Bwahahaha. So in all humility you can say as a guest speaker you had more vision than your host? Then you have no humility sir. That has been clear this entire time; once you granted yourself the title of Apostle. Let's get some other things clear. There is only ONE narrative in the church and it does not belong to you. There is only one vision in the church and it does not belong to you. They belong to Christ because it is His church. He is the region. He is the locality. He does not need your Ren and Stimpy routine for global domination. The object is not for you to connect with the people but for you to connect them to Jesus. Paul spoke about how dynamic preaching empties the cross of Christ of its power. People do not need to be called higher like the Tower of Babel. They need to be called by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel. Beloved beware. This NAR blueprint is occurring all through this country and will be the vehicle for the one world religion. Those who oppose will be branded as legalistic Pharisees and those pastors who oppose will have their churches and work marginalized as "dead end." Make no mistake. What John Burton is proposing and claiming is pure evil. Now Burton moves into four hallmarks of what he refers to as a Cul-de-sac Church. In part one of this article, Burton defined a cul de sac church as also being dead end but focused on a misguided vision of family, togetherness, and relationships. No beloved, I am not kidding. He went on to say:
"I am more convinced than I've ever been that "family style" churches need to give way to true, apostolic, Spirit-filled movements made up of warriors who are contending for fire. The church is a military, not a vehicle for friend-building. The call is to surrender all, to die to self, to cry out for God to move and to advance with a fervency that will cause the enemy to shudder. It's in the foxhole of kingdom war where true friendships are forged. Simple social gatherings won't cut it. We are under attack and we need warriors to assault the kingdom of darkness with ferocity. This, friend, is the church." -- John Burton
This is how sick and twisted the NAR dominionist mind is. Even churches that focus on family and togetherness, you know -- like the bible says -- must bow down to his apostolic authority. I want to say this as clearly as a I can because some may be shocked. The church is NOT a military. We are NOT called to assault the kingdom of darkness anywhere in scripture. The bible teaches us to resist the enemy. The fellowship described in Acts Two was not merely a "social gathering." This carnal war mongering mindset comes from the enemy and not God. the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Dying to self is in regard to our war against sin. Let's see now what he thinks are four marks of a cul de sac church.
"1. It's all about family. As I said above, I believe the family-style church is a threat. Many of these types of churches could fit into the "seeker sensitive" category of churches. Many others emphasize the grace and love message in excess and, while there may be praying in tongues and dancing in the aisles, it all comes back to relationships. The thoughts of a vertical experience where people lock in with God and contend for Him to move is something they would struggle with if it interferes with their desire for horizontal connections. It can be both vertical and horizontal, but in a cul-de-sac church, preference is given to personal, human relationships instead of aggressively advancing in the Spirit." -- John Burton
The family style church is a threat. Let that sink in for a moment. Marinate in the utter demonic stupidity of that statement. In the fictional world of John Burton, families are a threat to the church and the spirit cannot aggressively advance amidst loving Christian relationships. Wow. Realize that he is not speaking about a threat to the cause of Christ but rather the cause of Burton. Families that attend good bible based, gospel-preaching churches are generally more aware biblically when they hear such a train wreck as John Burton tries to sell here. They are more discerning and can see through the NAR dominionist haze to see the only true beneficiaries of Burton's family-less, regional mess is the self-appointed apostles who would sit in authority over it.
"2. Their definition of revival is off. They see a growing number of people who are enjoying God and one another as the prime goal. While nobody can argue that growing in intimacy with God and that developing kingdom relationships is wrong, it's the focus and the priorities that send cul-de-sac churches into the wrong direction. Instead of a supernatural war they value a growing, happy family of people who are enjoying God together. They would call that revival, and it's a far cry from it. They misunderstand the severity of the battle and don't regularly engage at the required level." -- John Burton
What absolute garbage. Revival has nothing to do with Burton's imaginary spiritual war. It simply means an increase in salvations due to a renewed interest in religion or the church. Can it cover a territory? Sure but that is no more important to God than if it happens in a singular church. Valuing a happy and more importantly -- GROWING family of believers is God's definition of and plan for the church. Sheep are not foot soldiers. They are not an army. Burton's war-like visions are not revival beloved. It is simply seven mountains, NAR, Dominionist heresy.
"3. Positivity rules. They are adverse to anything that would be a downer to their block party in the cul-de-sac. They want their people encouraged, happy, stress-free and at ease. Topics such as hell, sin , eternity, repentance, correction, expectations or anything negative are avoided like the plague. They refuse to speak to the national cultural crisis; politics; the end times; wickedness such as abortion and homosexuality; or any other issue that would be divisive, challenging or confrontational. Just as people advise others to avoid the topics of religion and politics around the Thanksgiving table for the sake of civility and keeping the peace, cul-de-sac churches avoid anything that would cause any measure of disturbance." -- John Burton
