$ecret$©™
Chapter Eleven:
Prosperity Principle #12:
Total Life Success = 11 Principles of Prosperity + 1 Community
Total Life Success
Our goal is TOTAL LIFE SUCCESS™, not merely the kind of success that helps you to survive, not merely financial success. There is a vast difference between being a “Survivor” and being, as it says in Ro 8:37 “more than conquerors”. Which would you rather be?
Someone who, at the end of the day (or the end of one’s life) is able to pat themselves on the back and say proudly “I’m a survivor” has really accomplished nothing more than what millions of others on this planet have “accomplished”. They’re managed to stay healthy or at least rise above their health problems, to sustain themselves and their families by making a living, and to survive the life-long onslaught of others trying to take away what they’ve worked so hard to acquire. I liken this to those who pride themselves on being able to “Go with the flow”. It's far easier than going against the flow, far easier than daring to stand up to what is wrong and doing something to fix it.
The vast majority of people are content to live a life of mediocrity, to “just” survive. They got married or didn't; they had children or didn't. They worked and took care of paying their bills. They reached old age and retired after having worked for 30, 40 or 50 years. Most spent their time pursuing frivolous activities or activities of little consequence in terms of the betterment of humanity. They did what others expected of them, never wanting to venture outside the "box" or break out of their "rut".
Please understand that I am in no way making light of the awesome responsibilities and benefits of marriage. Rather, I am saying that too many married couples and too many singles choose to stop dreaming in their God given ability to do great things. At some point the majority of people realize how hard it is to get to the top or be the best at anything, so they switch into a comfortable, "getting by" mode.
Hopefully, as you read the above passages, you either saw yourself as one of those who refuse to settle for what is merely "good" when you can push a little harder for what is best, OR you felt uncomfortable, seeing yourself right now as a mere survivor but wanting to change. In either case, let's be honest and ask yourself a few questions.
What are the motivating purposes behind my goals? Am I willing to seek after what is best, to sacrifice "down" time so I'll have time to think, to question the way I'm doing things right now? Am I willing to network with others of like mind and will I make the time to do this? Am I willing to apply these Twelve Principles of Prosperity? And most importantly, am I willing to set aside a minimum of one hour daily for meditation, so I can develop a "Glory to Glory" transformational time that renews my mind, body and spirit?
Remember, if you don't take the time to develop a success plan for yourself and your family, who will? We can help, especially through meetings held in our web conferencing rooms (this link is a download link for our main 3Circles Church Communities web conference room). But you are the one who has to make the choice to trust what I'm saying and put these principles into action. Most of us fail our way to success, so don't fear failure. Obviously, we all try to avoid it, but failure must be seen as the stepping stone to success that it is. Be willing to embrace alternative ways of doing things, even if they may seem impossible right now. After all, isn't that what faith is all about, believing the impossible, believing in what you can't see until at last it manifests?
Let's be honest about this new course of action. You are going to be swimming up stream while everyone around you is swimming downstream. That means you're going to stick out like a sore thumb. You'll be labeled "different", and many of those closest to you will be the most negative about the changes you decide to make. Which is precisely why most people avoid being different.
But without the desire to be different, to break away from the ordinary and strive for excellence in everything you do, how can you make a real and lasting difference in the world or in the lives of your loved ones? A true leader is someone distinctly different from the majority. And I believe that every God-believer, regardless of their religous affiiliation, knows it's their duty to share what they've discovered about the spiritual side of life. Logically this leads to only one conclusion, every person who feels so called must assume some responsibility of leadership.
I want to clarify what I mean when I use
the word, "different". By “different” I mean you desire excellence, not
mediocrity, both for yourself and your family. By “different” I mean you
seek Total Life Success
™, not mere financial “success”. By
“different” I mean you seek to connect to your spiritual roots, to that
dimension which sustains this physical dimension, and you're not afraid to speak
out about your belief in God, even though it’s no longer “politically correct”
to do so. By “different” I mean you actively seek to understand issues and
when confronted with the truth, you embrace it, regardless of the changes it
brings. By “different” I mean you see through the shallow “love” that most
parents have for their children; instead of always giving your children what
they want (to avoid confrontation) you choose to discipline yourself to do the
right thing, to take the time necessary for laying down guiding principles, to
“train them in the way they should go”, so when you are no longer there to hold
their hand they will still hear your “voice” and make better
choices. By “different” I mean you actually spend time
together as a family, regularly, willingly pulling the plug on trivial and
mindless pursuits, focusing instead on ways to create real-life productive
activities that bring with them a sense of shared accomplishment and
unity.
This process of developing family bonds, a shared family identity that is strong and lasting, was far easier in days gone by. Back then the survival of a family, whether clearing the wilderness or working the family farm, depended on every member contributing to the workload. In many ways those hardships forced families to work together. But today our lifestyles are pushing every member of the family in different directions. Thus it is that those who wish to achieve success, whether in business or on the home front, must of necessity develop more self-discipline, especially with regards where they spend their time. You may be able to successfully survive without a lot of self-discipline, but I can guarantee you won’t be “more than a conqueror”.
I want to be clear, however, that I am in no way advocating a return to the so-called “Good old days”. Though there was the natural benefit of increased family bonding through shared, common experiences (including shared suffering) there were also limited opportunities for education, reflection or liesure, due to onerous workloads. Today we have all the benefits of technological advances like fast transportation, the telephone, radio, television and the Internet. They help us stay in touch more often, widen our world perspective, provide unprecedented access to life saving medicine and emergency medical treatment, and provide online educational opportunities, including do-it-yourself research.
But rather than the anticipated outcome of more time for family, people everywhere complain they now have less time. However, according to the ABC News host of "20/20", John Stossel, one of the myths of our culture is that we have less time for family. In his book, "Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity", John Stossel cites a university study that has kept statistics since the 1960's. This time study revealed that we actually have MORE leisure time now than we did in the 1960's. The only reason why we have less time to spend with our families is we now spend more of it on individual leisure activities.
However, those who live in intentional planned communities have more time to spend with their family. The main reason for this is simple, everything is near at hand. No need for long commutes, no need for much of the travel that is forced upon us in a geographically dispersed living model. And more often than not, people in a community pool their cars when supplies are needed, saving both gas and time.
In other words, through a combination of technological advances and community cooperation, we get the best of both worlds. In times past, the full development of one's potential, intellectually, artistically or politically, was reserved for those who could afford servants, or else fortunate enough to have a rich patron. We who choose to live in a 3Circles Church Community will see first hand how individual empowerment is a natural outcome of group empowerment. Because of clearly defined goals, shared beliefs and common interests, we soon come to understand that what is good for the group is also good for the individual, and vice versa. At least in most cases. There will always be some disputes, but because of the benefits we receive and the love we have for one another, individuals are more easily persuaded to do what is right for the common good.
