Transforming Society (3) - Challenge

The collapse of society presents huge opportunities for the gospel and the Kingdom of God. Those who understand their times and know what is happening can make a huge difference, if they know what to do. It is too late to start planning when the crisis comes. Those who make plans in advance and get prepared will be the ones with influence ( See Ambush).

Christians should start rebuilding their local communities from the bottom up. Jesus taught that we should love one another and the rest of the New Testament is full of One Another Stuff, so we should be experts at building communities.

As the Kingdom of God advances, society will be transformed from the bottom up, as local communities are restored to peace and unity. The Holy Spirit is also an expert at building communities, but he works household by household. When Jesus commissioned his disciples, he sent them to a particular place, and urged them to focus on one household (Luke 10:6,7). The good news can spread from house to house through an entire community.

The basic building block of Israelite society was a group of ten families living close to each other (Deut 1:15). These families would sometimes be related, and they would care for each other. They provided protection and social support for their community.

Several of these groups of ten would join together for defence, dealing with crime, or economic purpose. If a serious attack, was threatened, a large number might form together to form an army. Authority passed from the ten, to the hundred, to the thousand by voluntary submission. If the leaders of the tens withdrew their submission, the leaders of the hundred and thousand lost their authority. Authority flowed from the bottom to the top, with no loss of freedom.

This contrasts with the pattern in the world, where authority flows the other way. The group at the top of the hierarchy has control and power and authority flows from the top by force.

Christians should take up the challenge of restoring their local communities. Belonging to a church is not enough, church tend to stand apart from the local culture. House Churches are a step in the right direction, but their impact on society is limited, because Christians are still scattered thinly throughout their cities. We have to become villages that change the world.

In the next few posts I will tell a story that explains how this could happen.

Tens and Hundreds

Something that has stood out to me in the television coverage coming out of Haiti is the large number of young people just wandering around. These are strong healthy young men. If they could get together and work in teams, I suspect that they could have a real impact in their communities, but they seem to be drifting aimlessly in the tide of events. This is what happens when the cohesion of a society breaks down at the lowest level.

As we move into a period of increased social and economic disruption, there is an urgent need for Tens and Hundreds to be re-established in our neighbourhoods, so that we can cope with the disaster that may come.

Tens and Hundreds (26) - Time of Distress

Ordinary life faces now many new challenges. The world is getting increasingly violent and unstable and individuals and families struggle without the support that used to come from Tens and Hundreds. We may be going into a time of trouble, distress and judgement. Christians should be prepared for troubled times. To cope with the disorderly world that is merging, Christians and their families must get together in Tens to provide support and protection for their communities.

Leaders of Tens will establish relationships with other tens to share in protection and support.

• Tens in the country will produce food to give to tens in the cities.

• Tens in the city will distribute surplus food received from the country to people in needs.

• Tens in the city with surplus wealth will supply Tens in the country with the resources that they need.

• The Ten at either end of street may agree to watch the entrance to the street to ensure that undesirable people do not enter the street. This may be the best form of protection against theft or looting during a time of disruption.

When society disintegrates, state power will fall apart. Social welfare system will collapse and justice will fail. Christian Tens and Hundreds will be needed to fill the gap. This will be a massive opportunity for the gospel.

This is the end of my posts on this topic. The full series can be found at Tens and Hundreds.

Tens and Hundreds (25) - Neighbourhood

Apart from the family, the lowest and most important unit in society is the neighbourhood. In the modern world, many factors are tearing the neighbourhood apart. The local church would be a unifying factor, if Christians were to form Tens and Fifties in the neighbourhood where they lived. These Tens would return cohesiveness to the neighbourhood.

• A body corporate might own the street on behalf of the residents. It could take responsibility for garbage and street repairs. It would do these tasks itself, but it would contract the work to specialists.

• The people living in the neighbourhood could decide what services they want. If they wanted to put in underground power wires, they could go ahead, provide they were willing to pay the cost. They would not have to wait for the City Council bureaucracy to decide to do it in forty years time. They could also decide what level of security they wanted.

