LET…. MY…. PEOPLE…. GO !!

Chapter three

Evangelicalism and catholicism have more in common than both evangelicals and catholics care to admit. Both religions are majorly complex, both are hierarchical, both are divided into the ministerial (clergy) and the laity.

Evangelicalism shuns new covenant, New Testament simplicity, favouring instead a complexity comparable to the old covenant, Old Testament. The earliest church was Bible; today’s churches are Bible- plus. You are Bible-plus ministers overseeing the people you have made into Bible-plus congregations. (I remind the reader Let….My….People Go !! is directed to the entirety of evangelical leadership.)

How did this religion get so convoluted, so foreign to New Testament writings?

An ongoing need for (Bible-plus) ministers necessitates (Bible-plus) seminaries. which necessitates (Bible-plus) salaried teachers and staff, lands and buildings. buildings that necessitate maintenance and occasional renovations. And it doesn’t end there. The (Bible-plus) graduates require submissive congregations to pay their (Bible-plus) salary. The congregation requires a (Bible-plus) building (edifice?)…. and (Bible-plus) board-of-elders and (Bible-plus) denominational overseers. All this complexity necessitates (Bible-plus) bookkeepers, (Bible-plus) secretaries, (Bible-plus) janitors.

And the complexity of your evangelical religion goes deeper yet. Let’s look at the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada….

Wikipedia: “As of 2020, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada [EFC] had 43 Christian-denomination evangelical members, 66 organizations, 38 educational institutions and 600 member local churches in Canada. It claims to represent nearly 2 million Christians.”

In turn EFC is interconnected with the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). Google: “The Evangelical Alliance works across 79 different denominations of Christianity, 750 organizations, and has 3,300 member churches The Evangelical Alliance has historically supported ecumenism – the principle of unity between different church doctrines – with the Roman Catholic Church.”

Let….My….People….Go !! is an attempt to reveal that which should have been obvious to you many years ago – your evangelical religion is Bible-plus (and therefore Jesus-plus). Now I introduce you to David….

David is the president and chief executive officer of EFC. While every evangelical leader can be termed Bible-plus, David can be labelled Bible-plus-plus-plus. In his bio are listed a number of qualifications: “a PhD in Western Christian thought”, “a BRE [bachelor of religious education] in theology”, “completed a graduate program in bioethics [the study of ethical, social, and legal issues that arise in biomedicine and biomedical research]”, studied “theology of forgiveness and reconciliation, political theology, ecclesiology [the study of church doctrine], pneumatology [the doctrine or theory of spiritual beings]….

Roman Catholic-Evangelical dialogue”, “executive publisher of the EFC’s bi-monthly magazine”, “member of the editorial board of Canadian-American Theological Review”, “served as president of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association”, “executive member of the International Council of the World Evangelical Alliance”, “a board member for the Christian Higher Education Canada”.

Are you impacted by the simple reality that Paul – who was (and is) more beneficial to the church of Christ than a thousand Davids combined – was not so ‘qualified’? Did you notice missing from David’s qualifications was Paul’s “demonstration of the Spirit and of power”? (Would such manifestations actually disqualify a person from this favoued posting?) Was it David’s plus-plus-plus and his proven loyalty to “commandments of men” that landed him the top position at EFC?

Roger, also a Bible-plus-plus-plus. is the “Prayer Ambassador” for EFC. (I won’t itemize his many qualifications.) Several years ago Roger was an associate pastor of New Life Church in my city of Kelowna, B.C., and, as a visitor, I sat under his preaching ministry several times. I recently came across a Facebook advertisement, posted by Roger on behalf of EFC, promoting an “Ignite prayer and worship seminar” in our city. This surprised me because, it seems to me, this good brother should be fully convinced that evangelicalism just doesn’t work….

Many years ago Roger was preaching at a New Life Church conference that attracted people from other cities. Roger called to the microphone a pastor from another city to share with the large audience the amazing touch of the Holy Spirit he experienced the previous day. This fellow, I could easily discern, was an altogether person, no flake in him whatsoever. Down he went under the power of the Holy Spirit, stretched out on the floor. Get the picture: Roger preaching to a large audience, this visiting pastor (about forty years of age) stretched out on the floor near Roger’s feet, motionless. Twenty minutes or so passed and he hadn’t moved a muscle. Finally we could all see him slowly struggle his way to hands and knees, trying to stand. Roger simply waved his hand in his direction saying, very casually, something like “Another touch, Lord” and the fellow was flattened and motionless once more.

