MINISTERING TO BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST
What is the driving principle of the Church... and your church? Is it just getting people saved, out of hell and into heaven when they die? Is it some kind of “eternal fire insurance?” As you read in our article "HOW MANY DISABLED PEOPLE ATTEND YOUR CHURCH?," the purpose of the Church is to grow up in the faith, to become holy, mature Christians. How? – by ministering to build up the Body of Christ. The word "minister" in Greek also means "serve" – to be a "bondservant" which is someone who willingly binds himself to serve his master. And our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, taught His disciples how to serve / minister to "the poor, maimed, blind, and lame." This was His main target audience, as should be ours too!
In the article “HOW MANY DISABLED PEOPLE ATTEND YOUR CHURCH?” you can see several links to Scripture passages that clearly explain how this is supposed to work. St. Paul uses the word “edify,” a metaphor of construction work, to tell us that the Church is like the Old Testament Temple building: we are supposed to be building something for those who are Christ’s target audience, "the poor, maimed, blind, and lame," to enable and empower them so they too can be restored to fullness of life – maturity in Christ.
BUILDING THE ARC: |
(Click Here to see our 5 sketches in full-screen mode.)
Each center will be organized as an autonomous branch of the ARS, associated with a local church, and will be responsible for its own local fund-raising and repaying loans from various sources. Local funds will be kept in local bank accounts until expended. Close supervision of and accounting for disbursing funds will insure that they are used strictly as designated and disbursed only when services have been performed. Each local branch of the ARS will be encouraged to train and send workers to help start new branches, and as its loans are paid off, to loan money interest-free to these new branches. Here's how you can donate for this project and/or join our mail list. Thanks!
Secularism has led to the de-Christianizing of the world. Former church buildings in the U.S. have been turned into taverns or private residences. In its extreme form of communism, about 250,000 church buildings in Russia were destroyed or confiscated and turned into breweries, warehouses, or "Lenin Houses of Culture." Secularization world-wide has diminished the role of the church in society and has led most people to lean on the state for answers to all their problems, leaving many churches shrinking or abandoned. Poor and disabled Christians must free themselves from the idea that "they" – meaning someone else: the state or other Christians – ought to pay to restore or build new churches. Secular governments have neither the wealth nor the will to pay for this, and there is not enough money in all the churches and other Christian organizations in the whole world to build the needed number of ordinary church buildings so that our countries can again be called "Christian nations."
But almost all Christians, including poor and disabled people, have a place to live. By exchanging their current home for a living unit in an ARC, they are providing a building where a church can gather to worship and fulfill its God-ordained ministry to "the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind." Christians already have the wealth needed to carry out the task of re-Christianizing their countries, in the form of their current homes. We need to restore the spirit of agape-love and mutual self-help community, then simply train and organize ourselves to do it.
A pastor or deacon of the associated church will serve as director of the local ARC branch. The director of ARS or director of a local branch (or a relative) must not control the finances: a completely separate person must manage the finances of each local ARC, separate from the church's finances. When a sufficient number of people have subscribed for shares, the local branch can take out a construction loan to build a new Agape Restoration Community. When a family sells its old house or apartment, the money from the sale of the old residence will be used to pay for its shares in the new ARC. Thus it is self-financing.
The ARC and its associated church will be two separate legal entities. Other people can be members of this church and not of the ARC "housing cooperative." The church associated with each ARC, represented by its clergy, is also a member of the ARC. Residents will be members of this cooperative that requires all adult residents of sound mind to be members of the church and affirm its doctrines and practices. This guarantees the building's perpetual Christian character by avoiding the problem of unbelievers in the second generation inheriting the units. A company that has built over 25 housing cooperatives in the Midwest U.S. for disabled persons and seniors, Realife, Inc., takes a similar approach. Here is what their old website stated –
What is a Housing Cooperative? What are the Advantages? Three Steps to Your Cooperative Home (The above dollar amounts are adjusted from the Realife website in the early 2000s to reflect that the dollar is worth less than half as much as then.) Thus we have the four stages needed to start such a housing cooperative: The cooperative will consist of about 1/3 of living units for physically healthy families with an adopted or foster child to live in the center, along with about 1/3 of living units for elderly and disabled people and about 1/3 of living units for missionaries and trained volunteer workers, including college students. The larger church body should include mainly people who are capable of ministering, not just those who need to be ministered to. Having physically healthy younger families in the center also greatly helps the rehabilitation of disabled and elderly people and their socialization, because they want and need to be part of the larger, "normal" society.