• State-run social welfare imposed from the top does not work. Social welfare works best at the local level. If churches formed Tens and Hundreds in own neighbourhoods, deacons could work through them to those in financial difficulty.

• State justice is usually bad justice. True justice begins among neighbours and friends. If churches established Tens and Hundreds in the neighbourhood, elders would act as judges and settle disputes between people. If some elders demonstrated real wisdom, they might be called on to act as judges in their broader communities.

Tens and Hundreds (24) - Kingdom Growth

The Kingdom of God grows organically, like yeast spreading through a loaf of bread. The reason is that society must be changed from the bottom up.

• The Kingdom of God cannot be imposed from the top, but must rise up from the bottom.

• Replacing one set of rulers with another changes nothing, because the same principalities and powers remain in control. The only way to break free is for political power to be defused.

• Defeating and evil government by military force will not advance the Kingdom. The use of military power releases a spirit of violence, which undermines the Kingdom of God.

• Using democratic power to topple political leaders and replace them with others does not advance the kingdom. Democracy raises up human power and authority, which opposes the power of the Spirit.

The Kingdom of God advances slowly, street by street and village by village.

• Jesus gave his disciples clear instructions to start in a particular place and start with a person of peace (Luke 10:5,6). Some places are easier to work than others.

• Those who are serious about advancing the Kingdom of God will identify those easy places and build a beachhead, from which the kingdom can gradually spread, Ten by Ten, and Hundred by Hundred

• As new Tens are established, the spiritual forces of evil will be gradually pushed back and the beachhead of peace will expand.

Tens and Hundreds (23) - Beat Principalities

Tens and Hundreds are the solution to spiritual protection. In the Biblical model, authority is concentrated at the lowest level in the Ten, and that authority remains miniscule, because membership in a Ten is voluntary. A little bit of authority is passed up to the Hundred, but it can be easily withdrawn. During a crisis, some authority may be extended to a Thousand, but this authority is always be taken back, if the leader loses the plot, or when the crisis ends. This diffusion of authority foils the plans of the enemy. Evil spirits can no longer concentrate their attacks on a few powerful people, but have to spread themselves thin. As they disperse to deal with authority that is diffused throughout society, they become fragmented and powerless.

Many Christians have an overinflated view of the enemy’s power. They believe that our struggle is against spiritual forces that are almost as powerful as the Holy Spirit. The truth is that Satan’s power is an illusion. Evil forces have amplified their power by gaining control over political and religious leaders with authority and control over others.

Political and religious power has magnified the authority of spiritual evil. If an evil spirit gains control over one person, he can make that persons life miserable. If the same spirit were to gain control over a king or President, he can make a nation miserable. If that spirit gains influence over a mega church, he can lead a thousand people astray. When political and religious control collapses, demonic power will be greatly diminished. When confined to one-on-one battle, they will be easily defeated.

Tens will provide spiritual protection for their communities by standing together in unity. They will watch over each other and stand together to resist the power of the enemy. When people love Jesus and walk in the Spirit, the enemy will have no grounds for attack.

Other people in the neighbourhood will continue to sin and some may allow evil into their lives. The difference with respect to protection from evil is that none of these people have authority over anyone else in their community (except in the rare situation where one is employed in the business of another). This limits their ability to expose others to the spirits that influence them.

The only people in the street with authority over others are the elders. They are submitted to each other, so their authority is constrained. The elders will be watching over each other, so if one come under attack or falls into sin, the others will deal with the issue to get victory over evil.

Tens and Hundreds provide spiritual protection for each other and the people in their neighbourhood.

• The only authority in the street will be exercised by the elders of the Tens. They are protected by submitting to each other.

• The members of the Ten get spiritual protection by submission to other and their leaders.

• The person of peace will have influence in the street, but being “peaceful”, they should be free from spiritual harassment.

• The members of the Ten are not submitted to regional and national political powers and the spiritual principalities that cling to them.

