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The Church Growth, Emerging Church―Diaprax Agenda:
the diabolical practices by ministers across America today


by

Dean Gotcher


    "But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart." Isaiah 42:22-25

    "O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Jeremiah 5:3-9

    "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled."  "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.  But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.  And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."  "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth noting: the words that I speak unto you they are spirit, and they are life."  John 6:26, 36-40, 63

    "Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him."  John 7:14-18

    "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." "And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.   I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  "Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:12, 23-24, 31-32, 34-36

    "I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not."
    "Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth."
    "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."
John 8:38-59

    "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
    But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning."
John 15: 20-27

    "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart." John 16: 1-6

    "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."
John 16:7-15


THE EMERGING CHURCH

THE "SPIRIT" OF THE EMERGING CHURCH

    "Emerging. I am, at all moments, in process. I am in the process of transcending my current states and attitudes. I, and all things, are in the process of creating my own process."
    "One of my motivations is to explore unexplored harmony and communion in the universe. I would like to introduce each of these seemingly opposite groups to each other. It might have symbolic significance. And it would, of course, be a movement in the direction of wholizing my own inner world." Jack R. Gibb: THE MAGIC OF SELF-REGULATION: Omicron in the Organization

    "I create my own passionate path. When I put my full energy, coming from the deepest part of me, into a pathway to which I can dedicate my earthly and eternal life, I inevitably create my own spirituality."  Trust, 1991 edition

    Jack Gibb is the man who laid out the pathway for the Emerging Church.   He was "A pioneer in humanistic psychology . . ." "an early innovator at the renowned National Training Laboratories in Bethel, Maine, where behavioral scientists performed the pioneering work in team dynamics, communication, sensitivity training, and leadership training in the 1940's and 1950's. Jack was one of the first and most highly regarded T-Group (training group) leaders at NTL [National Training Laboratory], served as Director of Research, and co-authored two books with the three NTL founders: T-Group Theory and Laboratory Method and The Laboratory Method of Changing and Learning."  Source: Taken from the jacket material of Trust, 1991 edition.  "In 1957, NTL formalized its circle of influence with the formation of the NTL network, which included the founders-Benne, Bradford, and Lippitt-as well as others, including Richard Beckhard, Jack Gibb, Murray Horowitz, Gale Jenson, Gordon Lippitt, and Alvin Zander."  "For NTL, the drive was to create and develop the skills of "change agents," as they came to be called."  Source:  www.ntl.org/about-history.html


I have run across an excellent web site article on the Emerging Church by Tamara Hartzell it is several hundred pages in length but well worth reading. ;  pdf format (large);  HTML format (large).  It is now out in book form, In The Name of Purpose by Tamara Harzell; publisher Xlibris  It can be ordered from Hartzell's website http://www.inthenameofpurpose.org/page4.html or directly from Xlibris http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=36818


Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 
Re-defining sin
Jack Gibb: The foundation for Church Growth and the Emerging Church
Jack Gibb, Trust: A new view of PERSONAL and ORGANIZATIONAL development-TORI
Bradford, Gibb, and Benne, T-Group Theory and Laboratory Method: Innovation in Re-education 1964
Jack R. Gibb THE MAGIC OF SELF-REGULATION: Omicron in the Organization
"TORI, Astron, and Omicron as Explorations in Self-Regulation"
The Church Is the Testing Ground
Jack Gibb's: The man who prepared the foundation for Church Growth and the Emerging Church.
Almost any relationship could be improved by building an intimate community.
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."
The Omicron Orientation (charts)
The seven Omicron orientations (explained)
Some web links on the "emerging" church: not indorsing all sites, just noting.
Eddie Gibbs & Jack Gibbs material used in a Long Beach Church survey.


Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. Luke 11:35, 36

Are you cursing the darkness or exposing the darkness?

    You may have heard people respond to your exposing of something you see as wrong with the statement "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness."  What is usually being stated is "Don't be so negative." "Can't you be positive. Just once." "Why can't you learn how to make people feel comfortable. Then maybe you would not be so offensive and people would listen to you." In other words, "Build an approving relationship with others, make them feel comfortable in being around you, then they will hear what you have to say."  The implication is that people will not hear the truth unless you candy coat it. They will then accept it since it makes them feel good. Thus by today's standards truth will not be accepted unless it is filtered through feelings of acceptance, pleasure, and reward. Truth is thus tied directly to one's feelings of pleasure. If it does not make me feel good, it must not be truth, at least not relevant truth.

    Have you ever had people glass over while you were telling them the truth?  Now you know why. You had not created an environment of acceptance and warmth before sharing it, and you had not broken it up into parts, building relationship on the acceptable and warm parts.  You had not found what was common with the person and those parts of the truth which he and you could associate with and focus on. Both of you were not discovering the truth in an informal, understanding, rational, reasonable, practical, interpersonal environment which socio-psychologists call a matriarchal paradigm―a mother's heart, a feminine voice.