If you saw the movie, "A Beautiful Mind", starring Russel Crowe (which I highly recommend) you saw how John Nash, a budding mathematician in the 1950's, was able to deal with a deteriorating mental condition and develop a brilliant mathematical theory that eventually won him the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. His idea has been used primarily in economics and game theory but it has applications in many areas.
I hope I'm not butchering his theory here, as I'm taking this from the movie and some followup research. Basically, his theory states that individuals who pursue their own best interest, tend to contribute to the best interest of those they compete with, if they consider the optimum outcome for everyone concerned. What I get excited about is the realization that competition and cooperation are not, as so often presented, mutually exclusive. In the context of 3Circles Church Communities, this means we understand and encourage the competitive nature of our members, since this is what creates the most productive output, but we reward cooperation within the community so as to channel those competitive energies towards one cause. This leads to building up our love for one another, which in turn builds up our unity as a community.
One of the ways we can reward cooperation is by systematic, scheduled house raisings. Each community member thus sees first hand the reason why they are living in a 3Circles Church Community. Another way members will see the rewards of community life is through community wide entrepreneurial assistance, via our 3CCC Business Incubator. We care about your home-based business succeeding because your success assures our success. The benefit of alleviating the need for both parents to work away from the home is another huge plus for community living, not to mention community wide day-care for those who must work outside the community.
As this change in lifestyle necessitates being different, I think it will help to further clarify what this means by examining the context of Paul the Apostle's words to the Roman Christians about being “conquerors”. Ro 8:28-39 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.… If God be for us, who can be against us? He that * * spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?… Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written *, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
It is this kind of love, the kind that does not yield to anything that would separate us from God or from God’s divine and purposeful plan for our life, that allows us to be more than conquerors. This is not “Love” as the world knows love. This is God’s “Agape” (spiritual) love, manifest through the example of Jesus Christ, personally obtained by inviting that same love into one’s heart, and then giving it back to others.
And regardless of your religion or where you are on your spiritual
journey, the world has never seen a greater love then the example of
self-sacrifice and forgiveness which Jesus Christ showed to those who beat him
and nailed him to that cross. His words, “Lord, forgive them for they know
not what they do”, are still echoing down through history over 20 centuries
later.
However, if we allow the things of this world, “things present and things to come”, to separate us from that love, then we are no longer "more than conquerors", no longer overcoming every obstacle the world puts in our way. And how a person overcomes the world is even more important than the fact that they were able to overcome it.
I’m sure you’ve met people who had no distinguishing love for God, but by virtue of their connections and their money were able to overcome every adversary and achieve victorious success. Usually such a person doesn't even acknowledge God's role in their lives. They give no thanks for the superior intelligence they possess, no thanks for the rich friends they inherited. And often they are full of the wrong kind of pride, being vain and boastful.
I believe in being victorious, but if we have not humbled ourselves before
God, have not sought after a vision as to how God might best use us, have not
prayed daily for guidance and strength to overcome, then our victory is not as
sure, nor is it eternal. Yes, such a person has certainly achieved a
measure of success, but unless they change their attitude about God they will
never know the kind of Total Life Success™ that spills over into every area of one’s life and becomes
a blessing to others.
Here is what the Apostle John had to say about being truly victorious, about overcoming by faith: 1Jo 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
The Right Side of the Equation: Community
The first part of the equation, the Eleven Prosperity Principles, have already been discussed in detail. Now I want you to focus on the second part of the equation,
"Community". First, it's important to understand the reason why I'm
talking about community in a book about prosperity. To understand why,
we'll need to review that passage God revealed to me, which I shared
with you in Chapter Two, The 3Circles Empowerment Principle™.
"Whatever you put your time and
money and resources into, that is what you empower and whatever you empower, you
give power over yourself; It is time to stop empowering the system that
seeks to enslave/destroy you, and to empower one another instead".
Money is power and unless we share that power, not merely by philanthropic giving but by putting it to work so that more enterprises can be created and more people’s lives improved, that power will tend to corrupt us. This means we consciously choose to determine the best place to invest our money, our time and our resources, with the idea of contributing to the greater good. That is the premise behind The 3Circles Empowerment Principle™ . And there is no greater good than a group of like-minded people joining forces for mutual strength, determined to be “More than conquerors”, determined to manifest God’s love in abundance, to the benefit of themselves, their children and the larger community outside their own.
Time and money are pretty obvious, but what are
"Resources"? This is by no means an exhaustive list, but resources include:
Without multiple streams of income (as the rich often refer to it, “A diversified portfolio”) or a network of rich people, your resources and the community of people into which you invest those resources becomes even more important.
I've known people with large networks of friends and business associates. When discussing the possibility of helping to build an intentional community they didn't see the need. They believed they already belonged to a "community", so why hassle with trying to build one? That's understandable, considering they understood "community" in it's traditional context and had no experience to compare the two systems of community. To their way of thinking, the fact they are able to connect with their friends and associates from time to time, and meet with their fellow church members once or twice a week, well, that's OK with them. They accept that everyone leads busy lives and can't keep in touch more often. They had settled in their mind that this is the best they can hope for. But is it really the "best"? Or is it just choosing to go along with what the present world system has forced upon them, because that's far easier than trying to build something new?
Let's change the situation and then ask ourselves if having a traditional, loosely-knit community of friends, loved ones and business associates, is really adequate to meet the challenges we may face in the near future. For instance, there is mounting evidence that a major volcanic explosion near the equator in 535 A.D. led to two years of no summer, causing world wide crop failures, famine and pestilence (read it for yourself CLICK HERE then hover over the screen with your mouse cursor and choose "Catastrophe"). This in turn led to a huge increase in the rat population and their fleas spread the Bubonic Plague. Millions were killed by this plague and the resultant loss of tax revenues suffered by the struggling Roman Empire was the final blow that ended it's 800 year rein as a world power. This was the beginning of the "Dark Ages".
The evidence for what led up to this plague is detailed and astounding, including tree ring databases going back 7,500 years, detailed analysis of 1000 meter long (approximately 3,000 foot) ice cores in Greenland and human historic records from asian countries like China and Japan, which go back thousands of years. What all these records reveal is that major, world climate changing volcanic eruptions, have happened throughout history, occurring on average every 1000 years. This means we are long overdue for another one, since the last world changing volcanic eruption occurred 1,500 years ago.
