"The Call" 07-07-07

After seeing a billboard in downtown Nashville with the message "THE CALL 07.07.07 LP field" and hearing a radio advertisement for it, I did some research. Being from a background of charismatic/gifts oriented denominations/movements I had a feeling about what this was about. My first reaction was to ask myself why they were boldly advertising their use of July 7th, 2007 as the date for this event. As a striving-to-be-discerning believer I'm very inclined to be quickly turned away by gimmicky marketing- especially from a church or Christian organization. I hoped that these folks do not assign some sort of meaning to the number of the date in and of itself. If they do, why? If not, what is the purpose of "The Call: Nashville" and is it something worthwhile that I can agree with and get involved in or is it more likely going to turn out like my instinct says and be something different?

Here's what I found:

The founder of this event is Lou Engle, who organized one in 2000 in D.C. and who also founded the Justice House of Prayer there. The purpose for this gathering is advertised as a "re-awakening" referencing the Great Awakening in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their promo video claims "God is bringing a music revolution that will shift culture and bring in the harvest." They are calling for us to fast and pray and re-marry Christ and turn our hearts back to God.

Reading the vision page from the call's website Engle prefaces his visions with his take one current state of morality in politics;

"God has a word to say to the Republican Party: "Line up with moral issues--Marriage Amendment and Abortion--and show compassion to the poor and the oppressed--show Justice--or I will remove your lamp stand". He is sifting the Republican Party for its refusal to stand for moral principle and for playing political games with its constituents, who in 2004, voted on moral issues."

He goes on to urge the church to vote morally. The significance of 7-7-07 is also found here:

"On the 40th-year anniversary of the "Summer of Love" that occurred in 1967, we are calling multi-generations to Nashville, Tennessee. We are calling you on 07-07-07--the number of covenant renewal, marriage, and the fullness of time--for a day of national repentance, fasting, and prayer for our 40-year generational rebellion."

Engel claims that we are still suffering the repercussions of the movement in the 60's, and that is why it is needed to take a drastically different direction. The prophesies that lay the foundation for "The Call" are explained here as well. One of which he talks about a dream "during a season of temptation" he had where was lying in bed with Bill Clinton:

In this dream, a pastor I know was a high-ranking senator. He had gathered major governmental leaders together to deliver a message. Bill Clinton was in the meeting but was sleeping in bed. I was in the meeting but was clothed only in my underwear and I was lying in the same bed as Bill Clinton. The pastor's message was weak and carried no authority. Then he asked me to pray for Bill Clinton, who was still asleep. I prayed a pitiful token prayer and then suddenly threw off the covers and ran to get clothed.

He interprets this to mean that the Church is sleeping in the same bed due to it being bound by "The Spirit of Jezebel" citing Revelation 2:18-23. He claims that not only is our culture bankrupt but that we, the church, are partially to blame. Citing Joel 2:12 "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning..." Explaining that other "Calls" have taken place over the previous seven years, he received a prophecy that "The Call" would die and then re-emerge. Tying prophetic scriptures to current times, and drawing from personal prophecies of his and others he builds a not so coherent case for the need for this revival.

My thoughts:

I agree with most of his observations about the moral state of our country and a good bit about the spiritual significance of what is happening in our nation. Theologically I am not exactly opposed to prophecy. What I do question is the notion of building up a gathering founded upon a few select prophetic scriptures and personal modern day prophecies. I do not disagree with turning out hearts towards Christ and fasting and praying for our country, but to me this even lacks enough scriptural purpose and ecclesiastical support to be effective. It bothers me how blatantly political the origins of this event are. At the surface it seems like a really spiritually awakening experience, but after reading the origins it I doubt any real long-term cultural impact that it would have.

At the risk of sounding like an cynical jerk I will say that I think that this thing will be ripe with hyper-emotionalism and well intended fluff. I've been to many a meeting where the "Spirit of Awakening" was alive and well and many of those who experienced a "revival" who could not tell you if Philemon was in the Old or New testament. I don't doubt that many involved in this movement have a lasting and genuine commitment to the Lord and really know Him. I also will not go so far as to say that God cannot use this. He will, for his ultimate purpose. Is it not a possibility that our nation will continue to turn away from God? Another pressing question. Are revivals ever planned? I only question the authority of those who make claims (prophecies) such as Engel. On his own website he gives a standard for judging prophecy- to me he seems to pull stuff out of a hat to back his stuff up. It seems to me the man loves Jesus.

Meanwhile I'll wonder how many people in LP Field on 7-7-7 know about the Bill Clinton affair.

