John the Baptist in context
"He must become greater, I must become less"-John the Baptist
There is a mentality that was hatched from a wrongful interpretation of this Bible verse, and I believe it is the cause for one of the most highly-dysfunctional mind sets in Christendom. I remember hearing this quoted for the first time by one of my professors in Bible Collage during an opening prayer before my "Foundations of Pentecostal Theology" class. He basically said, "We desire less of us and more of you." The class erupted with a series of moaning "Yes, Lords" and "Amens," letting God know that we all agreed with this meek request.
It seemed so selfless and humble when I heard it the first time. The idea of draining our personalities of all that pertains to who we are, in an effort to refill ourselves with the attributes and characteristics of God, seemed so right at the time. It was the hallmark of submissiveness and obedience. We saw ourselves as lumps of clay waiting to be re-formed by the Father with full expectation that when He was finished, there would not be even a hint of our former selves left in the lump.
Those who caught on and embraced this concept of self-loathing were always considered the most mature in the faith and were highly respected. They seldom had a nice thing to say about themselves and we all admired them for it. Even the slightest compliment someone gave them was rejected and steered towards Christ. Their entire life was about "getting out of the way," so God could basically hijack their body and use it as a traveling earth suit. If even the smallest piece of them remained, the entire process was hindered and possibly even destroyed.
I heard one preacher tell the story of when he was looking at a dirty, smelly, homeless man covered in vomit and dried whiskey, and God spoke to him and said, "The only difference between you and him is Me." Out of stories like this, we get people who lift their hands and joyfully proclaim that there is no good in them and their righteousness is as filthy rags. They beg God to burn out any last remaining piece of themselves so that nothing will be left, and God will be in full control of them.
My question is this:
If you had a person at work or in your neighborhood who flat-out told you that every time they looked at you, they saw no good whatsoever; how would you feel about that person? Would you want to snuggle up next to them and give them your heart? What about a person who literally hated everything about your personality? Every time you cracked a joke or made a comment, they just rolled their eyes, letting you know that your sense of humor and the way your mind works, are both offensive and intolerable. How would it make you feel?
I can't believe how easily we Christians buy some of these ridiculous concepts. This is truly the proverbial "jumping off a cliff because our friends did it," that our parents warned us about when we were young. Who in their right mind would believe that God would desire such a thing from His children? I can't even imagine wanting my children to think this way about themselves. It's no wonder this generation of Christians keep as far away from the Heart of God as possible.
The indwelling Spirit is not something that is supposed to drain us of ourselves but rather to magnify the authentic self that God created in us. The flesh is not the essence of who we are. It's just the stuff that is attached to us. We can get rid of all "flesh (sinful nature)" and still have "ME or US" left. That's the part that God wants to INCREASE. Many of us have been convinced by a religious system that we are supposed to get rid of the "Me" part as well; as though that somehow glorifies God or makes him happy.
John the Baptist was not talking about himself when he said, "He must become greater, I must become less." He was talking about his sphere of influence, his following. John was simply saying that everyone who followed him and his ministry in preparation for the coming Messiah must now leave him and go with Jesus. The ministry of Jesus must become greater and the ministry of John must become less. This one fact changes everything!
Amazingly, this particular verse applies perfectly to the Institutional Church system. Today's Church is a modern-day picture of a John the Baptist who finds out that Jesus' ministry is growing bigger than his and his first response is to start more programs, do a mail-out, hold a raffle, advertize a new series, go door to door and do whatever it takes to increase his sphere of influence. This is precisely what the modern-day Church does every single week. Rather than turn people over to Christ; they demand that people serve them and be faithful to "church" and its many ministries and activities. Rather than allow Jesus to disciple people, the Church creates programs to do the job themselves. Ironically, the Church tells people about Jesus, but it won't allow people to go join the Jesus ministry.
The proper interpretation of that verse is that Jesus must become bigger and the institution that led people to Jesus must become less. While the Church Universal continues to grow, the institution should never grow to mega status. Its very existence is for the purpose of leading people to Christ and releasing them. The only way to become a mega church is to somehow convince the people that they can't survive without you. That's not the sign of a healthy church; it's the sign of a selfish church. Getting people to "become less" in their minds is a key element in acquiring their loyalty to the institution.
I sometimes wonder if John the Baptist NEEDED to be decapitated. Not as punishment or anything like that, but simply because the people would not be able to fully follow Christ as long as John was still alive. I've always thought it was interesting that Jesus sent messages to John while he was in prison, but Jesus never bailed him out. He knew John was going to be killed and He did nothing. I also think it is interesting that John's ministry was to prepare the way of the Lord and John ultimately was beheaded because he took it upon himself to point out the sins of Herod, the king. Perhaps John confused his calling in the same way the institution has confused theirs. Could it be that rather than lead people to Christ, the institution has become a self-appointed security guard for morality?
I also think it's interesting that the guy who prepared the way for Christ and led people to him, eventually questioned himself whether or not Jesus was really the Christ. Even John himself had accentuated his perspective of the Messiah and was dismayed and disappointed when he saw the real Jesus.
Whatever the reason, I believe that this generation is witnessing a "beheading" of the institution. It must happen before people can truly follow Christ. It's the one thing that has stood directly in the way of anyone interested in knowing Him personally. In the midst of this "institutional beheading," I fully expect it to question whether or not this movement is actually from God or should they wait for another. The Free Believers movement looks nothing like the puffed-up, exaggerated revivals that the institution has dreamed about and promised us were coming. In fact, compared to those inflated religious fantasies, the Free Believers movement is quite boring.