    I present this information to expose the method of Satan. For this is the same process he used on Eve in the Garden.  Sharing the truth in love does not mean redefining it to make it acceptable because it makes sense or makes you feel good. That method is turning the truth into a lie, and a lie into the "truth."  We are deceived when truth is determined from our perception of its relevance in the situation, how it fits in the moment in relation to a feeling of peace and harmony between ourselves and others. The transformational Marxist Antonio Gramsci believed in this definition of truth.  "Truth is a moment of correct praxis." In other words "truth" is found within the sensuous experience of rationalized social harmony―consensus.

    What happens when society does a shift of paradigm (method of thinking) from patriarchal to matriarchal?  It shifts its focus from obedience and speaking the truth (in love, which chastens) to feelings and relevance (carnal).  In such a shift, patricide is committed, if not in an outright act of violence, at least in an act of mind, where respect for authority behavior (obedience and faith) is rejected as a viable method for following a leader or for being a leader. Sheep are replaced with cattle, who must be driven instead of led. Law or commands are obeyed (law) while promises are believed (grace).  A law can be expressed as a categorical imperative (not to be questioned) or as a promise. Thou shalt not .... (you are not to lie) as a command (to be obeyed) can also be a Thou shalt not ... (you will not lie) as a promise (an act of faith).  If you do this (continually walk in me), this will happen (you will not sin).

    While no man can successfully obey the law of God in himself (God's definition of a perfect soul), it serves its purpose in destroying man's hope in self-righteousness and thus drives man to God for mercy―accomplished in the work of Christ on the Cross.  Man can successfully obey the law of God when he confesses he can not, receives forgiveness for his carnal efforts (repentance), by faith accepts Christ's finished work of obedience to the law (redemption) and through the Holy Spirit (Christ in me) accomplishes the promise of God's law in his life (sanctification).  Therefore, no man can boast of any of his works before God. It is impossible to please God without faith, thus God's law, which must be obeyed by all mankind, condemns all men, while, through repentance and belief upon His son, who took our failure concerning God's law (our sins) upon himself, and then by faith in Christ, the law is accomplished in us through the work of the Holy Spirit, God working his perfect will out through us to his good pleasure. God's love never distances itself from chastening.

    The father created (it is finished), man disobeyed God's law, Christ obeyed God's law (it is finished) and paid for our disobedience, the holy spirit actualizes God's law in us daily (it is being finished). God thus created you, redeems you (if you believe upon him), and sanctifies you in his love, never sacrificing his love, his truth or his method, only himself, that you might have everlasting life. Natural man can not comprehend such love. Man's love can only be self-created, self-esteemed, and self-actualized, all to the eternal loss of his soul.  Man/s religion is a religion of confusion and uncertainty.  It offers only hope in this life.  If it offers hope in a future life it is to be accomplished through the soulishness of man's love, based upon his works, even if it be works of self-sacrifice. Man's religion is built upon his definition of  love, even if he calls it "Christian."

 "In fact, children learned to obey the prevailing order at their mother's knee, despite the potential for an alternative social system implicit in the traditional matriarchal ethic of warmth, acceptance, and love."  Martin Jay The Dialectical Imagination

    Martin Jay in his book The Dialectical Imagination presents the history of the Institute for Social Research known as the "Frankfurt School."  All of these men were Marxists who came from Europe in the 30's with a new form of Marxism.  They merged the ideology of Karl Marx with that of Sigmund Freud, creating Transformational Marxism, which had at its core the destruction (annihilation) of the traditional family structure.  Mothers who held to the belief that they must submit their desires to their husbands, a biblical teaching, were considered as unenlightened.  They were oppressed/oppressors, because they carried in their nature an "ethic of warmth, acceptance, and love" yet supported the patriarchal (father rule) paradigm and taught their children to do the same.

"The Bad or Evil Mother . . . against which the infants cry had proved of no avail."  "NOT" (The word which has caused all the world's wars.)   Tensions That Cause Wars UNESCO project 1950

    In the UNESCO project Tensions That Cause Wars the issue was the cause of wars.  At the heart of war is the negating word "Not."  According to this work and in line with dialectical thinking, which focuses upon the "Negation of negation," the negative, irrational use of the "Not" has led to all division and warfare.  Their reference to "the bad or evil mother" is the mother who will not bend parental rules in light of the child's "felt" needs.  The issue was not the changing of man directly, as the solution to war but rather, like Satan did in the garden of Eden, to focus upon women, to change the perception of their role as wives.  The plan was to help women not to remain "oppressed" by the patriarchal restrains of negation, which forced them against their nature to punish their children, forcing both them and their children to submit to and thus sustain the same patriarchal paradigm.  Once women were liberated from the biblical mandate of submission, under the banner of equality, the next generation would be liberated from the same biblical restrains.  Thus successive generations would free themselves from loyalty to the traditional family, from the hierarchy found in the local neighbor-hood, from nationalism, and from faith in God. "Objectification" (God) would be removed from the minds and the behavior of mankind, and he would be free.