Can it happen here in America? It already has on a smaller scale. In 1815 the volcano Tambora exploded and this caused what was widely known as "The year without a summer" in 1816. In New England there were frosts every month of the year. The resulting famines killed untold numbers of Americans and caused a mass migration from New England into the Ohio Valley.
Now, given the certainty of such a world wide catastrophe occuring again; given the likelihood of it occurring in our lifetime or the lifetime of our children; and knowing that all our modern technology can't stop the crop failures nor prevent the resulting famines, ask yourself the following question. If you knew that such a catastrophe was near, which would you prefer, to continue living life like everyone else, as if mother nature would always provide bountiful harvests, or would you prefer to be part of a community that prepared for such an eventuality, a community that had it's own electricity system, it's own greenhouses and grow lights, it's own community freezers and food storage facilities? In our present system, these lessons of history go unheeded. There is an economic incentive to pretend the present times of plenty will never end. They thought that way before the great depression of the 1930's too, when drought driven dust storms destroyed much of this nations agriculture. But those few catastrophes our nation has experienced are only a fraction as severe as what happened in 535 A.D.!
Today we take convenience for granted. Our entire food delivery system is based on "Just in time delivery". As goods are consumed, they are replaced. But this means stores only keep on hand a few days supply. When food was in short supply after Hurricane Katrina (2005), marauding bands roamed the streets and took whatever they wanted. In a community with many unethical self-centered people, such actions are inevitable.
More recently, Ike (2008) a large but lower speed category 3 hurricane, caused massive damage to over 50 oil rigs in the gulf and shut down gasoline production facilities in Texas for several weeks. This interruption to the normal pipeline delivery of gasoline to local gasoline truck filling facilities in the southerna states caused long lines throughout the south, reminiscent of the shortages under President Jimmy Carter in the 70's. I watched numerous news reports as it was happening. Some people told of waiting in line overnight for the morning tanker delivery, only to find the entire gasoline shipment had been sucked dry by the time they got to the pumps a few hours later. Others talked about traveling for hours in search of gasoline, but there just wasn't any. Some people were unable to get to work or carry on with businesses that depended on delivery trucks.
The general consensus among newscasters was that "hoarding" was causing this, but hoarders were being loosely redefined by the public as anyone who filled up their tank and/or brought additional gasoline cans to fill. Could laws be enacted to prevent hoarding, like we had during the first and second world wars? Absolutely. Now that China and India are growing their economies at phenomenal double-digit growth rates it is not a matter of "if", but "when". The dramatic rise in crude oil prices during 2008, nearing $150 a barrel at one time, was a result of this dramatic rise in demand. And one person I saw interviewed, someone who specialized in supply and demand within the oil industry, said our gasoline and diesel delivery system can only deliver enough for three days supply. It doesn't require a hurricane for this to happen again. All it takes is people fearing they won't be able to get fuel and in one day our fuel supplies would be exhausted. We must never forget that right now over 70% of our oil is imported, most of it from countries hostile to democracies. If a war as large as a World War ever broke out we could find ourselves cut off overnight, our national security threatened.
Personally, I prefer to be a member of a close knit, self-sufficient community of people who live and work together on a daily basis, who have the kind of morals that insure sharing rather than hoarding, giving rather than taking. The worldwide 535 A.D. catastrophe caused crop failures two years in a row and set in motion 10-20 years of poor crop yields caused by bad weather. The lack of food and poor nutrition lowered everyone's natural immune system capability to fight off disease and increased the proliferation of pathogens, eventually wiping out millions of people. The "Year Without A Summer" in 1816 and several killer flu's that killed hundreds of thousands have proved that even in America such disasters will happen. It's only a matter of time and the United States is long overdue. Our community will have it's own hydroelectric, wind and solar powered electricity; we will have greenhouses and wood fired heaters; and we'll have legally approved weapons so we can defend what is ours if need be, enabling us to survive such catastrophes. Those who fail to prepare will perish.
Having lived in both types of communities (traditional and intentional, faith-based) I have seen first hand how much richer life is when living within an intentional community founded on cooperation and love and built around common spiritual principles. When we choose to empower one another through our collective efforts, through our collective empathy and giving, every community member is afforded opportunities and experiences that have to experienced to be believed.
Because almost no one in society has lived in such a community I know it will be a hard sell. But fortunately I believe in God and the power of God's Spirit to reach into the hearts of my readers. In this way some hearts will be convinced of the truth of what I say about this new breed of community, which I call "Community 3.0". Community 1.0 is what we see all around us. They are the sprawling haphazard communities that grew up around industries, natural resources or proximity to a town, including planned communities that attract buyers by offering various amenities. But the common thread that keeps them locked into Community 1.0 status is that anyone with sufficient money can live there. There is no common shared spiritual life, no common shared ownership of the land and community buildings, no community wide plan for survival of natural disasters or terrorist attacks, no entrepreneurial engine to help community members build their own businesses, no on-site food production, no program to become self-sufficient and create alternative sources of sustainable energy so the entire community is capable of being off-grid, and no desire to build LEED certified "green" buildings. Community 2.0 includes the online communities that have sprung up around Web 2.0 technology. Community 3.0 integrates Community 2.0 with the practical goals I just stated in the previous sentence and the values listed below.
What is: "Community 3.0"?
