Joe Carter points out that “linkers” (which describes mostly what I do on this blog) are valuable because they “provide the value-added services of sifting through dozens or even hundred of blog posts, news updates, and magazine articles and sharing the handful that are worthy of attention.” He then goes on to suggest ways linkers can increase the worth of what they do, one of which is to “Read outside the circle” and “find what other people aren’t reading.”
I think Joe’s points are well taken, and in the spirit of trying to be helpful, here’s information concerning material I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere else.
Previous to this week I had never heard of Norm Wakefield, or his ministry, Spirit of Elijah. A friend from church commented how much he had benefited from a series from Norm’s newsletter, titled Curse of the Standard Bearer.
I have to admit that at first I was thrown off by the series title, Curse of the Standard Bearer—it sounded like something from the more imaginative side of the charismatic movement. Not only that, but standard bearer sounds like such a positive concept—how could a curse be attached?
Following the link my friend sent me, I discovered, however, a fine series about what is more commonly called moralism, legalism or Pharisaism. None of those terms exactly describe, though, what Wakefield is getting at. His premise is that instead of relying on the grace of God to transform us, we let our identity be formed by the concept of being a “Standard Bearer”. The curse part of the title refers to the fallout created in our lives and the lives of our children.
To enrich your understanding of the all-too-human tendency to spurn grace for rule keeping, check out The Chariot. The five uppermost links on the page point to this series.
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