A Street has become an authority-lite zone, making it a relatively a demon-free zone.

Tens and Hundreds (22) - Kingdom View

Authority is the heart of the Kingdom of God. The defining quality of a king is authority, so understanding the nature of authority is essential for understanding the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ prayer defines the Kingdom of God.

Your Kingdom come
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. Matt 6:10

The Kingdom of God comes when God's will is done. God's kingdom comes into being as his authority is widely accepted and obeyed.

Authority, not geography, defines the boundaries of a kingdom. A kingdom extends as far as the authority of the King is accepted. The Kingdom of God is defined in terms of attitudes to the authority of God. It extends wherever his authority is accepted. Every person living under the authority of God is part of the Kingdom of God. Every aspect of life that is submitted to the authority of God is part of the Kingdom of God. Tens and Hundreds turn authority upside down and bring the Kingdom of God into being.

If the Ten serves really effectively, the local people will participate in some of their activities, especially those that advance justice, protection from crime, welfare and defence. When the non-Christians in the neighbourhood participate in the activities of the Ten or Hundred, they will have to compromise with their standards of behaviour:

• People will be treated with respect.
• No one, not even elders or leaders, can force another person to do things they do not want to do.
• The truth will be spoken love.
• Forgiveness is the best solution to hurts and misunderstanding.

To participate in activities organised of the Ten, others will have to fit with their lifestyle. They will compromise their behaviour gladly, because they will see the benefits the Tens provide in their neighbourhood. However, they will not feel forced to change, because they remain free to opt out at any time.

Something interesting has happened in A Street.

• If they serve effectively, the Tens will be the most influential group in their community.

• Non-Christians living in the locality will submit to God’s authority some of the time, so they can benefit from the activities of the Tens.

• The members of the Ten will have submitted voluntarily to the authority of the elders, to each other, and to God.

• The elders will have submitted to God, and to each other. This makes the Kingdom of God a reality in their midst.

• Then Tens, Fifties and Hundreds could keep society functioning effectively, even if all national and city authority has collapsed.

Taken together, this means that most people in the neighbourhood will be submitted to God, so in a sense the Kingdom of God has come to A Street.

This full series can be found at Tens and Hundreds.

Tens and Hundreds (21) - Service and Kingdom

The Tens living in A Street will serve everyone in their street.

• Welfare — Christian deacons will provide support to anyone in the street who needs help, whether or not they are Christians. They will be glad to help those who have not received the gospel. Kind unbelievers might give money to the deacons, because they will appreciate the work that that they are doing for people they know.

• Justice — Christian leaders will be active in helping non-believers to achieve justice if they are robbed or hurt. They will be quite happy to bless free riders.

• Defence — If the community is attacked, the Christians will provide protection for everyone. They will provide protection to non-Christians, even if they are unwilling to make a contribution to the defence efforts. Some of them will be glad to follow the directions of Christian leaders, because they will recognise that they are prepared and know what they are doing. Christian leaders would seek to bring everyone into unity as they seek to protect their community.

Christian leaders will not control Christians in their care, but will see to serve them. They will also seek to serve the other people in their street. Most people living in the street will respect their leadership because they will have observed their kindness and love. Anyone who does not like their leadership will ignore it.

Tens and Hundreds (20)

An effective church has started in A Street, but something else that is important has happened. Five Tens have formed. The members of each Ten know each other and trust each other. They will also have established good relationships with the people in the white houses that live around them. Each Ten has at least one person with some leadership skills that are available for service in the wider community.

Together these Tens make up a Fifty. This Fifty has strong leadership. Everyone in the neighbour would look to them and respect if a tough situation. If the growth process described above was repeated, the Fifty would grow into a Hundred.

Something else important happens in this neighbourhood.

• Welfare — The three Ds are people who have become deacons. They will provide social assistance to anyone in the neighbourhood who faces poverty. One couple in the Orange group chose to follow Jesus after they received help during a period of unemployment. If the neighbourhood was wealthy, the deacons might channel resources to other neighbourhoods where people are poor.