I realize that many of
you reading this will refuse to accept what I say about the emotional richness
and increased spiritual power that comes with living in an intentionally built
spiritual community. And since most of us are successful enough to
take care of our own, why seek the "Total Life Success" of living in an intentional, faith-based community? Many of you
could point to the practical outreach provided through giving to
missions, and the charity extended via meals and gifts at Thanksgiving
and Christmas, as proof of your congregations love and concern. Yes,
those are all measures of love, but is that all Jesus requires of us? In
reference to love, Jesus said, "The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is
the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these"? Real love is not just sharing some gifts and meals at
holiday time, it's also about giving one's personal possessions and space from time to time,
giving what you can't afford to give, what's inconvenient to give, giving what costs you
more than your spare change. Real love is a total committment to
God, where our work is not determined by a secular system and it's career
paths, but by our desire to do what God wants us to do. Real
love seeks to eliminate the poverty of one's neighbors, not just pray for
them. In all of the many congregations I've worshipped with over the
years, not one ever initiated a long-term entrepreneurial program aimed at
eliminating the poverty within their own congregation. However, there is one example of
church funded entrepreneurism I've come across. It involved an
extremely poor black congregation in Georgia. One day, one of their
own had an idea of how they could eliminate their members dependence on
welfare (approximately 90% were extremely poor). Their collective
poverty spanned generations, ever since their church was founded at the end of
the Civil War. Throughout the years church members pleaded with God,
that their poverty might be taken from them. I can imagine the
preacher shouting out the same half-truth I've heard from a radio
preacher, "All you need is faith". Needless to say, faith was not
enough and their prayers in this area went unanswered. I believe the reason why it
took over a hundred years to find a solution was because they were looking for a
miracle where none was needed. God gave us a mind and two hands to
work. He's given us principles of prosperity in the scriptures and
all they needed do was seek and apply them. I guess they didn't fully
comprehend that passage in James 2: 26, "For as the body without the Spirit
is dead, so faith without works is dead also". They could have had
all the faith in the world, and they certainly prayed for help over a
period of many generations, but until they got creative, came up with an idea,
developed a plan of action and involved the entire congregation in working out
the solution, nothing changed. I see this as
the exact same situation with the denominations built on a carnal structure
and living a worldly lifestyle. Until those of us who attend
denominations, who also feel uneasy about the rampant hypocrisy, who have a
sense that there should be something better, actually put our minds and feet and
hands to the task, nothing is going to happen, no matter how many new
programs are created within that structure. What finally ended the poverty of this congregation in Georgia was the idea of putting aside the money they had always sent to
missions, so they could make their own congregation the mission
field! They took to heart those scriptures that said it was our duty
to multiply what God has given into our stewardship (i.e. the parable of the Ten
Talents) and fellow believers are to be considered family, the first to
whom we extend a helping hand. So they pooled the money that came
in through the collection plate for their church building and missions, investing it in
their congregation instead, which is the true church. By redirecting these funds to the church business they began, they saw a dramatic
increase in revenues. As the church business became more and more
profitable, they decided to re-invest those profits in the people of their
congregation, seeding it into other businesses started by their congregation
members. The result was nothing less than astounding. Within one
generation they reversed that 90+% welfare dependent figure and now had 90%
of their congregation financially stable, able to take care of their bills
without welfare assistance. To be totally honest, I don't remember the
exact details of this story, only the highlights and a few of the statistics. So if you recognize your
church and I've erred in correctly presenting the details, I hope you won't be
offended by my less than perfect recollection. This model for removing poverty from the lives of
believers should be widely adopted, yet it is not. I got the above
information back in the mid-80's I believe, and that would mean
they initiated their plan many years before. So why has it remained
an isolated experiment? In a word, "hypocrisy". If we
truly loved one another, we would not rest until our fellow believers were free
of their poverty, free of their slavery to debt. Remember,
Jesus directed his harshest words against the Pharisees and
Saducees. They were considered very religious by their fellow
Jews, yet Jesus called them hypocrites, warning us against their example,
"Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (Luke
12:1). We say we love God with all our heart, yet we don't love God enough to obey the Proverb
that declares, "The borrower is slave to the lender". We don't
obey this obvious wisdom because we truly love this worlds goods more than we
love God. Otherwise we would surely discipline our spending and
avoid debt. We need to stop being slaves. And how can we
say we love one another as our self when we fail to take action regarding those
impoverished within our own congregation, whose poverty, debt and emotional
burdens are open sores on the body of Christ? The time and distance separation
between traditional church members is an insurmountable barrier. It stops
us from having time to spend together regularly, which is the only way we would
really know what most people are going through. When you haven't had time
to talk to someone for a few weeks and then you get together, it would take many
hours to share what's really been going on in your life. So we
almost always carry on conversations that remain at the surface of what is
really happening. In other words, we carry around our masks of happiness and respectability and friendliness, when many times we are not
what we pretend to be. This is the essence of hypocrisy.
We justify our hypocrisy in this area by saying we don't want to be a
burden to others, all the while ignoring that scripture which tells us to share
our burdens with one another. Do you see the pattern
here? We are living according the world's dictates, not God's.
We rush around according to man's schedule, not God's. This too
is hypocrisy, and further proof that we do not "Love God with
all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and
with all our strength". We are told in Galations 6 that we should, "Bear one anothers burdens, and so
fulfill the law of Christ" (the law of Christ is love). We are
also told to, "Exhort (give urgent advice, recommendations, or warnings to) one
another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of
Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast until the end"
(Hebrews 3:13-14). We know from our own experiences
that few share their burdens until their lives are a total wreck
and it's obvious to everyone. And daily exhortation is only possible in
the context of a close knit community. In Titus 2 we are told that the older men should teach the
younger men, and likewise the older women teach the younger women, how to
love their spouse and their children. Where do we see that being
applied? I have never seen such a program in my 33 years of
Christian experience and yet this is the essence of what would give us
victory over the widespread relational breakdowns, a mentoring type relationship
with those who are older and wiser for their experience. Is it
any wonder that we who are spiritual have no less a rate of
divorce then those who are without the knowledge of
Christ? To be totally honest, I did hear about one congregation that sought to apply Titus 2 through cell groups. But this approach was like applying band-aids to cancer. Meeting once a week to share how to deal with life issues, often long after such real world relational issues surfaced, is just not good
enough. It's really only possible to apply this (and many other)
scriptures within the context of a close-knit community where we see and
interact with one another daily. At the root of all these disparities is our
hypocrisy. We say we love God but our actions show an unwillingness to
change our lifestyle so we can obey his command to truly love one
another. The truth is that we love things the way they are; we love living
as the world lives, even to the point of tolerating the same divorce rate and
pretending we are powerless to do anything about it.
In a word, we have become friends of the world. James, the
brother of Jesus, puts it this way, "Know you not that friendship with the world
is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is
the enemy of God" (James 4:4). Once the leaven of this world has been hidden in our heart,
it expands and matures and eventually overflows into the lives of those around
us. The world's system has us and we've chosen to go along with it's
dictates. And because we are just like most everyone else we feel
justified in our hypocrisy. This is why most of us are
powerless to stop our divorces, or find someone who truly loves us.
We have a worldly mindset and we are reaping what we have sown. What we have today is a "form
of Godliness", a world centered form that blends in and doesn't cause too many
waves. We're afraid to be the "City on the hill", lest we be thought
"odd" or called a "cult". But if we truly believe, we will work at empowering one another instead of this world's system,
a system that is moving all the more swiftly towards one
world government by reason of our laboring on it's behalf, as it's
employees. The men
and women who hold positions of governance or pastoral leadership within
each denomination do not deny God or God's power by their words as much as they deny God by their actions. Their very individualistic
and worldly lifestyle, living alone and separated from the flock, is proof they have become friends with the world. And it is their continuance within the corrupt, carnal, denominational structure that furthers the world's purposes, even as they give
lip service to furthering the Kingdom of God. Therein is
the root cause as to why they continue to lie to themselves, believing they are
not hypocrites when they are, because living like everyone else they are blinded by the preponderance of opinion in their favor. Furthermore, failing to see or admit that God moves in the lives of everyone, regardless of their religion or even their atheism, they see the movement of God in their midst and take credit for it, seeing in God's deliverance of others (which deliverance
would happen with or without them) proof of their righteousness and the rightness of their denonomination.
