Manifesto: By Tim Kernan

Part one: What are we?

Matthew 28: 18:20 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Real discipleship is based on the power of Christ and the mission of making disciples. Jesus’ plan of disciples making disciples was brilliant in its simplicity and breathtaking importance. For the first century Christians Jesus was the message, the method and the reward of their lives. They set out with zeal and dedication, setting aside old priorities of family and personal security, they clashed in the most aggravated and infuriating way possible with the world around them. Using whatever social channels that were available they spread quickly and disrupted the pluralistic cultural regime of the Roman empire across a huge area. Instead of tolerating the pagan worship rooms that were a standard feature of the greco-roman villas throughout their cities they converted them one by one into “house churches”. Rather than avoiding the channel of relationships that existed through the synagogue network they exploited it unceremoniously and to the absolute disdain of the Jewish community.

Luke 14: 25-27 “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

The first century Christians were not killed and persecuted by magic because they simply “loved Jesus” as we have been taught in denominational Christianity. They were killed and persecuted because they were perceived as anti-family, narrow minded and intolerant. They were unity wreckers, tolerance wreckers and yes, even family wreckers.

Today we live in a world of thousands of denominations and probably millions of autonomous congregations. The vast majority of Christian establishments are focused on the “Sunday show”. The modern corporate church has a great building, a huge parking lot, a great youth program, great song service and an ear-scratching preacher who isn’t too challenging and doesn’t offer any methodology which would actually interfere with anyone’s life. This brand of “Christianity” which is sometimes called “churchiantiy” is financially viable, attracts huge numbers of people and is breaking every record in terms of membership, financial and geographic expansion. Why? Because its Satan’s world and these are Satan’s churches.

The idea of disciples making disciples has little in common with modern churchianity. In fact the modern church only really finds its roots in a movement which started 300 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. A group of false Christians wanted to find a way to soften the clashes between the pagan world and the Kingdom, so they started to worship in the abandoned temples of paganism.

By pulling out all the pagan idols and putting a cross on top, for the first time the church became a building instead of a movement. As they continued in their efforts to Christianize paganism, they unknowingly paganized Christianity. Later, figures like Constantine and others “rubber stamped” this change and made this new and unknown strain of Christianity the official religion of the empire: the Roman Catholic (meaning universal) Church.

Through all this, the world and its prince Satan had found a way to create a clone of the Body of Christ with the meaningful and dangerous DNA of discipleship and the Kingdom genetically removed.

Satan replaced illiterate fishermen with highly polished and trained clergy. Rugged disciples facing danger on the mission field were replaced with a highly ceremonial and politicized cadre. Even today, in our churches that are so rife with discord and mockery only the most refined, politically savvy figure heads can survive. What happened to being called “untrained ordinary men”? (Acts 4:13). We need to go back to this standard! The first century church could be likened more closely to a motorcycle gang increasing in chapters across the countryside than to the modern church.

Satan’s church replica fit into the world instead of challenging the world. It condoned and even started wars and crimes against humanity. The crusades and the inquisition are only the best known of a list of brazen and giddy trespasses. Satan had finally found a solution to the problem of the church. This Body of Christ look-a-like is still alive and well today. Its an abomination, but in our world people are killed everyday by massively rich “Christians” who and romanticize their sin and never made a disciple in their life.

Let us set aside our soul killing and meaningless churchianity and marvel at God’s real plan for the world through the church. Let us look into the Scriptures of old with respect and awe to see them again for the first time. Let us say no to the darkness inducing “modern” church with all of its worldly trappings, flattery and showmanship. Let us say yes to our sacred and awesome destiny.

Here’s a little test:

Do you have a discipleship relationship where you are being taught to obey everything that Jesus has commanded you? Are you in turn teaching others to obey the same thing? Are you making disciples in a practical way? If you answered no to any of these questions you are not a disciple. You may be experiencing a very special spiritual experience but that is not what the Bible preaches, and that is not what we should be preaching regarding Christianity.

Part 2: What are we doing?

1 Corinthians 15: 24-26 “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion authority and power. He for must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

This is one of the most amazing promises of the Bible. Jesus will destroy all dominion, authority and power and then turn the Kingdom over to the Father. The question is not will he do it, the question is will we help him or will we be the enemy. Let’s see how this will be done:

2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.”

The disciples have a divine power to demolish the strongholds which dominate the land. Jesus referred to the land in the parable of the sower as the hearts of men. What are the strongholds which are dominating the hearts of men in your city? Materialism, false religion, drugs, spiritualism, etc.? In the first century the disciples absolutely demolished paganism, gnosticism, and many other strongholds using the divine power they had. There are so many examples but one of my favorite is that they were famously accused of robbing all credibility from a god in Ephesus (Acts 19: 23-27). Ephesus went on to be one of the most effective churches in the early Christian movement. Do we believe that we still have that divine power and that we too can defeat and discredit the ideas which are imprisoning our nations and the world? Without this end goal in mind nothing we do as disciples makes sense. However like so many other things in the Bible, when we put this in the context of the mission it all makes perfect sense.

The only way to defeat disciples is to get them to close their mouths and fail to take advantage of their divine power to liberate with their words when they preach the bible. The only way to defeat disciples is to stop the multiplication of disciples.

Jesus is going to win this battle, let’s participate with him and each other and take hold of the dream of eternal life.

Tim Kernan