The Monomyth

Inspired by the History Channel's new feature on Star Wars: "Star Wars: A Legacy Revealed," I have been reading up on Joseph Campbell's concept of The Hero's journey. He develops this thesis in his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces."

I had to study this in my Literature class in College but unfortunately I had to use it in studying a horrible, horrible book of which I gladly do not even remember the name involving quantum strand theory and a love triangle. What I did enjoy though was the concept of the Hero's journey.

Joseph Campbell was a professor and author whose work centered around the study of mythologies and religions from around the world. He found that for the most part all hero's stories, consistent throughout cultures around the world have many of the same themes in common.

Here is an outline:

I. Departure

• 1. The Call to Adventure
• 2. Refusal of the Call
• 3. Supernatural Aid
• 4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
• 5. The Belly of the Whale

II. Initiation

• 1. The Road of Trials
• 2. The Meeting with the Goddess
• 3. Woman as the Temptress
• 4. Atonement with the Father
• 5. Apotheosis:
  
• 6. The Ultimate Boon

III: Return

• 1. Refusal of the Return
• 2. The Magic Flight
• 3. Rescue from Without
• 4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
• 5. Master of the Two Worlds
• 6. Freedom to Live

This outline, found on www.clickok.co.uk/index4.html, is an example of how similar two similar popular hero stories are:




This is very intriguing to me. Everyone loves hero stories. It is also interesting that the story of Christ, as well as stories of many other religious heroes follow this pattern very closely. It makes you wonder, whose copying who?

Thoughts on Deuteronomy

I've been reading through Deuteronomy in my bible times, and it's been amazing how much I see that I never did before. At the conference I was at this weekend (New Attitude 07) C. J. Mahaney spoke of seeing the Word with "new eyes" and that is indeed what I am seeing. The theme of God's providence and obedience to his commandments runs throughout this book. It almost seems like its a "recap" of the stories told in Genesis and Exodus. The stories told are stories that need to be remembered and are testaments to God's faithfulness throughout their history.
The passage that has affected me the most:


Deuteronomy 9: 4 “Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. 5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

God will always remain faithful to his promises. How inclined was Israel (and are we) to think that our righteousness somehow gives God what he needs. As if we are repaying Him. God is not only faithful to his people - he is faithful to himself.


This weekend John Piper pointed out that we are ok with admitting that we should obey God's commands, but we squirm at the prospect of Himself keeping His commands because deep down we really think that we are square at the center of His affections, when scripture shows this is simply not true.

Not only should we have no other Gods before Him, but he shall not and will not either. For God to place more importance on anything either than himself would make him an idolater.

1 Sam. 12:22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

How many times is this dropped from the end of this most famous passage"

Ps. 23:3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness [2]
for his name's sake.

Ezekiel 20:44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

What a comfort that God does not deal with us according to our deeds or our righteousness, but for his own renown and for His glory and name's sake.

Fred Thompson vs. Michael Moore

If anyone has read this blog lately, you will understand how much this excites me:


Michael Moore has challenged Fred Thompson to a debate on Healthcare and outrightly accuses him of being in the healthcare industries pockets through Bill Frist.

Here is Moore's letter:


And here is Thompson's response:

I love it.


It's interesting that Moore is attacking Thompson. It looks like he knows who is actually dangerous in this race- and I can't wait to see what happens.

On Rage/ De La Rocha

Rage Against the Machine, after 7 years, has reunited. Taking their unabashedly socialist yet undeniably innovative hard rock songs again to the streets as once before. Zach De La Rocha comes back from wherever he's been for the last 7 years to spout out at the Bush administration: "This current administration... should be hung and tried and shot. But the challenges we face go beyond the current administration. It's not a system that changes every four years." read here.

I will say that I love Rage's music. Rolling Stone considers Tom Morrelo #26 in the 100 greatest guitarists of all time and Rage's music is considered by many critics to be some of the most innovative in recent rock history. Zach De La Rocha is extremely passionate and talented. It's a shame for me that he is so misguided in his approach. That being said, I have a tremendous respect for the passion with which he pursues his beliefs. If only part of evangelical Christians contained such vigor the course of this country would be much different. Although I fundamentally disagree with his world view, he comes up with observations about our culture that are hard to ignore. His eloquence is clouded by a deep set distrust of any authority if only because it is an establishment. Very educated in the history of oppression, he seems to see everything through that lens.

