Thanks to Pastor Brian Hughes (Calvary Chapels) for sending through the following item. Notwithstanding the limitations of self-definition and even some cultural variation in exactly what constitutes an ‘evangelical’, the article still makes interesting reading.
The big story this week from Pew Research Center’s report, “America’s Changing Religious Landscape,” was the sharp decline in the number of Christians and large growth in those who are unaffiliated with any religion. Digging deeper, the report contains interesting news about Evangelicals.
Here are 10 interesting facts about Evangelicals from the report:
1. The number of Evangelicals likely increased.
Evangelicals were the only segment of Christianity that likely saw growth. Evangelicals added about two million to their fold from 2007 to 2014. Taking the margin of error into account, the actual increase could be anywhere between zero and five million.
2. Evangelicals were the only Christian group that had more people joining than leaving.
8.4 percent said they left evangelical Christianity while 9.8 percent said they joined evangelical Christianity, a net change of plus 1.5 percentage points. By comparison, Mainline Protestants had a minus 4.3 percentage point net change and Catholics had a minus 10.9 percentage point net change.
3. The percentage of Evangelical Millennials did not change.
There was a large increase in unaffiliated Millennials, from 2007 to 2014. They increased 10 percentage points, from 25 to 35 percent of all Millennials.
This increase, however, did not come from Evangelicals. The proportion of Evangelical Millennials stayed the same, at 21 percent.
The largest drop, six percentage points, came from Catholic Millennials, down from 22 to 16 percent.
4. Evangelicals are now a clear majority among Protestants in the United States.
Pew’s 2007 data showed Evangelicals were 51 percent of all Protestants. Taking the margin of error into account, that may or may not have been a majority.
In 2014 Evangelicals were 55 percent of all U.S. Protestants. Even with the margin of error, one can now say Evangelicals are clearly a majority of all Protestants.
5. Nondenominational Evangelicals are growing; Baptist Evangelicals are shrinking.
The share of Evangelicals who said they belonged to a Baptist denomination shrank from 41 to 36 percent while the share of nondenominational Evangelicals grew from 13 to 19 percent.
6. Some who attend Evangelical churches don’t identify as Evangelical, and some who don’t attend Evangelical churches do identify as Evangelical.
Among those to attend an Evangelical church, 15 percent answered “no” when asked if they would describe themselves as “a born-again or evangelical Christian.”
Twenty-seven percent of Mainline Protestants and 22 percent of Catholics describe themselves as born-again or Evangelical.
7. Those who joined Evangelical churches as adults were mostly raised in homes that were Mainline Protestant or unaffiliated.
Among those who currently identify with an Evangelical church, 19 percent were raised in a Mainline Protestant home and another 19 percent were raised in homes that were unaffiliated with any religion, the highest of any other group.
For comparison, among those raised in Evangelical homes, 12 percent are now Mainline Protestants and 15 percent are now unaffiliated.
8. Among Millennials, the retention rate for the unaffiliated is higher than that for Evangelicals.
The retention rate (the percentage of those still in the religion in which the were raised) is 67 percent for unaffiliated Millennials. In other words, two-thirds of Millennials raised in unaffiliated homes are still unaffiliated. This is higher than the 61 percent retention rate for Evangelicals.
9. Evangelicals are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse.
The share of Evangelicals who are not white increased from 19 to 24 percent.
Catholics and Mainline Protestants saw a similar growth in non-whites. Among those three, Catholics have the smallest proportion of whites, at 59 percent, and Mainline Protestants have the largest proportion of whites, at 86 percent.
10. Evangelical growth came from Latinos.
Among Hispanics, the portion of Evangelicals increased from 16 to 19 percent. It was the only race/ethnic group to see an increase in its proportion of Evangelicals.
Also among Hispanics, the largest drop was among Hispanic Catholics, from 58 to 48 percent. The largest increase was among Hispanic unaffiliated, from 14 to 20 percent.
Ten years ago NZ Christian Network convened a series of meetings with pastors, bible college lecturers, consultants, and missions agencies leaders, to discuss the issue of discipleship.
A document was produced, endorsed and contributed to by a number of denomination leaders, and published in Daystar magazine.
The subject recently surfaced again in two separate conversations we facilitate.
On re-reading the document it is clear that it is just as relevant today as it was ten years ago – perhaps more so. Given the ongoing need for good discipling practices, we have summarized the document, added a couple of points, and reproduced it below.