These “signs and wonders” were common during that mighty visitation of the Holy Spirit at New Life Church stretching over a number of years. Roger probably saw more manifestations of the Holy Spirit than a hundred typical evangelicals combined. What was the reaction of other Kelowna evangelical assemblies to these unusual manifestations of the Holy Spirit (assemblies that Roger so vigorously propagate today)? The backlash was ugly and rigorous and constant. Also….

Roger’s New Life Church always seemed to be in turmoil, so much so that they called in outside help to try to rectify leadership disputes.

Being an insider (all of you pastors are insiders), this brother is quite knowledgeable of dissensions and chaos common throughout evangelicalism. Instead of me, he should be writing Let….My….People Go !! And yet this Bible scholar enthusiastically endorses and promotes a religion that has zero compatibility with the Bible, a religion that holds hostage millions of Christ’s born-again saints.

My brothers-in-Christ, you are David and you are Roger! No, perhaps not as ‘successful’ and influential, but equally tethered to a set of “commandments and doctrines of men” diametrically opposed to Jesus Christ. You are as faithful to your religion as catholic priests are to theirs. You both, pastors and priests, have convinced your respective congregations that they need you, but in fact you need them. They are your financial security…. they are your prominence. they supply purpose and significance. without them you would be ordinary, just one of the guys.

You know what they don’t know and what they need to know about the reality of evangelicalism. You are insiders behind the veil that hides the mistakes and conflicts and grudges so very predominant in every religion. Everyone of you is more qualified to write Let….My….People Go !! than I am.

Your congregations are actually of the opinion that their church structure is somehow based on the Bible, and that your dedication to the “head of the church” is exemplary; never would you distort God’s Word to satisfy selfish motives; never would you impose on them “commandments of men”.

Evangelicals would accomplish so much more good fruit if they simply stopped being disciples of evangelicalism and instead became disciples of our Lord Jesus. You may be the only ones who could set them free, but will you? Or is the cost more than what you are willing to pay?

********************************* And now I have another story to tell….

Several years ago I wrote a series of articles under the heading, 333 Words Exactly!, a caption that I thought would assure the reader that this was a short article, not lengthy and burdensome. I posted these articles on my Facebook pages and also on my website. The following is the second 333 Words article, addressing it to evangelical leadership in my city of Kelowna….

333 WORDS…. EXACTLY!

An open letter to adherents of the Kelowna Ministerial Association:

Paul taught the Corinthians, “Let two or three…. speak and let the others judge.” (NKJV). Please give my proposal prayerful consideration. Thank you….

Whereas there is a division within Christ’s church whereby members are segregated into either the clergy (ministerial) and laity (laymen, laywomen); and

Whereas such division has no New Testament precedent; and

Whereas this practice is contrary to the words of the Lord Jesus, “All of you are equal as brothers and sisters.” (NLT); and

Whereas your denominational/associational licenses and ordination certificates are strong symbols propagating such division, I offer the following proposal:

In the near future, after ample discussion and debate, agree to meet as a group in a public place (such as Kelowna City Park or Prospera Place) for the purpose of publicly disposing all such certificates, this preceded by a public announcement of your intention especially directed to those under your influence.

Consider disposing your certificates by casting them in a fire visible to all, or inserting them in a shredder, or simply tearing them before the audience and, more important, before our Lord Jesus. And further, select one to vocalize sincere repentance unto the Lord Jesus, expressing the group’s regret for its part in the rendering of His church into two segments.

Please do not be slighted by this proposal, unusual but, from a biblical perspective, reasonable. Instead consider….

Consider: The red words in your Bible give no hint His twelve were to be so endorsed.

Consider: Saul was certified (Acts 9); Paul was anointed. Consider: Christ appealed to His works for endorsement, not a certificate.

Consider: Differences of conclusions, within your ranks, regarding various Bible texts nullifies the argument that the practice of licensing protects the purity of the Word.

Faith moves God. Brothers, accepting this proposal could release the power of God in our city. Contemporaries elsewhere would know

immediately of your brave deed, and some would follow your brave, godly example.

Respectfully, Larry Jones