The Portal

They feasted on a hot breakfast buffet of breakfast burritos, coffee cakes, scrambled eggs and more, and chatting like it was normal fellowship at a Xenos Central Teaching.

But as the crowd settled down, they studied Bible passages about handling persecution and opposition as Christians.

“Worship Christ as Lord of your life,” Greg Morscher read from 1 Peter 3:15-16. “And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”

There are three common elements found in the Bible’s “Languange of Persecution”, Greg said: “Faith-oriented prayer, alertness, and keeping Grace at the center of our message and attitude.” (See [cref the-christian-message] for more.)

Keith McCallum taught from Galatians 4 and 5, “which is very coincidental,” he said. “I was scheduled to teach this, but it’s also incredibly helpful for understanding why people persecute Christians.”

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free,” Keith read from Galatians 5:1, then said, “Christianity always brought freedom wherever it spread. For example, ‘there’s no distinction between male or female, or slave or master,’ the Bible says, and this is radical freedom in the 1st Century — words unparalleled for nearly 2,000 years, and certainly never taught by any other world religion.”  This “Christian Freedom” frightens people sometimes, Keith said, “especially if they aren’t used to freedom — it seems chaotic.” (See [cref christian-freedom] for more.)

It was an impromptu Sunday meeting, scheduled only 24 hours earlier when Riverwood asked Xenos to hold off meeting there until they look into the sudden controversies raised by a Stow resident. Her adult son was baptized recently after becoming a Christian, and she was convinced Xenos manipulated his decision, despite his efforts to explain it to her.

She took her protest to the entrance of Riverwood Chapel last week with signs that read, “Xenos is a cult” and “Don’t drink the cool-aid”. A student joined her protest because someone from the “Word” high school group mistreated her, a school official said, but the details are still unknown.

It is Riverwood’s policy to place staff on “Paid Administrative Leave” when controversy like this occurs, Riverwood pastors told Xenos leaders.

“Since you’re not Riverwood staff, you guys need to hold off meeting here while we figure this out,” said Brian Bales, Riverwood’s senior pastor. “We’re giving you the benefit of the doubt, because we agree Xenos’ teachings are biblical,” and the differences in our groups are issues of personal taste, not significant doctrines, Brian said. “But we always treat complaints seriously, and we need to get this resolved.”

“If you follow what Jesus taught, your life will be turned upside-down, and you’ll get persecuted.” – Brian Bales, Riverwood PastorBut for the large group stuffed in the Howell’s house that Sunday morning, the sudden meeting change proved the Christian life is grounded in personal joy, not facilities. They gathered again at the Morscher’s house for several hours last night to pray and enjoy their fellowship together. It’s been riotous gatherings of fun-loving people not bothered by the criticisms.

“I have an idea,” one of them said. “Let’s stand in front of Riverwood with signs that say, ‘We’re the cult, not Riverwood!’”

“It’s really impossible to squash ‘Christian Freedom’ — it’s not an institutional freedom. It’s a freedom of the heart,” Keith said. “When you invite Jesus into your heart and find out how much he loves us, it’s really a fear-killer.” This is why Christian freedom spreads like a chemical fire when water is poured on it, he said.

“What Jesus taught was counter-cultural,” Brian Bales said at last week’s Riverwood meeting. “If you follow what Jesus taught, your life will be turned upside-down, and you’ll get persecuted.” People in Xenos home groups agree it gets tough, but it’s so worthwhile. When people discover “The Grace Awakening” that Charles Swindol wrote about, freedom becomes a way of life.

Watch Tom’s baptism online:

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7766260070848411567&hl=en[/googlevideo]

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