by Dale Shumaker
Spirit Savvy Network
www.spiritsavvy.net
I shared my vision with someone over coffee. Then a few days later
someone else suggested I share it on my Facebook page. So I did. This
is the flow of thought that came out to explain it.
We
have what we call church today. I have had a vision of what this should
be for over 20 years now. So I began, began, began again, quietly, and
somewhat unnoticed building an infrastructure for this new "organism" of
Spirit, not so much organizational. A True Spiritual move is coming
from God's Spirit. I am building an infrastructure for it, so it will be
mobilized and fluid. The biggest difference is it will not be brick and
mortar, visibly, or organizationally based. But Highly Relationship
based(capital letters intended here). I was encouraged by some solid
Spiritual leaders of the Church to create it. These past Saints of God
have died now. But the vision remains ever so strong in me. When the
Spirit of a Sovereign nature hits, a system in Spirit will be in place,
people will have access to Spiritual growth systems without prejudice,
i.e., it will center around the very person of Jesus Christ with less
interest in a "denominational” type-cast of who you are in
Spirit...baptist, pentecostal, evangelical, mainline, spiritual, etc.,
on and on." These names will disappear. It will be back to blocking and
tackling(as Vince Lombardi said).
So
then the purpose for the Spirit Savvy Network is to facilitate a
Spiritual growth system and create an infrastructure for the Principles
of Spirit to flourish in life and the marketplace. I saw a huge need
here. Over 200 million people in the US alone are not part of the
current church system. I am not against church, but it is a man-made
system today. It needs to be rejuvenated of which I feel is a noble
cause. Those in the system I thought would be the first to say...,
“yeah, how can we refine this to the origins of power and dynamic
community it was meant to be.” To my surprise, those in the establish
church system seemed lesser receptive to the idea than those outside the
system.
I shy away from groups, organizations, ideas that people follow. I
simply follow the person I have come to enjoy personally, and finding
others who share in that. When people ask, "what church do you go to?" I
am perplexed. I don't think that way. I am connected to a Person... not
a group. And I connect to those who connect to that Person as well.
It's all person to person to person and personal. As Oswald Chambers
said I also share, “The Apostle Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a
cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s."
The
best way I saw was to create a new structural dynamic so it could be
vibrant within its own characteristics... in other words
self-perpetuating, not organizationally driven. I have been looking as
well for those who would help me to make something better. I have to be
honest to my convictions, from the Spirit. I may have to continue
pressing on alone in this, but I got to do what I see as the right
thing, the best for the creation of God He put on earth.
Well,
this has been over a twenty year experience of trying my best to
convince others. I am at the place in life I must take what I have been
commissioned to do and get it going. Hope to find a few out there to
help.
It's a group thing. Many in cooperation are needed.
How will this play out?
Christ
in Spirit is not limited. Those in relationship will experience His
Presence and His companionship in a walking-the-streets way. Every day
activities will have His Presence within it. Compassion and unselfish
interests will be prominent. Kindness to others will flourish, and Love
will have a natural foothold on everyone's life. Once I had an
experience of an established denomination disowning me. I learned a big
lesson... the blocking and tackling of Spirit... the Bible talks, Prayer
works, Friends in Spirit empower, honesty in life prevails. It's
simple, but dynamic when practiced daily. Life joys are simple. Stress
is not necessary. We all can do it... rich, poor, smart, slow... we all
can do it.
So
the Spirit Savvy Network is being created as a platform for those
200 million who really in their hearts seek God and want to find Him.
The Spirit Savvy Network is much like open source technologies available
that all can use. It simply trains people in the process used within
the Acts of the Apostles , what Paul taught in His letters, what Jesus
defined in principle is our lifestyle identity.
The main ingredients are
prayer...
tapping into Spiritually fed lifestyle;
our mission
which is
God's gifts in us used to empower community which also produces commerce
as a byproduct;
a training system
for the individual (the New Breed
Mission-ary Entrepreneur);
and develop those to disciple and assist
others
(the Entrepreneur Mission-ary Accelerator).
These components
create the Spiritual apparatus for a "Re-freshed, God-freshed" Spiritual
Community with Jesus Christ Himself, In Spirit Among Us, to guide the
whole thing.
And
just to let you know, the characteristics of Ephesians 4 for guiding
people are there...
the biz leader who trains and disciples others is
like a pastor,
the entrepreneur is naturally prophetically gifted.
Those
with sales skills are natural evangelists,
and managers are natural
teachers.
It's all there, all that we call church today in function can
be reproduced in the marketplace and day to day activities.
It is
developed with Spirit as the core emphasis, and then these other skills
in lifestyle, business, community management, work. You see Spirit
drives, mobilizes and empowers everything. So Spirit as the core creates
a new dynamic that makes everything else work at a Super-Higher level,
with greater depth and stamina.
We
seem to have limited the function to one structure, which has
shortcomings. Although for a new vibrancy it needs to be intertwined
with our existing lifestyles.
But
if enhanced with the Spirit we will see the Gifts of the Spirit (1
Corinthians 12) played out as a part of our lifestyles too. A
Super-natural quality will manifest itself within and through it. Gifts
of Spirit will be part of every person’s weaponry for the day.
It just needs to be put in stride with the natural flow of things as we
have seen in the Old Testament societies, and now, today, enhanced by
the very Spirit of Jesus one with US... aka, Jesus/Spirit now embedded
in a person among people connected in community, vibrant in Spirit,
Love, Joy and productively living with Gifts of God.
That's what I am seeing so far. Although, it requires the connecting,
collaborating insights and efforts of others to become complete. It's a
mass effort, orchestrated by Spirit. The group, or rather a connected
body, a network, connected in Spirit, as each works cooperatively together.
Like the saying "all for one, one for all."
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