I first heard of Richard Ellis when I heard a singer talk about her church in Dallas. It was, she said, a church where people got up to ask for prayers, and they turned out to be very serious prayers. She had been used to prayers of a type--help me with my boss, help me get a promotion--but when she started going to Reunion Church she heard prayers of a different sort--help me stay clean from heroin today, help me not pick up a bottle today. The church challenged her suburban faith because it was planted smack dab in the middle of Dallas' center city. The pastor was some guy named Richard Ellis who had moved his whole family into that community.
Richard and I would become friends, and I admire him greatly. I posed the "Does Jesus follow?" question to him. His response:
David,
Jesus lived the life and set the example. If someone is a Christian then technically the Holy Spirit dwells in them. The Book states that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father praying for believers.
If someone is not a Christian, a follower of Christ, then the Holy Spirit could be pursuing that person in order to point them to faith in Christ. If a person is already a follower of Christ then the Holy Spirit is stuck not with that person but in that person. As a follower of Jesus I take God with me where ever I go. That’s why it is so important to be a faithful follower of Christ--so he doesn’t end up in some places He would rather not be. Hope this helps.
Richard
Richard Ellis on "Does Jesus follow?"
Wednesday November 1, 2006
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David- The review of your book that appeared in this week's New Republic unwittingly identifies the chief problem in your book: a confusion of the Two Kingdoms. I think you could profit by reading more about the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms, a topic that the great Reformers Luther and Calvin dilated upon at great length. Here's a good start: http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/WRHC/134_The%20Two%20Realms%20in%20the%20Lutheran%20Confessions.PDF -Aaron
One can only guess at how many thousands of times in his life, Ted Haggard asked of "God" and "Jesus": "lead us not into temptation"... Guess it wasn't enough. As with anything in Evangelicaland, it is NEVER enough. What is the use in pretending for years that you are "hearing from God", and preaching how "God's plan" is supposed to work in your life? When exactly does this "God" or "Jesus" finally give in and grant someone a request to their prayers? Isn't it time to grow up, fess up and quit pretending to have an imaginary friend? Especially one who never grants what any "prayers" ask for? I have nothing whatsoever against the probability of Mr. Haggard being gay; it's the lies and deception and hypocrisy, coupled with self-righteousness and intolerance that are so divisive and repugnant. All the very things that Evangelical Christians obsessively rail against. How in the world DO millions of non-believers make it through their lives, remaining faithful to their spouses and telling the truth? Without any help from a church or an imaginary friend?
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