Empire State Church
First Things First magazine recently published a religion and public life article on the Russian church. The focus was on orthodoxy and its historic symbioses with the political state. Several remarks from various social observations are in order.
First off, the article seems to have been written by a person who never lived under socialist Soviet Russia and therefore presents a one-sided interpretation of the period. In order words, the information presented is true, but it’s limited to a single political, social and most importantly spiritual view interpretation. The used terminology of “de-Sovietization” is good example for the interpretive limitation. Other post-communist countries properly use the terminology “de-socialization” or even “de-communization,” though no country has ever reached a truly communist state.
Furthermore, the article’s purposefully excludes millions of Russian Catholics, evangelicals and Armenian Christian believers in Russia who were also severely persecuted under the Regime and were not allowed as much freedom of worship as the state Orthodox Church. They cannot be placed outside the perimeter of the revival movements after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, because many of those revivals happened first within their congregations and then influenced the Orthodox Church
The orthodoxy of the described state church is also under question since there’s never been a true Russian orthodox church. Eastern Christianity in Russia is rooted in the Greek Orthodox Church and heavily influenced by the 9th century Bulgarian Christianization of the Slavs prior to reaching Russia. Built after the early byzantine ecclesial model, the Russian church never experienced a true separation of church and state. One of the foundations of Orthodoxy since Constantine the Great has been a co-existential paradigm in the form of symbioses between the Orthodox Church and the political state. Thus, a true Orthodox church has always been an Empire church.
The article further omits historic communist influence of state police (KGB) over the church. During the Regime, KGB agents not only infiltrated Orthodox dioceses, but dictated the course of the church via specifically trained secret agents posing as priests within the church. Many of these agents were placed in key leadership positions as bishops and even the top patriarch of the Russian church. No one could obtain such position or any hierarchy promotion without signing up to cooperate with the state police. Until this influence, which continues in the church today, is exposed and the church is purified from all communist influence through “lustration,” there can never be an independent Russian church – it will always be an Empire church – with a capital “E,” and small “c.”
Ministering at CitiPointe Church
Ministering at the Good Shepherd Church in Florida
8 Things Christian Believers and Churches Can Do in Light of Recent SCOTUS Ruling on LGBT
1. State Level
- Contact your congressman/senator for available options. Write your governor without hesitation
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill allowing clergy to refuse to officiate same sex ceremonies
- Texas Attorney General fights back against Supreme Court
- First Amendment Defense Act Sen. Mike Lee of Utah introduced
2. Personal Level
- Inform yourself and your family of the clear Biblical principles for love and holiness applicable in this situation
- Pray daily for the protection of your family and the salvation of many souls
- Be faithful to your husband/wife and children
3. Corporate Level
- Hold on to your Christian standards for doing business
- Support other Christian businesses
- Forgive and forget, but watch and pray
4. Local Church Level
- Join in corporate fasting and praying in the Spirit
- Uphold the Biblical standard of holy living
- Preach the truth as you have received it
- Adopt local church resolutions on the sanctity of the family
5. Denominational Level
- Adopt resolutions on the sanctity of the family applicable to all your churches internationally (not just North America)
- Adopt resolutions on same-sex marriages, transgender, abortions and all similar issues applicable to all your churches internationally (not just North America)
- Stand along members, ministers, local congregations and Christian schools under attack for upholding the Biblical standard of holy living
6. Christian Alliances Level
- Stay informed of all legal protests and options
- Learn about upcoming IRS changes and alternative exempt options
- Consult with legal council about your rights and obligations under the law
- Join with other Christians in legal measures for upholding the Biblical standard of holy living
7. International Organizational Level
- Beware of what Christian churches are doing internationally to protect their members, ministers, local congregations and Christian schools
- Examine your current tax status and consult your CPA, attorney and insurance agents about the various possibilities to protect your church and ministry
- 2015 ANGLICAN CHURCH Communique
- Methodist church Faces Schism Over Same-Sex Marriage
8. Get good insurance with adequate coverage and experience in the matter
• A good example from Brotherhood Mutual Ins.
READ ALSO:
- Statement of the Church of God Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Court Decision
- AFA: 3 things your church must do immediately to protect itself
- Church of God Instructions for Ministers: Marriage and Same-sex Relationship (75th A., 2014)
- SOUTHERN BAPTIST ADF PLAN TO RESIST ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS
- Web-cached copy of ADF PLAN TO RESIST ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS
- Brotherhood Mutual Ins: What should churches and ministries know?
- 6 More Things To Do after the Supreme Court Decision on Gay Marriage
- Why the church should neither cave nor panic?
- How Will the U.S. Supreme Court’s Same-Sex-Marriage Decision Affect Religious Liberty?
- Why Evangelical Churches Need to Address the New Reality?
- Will High-court ruling affect church weddings?
Church of God Instructions for Ministers: Marriage and Same-sex Relationship (75th A., 2014)
Church of God Instructions for Ministers: Marriage and Same-sex Relationship (75th A., 2014)
p. 158-159, S63. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR MINISTERS, by adding the following so as to read:
II. Marriage and Same-Sex Relationships
A. The Church of God rejects the cultural, political, and theological pressures to change the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. We affirm this definition based on God’s Word and the truth that Christian marriage between a man and a woman reflects the theological truth of Christ’s love for His Church.
B. Church of God ministers, whether an ordained minister or ordained bishop, shall only perform or participate in marriage ceremonies or marriage blessings between one man and one woman, as marriage is defined in the Bible. This policy also is applicable to Church of God ministers who serve in capacities outside the scope of normal pastoring, such as military, hospital, and corporate chaplains.