Participants, both residents and non-residents, will be encouraged to help finish their own living unit and others', and to contribute for common areas. Donors will be able to designate their gifts to go for a specific family or center, and will be kept informed about that family or center. Separately-designated donations will also be raised to provide equipment and medicines for the disabled, as well as to train volunteer workers in a center. Feedback to these donors from each family and center increases their accountability.
Major financial supporters are encouraged to donate or loan money to the building fund so that construction may begin. Shareholders will be responsible for repaying any loans for their living unit, their proportional amount of the center's common facilities, and maintenance fees. Each ARC is locally-owned from the outset. The donors are just donating monthly support which is distributed among local ARS branches, and if a local or the national situation goes bad, they simply stop supporting. This approach reduces the "what if" concerns of donors: "What if some dishonorable person takes over a center?" or "What if a socialist government emerges and nationalizes all property?" In the plans shown below, you can see how the first and second floors of the center are connected by wheelchair-accessible ramps. The slope of the ramps is very important: the size and shape of the whole building is determined by the slope of the ramps. The slope must be 1:12 (A.D.A. requirement), gentle enough to allow disabled persons with the use of their arms to ascend or descend the ramps by themselves, and there will be special sidewalks outside as well. The community room/chapel on the second floor can be used for physical exercise, shared meals, and other activities. Our earlier ARC #1 drawings showed from 28 to 42 living units, but that would have been quite a large up-front cost, so we've developed plans for an ARC #3 building about 1/4 of that size with 12 living units.
The ARC is kept relatively small to maintain a feeling of "family," a sense of community. The huge apartment complexes in both East and West deprive people of rootedness and the sense of belonging to an "extended family" of like-minded people, and have a harmful effect on family cohesion and the raising of children. Each living unit will have a high-speed connection to the Internet. A larger living unit can be used for a family with many children, or a family that accepts and cares for other handicapped people, or a dormitory for volunteers and students. They can be built in various places in a city, to integrate disabled people into the larger society, rather than isolate them in one part of the city or outside of it. An ARC #3 can be built on 1/2 acre (30m x 50m) with 12 living units and a community room/chapel from 750 to 1,320 sq. ft. for community functions (shared meals, parties, exercise etc.) and worship. To have this center be a self-sustaining community, see https://permaculturism.com/how-much-land-does-it-take-to-feed-one-person/ - about 1/2 acre per person, or 15 acres for 30 people.
Just in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where we now live, or in Ioshkar-Ola, capital of the Mari Republic in Russia, the city in which we lived, could use ten or more of such centers in various places around town. There are thousands of physically disabled people in these cities, many living in housing not built for disabled people. In the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, both with growing numbers of elderly people, there is a need for hundreds or even thousands of these centers. The disabled people from U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or from Russia's wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Ukraine, number in the tens of thousands. This doesn't include people who are disabled from birth, illness or accident. In the U.S. and Russia there are also millions of orphans who need adoption or foster care. These people are among the neediest, because it is difficult for them to receive training adapted to their needs and find well-paying jobs.
Due to changing costs for construction in each locality, even a rough cost estimate of each center is not possible here. But keep in mind that if construction costs change, so does the value of the local homes that future residents will sell to take a living unit in an Agape Restoration Community. The majority of the cost for the entire building will be paid for by the living unit residents and participants in each local branch of ARS. We will need to have these sketches re-drawn by a local architect to meet local building codes. You can see and print out this article including these plans at our Web site https://agape-biblia.org/literatura/ARC-Article-Eng.pdf. Now, if you'd like to meet others who want to Build the ARC, join "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum! The ARC #3: (To view these drawings full-screen or print on 8.5" x 11" paper, click on each drawing.)