• Justice — J is a person with real wisdom. People in the neighbourhood call on him to settle disputes. He gradually becomes a judge, skilled in applying God’s law. His wisdom is well known, so people in white houses also take disputes to him.

• Defence — If society were to collapse into chaos, W would have an important role. He could monitor people coming into A street and call for help to deal with undesirables. If the situation got really bad, some of the people might move in with friends in A Street for a while to obtain shelter and protection.

Tens and Hundreds (19) - The Wider Church View

Looking from the church perspective, we have something like the following diagram. Five groups of Christians are each overseen by a Christian elder (A, R, P, E. B).

These elders have strong relationships. They draw all their people together in one body to be a church. Many of these people new each other well already. They elders work together to strengthen these relationships, so it ooks like this.

The relationships between these people are as important as the people. They look something like this.

For more on this topic see Church and Ministry.

Tens and Hundreds (18) - Moving Out

P grew to maturity quickly, so A was soon able to leave him to look after the blue houses. A moved to a house in D Street and next door to a Christian who was already a part of the blue group. This person believed that many of his neighbours were interested in the gospel, so A came to give him a hand in getting things started.

E stayed in the same house, but left B to exercise oversight over the Christians in the green houses. They were all doing well and did not need much help anyway. E switched his attention to some people at the other end of the street and started building relationships with a group of believers connected to the person in the green house in D Street. Before much time passed, people living in the orange houses were seeking to follow Jesus and E was helping them get connected to each other.

For more on how this works, see the Apostolic Way.

Tens and Hundreds (17) - Neighbourhood View

Christian elder A moved into A Street. He knew that P was a person of influence, so he rented the house next door to him. When P’s crippled daughter was healed, he and all his family decided to follow Jesus. Everyone in A Street saw the dramatic change in both P and his daughter. When they asked what had happened, he blurted out the entire story with the gospel sprinkled in between. Those living in the blue houses chose to become Christians. Elder A watched over them to ensure that none got side tracked. He also worked hard on building relationships between them. Their activities centred on P’s house.

This is only part of the story. When A moved into A Street, he did not come alone. His friends R and E had moved at about the same time. They had served together in the church that they came from and knew each other well.

The faith stirred up following the healing of P’s daughter led to the healing of a couple of other seriously ill people at the end of the street. E shared the gospel to many others living in the street and some came to believe. He took responsibility for those living in the houses shaded in green and built relationships between them. R focussed on those living on his side of the street.

For more see Evangelist.

Tens and Hundreds (16) - Church View

From the church perspective, the first group started will look like this.

The letter A indicates an elder with a pastoral gifting. At the beginning, this would be the person who came into the neighbourhood. When the original elder moves on, the elder will be someone from within the group, possible the person of influence.

The elder has a strong relationship with each person and would help build strong relationships all the members of the group they watch over. These relationships are represented by the lines.

See radical leadership

Tens and Hundreds (15) - Gospel Model

The New Testament provides a method for spreading the gospel, which will also restore Tens and Hundreds to our community. Luke 10 describes how church and gospel spread in five important steps.

• A pair of Christians move to a new neighbourhood.

  After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place (Luke 10:1).

  Finding an appropriate neighbourhood was really important. Christians should make their home in the new location.

• The Christians should seek a “person of peace” or “person of influence”. This is someone who is open to the gospel and who has contact and influence with other people in the area. Sometimes that person might be a Christian with a burden for their neighbourhood. The new Church will usually meet in their house. In a traditional culture, they would live with the Person of Peace.

  Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave (Matt 10:11).

  Staying with the Person of Peace would not be possible in a Western culture, so the Christian pair would buy or rent a house as close as possible to that person.

• Once contact has been established with the person of peace, the Christians will look for opportunities to heal the sick. Jesus said,

  When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you' (Luke 10:8,9).

  A healing will usually crack open the neighbourhood. When Paul prayed for Publius’ sick father and he was healed (Acts 28:8-10). All the people on Malta came and were healed (many would believe).

