Through God raising up a global church body and wanting the Christians to be in unity, we still see people who instead of promoting unity within the church body desire to distinguish their individual 'tribes'. One example of this philosophy can be found online at tribalchurch.org. Here on this web page, there is the mentioning of the 'tribe of the displaced', 'tribe of prophets', 'tribe of worshippers', etc. Each of these groups is really just groups of special needs and interest. The third wave / third day is so paradigmed to believing that they have to expose and break 'paradigms' that they have created a paradigm of exposing and breaking paradigms. This is very similar to Pentecostal churches that were so intent on breaking traditions that they made a tradition of destroying traditions. In the long run, all the third wave / third day churches really did was to institute the same programs they despised but just changed the name of the 'program' to make it look different, anointed, fresh, and revelatory. This is similar to the concept that many Vineyard churches did where they had many of the same programs but simply renamed the programs to something with the word 'vine' in the title. For example, many churches would have discipleship classes but many Vineyard churches would call these classes "Abiding In The Vine" to make the discipleship classes appear 'cutting-edge', and modern.

Per the tribalchurch.org's web page, their long term goal is :

To plant an indigenous, reproducing tribal church whether the tribe is found in the inner cities or the rain forests of the world. How do we do this? First, move into the tribe's culture and be absorbed by them. Then, after recovering from culture shock, learn their language and culture. When language proficiency is reached, demonstrate the power of God in their midst and teach them the Scriptures. While teaching, translate the Bible into their language. As a church is born, begin equipping the saints to reproduce what has been modeled to them, and eventually phase out of the work, leaving it in the hands and hearts of the tribal believers.

I can understand part of this long term goal. However, one has to look at the long term goal and not help to ask some serious questions.

• Why are they trying to change the name of cultures, 'people groups', etc. to tribes?
• Why do we want to recognize tribes when God throughout the New Testament emphasized one body of believers even though they are in different cities and nations?
• If you want to be 'absorbed' by the culture, how will you do this without compromising the Gospel and living in the world but being seperate from the world?
• Why are you referring to these people as the 'tribal believers' instead of the Christian believers in the body of Christ?
  

• One might state that this is just an issue of semantics. However, why not be upfront with the mission of evangelism to a culture group instead of padding and renaming the methods to make it look different or 'a new thing'?
• What is it with these modern renewal churches that they change the semantics to where one can not do a good apples to apples comparison to what is being taught in these churches versus what is being taught in the Bible?
• Why is it that one feels you have to compare apples to oranges until you strip off the facades, veneers, and terminologies to see it this 'newfound revelation' is in many areas the same repackaged concepts done years and years ago by groups of Godly people before?
• If you phase yourself out of the work of the creation of a new church to turn it over to the people within the culture group, will you serve as an apostle to oversee the leaders of the church and take action against the leaders or take control of the church if spiritual abuse, teaching of improperly interpreted Scriptures, and / or moral turpitudes are committed and confessed by the leadership?

When did the Gospel turn into 'marketing' and 'demographics' instead of just preaching the Gospel? I agree that we need to respect another's culture and allow the people to participate in the history, ancestry, costumes, foods, etc. of the culture. However, when these things either put Christ in the back seat and alter our focus on God and / or the basis of this cultural uniqueness pays homage to other gods and leads into deeper sin, then we need to speak out and teach the truth according to God's Word. If we go out into another country, we need to accept the cultures, learn the language, and have relationships within the Biblical realm and not try to 'Americanize' them or 'preach the southern gospel'. However, if this culture group is located in America, we need to show respect to one's culture and allow the people to participate in the history, ancestry, costumes, foods, etc. of the culture as long as it does not pay tribute or worship other gods. We can start out by addressing the culture group in their native language, but as a part of outreach have English as a second language classes and somehow during the process of learning English, start a gradual step of teaching the Bible into those English language classes and implement some of the English language into the services. I am in favor of reaching cultural groups. I have seen many churches here in America open their doors on Sunday afternoons after their main English traditional and contemporary services to allow Spanish, Korean, etc. speaking services to take place. In these services, the only language spoken is in the language of the culture group targeted. That is fine in and of itself. But we have to one day reach a point after years and years of living in the same nation where the predominant language is different from the language of the culture group that the people within the culture group learn the predominant language not as a requirement for Christianity or practicing 'Americanity', but as a ways and means to do business, commerce, communication, etc. to people native to the predominant language.

Another example where Christians tried to establish a 'tribal' mentality within the Pentecostal / Charismatic / Third Wave / River / Third Day movement is a famous sermon of the Smithton Outpouring that helped spark the growth of this 'renewal' (that many people today are now questioning as fraudulent) entitled God's Gang. Long before this sick group who after September 11, 2001 deemed people who disagreed with them as 'spiritual terrorists', a sermon was preached where the body of Christ was referred to as a gang similar to our common definition of a gang. When many people hear the word gang, we tend to think of a group of hoodlums whose sole purpose is to commit crime, murder, rape, violence, burglary, drive by shootings, coercion, et al. In fact, Webster's Dictionary in one of it's numerous definitions of the word gang defines the word as "A group of people (usually from the same neighborhood) banded together for social reasons and commonly bonded together as an organized group promoting criminal activity."