From the outset it is important to stress the need for local self-sufficiency in our Agape Restoration Communities. Although it is not necessarily harmful to help support poor and disabled people (2 Cor. 8:13-15), it must be done in a way that does not create dependency. Therefore we emphasize that local churches should be primarily responsible for their local branch of Agape Restoration Society. One of ARS's goals is to help local churches find a way to have their own meeting place, in a co-operative living center. In each Agape Restoration Community the church will own shares for the community room/chapel and restrooms, and the residents will own shares for their living unit. In our simplified plans we show up to 12 wheelchair-accessible living units or classrooms.
* Housing cooperatives are a form of multifamily homeownership. Shareholders or tenants join together to form a not-for-profit cooperative corporation which owns the building in which they live.
* Residents buy a share (membership) in the co-op, but the cooperative owns the building, land, and any common areas. Residents are entitled to live in a housing unit as part of their membership benefits.
* Members pay a fixed amount each month that covers basic expenses, including mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance. As share owners, members exercise control over their housing situation by electing a board of directors made up of other residents.
* This varies from a condominium or town home, where residents each own their individual housing units and are responsible for their own mortgage.
Ownership: Members actually own the cooperative through their share ownership of the not-for-profit cooperative corporation; there is no equity investor or landlord.
Control: Residents govern the cooperative with assistance from the managing agent.
Cost of Operation: Occupancy charges are equal to only the actual cost of owning and operating the property. In a rental, rent generally goes up faster than actual costs because most landlords are in business to make a profit.
Individuality: Initial members are able to customize their dwelling units, including a choice of floor coverings, cabinet colors, and various structural changes.
Homeowner Tax Advantages: Mortgage interest and real estate taxes are tax deductible in a housing cooperative.
Equity Growth Potential: In a Realife Cooperative, members earn limited equity on their unit based on the amount of time they live in their home. The earning of limited equity keeps it affordable for the first members and future members.
Overall Value: Expenses in a cooperative are spread across the entire membership proportionately, making the cost of living generally lower than a comparable single-family home.
1. Reservation: By making a $500 refundable deposit, you are assigned a reservation number. This determines the order we follow with home selection.
2. Subscription: This is the home selection process. It involves unit selection (including type and location in the building) as well as a review of the costs associated with membership in the cooperative (share price and monthly fee). There is a $4500 down payment required to select the size of your living unit.
3. Share Collection: We collect the shares prior to construction. This is similar to a down payment on a single family home. We are required to collect the shares before we begin construction in return for the FHA insurance on the mortgage. There is only one mortgage on the property and it is held by the cooperative.
First, train a diakonia-ministry team to visit and care for local disabled people in their homes.
Second, invite their relatives and friends to come to the home of these disabled people to listen to what the Bible says about caring for the poor, lame, maimed and blind: they already know what you're doing, you just need to identify why you're doing it and many will believe!
Third, when you have three or four of these home groups going (it may take several months to get to know and trust each other, so be patient!), only then introduce to them the idea of a housing cooperative. If you dump this idea on them before you've won their trust you could alienate them, and you need to be able to trust their sincerity as well.
Fourth, when enough people are interested you will incorporate a non-profit housing cooperative, locate a piece of land and follow the three steps above: reservation, subscription and share collection. As you can see, this differs little from conventional church-planting, but it has the added plus of real, hands-on ministry integrated into it right from the start.
Description of buildings
Conclusion
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"
- Matthew 25: 31-40
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(You can see and print out this article including these plans at our website https://agape-biblia.org/literatura/ARC-Article-Eng.pdf.) You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-09-26.htm, and share it! Saturday, September 12, 2026A SIX-LANE HIGHWAY, OR A NARROW ROAD WITH TIGHT GATE?