"A patriarchal culture is an argument against the higher possibilities of human nature, of social actualization"  Abraham H. Maslow Maslow on Management

"The repression of normal adult sexuality is required only by cultures which are based on patriarchal domination."  Norman O. Brown Life Against Death

    Both Maslow and Norman O. Brown, promoted Transformational Marxism in America, (as well as around the world) believing that the patriarchal paradigm was at the root of social disharmony, and without its elimination there could be no individual peace, no social peace, and therefore no world peace.

    We are not to be an offense to others, but in sharing God's word with others, when it becomes an offense, it is not up to us to water it down, candy coat it, or to change it―humanize it, to make it acceptable. To behave in such a way is not only a praxis of deceiving ourselves but also a praxis of taking pleasure in deceiving others. The definition of the word offense is "(skan-dal-id'-zo) to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall, to entice to sin, to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey, to cause to fall away, to be offended in one." Source: The Bible Collection 10.1.629 (c) 2006

When we seek and develop the approval of man by negating from God's word, that which might divide, we steal from God the soul He seeks and we keep it for ourselves. To do so is scandalous (offensive).

    God's word is a stumbling block to those who will not humble themselves and believe.  We are the stumbling block when we do not humble ourselves before the Lord and His word, live and share it (praxis it) as God commands.  The difference between God's word being an offense and we being an offense is best explained by Jesus.

"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 19:2-10

"From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Matthew 16:21-23

    When we perceive God's word being an offense and we change it in an effort to keep the approval of man we become an offense.  We take that which is not ours.  When we seek and develop the approval of man by extrapolating from God's word only those verses or portions of verses which appear to justify social-personal harmony, and overlook scripture, which might cause social-personal disharmony, we steal from God the soul He seeks and we keep it for ourselves.  In reference to Peter and the subject of offense, he learned what Jesus meant. "Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." Matthew 26:33, 34 The reason Jesus became an offense to Peter was that he wanted the respect of men. "And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended." Mark 4: 16, 17 In Peter's case he repented. "What can I gain for myself (self-preservation, esteem, respect, promotion, etc) from this relationship" is the cry of natural fallen man.  We are deceived when we believe we have something to gain from our relationship with the things of this world.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:10-12

     Jesus did not "build relationship" (social harmony) with the woman at the well. He he shared the truth.  Any relationship which ensued was the result of his presenting the truth up front and her receiving it as is.  Her needs, according to her perception, were temporal, but according to Christ, they were spiritual. He addressed her temporal needs with a spiritual solution. He exposed her temporal life as sin (looking for answers in all the wrong places) and offered himself as the solution―living water.  Jesus did not crawl into bed with her to witness to her, and he has not called the church to crawl into bed with the world to witness to it.  The word witness implies rejection not emulation, offense not approval. Woe be to the men who have placed themselves as shepherds who, for the respect of men, prostitute the bride of Christ for their personal gain, for the approval of men, or as a one minister puts it, ministers who are "dialectical pirates, pimping from the pulpit."

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:15-18 

Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. Luke 11:35

    There is a difference in the type of candle we light.  In lighting God's candle, darkness is always exposed--all of it. There are those who are lighting candles which do not expose all darkness. They are double-minded, wanting to be accepted by both God and man.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:4,5 

Be ye not unequally yoked together [finding consensus] with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 6 

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 2 Corinthians 11:3-4

But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:12-15

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.  Ephesians 5:1-17 


Re-defining sin.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. Luke 11:44 

    One of the best sources I have come across for understanding the dialectical process and its application in praxis is Leonard Wheat's book Paul Tillich's Dialectical Humanism, 1970.  The hidden agenda of the process is exposed, as the following quotations from his book give testimony.

Leonard F. Wheat Paul Tillich's Dialectical Humanism: Unmasking the God above God

    By redefining terms, Tillich cultivates a "double-speak" designed to convey opposing messages to different groups. He refuses to define terms to which he obviously attaches definite meanings. Tillich's elusiveness reflects a calculated effort to remain esoteric. He keeps his deepest meanings hidden from all but a few who are prepared to receive it. [Comment regarding Nels F. S. Ferre who attended one of Tillich's classes at Union Theological Seminary.] Tillich at first treated Ferre as one of the innocent whose abiding faith should not be disturbed. "But by the time I had phrased my questions with depth and seriousness long enough and often enough, I knew he actually did not believe in the Christian God who raises the dead and who works personally in human history." (Ferre) One reason Tillich is unwilling to openly disavow religion is that he must be accepted as a theologian in order to formulate and gain acceptance of an imaginative Grand Synthesis of theology and philosophy. He is telling those Christians who can hear that they can accept humanism without relinquishing Christianity if they will accept man as the true meaning of God. Demonism concerns man's attitude toward others. Estrangement describes the condition of man which results from the Demonism of his fellow man. The answer to man's predicament lies in the realization by individual man, that all men are essentially one and that the one is God. This self-realization is a "return" to union: potential becomes actual. "Sin" is the estrangement of man from man. Tillichian salvation is a symbol, a symbol for becoming ultimately concerned about humanity--salvation in an "eternal" present.