From the original introduction…
reflecting on faith decisions made at events like Impact World Tour and Greg Laurie festivals] … “if we want the Church in the next decade to be healthier than it is today, if we want to see God’s Kingdom extended, it is important to consider the further discipling of these new believers”
… “this supplement contains brief comments on the issue of discipling from a number of evangelical Christian leaders. We value their contributions as a symbol co-operation and unity, as well as for the significant insights they offer”
… “the main point arising from the meetings is that discipling is not “doing a course or a program.” It is about long-term relationship. It is a process where a mature believer builds into the life of a younger believer, and helps them grow in the faith”
In this supplement we are seeking to identify topics which should be addressed at appropriate stages of Christian development, and for which many good courses and programs already exist. We no longer live in a Christian culture, and we can not assume any prior knowledge of “things Christian” on the part of new believers.
The topics identified, sample programs, and timescales involved, are suggestive not prescriptive. Some churches may want to pick parts of what is suggested to complement existing programs. Some may have or know of good resources other than the ones suggested – (if so, please let us know). Some may want to pick up the whole lot, but over a different time-scale. Others may simply use the list to stimulate their thinking as a basis to create their own list of topics.
[NZ Christian Network]
Brian Winslade, National Leader (2004), Baptist Churches of N.Z
It’s time to recognise the false dichotomy between evangelism and discipleship. They need to be seen as two sides of the same coin. Perhaps we could drop one of the terms?
My early days in ministry were with a para-church organization. Evangelism, we said, was presenting the gospel and getting people to make a decision – usually in the form of a “sinner’s prayer.” Discipleship was stage two and began after a person was supposedly converted. These days I’m not so sure this dichotomy squares with what the Bible teaches.
Jesus commissioned the church to make disciples – of every people group within the world. Disciples are committed learners of Jesus who have heard the gospel and entered a life process of transformation. Conversion to Christianity is actually a lengthy process. It implies accrual of knowledge about God and faith and our sinful state. It encompasses the emotion of a Holy Spirit encounter, but also involves a reasoned mind. Discipleship also calls followers of Jesus into community with the church. It’s more than a personal ideology.
True discipleship expresses itself in mutually accountable relationships, observable commitment, and service within the body of Christ. 2004 looks like a bumper year for evangelistic initiatives. A number of organizations are already counting numbers of respondents. Praise God for each repentant prayer offered! However, let’s be cautious about calling these responses conversions. They may be significant steps in a journey, but a disciple of Jesus has a demonstrated commitment that can only be observed over time.
Perhaps the issue of discipleship comes down to the content of the gospel we present. New Testament preaching went further than just introducing people to the head of the church. A true introduction to Jesus introduces the body of Christ as well.
Richard Waugh, National Superintendent, Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand
In his recent book Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard describes the process of spiritual transformation as being inevitable for every human being on the planet. Whoever we are, we will be spiritually shaped by the experiences and choices we have lived through or made in the past. There’s no avoiding this – we cannot escape the process of spiritual transformation. The issue for churches and church leaders is this: Accepting that spiritual transformation is inevitable, how will we ensure that our churches provide an environment within which genuine spiritual transformation can occur?
That is transformation into the person God has created us to be, a person who reflects the character of Jesus Christ. This is an issue we must wrestle with as we seek to effectively impact the community. Half-hearted disciples in half-hearted churches will not win the nation for Christ – it’s not playchurch!
That said, there are some characteristics of the emerging New Zealand culture that we must understand as we get more serious about discipleship:
As a relatively secular country (compared to some from whom we would seek to learn) many New Zealanders have a much longer discipleship path to travel – we cannot afford to make assumptions about prior knowledge or exposure to Christianity.
This is particularly pronounced within those regions experiencing high rates of immigration. In my own church, East City Wesleyan, we are seeing large numbers of immigrants from mainland China coming to Christ – the gospel certainly has the power to save! But we are learning about the need for deep discipleship within this segment of our church community who come from an atheistic background typical of communist countries.
Discipleship that is only programme-based may simply feed the consumer mentality we Kiwis have all been formed to have. Whole-of-life approaches to discipleship do not easily square with our quick-fix consumer culture.
In all of this I am convinced that discipleship processes can be made more complicated than they need be!
When I read the Scriptures I see Jesus relating to an intimate group of disciples in a “whole of life” situation. John Wesley rediscovered this truth in 18th century England – the power of small group life to transform lives. Wesley’s class meetings were the powerhouse of the emerging Methodist movement – a force for spiritual formation that revolutionised the generation in which he lived.