"Voice of the Voiceless"-ratm

UGH!, UGH!
C'mon, check it

Through steel walls
Your voice blastin' on
True rebel my brother Mumia
I reflect upon
You be tha spark
That set tha prairie fires on
Make tha masses a mastodon path
To trample tha fascists on
At fifteen exposed Philly's finest killing machine
With boots and mad guns
They tried to pacify you young
Cause and effect
Smell tha smoke and tha breeze
My panther my brother
We are at war until you're free

You'll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless
You'll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless

You see tha powerful got nervous
Cause he refused to be their servant
'Cause he spit truth
And burned like black churches
Prose and verses
A million poor in hearses
Watch tha decision of Dred Scott
As it reserves
So long as tha rope
Is tight around Mumia's neck
Let there be no rich white life
We bound to respect
Cause and effect
Can't ya smell tha smoke in tha breeze
My panther my brother we are at war until you're free

You'll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless
You'll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless
You'll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless
You'll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless

And Orwell's hell a terror era coming through
But this little brother's watching you too
And Orwell's hell a terror era coming through
But this little brother's watching you too

Perhaps Rage and De La Roch are still caught up in the spirit of protest that drove the 60's music scene that so influenced a generation that our culture now deals with the religious and political ramifications of it- "tolerance" and "peace." At the time, it might have seamed that "harmless" hippies were not much of a threat.

Evangelist for social change? Maybe. If what he did actually incited people to do something other than protest ignorantly screaming at the powers that be. Problem is I don't think it does. Funny thing is that he actually does take action upon his beliefs, but I don't think Rage's lasting testimony has been to instill a sense of social justice in the 16-25 year olds who actually listen to their music.

On Abortion: Mexico

Mexico capitol Mexico City, second largest in the world (pop. 18 million). Has legalized early term abortion:

Fred Thompson on Va. Tech

This if from the American Enterprise Institute:

by Fred Thompson

One of the things that's got to be going through a lot of peoples' minds now is how one man with two handguns, that he had to reload time and time again, could go from classroom to classroom on the Virginia Tech campus without being stopped. Much of the answer can be found in policies put in place by the university itself.

Virginia, like 39 other states, allows citizens with training and legal permits to carry concealed weapons. That means that Virginians regularly sit in movie theaters and eat in restaurants among armed citizens. They walk, joke, and rub shoulders everyday with people who responsibly carry firearms--and are far safer than they would be in San Francisco, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C., where such permits are difficult or impossible to obtain.

The statistics are clear. Communities that recognize and grant Second Amendment rights to responsible adults have a significantly lower incidence of violent crime than those that do not. More to the point, incarcerated criminals tell criminologists that they consider local gun laws when they decide what sort of crime they will commit, and where they will do so.

Still, there are a lot of people who are just offended by the notion that people can carry guns around. They view everybody, or at least many of us, as potential murderers prevented only by the lack of a convenient weapon. Virginia Tech administrators overrode Virginia state law and threatened to expel or fire anybody who brings a weapon onto campus.

In recent years, however, armed Americans--not on-duty police officers--have successfully prevented a number of attempted mass murders. Evidence from Israel, where many teachers have weapons and have stopped serious terror attacks, has been documented. Supporting, though contrary, evidence from Great Britain, where strict gun controls have led to violent crime rates far higher than ours, is also common knowledge.

So Virginians asked their legislators to change the university's "concealed carry" policy to exempt people 21 years of age or older who have passed background checks and taken training classes. The university, however, lobbied against that bill, and a top administrator subsequently praised the legislature for blocking the measure.

The logic behind this attitude baffles me, but I suspect it has to do with a basic difference in worldviews. Some people think that power should exist only at the top, and everybody else should rely on "the authorities" for protection.

Despite such attitudes, average Americans have always made up the front line against crime. Through programs like Neighborhood Watch and Amber Alert, we are stopping and catching criminals daily. Normal people tackled "shoe bomber" Richard Reid as he was trying to blow up an airliner. It was a truck driver who found the D.C. snipers. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that civilians use firearms to prevent at least a half million crimes annually.

When people capable of performing acts of heroism are discouraged or denied the opportunity, our society is all the poorer. And from the selfless examples of the passengers on Flight 93 on 9/11 to Virginia Tech professor Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor who sacrificed himself to save his students earlier this week, we know what extraordinary acts of heroism ordinary citizens are capable of.

Many other universities have been swayed by an anti-gun, anti-self defense ideology. I respect their right to hold those views, but I challenge their decision to deny Americans the right to protect themselves on their campuses--and then proudly advertise that fact to any and all.

Whenever I've seen one of those "Gun-free Zone" signs, especially outside of a school filled with our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, I've always wondered exactly who these signs are directed at. Obviously, they don't mean much to the sort of man who murdered 32 people just a few days ago.