In this sermon, we see that the basic characteristics of a gang is expressed through such language as "The idea of joining a gang makes no sense to us. Because when you join a gang, you become a gang member, you can have a job. But the gang comes first. You can have a career, but the gang comes first, you can go to school, but the gang comes first. You can have a wife, but the gang comes first, you can have children but the gang comes first. You can have your own hobbies, you got things you can do, you can have a family, but the gang comes first... These gangs are not people that you join and easily break with. It's very serious business. And they expect you to put the gang, what's good for the gang, what's good for the group first. You can't say, "But my wife wants me home tonight." Or "My kids haven't seen me". You can't do that. The gang, and the good of the gang, the good of the group, comes first. And there's such a willingness to be identified with that group, they are willing to live that way. But our, us, our humanistic mind goes, "Oh, that's crazy! Who would do such a thing"? And our individualism says "Oh, who would do such a thing. Just live for yourself! Go out and make something of yourself, you don't need that group." This mentality continues to be discussed until the pastor decided to state, "In Jesus' day, gangs were called disciples".

Here we are seeing that the relationship of the twelve disciples to a gang is being formulated. In fact further along in this sermon we see that "You break away from that church, you say, "Hey, I don't want to have to go to church 5 days a week anymore, I can be blessed just as much by going out here, I'm gonna be out there fishing, and hunting with the rest, and being out with God in nature" Yeah, you can do that if you want, but there's not an individual I.R.A. account with your name on it in heaven. There's only a group account. You break free from the group that He died for, you forfeit your account" In other words, if you decide to see your child play baseball because the game is on church night or if you want to retreat for a weekend, you can not do this and be considered acceptable in "God The Gang leader's" eyes because that is not putting the "Gang" first. A sick example of twisting the Scripture about leaving your father and mother for the cause of Christ and relating it to an personal ideology turned renewal theology of experiencing gang punishment for not being at all the services. It is even stated that to even leave his church is the equivalent of leaving God Almighty. God is not a 'gangsta'. God is the Almighty being who wants his people to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth. Christians are not a gang. True Christians are the body of Christ consisting of one body with many parts. Not a bunch of hoodlums swindling people out of their money, not gang members harassing everyone who disagrees with them, and not extortionists who hold people captive with poor theology wanting more in order for the extorted to even receive.

Another common 'new thing' that is appearing in many of the Third Wave / Third Day churches is a worship mode called 'harp and bowl' worship. This concept, founded by Mike Bickle (and called International Houses of Prayer, a.k.a. IHOP [not the IHOP restarunts more commonly known as the International House of Pancakes]) and later endorsed by such notables as John Wimber, John Paul Jackson and the prophet Bob Jones (not affiliated with fundamentalist Bob Jones university in Greenville, SC), taught that there must be a restoration of twenty-four hour global worship per 1 Chronicles 15 and 16 consisting of praise and worship mixed with music and prayers. Many who practice this mode of worship also state that since that Revelation 4 and 5 states that this is the style of worship going around the throne of God where the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fall before the Lamb holding a harp and a bowl. This is further preached from the interpretation of Revelation 5:8-9 where the harp represents music and the bowl represents the prayers of the believers. According to harp and bowl teaching, when the twenty-four hour worship is restored consisting of musicians and intercessors, then God will move down and bless them with new songs and the intercession combined with the knowledge obtained via spiritual mapping will generate 'breakthroughs' where God can then pour down his mercy and move on his people. Many within this move also correlate this move as being 'of God' using John 4:23-24 where it is stated "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

This method of 'worship' is now being used under the guise as 'unity' where harp and bowl churches invite Christians in other churches over for corporate rallies praying for their cities. In fact, many within harp and bowl believe that the move of God upon a city and spiritual breakthroughs will no longer happen on Sunday mornings, but only in these 'houses of prayer' only when the 24/7 worship model is implemented. In other words, God cannot move upon his people unless the harp and bowl model of worship is implemented. God is placed in a box and cannot move in his omnipotence because he has to have harp and bowl churches in a geographical area to move in a geographical area. Therefore, we must recreate an Old Testament / covenant concept in order for the New Testament / covenant promises to come true. If one looks at this teaching, it is not a 'new thing'. Harp and Bowl is actually is a revived version of the Dominionist and Manifest Sons of God teachings where believers are seen as glorified, transformed, perfected, and possessed by Christ to such a degree that they become One with him and become a living corporate Son of God on the earth, ruling with him. However, before this rule and dominion happens, the way has to be prepared for God to come down and one of these ways is the harp and bowl method of establishing a 24/7 worship center in all the major cities.

The 'harp and bowl' concept has grossly missed the point of God establishing his rule on earth. The establishment of God on this earth is not through a 24/7 building with constant worship. The establishment of God via the advocate provided by Christ is done through 24/7 Christians receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit within their bodies and worship in Spirit and truth. God does not need a stationary building with constant prayer and worship to set captives free. God moves through willing and obedient vessels that allow their bodies to be used as the Temple of the Holy Spirit who allow the spiritual gifts to flow out of them to both minister to people but fulfill the Great Commission. It is by this mobility of the person who has become a Temple of the Holy Spirit that takes the Gospel and the power of the shed blood of Jesus into their world. Dominion does not need to be established by the actions we do. Dominion was already established by Jesus Christ's shedding his blood on the cross, dying for our sins, and His arising on the third day. In fact Matthew 28:18 establishes this when Jesus spoke and stated that all authority has been given to him in heaven and on earth. The Holy Spirit lives inside of you. Jesus is your advocate and washed your sins with His Blood. We are supposed to be imitators of Christ. Therefore the authority vested in Jesus has been given to us. You have the authority of the name of Jesus, go use it to heal the sick, cast out devils, make disciples because you do not have to establish dominion before doing these things The problem is not that the dominion of Jesus needed to be established. The problem was that the established dominion of Jesus was never, was improperly, and / or was not fully exercised according to Scripture.

Click here for part six of this article.