It can happen again, here in our time, in this nation – but we must grasp the primary place that discipleship must have in the church and confront the deficiencies of our efforts to date.
Derek Eaton, Anglican Bishop of Nelson (2004)
We live in an age and a church culture where “easy believism” abounds for many of us. There seems to be only a thin veneer of real Christianity. Scratch the surface and the basic old norms and values are often still very evident.
Generally speaking it’s comparatively easy to become a Christian – opening the mind and heart and responding to God’s amazing love and call and all that that means. What then follows is not easy, and we have Jesus’ word on that. Being a disciple takes a life-time. We will know joys and sorrows, highs and lows along the way. We need all the help we can get.
Discipling people is one of the major tasks of the local church. The local church is called to disciple people – not just ‘convert’ people or bring them to faith. Real evangelism includes discipling and any church worth its salt will see this as an important priority – constantly bringing people to a faith in Jesus Christ, constantly seeing that faith and commitment deepening. The local church must be equipped for this primary task.
Hami (Sam) Chapman, Project AWHI
In 1870 Baptist Pastor Russell H Conwell, founder of Temple University Philadelphia, heard the legend of a wealthy Persian farmer called Ali Hafed who sold and deserted his own fruitful piece of land to search for immense wealth in mythical diamond fields. He died far from home, an old and disillusioned pauper. Not long afterwards acres of fabulous diamonds were found on Ali Hafed’s own land. The truth is that diamonds are not in far away mountains or in distant seas, they are in your own backyard if you will but dig for them. The mandate to make disciples therefore is simply the process of helping people dig deep in search of the “diamonds that lie within their own backyards”. It is not the seeking for or the importation of spiritual treasures from foreign mythical fields. Our history is littered with disillusioned paupers.
Discipleship is the growing awareness of how treasured we are by God, the discovery of wealth that lies within every individual and family. Acres of diamonds, found in communities like Otara, the backyard of where we live. Diamonds fused by time and life’s experience into the very core of our culture. Maori and Pakeha. Pacific and Asian. Each designed and created by God with his purpose in mind. To be loved by him. Each precious stone not a reflection but an actual expression of Christ Himself. Not moulded in a melting pot of sameness but each one unique and special.
The legend of Ali Hafed changed Conwell’s life. His lectures on Acres of Diamonds impacted thousands of individuals spiritually, socially, academically and financially. Men and women from all walks of life discovered the awesome potential that lay within their own lives and just how much of a blessing they could be to the communities in which they lived. People willing to stand up to disillusioned leadership for what they believe to be right and be stood down as a consequence. People producing over time better streets, better homes, better schools, better churches and better government. These are the things that legends are made of.
Stuart Lange, Presbyterian AFFIRM, Laidlaw lecturer, minister
There is a man in our church who, as a very new Christian, was sent to prison for past offences. That was tough, but in some ways prison was the best thing that could have happened: this new believer was in daily Bible studies and prayer groups (and soon leading them), he was intensively studying through Bible correspondence courses, he was being regularly encouraged by letters and visits and by an alert, biblically-minded chaplain, and he was being constantly tested and challenged. It was an ideal, God-designed discipling package, and it produced excellent results.
I wish every Christian could be discipled so thoroughly. Disciple-making is desperately needed in our churches, both for new Christians and for those stalled and stale. Nothing turns off an observing world so quickly as professing Christians who are shallow or hypocritical. This world needs Christians whose love for God and love for others really shines out. Those who act like authentic Christians – and think and speak sensibly, without sounding like nutters, bumper stickers, or self-righteous fakes.
Disciple-making means teaching people the Scriptures, and how to feed themselves. Much harder still is addressing issues of character and lifestyle: deep-seated patterns such as self-absorption, complacency, cutting corners, putting on a good act. In our preaching, home groups, and one-on-one, we need to be more intentional in calling people to a high level of discipleship – while recognising that ultimately only the Holy Spirit can give believers a true hunger to grow and go “full on” for the Lord.
Church leaders alone can never adequately disciple their flocks. Small groups are crucial, especially when they are genuinely welcoming to new people. In particular, we need mature enthusiastic Christians who can take newer believers under their wings and consistently nurture and encourage them in the Lord. Effective discipling, like evangelism, is best relational: it can readily cross barriers of race, culture, and age, providing it is in grounded in genuine Christian love and a true passion to see others grow in Christ.
A minimalistic and hit-and-miss approach to discipleship in most of our churches has produced modest results. We need to lift our game.