• The pair will disciple the new Christians and build relationships between them. They will mould them into a church in the home of the Person of Peace. Others in the community will be drawn in by their love.

• The original Christians will replicate their ministry in the Person of Peace or a neighbour. This will free them to move into a new location and repeat the process. They will leave behind a group of people living in the same location who trust each other. This is the essence of a Ten.

See the Apostolic Way for more detail

Tens and Hundreds (14) - by Church

Following Jesus example, the church should have an important role in restoring Tens and Hundreds in the places where we live. Every church should be attached to a particular locality. Ideally, there should be one Church at each location and each location should have one Church.

In my book, Being Church Where We Live, I described how a church should function as a local community. Each church should be led by four or five elders, each with a different gifting, submitting to each other to produce unity. Each elder would provide oversight for about five or six families. If all the families overseen by one elder lived close to each other in a local community, they would become a Ten. This group of connected families would be able to fulfil all the functions of Tens, as described above.

If the church had five elders, each providing loose oversight of a Ten, the entire church would be a Fifty. If specific needs arose, a couple of local churches could link through their leaders to become a Hundred. The leaders of the Hundred would ensure that the justice, protection and welfare are provided to everyone living in their community.

If Christians moved back to a more biblical model of church, Tens and Hundreds would be restored back to our communities. However, we would have to get out of their cars and auditoriums and move closer together.

This full series can be found at Tens and Hundreds.

Tens and Hundreds (13) - Restored by Jesus

Jesus first step when he began his ministry was to form a Ten.

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him. These are the twelve he appointed (Mark 3:13-16).

By the time of Pentecost, the new church had become a Hundred.

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) (Acts 1:14-15)

When the church expanded quickly, they continued to share in tends and hundreds.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts (Acts 2:46).

The early church undertook many of the roles that were undertaken by Tens and Hundred in Moses’ time.

1. Welfare – the church provided support to people who fell into poverty.

• The Christians who met together in their homes also shared their financial resources.

  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need (Acts 2:45).

• Deacons developed new methods for caring for the poor (Acts 6:1-7).

2. Defence – the church provided protection for their community.

• The religious and political leaders in Jerusalem were extremely hostile to the new church that was emerging. The Christians protected themselves by sticking together.

  All the believers were together (Acts 2:44)

  While they were together, the authorities could not touch them.

• When Peter was arrested, the believers went into bat for him.

  So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him (Acts 12:5).

  They used spiritual weapons and an angel released Peter. He returned to house of Mary the mother of Mark.

3. Justice – the new church implemented in biblical justice.

• The Book of Acts records the effects.

  There were no needy persons among them (Acts 4:34).

  The Greek word translated as “needy” is “endees”. It is not the usual word for “poverty” and is only used once in the New Testament. It is a compound of the word “bind”. Luke seems to be saying that no one bound by injustice was among them.

• These early Christians were not in a position to not deal with individual injustices that had left some people destitute and others wealthy. They resolved these problems with overwhelming generosity.

• Many of the new Christian sold property and gave it away.

  All who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold (Acts 4:34).

  The word “possessor” is interesting. Luke used a noun formed from the Greek word “ktamomai”, which means acquire, or procure. In Luke 18:12 this word was used to describe the wealth the tax collector had acquired.
  
  Luke also used the word “ktema” which comes from the same root (Acts 2:45; 6:3). This is the word used to describe the property of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:22).
  
  Luke did not use the normal word for “inheritance”. The early Christians were not giving away their inheritance, they were giving away property that they had received by other means. Some may have been gained fairly, while some would have been acquired by injustice. Some of those giving their property away will take this action because they believed that it was acquired unjustly.

Tens and Hundreds (12) - Modern Society

Tens and Hundreds formed naturally in tribal societies through family connections. Industrialisation and urbanisation have eliminated these links from modern society, so that individuals and families live in isolation from each other.