I think the true message in John's words is that we must all be careful not to get stuck on "the way." John pointed to Christ and Christ pointed to God. John prepared the way of the Lord Jesus and Jesus called Himself the "Way to the Father." I think for hundreds of years, Christians have been stuck on the way and very few have actually made it to the Father. As Free Believers, we must never lose sight of the destination.
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"Its very existence is for the purpose of leading people to Christ and releasing them." This quote reminds me of something profound my 11 year old said while we all talking about IC. He said, "IC is like training wheels. You only need them till you truly learn how to ride." His insight blew us all away. We were like, "Woah, he really gets it!" Great article. Loved it. Thanks so much!
The ideology taught in pentecostal churches you are speaking of, I have discovered is NOT Christian in origin. Upon digging deeper I have found that the misinterpretation you are describing comes from eastern thought such as buddhism. This is not a new concept but an ancient one and it ties in with the gnosticism that Paul spoke against. The belief is that we eradicate the self completely and become one with consciousness and that what we call "self" is nothing at all and immaterial. This is not an original Christian teaching. Glad you exposed this one Darin. Keep up the good work of exposing truth!
greetings my brother im writing from Caracas, Venezuela. Enjoying of all this articles of you, thanking to God for find people that is saying the very same things that sound in my heart from some time to now. Here in my country is quite a lonely way being out of the institutionalized church (yet im not alone at all) and i begin to trust that some day will be millions. God will keep you strong, is His will. Love.
Darin, Wonderful post! Your current "Essence of Christianity/Believe" podcasts are excellent. As are, these blogs. Love them. Such Truth. Beautiful what Papa is showing you...and us. Simply profound. Thank you for opening my eyes Darin and Father to this angle of John the Baptist. Keep on my brother. Great to see you recently, too. I dearly wish you, Angie, the girls and Jude a very blessed, fun and joyfilled Christmas and season. ~Amy :) Walking In The Spirit - http://amyiswalkinginthespirit.blogspot.com
"Jesus Christ warns them that if they disobey his commands, and do not repent, their church's existence will be ignominiously terminated. 'I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent' (Revelation 2:5). No church has a secure and permanent place in the world. It is continuously on trial. . . . Many churches all over the world today have ceased truly to exist. Their buildings remain intact, their ministers minister and their congregations congregate, but their lampstand has been removed."
This is beautiful. Making the family aspect more important than the denominationalism: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG4g2QMrKMo&feature=channel_page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPFFTzAaQFU&feature=channel_page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoeIfOAAb7A&feature=channel_page
How true is this: "Getting people to "become less" in their minds is a key element in acquiring their loyalty to the institution." Boy, did it work on me! Great words here. I think He's shown some real truth here. "Even John himself had accentuated his perspective of the Messiah and was dismayed and disappointed when he saw the real Jesus." How many are dismayed at the real Jesus? I think I am sometimes. He doesn't seem to want to "get 'em" the way I do.
Wow, my wife call's ME a radical! ;-)
Wow, very very good stuff here Darin. I wish I felt confident that the beheading of the institution would happen faster. Everyone I know IRL seems so into 'church.'
Yes, this scripture in combinaition with the one where it sais that God is close to a contrite spirit and the broken hearted is so poisonous. In the prayer group I attended I heared people pray: "Oh Lord, I am nothing, I am so bad and full of sin and pride. Please break me! I must shrink and you must grow..." When people prayed this kind of prayer my heart used to scream out lould. I felt sorry for those people who where actually so special and precious caracteres. But they missed to live in the life of God and to fully enjoy themselfes because of this mindset. Its so sad!
For many years I went from church to church with the "are you the expected one?...or do we look for someone else?"..Philosophy. Time and time again I was looking at the institution hoping to find God. What was I waiting for? What was I looking for? I had to ask myself these questions. Truth of the matter was total selfishness. I was trying to find a place where my talents and abilities would outshine all the others..maybe even Gods. I needed to be decapitated...I truly thought it was all about the shuck and jive so maybe God would would nod in approval and put a tip in my jar. I was comparing myself to everyone else..even God. That philosophy was exhausting. The institutional church may be being decapitated...but it had to start with me. Thank you Darin..this is good stuff.
Darin, this is a phenomenal blog! I love it! I posted a blog of my own directing my readers to it. I think your insight on John's ministry is amazing and it really does change things.
"Security Guard of Morality" - I really like this analogy to the present 'church' and the mega churchism growth serum...I still struggle with being that moral right person to others who might need it; well in my own mind...grace is something the flesh has a hard time letting out. Great post Darin, thanks again for your insights!!
So true what your saying.Thanks for the revelation Darrin
Darin, Thats some awesome revelatioin on John the Baptist. Something God would only share with someoen he knows well. Love in God + Love +David
I love the way you don't treat characters in the bible as 'sacred cows'. Whether it be John the baptist, Paul, Timothy, David, etc...they were all people...not God. They all made mistakes and we aren't to imitate everything they did just because their actions were recorded in scripture and the scriptures didn't show them being rebuked for them. Here John might have made a mistake calling Herod on the carpet, elsewhere maybe Paul made a mistake having Timothy get circumcised... Following the follower always gets me frustrated. Thanks for sharing Darin, I love it!
Darin, you're on a roll dude. The "believe" series and your latest blogs, this one included, are awesome. Great stuff. Thanks.
Thanks, Darin! Jesus is the only real Life I've ever found, not anyone or anything else. I know it's the same for lots of other people. Thanks again!