Dennis Acraman, Assemblies of God
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you – Gal 4:19
To disciple a person we need a vision of what potential can be actualized by our investment of time and energy into their life. It is the kind of vision that Michael Angelo had after finding a discarded block of Carrara marble in the Opera del Duomo. Michael Angelo started with a design in mind but his true genius was in his ability to see the inherent attitude in the piece of marble. With his chisel he released the potential within and produced the statue of David, a work that was the envy of other artists.
We can lament over a lack of discipling in the church but the real issue is more personal. Who are you currently ‘chiselling’ away at for the Lord? Who stands alongside you being trained in the ways of the Lord? Discipling involves much up-close work. In a very real way we ‘chisel-out’ our disciples; releasing them from their past, their limitations and goading them in the paths of faith and righteousness. This work is very personal and is only truly possible by being close enough to people to be able to show by example and model a holistic spiritual life in transparent open heartedness and vulnerable intimacy.
Discipling is a personal involvement through which we see Christ being formed in other people. It is an interpersonal commitment by which we assist in the development of Christ-like character and release inherent potential in the life of another person
Suggested Topics for a Sound Discipleship Structure
Below is the content outline of the teaching component of a two-year discipleship structure. This outline
recognises that discipling is essentially relational, and that the main priority is to help a person develop their relationship with Christ through study of God’s Word (the Bible) and a healthy commitment to a local church fellowship
does not seek to engage with the personal challenges of an individual believer
affirms that an individual may need clear focused attention on particular challenges they face.
recognises that the age and life stage may call for choices in the material and content.
is generic and represents the ideas presented in the discussion groups on sound input for balanced mature growth as a believer and follower of Jesus
offers only an indication of resources that could be used, and is not intended to be exhaustive, nor to infer that resources not mentioned are not equally suitable. If the reader has, or knows of resources which are better, please let us know.
the idea of stages (newborn, child, adolescent, adult) represents stages of faith, and not a person’s chronological age
1. Fundamentals of the faith and basic doctrines (Newborn Stage)
There are fundamental understandings that articulate who God is and the nature of our relationship with him. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Creation, Sin, Redemption and Christ’s return to Restore, the Kingdom of God, The Body of Christ the Church, the journey of discipleship and maturing into his likeness. These form a foundation of knowledge and experience from which the believer will grow.
Sample Resources
There are a number of programs which are already widely used to introduce people to these basic doctrines and concepts of the faith. They include:
2. Christian Living (Newborn/Child/Adolescent Stage)
The experience of the Christian community over nearly 2000 years has revealed a wisdom regarding helpful practice that allows the follower of Jesus to grow into the likeness of Christ. This is a life of relationship with God through prayer, his word, the indwelling of His Spirit experienced both personally and as part of a fellowship of believers, practiced and applied in all of life, home, work, school with neighbours, with fellow believers and before non believers. The importance of the fellowship of the community of believers, the church, is not to be understated.
Sample Resources
The Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren.) The 40 Days of Purpose campaign, not only covers this material but is also an opportunity to build unity within a church and between churches
We have been saved from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light (of God). What does this new kingdom look like? What are the implications for us that we are not of this world any more, that our Western society is not a Christian one, that the ruling philosophies of government, education, economics and morality are not God’s? How do we critique, challenge and engage with society? Does it matter?
Sample Resources
These questions and others are usefully discussed through such programmes as:
PEERS survey and course (Nehemiah Institute) NB – NZ Christian Network does not agree with every question and answer in this survey, but overall it is worth a look. Wisdom and discernment are needed.
4. Marriage, Family, Parenting (Adult Stage)
Marriage is under severe pressure in many Western cultures. Dealing with legislation is one issue, but it is important for Christians to have a vision and tools to build Christian marriages, homes, and families. The basis of loving, constructive and moral relationships with one another (the basic building blocks of a society), needs to be communicated also to new believers at the earliest stage possible.
Sample Resources
Some organisations well-known for courses and materials in this area:
The Parenting Place (formally Parenting With Confidence) (seminars and tool-boxes)
Family Life (marriage enrichment conferences and Home Builders study series)
5. Faith in the Marketplace (Adult Stage)
It is very important that the new believer understand that their faith is to be lived 24 / 7 / 52. It is about all of life. How does what I do at church connect with what I do Monday to Friday? There should be no separation of “secular” work from “sacred” work. They are the same. How do we determine right and wrong in the workplace? What does Christian work look like? What does Christian business look like?
Sample Resources
There are good books, courses and video series available to support this.