source: Leonard F. Wheat, Paul Tillich's Dialectical Humanism

A note concerning the author:  According to one source Leonard Wheat is an atheist: http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jul1971/v28-2-bookreview13.htm. It takes one to know one I guess.  Despite that being true this book does clearly expose the dialectical mind even if Alexander J. McKelway thinks the book should be labeled as one which should not be read.  Not meaning to confuse you I add this to show the confusion which resides in the theo-intellectual world.  I would recommend the book as one which does reveal the dialectical process in praxis.


TRUST

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalms 34:8

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Psalms 118:8

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25

Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. Jeremiah 17:5


Jack Gibb: The foundation for Church Growth and the Emerging Church

The following quotations were made by Jack Gibb.  Read them in the light of the Word of God and you will more clearly understand the diabolical process of the Emerging Church.  Jack Gibbs was one of the big seven leaders of the Marxist training camps, still going in America today, the National Training Laboratories.

Jack Gibb, Trust: A new view of PERSONAL and ORGANIZATIONAL development-TORI

"Trust is the key to societal change. Trust is the inherent capacity of the individual and the institution to be whatever they are to become."

"Effective change is trust formation. The parent gets along with the child when the parent trusts the child. It is that simple. The manager gets along with the worker when the manager trusts the worker. We will get along with the Soviet Union when we learn to trust the Soviet Union. There seems to be no other solution to the continuing dilemmas that confront our cosmic pilot study." [emphasis added]

"The group is not a "help group," or even a "self help" group, but a group of persons together in search of various forms of transcendence."

Bradford, Gibb, and Benne, T-Group Theory and Laboratory Method: Innovation in Re-education 1964

"Gibb's and Miles developed a measurement instrument―The Group Behavior Task―designed to evaluate an individuals ... sensitivity to feelings, to the behaviors of others, and to group decisions."

"In research conducted at the University of Colorado, Jack R. Gibb ... studied the effects of "induced polarization" on defensive behavior and perception accuracy."

"Chapter 10 Climate for Trust Formation"

"Groups soon find that people will not accept goals imposed by others. Groups find that goals must be created in interaction.  The control problem disappears when data-collection  and interpersonal-acceptance problems are solved.  When people are doing what they want to do, know that they are doing what they want to do, and have developed some trust and acceptance in the group situation, the control and organization problems become relatively simple or disappear."

Carl Rogers On becoming a person

"Walden Two: 'Now that we know how positive reinforcement works, and why negative doesn't' ... 'we can be more deliberate and hence more successful in our cultural design.  We can achieve a sort of control under which the controlled, though they are following a code much more scrupulously than was ever the case under the old system, nevertheless feel free.  They are doing what they want to do, not what they are forced to do.  That's the source of the tremendous power of positive reinforcement―there's no restrain and no revolt.  By a careful design, we control not the final behavior, but the inclination to behavior―the motives, the desires, the wished.  The curious thing is that in that case the question of freedom never arises."   
(emphasis in original as italics.)

"The healthy personality ... just as he has accepted himself, it is possible for him to accept others and to trust them.  He is able to attain and to accept membership in mature groups.  He permits others to deviate from his own attitudes and ideas without strong need to change them.  As a father, or manager, he is able to be permissive, accepting.  He is able to love himself and is free to love others."

    The key to understanding dialectical praxis is that the dialectical process is made up of you (self) and the environment you find yourself in at the present time.  "Here and now" takes precedence over "there and then", the laws and standards which interfere with the present, when self is in control. In dialectical praxis self is to find its identity within the environment which allows self the freedom to express its self. 

    Permissiveness becomes the rule of the day.  Deviance becomes the norm.  The premise is that the basic nature of man is neither "good or bad" intrinsically.  For the goodness of mankind to be developed an environment conducive to self expression must be created and sustained.  It is thus the "good" or healthy environment which becomes necessary for the "good" or healthy person to become.  Becoming the person we are to become, whatever that might be, is therefore based upon all participants willing to accept an environment which allows all participants freedom of expression.