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master, said: "Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it." Freedom of choice implies the responsibility to make the right choice and live (or die) with the consequences of our choices. Missing an entrance to or exit from a limited-access highway means turning around and going back to that point of wrong decision... if you can! Some can't find their way back, and others can, for example the Old Testament kings Saul and David. King Saul seemed to have a good start in life: he was tall, handsome, and humble. But after he became king, he grew proud and power-hungry, and finally fell into disobedience to God and His prophet Samuel, then fell into witchcraft. He regretted his sin, but didn't repent and turn his life around. True repentance isn't just regret or feeling sorry. The Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means to turn around 180 degrees and go in a different direction. On the other hand, after King David committed the terrible sins of adultery and ordering a murder, he deeply repented – read all of Psalm 51 – and turned his life around. Nevertheless, he paid a price for his sins. Forgiveness does not mean there are no consequences. Sexual sin, even if God forgives it, can result in infertility, divorce, or sexually transmitted disease. A victim's spouse or God may forgive a murderer who repents, but the sentence can still be carried out. Judas felt regret for betraying Christ, but committed suicide. On the other hand, Peter denied Christ three times but repented of his sin, and the Lord restored him. In 1 Corinthians ch. 6, we read about a man who had committed incest by having sex with his father's wife. St. Paul wrote to the church that he should be excommunicated "for the destruction of his flesh" ...but in 2 Corinthians, Paul instructed the church to restore him to fellowship after he had repented. Back to our starting thoughts: Jesus said – "But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian" (Luke 4: 25-27). There are some who make the Narrow Road too narrow or the Gate too tight, such as the Jewish leaders who got really angry with Jesus when he said this, and wanted to get rid of Him. There will be olive-skinned Gentiles, black Africans, Chinese, Australian Aborigines... believers from all the Nations in the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, we shouldn't make the Road too wide or the Gate to loose. To believe that all religions lead to God, or that Allah is the same deity as Yahweh, or that all or most of the "Christian" confessions are more or less the same, they all get you into heaven, and that whatever you believe about Jesus is just fine – all such talk is nonsense, a big mistake. It's called "Universalism" which the Church has defined as a heresy. "How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it." How narrow is it? We aren't authorized to make up our own 'private interpretation' of Scripture. Holy men of God moved by the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Body of Christ throughout history, gives us the correct interpretaion of this Scripture (1 Peter 1:20-21). At the end of each Orthodox Liturgy we sing – "We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit! We have found the True Faith, worshiping the Holy Trinity, Who has saved us!" This doesn't mean, of course, that each one of us Orthodox Christians have 100% of the fullness of the Faith. The fullness does exist in the Orthodox Church, however, and it's available for all who take the time and effort to strive toward it. You might be thinking – "But there are sinners in the Church!" Yes, there are, that's who the Church is for, it's a hospital for sinners to be made whole. Many are satisfied to have only 60% or 70% of the fullness, but a few are striving for 95% or even 100%. Which are you? "PBPGOINFWMY" doesn't stand for "Peanut Butter Pie, Grapes In Nougat Fudge, With Marshmallow Yoghurt" or any such garbled nonsense – no, it stands for "Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet!" Come and See! You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-09-12.htm, and share it! Saturday, August 29, 2026WILD AND WASTED VIRTUES"WILD AND WASTED VIRTUES"
In his book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton wrote: The modern world is not evil; in some ways the modern world is far too good. It is full of wild and wasted virtues. When a religious scheme is shattered (as Christianity was shattered at the Reformation), it is not merely the vices that are let loose. The vices are, indeed, let loose, and they wander and do damage. But the virtues are let loose also; and the virtues wander more wildly, and the virtues do more terrible damage. The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians only care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful. Pseudo-pity and overblown compassion today are being pushed as reasons for allowing and promoting illegal and/or immoral behavior. Recently I saw a meme on eX-twitter: "Don't kill me just because I came here illegally so my children could have a better life!" This is how the full facts can be distorted or ignored in order to stir the virtue-signalling pseudo-pity that justifies a disregard for laws meant to protect society. The same tactic is used to promote unmarried and same-sex couples "living together" (fornicating). Genuine compassion keeps in mind what not only satisfies or gratifies individuals, but also and more importantly what is best for society in the long run. When "the virtues are let loose" they become unbalanced. We know what happens when a washing machine is unbalanced: it begins making terrible noise as it bounces