The new believer will really know both growth and hunger to grow when they share their new experience and their faith. They usually know more non-believers than the average Christian. The change occurring in them as a consequence of a new faith is often more profound and more obvious that with older Christians. The new believer needs to hear God’s heart for mission, that the church is missional and evangelistic, and this applies both locally and internationally.
Other resources and practical opportunities to experience this expression of Christian life include:
Short-term missions trip / assignment
Beach missions
Spending time with Christian Social Agencies eg Drug Arm, Tear Fund, City Mission etc.
7. Conflict Resolution (Adult Stage)
“Wherever two or three are gathered in my name there is conflict”. Sometimes it can seem like this. Conflict is endemic in society and Christians need to learn God’s ways for dealing with it; to minimise it, but also to resolve it as a working, living expression and example of God’s Kingdom. It will be a light on a lamp stand. It will be a skill for their own lives which the new believer can use.
Sample Resources
RESOLVE is a Christian disputes resolution service which can help with difficult conflicts (should be considered by Christians instead of the public court system where possible)
8. Christ and culture
Christ died not just to redeem individuals but to redeem all the world. (John 3:16) We are to disciple whole nations (Matt 28:19-20) and nations will enter eternity with God (Rev 21:24) God wants not just a new us — he wants a new New Zealand. We must explore with the new believer the engagement with our own culture – the mission to the West. We need to know that God’s heart is strong for the poor, the disadvantaged and the discriminated against. In New Zealand it will mean seeing through God’s eyes the Treaty of Waitangi and racial harmony, immigration issues, drug issues, our materialism. What is our role in terms of justice and peacemaking? It will also involve an understanding of God’s heart for His for creation.
The Christian message Samuel Marsden introduced 200 years ago has been positive for this country and is one which must be repeated with optimism and conviction year in and year out.
The following speech was delivered by Hon Christopher Finlayson QC, Attorney-General, during the Gospel Bicentenary commemorations held at Oihi in the Bay of Islands, Christmas Week 2014. It should be an encouragement to Christians in all walks of life to know and tell our Christian story.
1814 was a very interesting year. The most noteworthy event was the abdication of Napoleon as Emperor of the French on 11 April, preceded a few days earlier by the Bourbon restoration. George Stephenson tested his first locomotive, Blucher, successfully in England. Pius VII re-established the Society of Jesus all over the world. Some here may say that was a very bad move by His Holiness; others, including me, say it paved the way for the election of Francis, the first Jesuit pope.
The British continued to have a bad time in the United States. On September 13, their failure at the Battle of Baltimore was a critical turning-point in their war with the Americans. The American defence of Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to compose the poem later set to music as The Star Spangled Banner.
The year ended with the Congress of Vienna, which sought to settle many issues arising out of French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Schubert’s First Mass and Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony had their premieres and, on 25 December, just down the path from here, Samuel Marsden brought Christianity to New Zealand.
As we all know, Marsden introduced to New Zealand what is arguably the gentlest form of Christianity: Anglicanism. Shortly thereafter, the Catholics arrived bringing French Catholicism and, some years later, Irish Catholicism.
With settlement came the dour Scots and Presbyterianism. Then the social justice advocates, unimpressed with establishment Christianity, who brought first Methodism and then the Salvation Army.
And this introduction of various forms of Christianity continued into the twentieth century. Orthodoxy came with our first Greek immigrants and in due course the Serbs, Romanians and Russians. Most recently, the Assyrian Christians, uprooted from their homelands by extremism, have brought their religion and liturgy spoken in the language of Christ.
This [the Christian heritage of New Zealand] is a rich and interesting story and it is not recounted enough.
Despite the odd outbreak of sectarian hostility, the churches have worked pretty well together over the years. I think of the first parish priest of Saint Mary of the Angels in Wellington, who conducted funeral services for the Presbyterians at St John’s in Willis Street when their minister was absent. Today, St John’s gives its church to St Mary of the Angels’ parishioners so they can celebrate Mass while their church in Boulcott Street is repaired.
All these churches continue today. Many appear to have fallen on hard times. They seem lost and perplexed by the modern world. They try to adapt, not always successfully. For me, the Judeo-Christian tradition, which Marsden inaugurated on Christmas Day 1814, and which has continued to this day, is underscored by four main points:
First, that the individual is made in the image of God and that, accordingly, everyone has worth.
Secondly, that one should respect individual effort and creativity, a key idea, particularly following the Reformation and the Enlightenment. In medieval times, and even in some corners of Christianity today, independence of thought is not cherished.
