make them bind themselves to the rules and, thereby, elevate the rules as the higher authority. Organization requires rules. Once we institute rules and regulations to govern our relationships with one another, we have almost always institutionalized ourselves. We restrict the Holy Spirit's liberty to lead us. Control is one of the greatest enemies to our liberty in the Spirit. The rules men make to control church life are likely to become unhealthy boundaries. We often become slaves to these rules. Nevertheless, good rules provide healthy boundaries and are necessary even for our participation in one another's lives in the body of Christ. These rules are generally in the category of "love one another." The word of God is the law of God and serves the well-being of those who keep it. We have the ability to keep God's law by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us. All too often, however, the rules of the institution supersede the word and Spirit of God. Such was the case when I believed the Holy Spirit wanted to abolish the Sunday School. The rules of the organization did not allow that. "We don't do that here" is the common excuse. Church rules confine the activities of the Holy Spirit. We need to distinguish between God's law which sets us free in Christ and church laws which impose restrictions upon us and bind us to men. The institution of church is one among many of our Babylonian inventions and is perpetuated by those in THE Ministry. Footnotes {12} Don Potter, "Talent For Sale," The Morning Star Journal (Charlotte, NC: Morning Star Publications, Summer 1997) Vol. 7, No. 3, 63. Back To Text {13} The Shawshank Redemption, produced by Nike Marvin, directed by Frank Darnbont. Based on a novel by Steven King, titled, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Back To Text {14} The Mission, produced by Fernando Ghia, David Puttmen, and Iain Smith (associate), directed by Roland Jaffe, writing credits to Robert Bolts. Distributed by Warner Brothers, 1986. Back To Text
Chapter 8 - THE Ministry
While driving home one drizzling winter day after sharing with some believers in Georgia, I kept hearing the words rumbling around inside of me: "Quit the Ministry." That word was most troubling because I thought I had already done that. Still, there it was, relentlessly hounding me: "Quit the Ministry." Then I noticed the emphasis on the article: "Quit THE Ministry." I knew it was a refining word of God at work within me. THE Ministry, with the emphasis on the article "THE" and a capital "M," was a stronghold inside of me that had been