allow you to follow more closely the work that they do as well as get better acquainted with the workers. This gives you a feeling of being a “team member” in advancing God’s work through these particular ministries.

Third, use wisdom and discernment in choosing what you will support. Blind giving is like blind loyalty; it can be a mistake. Make sure you know what their doctrinal position is and what kind of people serve on their board and on their staff. Ask if it has as annual audit by an independent auditing firm.  Request a copy of its most recent audit or financial report if you have reason to question how funds are used. If it is not worth forthcoming, then you may have real reason to suspect something is wrong. If it is a sending agent and collects money for others, ask how much stays in the home office for administrative purposes and how much goes to the field. Our giving must be done without a lot of strings attached. However, giving is a spiritual investment for which you have a right to know how it is being spent.

Fourth, pray over every gift given and continue to hold the ministry up in prayer. Stay in contact with them and follow the results of your giving. This can be a wonderful way to see how your giving is making a difference.

Jesus made it clear that we could not serve God and money. He also told us that where our heart is that is where our treasure would be. The wonderful thing about being changed by His grace is that we can be free from the power of money and become men and women who are only stewards of what comes into our hands. This is liberating as well as exciting. We can make a difference for His kingdom in so many ways and places as we follow His guidance in our spiritual investments.

Sun-Lit Certainty or Shadowed Insecurity

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Theology

–Winter of 1998

Sun-Lit Certainty or Shadowed Insecurity?

Thanks to my friends, I’ve been on a reading binge lately. My list includes: Latimer: The Apostle to the English (thanks to Dr. Kinlaw); Anatomy of a Conversion: The Messages and Mission of John and Charles Wesley (thanks to Dr. Brown); and Lives of Eminent Methodist Ministers (thanks to Uncle Bob). Reading about the English Reformation, the birth of Methodism, and the colorful men who moved forward with its message renewed my love for and commitment to our historic holiness message.

Interestingly, though, I found a common doctrinal thread running through all of these books. The Reformers were burned at the stake for it, the Wesleys were banned from many Anglican pulpits because of it, and the Methodist preachers placed it at the very heart of the Wesleyan message. It was the doctrine of assurance – the simple fact that man can know that he is saved.

The Reformers contended that a man can know that he is justified by grace through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Samuel Wesley’s dying words to his sons John and Charles were “the witness, son, the witness; that is the proof of Christianity.” Wesley’s own heartwarming experience at Aldersgate convinced him that a man can have a clear knowledge of the salvation experience. In his sermon, “The Witness of the Spirit,” Wesley defines the testimony of the Sprit as “an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God, that Jesus Christ hath loved me and given himself for me, and that all my sins are blotted out and I, even I, am reconciled to God.” Wesley, later in life, after many years of developing thought on the subject, made it clear that the objective witness of God’s Word is and must be our sure anchor. He also realized that the conscious witness of the Spirit may dim or fade in relation to a person’s mood, emotions or physical condition. However, he contended to the very end that a man can know that he is saved, and that justifying faith will bring a sweet calm to the heart, enabling the believer to rest in the arms of Jesus. Hence, historic Methodism still has at its heart the truth that “all men can know they are saved.”

On one occasion, when Wesley was visiting Bristol, the bishop of Bristol, Joseph Butler, endeavored to stop Wesley from preaching. Their dispute centered around the doctrine of assurance. The bishop contended such a doctrine was not true to the Scripture or the teachings of the church. This happened sometime in the late 1730’s. Thirteen years later, as the bishop lay dying, he approached his death without the assurance of salvation. He called for his chaplain and told him that he was afraid to die. The chaplain encouraged him with the thought that Christ is our Saviour, but the bishop plaintively asked, “How can I know that Christ is my Savior?” Some forty years later as Wesley lay dying, the words that fell from his lips were these, “The best of all is, God is with us.”

Bishop Kern notes the startling contrast between these two dying men. There is the “sun-lit certainty of Wesley’s experience and the shadowed insecurity of a bishop’s soul.” The bishop “could prove the existence of God by analogies from nature but did not know Him in the peace of an inward mystical and redeeming fellowship.”

I’m so grateful that I can sing with Wesley, “My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear, He owns me for His child, I can no longer fear; With confidence I now draw nigh, and, ‘Father, Abba, Father,’ cry.” Can you sing that verse with me?