Thirdly, that a successful society is one governed by laws, not men and women – that we are all subject to the rule of law no matter how powerful or how rich. An ancient value, admittedly, but one reinforced by the Reformation and the American Revolution.
Finally, above all, the Christian message is a very optimistic one. It is a story of reconciliation and forgiveness.
As Pope Francis recently told the Council of Europe, in order to progress towards the future, we need the past, we need profound roots. We either preserve a country’s foundational being or it dies.
I am pleased to be here today and, to use an overused word, ‘celebrate’ the arrival of Marsden and Christianity into New Zealand because the Christian message he introduced 200 years ago has been positive for this country and is one which must be repeated with optimism and conviction year in and year out.
The Christian churches should be proud of these traditions and their message; they do not worry about reinventing themselves and trying to be relevant. Of course they have to adapt to changing times, but they can and must hold fast to unchanging principles and have the same gritty determination of Samuel Marsden.
On my recent and first trip to Nepal I saw the blind see, the deaf hear and the lame walk. I saw dozens of work weary women receive restored knees and backs; I saw healing touch a boy with cerebral palsy, movement restored to a stroke victim, gastric problems healed and demonic oppression lifted. I asked myself why we did not see this level of healing in New Zealand even as I rejoiced to see more than 80% of those we prayed for receive healing in the name of Jesus. We also saw approximately 1300 people commit to belief in Jesus and receive salvation.
My journey to Nepal and beyond started some two years ago. As Pastor at New Plymouth Central Baptist I received news that one of our women in the congregation had received a diagnosis for a life threatening cancer. Of course we would pray and organise pastoral support and care. A week later I heard of another woman under similar diagnosis. And in the next few weeks the number grew to four. My reaction moved from just care and compassion to a growing anger at the impact of Genesis 3 sin on good people amongst us and our own sense of helplessness in the face of it.
I was reading in John 11 at that time. In the story of the death and raising of Lazarus I realised, with the help of a good commentator, that the words “moved with compassion” barely began to describe how Jesus felt. What the original language conveyed was ‘moved with anger’ at Satan and sin. I knew that feeling. Only Jesus was not helpless in the face of it. I shared it with the church and declared that we would and should seek the Lord to know more of his healing power.
To that end we invited John Fergusson to bring to us his School of Healing, both in January and again in March of 2014. We dared to believe that we would see more of God’s healing power. John had more experience of this than we did and we asked him to share of his experience and insight. He also invited any that would like to do so to join him on a missions trip to Nepal where he went twice each year and had done so for the last eight years. He described a much wider experience of God’s healing in Nepal than he was seeing in New Zealand.
We saw some more healing during the year that followed the schools but not enough. Of the four women diagnosed with cancer and one other condition three were successfully treated medically and one went to be with the Lord. For the three healed we could not say that God had intervened because we saw no evidence of that directly other than through medical processes. We praised God for those successful treatments. But we so wanted to also to see the direct miraculous hand of God. Six congregation members signed up to go with John to Nepal in November of 2014 to make up a missions team of 12 persons. The focus of the mission was a partnership with the local churches in evangelism and healing…
Nepal is one of the poorer countries of the world. Nepal’s citizens experience a full range of diseases and injury that comes from poverty, minimal infrastructure and back breaking subsistence labour. In a traditional three day crusade meeting context amongst villages in Western Nepal we saw attendance grow each day from 2500 to 9000 as word spread that Jesus was present to save and to heal. Some 1300, mostly Hindus, responded to the invitation for salvation. The invitation for healing in Jesus name also produced immense interest.
And they came. Men and women with gastro problems evidenced by continued pain and excruciatingly tight abdominal muscles, lumps of various causes, migraines, limb injuries, blindness, deafness, demonic oppression…
God was faithful. The same scenarios can be told over and over so allow me to recount some unusual ones both from the crusade meetings and from the schools of healing that we held in two other centres.
We also ran into a lot of overt demonic oppression. In the presence of an active Holy Spirit they manifested. We were able to deal with these by the Holy Spirit. One particular incident taught me a lot.*
These are extracts from my diary of that mission
“Back and knees…”
The first person to approach me seeking healing was an old-looking woman who pointed to her back and her knees. The young teenage translator explained she could no longer crouch to work as years of this kind of labour had ruined her knees and her back.
My mind raced in true strategic western reasoning. The problem was the nature of her work, which was what needed fixing. Why would I pray for her back and knees when the nature of her working life could be and should be changed? On and on went my mind seeking solutions for this woman and others like her.