By such measurements of righteousness and comparing themselves one to another according to their own denominational beliefs, even the Catholic Church has been able to prove itself righteous to its adherents. "But we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." (II Cor. 10:12). Paul tells us in I Cor.
3 that the denominational system is carnal, and in II Cor. 3 he tells us that
putting the written scriptures above the Spirit of the Living God leads to spiritual
death. And yet we all continue to promote and feed this
corrupt, spirit killing system as if it was a pattern ordained by God
rather than created by men. If that's not the essence of
hypocrisy I don't know what is!
Is it any wonder that even born-again evangelical Christians have a divorce rate no different than the rest of the world around us? Is
it any wonder that so many televangelists, so many church leaders, so
many priests, are falling into such horrible
sins? Who among their congregation sees them on a daily
basis to exhort them against such dangers? Who among them would dare
to admit they needed to share their burdens with other believers? They
wouldn't, because they know they could not trust those they confided in to keep
it in confidence. The denominational system is a prison that locks away it's followers, keeping them from obtaining the fulness of the Spirit of God. I
have seen the following happen again and again, that no sooner
does the Spirit of God begin to move within a congregation then the
Spirit is quenched because no one dares to interpret or speak outside that
denomination's interpretive box. Keeping in mind that the
Holy Spirit is portrayed in the Bible as "new wine" and both the
individual body and the collective body (the church) are symbolically linked to the goat skins they used as
"wineskins", here is what Jesus says on this matter: "No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the
wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.
No, he pours new wine into new wineskins". With these understandings I finally had to STOP going to traditional church services, because the leaven of their hypocrisy, as Jesus had
warned, is not something you can overcome... it overcomes you.
The new wine God was bringing to them through me, they could not receive,
because their mental containers were old and cracked and inflexible, because
they viewed the written word as more important than the Living WORD and spiritual unity. I had to leave because
they had a form of godliness that prevented the fullness of God's power from
working in their midst. Oh, to be sure they worked up emotions through the songs
they sang, and they felt a sense of peace, as men are able to do in states
of self-induced eupohoria, but the power of God working regular miracles or
speaking his plans into the lives of individual congregants was denied
them. And even the pastors, being taught by other men ABOUT God but
having little or no undersanding as to that glory to glory transformation
which comes to those who meditate in God's presence for a minimum of one hour,
have almost no personal experience with the fullness of God's power. How
can it be otherwise when both the leaders and their congregants refuse to
obey God, choosing instead to remain on the surface of man's
ritual and traditions?
Renewal of the mind, as the Bible reminds us, begins with rebellion against the world's system ("Be not conformed to this
world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind"). This
is what enables us to not just love those who pay us back when we
invite them to dinner, but also to love the unloveable and the deeply
troubled among us. This renewal of our mind, through that glory-to-glory transformation process, is also what enables us to obey the aforementioned commands regarding how we are to love one another: exhorting one another daily; willingly sharing our burdens; taking in the homeless, the destitute and the downtrodden; and embracing this "fellowship of suffering" Peter told us we must share as part of loving one another. These things will happen as we separate ourselves from the worldly lifestyles we now embrace and begin mentoring the younger couples, daily exhorting them as to how they can truly love one another and their spouses. To be sure there are exceptional spiritual men and women of God in every congregation. Even in the Catholic church I met a
nun who confessed she didn't really know Jesus Christ until just a few years previous. That's quite an
admission for someone who dedicated her life to serviing God and
Jesus Christ for over four decades previous to
her conversion. Oh she knew much ABOUT Jesus Christ. But
until she was willing to let go of the old, let go of her Church's
teachings and invite Christ to take the place of her church in her heart,
she didn't truly know Jesus or God. She helped us establish our ministry in St. John's Newfoundland, helping us furnish and fix up the 13 room home we rented as well as steering people our way, people her Catholic church was unable or unwilling to help. We took in the homeless, the mentally disabled and we developed a youth ministry for St. John's street kids. However, those of us who have experienced the power and joy of living in community have experienced this renewal of the heart and spirit over and
over on a daily basis. We don't have to be emotionally manipulated
to go up to an altar and confess in front of an entire congregation, nor do
we suffer the constant backsliding that is considered normal in
evangelistic circles, where the same people go back to the altar again and
again and again, hoping to re-ignite the spiritual fire that once
burned so bright. The only way to get a lasting victory is to,
"Come out from among them and be you separate says the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing, and I will receive you" (II Cor. 6:17). There is only one church and that
church is composed of every believer, whether outside or inside each denomination. Some of those believers don't even know Jesus
Christ yet. Others may be involved with New Age or
Occultic practices, yet you sense God speaking to you through my
words. And there are still others who presently do not believe in God, but one day will. I make no judgement as to where anyone will end up
spiritually, knowing that as long as I remain in tune with God my spirit will bear witness to those who will one day be God's children. I must simply be obedient to God's call on my life, knowing the Holy Spirit is much better at revealing truth than I. My purpose is not to teach people
about God, nor is it to focus on scriptural interpretations. Rather, I
am to teach others how to get close to God, so they can have the same
first hand experience of abiding in God's glorious presence. God in them,
and they in God. Or as Jesus put it, in John 14: "I will not leave
you comfortless: I will come to you... At that day ye shall know that I am in my
Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is
that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will
love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto
him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and
not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and
my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with
him. He that loveth me
not keepeth not my sayings". I do not lust for power or believe that I alone have the answers. What God has revealed to me is but one piece of the
puzzle. But if I can help even one person discover God's plan for
their life, if I can help them become "more than a conqueror", help them become
free spiritually and financially, then I will have fulfilled my
purpose. Those of you who are still worshipping in the traditional
denominational manner and living as everyone else lives, separated by geography,
time and ideology from those you love, you will have the hardest time breaking
free of those denominational chains which now bind your mind. But with prayer and meditation, by using your God given intelligence to consider carefully what is being taught versus what the Spirit of God reveals, you will find the strength to break free. We must rediscover what early
Christians knew, that unity in community is what unleashes the power of God
in our midst. Not just a power that might wash over us a few times in
our lifetime, but a power that washes over us daily. "For we are not as
many, who corrupt the Word of God... You are the epistle (letter) of Christ ministered by us, written not
with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God; not in tables of stone
(referring to the 10 commandments) but in fleshly tables of the heart... God
has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the
Spirit: FOR THE LETTER KILLS BUT THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE... now the Lord is that
Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Cor.