C. Local Church of God churches and the local Church of God ministers who serve them shall only hold, provide facilities for, conduct or preside over weddings, wedding receptions, and anniversaries (and other gatherings related to weddings, receptions, and anniversaries) that celebrate a marriage or blessing between one man and one woman, as marriage is defined in the Bible.
D. Church of God ministers shall maintain a Christ-like attitude of love, mercy, and grace, when counseling or otherwise dealing with individuals in same-gender relationships. A Christ-like spirit will maintain the truth of God’s Word, the policies of the church, and avoid inappropriate remarks or attitudes that do not reflect the Holy Spirit.
E. Church of God ministers shall seek to find godly counselors to whom they can refer individuals in same-gender relationships for additional ministry and guidance.
F. Failure of Church of God ministers to adhere to these biblically based guidelines will result in forfeiture of ministerial credentials.
Regional Church of God
Diamonds in the “Rough and Ready” (upcoming series)
- Alive, alive! (A personal testimony)
- Church of God Primitivism
- Bulgarian Church of God
- J.W. Buckalew
- WAR ON THE SAINTS: Revival Dawn and the Baptism of the Spirit
- How Jezebel Killed One of the Greatest Revivals Ever
- Pentecostal Primitivism Preserved
- Why revival came? by Dr. Charles Conn
- Azusa Street Sermons, etc.
Notes on Revelation from River Hills Church
Revelation Revealed
- 20 SIGNS of the LAST DAYS (revised: May, 2014)
- Spiritual Problems and Solutions from the 7 Churches of Revelation
- Rapture of the Church (A Reformed Theological Perspective)
- The Great Tribullation
- Daniel and Revlation
20 Years of the Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago
July 10, 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the first service of the Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago in 1995.
We have told the Story of the first Bulgarian Church of God in the Untied States (read it here) on numerous occasions and it was a substantial part of our 2005 dissertation (published in 2012, see it here).
From my personal memories, the exact beginning was after Brave Heart opened in the summer of 1995 and the Narragansett Church of God closed the street for a 4th of July block party with BBQ, Chicago PD horsemen, a moonwalk and much more.
The first service in the Bulgarian vernacular was held Sunday afternoon, July 10th 1995 being the true anniversary of the Bulgarian Church in Chicago. Only about a dozen were present and the sermon I preached was from Hebrews 13:5. Unfortunately, to this day 20 years later, we cannot locate the pictures taken that day to identify those present. And some have already passed away.
Using a ministry model that later became a paradigm for starting Bulgarian churches in North America (see it in detail) the church grew to over 65 members in just a few weeks by the end of July. This was around the time the movie Judge Dread had opened and the first edition of Windows 95 was scheduled for release in Chicago. I saw them both at the mall on upper Harlem Boulevard.
The Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago followed a rich century-long tradition, which began with the establishing of Bulgarian churches and missions in 1907. (read the history) Consecutively, our 1995 Church Starting Paradigm was successfully used in various studies and models in 2003. The program was continuously improved in the following decade, proposing an effective model for leading and managing growing Bulgarian churches.
Based on the Gateway cities in North America and their relations to the Bulgarian communities across the continent, it proposed a prognosis toward establishing Bulgarian churches (see it here) and outlined the perimeters of their processes and dynamics in the near future (read in detail).
After a personal xlibris, the said prognosis were revisited in 2009 in relation to preliminary groundbreaking church work on the West Coast and then evaluated against the state of Bulgarian Churches in America at the 2014 Annual Conference in Minneapolis.
We’re yet to observe the factors and dynamics determining if Bulgarian churches across North America will follow their early 20th century predecessors to become absorbed in the local context or alike many other ethnic groups survive to form their own subculture in North America. We will know the answer for sure in another 20 years…
AFA: 3 things your church must do immediately to protect itself
Without question, the Supreme Court’s decision to impose homosexual marriage as a constitutional right is disappointing. There was a time when the Court rightly bestowed a great respect for America’s Christian heritage and to the Creator on which the Declaration of Independence was based. Sadly, those time are passed.
As Christians, we know God, in His great wisdom, established the institution of marriage as only between one man and one woman. Not even the Supreme Court can change that.
Because of judicial activism, Christian ministries can and should take steps to protect their religious freedoms. No longer can even churches believe they are immune to the compulsive and aggressive nature of the homosexual agenda.
AFA strongly urges your church and other Christian ministries to consider three recommendations immediately:
- Adopt a clear statement of faith regarding human sexuality and marriage.
- Clarify that weddings in your church are Christian worship services.
- Adopt a policy that clearly restricts the use of ministry facilities to the ministry’s religious purposes.
AFA makes several resources available to aid your church pastor, leadership and ministry in protecting itself against the coming storm of homosexual activism.
- American Family Studios has produced a short documentary that provides legal analysis of the dangers posed to religious liberty by the ruling. Watch it here.
- Read and print this article written by AFA General Counsel Pat Vaughn. It will help your church understand the dangers of doing nothing. Will a gay marriage storm crush your church?
- Alliance Defending Freedom has produced a handbook that will walk your church through every step of adopting strong marriage policies, including sample resolutions and statements. A Legal Guide for Churches, Christian Schools, and Christian Ministries
As Christians, we can and must guard our religious freedoms while showing Christ’s mercy to people in bondage to homosexuality. Avoiding problems in the future depends on what we do today.
Please use the resources provided to insure your church or ministry is ready for the certain dangers ahead. May God bless our efforts, as we stand on His word.