Then the Lord spoke so clearly into my spirit. “Martien, that’s all well and good, but what are you going to do for this woman standing in front of you?” Gently but firmly he brought me back on track. So with the authority He grants us I said to the woman “Jesus is the only healer and in his name I now command your back to be healed and made whole, to your knees also I now say be healed.”
She looked at me quite blankly as the interpretation was made. Even after that she just looked puzzled. Taking her by the hands I asked her to crouch with me. She did. Going down had never really been the problem. Then we rose using only those knee and back muscles and as we did a huge smile broke out on her face.
God had healed and restored both back and knees. Immediately there was a line of about 20-30 women all with worn bodies, broken knees and broken backs. Expectation was suddenly very high, faith unquestionable and God was faithful.
They were all healed. They could go back to those rice fields, they could again provide for their families. Me, I was awed and stopped analysing – it was just too busy to think too much as people pressed around seeking the Lord’s touch.
“Deafness…”
A young man came with one deaf ear, his right ear. We commanded the ear to hear again in Jesus name. We tested it. His ear was healed.
I was asked to come and pray for a woman who had no hearing in her left ear. I first tested her by blocking off the good right ear and proved she could not hear in her left ear. I commanded healing of the ear and the healing and clearing of the infection.
We stood for about a minute with my hands on her ear. Then covering her good right ear firmly asked whether she could hear me. Yes; but still a little muffled.
Covering her right ear again I spoke the name of Jesus into her left ear. Saying several times, “Hear this – Jesus is the healer.” She did hear and was fully healed. We tested it and her husband tested it and with a big smile she said “Jesus has healed me.” Amen to that!
“Pain and tightness…”
A young man with pains and tightness across his stomach. Assuming the pain symptomatic of a problem I took authority over the cause and commanded the symptomatic pain to go in Jesus name as evidence of the healing. On one side the pain disappeared completely and the other it remained in a lesser state. So we prayed again and it continued to diminish. We gave thanks for a complete healing.
Probably two dozen more young men with the same complaint and God healed them. God is good.
“Mentrual issues and pain…”
A very moving, poignant moment when a woman, probably in her early 20s, stood in front of me with her face set in sadness. She explained that her menstrual cycle was completely inconsistent in timing and she had constant related pain. She had been like this for 5 years. This meant no children (she was married).
I was awed that she had pushed past her sense of shame (based on community values) and the cultural inappropriateness of talking to a man of intimate woman’s problems.
So urgent was her need that she had come to talk to me. She reminded me of a woman who pursued Jesus just to touch his garment. I felt so privileged to stand in Jesus place, with his authority, to meet her need.
I commanded in Jesus name that wholeness and normality be restored to her body and that she be freed from pain as immediate evidence of God’s hand on her body.
The pain cleared and she knew it. The proof of her full healing would come in the next few weeks.
“Sight…”
A woman came with problems with no short-sightedness in her eyes. Difficult if you are harvesting with a very sharp sickle. We commanded her eyes to see again properly and she said “I see” and she did and could see and focus on the short distance.
A young boy was presented by his father because his eyes would not work together to focus and both eyes moved at random when he tried to look at something. They came right with a command to heal and I had the joy of looking him in the eye and holding his gaze as he held mine.
“Stroke…”
There was a man who three years before had had a stroke. He had pain in his head and all down the left hand side of his body. He could walk dragging his left foot and his left arm hung limply.
I spoke healing to the brain and to the pain in Jesus name. The pain left his body, his foot was released to walk again although he needed to practice that. He began to move his arm and gradually lifted it over his head and moved it into increased circles and flexing as full use was restored to it.
“Small miracles are still miracles…”
A woman came with a painful growth on one toe and under authority in Jesus name if faded from sight in front of our eyes – she was healed.*
“More than meets the eye…”
A woman approached me asking for prayer for a lump on the side of her throat and a pain down her right side of her body. We sought to minister to this but nothing changed and we had to let her go.
There was sadness on her face. I went afterwards again to where she sat at the back of the church and again sought to minister healing to her to no avail. I then sensed by the Holy Spirit that this was a spiritual issue and when I raised that point she began to shake and to wail.
A clear manifestation of a demonic spirit. In Jesus name I ordered the Spirit to be silent and it settled down. From other women around we found out that she had been a believer for only one month, that she was not married but the child with her was hers.