In the group not only must the individual strive for autonomy but the leader must be willing to allow him to do so. … an individual's behavior cannot be fully understood without an appreciation of his environmental press.  …one member's behavior is not understandable out of context of the entire group. …there is no more important issue than the interrelationship of the group members.  … few individuals, as Asch has shown, can maintain their objectivity in the face of apparent group unanimity; and the individual rejects critical feelings toward the group at this time to avoid a state of cognitive dissonance.  To question the value or activities of the group, would be to thrust himself into a state of dissonance.  Long cherished but self-defeating beliefs and attitudes may waver and decompose in the face of a dissenting majority. One of the most difficult patients for me to work with in groups is the individual who employs fundamentalist religious views in the service of denial. The ‘third force' in psychology … which emphasized a holistic, humanistic concept of the person, provided impetus and form to the encounter group …  The patient reenacts early family scripts in the group and, if therapy is successful, is able to experiment with new behavior, to break free from the locked family role he once occupied. … the patient changes the past by reconstituting it. The therapist assists the patient to clarify the nature of the imagined danger and then … to detoxify, to disconfirm the reality of this danger. By shifting the group's attention from ‘then-and-there' to ‘here-and-now' material, he performs a service to the group … focusing the group upon itself.  Members must develop a feeling of mutual trust and respect and must come to value the group as an important means of meeting their personal needs. Once a member realizes that others accept him and are trying to understand him, then he finds it less necessary to hold rigidly to his own beliefs; and he may be willing to explore previously denied aspects of himself.  Patients should be encouraged to take risks in the group; such behavior change results in positive feedback and reinforcement and encourages further risk-taking.  Members learn about the impact of their behavior on the feelings of other members. …a patient might, with further change, outgrow … his spouse … unless concomitant changes occur in the spouse. 

Source: Irvin Yalom,  Theory and Practice and Group Psychotherapy


Jack R. Gibb THE MAGIC OF SELF-REGULATION: Omicron in the Organization

"When I Am Proactive, I See the World in the Following Way"

"Emerging. I am, at all moments, in process. I am in the process of transcending my current states and attitudes. I, and all things, are in the process of creating my own process."

"New wholes, realities, and universes are constantly emerging, discovering themselves, transcending, and being created in interdependence. This process is never-ending and unlimited."

"Collaborative corporate focus upon an emerging mission that has social, spiritual, long-range, and universal significance is a practical approach to the solution of problems. The universalizing corporate mission emerges from self-regulatory processes."

"Flow. I look at the organization as a flowing, emerging, ever-changing and dynamic form. I want to work in harmony with the idiosyncratic flow of the organization. I want to live in harmony and synergy with others in the organization."

"Deep sense of corporate mission. The more I contribute to the emerging corporate mission, the more important I think it is."

"I had consulted with business for a number of years and was looking forward to working with churches, because I was much more interested in the church, really, and I thought that my emerging Trust Level theory would be much more readily seen as appropriate to the church than to profit motivated business."

"Another time, I had occasion to listen closely to the top management of churches and of businesses on two successive weekends. I rode with some corporation presidents from the airport to the session of an NTL President's conference. The next weekend, I rode with some top leaders of Protestant denominations to an NTL church leaders' conference."

"Preoccupation with authority, hierarchy, persuasion, role, rewards, fear, and cosmetic factors seems even more firmly established in the church than in the workplace. The church does, with new awareness, move into the more "spiritual" areas of self-regulation. Progress on these dimensions is very promising at all levels of church management."

"We are discovering how to be in harmony with the allness and with each member of the universal family of forms. We are getting into the flow. In interaction with us, the theory is emerging, is assuming a life of its own, is encompassing and guiding our theory-construction efforts. All forms have structure, but the most nurturing and productive structure is an emerging, flowing one."

"We are discovering how to find universals in theory, fantasy, and practice. How to integrate a deep sense of corporate and community mission into the practices of work and play, worship and government. How to sense and achieve the visionary, holistic, spiritual, noble, beyond wellness, nirvanic, and universal missions and states that all beings, human and non-human, are evolving toward and are "working" toward on a daily or yearly basis. In other words, what the "real" corporate goals are."

"We are not discovering techniques, gimmicks, methods, or panaceas. We are discovering how to get into the universal flow, the emerging evolution of autogenic process, the "natural food" of nurturing environments. We are looking beyond technology, beyond "what to do on Monday morning," beyond prescriptions, beyond remedies and pain killers. We are looking for universals."

"We are discovering the allness and the wholeness, a truly mego-diagnostic view of allness, a synergy of fantasy and the rational. Diagnosis is "half the battle," which is no battle. Life is a love affair, and Omicron is an orientation that points us in the direction of love. Corporate activity, like all other activity, is playing and loving, not working and fighting. The corporate world is not a jungle, a mine field, a tough battle against superior odds. It is a gentle place, a playground, a love affair, a wonder-land, a fulfillment of fantasy, a passionate pathway, a spiritual journey. Come to think of it, the company is either a mine field or a love affair. Perception leads the way and creates the reality. What you see is what you get. I create the playground or the battle. There is a choice. And I make it."