The collapse of community is greatest in modern cities, where migration and urbanisation have broken down traditional community relationships. Social mobility prevents stable relationships from developing and family life is breaking down. People feel like cogs in a machine and life is characterised by loneliness and personal insecurity.

Modern suburban culture creates barriers to communication and encourages individualism. As communities are breaking down and fear is rising, high fences are going up between houses isolating people from each other. This isolation means that most people do not belong to the community where they live.

This isolation and dislocation of urban society has been accompanied by the aggregation and accumulation of political power to the modern state. We now face the bizarre situation where needs are concentrated in individuals, but power and money is concentrated in the national state. This leaves families and individuals powerless before a faceless government. Justice, defence and welfare come from the top, whereas they are best provided at the bottom.

To restore the cohesion of our societies, Tens and Hundreds must be restored to our communities, but it is not clear how this will happen. Politicians have an inbuilt tendency to push power and money to the top, so they will always weaken society at its lowest level.

The church should be strengthening the foundations of society, but this is not happening in the modern world. Western society has been shaped by the automobile and the church has gone along for the ride. The car has brought great freedom, but we have paid a huge price in loss of fellowship. Church has become something that we drive to, not something that shapes the community where we live. This severely weakens the relationships between Christians, so most modern churches are almost as socially fragmented as the rest of society.

Unfortunately, most people do not see the modern church as an answer to their heart’s cry. It is seen as another institution that meets personal needs with programmes run by professionals. The megachurch model does not develop community, because it just replicates the national state model of concentrating power and delivering services from the top to the bottom.

Tens and Hundreds (10) - Structure of Society

The world need structures to prevent the strong and wicked bullies from seizing power and trampling over the weak and vulnerable. The powerful must be prevented from prospering at the expense of the weak.

Most Christians expect the state to provide this protection, but that hope has been illusory. At best, the state has distracted onto side issues neglects the weak and the poor. At worst the state becomes powerful and aggressive and plunders those who need its protection.

Libertarians suggest that protection could be provided by entrepreneurial businesses and insurance companies. Businesses can provide defence, and protection services for local communities, but if business is the only source of these things, there is nothing to stop businesses from dominating people and morphing into a pseudo state.

In Moses day, justice, defence, welfare and education were mostly managed in the local community by the Ten. Tens provide protection and defence and protection their members, without dominating or controlling them.

Tens and Hundreds (9) - Chinese Counterfeit

During the imperial period, China was divided into eighteen provinces and 1,300 districts. These districts were too large for a magistrate or governor to control, so a system of surveillance was introduced.

Households were organised by the thousand and then subdivided into sub-groupings of hundred and then ten. Headmen kept a register of everybody in each group, recorded comings and goings, and reported offences to magistrates. Villagers were required to tell the headman of any illegal behaviour they encountered—failure to do sow was a crime (Jonathon Fenby, The Penguin History of Modern China, p.6).

The Chinese Tens and Hundreds were not voluntary associations that emerged in society, but were imposed from the top to achieve control over society. They are fulfilment of what Samuel prophesied would happen. These counterfeit Tens and Hundreds were not a source of cohesion, but a tool for control.

The devil is never orignal. He copies and distorts the real thing.

Tens and Hundreds (8) - Bodanis

David Bodanis who wrote “E=MC2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation” is now working on a history of the Ten Commandments. In a recent radio interview, he described their impact in a small area in the mountains of Israel.

Archaeologists found that very suddenly, around 1200 BC, this particular place went from about thirty or forty settlements to almost 600 or 7000 settlements. A lot of people were coming from outside, but they established a cohesive society with farming and roads going between settlements.

Every other place with population of that size would have signs of a big central government. There would be palaces, barracks for soldiers and houses for administrators. This place had an organised society, but there was no sign of any organised central state.

These people shared a code of agreed behaviour that allowed them to exist in harmony. These people did not have to live there, but who chose to live there had to abide by these guide lines.

Something unique was going on.

This suggests that Tens and Hundreds combined with God's Law did produce a stable society.