around the floor, banging into other objects. It's even worse when a car engine or wheels are unbalanced, and often fatal when a jet engine is unbalanced. Thus, when we push one of the virtues to an extreme, it's no longer a virtue, it distorts into a vice. One of my favorite verses in the Psalms is – "Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Ps.85:10). This passage aptly illustrates the harmonious balance of various virtues: mercy counterbalanced by truth, righteousness (justice) coupled with peace. Seeking peace at all costs can easily endanger the continued existence of society. In the same way, tolerance of sexual immorality in the long run leads to the extinction of a nation, as the upcoming demographic implosion indicates. "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Ps.19:7). You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-o8-29.htm, and share it! Saturday, August 15, 2026THE RIGHT TO BELIEVETHE RIGHT TO BELIEVE
We need to understand where the right to believe – freedom of religion – sprang from. For thousands of years, it was determined by the tribe or the king or emperor. But with the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, it shifted from being just an external commandment to worship Yahweh, the Jewish nation's God, or the gods of the Gentile nations and peoples. Christianity insisted (and still insists) on the right and duty of each family and each person to search and strive for sincere faith in the true God. In the article "Reclaiming the Real Definition of Religious Freedom" we learn that modern political discourse often weaponizes religious freedom as a cover for partisan agendas and culture wars rather than upholding genuine constitutional rights. The article criticizes the current administration and some Christian leaders for supporting policies that prioritize religious exemptions while simultaneously undermining the rights of minorities, immigrants, and people of color. The article notes that these political efforts often violate the constitutional separation of church and state by allowing federally funded agencies to discriminate based on religion and identity. The author calls upon Christians to reject "false framing" and instead advocate for a version of religious liberty that aligns with Christian teachings on universal human dignity. Readers are encouraged to take actionable steps, such as lobbying representatives, challenging discriminatory government policies, and working toward a return to historical Christian sexual ethics. Freedom of conscience and the free exercise of religion means that the state must not coerce its citizens to love our neighbors – the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. But when the state takes over this role of providing financial support for those most in need of loving attention by taxing us, we no longer have the freedom to do so or not to do so: we have lost the free exercise of religion. And in fact, when the state takes over this role, it most often insists that it must be kept separate from any particular religion or beliefs: thus, it coerces the disbelief in any religion. This is the dilemma of a secular society in which religious belief has been robbed of the right to express that belief in action! And the "loving attention" part of it turns into bureaucratic rules of entitlement: do you check all the right boxes on the form? As the heading on our "DAILY PRAYERS" web page shows, there must be a "Why?" to our prayer life. If it's merely to perform a religious duty, it becomes an empty charade, window dressing to convince ourselves that we're on right terms with God. But we must demonstrate our love for God by loving our neighbors, and especially those most in need of loving attention – the poor, the disabled, and the elderly (often the same). That's why "Build the ARC!" comes right after the "Why?" in our "Daily Prayers" heading. Go to our "Morning Prayers" web page to see how to join our "live" Daily Prayers at 7 a.m. every day – and do the "Why!" You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-08-15.htm, and share it! Saturday, July 25, 2026IS THERE A RIGHT WAY TO WORSHIP?IS THERE A RIGHT WAY TO WORSHIP?(This essay is from a blog article that I posted on July 5, 2013. I'm deleting that old blog site, so I'm preserving the article here.)
But what about all the denominations and confessions that call themselves Christian? Aren't these all acceptable variations of the Church? To answer that, we need to consider a few other questions: First, did Christ say to Peter: "Upon this rock [Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, God's Anointed One] I will build a multitude of churches, each with a different set of doctrines and varying ways to worship me"? Of course not! Christ used the singular form, "Church" - one set of doctrines and one way to worship. That's what a "church" (denomination or confession) is, or at least should be: the One Way. Only one truth can be true, the others are either a little untrue or way off-course. The alternative, that you can have your truth and I can have mine, that there are absolutely no absolutes and that's the absolute truth, is a logical absurdity. And yet, many modern denominations have fallen into this kind of relativism. Secondly, didn't the organized church "go off the rails" when the last apostle died, or at least sometime shortly after Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion? The notion of setting up the first-century Church as the ideal is commonly held among modern Protestants. The earlier Protestant reformers - Wycliffe, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin - however, were protesting not against the original