"Emerging. Persons and organizations are "dynamic," as are all forms of nature, including plants and rocks. The organization occurs in a continuous, evolutionary, unprogrammed, non-linear, and unplanned flow of process. We are always "in process." In truth, any classification or boxing of people or functions is likely to staple and mutilate them, distort their true nature, and, worse, interfere with the natural, organic, self-regulatory life processes."

"TORI, Astron, and Omicron as Explorations in Self-Regulation"

"The collaborative Omicron group of people constructing a self-regulatory theory are building on a 40-year investigation of the nature of self-regulatory systems carried on by many hundreds of people since 1943".

"The significant developments over the 40-year period of research and development are the following:

  1. The demonstration at Brigham Young University and Stanford University that autogenic forces for proactivity are created in small laboratory groups. In these "leaderless" groups, members show surprisingly strong tendencies to build proactive attitudes and behaviors. These experiments in the classroom were carried on from 1937 through 1946.

  2. At Michigan State University, from 1946 through 1949, we carried on experiments which demonstrated that classrooms of 90 students or more could, without a teacher, "manage themselves," creating their own learning environments, with strong positive learning outcomes. Motivation was heightened in courses where students managed themselves.

  3. At the University of Colorado, from 1949 through 1956, supported by a series of research grants from the Group Psychology Branch of the Office of Naval Research, we demonstrated that defense systems were the mediators for decrements in performance in overmanaged systems. Members increased "defensive behaviors" in overmanaged work groups. These defensive behaviors mediated poor performance. Defense reduction became a key concept in the emerging theory of self-regulation in persons and social systems. Several thousand students became part of these experiments with "leaderless" college classes.

  4. Sponsored by the National Training Laboratories, the Office of Naval Research, and the Fels Group Dynamics Center in Newark, Delaware, from 1956 through 1964, we demonstrated that self-regulation was a significant determiner of personal and group therapy outcomes, effectiveness of management teams, and work-group systems. We discovered that proactivity and artistry were significant elements in the transformations that occur in systems that build their own regulatory forces.

  5. At the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, from 1964 through 1967, we discovered that the "orientation toward discovery" was a significant element in such systems. These experiments were carried out in collaboration with the national YMCA, the national Methodist Church, and a number of business client systems."

"Not only is no "man" alone, but no God, woman, flower, cell or form is alone. We are in it together. We need each other and we need all the other elements in the universe to survive. Interdependence is definitive."

"Collaboration may be deliberate and planned. It may be involuntary, unconscious, and not within the awareness of any parties to the collaboration. Chemicals, processes, forms--all coexist, co-form, co-create each other. Everything is related to everything. The universe is a system, an interdependent process. Instances of collaborative systems are infinite: Flowers, rocks and soil in a garden. Workers, furniture and machines in a factory. Teachers, students, administrators, furniture and air in a classroom. Machines, personnel, plans, and enemies in a military force. Congregations, pulpits, ministers, sinners and revelations in a church."

"The Parent, The Minister, The Teacher, The Governor"

"Self-regulatory systems are appropriate in any human organization: the church, the workplace, the family, the school, the government."

"In Some Ways the Church Is the Testing Ground"

"In some ways, Omicron is a spiritual theory. The church is thought to be, by itself and by others, as the place nearest to the wholeness, the universe, the spiritual, the enduring allness. If we can't get in touch with the infinite in the worship place, then were will we find it?"

"Over the years, I have been a consultant with churches of many denominations, from the local parish to the national headquarters. I had consulted with business for a number of years and was looking forward to working with churches, because I was much more interested in the church, really, and I thought that my emerging Trust Level theory would be much more readily seen as appropriate to the church than to profit motivated business."

Source: Jack Gibb


Jack Gibb's: The man who prepared the foundation for Church Growth and the Emerging Church.

"A pioneer in humanistic psychology and the originator of Trust Level theory, Jack Gibb's distinguished career as a psychologist and consultant spans five decades. Often referred to as the grandfather of organizational development, he has applied TORI theory to all forms of organizations, from corporations and governments to schools, churches, and hospitals. He was the original proponent of the importance of trust in team dynamics and organizational behavior, and the effect of trust on creativity."

"He was an early innovator at the renowned National Training Laboratories in Bethel, Maine, where behavioral scientists performed the pioneering work in team dynamics, communication, sensitivity training, and leadership training in the 1940's and 1950's. Jack was one of the first and most highly regarded T-Group (training group) leaders at NTL, served as Director of Research, and co-authored two books with the three NTL founders: T-Group Theory and Laboratory Method and The Laboratory Method of Changing and Learning."

"An internationally acclaimed consultant, Jack has consulted for IBM, AT&T, General Motors, Dow, DuPont, the State Department, the IRS, TVA, YMCA, and the National Council of Churches. He holds a doctorate in psychology from Stanford and has taught at Brigham Young, Michigan State, and the University of Colorado, where he also directed the Group Process Laboratory."