3). A
Little History
In my coming book, "Leave the Church - Your Life Depends On It", subtitled, "How Denominational Religion Has Shut Up The
The Catholic Church, along with other orthodox
denominations closely aligned with the Catholic church (but who later broke
away) initiated a draconian policy of censorship. This censorship extended
to books of the bible that had been considered inspired for over 300
years. These so-called non-canonical scriptures were ordered burned by the
Catholic Church. And anyone caught with them was burned along with
those banned scriptures. As a result over 100 such letters and
"books" were thought to be lost forever. However, discoveries beginning in
the late 19th century and continuing to this day have given us many of those
so-called "lost" books. They were not lost, of course, they were forbidden
and banned. Keep in mind that these so-called men of God who gave us
our present day New Testament, couldn't even agree on the books of John and
Revelations. For nearly 100 years they went back and forth,
identifying them as canon and then removing them.
The creation of the canon, the officially approved books that
would make up the New Testament, all took place AFTER the first
Council of Nicea which was convened by the Roman Emperor Constantiine, in 325 A.
D. There is no certain answer as to when our present New Testament
was agreed upon, only that we are sure it was sometime around 367 A.D. when the
Bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius, gave a list of 27 books that reflect our
present New Testament. However, different bibles were created
based on the declarations of canon by various church fathers and some of those
manuscripts survive to this day. Some contained books like the
Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas, 1 & 2 Clement, Acts of Paul and
Revelations of Peter. These facts were never taught to me in any
congregation I was ever associated with (and I've visited or regularly attended hundreds).
Rather, I was led to believe that the entire New Testament, being absolutely essential to salvation and
necessary for the building up of the Church, was delivered
to us shortly after the death of Jesus, as we have them
today. Nothing could be further from the truth. But here's the real kicker.
The Bible declares that "[God]... has made us
able ministers of the NEW TESTAMENT; NOT OF THE LETTER, BUT OF THE SPIRIT, for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life"
(II Cor. 3:5-6). Considering that the books of the bible we today call the New Testament were not agreed upon and gathered into one
book until the late 4th Century, we have to ask ourselves, "What is the new
testament being referred to by Paul in his letter to the
Corinthians? The New Testament is the covenant of God with man, through his Son, Jesus, a covenant that is written on our hearts, a
covenant that is not physical, but Spiritual. The REAL New
Testament is God's living Spirit, in us. At the death of Jesus there was an earthquake and the heavy cloth vail in the Jewish temple, which separated the priests from the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant stood, was rent in two. Thus God declared that all mankind now had the same authority and access to God as the priests; we could forgive sins; we could enter into God's presence; we could hear God's voice. This was also part of the "new covenant" which was translated as the "new testament". It is abundantly clear to those of us who read the scriptures without the predefined interpretations of man's denominational religion, that this is the obvious and true meaning delivered by the Apostle Paul when he declared that disciples of Jesus Christ are "Ministers of the new testament; not of the letter,
but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives
life".
Now, do you begin to see a pattern of deception being practiced by our
denominational leaders, who surely are educated as to how we got our present New
Testament? It may not be intentional on their part, but because they have
been taught by other men, rather than by the Holy Spirit, they are unable
to see this vital truth. For if we continue to think of the New
Testament only as a collection of scriptural letters, then we fail to comprehend
or partake in what Jesus referred to as "The mysteries of the Kingdom of
Heaven". This is the
pattern for which God has given me discernment, that man in his desire
to create a form of Godliness has purposely transformed the great
mysteries of the Spirit, delivered to us by Jesus Christ, into tangible objects
that appeal to the masses. The New Testament is not the only
one. I will elaborate on others in my book, "Leave the Church - Your Life
Depends On It". Given the above understanding about the REAL
New Testament it seems blasphemous to me that we call what is physical,
what can be bought and sold, our "New Testament", especially when the book
itself declares it is not! Another major difference between the shallow "form of
religion" we have today and the deep spiritual form Jesus delivered, is that he
did not try to reach the masses and convert everyone. We have a
record of this in Matthew 13. The disciples notice that
Jesus speaks to them plainly about his parables, explaining their exact
meaning, but to the masses he speaks only in parables. They ask, "Why
do you speak to them in parables"? To which Jesus replies,
"Because it is given to you to know the Mysteries
of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given... For this
people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their
eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and
hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them". In other words, Jesus respects the fact that it is the work
of the Holy Spirit to draw men and women to God. If he explained
to everyone the exact nature of his parables, then people would be getting
converted, people who were not ready spiritually. It is vital to understand what Jesus has just said in the above quote from Matthew 13. He clearly declares that he does NOT want to convert and heal those who lack spiritual awareness. The pews of countless congregations are
today filled with people who's "heart is waxed gross" because they had
everything explained to them. Many were even manipulated into their conversion by "Hell fire
and brimstone" preaching. Given a choice between the possibility of
hell or heaven, many people choose heaven, even though their hearts
are spiritually gross, unable to really understand what such a
committment to Christ really means. Such people were converted and many were healed but because they were not spiritually ready they have infected the church of Jesus Christ with their gross, ego dominated natures. They have no idea as to how to "Abide in Christ", how to "Be still and KNOW God", or how to "Love one another as I have loved you". This is the root cause of their hypocrisy, and as Jesus warned, "A little leaven, leavens the whole lump". Countless generations within this spiritually dead, divided Christian church have thus spread their false knowledge, even forcefully and violently destroying those who were truly awakened spiritually, whom God had called to help renew the church. And so it is that even to this day the vast majority of so-called "Christians" will fight to destroy those who have come to know the "Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven". What has all
this got to do with a book about prosperity and my Twelfth
Principle? Plenty. Prosperity is multi-faceted. It includes spiritual prosperity. And spiritual prosperity, if it is to remain healthy and vibrant, is not something we can create and sustain as individuals. Every city on the continent of India provides examples of men who left their wives and children to go off into the mountains alone, to become enlightened. Long ago I saw a documentary about this phenomenon and was appalled at how their society revered and rewarded such men, believing them to be enlightened simply because they said they were! The families of these so-called "gurus" were doomed to sink even deeper into poverty. But real spiritual prosperity embraces the family, it does not abandon them. And real spiritual prosperity extends its loving arms beyond one's immediate family to embrace others, to embrace community. That is the nature of love, it must reach out to those we know and have relationships with. And as one's love matures it can no longer be sustained simply by emotions, it must also embrace our God given will to love. This is a self-disciplined kind of love, able to seek those of like mind, to gather and organize and create a dynamo of human productivity, a loving community that multiplies what little each may have brought to the community, until the whole is so much greater then the sum of it's parts. Such a financial, emotional and spiritual prosperity is what I call Total Life Success™. If that kind of prosperity is your goal, not just making lots of money, then
being part of an intentional community such as 3Circles Church Communities is not an option, it's a necessity. And whether your
participation starts online with our 3CCC membership website or offline with our local 3CCC Fellowship Groups, the most important thing is to step out
in faith and get involved. Since the 1960's I have studied, visited, lived in and
created spiritually centered intentional communities. I personally started two communities, one before I became a Christian, the other one
afterwards, and I was a consultant for helping to establish two other community
startups. I also lived in several communes back in the 60's.
