THE GANG OF JESUS

 Dear fellow members of the gang of Jesus,

            Our leader used the word “ecclesia” for “gathering, fellowship, church.” This was not a religious term. In Acts 19:32 and 41 the riotous, anti-Christian, political gathering is called “church” or “ecclesia.” I propose that a more understandable and accurate translation or interpretation of the word “ecclesia/church” for today is “gang.”

            Gangs are always people, not buildings. Gangs give identity. Gangs give security. Gangs set you apart from every other segment of society or other gang.  Gangs are your highest allegiance. Your gang is your family, your hope, your identity 24/7.  Gang members honor and obey their leaders. Leaders earn their leadership by risking their lives for the gang. Gang members also risk their lives for the gang; they have given their life to the gang.

            Let’s use the term “gang” for church. We are Jesus’ gang.  Not Paul’s, not Cephas’s, not Apollos’s, but Christ’s. Not  Luther’s, not General Booth’s, not Wesley’s, not Calvin’s, not Arminius’s, but Christ’s. Not Presbyterian, not Pentecostal, not Charismatic, not Calvary Chapel, not Word of Faith, not Baptist, not anti, pro, or non-denominational – we are Jesus’ gang, we are His Body.

            Enough turf wars. Enough in-fighting. Enough petty squabbles. Enough distractions. Enough lesser causes. Enough not listening to the leader. Enough following our own desires. Enough bickering.

            It is time for a gang war. Actually, it is time to realize we are already in a gang war unto death. The enemy has used his sneaky methods to intoxicate us American gang members. He has made us ineffective and impotent. He has increased wickedness so that the love of most has grown cold. The snake is a worthy opponent – worthy of destruction in the lake of fire prepared for him.

            Present yourself before Jesus, our all-powerful leader. Thank Him for His grace, and ask him what your assigned task is. Re-think your original gang vows in which you pledged yourself to life and death in Him and for Him. Either renew those vows, revoke them, or prepare to be spit out of His mouth.  It is time.

Initiation

            I have heard that to join some gangs you have to kill someone. Others require acts of violence, daring, and miscellaneous law breaking. All of these “required duties” show a commitment and loyalty to the gang, which proves the initiates sincerity.

            In Jesus’ gang the initiation rite also requires death – yours. You must prove your commitment and loyalty to Jesus and the gang and show your sincerity by dying in the waters of baptism. This is not just some symbolic rite. It is a genuine spiritual death with Jesus on the cross. When you go down in the waters of baptism, it is like a time warp where you literally die with Jesus on the cross. When you come out, you are rising with Him also on resurrection morning. Jesus’ gang is only for those who have died and been given a new life.

            Jesus’ gang is for those with this new life only. If you insist on remaining a “sinner”, you are ineligible for gang membership. In gang gatherings of various kinds and configurations, we encourage one another to love and good works. We provoke and challenge each other to live this life of Christ – by constantly reckoning the old one dead. It is illegal for gang members to try to live in the gang as if they were still just old sinners saved by grace. Gang life is a faith walk for overcomers.

Meal

            The night before He was murdered for us, our leader took some bread and told His leaders to eat it, as it was His body. He then took a cup of wine and told them to drink, as it was His blood. This is His blood of the covenant He made with us. He has now given us this blood contract that says His laws are in our hearts and written on our minds, and our sins are not remembered. He said whenever we did this, to remember Him.

            I was a Chaplain for a younger man who had drunk human blood at a Rock Concert. It was a satanic ritual. He was besieged by a very deep-seated evil that accosted him for years. As we take part in our gang meal, we are receiving an evil defying deep-seated righteousness and peace from God.

Colors

            Every color has a meaning for the gang. Our gang colors can only be a rainbow.  Red is for the Blood of our Leader, shed for all of us - a great color for us. Blue is also good and symbolizes the heavens where our true home is. Then there is yellow for the brightness of His light shining; orange for the tanginess and fruitfulness of His creation; purple for royalty honoring the King of us kings; green for all growth. The gang colors can only be a rainbow.

            The rainbow that encircles His Throne in Heaven is ours. The covenant rainbow that He placed in the clouds belongs to us. There are some other groups smaller than the gang of Jesus that have taken the rainbow as their symbol. It belonged to Jesus’ gang long before they started using it. If you should be displaying the rainbow and be misidentified as one of the other groups, you have a great opportunity to witness and to be humbled.   

Logo

            Historically our logo is a cross. This is the most universally known and accepted symbol of Christianity. It is a great insignia, showing the love of God that drew Him to earth and to a cursed death on a painful, public, humiliating Roman torture device. The cross is my reminder that I am to take up my cross and follow Him, perhaps also to a painful, public, humiliating death. This is a great emblem indeed for our gang.

            However, our militancy has put an “in your face” facet to the cross that is not compatible for our gang strategy. The crusades and inquisition both used the cross as an unchristian symbol of power with a demand of subservience. Even now we sing “Onward Christian Soldiers” with a gusto that suggests a superiority and smugness.

            I propose we change the words of the hymn and use “with a towel from Jesus” instead of “with the cross of Jesus.” Try it and see if it fits for you. We are going to war, no, we are in a war. We will battle for the souls of men with a servant’s towel for washing feet. This is our kind of gang.

            Do you want to join?

Frank Smith

fsmithcgm@sbcglobal.net