"Jack is past President of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology, and a fellow of the APA, ASA, the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Sciences, and of the International Association of Applied Social Sciences."

Source:  Taken from the jacket material of Trust, 1991 edition.

"almost any relationship could be improved by building an intimate community." Jack Gibb

"My experiences as a member of the LDS church have been a primary influence on my life. I have for a long time been very much aware of the parallels between the Mormon value system and belief structure, on the one hand, and the value system and belief structure of my friends in transpersonal and humanistic psychology. I have long been a dedicated member of both worlds. Members of each tradition often look at each other as very different perhaps opposite in view. Fritjof Capra has performed a magnificent service in pointing out the parallels between eastern mysticism and quantum physics, two fields that, at first blush, might seem in opposite camps. I am preparing a manuscript that compares the belief systems of LDS people and humanistic psychologists. One of my motivations is to explore unexplored harmony and communion in the universe. I would like to introduce each of these seemingly opposite groups to each other. It might have symbolic significance. And it would, of course, be a movement in the direction of wholizing my own inner world."

"I am now an unreconstructed animist, a proud deist, a vivid imager, an attentive watcher, a companion of the flowers, a celebrant of the insect and the worm, an unabashed mystic, a deeply religious man. A celebrant. "

"I create my own passionate path. When I put my full energy, coming from the deepest part of me, into a pathway to which I can dedicate my earthly and eternal life, I inevitably create my own spirituality."

Jack Gibb

Source:  The Passionate Path
by Jack Gibb


It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Psalms 118:8

Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. Psalms 106:43

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
Proverbs 28:26

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalms 1:1, 2
 

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:20, 21

The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Psalms 9:9, 10

But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
Jeremiah 7:23-28

Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people? Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
Jeremiah 9:1-8

But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Psalms 81:11, 12 

The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. Proverbs 12:5

Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Isaiah 29:15, 16 

Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Isaiah 47:13

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Jeremiah 23:16-22


The Omicron Orientation

"The seven Omicron processes, that parallel the seven indices on the self-regulatory person or organization, are listed in the first column of Table 3. Their seven counterprocesses, antithetical orientations, are listed in the first column of Table 4."

TABLE 3

The Omicron Orientation To Persons And Systems

System Orientation (Attitudes and Perceptions) (Omicron) System Orientation Change (Omicron) System Outcomes Increases in:
Wholizing Wholizing Productivity, Effectiveness System harmony
Emerging   Integrated creativity
Discovering Emerging  
Being Discovering Wellness and beyond wellness
Pathing    
Transcending Transcending Integrated home, community
Universalizing Universalizing Quality learning, personal growth

Release of transcendence

Release of spiritual values

TABLE 4

The Non-Omicron Orientation To Persons And Systems

System Orientation (Attitudes and Perceptions) (Non-Omicron) System Orientation Change (Non-Omicron) System Outcomes Decreases in:
Segmenting Segmenting Productivity, effectiveness
Prescribing Prescribing System harmony, management
Intervening Intervening Integrated creativity
Roleing Roleing Wellness and beyond wellness
Diffusing Diffusing  
Fixating Fixating Integrated home, community
Atomizing Atomizing Quality learning, personal growth

Release of transcendence

Release of spiritual values

source: THE MAGIC OF SELF-REGULATION: Omicron in the Organization  by Jack R. Gibb  http://us.geocities.com/toritrust/the_trilogy.htm or www.us.geocities.com/toritrust


The seven Omicron orientations

The seven Omicron orientations or processes are difficult to describe in words. At the present time, we are describing them in the following ways:

  1. Wholizing. All forms and processes continuously move toward greater wholeness. At any given time, the manager or worker who sees this wholeness is likely to be more effective. Seeing this continual evolution towards wholeness, integration, harmony, synergy, balance, and unity is helpful in diagnosis, parenting, and all other forms of human interaction. As the ecologists say, everything relates to everything. It takes more than a lifetime for anyone to see the awesome import of this allness view (48,49, 51).

  2. Emerging. Persons and organizations are "dynamic," as are all forms of nature, including plants and rocks. The organization occurs in a continuous, evolutionary, unprogrammed, non-linear, and unplanned flow of process. We are always "in process." In truth, any classification or boxing of people or functions is likely to staple and mutilate them, distort their true nature, and, worse, interfere with the natural, organic, self-regulatory life processes (38).

  3. Discovering. Persons and organizations are always in the delightful process of discovering themselves. This is true of the universe itself. And of God. And of rocks and flowers. And of Omicron. Life is a quest. An adventure. A search. It is not telling, teaching, imposing, persuading. Out of this orientation comes creativity, transformation, new life, new ideas, new and unknown forms of organization, and new products and processes that are as yet unformed or unimagined (14, 15).