Church of the first ten centuries, but rather against the more recent excesses and corruption of the Roman papacy such as total celibacy of the priesthood (that led to fornication and child molestation), selling forgiveness of sins ("indulgences") and selling higher clerical positions to the highest bidder ("simony"). The early reformers looked back longingly to original Christianity, the undivided Church of the first ten centuries, and its doctrines and form of worship. The Roman papacy had broken away from it in 1054 A.D. and eventually set itself up as the "Holy Roman Empire." During the Crusades, Rome attacked and plundered Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, leaving it weakened and susceptible to the Muslim Turks, who finally captured the city in 1453 A.D. and renamed it Istanbul. Hagia Sophia, the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, was converted into a mosque, and the Patriarch of Constantinople was effectively put under house arrest, limited to just a few acres of territory, and stripped of any involvement in society. The "Orthodox" Church, the place of "right worship" (that is what "ortho-doxy" means) essentially ceased to function as an independent entity. Orthodoxy in Russia was also subjugated to the Muslim Mongols at about the same time. Thus the early reformers had nowhere else to turn, no alternative but to set up their own churches. But after the "Magisterial Reformation" - so called because it retained the form of worship, doctrines, and hierarchical structure of early Christianity - came the "Radical Reformation" led by Thomas Muentzer, Andreas Karlstadt, Menno Simons, and others. These radicals, as the name implies, strove to do away with all hierarchy, liturgical forms of worship, and ornate art in church buildings. No bishops, no clerical garb, no set prayers, no statues or pictures of the saints... nothing was to be found in their church buildings except four plain walls, pews, and a pulpit. Some even went so far as to do away with seminary-trained, ordained pastors. This was not just a reformation, but a revolution - a complete overthrow of the old order. Gradually over the centuries, however, the ideas of the Magisterial and Radical Reformations began to merge. Today we have denominations with no bishops and with pastors who are ordained with no seminary education (perhaps a two-year Bible college course after high school, but even that isn't absolutely necessary). Multicolored banners with little or no Christian symbols replace pictures or statues of the saints. Some denominations still use traditional hymns, a choir, and a pulpit. More popular, though, is to use a "worship team," an electronic keyboard, drums, and guitars, but no pulpit: the preacher sits on a high stool with a microphone in front of him, or walks around the stage using a wireless microphone. In warmer climes the preacher's official garb is sandals, Bermuda shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt; in cooler places, it's sports shoes, blue jeans and a pastel (light blue, yellow or pink is "in") broadcloth shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Off-the-wall songs are projected by PowerPoint slides, often mixed together with video shows. The result is a confusing medley of secular entertainment with an admixture of a few religious-sounding nice aphorisms such as "love one another," "acceptance" and "respect diversity." Thus the churches have become worldly and the secular world has become "churchy," all with little or no resemblance to original Christianity, the Church of the first ten centuries. But what keeps the true, right-worshiping Church from either the tyranny of the papacy or the anarchy of the radical revolutionaries who think "It's every man for himself" (or "each person for themselves" if you prefer gender-less and ungrammatical English)? Are the only alternatives dictatorship or anarchy? The early Church of the first ten centuries was organized by "godly men who are able to teach others," as St. Paul wrote to his disciple Timothy (2 Tim. 2:2). These "godly men" were called bishops, and they would meet together in councils in order to hash out problems that arose in doctrines and practice of worship. The infant Church of the first few centuries was certainly not ideal: it suffered from heresies and immorality, much like in later eras. In fact, ignorance of those early heresies - Gnosticism, Arianism, Nestorianism, Antinomianism, Modalism, Montanism, Universalism - that the early Church Councils condemned has tragically allowed many later would-be Christians to fall into some of these same errors. Councils of bishops can sometimes get unruly: St. Athanasius punched out Arius for his heretical teachings. The iconoclasts at one time seized the majority and for a hundred years went about destroying icons, burning churches that contained them and even killing those who venerated the saints represented by icons. This was repeated, sadly, during the Radical Reformation. But councils of bishops represent the best of the democratic process: godly men who are motivated by Christian principles of love and truth coming together to vote on issues of the day. Winston Churchill, when asked what was the worst form of government, replied: "Democracy... unless you consider the alternatives!" The alternatives to godly men - bishops - meeting in councils is either dictatorship of the papacy, or anarchy in which each man is a pope unto himself. Does this mean that the Orthodox Church is perfect? No, it's still a work in process: bad apples do sometimes appear, but the Church's conciliar structure provides a self-correcting mechanism that preserves unity while avoiding heresy. Individual