Search This Blog

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Our Journey and a word about who we are (and were)





About us as we are about Him.

Me: (Rory Moore) came to the Lord in 1979 at the age of 28 and married Linda in 1983. We have three children.



For 24 years Linda and I were in our church "inner circle" and doing almost everything you can do in a church without turning "pro".  In 24 years I served as an Assistant Pastor, Youth Leader, licensed minister, Elder, Board member, preacher, teacher,  fund raiser, altar worker, deacon, building maintenance, counselor, home and hospital visitation minister and we were financial pillars to the church in every way via tithing, offerings, fund raisers and more.

I guess we were typical, average loyal church supporters. 

We also worked closely with all of our pastors and leadership and had many friends in ministry, in the local church scene, and with other fellowship circles. -long before the internet. 

Linda was Choir Director for 7 years, a "special" singer, Sunday School teacher, church secretary treasurer, fund-raiser worker, and did many "helps". 
We were faithful attendees of almost every service and function of the church. For two decades we were among the first to arrive and were among the very last to leave church services and were often there 2-4 hours on those days, plus staff meetings. 
We had 4 meetings per week including 2x on Sunday, Wed., and Friday evening; then as we morphed over the years, two regular services per week.

 The decline in church gathering and prayer took place after we incorporated into a 501c3 organization.

 As the years went by, we did not notice the progressive decline away from the scriptures and prayer as we stayed busy with church programs, activities, and the routine of church life. This decline occurred as our church transitioned from a denominational Pentecostal church into a non-denominational Evangelical Christian community church

In 2004 in the wake of two events, a family crisis and the passing of my dad, in my grief and sorrow, I sought the Lord fervently and returned to regular and prayerful study of the Bible.

After "praying through" to a spiritual renewal, I asked the Lord for deeper understanding about our tithe doctrine after noticing a verse in Nehemiah 13:5 that said how the "singers" were given tithes!
Linda was Choir Leader and shouldn't she be getting tithes? (The Pastor received all tithes in our church).

When I showed that to Pastor, he looked at me with a funny expression on his face and mumbled a few words I do not recall. It struck me as strange singers and doorkeepers were to receive tithes. So I asked the Lord to show me the truth about this, and the Lord spoke to me clearly "start reading the New Testament." As I did, He began showing me verses overlooked, what tithing was under the law, and that ministers were expected to work and be examples of giving.

A few weeks later it came as a shock when I realized there was no direct instruction to any Christians or churches that they were to pay tithes!  (this was before I later discovered that Biblical tithes were never monetary).

I literally thought I was losing my mind. How could everyone I knew be wrong? But I simply could not find monetary tithing given to any church or saint in scripture as New Testament! 

Too sensitive a subject to discuss?
Mentioning this to a few others about my questions only brought an attempt to "correct" us in the form of a surprise visit from the pastor and other elders one Monday night. 
When I attempted to question tithing in front of the elders, the subject was immediately shut down by Pastor and no questioning was permitted in front of us elders.

We never dreamed of leaving our church but on Sept. 29, 2004, but after weeks of wrestling with this decision, we walked away from the 501c3 church we helped to start in 1993 as founding members. As typical middle-of-the-road Christian role models of the sincere church going family for 24 years, we realized we now had to leave the church in order to find God all over again.

Starting over with Jesus.
So after more than 3,500 church services, staff meetings, revivals, and related gatherings, we walked out into the unknown.   
  
It was very difficult, as not once in 24 years had we left our church.
But The Lord began to confirm these things through others, in a multitude of dreams,  and we were seeing many things in Scripture  we had not noticed or overlooked.  The Lord God became our Shepherd. 

As He revealed more of Himself to me, the Lord told me to "Write" and we now minister to far more people through writing and ministering the Word of God -and we are glad to do so gladly and freely. 

Writing the book, "The Tithe That Binds"  was the off-shoot of my personal study and questioning the Lord on the subject of tithing. When the book was in the writing stage, at one point I sought the Lord for the title as I wanted HIM to name it.  For three days we prayed for a title and on the third day, He gave us the name of it, and He also provided a Christian publisher who worked and gave of her time to us freely in order to publish it.

A second revised edition is forthcoming, expanded and further building on the truths regarding what the scripture does or does not say about monetary tithing.
Link:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_QEoDsSUC_N-uwT-2p9lwm-QfXf4sqyY6azRFrJFiog/edit?usp=sharing


I have several more books to publish such as "Who are God's Chosen People", The Giants, Nephilium, and Truth", Preterism?, and "WHO ARE YOU LORD?" according to the preaching by the disciples in Acts after they were Spirit filled.

At this point, 2022, we are 18 years out of "Institutional" Christianity and enjoying fellowship with other ministers and saints who have also come out of the system. 
It took us more than two years of "de-churching" and un-learning what we had  been taught from men, in order to learn and be taught from God's Word. 