  4. Being. All forms of matter, energy and life create and discover a zone of essence, a centering and unifying force field, a being, an identity, a uniqueness that differentiates it from all other forms of matter, energy and life. This applies to persons and to organizations. Organizations are as unique as persons. Managers and workers who sense this inner being and essence of the company are more effective in relating productively to the corporate body. The job of each member is to nourish, enhance, and bring to flower this being, from which all else flows (6).

  5. Pathing. Each person and organization discovers a unique path which optimizes the creativity, energy, productivity, and wellness of the organization. This unique directionality defines the nature of the person and of the organization. Nurturing this path, enriching the path, and change tuning the pather as the environment changes are the roads to spiritual enrichment as well as high productivity. Vitalizing this journey is a way of tapping into a universal pool of love, energy, passion and knowledge. Putting my or our passions into these paths is the route to transcendent energy and nirvanic states, as well as to organizational vitality (3, 36, 37, 39).

  6. Transcending. Each person and organization is continually moving beyond old states, current forms, limitations of the moment, = current form of energy. The shifting may be viewed or described as perceptual, vibrational, chemical, or transcendent. This transformation is primarily a release from some form of entrapment or stability. Self-regulation moves the system into transcendence and is part of the transformational process. This process is organic and natural (4).

  7. Universalizing. All persons and organizations, as with all other forms, are continually moving in the direction of universal form, metaphor, prototype, archetype, or fantasy. The inner search for essence and the outer journey toward universality arrive at the same "reality." When each search is in its fullness, the journeys are congruent. The most effective managers and workers are those who get in touch with these allness metaphors and realities, relate them to ongoing organizational issues, get the largest perspectives on the task of the organization, and live out the metaphors which contain the richest guidelines for being (40).

The Magic of Self-Regulation

Self-regulation and proactivity in the person and in the organization occur when these seven Omicron processes are nurtured and brought into consciousness. The words we are using are often awkward and perhaps esoteric or neologistic. Whatever words one uses, or preferably without words, the person or the organization that somehow tunes in to the basic processes is likely to move into transcending forms of selfregulation.

Source: THE MAGIC OF SELF-REGULATION: Omicron in the Organization  by Jack R. Gibb www.us.geocities.com/toritrust/the_trilogy or www.us.geocities.com/toritrust


Some web links on the "emerging" church: not indorsing all sites, just noting.

http://www.feasite.org/Tracts/fbcfreud.htm a good long overview of NTL's and emerging church
www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/emerging.htm  Who defines the Kingdom of God? Not The Secret Message of Jesus! A rebuttal to Brian McLaren's new book: The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything by Berit Kjos - May 2006
http://www.cerm.info/index.htm
http://www.anglicantas.org.au/presentations/p-ncls-ozbishops2004/slide0027.html
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/emergingchurch.htm
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/?ID=214
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/pbsalert.htm
http://www.discernment-ministries.org/
http://tinyurl.com/avbne
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/?id=214&artid=8398&expand=1
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/?ID=214#6
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/february/
http://www.fuller.edu/provost/faculty.htm  on faculty member of Fuller Theological Seminary, Edward Gibbs & the Emerging Church

ChurchNext - Quantum Changes in How We Do Ministry  by Edward Gibbs
 Emerging Churches - Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures  by Edward Gibbs

"If you want to be truly conversant with emerging churches, this is the book to read. It's locally specific and globally aware—as are emerging churches themselves,"  Brian McLaren.

        Followed Or Pushed?  by Edward Gibbs
        I Believe In Church Growth  by Edward Gibbs
        Iglesia Del Futuro  by Edward Gibbs
        In Name Only  by Edward Gibbs
        LeadershipNext - Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture  by Edward Gibbs
        Liderar En Una Cultura De Cambios  by Edward Gibbs
        They Call Themselves Christian  by Edward Gibbs
        Way To Go - Thirty Readings on a Journey with Jesus  by Edward Gibbs
        Way To Serve - Leading Through Serving and Enabling  by Edward Gibbs
http://www.fromthelighthouse.com/blog/index.php?cat=8
http://apologeticsindex.org/290-ai#sharethis
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/291-emerging-church-teachings


Eddie Gibbs & Jack Gibbs material used in a Long Beach Church survey.

"[Eddie] Gibbs has believed any church have been potentially just one generation away from extinction."

 "18The instrument in reference is the TORI Self-Scale developed by Dr. Jack Gibbs. This survey measures four components of trust: trust, openness, readiness and inter-depending."

"One of the prevalent issues that have existed between the local church and the homosexual community has been the lack of trust; homosexuals have not trusted the Church. In response to this, Long Beach Christian Fellowship has chosen to interact with the homosexual community in ways that has built trust."

source: MEASURING THE VALUE OF THE DISCOVERY SEMINAR FOR INCREASING TRUST AMONG THE CONGREGANTS OF A LOCAL CHURCH  by Douglas P. Richardson a doctoral dissertation for Kings College.  www.lbcf.org/misc/Increasing Trust Among the Congregants of a Local Church.pdf 

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