I discerned that the physical and spiritual were linked in some way. The Holy Spirit said to me “Look at her dress” I did and realised that this woman was a lot less modestly dressed in a community of woman who were very modest in their attire.
All the pointers were that the woman still worked in the sex industry and she was not yet able to let go of her livelihood which supported her and her child. This proved to be so and we had to leave her in the care of her church community to address this question so that she would feel able to embrace the Lord’s offer to be free.
The rest of the team had similar experiences. The question of why this doesn’t happen like this in New Zealand became a real one for me. I have come to a conclusion about this
Only God is omnipresent. The devil is not. He has to roam backward and forward across the face of the earth. This means he rules as “prince of this world” through other fallen angels (demons / evil spirits). We saw this overtly in Nepal.
Satan is evil but he is not stupid. In Nepal the demons do not hesitate to reveal themselves, scaring people into the hands of witch doctors/shamans and Hindu priests creating a deeper bondage.
In the West the demonic serves Satan better by acting covertly and denying the existence of the spiritual. This does not mean that the demonic is less present. These powers just have different names and strategies.
I come back from Nepal prepared to name powerful demonic forces over our land. They are Rationalism, Individualism, Secularism and Intellectualism amongst others. We are all far more subject to them than we are prepared to acknowledge. Our need to analyse, understand, diagnose and know, are symptomatic of this submission to reason (rationalism) that prevails in our society.
Naming them as demons is itself a first step to breaking their hold on us. I believe it is these demons that undermine faith, encourage doubt, and means we see less healing and less of the miraculous. You will feel foolish in New Zealand even speaking of demons because “rational” people do not do so.
Remember Jesus didn’t hesitate and he dealt to them. I listened in to a fellow believer seeking to pray for healing for a sick friend. There were endless questions about the condition, help that had been sourced so far, medications and treatments ordered. On and on it went.
Why? It is our need to diagnose, analyse, research. Yet none of this makes one jot of difference to God’s capacity or willingness to heal. It is rationalism again. God knows already and he is the only one that needs to know, we should just obey and trust.
This article by Marcus Roberts (MercatorNet, 29 April) picks up on an NZ Herald article about the 2014 Report on the Positive Ageing Strategy, and highlights the very real risk that a change to NZ’s euthanasia laws would bring.
According to this article in the NZHerald, the Age Concern charity estimates that “between 17,000 and 25,000 older Kiwis [New Zealanders] experience some sort of abuse each year” … even worse is that about 75% of all alleged abusers are family members … predicted that rate would increase.
It’s not clear what point the author is making about NZ’s Labour Party forcing an MP to withdraw a private member bill on euthanasia before the last election. In saying it didn’t help the party at the election, he seems to be saying it doesn’t matter whether they’d kept the bill or not. In our view, the two issues are quite separate, and regardless of whether it helps a party of not, we hope that all parties refuse to support a bill which could seriously escalate the current problem of elder abuse.
However, the main point of the article is an important one, namely that if euthanasia is legalised, the abuse that elderly folk experience now, could become fatal. Well worth a read.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R). (Darron Cummings/Associated Press)
Last week I emailed an article to a group set up by NZ Christian Network to engage on the topic of secularism.
The article concerned a bill which was about to be signed into law by the Governor of Indiana in America protecting certain religious freedoms. The bill is apparently in line with the legal standard protecting religious liberty in all U.S. federal courts as well as 31 state courts.
So what’s the problem you might ask?
Well, the bill is being opposed by groups which say that if the bill becomes law it would effectively allow bigotry and discrimination. Specifically, they say it would allow people to discriminate against gays exercising their right to marry and receive services they are legally entitled to under law. Those in favour of the bill say it is necessary in order to protect their religious liberty and safeguard against being forced to support something they don’t believe in.
Now you might say, that’s just the way things roll in America. Culture Wars quickly come to the surface on all sorts of issues – sexuality featuring high on the list. And they often seem to pitch Christian conservatives against secular liberals in a battle-type scenario where it seems there are no clear winners.
Others would say, well there is a point to be made – religious freedom is a right, and we need to speak out to defend it, otherwise we will lose it, and then people will be forced to act in ways contrary to their religious convictions.
Then there are others who would say, the point that needs to be made is already well known – nothing further is gained from engaging in prolonged public debate, the state knows or should know the importance of protecting religious freedom, if the state removes such protection, let matters take their course.
We would really like to hear your thoughts on this. Without the chance to hear other people’s ideas, if the issue ever crops up in New Zealand, there’s a good chance that any public response will be divided and therefore more easily discounted.