Establishing communities of faith is my calling, as revealed by God when I
was taken to heaven in June of 1974 (http://www.3circles.net/heaven). So why, some will ask, has it
taken you three decades to establish the first 3Circles
Community? In a word, "Timing". To elaborate, I should
say, "In God's timing". Believe me, having seen God work extremely
fast in the establishment of those first two communities, I expected it
would be sooner rather than later for the first 3Circles Church Community... but I was wrong. One of the things that helped me
realize the timing for establishing the first 3Circles Church Community was off in the future was when, over a period of
several years, God repeatedly brought the word "infrastructure"
to mind during my meditations. I soon realized
"Infrastructure", as in facilities, communications and electric utilities,
material goods or the logistics of planning, wasn't what God was trying to get
me to understand. I began to see that creating a successful,
long-lasting, spiritually centered community is about setting up a supporting
infrastructure of ideas. Let's face it, there are going to be many
competing ideas in any community, but if there is a framework of ideas which
everyone can mostly agree with, we'll all be more focused, accomplish more, and
have a greater love and unity for one another. And believe me, if
you want to thoroughly examine the plethora of ideas surrounding community, so
that you understand which one's to keep and integrate with those God gives you by reason of inspiration, it WILL
take decades!! Here are some of
the ideas I've developed and work that has been accomplished towards the
launch of 3Circles Church Community: * A clear understanding, given to me by God, that traditional Christian religion is based on a foundation of lies, distortions and idolatry, all born out of the desire to appeal to the maximum number of people for the purpose of creating their religious empire. * Discovered and developed over 50 foundational principles that will help each individual discover God's plan for their life, and keep our community united. * Created a plan for community governance that assures a balance of
power, eliminating potential problems like the founder making all the
decisions or some community-based factions Lording it over others. * Discovered and developed a simple but profoud method of daily meditation that taps into God's glory-to-glory transformational power. * Determined methods for alleviating psychological & relational problems associated
with living in a close-knit community, based on my own community experiences and my wife's experience as trained counselor with a Master's Degree. * Integration of our community model with a two decade old successful alternative, do-it-yourself banking system called the Time Bank. As a member we are able to issue Time Dollars in exchange for services performed. This is a great way for people with limited funds to get things done that they couldn't afford otherwise, and it helps our members find ways to contribute their time in the service of others. * Founded and managed my own Internet access and web hosting business for 7 years; this knowledge will be used to help each 3Circles Church Community become it's own ISP (Internet Services Provider); this will bypass the need to use
outside ISP's and protect each community's privacy. * Developed a unique Internet based marketing plan for 3Circles Church Community based businesses, one that eliminates sales hype, increases face-to-face communication regardless of the distance, and offers increased levels of trust to potential customers. * Developed a unique hybrid publishing model that combines author initiated self-publishing with the
distribution and marketing advantages of our own publishing business (3Circles Community Publishing) allowing us
to offer author commissions above the national average. 3Circles Community Publishing will work closely with the authors
of the books it carries, creating additional profits for both the author and our publishing company as we help them
create an info-preneuring empire of value-added, multi-media products around their original non-fiction book. * Created and established a multi-layered website able to provide general information to the public but with added Web 2.0 capabilities as well as inside info to our members. We also provide access to other products and tools: a blogging website for spiritual transformation; online web-conferencing software; business to business and member to member collaborative networking tools; and web-based sales of both community and individual member products and services, including a highly sensitive biofeedback headset that provides feedback on meditation progress. * The writing of two books, this one on financial freedom and a second one focused on spiritual freedom called "Leave the Church - Your Life Depends On It" (this one is not yet completed). These books will helps us spread the word about our new spirit-centered church community model. The above milestones are one
form of consolation for my investing these many years of
labor into God's calling. But the main consolation will
be the joy I see in other faces as they experience what I experienced so
long ago, knowing that this time what we build together will last for an
eternity. The time for establishment of the first 3Circles Church Community is near, very near. From time to time I feel as if
I'm transported to some future time, so real are
the periodic glimpses I get of our communities life. I know that countless generations will benefit from what we build and establish through our network of 3Circles Church Communities. Many hearts will be transformed and enriched by the love we shed abroad. And think about the positive
effects on our children! It is for all these reasons that I
am totally confident regarding the successful establishment and future
longevity of each 3Circles Church Community™. A Little Background
In the summer of 1970 I was traveling with a gypsy fellow
from Poland and his two women. This was 3 and a-half years before I
accepted Christ into my heart. We stopped at a lake to swim and as I
looked across to the other side I had a very profound experience. I
knew, I mean I really KNEW that I was to start a community on the other side of
that Lake. From that moment on I felt like I was inside some giant
vortex of energy. I was connected to that energy in such a way as to know what
to do and when to do it. Everything flowed as though it were
pre-ordained. Within two weeks from the time I revisited the Lake,
making a trip to the other side to scout it out, some 20 plus people (including
a few children) were traveling with me in various vehicles, ready to begin our
new life as a community. We had all the money we needed, all the
tools, and everyone believed it was meant to be. When we arrived at the edge of this lake we had no boat to
get to the other side. We had previously decided to build two rafts,
create a make shift sail out of an old parachute, and paddle to the other side,
so we did have a plan, albeit a very unorganized one. The land was Crown
land, meaning it was owned by the Canadian government, but I had discovered a
little known mining rights law that would prevent the authorities from throwing
us off the land. This worked initially. When the police came and saw our
legal mining claim, they were powerless. Eventually, however, they used
immigration laws to divide and conquer, since most of us were Americans living
in Canada for various reasons. At the time I did not understand the
importance of meeting with the local people, who had been there way before us
and were understandably fearful. My second community experiment began in 1974, about six
months after I invited the spirit of Christ into my heart. Four of us
believers were led by God to start a Christian community. You can
read more about that community experience by reading my free mini ebook,“Taken
to Heaven”. Just go to http://www.3circles.net/heaven. I
learned much from starting those two communities. But the most valuable
lesson was learning what to do to prevent failure the next time. I realized I
needed an infrastructure of ideas and a plan of action for implementing
them. The ideas would be the glue, the higher purpose that draws people
together and keeps them energized and positive, focused on manifesting God's
kingdom here on earth. As a young man I was often impatient to a fault,
desiring to see the first community become a reality that year or the next. To
me, the greatest proof of God's hand upon my life and this ministry was that I learned to be patient and was able to wait till God's wisdom manifested the infrastructural ideas behind 3Circles Church Communities. Over the intervening years there were some 35 people who felt called to join with me. However, no one ever persevered long
enough to see the vision fulfilled. Even though their spirit bore witness
with my spirit, even though many admitted God spoke to them clearly and they
knew it was God’s will, God’s will did not come to pass for them.