believers pray dozens of times in their worship, "Lord, have mercy!" because we confess that we are each "the chief of sinners." We know we must "first remove the beam out of our own eye, and then we can see clearly to remove the speck out of our brother's eye." Yet at the same time, we acknowledge that Christ is the "head over all things for the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22b-23). The fullness of Christ is to be found not in individual believers, but in His Body, the Church. If you'd like to find out more about "the Way, the Truth and the Life" go to this web page: https://discover-original-christianity.info/the_way.htm - you can watch the twelve-video course now on YouTube! You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-07-25.htm, and share it! Thursday, July 9, 2026HOW TO RELATE TO FOREIGNERS AMONG USHOW TO RELATE TO FOREIGNERS AMONG US
As Christians, we are commanded to care for the foreigners ("strangers") among us, because like the Old Testament Israelites living in exile, we too are foreigners in a foreign land - this world is not our home. For centuries after Jesus Christ lived, died and rose from the dead, Christians were a discriminated-against minority in the Greco-Roman world. Alec Hill, former president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, under whom I worked and highly respect, posted the following on Facebook: Throughout Scripture, the Lord commands us to care for the displaced/stranger/alien/refugee. The following three passages are illustrative: Leviticus 19:34 Isaiah 16:4 Matthew 25:34-40 There are many more such Scripture passages emphasizing our duty to care for the needy foreigners among us. In the discussion of this current issue, however, we need to examine contrasting Scripture passages on how to relate to foreigners in our midst. David Klinghofer has written an excellent article, "What the Scriptures Say About Immigration," posted last year on Beliefnet.org and reposted here: http://www.discovery.org/a/3475, from which I quote a few excerpts: "The classic instance is Ruth, the Moabite. She had a Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, whom she met when Naomi’s family fled the land of Israel and moved to neighboring Moab to escape a famine. When Ruth’s husband, Naomi’s son, died, along with Naomi’s husband and her other son, Ruth decided to return with the older woman to Israel. Said Ruth, “For where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people are my people, and your God is my God; where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and so may He do more, if anything but death separates me from you” (Ruth 1:16-17). "Notice that the main thrust of her speech is the passionate joining of her own fate with Naomi’s, and thus with Israel’s. To this day, that remains the primary criterion by which potential converts to Judaism are evaluated. Ruth thus became, according to Jewish tradition, history’s most beloved “proselyte” or “convert” to Judaism—a status celebrated at the Jewish festival of Shavuot... when her story is chanted in synagogues." Notice carefully what Ruth said: "Your God is my God." She adopted the religion of Israel. This is what was expected of foreigners who came to Israel. When Abram was given the covenant of circumcision and his name was changed to Abraham, God commanded him to circumcise all of the males in his household, including his slaves: "Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him." (Gen. 17:24-27) This became the standard or rule for following generations in Israel, expecting foreigners to adopt the Jewish religion and follow its laws: "If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you. (Ex. 12:48-49) "Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for the sake of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when he comes and prays toward this house, hear from heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name." (2 Chron. 6:32-33) In his article, Klinghofer continues along this line: "The subject of conversion isn’t quite so simple, however. For there are actually two sub-classes grouped under the category of the “ger.” There is the ger, the convert, like Ruth–a full member of Israel. But there is another, the ger toshav, or resident alien. "The latter occupies a middle ground between Jew and foreigner. It is this individual whom Jews are, in the verse we saw earlier, commanded to provide for: “If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him—stranger or resident (ger v’toshav) – so that he can live with you” (Leviticus 25:35). "This resident alien too must fulfill criteria to join his new society, agreeing to certain basic moral propositions, including forswearing idolatry, murder, and sexual immorality. He is called a “resident alien” because it is only having satisfied this condition that a non-Israelite who doesn’t formally convert may live in the Holy Land. While inviting us to admire and love a person who would give up his citizenship in a foreign country to join our own, the Bible also commands us to give material aid, whatever is needed, to any immigrant—if he agrees to abide by an unwavering moral law. "Here is where the Bible may be hard for a modern reader to accept, for scriptural tradition expects that any immigrant, any ger, will meet demanding moral criteria. It is not an undiscriminating welcome. The idea that a sojourner would be allowed to live in the land without having accepted the two sets of conditions is unthinkable: 'They shall not dwell in your land lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, for it will be a trap for you' (Exodus 23:33)." Let us look at the context of this last quotation: "And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you." (Ex. 23:31-33) The definition of a nation is that it shares a common culture and common laws. There can't be contradictory cultural norms and laws if "this nation or any nation may long endure," as Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address. Further along this line: "Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim." (Ex. 34:12-13) "And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native." (Num. 9:14) "And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he shall do as you do. For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you." (Num. 15:14-16) "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places." (Num. 33:51-52) " And you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you." (Deut. 7:16) "When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.' You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods." (Deut. 12:29-31) "For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you." (Josh. 23:12-13) "And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you." (Judges 2:2-3) "They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal." (2 Kings 17:15-16) From all of the above Scripture passages, we can see that there must be a balance between welcoming the stranger who is in need and preserving our own faith, laws and cultural norms. Major cities in Europe such as London, Paris, Bonn and Berlin now have Muslim neighborhoods where it is dangerous for a European native to walk, especially for a woman who does not wear a veil. Dearborn and Detroit are becoming similar. Liberal democracy only works when all people – citizens and resident aliens alike – abide by the same set of values and laws. But when the majority is liberal and tolerant while the minority is rigid and insists on the rest bend to its demands, there's trouble ahead. Robert D. Hosken, M.Min., M.Th.S., D.Min. You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-07-11.htm, and share it! Monday, June 22, 2026YOUTUBER WHO KILLED HIS DOWN SYNDROME UNBORN BABY CALLS HIMSELF 'NORMAL'YOUTUBER WHO KILLED HIS DOWN SYNDROME UNBORN BABY CALLS HIMSELF 'NORMAL'
Individuals like Madison Essig serve as examples of success, demonstrating that people with Down syndrome can achieve academic degrees, maintain full-time employment, and contribute to their communities. Researcher Stephanie Meredith notes that the situation highlights a systemic issue where many medical providers fail to supply expectant parents with accurate, balanced, and up-to-date information upon receiving a diagnosis. Advocates stress that societal barriers, such as discrimination and low expectations, are often far more restrictive to people with Down syndrome than the physical health challenges themselves. The article Rome Would Have Recognized Jesse Ridgway argues against the modern claim that Christianity has historically been divided on abortion, asserting that the early church held a unified, firm stance against the practice. The author highlights the Didache, a late-first century Christian manual rediscovered in the 19th century, which explicitly prohibits abortion as a foundational teaching for new converts. The Christian belief in the image of God (Imago Dei) serves as the theological basis for universal human dignity, which the author contends inherently protects life in the womb. Scriptural evidence, such as Psalm 139 and Luke 1, is used to demonstrate that the Bible consistently recognizes the unborn as persons already known and loved by God. The author critiques the public justification of abortion provided by YouTuber Jesse Ridgway, suggesting that contemporary culture increasingly evaluates human worth based on convenience and utility, echoing pagan Roman practices. The same self-centered worldview shows up in another article,Pride for Adults, Loss for Children. Author Josh Wood argues that modern children's programming increasingly promotes adult-centric agendas that normalize the intentional absence of a mother or father. The article contends that brands such as Disney, Sesame Street, Peppa Pig, and Blue’s Clues use colorful, child-friendly content to desensitize children to the loss of a biological parent. Wood asserts that when media depicts family structures that intentionally exclude a biological parent, it fundamentally teaches children that their fundamental need for their own mother and father is secondary to adult desires. The text criticizes the inclusion of mature themes – such as drag performances or gender-related surgery scars – in content explicitly targeted at toddlers and preschoolers who are unable to process such adult concepts. This illustrates how an adult agenda of justifying one's own distorted sexuality leads to indoctrinating children into thinking that such "lifestyles" are perfectly normal. Truth brings real freedom; "Yeshua therefore said to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.' They answered Him, "'e are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do You say, 'You will be made free?'' Yeshua answered them, "'ost assuredly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin. A bondservant doesn't live in the house forever. A son remains forever. If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:31-36). You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-06-13.htm, and share it!
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MINISTERING TO BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRISTMINISTERING TO BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST What is the driving principle of the Church... and your church? Is it just getting peo...
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