In order to learn from God we had to be willing to unlearn what we learned from men. -which is what Jesus taught but the churches do not.

The Bible is a wonderful and amazing book and has become a beacon of truth to us as we seek to do what it says rather than what others say it says...







Flattering Titles, Sacred Cows, High Horses




Flattering Titles, Sacred Cows, High Horses
and by-passing sacred scripture

By rory moore, a brother


"Good morning and welcome everyone one, God bless you!

I am  Senior Pastor, Dr. V.A. Nity.   We are honored and privileged today to have as our special guest speaker, Bishop C.M. Proud,  D.D./PhD, Chief Apostle and President of the Worldwide Association of Mainstream Ministries." 

 -"Thank you Dr. Nity, it is a great honor to be with you, your staff, and the congregation today .... Your Music Pastor Ken Olie and Choral Director Bobbie-Jo, did a wonderful job in the Song Service and we want to compliment Deacon Jones who worked to provide us with such generous hospitality."

 What you just read takes place in an unlimited number of variations, depending upon who the players are, in pulpits around the world every Sunday morning.  How quickly and easily these typical flowery introductions go in one ear and out the other of the typical congregant.

Incredibly, that nice introduction and response by-passed the very words of the Bible those eloquent men desire to represent. We mind-numbed church goers just smiled, clapped, and nodded at smiling men in suits up there on the platform, some wishing deep inside they could be up there getting the accolades too. We all watched with anticipation what stirring words of profound wisdom might be forthcoming from our Titled speaker.

 Little did we or anyone in the auditorium realize we had just steam-rolled some admonishments of scripture!

 1.  Job 32:21 Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person,

                     neither let me give flattering titles unto man.

2.  Job 32:22 For I know not to give flattering titles

                     in so doing my maker would soon take me away.

 Now that is a waker-upper to the Doctor of Divinity Bible College mills, Para-Church Ministries, card-carrying "Apostles", Senior Pastors, Bishops, and Denominational hierarchies.

 Do you think a man like the apostle Paul may have had those scripture verses in mind when he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:5?  "For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness".   

 As we searched for the meaning of "flattering", we found in the Hebrew, kânâh; to address by an additional name;  hence, to eulogize: - give flattering titles, surname (himself).

 According to scripture, in lauding and titling ourselves and others, we have brought harm and hurt to the Body of Christ.

Prov. 29:5 says  A man that flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his steps.

 This simply means that the lifting up of men (and women) with Titles (surnames and additions to their name) causes them to be snared by exaltation.

Have you seen how Jesus taught on this same subject in Matt. 23?

Rather than seeking to please the crowds, inflate their own ego, or feed their own self-esteem, both Jesus and the disciples utterly forsook the ego-centric outward appearances of success so common in today's church world.

 Not only did we toss honorific flattering titles and positions around our churches, but we had our  own well-paid prophets come around call forth great "visions" for our future to go with them.

 "But we must "HONOR them that labor" among us, the Bible says...... " 

Are you ready once again to have your mind changed and your theology tweaked?

 "Honor" is used in several forms often in the New Testament, none of which legitimatize the use of flattering titles which tend to inflate egos and enhance the perception carnal authority:

 Here is a little word study from the Lexicon.

G1784    valued,: - dear, more honorable, precious, in reputation.

G5091   fix the value   to honor, to have in honor, to revere, venerate

G5092    a value, that is, money paid, valuables; by analogy esteem (especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself: - honor, precious, price, some. to prize, that is, fix a valuation upon;  by implication to revere: - honor, value

 Now you can "plug-in" the actual meaning with the general term "honor" in the verses below.

  Eph 6:2  Honor g5091 thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise),

 Phil 2:29  Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy; and hold such in honor: g1784

 1Thes 4:4   that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, g5092

 1Timothy 1:17   Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor g5092 and glory forever and ever. Amen.

 1Tim 5:3   Honor  g5091 widows that are widows indeed.

 To "honor"  has everything to do with "to prize, value, consider precious, dear", etc. in the context of Christian love, than it does to flattering titles and flowery speeches and financial reward!

 If your Bible is to be believed and followed, "flattering titles" have a role in causing God's people to stumble. The fact that New Testament writers and Jesus Himself never sought "glory from men", or had "respect of persons" testifies to yet another area where visible Christianity has fallen away from the humility of the Gospel.

 We are not making "sin" out of the wearing of church titles. We are pointing out some scriptures that address the Titles and the motives for them. Again, read what Jesus taught about them in Matthew 23 in addition to what is here, and you will understand why some have chosen not to take titles as we minister.

 The apostles forsook the trappings and Titles of the religious crowd. Paul called himself “AN apostle” in all of his epistles. Peter the same. In Acts there was no salutations made using Titles because they obeyed Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 20 and 23. When Luke wrote Acts, he did not use Titles for any of the apostles, prophets, teachers, or brethren that are mentioned there.

 And that is the simple truth. What people do with it is between them and the Lord.