I see this same pattern again and again. People, who originally believed something to be God’s will, eventually talk themselves into
believing it must not be God’s will. The logic goes something like this,
“If this was really God’s will, surely it shouldn’t be this hard”.
Or they might say something like, “I’m not being blessed therefore it can’t be
God’s will” (i.e. a “blessing” to them means something easy and immediately
gratifying). Another mind game goes like this, “Since God is not the
author of confusion and I’m feeling so conflicted inside, having no inner peace
about this, then what I thought was God’s will must no longer be (or never really
was) God’s will”. My fellow believer, when God’s will is revealed we can know
with certainty that the essence of what was revealed will not
change.
If we say that God’s will was “thus and so” and later on we deny what was
originally revealed, it is our determination that has wavered, it is our
unwillingness to suffer through the hard times that diverted us. This is our
doing, not God’s. It saddens me immensely to see this happen so often among fellow believers. I have even known four people who had angels appear to them at different places and times,
verifying God’s will regarding what they were wrestling with, and yet 6 or 7
months later, after much re-thinking due to difficulties that subsequently
arose, they were able to totally disregard their angelic visitation, including
the great peace and joy they originally experienced! I firmly believe
that the reason for this wavering is that most believers are still caught up in
the carnal mindset of their denominational structure, and it is that leaven that
works itself into their heart again and again. This leaven prevents them from persevering
with any calling that might lead them to abandon what is familiar and
comfortable. In other words, they are trained by a system that focuses on
the external scriptures for answers. More often than not this eventually renders mute
the Spirits inner calling to do something new. It is time to declare that
there is a crisis of biblical proportions among believers. That crisis is a lack of faith. It's borne of an unwillingness to
be different, an unwillingness to take the kind of risks that cause others to
label us as "fools" or "crazy". If we truly believe we should "Be not conformed
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind", then how is it
that we continue to live and act no different than anyone else? There is
definitely an unwillingness to suffer the slings and arrows of ridicule that
always accompanies stepping out in faith towards great accomplishments. It's inevitable that the early adopters of something new
will suffer disproportionately to those who come later, after the community is
established. However, those who are part of the initial creation and
building of these 3Circles Church Communities™ will also be blessed disproportionately to the
effort they put in, beyond anything those who later follow will
experience. The same is true for financial remuneration. That
is just the way it is in this physical universe we live in. This same problem, remaining faithful to our original
understanding of God's will, is something each of us will face before and after
we start a home-based business, especially as we try to put into practice these
Twelve Principles of Prosperity. Without
a disciplined, vigilant mind to help keep us focused on our goal, and without
the faith and patience to see us through the inevitable difficulties that arise,
Total Life Success™ will be unattainable.
Key Concepts for 3Circles Church Communities You will find more detail on my website about 3Circles Church Communities. However, I want to take
the time here to explore a few concepts vital to the establishment of our community and your
success. For a community to thrive, there must be a common belief
system. How do we do this without stifling those who are already on the
path, who may be younger, limited in their understandings by their lack of
experience or knowledge but no less zealous in their desire to know the truth
and do God's will? This is the reasoning behind my concept of the 3Circles™. In a traditional denomination (which includes so-called “non-denominations”) church membership is given only after you agree to believe
exactly what that denomination believes. In other words when you have
arrived at the “Right” understanding, you receive the "Right Hand of
Fellowship", as it's often called.
In a 3Circles Church Community™, membership is not determined by one’s level of understanding or maturity, it is determined by a simple belief in God, a willingness to embrace our foundational principles, and a committment to work with us towards our common goal of building online and real-world 3Circles Church Communities. A person's faith, their religion, or their denominational
upbringing doesn't matter if they are growing spiritually, see some measure of truth in our principles and are spiritually drawn to embrace our community. What matters most is that our spirit bears witness with their spirit, that they are open, teachable and willing to
grow. This is a more organic approach, based on spiritual discernment and relational ability.
This allows people to grow together, to teach and learn from one another rather than being divided by
their levels of maturity and understanding or by their socio-economic
upbringing. We are to be a community that learns from one another, a
community of thinkers, a community that breaks down barriers of socio-economic
status and education, not a community that seeks to extend
fellowship only for those who agree to interpret the scriptures exactly as we
do. So, what are the "3Circles" in a 3Circles Church Community? The first circle is the “Circle of Belief™”. Within this circle there are three other circles:
Belief in God, in a "Higher Power", in an intelligent design, or whatever you
might identify as the creator of the universe. This is the common thread with
which community members will weave their tapestry of forgiveness, love, unity
and economic empowerment. However, along with a belief in God, regardless of one's
previous religion or denomination, there must be certain related, common beliefs
to form a strong core of fellowship. Belief in the “Golden
Rule” is one such common belief, an absolute necessity if we are
to get along with one another. There isn't really much that can be said
about the Golden Rule... it is just one of the best statements on how to live in harmony with
others: "And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise" (Luke 6:31). A
related shared belief, which follows the Golden Rule principle
is the belief that God has given life to each of us, therefore we believe only God has the authority to take
life. This precludes suicide, euthanasia or abortion as an
individual "right". No one should ever choose to destroy the
life of an unborn child simply because the child was an embarrassment, an
inconvenience or not wanted. A conceived child is a sovereign being who
has a right to life and that principle demands we take up the fight for the
unborn child's right to live. However, in the area of rape or incest there
is not the same moral obligation to the child because there was force against
the mother’s will. In that case the final decision must rest with the
sovereignty of the woman’s will, whose life was forcefully changed by the
violent invasion of her being. Belief in Individual Sovereignty in the free will sovereignty of every human
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